Twittering Birds Never Fly - The Clouds Gather Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Twittering Birds Never Fly - The Clouds Gather Blu-ray Movie Review

Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather is a romantic-drama with some dark dramatic underpinnings. Produced by Yuka Okayasu (BNA: Brand New Animal, Ride Your Wave), Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather features animation production by GRIZZLY (Twittering Birds Never Fly - The Storm Breaks, Twittering Birds Never Fly: Don't Stay Gold). Created by Kou Yoneda, Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather comes from executive producer Yukiko Takase and delivers fans of the franchise a story of unexpected love and romantic encounters.

Set against the backdrop of the Yakuza and the criminal underworld, Chikara Dōmeki (Wataru Hatano) finds himself in a new assignment as a bodyguard. The former cop is on a new mission unlike anything he has experienced before. Now Domeki must protect his big boss, Yashiro (Tarusuke Shingaki). Domeki finds himself becoming affectionate towards his boss.

With the crime underworld a backdrop to the tale, the saga ultimately unfolds while exploring the romantic interlude between Yashiro and Domeki – who is in a new situation. While Domeki usually has had past experiences with women, he has become impotent for an extended period and no longer gets any arousal. In a strange situation with his boss, Domeki begins to have sexual encounters with his boss despite the fact he is unable to become aroused by his advancements.

As the tale unfolds, Domeki tells boss Yashiro about witnessing the brutal sexual assault of his sister years prior and being unable to stop it - and that it caused him to become permanently impotent ever since. Despite struggling to get any arousal (and considered himself a man who likes women), Domeki falls into a strange relationship alongside Yashiro and things head in unexpected directions – as the unlikely pair become involved between one another.

One of the most surprisingly effective elements of the production is the excellent cast of characters for the feature-film. The central protagonists are both compelling leads: Domeki and Yashiro are both distinct characters and each has their own unique personality. The characterizations were quite impressive and remained engaging throughout the feature-film. For a romantic-drama, these characterizations emphasized the romantic character traits of the lead protagonists and it was effectively integrated within the production.

The film has some compelling character designs by Akiko Kumada (Conception) and Tsuyoshi Kuwahara (Dance Dance Danseur). The design efforts are noteworthy for showcasing the unique and contrasting elements of the lead characters. The characters might seem like polar opposites at first – but instead, there are elements where the designs showcase both the distinct elements and the familiar as well.

The animation was handled under the chief art direction of Masaru Satō (Armitage III, Brain Powered) and Takayoshi Fukushima (anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Hitorijime My Hero). The series animation direction is handled by Akiko Kumada (Convenience Store Boy Friends, Skeleton Knight in Another World). The animation style on the series isn’t the most complex or original yet the art still appears colorful, creative, and unique-enough to make the art style reasonably engaging on the whole.

The cinematography by Mitsuhiro Sato (The Gymnastics Samurai, King of Thorn) is one of the best visual elements. Sato seems to understand the genre and made sure that the cinematographic approach was something that would fit the production goals well. Sato utilizes the visual element of the lensing by showcasing both light and dark elements to the story and the animation – the romantic elements sometimes are “bright” when compared to the darker underpinnings of the drama.

The score by H ZETTRIO (Twittering Birds Never Fly: Don't Stay Gold) was nothing special and worth writing home about. The score is simply adequate background music. It doesn’t stand out much. It ultimately fails to make much of an impression at all. Many of the scenes are better with quieter moments, where the score doesn’t stand out as much and simply is a mere backdrop at best.

Written by Hiroshi Seko (Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga), Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather doesn’t seem as original or compelling as it could be on paper but the storytelling is decent enough. I thought the script was uneven but it had some compelling elements – and it still might be one of the best things about the anime. Seko doesn’t have the best dialogue but the script is good enough at providing a balance of romance and drama.

Directed by Kaori Makita (Twittering Birds Never Fly: Don't Stay Gold, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku), Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather surprises with a tender love story at the heart of the production. Despite the Yakuza background storyline elements, the main story was centered on an unexpected romance – one with many questions in the air (especially with one of the characters being impotent). Makita handles the directing well and the filmmaking has a nice flow and pace to it. While far from groundbreaking or award-worthy, Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather is a bit better than the norm for a romantic-drama anime.

Twittering Birds Never Fly - The Clouds Gather Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The film features a strong presentation. The picture quality is excellent and has strong colors and depth. Cinematography looks sleek and crisp on the release. The release has superb detail and doesn't suffer egregious issues with banding or other anomalies. A strong effort from Sentai.

Twittering Birds Never Fly - The Clouds Gather Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. The lossless audio quality on the release is exceptional. Dialogue was remarkably crisp and clear during the audio presentation. The score was well reproduced and sounded nice and crisp and bright. This is a presentation that lacks a bit in LFE/depth but it sounds remarkably clear and pleasant. A solid presentation. Please note that the release is only presented in the original Japanese language. The release does not provide an English dubbed option. The subtitles are excellent and were free from grammatical or spelling errors.

Twittering Birds Never Fly - The Clouds Gather Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Twittering Animals Have Gotta Do It! Shorts: 1 (HD, 00:45), 2 (HD, 00:48), 3 (HD, 00:57), 4 (HD, 00:58), 5 (HD, 00:24), 6 (HD, 00:39), 7 (HD, 00:35), 8 (HD, 00:44), 9 (HD, 00:35), 10 (HD, 00:45), 11 (HD, 00:53), 12 (HD, 00:43), 13 (HD, 00:36), 14 (HD, 00:42), 15 (HD, 00:33), 16 (HD, 1:00), 17 (HD, 00:45), 18 (HD, 00:37), 19 (HD, 00:35), 20 (HD, 00:27), 21 (HD, 00:40), 22 (HD, 1:07), 23 (HD, 00:46), 24 (HD, 00:41) and 25 (HD, 00:54).

Japanese Promos (HD, 3:04)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Hitorijime My Hero (HD, 1:34), Love Stage!! (HD, 1:30), Aragne: Sign of Vermillion (HD, 1:05), and Majestic Prince: Genetic Awakening (HD, 1:15).

Twittering Birds Never Fly - The Clouds Gather Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Twittering Birds Never Fly – the clouds gather is a romantic-drama anime revolving around the world of the "underworld" and Japanese yakuza. The main storyline is decent and more interesting than I had originally expected. The plot-line revolves around a romance between a tough bodyguard (who identified as straight but has been impotent for many years in the story) and his boss, whom he is protecting during the storyline, and their romantic encounters together.

The story also revolves around masochism and dark sexual fetishes. Some might find it is not their cup of tea but it was a decent drama and was more competently produced than anticipated. While I do not personally consider myself as part of the target audience, it was a decent drama, and well- made. The Blu-ray has a strong video and audio presentation and some exclusive bonus features. Recommended.