The Legendary Hero Is Dead!: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Legendary Hero Is Dead!: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie Review

The Legendary Hero Is Dead is an action-adventure anime exploring a strange revival of a dead legend. Based on the Japanese manga series written, illustrated, and created by Subaruichi, the The Legendary Hero Is Dead series features animation production by LIDEN FILMS (Call of the Night, The Heroic Legend of Arslan). The series features theme song music performed by Masayoshi Ōishi (opening) and Yurika Kubo (ending). The Legendary Hero Is Dead features voice performances by Shunichi Toki, Wataru Katō, Ayana Taketatsu, Hibiku Yamamura, and Yurika Kubo.

Sion (Shunichi Toki) is no ordinary hero. Sion is a legend and a beloved one at that. After accidentally dying from a simple pit trap, Sion finds himself being “reborn” in a sense. A new awakening for Sion happens when an ordinary builder named Touka Scott (Wataru Katō) ends up taking over the dead legend’s own legendary mantle. Now that Touka is reigning in the heroes’ shoes, essentially bring Sion back from the dead, the aloof Touka must figure out a way to become a legend himself. Can Touka fill the shoes?

The characters on The Legendary Hero Is Dead are goofy and often over-the-top. The characters are a bit too much at times. Even so, the characters are decent for this type of series and Touka is a reasonable if imperfect lead character. The characters may not feel as inspired as on some anime series but are still entertaining in some respects. The whole entire concept itself is silly and that carries on into the main characters – exploring the terrain of a hero awakened as an animated corpse – big shoes to fill.

The character designs by Yosuke Yabumoto (Duel Masters King, Duel Masters VS R) aren’t the most imaginative out there but are still decent overall for the production. The designs by Yabumoto are somewhat uninspired but still effective. The designs are adequate for the production and fit the characters personalities. The designs could have maybe been a little bit better overall but its not too bad.

The animation on The Legendary Hero Is Dead is decent but never manages to feel as inspired as it could be. The series features art direction by Takayoshi Fukushima (Detective Conan: The Crimson Love Letter, Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire). The art direction and animation direction add to the series and manage to elevate it somewhat despite being average-at-best. The animation isn’t going to break any new ground with audiences but for anime fans looking for some more fanciful action-fantasy artistic ideas, the series is adequate.

The cinematography by Yuusaku Murakami (Healer Girl, Mannaka no Rikkun) isn’t the strongest point of the series but it does a decent job of highlighting the animation. The cinematography isn’t quite as inventive or creative as it could be. Even so, the cinematography highlights the colorful animation. Everything appears a bit stale at times.

The score by Kana Utatane (Nights with a Cat, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill), Kayo Konishi (Elfen Lied, House of Five Leaves), Yamazo (A Condition Called Love, Fairy Ranmaru), Yūki Nara (Dead Mount Death Play, Cuticle Detective Inaba), and Yukio Kondō (House of Five Leaves, Demon Prince Enma) is surprisingly one of the better points of the series with a solid score. The music adds an element of charm that otherwise would be missing. The music fits the tone of the series well and also enhances it. The score provides decent background music for the series.

Written by Yū Satō (Space Battleship Tiramisu, Tenka Hyakken), The Legendary Hero Is Dead could have used a better script. The script and story aren’t as engaging as it could be. The series just feels a bit too over-the-top at times. Over-the-top anime isn’t anything strange but it isn’t always as effective as it perhaps could be and this is one of those examples. The series script is average and not as good as anticipated.

Directed by Rion Kujo (S-CRY-ed, Wanna Be the Strongest in the World), The Legendary Hero Is Dead is a mixed bag. The Legendary Hero Is Dead is still a decently entertaining series but not as good as it could be. The directing is reasonably good at highlighting the characters and the world they inhibit. Not a perfect production but one that may cater to a specific audience.

The Legendary Hero Is Dead!: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, The Legendary Hero Is Dead is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation looks crisp and colorful on the release. The series animation looks bold and colorful. Animation is well reproduced with excellent detail on the release. The line art is clear and well presented.

The Blu-ray disc format continues to be a superior option for home theater enthusiasts and video junkies who want the best possible quality attainable. The Blu-ray disc format provides a superior viewing experience compared to streaming video platforms. Streaming video services tend to offer video with a more compressed image.

For enthusiasts seeking the best possible option attainable, physical media offers a clear and obvious advantage. While a casual newcomer might periodically opt to stream a series first to check it out before buying it – or at least to sample a series – a die-hard fan may instead opt to make an informed decision to pick-up a Blu-ray release in part because of the superior video presentation.

The Legendary Hero Is Dead!: 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 on the release. The release also provides French Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and German Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio options. The Legendary Hero Is Dead has capably provided the sound direction of Youji Shimizu (Lupin the 3rd Part 6, The Princess and the Pilot). Dialogue is crisp and easy to understand on the release. The score is certainly well reproduced during the presentation.

The English dub audio has a slight advantage in featuring a 5.1 surround sound track. The surround track will provide audiences with a slightly more robust audio soundstage with the rear channels providing more channel separation. On the flipside, purists will prefer and opt for the original Japanese language audio option. The Japanese language audio sounds wonderful on the release. An excellent lossless soundstage for the stereo audio, too. The English subtitles are generally excellent and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

The Blu-ray disc format offers an advantage over streaming services. Physical media still provides a significant selling point and advantage over simply streaming something – Blu-ray provides lossless audio. The presentation quality is superior on disc. Audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts who want to get the absolute best possible sound quality achievable will prefer the advantages of the physical media format.

The Legendary Hero Is Dead!: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first print run of The Legendary Hero Is Dead features a limited-edition o-card slipcover. The slipcover features compelling unique key artwork highlight the characters of the series. The slipcover features different key art than the artwork highlighted underneath the slipcover. The artwork under the slipcover is also a nice addition to the package design. The release also includes interior artwork on the inside cover-art sleeve. Fans of the series will consider these elements to add to the collectable nature of the release and it makes the package look even better in hand.

On disc supplements include:

Promo Videos (HD, 2:45)

Commercials (HD, 00:34)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

The Legendary Hero Is Dead!: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Legendary Hero Is Dead isn't a perfect anime by any stretch of the imagination. The series is decent enough in some respects but it also isn't as compelling as it could be. The production features some acceptable production values. Audiences looking for a simple action-adventure anime wanting a distraction from the world (and with nothing better to watch) may still wish to check it out.

The Blu-ray release of The Legendary Hero Is Dead features an impressive high-definition presentation. The release includes a lossless audio encode. The first-print run of the release provides a nice limited-edition slipcover. Fans of the series may wish to consider adding the release to their growing anime collection. The Legendary Hero Is Dead fans are the target audience and the set offers a nice slip, ownership, and superior video and audio merits.