Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: OVA Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: OVA Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Everything I expected from the second season of the television series can be found in these five episodes.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner January 24, 2011

Given my ho-hum reaction to the 52-episode Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles anime series, I wasn’t exactly elated by the prospect of reviewing the newly released original video animation (OVA) collection from FUNimation. After all, if 52 episodes can’t strike a chord with viewers, what effect will five additional episodes create? The answer to that question is both exciting and troubling at the same time, but we’ll dig further into that topic later. First and foremost, you’re likely interested in knowing more about what this package entails, and why it justifies such a hefty price tag in comparison with a full length anime series from FUNimation. To answer those questions, let’s look under the hood at the bones of this release. Starting things off, we have a 3-episode OVA collection titled Tokyo Revelations, which transitions somewhat into a 2-episode OVA series titled Spring Thunder. Both series were animated by Production I.G., directed by Shunsuke Tada and written by Nanase Ohkawa. The first series was released one year after the conclusion of the television anime series (2007), with Spring Thunder hitting Japanese shelves in 2009. To date, these open-ended OVA collections mark the conclusion of the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles anime series, though I suspect the further adventures of our protagonists remain far from over.

Spring Thunder is definitely the more colorful of the two OVA collections.

As a word of warning, it’s impossible to discuss the synopsis of each OVA collection without giving away some rather significant spoilers in the process. For those of you who’d rather avoid any mention of the show’s path, I’d recommend you skip straight to the technical sections and read my “spoiler free” closing thoughts for a final assessment of these episodes.

Tokyo Revelations:

Arriving in a post apocalyptic version of Tokyo, Syaoran and his fellow travelers encounter a gang of survivors who’ve assembled in the crippled remains of a municipal building. After prying for information as to their whereabouts, they discover the Tokyo of old has been ravaged by decades of acid rain, which decimated the remaining supply of drinkable water. Located in the heart of the building they wish to protect is a reservoir of fresh water, made pure by one of Sakura’s missing feathers. After initially mistaking the dimensional travelers for thieves, the leader of the survivors welcomes them to stay, provided they pitch in with the scavenging efforts and help protect the municipal building from a rival clan. Before long, Fai discovers the leader is none other than Kamui, one of the vampire twins, who reveals himself during a fight with Syaoran. Meanwhile, the mysterious glass-encased Syaoran in the dimension populated by Fei Wong Reed is able to escape with the help of Yuko, and travel to Tokyo in search of the alternate version of himself. As both Syaoran’s come face to face with one another, the truth regarding each traveler’s past is finally revealed, and we discover a fragment of Fei Wong Reed’s motives in playing puppeteer along their journey.

Spring Thunder:

After a curse is activated by Fei Wong Reed, Fai struggles to free his fellow travelers from the snare holding them in the land of Celes. Recognizing his inability to produce sufficient magic, Kurogane valiantly slices off his own arm in exchange for a boost to Fai’s powers, thereby teleporting the group to Kurogane’s homeland of Nihon. Having witnessed Kurogane’s sacrifice from afar, Princess Tomoyo barters with the dimensional witch Yuko to obtain a replacement arm for the swordsman. The arm is brought to Kurogane by the vampire hunter Fumma, whose presence is immediately followed by the arrival of his brother Seishiro. Knowing Seishiro possesses one of Sakura’s missing feathers, Syaoran engages him in battle, eventually gaining control of the lost feather. This inexplicably transports Syaoran to an alternate dream world where he meets up with Sakura and Watanuki, though the reunion is quickly broken up by the arrival of the Syaoran’s feather-hunting duplicate. Both versions of Syaoran engage in battle over the feather as Sakura remains caught in the middle, while new revelations emerge regarding Sakura’s origins, the ultimate plans of Fei Wong Reed, and the idea that a new player may hold the key to solving the entire adventure.

Since there’s a decent level of continuity between the events that occur in both OVA collections, I’ve decided to address the content in the entire package as a whole, rather than separating my thoughts to correlate with each synopsis. As most of you can likely tell, the events in these five episodes inject new life into a series that remained ploddingly slow during the majority of the 52 episode run, and left me shaking my head in frustration at the thin excuse for a conclusion. During the course of a mere 150 minutes, we finally have an explanation for the mysterious version of Syaoran held captive in a glass tank, greater knowledge of the role Fei Wong Reed has played, and adequate background history on each of the multidimensional travelers. These are all significant elements that were missing from the original television series, and demanded explanation in order to peak my interest. As I mentioned earlier, it’s both exciting and sad to find such a well-done conclusion to the story (I’m using that term loosely, since there’s still a chance they could continue the story in one of the many Clamp universes), especially when you consider it only took five episodes to accomplish what 52 never could. Imagine how much better the original series would have been if they’d infused such revelations and dense storytelling along the way, rather than saving everything for a mere five episode supplement.

Beyond the revelatory nature of this collection, I was also quite smitten with the noticeable change in tone throughout these episodes. The original series involved occasional adult themes and periodically stumbled down a dark path, but the OVA’s finally deliver that one element that was always missing from the series – a sense of mortality. Littered with multiple stabbings, a severed limb, blood splashed faces, and an indirect depiction of a removed eyeball being devoured, this is no longer children’s anime. I’m not sure what sparked the decision to conclude the series on such a dark tone, but it had a dramatic impact on my impressions of the anime as a whole, and almost bumped it into recommended territory.

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: OVA Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 23Mbps), Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: OVA Collection offers a strong visual presentation, which benefits greatly from an animation upgrade over the prior television series. Although the anime studio responsible for the first two seasons of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (Bee Train) was a division of Production I.G., they eventually split off to form their own independent studio, leaving future work on the series to others artists at the renowned parent company. Given the popularity of the series in Japan, I'd suspect Clamp and Production I.G. had no reservations in dedicating a higher budget to these follow-up episodes, and the results definitely show. I always found the animation on the original series a bit plain and static in comparison with other series of the same period, but these OVA's fall much closer to the quality of a theatrical release. Movement during fight sequences is fluid and stylish, background details offer greater depth, and lighting effects are handled with a touch more flair. If you happen to own either the "Collected Memories" box set, or the "Clamp Double Feature", and viewed the theatrical Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles film A Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom, you'll have an accurate representation of the animation quality found on this release.

Regarding the technical proficiency of this transfer, there's precious little to complain about. Detail is more than adequate for a high definition anime release; colors appear bold and striking (with the exception of the intentionally muted palette of outdoor sequences on Tokyo Revelations); and the depth of blacks is exceptional (allowing contrast a wide span between light and dark sections of the picture). I searched in vain for examples of stair-stepping, aliasing, banding, or edge-enhancement, but eventually settled on a final assessment that this is a stable, accurate presentation of striking source material.

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: OVA Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Following in the footsteps of the original series, FUNimation provides a TrueHD 5.1 English dub track, and a TrueHD 2.0 track in the original language of Japanese. Considering the length of the original series, I grew accustomed to the English language version (watching subtitles for hours on end became rough on the eyes after awhile), so I felt comfortable spending the majority of my time with the English option on this release as well. Fortunately for us, there's little room for complaint when it comes to the talented voice acting among the English cast, since they all bring certain nuances to each character they portray. The Japanese option is still plenty adequate from a dialog standpoint, but considering the front-heavy nature of the audio experience, I'd wager all but the most faithful will opt for the theater-enhanced 5.1 mix. Digging a bit deeper into audio nuances on the English track, this OVA collection assembles multiple large-scale battles, soft stretches of revelatory dialog, encounters with various monsters, and the same enchanting musical numbers found in the original series. Considering the number of contrasting elements thrown into the mix, one might expect a slip or two along the way, but thankfully those concerns are quickly put to rest by the open design and the wonderful manner in which immersive elements are utilized. From arrows flying across the screen, to the emergence of a giant sandworm, the audio engineers have done everything possible to place the viewer in the heart of the action, while still allowing the softer elements to sparkle.

If given the option of scoring the audio offerings separately, I'd give the English track a 4.5/5, and the Japanese track a 2.5/5. The difference between the two tracks is certainly notable, but I doubt the lack of surround separation on the Japanese mix will severely detract from your overall enjoyment of the show.

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: OVA Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The included special features aren't extensive by any stretch of the imagination, but at least FUNimation put the effort into assembling a collection of English cast/crew commentary tracks for each episode on the disc. Unlike your typical commentary tracks on other anime series, the contributors here tend to focus extensively on the job duties of various members involved in these English adaptations, and divulge a great deal of interesting information on such items as marketing, festival appearances, the logistics of recording individual voices, and the collaborative work they do with the Japanese licensee. Contributors include: Monica Rial (Sakura), Micah Solosud (Kamui & Sabaru), Joel McDonald (director of Tsubasa: Season 2 and voice of Fuma), Nathanael Harrison (Mixing Engineer), Colleen Clinkenbeard (Line Producer and voice of Yuko), Curtis Schaub (Brand Manager), Vic Mignogna (Fai Flowright), Michele Specht (Amaterasu), J. Michael Tatum (Seishiro), and Christopher Sabat (Kurogane).

Aside from the five commentary tracks, we have textless opening/closing songs for each collection, and a series of trailers for other FUNimation releases.

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: OVA Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've read my review of the "Collected Memories" box set (containing all 52 episodes of the original series and a theatrical film called The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom), you'll recall my overwhelming disappointment in the number of unexplained elements left hanging. At that time, I found little reason for anyone to sit through a 24 hour journey without a sufficient payoff at the end. Now that I've witnessed the five episodes contained on this disc, I'm willing to alter my previous assessment to a recommendation of the series as a whole, so long as you buy or rent the OVA collection as well. Chock full of revelations that add far-reaching depth to the overall story arch, this five episode run is everything I desired in the original series, sparking renewed interest in the events that preceded this conclusion.

As a minor side-note, I'm aware the current price may seem restrictive in comparison to FUNimation's typical pricing on full-length series, but there are two key items to keep in mind. First, the original Japanese release of the OVA episodes were spread across five DVD's, with one episode included on each disc (making it a bargain to receive all five on a single Blu-ray disc). Second, the cost of the original 52-episode run on Blu-ray can be found for a mind-bogglingly low price on a fairly consistent basis, so when you combine the purchase price for the OVA's and the entire rest of the series, this is one of the best anime deals currently available on Blu-ray.