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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to ADV Films for sending a copy for a review for this site. There is two words that totally summarized this series, "very disturbing". This series is something dark about it. It's not evil or anything, but you can see different aspect of the human nature, some for survival, while others goes through pain & suffering. This is a story about a little girl named Kino traveling on a strange motocyle that actually talks, visiting towns with different laws & cultures that you might find it offensive, silly or even shocking! However, she only stays there for no more then three days per town, per country, then she continues on her journey. The first stop is a town where peoples, somehow, living apart from each other, where only machine takes care of the town, the needs of it's peoples, as well incoming visitors. Then, winters comes in & Kino's helps on a group of merchants trapped during the snow storm. The end will gives you the chills, but I find it very sad. The next town is even more stranger, when they believe it's the end of the world. After leaving that town when nothing happens, Kino's find herself in a very sad town where a girl speaks out a very sad poem that everyone dislike it. At the end, something will happen that, again, will shock you even more & crying out to stop it! I told you, it's very disturbing! At last, you will find out a little about Kino & how she came to be, in a town where she used to came from, where only kids are forced to become adults. This will make you want to kill the town peoples, I swear to you. It bugs you to the bones. I'm not saying anymore, but I do warn you that thies series will freak you out!
Video:
ADV Films did a very great job. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. Just a note, it is very normal if you see the some sort of line effects throughout the series. It was set to make it feel that you're watching a video of Kino's journey. There's nothing wrong. To top things off, the series is feature on Widescreen format. If you got a Widescreen TV, you're going to enjoy this even more. There is some watermarks done for the introduction & ending credits (they are translated in English). Each episodes are separated into 5 parts: the introduction, part A, part B, ending & the preview for the next episode! The episodes are on a different track, so there will be a small loading time when you move on to 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. I think the dubbing is actually better then the original Japanese audio, give me the chills even more then reading & understanding what's going on. 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. I might note that every odd numbered episodes, the intro & ending subtitles are in English, while the even numbered episodes are in Japanese on this volume.
Menu Option:
The menu is also in widescreen format, but if got just a regular full screen TV, it will display in that format with no problem. The menu is really simple Kino standing on the right with her motocycle, Hermes. The background is a scenery during Kino's journey. There isn't a "Play All" or any "Screen Access" features, just the selections of the 4 episodes on this volume, "Set Up" & "Extras". The main theme is playing in the background. Other sections, there wll be different animation & other background musics will be played from the series.
DVD Extras:
There isn't much extras on it, just a non-credit opening & production sketches related to the episodes on this volume.
Packaging:
I find the design good. On the cover, you see an artwork of Kino, with a strange background, reflecting the dark side of this series, that's what I'm thinking. In the back, there isn't really a summary, but actually a short poem that is really nice. There is no details on the episodes, but give a clear view about this strange series. There is three screenshots as well. The insert carries the same picture as the cover, along with a list what's on the DVD. Inside the insert is a very nice dialogue between Kino & her motocycle, Hermes. On the DVD disc itself, using the same green, a nice bed of roses. Pretty simple.
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. Just like watching it on TV, there is a line effect throughout the series. Don't worry about it, it's normal. 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:
This is really intense series that you can't really explain by words alone. You got to watch it to believe it. This series will freak you out & gives you the chills, that is my warning to you. Though, it's still a good series to watch & it does reflect the human nature within each of us.
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