Tsurune: The Movie - The First Shot Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Tsurune: The Movie - The First Shot Blu-ray Movie Review

Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is an emotionally rewarding and well-done sports drama. The feature-film highlights the animation production by Kyoto Animation (Beyond the Boundary, Violet Evergarden). Distributed by Shochiku, Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is condensed and re-edited from the series. Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is based on the first season of the anime.

The compilation film adapts the anime season entitled Tsurune. Based on the light novel book series created and written by Kotoko Ayano, Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot was released in Japanese cinemas on August 19, 2022. Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot features voice-performances by Yūto Uemura and Shintarō Asanuma.

Minato Narumiya (Yūto Uemura) develops a passion and love for archery from an early age. Even as a youth, Minato begins to feel connected to the simple act of holding a bow and arrow. The beautiful sound of the tsurune – the unison of bow and arrow – is something that holds a profound effect on Minato.

Despite falling in love with the art of archery, Minato strays from the craft briefly and moves on to other things. The passion Minato has for archery is reawakened when he finds himself joining the Kyudo Club at the Kazemai High School.  Minato is back in the swing of things as archery once again takes a special place in his heart. Can Minato master the craft of archery? Ultimately, the simple beauty of archery helps pave the future for Minato as he finds it his calling in life.

Minato Narumiya is a compelling lead character for the production. One can sense the passion of the character and the drive to be the best possible archer from a nearly age. The love for archery is an incredible thing for Minato Narumiya. Minato Narumiya falls in love with the practice and is never the same. Anyone with a creative passion will find something to relate to with the character and his unique journey with the sport.

The character designs by Miku Kadowaki (Beyond the Boundary, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid) are well done. The designs fit the characters well and add to the aesthetic charm of the production. These are certainly quality design efforts by Kadowaki.

The animation is beautiful in Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot. The art direction by Shōko Ochiai (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S, Tsurune: The Linking Shot) is incredible and some of the best animation in a modern anime. The aesthetic is wonderful and there is a lot to appreciate about the style. The chief animation direction by Nobuaki Maruki (Tamako Market, Violet Evergarden) also adds to the film, enhancing the aesthetic qualities. Background animation is by Shōko Ochiai. The animators did an incredible thing with highlighting the artistry of the series – both its themes and its characters. An incredible accomplishment by the animation team.  

The cinematography by Kōhei Funamoto (Violet Evergarden, Liz and the Blue Bird) adds a lot to the visual wonder of the feature-film. Funamoto does a good job with the production and the art style certainly feels as though it is well-enhanced by the cinematography – highlighting bright and colorful visuals in spades. Funamoto is quite the talent.

The score composed by Masaru Yokoyama (Arakawa Under the Bridge, Tsurune: The Linking Shot) is a thing of beauty. The score is wonderful and adds so much depth and warmth to the filmmaking. The music by Yokoyama is wondrous and helps elevate the dramatic backbone of the series. Quite the accomplishment by the composer.

Written and directed by Takuya Yamamura (Tsurune: The Linking Shot, Violet Evergarden), Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is an emotionally resonant feature-film and it does an excellent job condensing and exploring the series. The film tells a good story – a story about a dreamer and his dreams as an archer. The filmmaking is impressive and the poetic sense of direction adds to Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot.

Even though Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is a compilation film the editing and filmmaking is surprisingly well-done and it makes a good impression. Sometimes these types of films feel a bit unnecessary to me and less interesting but when well-done the filmmaking can still feel relevant and worth a look for some. Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is surprisingly solid and better edited than anticipated. A well-done feature and one that fans of the series (and newcomers alike) will want to see. There’s more to appreciate here than to dismiss and fans of the original saga will be curious to see the results. Yamamura understood the narrative needs of the story and did a good job and that counts for something.

Tsurune: The Movie - The First Shot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot 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 crisp and colorful on the release. The aesthetic is superb and the encoding capably preserves the background animation and line art. The encoding is excellent and the transfer is free from any issues with egregious banding and other potential video deficiencies – a well-done presentation for the release.

Blu-ray continues to offer a superior viewing option for home theater enthusiasts. The format offers higher video bit-rates compared to streaming video services. For videophiles and enthusiasts, this sometimes makes a big difference. The quality impresses and adds to the value of the format.

Tsurune: The Movie - The First Shot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The sound direction by Yota Tsuruoka (Arakawa Under the Bridge, Puella Magi Madoka Magica) is capably reproduced and preserved on the release. Dialogue is crisp and clear sounding. The score is well highlighted and integrated into the stereo soundstage. The English subtitles are well-done and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors. No English dub option was provided on the release. This is quite the surprise and unfortunate for English dub fans. Regardless, fans of the original Japanese language version who don't enjoy English dubbed offerings will be more than satisfied.

The Blu-ray format has a distinct advantage over streaming video services: lossless audio encoding is a staple. None of the streaming video platforms offer lossless audio encoding. The Blu-ray disc format allows for uncompressed audio – which is sometimes a big advantage. In the case of Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot, the lossless audio impresses and certainly added to the experience. The music sounded especially impressive on the release. This is noteworthy and an important distinction between physical media and streaming.

Tsurune: The Movie - The First Shot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes in a standard Blu-ray case. The release does not include an o-card slipcover. The release does not include any collectable pack- ins or additional "physical extras" for fans.

On disc:

Japanese Promos (HD, 2:38)

The release could have fared better with more on-disc supplements. The release would have been more well-rounded with the addition of audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast/crew interviews, production diaries, art galleries, photo galleries, and more. Unfortunately, the release is essentially barebones with only a small selection of Japanese promotional videos – these supplements add little of value to the release and won't help entice anyone to make a purchase.

Tsurune: The Movie - The First Shot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is an affecting and emotionally rewarding sports drama about a boy with a passion for archery. The filmmaking is well-done and the animation is impressive. Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot is well worth seeing.

The Blu-ray release includes a quality high-definition presentation and lossless audio encoding. The release does not include any significant bonus features. The release comes in a standard case.

The package could have been more well-rounded with both some extra on-disc supplements and even physical 'goodies' (such as a slipcover, art-cards, and booklet). Unfortunately, the package is pretty much a barebones release. Fans of Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot may still wish to consider a purchase for ownership and a nice video-audio presentation. Recommended.