Summoned to Another World for a Second Time: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Summoned to Another World for a Second Time: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Summoned To Another World For A Second Time is a compelling action-adventure anime. Created by Arashiyama and Kazuha Kishimoto, Summoned To Another World For A Second Time features nice animation production by Studio Elle (Rockin' Oyone, Yoshimune). The original character designs by Shimahara. Summoned To Another World For A Second Time features theme song performances by S.S.NiRVERGE∀ (opening) and Maybe Me (ending).

Setsu (Shunichi Toki) helped to save an entire world. Summoned to a vast world in order to be the hero that the entire world so desperately needed, Setsu finds peace at the end of the journey. Setsu gets an opportunity to live a normal life again and spend time as an average teenager.

Things become more complicated when Setsu is trapped and is sent back to the world he saved. Now the world needs a powerful hero once more. Years later, the stage is set once again for war in the world he once had managed to save from peril. Can Setsu rise to the occasion and be the champion hero once more? Exactly how many times is Setsu supposed to save this confounded planet?

Setsu has quite the challenge set out for himself as a character. Save an entire world? Such a challenge. It is one that few would face. This is something that sets the character apart. Heroes often face large obstacles and challenges on the road to victory. One can’t help but wonder about the hero’s epic journey and the manner in which one must push forward even through the darkest moments.

The hero character finds himself in an unexpected situation and not only is he having to save a world once but somehow save it twice. Saving a world once is something few would do in the first place. Saving a world twice adds even more commotion to the hero’s odyssey. What’s a hero to do?

The character designs by Mikako Kunii are well-done. The designs fit the characters well. These designs certainly do add something to the production value. Though not perhaps the top-of-the-line designs, these character designs are still well done and add something to the series. A decent effort for the character designs.

The animation may be the series greatest strength. The series features art direction by Hiroshi Gōroku (My Hero Academia THE MOVIE: World Heroes' Mission, Wandering Witch - The Journey of Elaina). A fantastic effort in regards to animation, the series animators did a solid job with making the series aesthetic look nice and add to the production with solid colors and background animation. The production looks nice and polished and the animation style does solid job reflecting it.

The cinematography by Tetsuya Nishimura (The Aristocrat's Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go Too Far, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms) works well alongside the animation. With a talented cinematographer at the helm, the bright and lush aesthetics of the production are enhanced. The cinematography is brought to life with a sense of cohesion to showcase the animation and its rich tapestry of colors.

The score composed by manzo (Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls, Miss Kuroitsu From the Monster Development Department) provides necessary background music to the action and the spectacle. Fans of action oriented scores may enjoy the adrenaline and energy the music brings. A suitable composer for the production.

Written by Yukihito (Nekopara: Koneko no Hi no Yakusoku), Summoned To Another World For A Second Time has fun with the concept. The concept is something that is interesting. This is where the series certainly finds its footing – the idea of a hero saving the world time after time. This idea is a nice element of the production and one that the screenwriter explores.

Directed by Motoki Nakanishi (Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, Love Is Indivisible by Twins), Summoned To Another World For A Second Time offers excellent animation for fans of action series. Summoned To Another World For A Second Time might be a good option for action fans who enjoy heroic series about characters fighting for worlds.

Summoned to Another World for a Second Time: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Summoned To Another World For A Second Time is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series has crisp and colorful looking animation. The series animation style is bold and impressive looking. The background animation looks nice and the detailed artwork is well done by the animators.

One of the best qualities of the Blu-ray format is the superior video encoding to streaming video services. Streaming video services tend to provide video quality with lower bit-rates and more compression. For home theater enthusiasts and videophiles seeking the best experience, the presentation offers a distinct advantage for those wanting to eek out the best quality in the video presentation.

Summoned to Another World for a Second Time: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The sound direction by Hozumi Gōda (Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East, Vampire Knight) is well reproduced with the presentation provided in lossless. English dub fans might feel frustrated and disappointed that the release doesn't include an English dub option. This is certainly something that will be underwhelming to some anime fans. Crunchyroll usually opts to include both an English dub and the Japanese language version so it is a bit surprising to see the release only include the original language version. Fans of alternative English dub options may be scratching their heads as to why the set only provides one language option. Nonetheless, purists who want the most authentic and original version will be enthusiastic about the lossless option on the Japanese language version. Lossless encoding helps ensure a better experience with crisper dialogue, detail, and score reproduction.

One of the most essential elements of the Blu-ray disc format is the lossless audio encoding. Lossless audio can make a noteworthy difference in the presentation. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. For audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts seeking the best possible audio presentation, the Blu-ray disc format rewards with a higher bit-rate and better audio quality.  

Summoned to Another World for a Second Time: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover featuring key artwork. The series artwork adds a nice touch to the package. The packaging design certainly adds value to the release as a collectable. For slipcover fans and collectors, the slipcover rounds out the packaging and makes the release even nicer in hand and on a shelf. These aspects of the packaging certainly make a nice impression and go above- and-beyond standard releases.

On disc supplements include:

Promo Videos (HD, 3:29)

Textless Opening Songs (HD, 3:04)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Unfortunately, the release has a somewhat lackluster supplemental package. The set could have been more well-rounded on the whole with a more in-depth bonus features selection. Extras like audio commentaries, cast/crew interviews, behind-the-scenes, making-of featurettes, photo galleries, and more would have added a lot of extra value for bonus features fans. This aspect of the box set is something that cannot be understated. Bonus features often help to round out a package for collectors, enthusiasts, and for series fans. Without a meaningful supplemental package, it makes the set seem less appealing to collectors – with less value. A lackluster extras package means more consideration is given to a purchase and if said purchase is worthwhile for a collection.

Summoned to Another World for a Second Time: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Summoned To Another World For A Second Time is an action-adventure series with compelling production values. The series has beautiful looking animation and other nice production merits. Cetainly, action fans might want check it out. The series has a fun concept and this might be something to pull audiences in and check it out on an afternoon.

The Blu-ray release provides a high-definition presentation and lossless audio encoding. The release also comes with a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The only downside to the release is the lack of quality bonus features. Nonetheless, established series fans wanting to own a physical copy with the best possible presentation may wish to consider a purchase.