Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns is a supernatural drama-mystery series with magical elements at play. Broadcast on Tokyo MX, Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns is a unique offering in the fun genre. The series features original character designs by Carnelian. Produced by the duo of Ena Kiriyama (Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection) and Nobumitsu Urasaki (Hetalia The Beautiful World), Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns offers anime fans a unique supernatural experience with animation that is produced by Studio DEEN (Ah My Buddha, Bomberman Jetters).

Few places are as magical or ethereal as Kamitsumihara. The land is so wonderful and full of splendor that the entire Kamiazuma clan continues to serve the place as a sacred land and one that requires a special form of protection. Touka Kamiazuma (Mariya Ise) is a girl with a magic stone sword known as the Sekiken.

Using the stone as her personal responsibility, Touka finds herself in a challenging role: a role of unexpected detours. When Momoka Kawakabe (Saori Hayami) enters the equation as well, the girls find a unique connection: one that is both physical and more than meets the eye. As the two find themselves linked even closer together, mysteries begin to unravel between the girls. Physical attraction and destiny collides.

The characters are one of the unique elements of the production. The story revolves around Touka and her mission in the tale. The characterization is compelling and works well for the character to “come to life” with a sense of mission. This is one reason for the success of the anime series and why it worked well with some audiences.

The art direction by Toshihisa Koyama (Arc the Lad, Dinosaur King) is relatively impressive and offers some interesting creative elements. Koyama is not the best art director in the anime industry by any stretch of the imagination but the art director nonetheless has a distinct enough artistic style that the productions involving Koyama carry a distinct flavor that stands out as something reasonably compelling (if sometimes unspectacular as well). Koyama is a decent art director and the results here offer some sense of creativity to the production.

Under the chief animation direction by Asako Nishida (Case Closed, Angel Links), Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns works well within the supernatural frame-work of the production. This is certainly a series with a supernatural spin and the animation reflects these elements of magic and mysticism. The animators certainly help to push the boundaries of the genre and its roots with the animation showcasing these genre elements at play.

The character designs by Asako Nishida (Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl, Love Live! School idol project) imbue the production with some nice elements as well. The characters are well animated: distinct and original. The aesthetic is certainly worthwhile and seems to fit these characters and their personalities. The results manage to help the series find the right ingredients for success.

The cinematography by Shinyo Kondo (Diamond Daydreams, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen) is certainly worthwhile. The visual elements of the production are compelling. Kondo manages to showcase an artistic and ambitious element of the cinematography with colorful background art and visuals: showcasing details as interesting as the well-lit animated landscapes. A solid effort from Kondo.

The score composed by Akifumi Tada (Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Tokyo Underground) might not be a total home run but the music is nonetheless nice and enjoyable. The score provides the production some effective background music and the score certainly provides some nice components to keep audiences compelling by the genre offerings of the series. These elements are worthwhile if not spectacular and there is enough to commend here to make the score worthwhile.

Written by Tomomi Mochizuki (Twin Spica, House of Five Leaves), Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns has a nice concept and characters. Mochizuki has fun exploring the cast and the concept leading the way. The storytelling might not be as complex or beautiful as the best supernatural dramas are but it nonetheless has some romantic-drama components which audiences will find to be compelling. Mochizuki has a firm grasp on the series saga and the storytelling narrative.

Directed by Yuji Yamaguchi (Angel Links, Strawberry Eggs), Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns might not be a classic anime (by any stretch of the imagination) but it is a decent one and it has some interesting characters and elements to keep supernatural-fantasy genre fans compelled by the concept and characters. Yamaguchi is a solid director and the filmmaking is entertaining enough to keep audiences compelling.

Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The animation on the series is exceptional and the efforts of the animators is something to appreciate. However, the encode on the release is underwhelming and most of this is due to the source material and the inherit limitations of the animation and its production.

Unfortunately, the anime was produced with standard-definition materials and the core animation footage isn't in the best shape. Everything seems less crisp and defined as one might hope to find for a high-definition release. As a upscale, the presentation leaves a lot to be desired and there are some inherent presentation woes (including some occasionally jarring judder inherent in the source). The limited (and disappointing) source material leaves one feeling underwhelmed.

Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is reasonably good (and fares a little bit better than the video counterpart). Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The track isn't as pristine sounding as some modern productions and these limitations could be source related. The track is nonetheless perfectly serviceable (even if it isn't as dynamic or robust as modern productions). The release is only available in the original Japanese. The release does not include an English dub audio option.

Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns - 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: Humanity Has Declined (HD, 1:32), Beyond the Boundary (HD, 1:31), Chaika The Coffin Princess (HD, 1:31), and Seitokai Yakuindomo: The Movie 2 (HD, 00:32).

Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns is an interesting experiment with some compelling characters and beautiful aesthetic flourishes. The series might not hit all the right notes but it does offer some decent entertainment. The Blu-ray release from Sentai Filmworks provides an upconversion (that is underwhelming due to source limitations) and lossless Japanese language audio (with English subtitles). There is no English dub option. The release doesn't include much in the way of supplemental material. Nonetheless, despite some drawbacks to the release, Sentai provides fans with a nice "complete" set. Despite some limitations, fans might wish to pick it up.