7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Quiet and unassuming Mei Tachibana is 16-years-old, but has spent her high school years without making friends or getting a boyfriend because of a childhood incident that left her believing that people will betray each other sooner or later. When she encounters a popular boy named Yamato Kurosawa he becomes interested in her, and it is through their tentative friendship and blossoming relationship that Mei ultimately begins to branch out and befriend others.
Starring: Ai Kayano, Takahiro Sakurai, Risa Taneda, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Yumi UchiyamaAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 93% |
Romance | 30% |
Comic book | 24% |
Teen | 13% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There’s a widely held belief that Japanese culture is inordinately polite and civil, and that things like bullying must not exist there. Say “I Love You”, a frankly pretty inconsequential but nonetheless enjoyable romance anime culled from a manga by Kanae Hazuki. The heroine of this piece is a shy, withdrawn and pretty forlorn teenaged girl named Mei Tachibana, a social pariah whose isolation stems from what probably will seem to most outsiders like a pretty lame reason (which won’t be mentioned here, since some would consider it a spoiler). Mei has no friends, and indeed if she dressed a little more in black, Westerners might be prone to calling her a “goth” due to her dour demeanor. That begins to change when a literal kick in the pants brings Mei together with her school’s most popular boy, Yamamoto Kurosawa. A rather unlikely romance blossoms, fostered by a kind of weirdly dark plot conceit that puts Mei temporarily in danger and allows Kanae to come to her rescue.
Say "I Love You" is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is actually a fairly surprisingly varied looking anime. This ZEXCS production has some rather interesting techniques, especially when Mei flashes back on various moments from her childhood. There's an almost surreal montage aspect at times, usually in soft focus, and with various elements stretching and morphing in an almost dreamlike way. Even contemporary, "real" life moments are sometimes overlaid with a kind of diffused whitish light (see the first screenshot), which can keep things looking kind of soft some of the time. Character designs feature good, solid line detail, and aside from some minor banding issues, this is a solid looking high definition presentation.
Say "I Love You" features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes in both English and Japanese. These two options sound virtually identical other than the voice work, although to my ears, the English mix is perhaps slightly more vivid in the midrange. This is not a bombastic series by any stretch, and these 2.0 mixes suffice perfectly well for a small scale outing like this. There is actually some rather nice (and wide) stereo separation at times, with foley effects like doors opening and closing clearly placed in the right or left channel.
Say "I Love You" is a gentle and heartfelt anime that will appeal to the same sorts of people that opt for romantic comedies on long (lonely?) nights at home. While some attempt is given to dress up this basic story with various memories and the like, this is really a pretty standard boy meets girl outing, nothing more, nothing less. The animation style here is rather winning, however, and for those who like this kind of thing, Say "I Love You" comes Recommended.
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