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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Geneon Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. Finally, the next chapter of this strange love story. As Kaoru didn't have enough trouble, another girl comes into the picture, Mayu. Kissing seem to be the main topic & things just get more complex between Kaoru & Aoi. Tina get jealous for some unknown reasons, but it's fun seeing her reactions. Boy, she shouldn't drink so much. Bong! Aoi is still cute. Also, it's a special day for Aoi & I think I can understand why Kaoru is working so hard to get a gift for her. The last episode on this DVD is my favorite, this will touch your heart & it will get you to know a little bit more about Aoi & Kaoru & the moment what Aoi's been waiting for so long have arrived. Oh, it did brings me to tears!
Video:
Geneon Entertainment did a very great job, again. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. There is some watermarks done for the introduction & ending credits (they are translated in English). Since all the episodes are on one single track on the DVD, there is no loading time or changing tracks when you move on to the next episode. Each episode is split into 5 parts: introduction, part A, part B, ending & the preview! I do note that you can skip all those warnings & logos when you first load the DVD by just pressing the "Menu" button on your remote control.
Dubbing: English:
The English dubbing is well done. They even capture the emotions & impacts during certain parts of the series. The dialogue even includes Japanese terms, like "chan" or "sama". This way, Geneon Entertainment can get it to be as close to the Japanese dialogue, since its mostly involve Japanese culture. However, because this a dubbing dialogue, they kinda remove the Japanese trying to speaking in English when Tina trips over Mayu on the first episode you see on this volume. It's like talking English in English! It's pretty funny. Mayu even have a British acent, since she studied in England, as she mention during the episode. It's about 85% of the original Japanese.
Audio 01: English 2.0:
No problem found.
Audio 02: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found.
Subtitle:
Geneon Entertainment have selected a great font, very easy to read. They use green for the introduction & ending themes, white for any text subtitling & yellow for the dialogues. There are two tracks of subtitling. One track is for the sign subtitling & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue. I might note that every odd numbered episodes, the intro & ending subtitles are in English, while the even numbered episodes are in Japanese original text on this volume. Since the last episode have a special ending, if you put the sign only subtitle track, the lyrics are in English, but for the Japanese dialogue subtitle track, it's in Japanese text.
Menu Option:
Like the other volumes, the menu is set up same way. The photo album does change with images from the episodes on this volume. It's very simple & there is a small animation, more water drop when you enter the menu & select the options. There is the "Play All", "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". When you select the option, you get a wave animation, it's kinda cute. Also, a different background music is playing, another soft nice music that I really like. However, it's only for the main menu, there is no music playing in the other screen section.
DVD Extras:
The extras is a little simple this time. You get the creditless ending, as well a creditless ending for EPS 15. There is also an art gallery for Taeko & Mayu.
Packaging:
Another colorful package, matching the other volumes. This time, you get to see Tina & Mayu having a little arguement & a little chibi Aoi in the back looks that she doesn't know what to do. In the back, you get some screenshots of the series. The insert matches the rest of the packaging. The insert have the chapter listing, with a screenshot from each episode & information about the Star Festival. Inside the insert, you will get another mini-poster of the beautiful Aoi. On the DVD disc itself, just little blue flowers with the transparent background. Since the DVD case is a clear one, you get to see the reversible cover, which is way better then the default one. She is wearing a very special kimono!
PC Viewing:
Watching it on the PC is the same as watching it on the TV. Very clean, no problem at all, very little pixel (little squares popping in & out), both normal mode & full screen mode. The sound is just great. The episodes are place on one single track as you play the episodes, so loading time is really small. You can fast forward to the first episode to the last episode with one move on your mouse! Like on your regular DVD player, you can skip the warnings & logos when you load the disc, just use the "menu" option to go to the menu screen.
Overall DVD Rating:
As the series goes on, you keep egtting another good laugh, as well parts that will touch your heart. I do recommend to watch it with someone you love & care.
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