Servamp: Season One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Servamp: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Servamp is an action-fantasy anime series with a supernatural element enhancing the main saga of the series. The series was broadcast on Tokyo MX in Japan. Created by Strike Tanaka, Servamp will appeal to audiences who enjoy quirky vampire storylines with dark and mysterious elements at play. The series features animation produced by Brain's Base (Amnesia, Blood Lad) and Platinum Vision (Devils' Line, Love of Kill). Fans of strange and off-beat Japanese anime with vampires will find it an anime series that may be worthy of exploration.

Mahiru Shirota (Takuma Terashima) enjoys living a laid-back life while trying to always keep things on the simple side. Yet when Mahiru decides to adopt a stray cat named Kuro (Yuuki Kaji), Mahiru finds things becoming a lot more complicated than expected. As it turns out, the cat is actually a Servamp – otherwise known as a being that is a servant vampire. Tossed in to a world of fantasy and surrealism Mahiru has never been a part of before, the obstacles in front of Mahiru are far more perilous and dangerous than he ever expected.

The servant vampire takes on the name of “Sleepy Ash” and the stakes grow bigger (and more dangerous) as he is tossed in to an unexpected contract and becomes a part of a longstanding war between vampires – a saga once completely unknown to himself. While the new “vampire life” of Mahiru isn’t what he expected to encounter, things are becoming far deadlier as well. Dangerous obstacles await. Can Mahiru overcome these obstacles without becoming a vampire himself?

The quirky situation of Mahiru encountering the cat and it leading to him encountering vampires and unexpected wars is something that gives the series some extra sense of charm and mysteriousness. Audiences who enjoy offbeat anime series in the fantasy-horror arena will find it an unusual and distinctive offering. The concept certainly helps to set the right tone for the production.

The animation is one of the best components of the series. The chief animation direction by Junko Yamanaka (Aoharu x Machinegun, The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior) and Toshimitsu Kobayashi (Demon King Daimao, Fate/stay night) is a charming element to the series. Featuring exceptional artistic attributes, the series showcases the gothic vibes of the vampire genre alongside a more upbeat energy and artistic style than some audiences may have expected (given the concept of the series).

The art direction by Masaki Mayuzumi (The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior, Blood Lad) adds a splash of color and detail as well. Mayuzumi unfolds the art style with some stylistic aspects uncommon for the genre. The art style looks bright and colorful at times – while still retaining some of the inherit darkness one can expect from the genre.

The character designs by Junko Yamanaka (Case Closed, Hamtaro) are one of the most convincing elements. The character designs seem well suited to the production. The designs are well designed and exude plenty of detail. The efforts made by Yamanaka on the character-designs are impressive and make the series more effective on the whole.

The score composed by Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor the Mobile Police) is a nice attribute to the series and an element that helps it to stand out. Kawai is one of the most prolific and beloved of Japanese anime composers and the effort here is unsurprisingly worthwhile Kawai is a strong and gifted composer with a knack for the supernatural and fantasy elements inherit in the series storyline. It is always nice to have such a fantastic composer involved on a production.

The cinematography by Shigeteru Asakawa (Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, Wanna Be the Strongest in the World) is worthwhile as well. Asakawa delivers bright and colorful animation at times and darker series elements as well. The contrasting styles are key to the cinematographic success by Asakawa on this anime production. The balance works well and makes the genre-roots of the series more effective.

Written by Kenji Konuta (Ace of Diamonds, The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior), Servamp might not be the most original anime series around, but it is a decent one with a interesting concept. The storyline has some neat ideas and fans of vampire-lore will find it interesting. Not a total knockout success but the script is effective enough at providing the concept and the characters for the genre roots.

Under the chief direction of Itto Sara and Hideaki Nakano (Aoharu x Machinegun, Saiyuki Reload Blast), Servamp is an unusual vampire anime series. The anime is a lot different than some viewers may have expected. The colorful elements are certainly one degree in which the series can be separated out from other vampire focused anime series. Directors Sara and Nakano have fun with the ideas the anime series unfolds and play with the toolbox the production offers.

Servamp: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation, Servamp is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The animation showcased on the release is robust and well-detailed. The art is crisp and well-defined. Clarity is exceptional. The background animation is vivid and surprisingly robust. The picture-quality is impressively bold and robust. A solid encode from Funimation.

Servamp: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio options on the release are excellent additions to the presentation. The stereo audio capably preserves the sound design. The soundtrack is crisp and clear and with good audio fidelity and dynamics. The score is well reproduced on the release.

Servamp: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Episode 1 Audio Commentary

Disc 2:

Episode 2 Video Commentary (HD, 23:53)

Sleepy Life of Servamp #1 (HD, 4:41)

Sleepy Life of Servamp #2 (HD, 6:05)

Sleepy Life of Servamp #3 (HD, 7:07)

All the World's a Stage (HD, 4:57)

Textless Opening Song "Deal With" (Ver. 1) (HD, 1:32)

Textless Opening Song "Deal With" (Ver. 2) (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "sunlight avenue" (Ver. 1) (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "sunlight avenue" (Ver. 2) (HD, 1:32)

Trailers (HD, 6:35)

Servamp: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Servamp offers audiences a change of pace on vampire anime series. The series might not be a total home run but it does have some interesting visuals and elements to keep audiences entertained. A presentation that succeeds as well, Servamp offers solid high-definition video and lossless audio encoding.

The release also includes a surprisingly robust supplemental package (at least when compared to some other anime releases) with select commentaries, video shorts, and more. Fans of Servamp will want to add the release to their collection. Recommended.