When Will Ayumu Make His Move? - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

When Will Ayumu Make His Move? - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

When Will Ayumu Make His Move? is a sweet-natured and charming slice-of-life anime with a romantic side to the storyline. The series features animation produced by SILVER LINK. (Non Non Biyori, Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon). The theme music is performed by Kana Hanazawa (OP) and Kanna Nakamura (ED). The animation is from producer Yūto Shimizu (The Dungeon of Black Company, The World's Finest Assassin). Created by Sōichirō Yamamoto, When Will Ayumu Make His Move? features voice performances from Yōhei Azakami and Kanna Nakamura.

Embarking on a new adventure as a high school student, Ayumu Tanaka (Yōhei Azakami) sets his sight on joining the Kendo club. Ayumu was an ace at the game of Kendo back in middle school and wants nothing more than to continue the game. Yet Ayumu finds himself drawn instead to the board game known as Shogi.

The game of Shogi is commonly known as the Japanese equivalent to the game of chess. The game of Shogi becomes far more complicated than Ayumu ever expected it to be when he switched gears from Kendo to Shogi. The reason why? It is all because of the feelings he begins to develop for the second-year girl in the Shogi club, Urushi Yaotome (Kanna Nakamura).

Though it seems like Ayumu can hint around and suggest that he likes Urushi, Ayumu can’t just come right out and say how he feels to her because the game begins with him being sworn in to not sharing these feelings unless he manages to win a game against her. The reason this becomes a big dilemma? Urushi is a lot better at the game of Shogi than Ayumu is. Can Ayumu ever confess his feelings of love for Urushi?

The series has a remarkably charming cast of characters and this is one of the key elements of When Will Ayumu Make His Move? and why the series works as well as it does. The central leads provide a fun and whimsical side to the series. Ayumu Tanaka is a soft-spoken individual who often keeps quiet (but he also has his moments). Urushi is a bit better with showing her emotions (wearing them on her own sleeve).

The two make for an interesting pair of friends and potential (would-be) romantic partners. Exploring their friendship, When Will Ayumu Make His Move? does a good job of highlighting the pair and their eccentricities together. These compelling characters fit outside the box and aren’t just some ordinary teenagers. The characters exhibit interesting personalities and it is fun to see the personalities explored through the back-and-forth of the game of Shogi.

The character designs by Kazuya Hirata (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya: Vow in the Snow, BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.) are compelling as well. The design elements are one of the most charming aspects of the production. The character on When Will Ayumu Make His Move? are well designed. These characters certainly feel at home within the story and there is something that is quite appreciable about this side of the production.

The animation is one of the best qualities of When Will Ayumu Make His Move? and a good reason to check out the series. The series has impressive looking art. The art direction is ushered in by Hideto Nakahara (Lost Universe, The Slayers Next). Hideto is an impressive art director – someone with a solid and compelling filmography – with the effort on Slayers being of particular note. The work done for When Will Ayumu Make His Move? is certainly compelling and adds to the charm of the production as well.

The chief animation direction by Kazuya Hirata (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, A Sister's All You Need) and Kazuyuki Yamayoshi (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya - Licht Nameless Girl, BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. ) is a highlight of the production as well. Everyone who was involved with the animation production did an excellent job with the series. The animators brought something special to the table.

The cinematography by Yūtarō Kikuchi (The Misfit of Demon King Academy, The Ones Within) helps with the series tone nicely. Cinematographer Kikuchi understood the assignment and provided the series with an impressive aesthetic. The animation is colorful and the vibrant aesthetic is something that manages to highlight the fun comedic tone of the series well.

The score composed by Shun Narita (The Girl in Twilight, Too Cute Crisis) is a highlight of When Will Ayumu Make His Move? as well. Narita is a talented composer and someone who works well with exploring the characters. The score is a nice backdrop to the romantic-comedy elements. A fun, charming, and effective element of the series.

The series was written by Deko Akao (Arakawa Under the Bridge, My Roommate is a Cat) and Yumi Suzumori (Komi Can't Communicate, Sylvanian Families: Flare no Happy Diary). With these talents involved in the writing process, When Will Ayumu Make His Move? showcases the story well with compelling characters and a fun concept brought to life. The game of Shogi is a fun aspect of the production. The characters still take the forefront of When Will Ayumu Make His Move? and add something distinct to the experience.

Directed by Mirai Minato (Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, Masamune-kun's Revenge), When Will Ayumu Make His Move? is a wonderful exploration of friendship and romance. The series explores these elements of romance through the game of Shogi. Director Minato handles the vibrant and fun side of the series – making When Will Ayumu Make His Move? a compelling slice-of-life series.

When Will Ayumu Make His Move? - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, When Will Ayumu Make His Move? is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation is impressive on the release and works well at highlighting the production and its colorful animation. The animation is a bit soft looking in some areas of the presentation and this appears to be a source-related element.

The animation is not quite a crisp looking as on some anime productions. Nonetheless, the encode capably preserves the animation style. Sentai Filmworks did a solid job handling the presentation and the encode quality is worthwhile. The release has a solid and appreciable bit-rate and this element of the release is superior to streaming alternatives.

When Will Ayumu Make His Move? - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless Japanese audio track sounds crisp and clear on the release. Dialogue sounds excellent and is well reproduced. The score is highlighted well on the release as well. There is a good sense of audio clarity and depth. The track might not be as immersive as a 5.1 surround sound track might have offered, but the stereo audio sound imaging sounds perfectly serviceable for a slice-of-life genre production with romantic elements.

The only real downside to the audio portion of the release is the lack of an English dubbed option. Fans of English dubs will be a little disappointed to find that there is only the original Japanese language audio track. Nonetheless, audio purists who prefer the Japanese language option will find nothing significant to complain about with regards to the quality of the audio encoding.

When Will Ayumu Make His Move? - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release is almost barebones and doesn't have an impressive supplemental package. The release may have been a little bit more impressive with a selection of audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, or art galleries with character art or background illustrations. Nonetheless, on disc supplementals include:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

When Will Ayumu Make His Move? - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When Will Ayumu Make His Move? is a charming romantic-comedy anime with a slice-of-life element at the heart of the series. The anime series explores the developing friendship and budding romance of Ayumu Tanaka (Yōhei Azakami) and Urushi Yaotome (Kanna Nakamura). The series finds charm in exploring these characters and their world together – all while playing the game of Shogi (a popular Japanese game compared to chess). Fans of quirky, cute, and charming anime series with romance will enjoy When Will Ayumu Make His Move?

The Blu-ray release includes an impressive video and audio presentation. Sentai Filmworks has capably handled both elements of the presentation. The only potential drawbacks to the release are the lack of English dubbing and a relatively lackluster supplemental package (which only includes clean opening and closing animations). Fans of When Will Ayumu Make His Move? will still want to pick up the release for their collection. Recommended.