8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
As hostile relationships between Sayaka and Kyoko continue, Madoka decides to put an end to the fighting amongst the magical girls. However, Madoka doesn't know her actions will reveal the shocking truth about magical girls...
Starring: Aoi Yûki, Chiwa Saito, Eri Kitamura, Kaori Mizuhashi, Ai NonakaAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 97% |
Fantasy | 19% |
Psychological thriller | 5% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD, 1 CD)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a sweet little anime whose most complex element may well be its title, a title which some viewers may respond to by saying, “It’s all Greek (and/or Latin) to me!” A puella magi is a “magical girl”, a sort of subgenre of Japanese manga and anime (and if you’re a fan of these art forms, you know just how many subgenres there really are). Magical girls are usually recruited to battle evil on Earth, but they do so after having agreed to exchange a wish of their own for eternal servitude as a wizardess. The Madoka of this anime’s title refers to the series’ heroine, one Madoka Kaname, a kind hearted young female who traverses the outer ring of her school’s inner popularity circle, but who probably isn’t “out there” enough to lapse into the complete social pariah category. Puella Magi Madoka Magica recounts Madoka’s angst filled decision whether or not to become a magical girl, replete with occasional soulful questionings and more than occasional battles with various supernatural phenomena, thanks to friends and acquaintances of Madoka who have already become magical girls. Aniplex is releasing the anime in a set of Limited Edition Box Sets, each of which contain one keepcase with a Blu-ray and DVD and another with a CD featuring tunes from the show’s rather nice and evocative soundtrack, as well as various other printed material. The sets are frankly a bit on the pricey side, and so potential consumers will need to weigh whether they want to pay a premium price for a set that will only give them a few episodes to enjoy. This particular set contains episodes 5 – 8 and picks up the story from where Puella Magi Madoka Magica LE Box Set Vol. 1 left off. By this point, Madoka's best friend Sayaka has just made an unexpected commitment to be a magical girl, and has begun to realize the ramifications of that decision. That includes having to choose between helping personal friends, something the seems somehow concrete, as opposed to the somewhat more amorphous general idea of “battling evil”, even if that evil sometimes comes in a fairly concrete form of a witch or other villain. In the meantime, Madoka is reeling from a terrifying encounter with a witch which has left another magical girl dead.
As with Puella Magi Madoka Magica LE Box Set Vol. 1, Puella Magi Madoka Magica Limited Edition Box Set Vol. 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Aniplex with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 (each episode also includes bumpers typically in 2.34:1). This is a bright and vivid high definition presentation which features incredibly sharp line detail, robust and extremely well saturated colors and consistent stability. The best part of this series is undoubtedly the weirder, more "magical", moments, which include everything from the bumper sequences mentioned above in the main body of the review, to several brief sequences where the various girls are either in a sort of demonic lair or fighting witches and other nemeses. While the bulk of the shonen aspect of Puella Magi Madoka Magica is pretty standard fare (which is not to say it's not enjoyable), the series really kicks it up a considerable notch in these other, more fanciful, elements, and it's then that this Blu-ray really pops with some amazing detail and color, not to mention a really cool looking design aesthetic.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica Limited Edition Box Set Vol. 2 features two uncompressed LPCM 2.0 audio options, one in the original Japanese and the other an English dub. Both of these tracks are virtually identical with regard to overall amplitude and mix, with the only salient difference being of course the language being spoken. Fidelity is strong and voice work is quite good in both languages, but this is a series that could have benefited from a surround mix for a couple of important reasons. First of all, the series includes a really effective underscore, one that blends a sort of Japanese version of the group Mediaeval Baebes with some nice sounding ethnic instruments and J-pop (there's also some classical source music used as well, one Bach piece of which shows up on the soundtrack CD sampler included in the set). Second of all, some of the weirder surreal elements have some great sonic activity that really could have been opened up significantly with a surround mix. That said, the stereo mixes here are artful and well prioritized and they get the job done within an obviously narrower soundfield.
The only on-disc supplement is a:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica became manifestly more interesting in this second set of episodes. New conflicts emerged and though the series' tendency to mix a more traditional shonen ambience with the whole magical girl plotline is fairly cliché ridden, the series has started to reveal a bit of unexpected nuance as various back stories are explored and Madoka has to decide whether or not she wants to join the magical girl fray. The series continues to excel in exploiting a very cool looking design aesthetic. This deluxe Blu-ray set may frankly be short in the actual episode content (only four episodes for something this pricey?), but the rest of the bonus content helps at least somewhat to justify the expense. With stellar video and solid audio, this set comes Recommended.
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