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

The sex comedy returns for more goofy antics.

To Love Ru: Season 3 (To Love Ru: Darkness) continues the sexy escapades. Based on the original work created by Saki Hasemi (who handles the story) and Kentaro Yabuki (in charge of the art). 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 3 (To Love Ru: Darkness) is a series with plenty of bosom ladies in the ultimate male fantasy.

Rito Yūki (Akeno Watanabe) continues to be an aloof teenage boy with a sexy alien spending time with him: Lala Satalin Deviluke (Haruka Tomatsu). Rito’s groovy teen years are full of surprise when there begins to be even more unexpected developments. The Planet Develuke descends with many more visitors. More sexy vixens arrive on the scene. What will Rito do? Nana and Momo join the ranks: spending time with Rito (in every position possible). Will Rito’s relationship with Lala strain while younger sister Momo attempts to love Rito? Making matters even more complicated, Yami, the beautiful “Golden Darkness” enters the equation.  

The series has some interesting characters despite being a relatively simple anime series conceptually. The characters are part of the charm of the production. The central lead, Rito, is a compelling lead. While Rito might not be as unique as Tenchi Muyo or the like the character still fits the bill of the production. The sexy ladies on To Love Ru: Season 3 (To Love Ru: Darkness) are more than just eye-candy and provide the series with ample comedy.

The animation is worthwhile. The series features art direction by Yoshimi Umino (The Galaxy Railways, Blade of the Immortal). The art style certainly makes a compelling impression on the series. This is an impressive looking production which carries the “fan-boy” element forward. The animation isn’t as complex as the best anime series around (nor will it even remotely approach on something as masterful as Miyazaki) but it is nonetheless decent for the genre.

The character designs by Yūichi Oka (Over Drive, Softenni!) fit the tone of the production well. These are well done character designs for the anime. The central lead is distinctly illustrated and the supporting characters are well drawn by the animation team as well. Certainly not a huge home-run but a solid effort from character designer Oka.

Don't text and fly (or you'll die).

The cinematography by Yuki Kudo (Pandora Hearts, Cardfight!! Vanguard G NEXT) is one of the better elements of the production. The visual component helps the series stand out more with beautiful, colorful animation. The vibrancy of the cinematography and framing is something worthwhile.

The score composed by Takeshi Watanabe (Strawberry Marshmallow, Girls Beyond the Wasteland) is an enjoyable element of the series. The music brings the series something charming for such an over-the-top sex comedy. The score is better than expected and it fits the comedic hijinks.

Written by Yasunori Yamada (Those Who Hunt Elves, Vampire Princess Miyu), To Love Ru: Season 3 (To Love Ru: Darkness) continues the series sexy hijinks. The production finds new ways to explore these characters and their boundaries. The story brings together some alien girls with a lone lad who is in for far more than he ever expected. What could go wrong?

Directed by Atsushi Ootsuki (Motto To Love Ru, Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox), To Love Ru: Season 3 (To Love Ru: Darkness) is fun (even if lacks the same creative juice that made Tenchi Muyo an outright classic). The series brings together alien ladies with a spoiled man-child who has more women around him than he can handle. If that sounds good, then the series might be your cup of tea (or sake). Director Ootsuki plays with the universe even more and fans of the franchise won’t be disappointed.

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

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, To Love Ru: Season 3 (To Love Ru: Darkness) is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release has a worthwhile presentation quality. The video encoding is solid and capably handles the animation. The art style isn't too complex and is well handled by the encode by Sentai. Color reproduction is superb. The cinematography is well highlighted. The release is worthwhile.

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

The release is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio presentation on the release is enjoyable and has something wonderful to give to audiences. Fans of the series will be pleased with the dynamics on the release. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand during the presentation. The score sounds bright and clear and is well mixed in to the soundstage.

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

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Grisaia (HD, 00:49), Queen's Blade (HD, 00:45), To Loveru (HD, 1:33), and Mysterious Girlfriend X (HD, 1:31).

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

To Love Ru: Season 3 (To Love Ru: Darkness) offers more of the same. This may or may not be a bad thing for you. Depending on your anime tastes, the series provides bosom ladies from outer space surrounding the most desirable bachelor of all time (who for some reason seems to be a pretty normal dude but is somehow complete irresistible). This is pure male fantasy. If it sounds good to you, you'll probably manage to enjoy it. The Blu-ray release features a solid video-audio presentation and a small selection of extras. Recommended.