Your source for Anime news, information, DVD reviews, Music CD reviews & more!
Reviews:
Anime Games

Gears:
Gears DS
Gears iPod

Downloads:
Ringtones
Wallpapers

Others:

Subscriptions:

Sections:



Play-Asia.com - Buy Japanese & Hong Kong Movies, Anime and Video Game Related DVDs!

Play-Asia.com - Buy Japanese & Hong Kong Movies, Anime and Video Game Related DVDs!







DVD Feature:
  • Audio 01: English 2.0
  • Audio 02: Japanese 2.0
  • Subtitle: English
  • Format: 16:9 (Widescreen)
  • Region: 01 (North America)

DVD Information:
  • Age Rating: 16+
  • Length: Approx. 100 min.
  • DVD Label: 12433
  • Class Type: Drama, Horror
  • Publisher: Geneon Entertainment
  • Retail Price: 29.98$US
  • Release Date: 15/11/2005
  • Review Date: 14/01/2006
  • Review Last Update: 14/02/2006

DVD Extras:
  • Art Gallery
Number Of Disc(s): 1
Review Done By: Guardian Inferno

Introduction:
Centuries ago, Yuta rescued a girl named Natsume from being attacked by a monk. Natsume & her father were street performers at that time, earning their keep as miracle healers. Yuta is overjoyed to find fellow immortals, or so he thinks. That night, Natsume attacks Yuta, ripping into his organs. He narrowly escapes. The monk reappears & reveals who Natsume really is... a monster who survives by eating the fresh livers of living animals. What is the world coming to?

Contains Episodes:
  • Episode 07: Bone Princess
  • Episode 08: The Last Face (Part 01)
  • Episode 09: The Last Face (Part 02)

Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Geneon Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. We're now back to Yuta passed, when he meet a strange girl, Natsume, that seem to be like him, immortal. He rescue here when a monk attacked her. Natsume & her father are traveling performers. Yuta is overjoyed to find someone who is like him. However, it wasn't what she seem to be. The ending is one with sadness & lost, but at peace. Back in the present, a story about love between a mother & his son, but something is wrong with the perfect family. Once again, mermaids comes to play. It's totally another gruesome story, yet an ending with another journey.

Video:
Geneon Entertainment did a very great job. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. 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 no watermarks done at all, so the introduction & ending are left in their original Japanese credits. There is even the original Japanese lyrics, too. 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! However, at the end of the DVD, there is an English credits. 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. 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, easy to read, though a little small. 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.

Menu Option:
The menu is also in widescreen format, but if you got just a regular full screen TV, it will display in that format with no problem. It's the same as the previous menu with Yuta & Mana together. It's like your underwater. There is the "Play All", "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". There isn't any music in the background, just sound effects of water.

DVD Extras:
There isn't much extras on it, just a production art gallery. That's about it.

Packaging:
The design remains the same, but this time, red is the main color. On the cover, you see Yuta with Mana in the background. In the back, you got many screenshots from the episodes in this volume. The insert is simple, using the same picture as the cover, along with the episode list. On the DVD itself, it's the same design as the previous volume, same shadow of a mermaid swiming by but using red background.

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:
This series continued on the journey, where Yuta reflect his past to the first person he met that shared the same fate, to what he think it is. However, the ending is quite the sadness, the sense of lost. Love within a family, but another journey continued onward.

Feature Presentation: It's totally another gruesome story, yet an ending with another journey.
Video (Images) I love the widescreen feature. Kept the original Japanese credits.
Dubbing: English Dubbing is great!
Audio 01: English 2.0 No problem found.
Audio 02: Japanese 2.0 No problem found.
Subtitle: English Easy reading, two options of subtitling.
Menu Option: Simple, underwater look.
DVD Extras: I wish it got more extra!
Packaging: Mysterious, reflecting mermaids.
PC Viewing: Easy to view, clean, no problem!
Overall DVD Rating: Love within a family, but another journey continued onward.

Related Links:

Related Reviews:

Price Check:

Home Theater Viewing:
27" Citizen JCTV2704 Stereo TV, LG-530 DVD Player, S-Video connection for video with regular stereo cable connection for audio.

Home Computer Viewing:
Model LG 16x DVD-ROM, on a P3-933Mhz, 512 MB RAM, ATI Redeon 8500 128MB Video Card, ASUS CUSL2-C Motherboard & Sound Blaster Live v5.1, Dell 19' LCD E193FP monitor, Windows XP Professional SP2 & CyberLink PowerDVD v6.0 Deluxe using CyberLink PowerRemote.