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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Geneon Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. This is the final volume of this wonderful series, which I enjoy it very much. Aoi got sick, so everyone is trying to pitch in & help around the house chores, which turns out to be a disaster, but it's all good fun! As Aoi gets better, Kaoru brings Aoi to meet someone, someone special to him from his past. Then, Aoi leaves all of a sudden & without any reasons. As time goes by, she didn't return, this is where Kaoru finally face his fears from his past & go after Aoi. This volume is the one that really make me into tears. I won't stay anymore, I'm not going to spoil the wonderful ending!
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). It's pretty cool that they finally left the original Japanese ending for the last episode. 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. 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. 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, photo style of different part of the episodes on this DVD, with leaves of fall as a background. The photo album does change with images from the episodes on this volume. It's very simple & there is a small animation, with a leaf of fall goes by with the wind when you enter the menu & select the options. There is also leaves falling down. There is the "Play All", "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". 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 section of the menu.
DVD Extras:
No more art gallery on this volume, but there is a little bonus episode, called "Speaking of Dreams". It's not really a full episode, it's only about 5 minutes. However, this is only Japanese audio with subtitles! I wish they did dubbed it, it would be nice, but too bad. They also have the English credit of the last episode ending, since they left it with the original Japanese credit.
Packaging:
Another colorful package, mathcing the other volumes, but a little different, it's all orange, like the season of fall has come. On the cover, you see Kaoru & Aoi together. In the back, alot of screenshots. The insert match the design. There is a chapter list with a screenshot from each episode, & a little note that there will be more Ai Yori Aoshi, which will be coming soon on DVD this year! Inside the insert is another mini-poster of Aoi! On the DVD disc itself, it got the leaves of fall with the transparent background. Since the DVD case is a clear, you get to see the reversible cover, the same as the mini-poster in the insert, Aoi's kimono is fall off! Sexy!
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:
The last volume of this wonderful series. It will make you cry & move your heart. Be sure to watch it with someone you love & care! Bring tissue!
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