The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

The Executioner and Her Way Of Life is an action-adventure anime. The series comes from creator Mato Satō. The Executioner and Her Way Of Life features animation produced by J.C. Staff (Aria the Scarlet Ammo, A Certain Magical Index). Licensed by Sentai Filmworks for release in North America, The Executioner and Her Way Of Life was released on HIDIVE streaming.

The series features original character designs by Nilitsu. From producers Kazuki Ueshima (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV, My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999), Natsuko Nagase (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace), and Satoshi Fukao (Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Chivalry of a Failed Knight), The Executioner and Her Way Of Life offers an action thrill-ride for genre fans. Featuring the voices of Chinatsu Hirose, Iori Saeki, Moe Kahara, and Riko Koike.

 Menou (Iori Saeki) and other warriors must work together to take on an onslaught of threats. The world is one full of interdimensional travelers who are crossing through time and space (appearing from the mystical land known only as “Japan”) but who are bringing chaos, terror, and death with them. The incredible forces ahead are causing interdimensional travel to be even more complicated.

As the dangers escalate, Menou comes across new dangerous “Lost Ones” – including the mysterious Akari (Moe Kahara). Yet there’s something that sets Akari apart from all the rest – Akari has a rare ability in being able to bypass death itself. Even though Akari can skip death, the executioner’s job is one that must continue and nothing can come in the way of fighting new threats… except emotions (if they happen to interfere with plans).

The cast of characters are a big aid to the action-adventure elements on The Executioner and Her Way Of Life. Menou is a compelling lead for the production and manages to provide some exciting thrills to the story. Akari is an interesting and unique character on the series as well. The characters certainly help the series to find a more distinctive style. The vocal performances are excellent as well, with Japanese voice-actors Iori Saeki and Moe Kahara adding to the production. The effort is appreciable and helps provide The Executioner and Her Way Of Life with more ingredients for success.

The character designs by Keiko Tamaki (Cells at Work!!, Hataraku Saibō!!) are one of the strengths of the production. The designs are compelling and provide The Executioner and Her Way Of Life with a distinctive character-focused aesthetic. The central characters are certainly well illustrated and are essential to the story. A good effort from Tamaki.

The animation is impressive and offers an engaging aesthetic for the action-adventure elements. Under the solid art direction of Teruhiko Niita (Aria the Scarlet Ammo, Kill Me Baby), The Executioner and Her Way Of Life offers a robust animated landscape. Line art is impressive looking. An absorbing, creative, and fun animated world. The animators involved in the production did solid work here. Under the chief animation direction of Keiko Tamaki (Monster Hunter Stories RIDE ON, Cells at Work!) and Shunya Kikuchi (Tales of Zestiria the X, Edens Zero), The Executioner and Her Way Of Life is colorful and imaginative.

The cinematography by Shingo Fukuyo (A Certain Magical Index, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? ) is a highlight of the production. The cinematography manages to capture the essence of The Executioner and Her Way Of Life and the animation. The cinematographer certainly imbues an impressive aesthetic – providing a sense of urgency to the action with unique visuals.

The score composed by MICHIRU (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Izetta: The Last Witch) is a reasonably engaging element of The Executioner and Her Way Of Life. The score adds to the action elements. An effective score that highlights the action elements and pushes the energetic adventure forward. An effort that fits the template of the series.

The action scenes are exciting and add to the series sense of adventure. This might be one of the big selling points for some audiences. For anime fans who are seeking some escapist entertainment with bigger action beats, The Executioner and Her Way Of Life offers these moments as part of the equation. Showcasing the action with a sense of focus on providing thrills, The Executioner and Her Way Of Life offers some effective action sequencing and some might find this the most essential element of the series.

Written by Shogo Yasukawa (Alderamin on the Sky, Chivalry of a Failed Knight), The Executioner and Her Way Of Life might not be top-tier, but the concept is compelling and there are effective elements that are at play. The scripting by Yasukawa provides energy to the action-adventure and helps provide a exciting series for fans.

Directed by Yoshiki Kawasaki (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Monster Hunter Stories RIDE ON), The Executioner and Her Way Of Life offers some action-packed fun for anime fans seeking such a production. The Executioner and Her Way Of Life might not be perfect but it has fun elements. Director Kawasaki enjoys showcasing the action beats of the series and action- adventure anime fans are the target audience.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, The Executioner and Her Way Of Life 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 presentation is impressive looking on the release. A colorful presentation: robust and engaging.

Detail reproduction is excellent with the line art looking excellent. The crisp presentation provides plenty of clarity for the animated landscape of the series. The Blu-ray release has a healthy bit-rate and the encoding is solid. This is one of the key strengths of the Blu-ray disc format as it offers superior presentation quality to streaming alternatives.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is excellent sounding. Dialogue remains clear and easy to understand. The score is well reproduced and highlighted on the release. The stereo soundstage is engaging and fun. Either lossless option will provide fans with an exciting experience with robust dynamics. The English subtitles are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The one area of the release of The Executioner and Her Way Of Life that disappoints is the supplemental package. The release does not provide audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, or making-of featurettes about the series. The release also doesn't include photo galleries or other in-depth offerings. The release comes in a standard Blu-ray case and does not include an o-card slipcover.

On disc extras include:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Executioner and Her Way Of Life isn’t a total home run but the series is reasonably entertaining as an action-adventure series and has some compelling elements. The production has impressive looking animation. The series is creative in some respects and has some worthwhile elements. The Japanese language presentation for The Executioner and Her Way Of Life features good voice-acting from Iori Saeki, Chinatsu Hirose, Moe Kahara, and Riko Koike.

The Blu-ray release features an impressive high-definition presentation of the series. The release provides worthwhile 1080p video and lossless sound quality in English or Japanese (with English subtitles). The colorful animation is well reproduced. The only area of the release that could have been improved more is the supplemental package. The release is close to bare-bones in this regard and only includes clean opening & closing animations. Fans of the series may wish to consider a purchase of the release. Recommended.