To Love Ru Darkness 2: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

To Love Ru Darkness 2: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

More sexy comedy ensues.

To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) returns with more sex appeal. The series is based on the original work by Saki Hasemi (who handled the story) and Kentaro Yabuki (in charge of the art). The series certainly provides audiences with exactly what they requested: a male fantasy sex comedy. Produced by Nobuhiro Nakayama (Alderamin on the Sky, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?), Takeshi Tanaka (Teasing Master Takagi-san, Convenience Store Boy Friends), and Takumi Kusakabe (Upotte!!, Maken-Ki! Takeru Turns into a Woman!? Naked in a Southern Island!), To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) doesn’t change the formula yet it continues to reward fans of the series franchise with more titillating excitement.

Rito Yūki (Akeno Watanabe) continues to be the most desired bachelor in the entire galaxy. What makes Rito so irresistible to alien women? The bosom ladies keep coming at ‘im in spades. Lala Satalin Deviluke (Haruka Tomatsu) isn’t the only woman lusting after Rito these days. Princess Momo continues seeking a steady relationship with Rito while the “Golden Darkness” Yami won’t stop messing with Rito until she is his bride-to-be. With sexy ladies tossing themselves at Rito hand-over-fist, whatever will Rito do?

The series has an interesting cast. The central lead is an aloof teenage guy with a lot of time on his hands. Rito accidentally encounters a windfall of beautiful bosom ladies. A gorgeous alien named Lala was the first to lust after Rito but even more ladies continue to pile up on Rito one- after-another (with the experience being a bit “overwhelming” at times). The character isn’t particularly complex but the lead is nonetheless someone who is entertaining to spend with. The supporting cast of characters certainly makes the series more compelling.

The team of animators involved on the production manage to imbue the series with the right art style for the genre. Under the capable art direction of Yoshimi Umino (The Galaxy Railways, Blade of the Immortal), To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) brings more animated fun. The art style showcases all of these bosom ladies quite well. (Alien or otherwise.) Background art is certainly background. (Joke intended.)

The character designs by Yūichi Oka (Over Drive, Softenni!) manage to explore the cast in a meaningful way. These designs simply seem more interesting and unique than one might have any reasonable expectation of encountering. There is something noteworthy about the designs fitting the genre: providing fans exactly what they want.

"Can you hear me now? I made it to Earth."

The cinematography by Yuki Kudo (Pandora Hearts, Cardfight!! Vanguard G NEXT) showcases bright colorful animation. The visual element is certainly a key component of the production. The series cinematography looks more impressive than one would expect to find for this genre of series.

Sex appeal remains at the forefront of the production. Fans of the genre know exactly what to expect from this type of series. With a plethora of beautiful ladies, there’s not much to say. It’s boy meets aliens. (Girl aliens – who look surprisingly like human beings). Cowabunga!

Featuring a score composed by Takeshi Watanabe (Strawberry Marshmallow, Girls Beyond the Wasteland), To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) continues to provide a solid score. Expectations were admittedly low for this type of genre, but the music fits the production. Composer Watanabe does a solid job handling the material.

Written by Yasunori Yamada (Those Who Hunt Elves, Vampire Princess Miyu), To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) might not stretch one’s imagination too far. The series isn’t going to win any Academy Awards. Yet the writing is entertaining and provides audiences with some goofy and interesting antics. That’s pretty much exactly what one could hope for from To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2).

To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) continues the series sexy charms with direction by Atsushi Ootsuki (Motto To Love Ru, Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox). Fans of the franchise should know what they can expect by this point. The fourth season continues the tradition of providing sexy aliens with teenage-bachelor. Ootsuki understood the assignment.

To Love Ru Darkness 2: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The animation looks better than ever in the fourth season of the series. The colorful art shines. The background animation and character designs are well highlighted by the release. The set features strong encoding by Sentai. A solid presentation.

To Love Ru Darkness 2: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The audio presentation capably handles the soundstage. The music sounds nice and clear and is well mixed in to the presentation. The audio is similarly well balanced for a stereo presentation (with the sound effects capably handled by the presentation).

To Love Ru Darkness 2: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:04)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Queen's Blade (HD, 00:45), My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax (HD, 1:34), Maria-Holic (HD, 1:30), and Magical Girl Site (HD, 1:33).

To Love Ru Darkness 2: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

To Love Ru: Season 4 (To Love Ru Darkness 2) brings fans more sex comedy – it's sure to please! The animation is exquisite. The Blu-ray release features a solid video-audio presentation and a small supplemental package. Another worthwhile Blu-ray release for series fans. Recommended.