Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle Blu-ray Movie Review

Warriors of the Final Holy Battle is the fourth feature-film in the franchise. The film premiered in 1989. The film was a selection of the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival. Created by Masami Kurumada, the feature-film was executive produced by Chiaki Imada (Galaxy Express 999, Taro the Dragon Boy). A production by Toei Animation (Digimon Adventure, Sailor Moon). The animation is outstanding.

The theme music is performed by Hironobu Kageyama (OP) and Kazuko Kawashima (ED). The film features vocal performances by Masane Tsukayama, Keiko Han, Tōru Furuya, Hideyuki Hori, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Katsuji Mori, Keiichi Nanba, Ken Yamaguchi, Kōichi Hashimoto, Ryo Horikawa, and Toshio Furukawa. A fun fourth film outing in the Saint Seiya – Knights of the Zodiac anime franchise.

Lucifer (Masane Tsukayama) has risen once more. Satan is in control in the world once more as Lucifer rises from hell as a fallen angel and now sets forth on a new mission to bring chaos all over the world. Saori (Athena) (Keiko Han) must make the ultimate sacrifice – giving up her own life in order to help bestow peace for others. Helping to save the entire world with her sacrifice, Athena turns out to be an ultimate hero. Pegasus Seiya (Tōru Furuya) and the rest of the Knights of the Zodiac set forth on a new mission.

Yet the latest mission finds trouble when the brave knights encounter the Holy Demon Angels. These angels face off against the Golden Saints this time around. The battle of the Knights is never quite over as another battle stage unfolds with the fate of the entire universe at stake. Can Seiya lead the way and help everyone bring some peace back to the world or will Lucifer emerge as victorious?

The character designs by Masahiro Naoi (Mōretsu Atarō, Tsuri Baka Nisshi), Michi Himeno (Saint Seiya, The Rose of Versailles), and Shingo Araki (Cutie Honey, Galaxy Express 999) add a lot to the animated production. The designs are creative and consistent with the original theatrical feature outing at the same time. These designs are excellent and look all the better with the cell-based animation style.

The animation is essential to the filmmaking and why the film works so well. The animation features art direction by Tadao Kubota (Captain Harlock: Mystery of the Arcadia, The Rose of Versailles) and animation direction by Masahiro Naoi (Digimon Fusion, Ultimate Muscle). The animation style impresses in spades. There is so much to appreciate about the art style and what the animators brought to the table with the film. These elements provide an abundance of creativity and there is a lot to appreciate about that aspect of the film.

The cinematography by Masaru Sakanishi (Dragon Ball Movie 4: The Path to Power, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug) is lush and organic. The high-quality cinematographic style provides a lot of life and energy to the filmmaking. The style is so sleek and sophisticated. The art is all the more rewarding with the quality cinematographic style. Sakanishi does a great job here with the production.

The score by Seiji Yokoyama (Saint Seiya, Space Pirate Captain Harlock) is first-rate fun. The music has energy and vitality. The score brings action beats to the forefront of the production. This is great fun. There is so much to appreciate about the score and the thrill ride is provides.

Written by Yoshiyuki Suga (Captain Tsubasa, Saint Seiya), Warriors of the Final Holy Battle is such an engaging entry in the saga. The script has good character moments and plenty of fun action beats written well. The script delivers the action- packed goods series fans have come to expect.

Directed by Masayuki Akehi (Saint Seiya, Slam Dunk), Warriors of the Final Holy Battle is such terrific fun and it ends the first four films on a great note. The entry has plenty of exciting action scenes and the entire cast of characters are highlighted well by director Akehi. Such a great vision for the film. The filmmaking is exciting.

Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Warriors of the Final Holy Battle is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in a theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release provides an excellent video presentation. The high-definition visuals are superb on the release. The quality is first rate. The animation looks crisp and clear with nice detail in the line art. The encoding is excellent, too. Engaging and organic looking. The color reproduction providing the animation with a great sense of vitality during the presentation.

Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless Japanese audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles) and Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release doesn't include an English dub option.  The lossless audio encoding is excellent. The sound quality is crisp and clear on the release. Dialogue is well reproduced. The score sounds clear and engaging. The surrounds are actively used for a fun surround design.

Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a nice o-card slipcover.

The supplements are standard across all films in the collection. The four feature-films are presented on one Blu-ray disc (because of the short run- time of the feature-films). The on-disc supplements include:

"Evil Goddess Eris" Trailer (HD, 00:21)

"The Heated Battle of the Gods" Trailer (HD, 00:28)

"Legend of the Crimson Youth" Trailer (HD, 1:15)

"Warriors of the Final Holy Battle" Trailer (HD, 00:44)

Clean Opening – "The Heated Battle of the Gods" (SD, 1:26)

Clean Opening – "Legend of the Crimson Youth" (SD, 1:29)

Clean Ending – "Legend of the Crimson Youth" (SD, 2:37)

Clean Opening – "Warriors of the Final Holy Battle" (SD, 1:24)

Clean Ending – "Warriors of the Final Holy Battle" (SD, 1:32)

Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warriors of the Final Holy Battle is an entertaining entry in the anime franchise. Fans of the series won't want to miss it. The film has great action beats and plenty of fun spectacle for devotees. The animation looks stelar. The filmmaking is energetic and the conclusion is a nice one. The Blu-ray features quality video and audio. Highly recommended.