To Love Ru: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

To Love Ru: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

To Love Ru is a science-fiction comedy anime series. The franchise has spanned multiple series and the continuations have built on the original popular franchise. The series is based on the original work by creator Saki Hasemi (story) and Kentaro Yabuki (art). The complete series collection includes every episode from To Love Ru, Motto To Love Ru, To Love Ru Darkness, and To Love Ru Darkness 2. Distributed by Sentai Filmworks in North America, the collection provides fans with it all: every comedically inclined science-fiction episode.

Rito Yūki (Akeno Watanabe) is doing nothing out of the ordinary. Rito is simply taking a leisurely bath when an unexpected splashdown occurs. The teenage boy (who only has a few simple things on his mind) unexpectedly finds himself being visited by an alien woman: Lala Satalin Deviluke (Haruka Tomatsu).

The alien princess comes from another planet (and the universe isn’t so small after all). Encountering one another in a strange and funky scenario, the two become close as an all-out romantic sex romp unfolds. Lala wants to avoid other suitors and finds herself in a new role on planet Earth.

As the romantic tango unfolds, the two face off against other aliens, inter-galactic assassins, and much more. Though there are other determined suitors, Rito finds himself (somewhat unexpectedly) getting married to Lala and the rest is history (so to speak). Though Lala isn’t green at all (she’s not a Martian), the science-fiction hijinks keep things spiraling out of control. What’s next for Rito and Lala?

The characters are one of the most compelling aspects of the production. The franchise has some fun and interesting leads. The characters certainly are quirky and the comedic sensibilities of these main characters is something that keeps the series more engaging for the target audience than the series might have succeeded with otherwise.

The goofy nature of Rito and Lala is something that is compelling. These elements keep the comedic elements at the forefront of the characterizations. Despite being a sex-romp comedy, Lala is a character that isn’t only used as “sex appeal” but she manages to have some comedic sensibilities and personality as a quirky central character for the storyline.

The animation is one of the highlights of the series. The production certainly benefits from quality animation. This is one of the key components of the production. The art style is certainly capable: reflecting the work of the animation direction and art direction for the saga. The animators on the production certainly contributed some worthwhile efforts to the series. Though the first season has somewhat simplistic animation compared to some of the later seasons (which are a bit more colorful and robust looking), the results still work well.

One of the main reasons the animation works well is the excellent character designs by Yūichi Oka (Softenni!, Over Drive). The character designs are interesting – and not simply because the alien character of Lala is not a slimy green invader from outer space. The designs are creative and the production manages to highlight the stylistic elements of each character. A solid effort from Oka.

The cinematography is by Yuki Kudo (Pandora Hearts, Cardfight!! Vanguard G NEXT) during the early seasons and Tatsuya Miyazaki (Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet) during the second half of the franchise run. The production is colorful and robust looking and the cinematography does a good job of highlighting these elements. The colorful use of lighting is a outstanding element of the series design.

The score composed by Takeshi Watanabe (Girls Beyond the Wasteland, Strawberry Marshmallow) adds some charm to the production as well. The music certainly fits the comedic hijinks of the production. A decent effort for the series, the music adds some charm and provides a good backdrop for the science fiction elements to unfold as well. Given the comedic nature of the series, the score adapts to and is a reflection of the genre.

Written by Yasunori Yamada (Vampire Princess Miyu, Those Who Hunt Elves) and Akatsuki Yamatoya (Soul Eater, Case Closed), the screenwriters handled different installments in the comedic alien saga. The screenwriting is decent – providing a comedic backdrop for fans of sex-romp anime series. The storytelling might not be as imaginative or compelling as dramatic series but for the genre a decent effort.

Takao Kato and Atsushi Ootsuki direct across the series. The series caters to male-fantasy antics and this is something inherent to the production. To Love Ru is all about a teenage boy fantasy – and this is the primary aim of the production. As a result, the directing skewers towards men but will appeal to any audience looking for a sexy comedy.

To Love Ru: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, To Love Ru: The Complete Collection is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The first season of the series is the worst clarity wise with a lower quality presentation, which is obviously source related as the animation isn't as crisp or detailed as modern high-definition productions are. Colors look a little less robust and colorful compared to the later series. The second season fares slightly better than the first with a bit more robust animation and a sharper and cleaner looking high-definition presentation but it still looks a bit soft compared to some more recent anime productions. The third and fourth seasons are in much higher quality overall, with a more robust high-definition presentation - with crisp and clear details – the animation looks much more vibrant here in comparison. Though the results are a bit varied across the set, fans can feel rest assured that these are solid presentations of the available source.

To Love Ru: 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 2.0 (with English subtitles). This set offers a complete collection containing the new English dub. The English dub was not available on all of the other releases so audiences hoping to watch the complete run of the series with the English dubbing will find this a worthwhile element of the release. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and engaging sounding. The score is well integrated in to the soundstage. The track is crystal clear sounding and the presentation benefits from the lossless sound encoding. The lossless audio is perhaps the best benefit of the release as streaming versions offer compressed sound quality that is not as crisp or clear as the Blu-ray disc format has to offer.

To Love Ru: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The complete collection collects all of the supplemental features from across the series. Unfortunately, the new complete collection does not provide any new or exclusive bonus features – such as audio commentaries or making-of documentaries. The standalone releases are similar in regards to their supplemental features (as noted below).

To Love Ru:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 4:36)

Motto To Love Ru:

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:59)

To Love Ru Darkness:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

To Love Ru Darkness 2:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:04)

To Love Ru: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

To Love Ru: The Complete Collection is available in a new complete English dubbed edition. The entire English dub is provided in this complete collection. Some of the previous releases were Japanese only and the new collection provides fans with the entire run of episodes with an English dub option. For those English dub fans seeking a complete and comprehensive collection of To Love Ru, this set has everything in one package.

The Blu-ray release includes the best available video and audio quality alongside a selection of bonus features. The first season looks less impressive visually compared to the later seasons of the series. Season 2 fares a bit better with a slightly more robust looking presentation. The later seasons fare significantly better and colors and clarity are more well-rounded. Fans of the series who want the complete English dub are encouraged to consider a purchase. Recommended.