AN DVD Review Thread

[Smith]

Review any DVD or series in whichever way you see fit.
It is common courtesy to say why something is great, or something sucks, with at least one sentence. Posting that something sucks without saying why is not a review. Also, it will be nice if you can avoid spoiling a DVD or a series.


Basilisk Disc one: Sweet, fully laden with great animation, characters, affection and desire to simply kill. This series has a heavy Ninja Scroll feel to it, with such offbeat characters that are strange yet deadly. Recommended if you are a fan of ninja or samurai in anime, because this has to be one of the best ninja anime out there.

AN's Basilisk listing

[Ed_Elric]

Shouldn't your review be more specific?
You need to show which release you're talking about, and you also need to specify the quality of the video and audio in the reviewed title.
This is how I would review an anime DVD title:

(name of the title in Bolded text)
Type of anime: Movie/OVA/TV
Volume: ? of ?
Released By:
Release Date:
Number of Discs:
Region:
MSRP:
Running time:
Video:
-Aspect Ratio:
-Quality (between 1-10):
-Your Opinion of it:
Audio:
-Languages and Audio-Mix(2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital etc.):
-Quality of the Selected Languages You Used (between 1-10):
-Your Opinion of it:
Subtitles:
Packaging & Menus: (Give you're personal opinion on each of these subjects).
Special Features: (Give you're personal opinion on the Extras included in this release; If there are any).
Short Introduction: (Give the readers a short introduction to the animes' title you're reviewing).

Conclusion and Special Notes: (Write your final opinion about the whole title and add special notes if you need to).
Final Score: (Give this title your final score between 1-10).

[Do not forget to add the title picture at the end]

Good Luck

[SonRyu]

Bleh, what's the point when the fine folks at Anime on DVD already do all the work

[Smith]

Type of anime: TV
Volume: 1 of 7(?)
Released By:Funimation
Release Date:August 8, 2006
Number of Discs:1
Region:R1
MSRP: $29.99
Running time: 4 episodes, presumably 20 minutes each
Video:
-Aspect Ratio:
-Quality (between 1-10): 10
-Your Opinion of it: Great
Audio: Am going to decline to comment on the audio, since I am deaf.
-Languages and Audio-Mix(2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital etc.):
-Quality of the Selected Languages You Used (between 1-10):
-Your Opinion of it:
Subtitles: Yes
Packaging & Menus: (Give you're personal opinion on each of these subjects). Packaging is well done, the SE is a wood box, with pictures of characters from Basilisk on the sides and top. I would much have preferred no pictures, but rather a simple box with just the Basilisk logo on it.
Special Features: (Give you're personal opinion on the Extras included in this release; If there are any). Extras are meh. A scroll that is just a pic of the main characters, and not a scroll of the kill list..
Short Introduction: The tagline for Basilisk is "Dearly beloved, please die." It is basically a clash between two rival ninja clans that have held a truce for 400(?) years and are finally unleashed aganist one another. The opposing clans have members who are in love with eachother, and that is the basis of the whole series. I have yet to even see volume 2, but I have heard it is a "Romeo and Juliet" type of story, which does not bother me, because the animation and character desgin are TOPNOTCH.

[Smith]

Speed Grapher
Type of anime:TV
Volume: 1 of 7(?)
Released By:Funimation
Release Date:July 2006
Region: R1
MSRP:$29.98, SE $35.88
Running time: 4 eps
Audio: I will decline to comment on this, since I am deaf.
Subtitles: yes, english
Packaging & Menus: This was a rental, the menu is nice, with a lot of style.
Short Introduction: (copied and pasted from Wikipedia) Speed Grapher follows the exploits of former war photographer Tatsumi Saiga, who investigates a secret fetish club for the ultra-wealthy. He tries to photograph the club's "goddess", a 15-year-old girl named Kagura, but is discovered. As he is about to be killed, Kagura kisses him, granting him the ability to destroy anything he photographs. Kagura's body fluids can give people bizarre abilities related to their fetishes or obsessions. The story develops as Saiga aims to grant Kagura's desire (her freedom), while on the run from the Secret club and the Tennouzu Group megacorporation that operates it.

Conclusion and Special Notes: Watching Speed Grapher was something of a rollercoaster for me. I watched the first 2 episodes a few nights ago, and was really disinterested in the show. Last night, I decided to watch the next 2 episodes on Disc one, and am left hanging for more of Speed Grapher. The animation is spotty in some scenes, but Speed Grapher is not about the animation, it seems to be about the story. I am tempted to buy the frist volume SE box and start collecting the series.
Final Score: 9/10

[AsukaxSohryux]

Speed Grapher
Type of anime: TV
Volume: 2 of 7
Released By:FUNImation
Release Date: Aug 22 2006
Number of Discs:1
Region: R1
MSRP: $29.98, $39.98 LE
Running time: Approx 100 Minutes
Video:
-Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 16x9
-Quality (between 1-10): 10
-Your Opinion of it: Superb
Audio:
-Languages and Audio-Mix(2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital etc.): English 5.1
-Quality of the Selected Languages You Used (between 1-10): 9
-Your Opinion of it: Dub was alright.
Subtitles: English (Songs only)
Packaging & Menus: Nice menus, and the packaging was good like all FUNImation titles are.
Special Features: The special features were alright, didnt delve deep enough into them to properly review them.
Short Introduction: An Ex- War Photographer , goes to investigate a secret club to find out some bizarre secrets. He attempts to photograph the secret clubs "Goddess" but is caught. He is then kissed by the "Goddess"(Kagura), and his deepest desire is awakened, to shoot energy(Explosives) from the lens of his camera....

Conclusion and Special Notes: This show is a trip. Vol. 2 brings in some bizzarre action and enemies. The animation is fluant and nice to watch. But as said by Char, its not about the animation its about the gripping story. Overall a great show with alot of action and adult themes.
Final Score: 9.5/10