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Feature Presentation:
If you might have noticed, I have check out the R.O.D: TV Series, but never actually watch the OVA that started the series. Well, here it is. I finally got myself a copy & it's back to the basic. To my surprise that this little OVA is short, with only three episodes. Meet Yomiko Readman, the largest bookworm you will ever meet. She spends pretty much all her saving on books, especially rare ones, just like any collectors. Even her entire house is covered with books, top to bottom. Man, I even wonder she even got time to read all of it. However, she is no ordinary bookworm, she is actually a Secret Agent & has the ability of using ordinary paper & transformed it to anything she nee: weapons, shields & even flying craft! Her mission is to recover rare books that was stolen by a group of super-powered historical peoples that was brought back to life & to save the world. She got help with Nancy, another secret Agent & Drake, an old friend who sees her but bad luck.
Video:
Manga Entertainment did a very great job. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. The only thing that bugs me is the logo right before the episodes start. The best part that isn't any watermarks in the introduction. If you see closely, it's nearly impossible to do so. The ending do have watermarks for the English credits. Each episodes are separated into 4 parts: the introduction, part A, part B & 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. 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. Though, Mr. Joker doesn't have the British accent, but the others seem to be fine. It's kinda funny to hear "Shut up!" with a German accent. However, Nancy got a really sexy voice. 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 02: English 2.0:
No problem found.
Audio 03: Japanese 5.1:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system, I can't really say much.
Audio 04: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found.
Subtitle:
Manga Entertainment have selected a great font, easy to read, though a little small. Every subtitle is using the color golden yellow, which isn't so bad. There is only one subtitle track, so basicially, if you want to have the Japanese sign translated, you need to turn it on. However, there is a problem though. For some reason, certain Japanese sign subtitles aren't correctly displaying the golden color, but completely black. I wonder if it's a bug.
Menu Option:
Since this series is all about books & paper, the menu would match up to it. It's like an index page of a book the menu. They is a little clip playing from scenes from this series. There is the "Play", "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". Any options you select will bring a little animation from the introduction. The background music is the introductino theme, but the other section doens't have any background music.
DVD Extras:
Even with a short series, there is quite a few extras that might make it up. First of all, since this series has some famous historical chracters, there is a small biographies for every one of them. There is also the Japanese director & cast interview, but it's lacking any subtitle, so you're gonna have a hard time understand. Last, it's just an art gallery. That's about it.
Packaging:
I find that it's a little simple design, but quite nice. On the cover, you see Yomiko Readman, ready for battle. In the back, it's screenshot glory! The insert is very cool. There is even more screenshots, but the most important part is the listing of location, bascially, the chapter list for this DVD. Inside the insert is a mini-poster, with Womiko & Nacy together! On the DVD disc, it's Yomoko & Nancy once again.
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:
If you're like me & seen the TV series, get this OVA set for the background. This series is the one that started it all. Even for its age, it's cool, traveling around the world & even learning a thing or two. Ordinary paper can never be so deadly!
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