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Feature Presentation:
We're back for some more exciting episodes of this wonderful series, all about the Chinese Zodiac. Tohru & the rest of her class is getting ready for the Cultural Festival & Yuki & Kyo helped her out, making rice balls. Poor Yuki, no idea why, but he got caught into something that somehow funny. However, things aren't normal with the Sohma when two other family members decided to pop over & join in the fun. However, not only she made new friends, but discovers a little more about the family's curse. As time gone, the holiday season has comes with Christmas & the New Year. However, the Sohma has a family gathering at the main house, but they are unconfortable leaving Tohru alone & her first time ringing the new year after her mother's death. Don't you worried, someone changed their mind & I find it really sweet & happy ending that will touch your heart. There is also Valentine Day with the Sohma, which is the most painful holiday, especailly for Yuki & Kyo, you know Kagura! I was hoping Kagura will be back! Torhu got everyone something & everyone is quite happy.
Video:
FUNimation Productions did a great job bring it on DVD. It is clean, crisp, I found no problem. They even use the angle function of your DVD player. You can actually switch between the original Japanese version or the English version of the opening & ending. 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 6 parts: introduction, part A, part B, part C, ending & the preview for the next episode! I do note that you can't skip the warnings & logos in the beginning using the "Menu" button on your remote, so you have to wait until the menu pops up to start to show.
Dubbing: English:
The English dubbing is well done. I even go as far that I like the English voices better then the Japanese. That's my opinion. FUNimation Productions have kept as close as the original Japanese dialogue. They even dubbed the opening & ending theme, keeping the original music. It's about 90% of the original Japanese.
Audio 01: English 2.0:
No problem found.
Audio 02: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found.
Subtitle:
The font they use is a little small, but bolded. However, the color dark yellow that FUNimation Productions have picked help to make it easier to read. There are 2 subtitling tracks. One of the subtitle tracks is for the original Japanese track, the other one is the actual dialogue for the English track for the hearing impaired, which is kinda unique. The only problem I see that it's lacking the Japanese signs or texts subtitling translation, except if you switch on the Japanese subtitling.
Menu Option:
The menu is pretty simple, it's very colorful. You get to see Tohru on the left, with the options on the right, which are "Play All", "Episodes", "Language" & Extras. Very simple & easy to use. I like the music playing in the backgound & each section have a different music from the series. .
DVD Extras:
There is another set of extras & each one get cooler! You get the same character profiles, which three more Sohma's family members, but one of them you won't get to see in the episodes of this volume. There is another non-credit opening, an interview with Akitaroh Daichi with more in-depth view of this wonderful series. Another one is an interview bewteen the Japanese voice actress of Torhu & Yuki in a very traditional Japanese room (like in the series). Last, which is my favorite of them all, information on all those eye-catch you see throughout the series. It will express the meaning of some of the drawing flying on there.
Packaging:
Keeping the same design, you get to see Yuki Sohma on the cover. In the back, there are some screenshots form the episodes in this volume, along with an image that is part of the Chinese Zodiac. The only thing that bugs me is the description, it somehow doesn't really refects about the episodes on this volume, but more what's the series about. The insert have the same picture as the cover, along with an ad about other Anime series from FUNimation Productions. Inside the insert is a full blast summary of all the episodes in this volume, along with screenshots for each one of them. On the DVD disc itself, it's Hatushara Sohma (Haru), but you won't see him. I wonder why he was used for this volume.
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 all the episodes are on one track, there isn't any loading time when you move episode to episode. However, there is one little problem, you can't forward using your mouse, except moving to the next chapter. Bascially, you can't just go any point throughout the series with a click of the mouse. Unlike on your regular DVD player, you can't skip the warnings & logos when you load the disc, you need to wait until the main menu appears.
Overall DVD Rating:
This series get better & better. Now that Torhu is getting use to her new home, we get to know more about the Sohma & their way of life. We see how the curses affects the Sohma family deeply & with Torhu's kind heart, managed to help them without realizing for herself. It warms the heart & make you smile. I can't want to see what's next.
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