Overman King-Gainer: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Overman King-Gainer: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Overman King Gainer is an action-packed anime series featuring a science-fiction backdrop. Broadcast on Animax, Bandai Channel, and WOWOW in Japan, Overman King Gainer features animation production by Sunrise (Cowboy Bebop, Gundam Wing). Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, Overman King Gainer features production by Atsushi Yukawa (Kurokami The Animation, Witch Craft Works), Michiko Suzuki (Ergo Proxy, Ninja Scroll), and Yoshitaka Kawaguchi (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Turn A Gundam: Earth Light). From a concept by Hajime Yatate, Overman King Gainer features voice-work by Japanese voice-actors Hirofumi Nojima, Otoya Kawano, and Ai Kobayashi.

The future is bleak and miserable. Why wouldn’t it be? Life is pointless in some respects – there is little significance to anything, at least in the eyes of some. Mankind is now forced to live in chaotic domed cities known as Domepolis. The dome is built following a huge environmental conflict that causes the dome construction to be a necessity. The cities of the future are now owned by corporations. As one can imagine, true freedom in life isn’t possible when corporations are all-controlling.

In one of these futuristic controlled corporations, the Siberian Domepolis, Gainer Sanga (Hirofumi Nojima) is considered one of the greatest of all virtual-game champs. The gamer is briskly arrested and questioned in regards to Exodus: the movement happening past the dome confines and illegal from the government (who wish all citizens to remain entrapped in the corporate-controlled dome).

While Gainer faces new challenges in prison, Gain Bijou (Otoya Kawano) soon meets him as a hell-bent mercenary – a vigilante determined to escape from the dome. Between Gain and Gainer, can the two fight the evil corporate forces and manage to steal the Overman, one of the most elite mecha robots built for battles for Exodus and the opposition.

The series certainly has some compelling character designs. The artistry of the designs adds something compelling to the visual experience. The art style inherent in these character designs is something to appreciate as it adds a more complex quality to the production. The character designs by Kenichi Yoshida (The Orbital Children, Gundam Reconguista in G), Kinu Nishimura (Gundam Reconguista in G, Ring of Gundam), and Yoshihiro Nakamura help the series to find a more sophisticated sense of style and the designs work well for the ensemble cast of characters. These designs are certainly effective – adding to the series artistry.

The animation on Overman King Gainer is bold, inventive, and creative – a huge part of the series success. The animation style is one of the foundational and essential elements of the production. The animation is explored through the art direction by Shigemi Ikeda (Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon, High School DxD). Featuring the chief animation direction by Kenichi Yoshida (The Orbital Children, Gundam Reconguista in G), there is plenty to appreciate and the animators certainly helped to create a series with a fantastic and fun visual style. The style is often complex, creative, and energetic – showcasing the style with plenty of warmth.

The mecha designs by Akira Yasuda (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Code Geass: Akito the Exiled), Kenichi Yoshida (Eureka Seven, Gundam Reconguista in G), and Kimitoshi Yamane (Cowboy Bebop, The Vision of Escaflowne) make some of the best impressions for the series as well. The mecha elements certainly are outstanding and there is plenty to appreciate about the manner in which these giant robot designs help to enhance the science-fiction and action elements of the production. The designs are far better than a standard mecha anime and stand out as something inventive. There is certainly a lot to appreciate in the manner in which the design team helped to bring an epic sense of scale to the adrenaline-packed action.

The cinematography by Souta Ooya (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Good Luck Girl!) is one of the highlights, too. The charm of the cinematography is the manner in which it helps to reflect the original animation and bring out the best qualities of the visuals. The cinematography is colorful and fun. An impressive effort by Ooya.

Featuring a score composed by Kōhei Tanaka (Dirty Pair, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team), Overman King Gainer is a compelling part of the series production. The music of Tanaka is a joy. Something to appreciate. Tanaka is a good composer and has contributed to many classic and entertaining action anime series – including many in the mecha genre. The contributions in Overman King Gainer certainly help to expand the scope of the series.

Ichiro Okouchi (Azumanga Daioh, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion) pens the scripts. Overman King Gainer has creative and fun writing. The series screenwriter does well with exploring the concept and these dystopian ideas. These types of questions are large and overarching – such as about the role corporations play in society – often will ill effects. The dystopian element is essential here.

Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino (Mobile Suit Gundam, Space Runaway Ideon), Overman King Gainer is a well-done action series with plenty to entertain science-fiction fans. The directing style of Tomino is ambitious and creative. The style exudes confidence and the ability to tell a story while highlighting action and adventure within the series. Overman King Gainer is a fan-favorite for a reason.

Overman King-Gainer: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Overman King Gainer is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. An impressive high-definition upscale presentation. The Blu-ray release does not provide a native high-definition presentation and is instead sourced from lower-resolution materials based on the available source. Overman King Gainer looks surprisingly excellent for an upscale and the animation certainly is impressive looking overall. The line art and background animation make a solid impression with the video presentation. The encoding is well done by Discotek Media and fans will appreciate the video quality a lot.

Overman King-Gainer: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles), Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles), and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The release capably reproduces the sound direction by Yota Tsuruoka. The presentation makes a solid impression and handles both the score and sound effects nicely. An entertaining and engaging surround sound track for the Japanese language version adds to the experience with added ambiance for the rear channels. The surrounds are used well to add to the presentation and bring some extra vitality forward for the score. The subtitles for the Japanese language version are also excellent and are free from any egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

Overman King-Gainer: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a nice o-card slipcover. The slipcover artwork is well done. The sleeve art underneath the slipcover remains the same. Discotek Media did a solid job – the release will be impressive in hand and on the shelf.

On disc supplements include:

Clean Opening (HD, 1:30)

Clean Ending (HD, 1:30)

Clean Ending (Pre-Broadcast Version) (HD, 2:44)

Episode 1-11 Digest (HD, 2:00)

Making-of Featurette (HD, 24:35) exploring the production and the series creation. This is a nice extra with an almost 30- minute run-time – offering fans something more than standard and it certainly is going to make a lot of people happy to see something a little more robust included within the supplemental package. This is better than a shorter EPK style extra, too.

Pre-Broadcast Promos (HD, 4:36)

DVD Promos (SD, 5:51)

Blu-ray Memorial Box Promos (HD, 2:12)

Overman King-Gainer: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Overman King Gainer is an entertaining and ambitious science-fiction mecha anime. Fans of the series will be thrilled with the upgraded presentation. The release includes a solid upscaled presentation. A nice selection of bonus features is also included on the release. The package even comes with a nice making-of featurette (at almost 30 minutes in length) and some nice promo videos. The package includes a nice slipcover, too. Recommended.