Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Space Adventure Cobra 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

LL Cool C.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 4, 2019

UPDATE 12/10/19: The screenshots in this review are sourced from Discotek's 2015 Blu-ray edition of Space Adventure Cobra and are thus not representative of this 4K release. Although no Blu-ray is included with this package, our own Neil Lumbard was kind enough to supply the 1080p screenshots.

Based on Buichi Terasawa's 1978 manga Cobra, Osamu Dezaki's Space Adventure Cobra is a loose and free-wheeling production that occupies its own little corner of vintage Japanese animation. Our story follows rogue bounty hunter Jane Flower, a towering beauty who's just captured the head of Missionary Dakoba and is looking to cash in. Jane is later approached by a handsome blond man dressed in red who claims to be "Cobra", a legendary bounty hunter believed to have died two years ago. (Although he's gone to great pains to conceal his identity, it turns out that raging boners always trump common sense.) She reciprocates and, after an attack likely organized by the elusive Pirate Guild, our power couple goes off to rescue Jane's equally ravishing sister Catherine from faraway planet Sido.

Obviously, you can't watch something called Space Adventure Cobra expecting highbrow comedy or realistic characters. Instead, this film plays to the manga's absurd sense of humor and visual strengths very well: it's armed with great character designs, psychedelic color schemes, goofy one-liners, and a hero so comically overpowered that he makes Han Solo look like R2-D2. And while Star Wars and other popular sci-fi of the day clearly influenced its source material, Cobra nonetheless managed to carve out a unique identity back in 1982 and has remained a cult favorite since then. After all, where else can you see a cigar-chomping, skirt-chasing doofus grow a gun out of his own arm while fighting "Crystal Bowie", a deadly humanoid cyborg with a golden skeleton and indestructible glass body?

This 4K edition of Cobra is its third domestic home video release by Discotek Media, following a 2012 DVD and 2015 Blu-ray. Although sourced from a recent 4K scan, it's nonetheless taken from the same DNR-laden master as both previous discs; luckily, the addition of HDR color grading brings the film to life in very exciting ways. While not exactly a definitive release, Cobra is well worth looking into and (hopefully) the first of many 4K classic anime titles.

Space Adventure Cobra 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The good news: Space Adventure Cobra offers perhaps the most vivid and stimulating use of HDR to date, regardless of medium. This was a great choice for anime's domestic 4K debut; aside for the more popular Akira or an equally out-there film like Masaaki Yuasa's Mind Game, I can't think of a more fitting candidate. The film's anything-goes visual design and psychedelic palette is replicated perfectly here, and without any overt signs of bleeding or over-saturation. Instead, colors are simply pushed right to the edge and this generates a lot of visual interest that, when combined with the interesting compositions and character designs, makes Cobra a true tour de force of vintage Japanese animation. Black levels and shadow detail are also solid; when checked with a side-by-side comparison (included on this disc as an extra), it's clear that HDR enhances the overall image rather than cranking up the contrast levels. Bottom line: the HDR on Cobra really is something special and makes me excited for future anime releases in 4K.

The bad news: Although sourced from a true 4K scan, this 2160p uses the same master as the 2015 Blu-ray...you know, the one bathed in digital noise reduction. This gives Cobra an artificially smooth appearance that defies its film origins...but as much as I hate to admit it, the noise reduction doesn't bother me as much as usual here. It is a rough and gritty film in many respects, but the color palette does more to convey this feeling than grain levels. I'd still have preferred a 4K image with more organic qualities since, combined with the obvious benefits of HDR, that would have yielded a definitive home video presentation of the film. But even with that in mind, this 4K disc is clearly in a different league than the Blu-ray and fans will be more than pleased with the improvements....which you'll only appreciate if you already have that release, because a Blu- ray is strangely not included with this package.

Space Adventure Cobra 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like the 2015 Blu-ray, this 4K edition of Space Adventure Cobra offers the choice of Japanese (5.1) or dubbed English (2.0), with the obvious difference that both are now lossless tracks. Cobra has the distinction of being the very first Japanese animated film produced with Dolby sound and the weight of this track is clearly superior to other anime films from the era. Even so, the 5.1 mix does sound overcooked at times -- there are times when I preferred the dubbed track's scaled-back atmosphere, but I'm a language purist so the Japanese track will always be my go-to option. Dialogue and music are well-balanced and the action scenes sound robust with solid dynamic range, which creates an overall satisfying experience that fits this gonzo production like a glove Psychogun.

Optional English subtitles are included for Japanese dialogue translation, as well as a separate track for only translating signage. This means no dubtitles of any kind are offered, which might annoy fans of the English version.

Space Adventure Cobra 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Space Adventure Cobra arrives on Blu-ray in a standard one-disc keepcase with attractive poster-themed cover art (different than the slipcover) and no inserts. On-disc extras are identical to the 2015 Blu-ray with two exceptions: they're re-encoded in 2160p with lossless audio, and a new HDR comparison sequence is also included.

• International Opening (2:30)

• International Closing (2:41)

• Theatrical Teaser (1:15)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:06)

• TV Spots (2 clips, 0:50 total)

• HDR Comparison (4:08)

Space Adventure Cobra 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Anime gets its first domestic 4K UHD disc with Space Adventure Cobra, which makes great use of HDR to support the film's vivid colors and stimulating visual design. Although DNR is still very evident at times (if not more obvious due to the smoother color saturation) and the lack of a Blu-ray disc is unusual, everything else about this release is good to great: we get two audio choices, a few ported-over extras, and attractive packaging to boot. Obviously recommended to die-hard fans with the right equipment, but newcomers may want to try before they buy.