The Dawn of the Witch: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Dawn of the Witch: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie Review

The Dawn of the Witch is action-adventure exploring a world of witches and magic and all the fantasy the magical realm entails. Based on the Japanese light novel series created by Kakeru Kobashiri and featuring original character designs by Takashi Iwasaki, The Dawn of the Witch features animation produced by Tezuka Productions (Black Jack, The Quintessential Quintuplets). The series theme song performances are by fripSide (opening) and TRiNITY (ending). The Dawn of the Witch features voice performances by Shūichirō Umeda, Miho Okasaki, Yō Taichi, Sayumi Suzushiro, and Taku Yashiro.

Saybil (Shūichirō Umeda) meets a magic girl who brings him into a new world of special training unlike anything Saybil has ever encountered before. Loux Krystas (Miho Okasaki) is 300 years old and has an abundance of magic. A witch girl with a young appearance (despite being 300), Loux ushers in Saybil: bringing him into the fold.

Saybil had lost all memories of his past life and is now tossed into new misadventures at a magical school: the Royal Magic Academy. The school headmaster Albus (Yō Taichi) recruits Saybil for a special mission. Training is only the beginning of the journey for Saybil on his new path at the school.

Can Saybil be a hero and learn the magic skills necessary to excel at Royal Magic Academy? As the tale unfolds, a mystery begins as the action-packed adventure continues. Magicians are being targeted and who is the person responsible for the attacks? Witches are being persecuted left and right but there might be more to the story than meets the eye.

The characters on the series aren’t the most original or engaging characters in anime lore but given the genre and type of series this is the main cast is nonetheless reasonably entertaining. The characters certainly fit the prerequisite for the genre and the antics of the magical world are a part of these characters arena. Saybil is a decent lead for the series and audiences will find the character to be reasonably likeable even if not as memorable as the best anime leads.

The character designs by Reina Iwasaki (VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream) are well done and fit the genre well. The designs by Iwasaki manage to showcase these characters in all of their fantasy glory. The characters feel as though taken right out of an RPG and audiences who enjoy the intersection between gaming aesthetics and anime will appreciate the character design styles.

The art direction by Masami Saito (How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord Omega, The Quintessential Quintuplets) is one of the highlights of The Dawn of the Witch. The animation is colorful and has engaging elements throughout. The background art and line art are compelling for the series. An impressive design approach makes the series stand out more as a visually beautiful looking series. Art director Saito is certainly a talent. The team of animators involved with the production help to bring the series some nice aesthetic vibes. Action-adventures series exploring fantasy elements are sometimes a difficult thing for animators to hone in on and animate well and this is a series that at least manages to create a compelling visual aesthetic that audiences can get lost in.

The score composed by Tatsuhiko Saiki (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered) is reasonably engaging. The score fits the series sense of adventure. Composer Saiki has fun with the score and provides moments of action and drama. A compelling effort.

Written and directed by Satoshi Kuwabara (How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord Omega, The Quintessential Quintuplets), The Dawn of the Witch isn’t a modern classic but it is a reasonably engaging anime with some interesting visual sensibilities. The series is reasonably well directed by Kuwabara. Kuwabara is a director with a keen sense of how to focus on the action. Action fans are certainly part of the target audience for the production. Given how particular some action fans are, considering how savvy action fans have gotten, Kuwabara has to manage to draw audiences in with exciting energy and style. The Dawn of the Witch is decent entertainment and for genre fans wanting something nice to put on and relax to this could be a decent series to check out.

The Dawn of the Witch: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, The Dawn of the Witch is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series features excellent high-definition visuals. The presentation looks bold, crisp, and engaging on the release. Colors absolutely pop with incredible depth and a sense of immersion. The animation is highlighted in a great manner and the result is a presentation that will easily appeal to fans.

The Blu-ray release provides an excellent encode. One of the best qualities of the physical media format remains its superiority to streaming video platforms. Streaming video services provide video with lower video bit-rates and more compression. Blu-ray discs provide a higher-quality presentation with superior video encoding and higher bit-rates. Home theater enthusiasts and audiences who are particular about achieving the best possible picture- quality attainable will find the format offers plenty of great qualities worth celebration.

The Dawn of the Witch: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles) are the main selections. The release also provides French Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and German Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio options. The lossless audio options provided capably highlight the sound direction by Satoshi Motoyama (The Ambition of Oda Nobuna, The irregular at magic high school). Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand on the release. The soundtrack is well reproduced. The score composed by Tatsuhiko Saiki certainly sounds engaging with crisp notes and details. The dynamics of the audio are well preserved.

The Blu-ray disc format provides superior audio quality compared to streaming video platforms. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non- lossless) audio quality. Blu-ray discs provide a significantly better option with lossless audio quality. The lossless audio provides higher bit-rates, superior encoding, and a more immersive listening experience. Audiophiles and audio enthusiasts seeking the absolute best possible audio quality attainable will appreciate the difference the physical media format offers compared to streaming services.

The Dawn of the Witch: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a limited-edition o-card slipcover on the first print run. The slipcover features unique key artwork that is different from the artwork highlighted underneath the slipcover. The packaging also provides interior artwork. These package design elements add an extra layer of collectability to the package.

The packaging is all the more impressive in hand and it will look even better on a shelf. The end result is something more special and more valuable to collectors – not only do you get a physical copy to keep forever you get some nice collectable packaging, too. There is some nice value in the quality design given to the packaging.

Please note that the release is a Blu-ray disc only release. The release does not include a DVD copy. The release does not ship with a digital copy code.

On disc supplements include:

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Unfortunately, the on-disc supplements are not more impressive. The release could have certainly benefited from having a more robust supplemental package. The box-set would have provided additional value to fans with a more expansive bonus features selection. The set may have been improved by the addition of audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, making-of documentaries, cast/crew interviews, roundtables, photo galleries, and art galleries.

The Dawn of the Witch: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Dawn of the Witch is a decent action-adventure anime series with an engaging lead character and some beautiful animation. The series might not be an instant classic but it has some fun to offer up to anime fans who want something to relax to on a rainy day. The Blu-ray release provides an excellent video presentation and lossless audio. The first print run of the set includes a nice o-card slipcover. Recommended.