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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to ADV Films for sending a copy for a review for this site. Here is another cute fairy tales series, Princess Tutu. The title might seem a little silly at first, but don't let it stop you. I just find it quite enjoyable. Not to mention, since I'm a great fan of classicial music, there is even the original nut cracker theme is used. I love the melody & it match so perfectly with the story line. There is also beautiful ballet dancing, along with sweet little moments that make you smile. The series started of with a cute girl named Duck. She isn't your ordinary girl, she is actually a duck who wishes to become a girl, because she fell in love with a prince. One day, a strange old man granted her wish & gave her a magical pendant as well. That pendant, when in trouble, transformed Duck into Princess Tutu, a beautiful ballerina with magical powers that can confort a person's heart. However, the Prince isn't himself, as he lost his heart. His heart is broken into pieces & are hidden in desires. Duck, or I should say, Princess Tutu will do her best to find his heart. The story goes on.
Video:
ADV Films did a very great job. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. 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. I find the voices quite adorable, keeping the cuteness. 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:
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:
I find the menu quite beautiful. You see Princess Tutu, along with a rotating screenshots taken from the episodes in this volume. There isn't a "Play All", nor a "Screen Access" feature, just a selection of one of the 5 episodes, "Set Up" & "Extras". The background music for the main menu is is the main theme, instrumental version, though the other section have other different music, all enjoyable to listen.
DVD Extras:
Amazining to see lots of extras! There is the standard non-credit opening & ending. The best part of the extra is the audio commentary for EPS 01, with Duck & Princess Tutu (Luci Christian) & Fakir (Chirs Patton), which is great to see the point of view of the cast. There is also a staff commentary in EPS05, which give in-depth inforamtion about the series, which is pretty interesting. There is also more documentaries, the first part called Ballet For Beginners, which explains all the ballet you see in this series & explain a little history. The other one is Čtude, which explains all the music & where it came from, such as the Nut Cracker theme. You got to love Outtakes, but I do suugest to watch the episodes first to get the full impact. Last, behind the scene look on a few of the cast during their voice recording. As you can see, it's hard work to get it right.
Packaging:
The package is very well done, very colorful. On the cover, you see Princess Tutu & along with the mysterious old man. In the back, you get some screenshots from the episodes in this volume. The insert is really cool, though there is no chapter list that you usually get, but another commentary from Ikuko Itoh about the making of this series, along with another picture of Princess Tutu. The DVD disc itself, it doesn't match up, but the design cames from where when you see the old man in his mechanical workshop. Since the DVD case is a clear one, you get to see the other cover, which is quite nice. This one actually match up with the DVD disc design, but I perfer the default one, as that one looks more of a poster then a cover.
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:
It's very beautiful, cute & something magical about this series. I love the music & it's perfect to sit back & just enjoy it. It also reflects what kind of desires can have in a person's heart. It's such a sweet story.
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