Somali and the Forest Spirit: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Somali and the Forest Spirit: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Somali and the Forest Spirit is a fantasy-adventure series. Created by Yako Gureishi, Somali and the Forest Spirit was originally published online as part of an online manga publication. Produced by Jun Wen Liu (Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table), Keiichi Oomura (Student Council's Discretion), Manami Kabashima (Sing "Yesterday" for Me), Masako Iwamoto (Nobunaga The Fool), Takuma Sugi (Recovery of an MMO Junkie), and Yukiko Inamoto (Gifū Dōdō!! Kanetsugu to Keiji), Somali and the Forest Spirit features animation produced by HORNETS (Skeleton Knight in Another World, 40-Shūnen da yo! Coro Coro All-Star Shōgakkō) and Satelight (Fairy Tail, Cannon Busters).

Golem (Daisuke Ono) lives a mysterious life in a world full of strange and otherworldly creatures such as forest spirits and goblins. As the Golem explores the exotic terrains of the forest, he encounters a young human child all by herself. Exploring the forest all on her own, Somali (Inori Minase) is in a unique pickle: Somali doesn’t have a human parent or guardian to help guide her on her way.

The Golem decides to help the young child through the forest. Traveling across the forest and beyond, Golem and Somali set out on an adventurous quest together. Can Golem help Somali find parents to later call her own or will the journey awaken a sense of parentage while trying to protect her?

The mysterious Golem stands out as an interesting and creative character on the series. With a strange appearance and a unique demeanor, the Golem is certainly a compelling piece of the storytelling. The character is not a protagonist that fits a usual or expected build. This is partly due to the impressive character designs by Ikuko Ito (Magic User's Club!, Sailor Moon S).

The design work is certainly quite compelling and evocative. The Golem has a shadowy appearance and one that raises some mysterious questions for audiences. The design element was well approached by Ito and it makes a big difference for the production and the effectiveness of the storytelling.

Under the chief animation direction by Ikuko Ito (Princess Tutu, Magic User's Club!) and Minoru Tanaka (Ping Pong Club, Skeleton Knight in Another World), Somali and the Forest Spirit is a beautiful looking production. Somali and the Forest Spirit is a remarkably beautiful looking series with bright colors and bold visuals. Somali and the Forest Spirit doesn’t feel generic.

The animation is well stylized and has plenty of bold aesthetic choices. There is a vibrancy to the animation that is quite wonderful looking and the effort makes the experience all the more special for audiences. The art style provides the series with the distinct visual flavor of something a painter might provide.

The animation is a remarkable showcase for the efforts of the team of animators involved with the production of Somali and the Forest Spirit. These aesthetic elements help the art style soar and it gives the audience a greater sense of magic than a less creative production might offer up to audiences. The background animation is one of the most effective pieces of the whole.

The animation is vivid and enriching with great artistry on display. Under the art direction of Vincent Nghiem, Somali and the Forest Spirit makes a great impression when it comes to highlighting these landscapes with bright and colorful details. The end result is something that is special and more noteworthy for finding the right colorful vibes for the series.

The cinematography by Hiroki Tsubouchi (Hayate the Combat Butler, Taisho Otome Fairy Tale) certainly plays a big role in why the series has such an effective aesthetic. Somali and the Forest Spirit is a series with bolder colors and brighter lighting than many anime productions and the results contribute to the wide and vast landscape of the animation. The cinematographer has a knack for showcasing the art beautifully.

The score composed by Ryo Yoshimata (Your Lie in April, After the Rain) is one of the best aspects of the production. The score composed by Yoshimata is certainly a fantastic element of Somali and the Forest Spirit. The music feels vibrant and full of life. The score is a nice backdrop to the series and the events which unfold. The score finds a nice balance with character themes and more.

Written by Mariko Mochizuki (Momokuri, Sōsei no Aquarion Love), Somali and the Forest Spirit is a well written series. Somali and the Forest Spirit has a keen understanding of character-based dynamics and how these aspects can contribute to a more creative story. Michizuki did a solid job exploring the series and the cast of characters. The concept is well executed with good screenwriting for the production.

Directed by Kenji Yasuda (Macross Delta, Noein - to your other self), Somali and the Forest Spirit finds magic in the moment. The animation is stunning and director Yasuda certainly has a keen appreciation for the art style developed for the series. A visually compelling creation, Somali and the Forest Spirit is a noteworthy effort.

Somali and the Forest Spirit: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Somali and the Forest Spirit is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release provides a solid and satisfying presentation of the series. Somali and the Forest Spirit is a bright and colorful looking animated series and the art style is well reproduced for the home media release. The encoding is excellent and capably showcases the art style utilized by the team of animators who were involved. Detail looks crisp and rewarding.

This is a sharp looking presentation and not one that shows too much soft animation (as is sometimes the case with certain anime series presentations – most especially on released sourced from standard definition or lower resolution animation). This has a wonderfully organic looking presentation and one that is effectively modern looking. The results certainly satisfy. Fans of the series will be pleased with the presentation.

Somali and the Forest Spirit: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio encoding is excellent and provides the series with an impressive sonic soundstage for the audio track to unfold within. Dialogue sounds crisp, clear, and engaging on the release.

The crystal-clear detail of the lossless audio is crisp and is well reproduced. Regardless of whether one opts to experience the series with a lossless English dub or with the original Japanese language audio, audiences will be satisfied by the high quality audio encoding. Blu-ray provides superior lossless audio sound delivery (compared to the lossy low bit-rate encoding provided to audio on streaming services). Streaming bit-rates are lower and the presentation is always a bit flatter sounding (especially when one plays back the audio using a high-quality sound system).

Somali and the Forest Spirit: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release is almost barebones. This is the most unfortunate drawback of the release. It would have been nice if the set had collected some additional interviews with cast and production team members alongside making-of documentaries and art scans. Alas, Somali and the Forest Spirit has a weak bonus features package without much of note.

The release includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Iroduku – The World in Colors (HD, 1:33), Place to Place (HD, 1:33), Hidamari Sketch (HD, 1:32), and Is the Order a Rabbit? Bloom (HD, 1:34).

Somali and the Forest Spirit: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Somali and the Forest Spirit is a beautiful looking anime series with a wonderful production aesthetic. There is a lot to appreciate about the gorgeous imagery of Somali and the Forest Spirit. The team of animators delivered something remarkable with this production. The mixture of great animation and music is engaging.

The Blu-ray release from Sentai Filmworks includes an impressive high-definition presentation. The release has effective encoding with superb color reproduction and excellent clarity. The high-quality lossless audio is another wonderful attribute to the release.

The only significant drawback to the release is a lackluster supplemental package and this is one thing that could have been improved on for the collection. Nonetheless, despite a weak extras package, fans of the series will want to own this set for the high-quality video and audio presentation. Recommended.