Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is a spin-off side story further exploring the world of the franchise. Created by Fujino Ōmori, Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side features original character designs by Kiyotaka Haimura and Suzuhito Yasuda. Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is produced by Hiroto Yonemori (Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Kochoki), Ryūtarō Kawakami (Maria Holic Alive, Waiting in the Summer), Seiji Miyazaki (Goblin Slayer, Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!), and Yūichirō Shiji (Selector Destructed Wixoss, Sirius the Jaeger).

Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side features animation production by J.C. Staff (Children of the Whales, The Demon Girl Next Door). Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side includes theme song performances by Yuka Iguchi (opening) and Kano (ending). Featuring the voice performance of Saori Ōnishi as the lead hero.

Aiz Wallenstein (Saori Ōnishi) is a hero to many and someone with a sense of adventure. Aiz is exploring the labyrinth of Oratoria. Yet many of the people of Oratoria are confused why Aiz would choose to be adventuring in the labyrinth. Why Oratoria? Then things get chaotic when Aiz faces off against the previously unbeaten 59^th level. Things start to clear up: it makes sense why Aiz would want to complete the uncharted territory. More dungeon adventuring awaits!

The character designs by Shigeki Kimoto (Sky Girls, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion) are well done. There is a lot to appreciate about the character designs. These designs are true to the characters and help to bring the cast of characters to life. The designs are certainly robust and creative. There is plenty to appreciate about the aesthetic qualities of these designs.

The animation is impressive and one of the best qualities of the series production. Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side features art direction by Toshiharu Mizutani (Space Adventure Cobra, The Rose of Versailles). The chief animation direction by Shigeki Kimoto (A Certain Magical Index, Selector Destructed Wixoss) is also essential to the animation production. A fantastic effort all around from the animation team. The animators did first rate work and there is enormous beauty in the art style. The animation team did well with exploring the dungeons and the labyrinth quality. The background animation, line art, and detailed animation is wonderful and helps the series expand and feel all the more creative. The team of animators brought their all to the production and did something special with this saga. The artwork certainly is impressive in spades and fans will appreciate the level of detail given to the production.

The cinematography by Shingo Fukuyo (A Certain Magical Index, The Melody of Oblivion) is engaging and wonderful. The cinematography shines a light on the animation and manages to bring out the best in the production. The cinematography is robust and colorful – engaging the senses and highlighting the series aesthetic enormously well. The light and colorful elements of the cinematography are especially well highlighted.

The score composed by Keiji Inai (Burn The Witch, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan) is engaging and enjoyable. The music is a solid backdrop to the action epic. The score finds a tonal balance and manages to showcase both character based elements and action-adventure elements. The action score is especially impressive and works well for the production. The action scenes are brought to life with enormously engaging score music and the effort helps the universe of the storytelling to expand.

Written by Hideki Shirane (Date A Live, Tenchi Muyo! GXP), Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is entertaining. The scripting is solid and the characterizations are especially impressive. The lead character is especially entertaining and the dialogue is well done. The storytelling is going to appeal to fans of the franchise and it continues to build and explore on the series franchise.

Directed by Yōhei Suzuki (Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, Planet With), Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is entertaining in spades. The action-adventure direction is a highlight. The fast-paced action by Suzuki is something that will please action fans looking for some excitement and energy. The energy of the series is enormous and therein is one of the most essential elements of the series direction. Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is well done and fans of the franchise will appreciate its exploration and expansion on the saga.

Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The high-definition video looks exceptional. Color reproduction is top-notch. The background animation, line art, and character designs are beautifully and vividly animated and brought to life by the encoding by Sentai Filmworks.

One of the highlights of physical media is the top-notch encoding. Physical media and the Blu-ray disc format can provide consistently pleasing visuals with high-quality video encoding. The quality offers significant gains. Streaming is comparatively more compressed and offers a less robust looking video presentation. There are a number of factors that can influence streaming quality fluctuating – from the internet connection speed, to plan tiers, data caps, weather issues, number of connected users, and more. Blu-ray provides a consistently pleasing experience and something dependable.

Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release capably presents the sound direction by Jin Aketagawa (AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline, Blade Dance of the Elementalers). Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The score is well reproduced on the release. The soundstage is exceptional sounding – capably presenting the audio presentation.

One great element of physical media and Blu-ray disc is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services only offer lossy (non-lossless) audio quality. For home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles alike, the Blu-ray disc format offers superior audio quality and it can make a substantial difference. For those seeking the best possible audio presentation, the physical format still provides a superior experience.

Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On disc supplements:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:04)

Japanese Promos (HD, 2:36)

Unfortunately, the supplemental package on the release is somewhat lackluster. The release could have used a more robust bonus features selection. The set could have benefited from audio commentaries, behind the scenes documentaries, making-of featurettes, cast/crew interviews, roundtable discussions, convention panels, art galleries, photo galleries, and other similar extras. Alas, the set is close to being a barebones release and not as much was included for the supplements. In an age of streaming, some fans need a little extra to help them decide between a purchase or a one- time digital stream.

The packaging is also something of note as it only was reissued with a standard case despite the recent reissue of the first season of the series as a steelbook limited edition. Perhaps a future reissue will be done in steelbook packaging. At this time it seems like an oversight for it to not have been given a steelbook option.

Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sword Oratoria – Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is an entertaining entry in the action-adventure franchise. The anime series has a compelling lead character and plenty of action-packed fun for genre fans. The series has fantastic animation and nice production values overall.

The Blu-ray release provides a quality high-definition transfer, lossless audio, and a small selection of supplements. The release could have benefited from a steelbook reissue – maybe next time? Unfortunately, the release comes in a standard Blu-ray case only without a steelbook option yet. Fans of the series may still wish to consider a purchase. Recommended.