6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Wielding a blazing sword, Shana's sole purpose is to fight demon-like beings that consume human lives. During a volatile war to stop a foe from devouring every life in Misaki City, Shana cuts Yuji in her crossfire. When the villain discovers this teenage boy is gifted with an immense power, he holds Yuji hostage to lure Shana into a trap that could to destroy the huntress and the entire city!
Starring: Satoshi Hino, Rie Kugimiya, Ayako Kawasumi, Hitomi Nabatame, Shizuka ItôAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 93% |
Adventure | 12% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There’s an oft-quoted adage that says “less is more”, and there’s no better example of the veracity of that general sentiment than Shakugan no Shana The Movie. The Shakugan no Shana franchise has a fairly sizable fanbase, and those fans have been greeted with a number of Blu-ray releases over the past several months, including Shakugan no Shana: Season 1, Shakugan no Shana: Season 2 Part 1 and Shakugan no Shana: Season 2 Part 2. (Shakugan no Shana S: OVA Series will be released simultaneously with Shakugan no Shana The Movie and later on down the line in 2013 fans can look forward to Shakugan no Shana: Season 3 Part 1 and Shakugan no Shana: Season 3 Part 2.) But the glut of releases only points out one problem with the series, a problem that afflicts many anime that try to keep going like the veritable Energizer Bunny when the figurative creative juices have run dry: there’s simply too much of the show to ultimately enjoy after a while. Even longtime aficionados are on record stating how tiresome certain aspects of Shakugan no Shana become after a while, and that, coupled with a certain derivative quality that overhangs the entire offering, make sitting through season after season of the show something of a task, at least at times. And that’s why Shakugan no Shana The Movie may in fact end up being more appreciated by some who have been left cold, at least generally speaking, by the long running anime. That was certainly the case with me. I haven’t been exactly shy in voicing some of my complaints about the anime taken as a whole, but I found this so-called Reader’s Digest version of much of the first season of the anime actually much more enjoyable than the actual series. Is it missing salient content? Undoubtedly. Will “real” fans probably pine for the series anyway, since that version offers clearer storytelling and more character development? Probably—though not necessarily. The nice thing about Shakugan no Shana The Movie is that it actually manages to impart most (if not all) of the major plot points and character beats of the series’ opening arc, without wasting a bunch of time on tangential items. As such, it might almost be thought of as a feature film analog to Dragon Ball Z Kai, that “slimmed down” and revised version of the original Dragon Ball Z series.
The recent Blu-ray releases of Shakugan no Shana have been a mixed lot at best, but the good news is that Shakugan no Shana The Movie looks at least as good as the best of the series has, and some might argue a tad bit better. Presented by FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1, the film still has the overly soft appearance that hampered the series (and a lot of the footage in this film is culled directly from the series), but somehow it seems just slightly sharper in places than in the original series versions. There is some new footage here as well, though there's no noticeable uptick in clarity or precision. This presentation does offer some very nicely saturated color and as has been the case with all of the Shakugan no Shana franchise, the animation itself is quite appealing.
Shakugan no Shana features Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes in both the original Japanese as well as an English dub. Both of these tracks offer some fairly boisterous surround activity, especially in some of the epochal showdowns that dot the film. There are some very vivid panning effects when various demonic presences skirt through the frame, and quite a bit of the dialogue and other foley effects in these sequences are nicely directional as well. Fidelity is excellent, with very full midrange and some nice bombastic LFE on a few occasions.
Color me surprised, if not actually shocked, but I really kind of liked this film version of Shakugan no Shana. It still defies credulity, as if one were expected to really believe a fantasy like this to begin with, but somehow it worked much better for me in this cut down, straight to the point version. Longtime fans will probably still want to stick with the series, if for no other reason than that they get more "bang for their buck", so to speak, but others who are curious about the Shakugan no Shana franchise would do well to start out with this offering, as you get all the basics with none of the filler (why does that sound kind of familiar?). This Blu-ray offers a high definition presentation that is perhaps just a little sharper than the series, and the audio is great. This may be some sign of an impending apocalypse, but Shakugan no Shana The Movie comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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