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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to ADV Films for sending a copy for a review for this site. Here is another interesting Anime to watch. Its start off a battle scene. At first, you won't be able to understand what's really going on, but it will be explain later on. Back to a normal life on a boy in love, Daisuke. He is getting ready to confess his love to Risa, who he is very much in love with. Things didn't turn out what he hopes for. On his fourteenth birthday, his destiny is revealed. His family, the Niwa, possesses a gene that only effect the males. It is activited when he is in love & he becomes the legendary theif, Phantom Dark. In a twist of fate, it gas to be Risa, the girl that he is love with & things can get really complicated. The only way to return back to normal is to win the affection of his true love, but only has the eyes for Dark, not Daisuke. Kinda feel sorry for him, don't you? But, there is a funny element to it. For now, Daisuke have to keep his other self a secret & his mission is to find magical items. EPS 03 on this volume is my favorite & that one really make me smile. Not only Dark save the day, but help someone to be happy once again. Even with that, Dark is still a thief in peoples eyes, someone mysterious & it is bound to attract many attention, such as the boy genius that seem to have his secret on his own. You won't know if Dark is actually a bad guy or a good guy, but at the very end, you will see which side he is really on. Now, this is really gonna be a blast.
Video:
ADV Films did a very great job. 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). The first episode is kinda strange, as it didn't have an introduction or ending theme. However, there are English credits only added to the very end of that episode. The episodes are on a different track, so there will be a small loading time when you move on to the next episode. Each episodes are separated into 6 parts: the prologue, the introduction, part A, part B, ending & the preview for the next episode! 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 dubbing is really great. It's about 85% of the original Japanese.
Audio 01: English 5.1:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system, I can't really say much.
Audio XX: English 2.0:
Just letting you know, there isn't an English 2.0 audio track on this DVD. This is artificially made from the 5.1 audio track, that's why I noted it as "XX". I found no problem with the audio, but I bet it would be alot more interesting with the 5.1.
Audio 02: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found.
Subtitle:
ADV Films have selected a great font, very easy to read. They use yellow for the introduction, ending themes & the Japanese dialogue & white for Japanese signs & text. There are two tracks of subtitling. One track is for the sign subtitling & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue. Since the first episode doesn't have an opening & ending theme, the subtitles English & Japanese starts on EPS 02, so every even numbered episodes, the intro & ending subtitles are in English, while the odd numbered episodes are in Japanese on this volume.
Menu Option:
The menu is pretty simple. There is no animation or special effects. It's the same as the cover, with a fading screenshots from the episodes in this volume with black feathers. There isn't a "Play All" feature, just a selection of one of the 4 episodes, "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". The background music is the main theme, however, the other section have other background music from the series.
DVD Extras:
Wow, there is alots of extras to see. First, you get a non-credit opening of the first episode only (the battle scene) and, which isn't really the opening for the other episodes, so it should be started EPS 01 opening. You will also get the non-credit ending as well. The best part is the dubbing voice actor commentary, done by Kevin Corn (Daisuke) & Vic Mignogna (Dark), for EPS 01. It's pretty cool, giving some in-depth view of the series & the dubbing prosess. There is even a clip on the the making of the opening theme (the singer) along with the original Japanese promotion & TV spots.
Packaging:
The cover seem simple, yet colorful. I find it very well done. On the cover, you see Dark wiith a few screenshots from the episodes on this volume. In the back, you get some more screenshots, along with a picture of Daisuke in the corner. Though, the description about this series, the fonts is a little too small & it's hard to read if you don't look closely. The insert is pretty simple, there is a picture of With, the furry pet, as well a listing on what's on this DVD, the episodes, what's in the extra, though no chapter list. On the DVD disc itself, it's the same as the cover. Since the DVD case is a clear, you get to see the reversible cover, keeping the same style as the main cover, but with Risa on it.
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. Since the episodes are on different tracks, it will take time to load when you move on to the next episode. 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:
Love can be a wonderful, but not all the time. I find this series very nice, actually. It's not boring at all & you will managed to get a few laugh here & there. Some part will touch your heart, while other time mystery waiting to be solved.
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