The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard October 20, 2023

The Familiar of Zero is an action-adventure romantic-comedy anime series. Created by Noboru Yamaguchi, The Familiar of Zero features the original character designs of Eiji Usatsuka. Sentai Filmworks provides a complete collection Blu-ray box set containing the entire run of the series: featuring a jam-packed set containing all four seasons of the anime (and OVA episode) in one fell swoop for the mega fan. The Familiar of Zero features animation produced by J.C. Staff (Aria the Scarlet Ammo, A Certain Magical Index). The series features voice-work by Rie Kugimiya and Satoshi Hino.

Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière (Rie Kugimiya) is sometimes teased for having such a long name – it’s a name so long that few even know how to pronounce it and could even say the name out loud! Despite her long name, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière is quite successful and has a lengthy checklist of her victories at school. Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière is attending the Tristain Academy of Magic.

Despite her suave nature at school, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière is nicknamed Louise the Zero by other students at the school. Bummer! Getting bullied and teased by others is never fun – the kind of thing that pushes some students over the edge.

Hoping to turn things around for herself, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière aims to summon a magical Familiar – which should unite her with a badass creature of mythic proportions. Instead of uniting her with some mythic creature of badass stature she is instead united with a regular joe – a average human being from Japan, Saito Hiraga (Satoshi Hino). Yikes!

Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière and Saito Hiraga are now forever bound to each other – through thick and thin. Friendship and romance collide as things get out of hand with the mis(adventures) of Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière and Saito Hiraga. What’s a girl to do? Time to bind.

The series has a fun cast of characters. The main leading characters add some charm to the production. The romantic-comedy balance between Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière and Saito Hiraga adds charm to the production.

Fans of romantic anime series who enjoy the back-and-forth style of anime engagement, will enjoy the characters here. The voice-acting work is excellent and the voices sound perfect for the production. It is no wonder that the voice-cast has fans – the voice performances are charming and add to the series in spades.

One of the things that sets the The Familiar of Zero franchise apart from other productions is the comedic sensibility. The series is not a standard romantic anime with all of the emphasis only on establishing romantic tropes and exploring those aspects alone. The Familiar of Zero franchise is instead focused on exploring the comedic boundaries between the characters – and the comedic bond bringing them together.

This is an element of The Familiar of Zero that is unlike what some comedy anime fans might expect as the emphasis is often character-based alongside the concept and not just strictly by-the-books. These comedic aspects make the series more entertaining and this enhances the fun. A good thing worth celebrating about the production.

The animation is one of the main highlights of the series franchise. The series has colorful and creative animation. The art style is something that certainly adds a lot to the experience. The bold colors are engaging and the animators certainly worked hard to bring the franchise to life. This adds to the foundation of the anime franchise and why The Familiar of Zero became a fan-favorite with its main audience, lasting four seasons long.

The cinematography is one of the aspects of the series that could have perhaps been a little better overall and the style isn’t as good as the animation itself. Though the style of cinematography has impressive components at showcasing the animation, the cinematography also looks somewhat unremarkable in other respects – overcast and hazy at times.

The music adds to the series sense of fun and adventure. The score does have some nice elements to enhance the romantic-comedy elements at the core of the production. Fans of the series will enjoy exploring the comedic score underpinnings – what the music brings to the table. The music works wonders for the production and is a good testament to film scoring and what it can bring to the table.

The Familiar of Zero is a fan-favorite anime with its cult fanbase and fans of the franchise will appreciate the creative style. The series doesn’t fit into a typical mold and instead is a little bit different compared to some other anime productions. Though the anime isn’t a total slam-dunk in my view, it does have some quality entertainment for anime fans and for those with a particular interest in the romantic-comedy genre. The Familiar of Zero is worth checking out.

The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release provides all four seasons in one collector's box- set designed for the mega fan – and the release might possibly provide brand new encodes compared to previous releases (though I'm not capable of directly comparing as I do not have the other releases on hand). For example, the last season was previously provided on one disc and is now provided on two discs in the collection -so for those wanting the absolute best presentation quality this set might offer some small gains (though it might not be worth double-dipping on just for this alone).

Despite the package being a bit different compared to previous releases, I wasn't as enamored with the presentation quality as I was hoping to find on the release. Instead, I found the animation looked somewhat dated – even during the fourth season of the series. The animation isn't quite as crisp and colorful as I hoped to find. The animation was quite unexpectedly soft looking and it could have fared much better overall – the encoding provides a faithful presentation to the source animation but due to the production time-frame the series has a dated aesthetic that isn't up-to-speed. At the same time, the later episodes fare better overall, with slightly crisper animation and more detail compared to earlier production episodes.

Unfortunately, these drawbacks on earlier episodes are source-related and there isn't anything Sentai could do to make the presentation that much better. My advice: don't consider a double-dip necessary even if the release has slightly more breathing room. Fans who do not already own the series will want to consider picking up this edition.

The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio (with English subtitles). The lossless audio on the release offers audiences a decent sound experience. The lossless audio capably reproduces the soundstage – enhancing the audio track. Dialogue remains easy to understand on the release. The track is somewhat reserved sounding and the sound staging isn't as engaging or creative as hoped for. The track also is somewhat less engaging compared to newer anime productions. Given the time period of the series production, the release sounds good and fans won't find major qualms.

The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes all of the previously available supplemental features across the expansive box-set and the set even provides the OVA episode.

On disc extras include:

Disc 2:

Extended Episode Previews (HD, 6:57)

Japanese Promos (HD, 5:25)

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Disc 4:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Disc 6:

OVA: Seductive Beach (HD, 24:57)

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Disc 8:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Familiar of Zero: The Complete Series is a popular anime franchise that won audiences over with its blend of romantic-comedy action-adventure elements. The series might not be a total home run for all anime fans but for the die-hard fan base it is a successful series and one that managed a nice 4 season run. The Blu-ray release provides the complete collection – all 49 episodes and the OVA. The set has a little more breathing room with two discs for the final season (compared to the previous release) and certainly this is a nice space-saving box-set with it taking up less room on the shelf. Die hard series fans will want to consider a purchase – especially if said fans don't own any of the previous Blu-ray releases. Though the release might offer small gains over other editions, I don't recommend a double dip unless one prefers the space-saving case and the selected cover-art.