Typhoon Noruda Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Typhoon Noruda Blu-ray Movie Review

An entertaining and action-packed anime gem.

Typhoon Noruda is an entertaining anime short film produced for Fuji Television Network. The feature was produced by Studio Colorido (Penguin Highway, Children of the Sea). Featuring breathtaking animation, a compelling story, and superb direction, Typhoon Noruda has plenty to offer up to audiences.

Best-friends Kenta Saijo (Daichi Kaneko) and Shuichi Azuma (Shuhei Nomura) have a huge fight over baseball – causing a rift in their friendship. After the fight is over, Shuichi decides to quit baseball forever (even after playing the game throughout his entire life). Yet the personal dilemmas of the middle school students baseball lives changes when a dangerous typhoon arrives in Japan and it manages to bring forth unending rain, uproarious wind, and electric storms.

A mysterious girl of unknown origins arrives at the turn of the storm: Noruda (Kaya Kiyohara). Does Noruda hold the key to understanding the typhoon and surviving the dangerous weather? Will Kenta and Shuichi be able to put aside their differences and band together to save themselves (as well as the entire planet)?

The animation in Typhoon Noruda is outstanding from start to finish. The film features beautiful art and the animators clearly delivered their best effort on the big scale production. Under the art direction of Mika Nishimura (Natsume's Book of Friends, Children of the Sea), the animation team delivered in spades.

Not only is the art direction superb in Typhoon Noruda, the animation direction by Hiroyasu Ishida (Penguin Highway, Control Bear) is also outstanding. Ishida even crafted great character designs as well. The film soars to rare heights: showcasing the majesty of the medium in every frame of the film. A beautiful looking film that all anime fans should check out.

The big typhoon.

The cinematography by Mitsuhiro Sato (Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Attack on Titan: The Final Season) also provides Typhoon Noruda with a crisp and vibrant aesthetic which showcases the stunning animation of the story. The expert CGI supervised by Norihiko Miyoshi (The Wind Rises, Weathering With You) is similarly a knock-out success which makes the film seem even more epic in scope.

One of the best elements of the production is the energetic music score composed by Masashi Hamauzu (Good Luck Girl!, ClassicaLoid). The music sounds epic and exciting throughout the feature. The big action beats of the story are brought to life with the music: enhancing the tone of the production with undeniable style. The excellent sound design by Satoshi Motoyama (One Week Friends, Princess Tutu) adds to the experience too.

Edited by Hiroshi Okuda (Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone), Typhoon Noruda is a perfectly-paced gem. There are no excess moments to drag down the story. At a brisk run-time, Typhoon Noruda is never burdened by 'filler' material to pad out the storytelling. Okuda did a good job as editor.

Yojiro Arai (Control Bear) directs Typhoon Noruda. Having also worked as a key animator on the likes of Penguin Highway and Napping Princess, Arai transitioned from their usual role as an animator to handling the directing duties for the project. Typhoon Noruda is super fun, charming, and exciting. Everything about the film entertains. Despite a short run-time, Typhoon Noruda has plenty of excitement for anime fans and Arai handles the story well. Don't miss it.

Typhoon Noruda Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai, Typhoon Noruda is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release features an outstanding video-presentation which showcases the beautiful and evocative colors used by the animators. The encode showcases the visuals with exceptional clarity. Colors are vibrant throughout the presentation. The encode is excellent and never suffered from significant issues (such as banding).

Typhoon Noruda Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with English subtitles. The lossless audio is superb throughout the feature and is crisp, clear, and altogether engaging. Dialogue remains easy to understand.

The music score is similarly well reproduced. The surround usage is dynamic and engaging throughout. For a animated short film. Typhoon Noruda sounds exceptional and the imaginative surround sound is well-worth exploration.

Typhoon Noruda Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

"Control Bear WONDER GARDEN" Short Animated Film (HD, 4:05)

Talk Event (HD, 39:14)

Zadankai Interviews (HD, 36:28)

Japanese Trailers (HD, 3:05)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Children Who Chase Lost Voices (HD, 00:46), Grave of the Fireflies (HD, 1:47), and Clannad: The Motion Picture (SD, 00:42).

Typhoon Noruda Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Typhoon Noruda is an entertaining short feature that no anime fan will want to miss out on. The filmmaking is exquisite and showcases breathtaking animation and exciting action-packed direction. Anime fans will also love the art style of the film. The Blu-ray release from Sentai Filmworks features a strong video-audio presentation. Highly recommended.