Revenger: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Revenger: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Revenger is an action-adventure anime series exploring a tale of revenge. Based on the original story by Gen Urobuchi  (Nitroplus), the series features original character designs by Jiro Suzuki and Yūichi. The production was broadcast on Tokyo MX. The original television broadcast run was from January 5^th, 2023 to March 23^rd, 2023.

The series features animation produced by Ajiado Animation Works (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou). Licensed by Crunchyroll for streaming and home media release in North America.  Featuring a voice cast including Jun Kasama, Hisako Kanemoto, Shouta Hayama, Shunsuke Takeuchi, and Yuichiro Umehara.

Raizō Kurima (Jun Kasama) is no ordinary warrior. The life of a warrior is one that often leads to bloodshed. Kurima is a warrior who has a mission he is determined to follow to the bitter end: a dangerous quest of vengeance and one that will involve spilled blood. Who will survive to see the light of another day?

Kurima seeks his own vengeance against those who helped to mislead him into taking the life of his prospective father-in-law. As such, a new mission is born –a mission in which Kurima makes some alliances with the rebel assassins known as the Revengers. The Revengers are no ordinary team.

Dangerous assassins with a rebellious side, some consider the Revengers to be nothing more than a group of ruthless vigilantes seeking an off- brand form of justice. Can Kurima find the revenge he seeks or will he only find more bloodshed as blood drops to the ground? A question only Kurima can answer – with his own thirst for vengeance.

Raizō Kurima is a complex character for the series in some respects. The character is one who has a thirst for vengeance. As a result, the drive for revenge plays a major role in the character development. The character is someone who has joined a rebellious group of assassins and this plays a big role for the character and for the saga. The character designs by Yuji Hosogoe (Saga of Tanya the Evil, Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga) are notable, too. The character design works add to the series and help to expand on the artistic qualities of the anime.

The animation is one of the greatest strengths of Revenger as an anime series. The series features strong art direction by Hotaka Okamoto (One Piece Stampede, Platinum End) and chief animation direction by Emiko Endo (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Brave Beats), Yuji Hosogoe (Saga of Tanya the Evil, Rage of Bahamut: Genesis), and Yuki Nishioka (Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord). The team of animators involved on the series delivered a series with a brooding and dark atmosphere. The artistic sensibilities of the production aid the aesthetic goals and keep the series with the atmospheric tone that a tale of vengeance needs to excel.

The cinematography by Teppei Satō (How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord, After School Dice Club) is one of the highlights of the production. The visuals are enhanced through the cinematography for the series. The anime has crisp and vivid cinematography and it certainly helps to highlight the artistry of the team of animators.

The score composed by Jun Futamata is a decent backdrop to the production, too. The music helps to enhance the tone and atmosphere of the storytelling. Given the series brooding atmosphere, it is a decidedly darker score to fit the filmmaking. It adds to the style of the tale.

Written by Gen Urobuchi (Psycho-Pass, Puella Magi Madoka Magica) and Renji Ōki (Azur Lane, Bubble), Revenger is going to appeal to fans of darker and grittier anime series exploring tales of vengeance. If audiences are looking for quirky or colorful anime comedies, Revenger isn’t the right place to be. A darker and more brooding anime that aims to fit a certain niche within the anime fandom.

The series isn’t so graphic as to earn a hard mature series rating but it does push the envelope with some hard-hitting moments to appeal to a more mature audience. Despite the limitations of TV14, audiences can still expect some adrenaline pushing action and some blood, too. Revenger isn’t as gruesome as some of the most explicit anime series but it does find some moments to highlight a differential to more tame anime offerings.

Directed by Masaya Fujimori (Izetta: The Last Witch, Tribe Cool Crew), Revenger might not be one of the best anime series to explore revenge and similarly dark themes but it is an interesting concept and the series has some compelling values. The filmmaking is atmospheric and this adds to the success of the production. Anime fans seeking something more mature compared to a more light-atmospheric production may want to check it out.

Revenger: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Revenger is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release is presented in high-definition with a detailed and crisp encode. The visuals look impressively vivid on the release and manage to showcase the artistry of the animation team. The darker colors and atmospheric style are well reproduced here.

 The Blu-ray release also provides higher bit-rate encoding compared to streaming platforms. Streaming video services tend to offer anime with a lower quality bit-rate compared to physical media. Physical media traditionally provides superior video encoding bit-rates.

For those seeking the best possible picture quality, the physical Blu-ray disc continues to reward with a superior image. Though this difference in presentation quality may not always be night-and-day, it is still nice and appreciable. Getting the absolute best picture quality available is something that may help some fans to find extra motivation to picking up the release for their physical media collection.

Revenger: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release capably reproduces the sound direction by Akiko Fujita. The lossless encoding showcases the sound design alongside the music soundtrack. Dialogue is crisp and easy to understand on the release. The audio presentation is impressively well-realized and the crispness of the audio is something that enhances the audio quality encoding.

The surround sound option on the English dub track will provide audiences with a slightly more robust and expansive surround sound field for the soundtrack and effects. The original Japanese language version is limited to stereo and is not going to be as expansive sounding on the release. Even despite these sonic attribute differences, purists will want to opt for the original Japanese language version.

The lossless audio will appeal to audiophiles who are seeking the absolute best possible sound quality achievable. Physical media continues to reward in this arena compared to any streaming video services – all of which provide lossy (non-lossless) audio quality by comparison. The difference is notable and audiophiles who are seeking the best possible presentation will want to consider the physical media option.

Revenger: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes an o-card slipcover. The slipcover is nice and adds an extra element of collectability to the release. The design is the same on the slipcover as the artwork highlighted on the sleeve cover artwork.

On disc extras include:

Gen Urobuchi – Master Class (HD, 28:30)

Character Promo Videos (HD, 1:50)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Promo Videos (HD, 2:38)

Unfortunately, the Blu-ray release includes a somewhat sparse supplemental package. It would have been wonderful to see a more robust extras package included with the release. Including audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and more in-depth cast/crew interviews.

Revenger: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Revenger is a decent revenge anime exploring the dark perils of a quest for vengeance. The series has effective animation and some decent production values. Fans of grittier anime series aimed at more mature audiences may appreciate the series. It is a lot more mature than goofy or silly anime series aimed at younger audiences.

The Blu-ray release provides a solid high-definition presentation and lossless audio encode. The release also includes a small selection of bonus features. The release provides a slipcover, too. Fans of Revenger will want to consider a pick-up. Recommended.