The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

No thank you. I'd rather familiarize myself with a different anime series...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown April 10, 2015

I didn't think it was possible for J.C. Staff's The Familiar of Zero to alienate the anime throngs further, but here it is: director Yuu Kou's Knight of the Twin Moons, the second season of the already iffy fantasy series based on the Noboru Yamaguchi/Eiji Usatsuka Japanese light novels of the same name. There's a quasi-valiant effort this go-around to take more time with the characters, develop their conflicts and relationships, and the story... sorta, kinda makes sense. Not really, though. Set dubiously in an equally dubious magic academy (something no previous anime has eeeeever done), the show attempts to make the most of its eccentric students but chases after so many subplots and tangents that it never seems to know what it wants. (Not unlike Saito, the series' male lead.) It putters and it panders, offering fan service wherever it can eek out a kiss, grope or shot of cleavage, although without spiraling into territory that's too gratuitous or, erm, icky for its own good. It wanders from episode to episode too, losing its way more times than it realizes; appealing to genre fans' graces but failing to provide a reason to get excited about whatever comes next.

My colleague, Jeffrey Kauffman, put it perfectly in his review of Season One: "while it ambles along with a general air of affability, there may simply be too much of the "familiar" in Familiar of Zero to ever make it stand out from the pack." With Season Two, I'll add this: there's nothing exceptional about the series, except for its exceptionally bad scripts and exceptionally boring storylines, none of which go anywhere fast or deliver anything remotely remarkable.

Hiraga Saito was just a typical Japanese teenager when he was accidentally summoned to become the familiar of Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, whose magical skills were so poor that she was called Louise the Zero. Now, however, Saito's distinguished himself as a hero while Louise has started to get a handle on her ability to use Void magic. More importantly, Saito is now Louise's familiar of his own free will. So, has that made any difference in their "professional" relationship? Well, let's just say that it's still so full of ups and downs that it ought to be a thrill ride attraction - a really rickety thrill ride attraction filled with dangerous objects like riding crops and things that explode messily. That doesn't mean that they're not ready to spring into action the minute the newly crowned Queen Henrietta is kidnapped, but with a new war brewing will they be able to find a way to work together that doesn't end with Saito getting the wrong end of Louise's stick? Or will she still end up hurting the one with whom she has a "professional relationship"?

The Blu-ray release of The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons features twelve episodes on a single BD-50 disc with Japanese audio and English subtitles. Season Two episode guide:

• Her Majesty, the Queen's Zero: Some time has past since the battle at Talba and Saito has given up on returning to Japan, in order to stay by Louise's side. Now that Tristain is at war, Princess Henrietta is going to have a coronation ceremony to become the true Queen. Later on Louise gives Saito a present but it turns out to be a pair of glasses that makes Louise aware of whenever he is staring at other girls, which ends up causing some major problems.
• The Vow of Wind and Water: Henrietta is reminiscing on the past she and Wales had together and whilst being swayed by her emotions, Wales appears before her. Lousie and Saito hear that Henrietta has gone missing and everyone fears for the worse. They head towards Lagdorian Lake, in pursuit of the responsible party.
• The Cleric's Sword: At Tristain Academy all the girls are saying their farewells to the boys who are being drafted into the army but it is all cut short, upon the arrival of an exchange student named Julio Cesare. The class of girls is later forced to take part in weapons training but Saito has other things to worry about with Julio constantly around Louise. The next day Saito has a duel with Julio.
• The Three Valière Sisters: It is a normal morning for Saito and Louise until all of a sudden Louise's older sister Eleanor arrives and drags them (including Siesta) back to her home. It is there that Louise gets to meet her other sister Cattleya, whom she has a good relationship with. Meanwhile Louise's relationship with Saito isn't making much progress and people are trying to keep them apart.
• The Spy's Seal: Back at Tristain Academy the girls are allowed to have some practical magic lessons, however the instructor Agnes happened to bring is Louise's sister Eleanor, along with Cattleya. Later that night some unknown assailant attacks Osman and steals something precious from his safe but who's the real culprit? It looks like there's more to this case.
• The Queen's Vacation: At the palace, Agnes gives Henrietta the report on the recent case, which could help incriminate the Chair President of Legal Affairs. In the meantime, Saito and Louise are ordered to be on stand-by at Scarron's inn, but they both end up working there. That is until Henrietta's plan takes form.
• The Underground Secret Document: With Henrietta's signature, Tristain has declared war upon Albion. Since then a week has past and news about the combined Tristain & Germanian forces accomplishments seem to be spreading. Meanwhile Agnes wants to get a certain document from the secret vault below the academy but the principal refuses. So she gets her comrades to help her out but things quickly become complicated.
• The Magic Institute's Crisis: The Magistrate of Albion is planning something, as she hires some dangerous mercenaries and sends them of to attack the Magic Academy. Meanwhile at the academy Louise is being locked up by her sister, to prevent her from following Henrietta into battle. At nightfall trouble arises.
• The Atonement of Flames: A hostage situation unfolds in the Magic Academy thanks to a group of mercenaries, lead by a man named Mennovil. Agnes learns that he was the one who took part in the Danguteal massacre. In the meantime, Colbert is forced come up with a plan to take action with everyone's help but in the midst of their operation a devastating truth is revealed.
• The Enemy on Snowy Alps: Upon Henrietta's request Saito and Louise head to the frontline where Henrietta asks Louise to use her magic to fight. Though with what just happened with Colbert, Saito's heart doesn't seem to be into it. This causes their mission to end in failure and they are forced to crash land near the snowy mountain city of Gotha. It is there that they encounter a wounded Albion soldier.
• The Silver Pentecost: In the city of Gotha it is the Silver Advent festival and the Tristain troops are welcomed by the citizens however Louise and Saito end up getting into another fight. Louise is given another secret mission in order to redeem herself, but this time she doesn't go with Saito and he takes it to heart.
• The Farewell Wedding Ceremony: With some of Henrietta's own men under the control of Sheffield, the situation has turned into a revolt. Saito and Louise are able to reunite, in the midst of all the chaos, but it is too late as a massive Albion army heads towards them. In order for everyone to evacuate Louise volunteers to hold them off but Saito can't stand to see Louise sacrifice her life like this.

The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While the Blu-ray release of The Familiar of Zero: Season One featured twelve episodes on two BD-50 discs, Knight of the Twin Moons crams its dozen-ep season on a single disc; a move Sentai Filmworks is pursuing with troubling frequency. The resulting compression issues are more prevalent and apparent (macroblocking, banding, et al), but sadly that isn't the only problem fans will have to contend with. The image is distractingly soft, with at-times hazy, ill-defined line art that doesn't disappoint during brightly colored close-ups but fares terribly in mid to wide shots. It's not all that dissimilar to several poorly received Disney releases marred by heavy-handed noise reduction (The Sword in the Stone, Mickey's Christmas Carol), though not as unsightly, and, brace yourselves, shares a bit too much in common with VIZ Media's Sailor Moon remasters. (A quick scan of the screenshots included with this review reveals a variety of minor to moderate eyesores, and I wasn't limiting captures to the worst of the worst.) The below average clarity doesn't spoil the 1080p/AVC-encoded proceedings entirely -- colors are still vibrant and full of life, black levels are satisfying, and contrast is consistently eye-catching -- but it doesn't help either. You'd really have to enjoy The Familiar of Zero to shrug off Knight of the Twin Moons' shortcomings and give its wholly unimpressive presentation a pass.

The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike Season One, the Blu-ray release of the series' second season doesn't offer an English dub. Instead, the full sonic burden of Knight of the Twin Moons falls on its decidedly decent Japanese-language DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track. Fortunately, there aren't any glaring mishaps to report. Voices are clean, clear and competently prioritized, sound effects are crisp and engaging, the series' music sounds quite good, and even the most chaotic scenes juggle the various elements without incident. Just be warned: the disc's English subtitles are non-optional and the Japanese track is misleadingly labeled as an English mix.

The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from Clean Opening & Closing Animations and a handful of Sentai Filmworks trailers, the single-disc Blu-ray release of The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons doesn't offer any special features.

The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you really enjoyed The Familiar of Zero's first season, diving headlong into Knight of the Twin Moons is a no-brainer. If you're new to the series or on the fence, though, the second season isn't likely to covert you into the fold. Some aspects of the show improve; most do not, and it's in those problematic areas that The Familiar of Zero continues to frustrate and turn off the very genre fans it's targeting. Sentai's Blu-ray release isn't much better. Season Two features a mediocre video presentation, doesn't offer any substantial special features, and ditches the first season's two-disc format and English dub in favor of a single disc and a Japanese-only audio presentation. Said DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track is a solid one, but it can't make up for the rest of the release's shortcomings all by its lonesome.