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Feature Presentation:
I'm not very fond of this type of Anime, but I made an exception when I got this DVD. This is actually cool. it's a mix of mystery, crime solving & action all together. Not to mention adding a little magic & witches thrown in. I find it strange that the title of the series seem to focus on a Witch Hunter named Robin Sena, but it's just not here, but the entire team of STNJ, especially Amon, who is full of mystery. I really enjoy the series, I do note that you don't see anything gross or horrible looking dead bodies like other Anime of this nature. There is a certain charm about this Anime that make it very interesting, that humans sometimes can't understand difference. Also, how's Robin evolve her role in the STNJ & understanding her own powers. Each episodes is a different story, with different crimes, all hunting witches. I really do hate the Chief!
Video:
Bandai Entertainment have really done a good job releasing it! Clear & smooth, no problem at all. They even kept all the original Japanese credits, however, didn't do any translated subtitle for it. They also added, at the last episode on this DVD, the English translated credits version of the ending theme, along with the English cast & producers. I do want to point out that the newer releases of Anime DVDs have actually the option to skip all those little annoying warning & logos when you load the disc. No more waiting, just hit "menu" on your remote! All the episodes are all in a different track, so moving to one episode to another will required a small pause during play.
Dubbing: English:
The dubbing is really cool. Bandai Entertainment pick the cast really well & kept all the voice expressions & tone of the series intact, mysterious! However, there is one little problem. On EPS 03, during the preview on the next episode, I think the dubbing wasn't time very well & it got cut off midway during the reading. 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:
Bandai Entertainment have selected a great font, very easy to read. They use two colors subtitling combo for the introduction & ending theme, white for the original Japanese lyrics & green for the English translated lyrics for the songs. The rest is yellow for the dialogues & white for Japanese signs & text. There are two tracks of subtitling. One track is for the sign only subtitling & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue.
Menu Option:
The menu is simple, but it's mostly a composition of clips from the introduction tune down in a brown color. You got the "Play", "Setup", "Extras" & all the episodes 1-5, which selecting one of them will bring you to the scene option per episode. By selecting an option, you will see a cool flame effect. The background music for the menu is one of the main background music during the series, which you will hear many times, I might add. Other section of the menu screen plays different background music throughout the series.
DVD Extras:
The extras seems alright. It has both introduction & ending theme, both textless. It also have a full STNJ characters profile, with a short biography & some design images for each of them. You also get some in-depth information about spells & the meaning of them in details that you see during the episodes. It's really interesting!
Packaging:
The package fits the general theme of this series, dark & mysterious. On the cover, you get to see the lovely Robin Sena on the cover. I got no idea why it's a "Platinum Series". In the back, it's really cool. You got lots of screenshots, surrounding with flames. There is a gun at the bottom. The only thing I didn't like is the episode listing, it's hard to see without looking at it closely. The insert is pretty simple. It's like a cover of a book. There is also a entire listing of both the Japanese & English cast & producers. Inside the insert is just a few words from Robin Sena. On the DVD cover, it's the same image used on the insert. By the way, the cover is also reversible, which I find it much better then the default one. It's more colorful. Check it out yourself & see! The only thing I hate is the cheap DVD case that came with it.
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 all on different track, so there will be a small pause when you move one episode to another. ike 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 like solving crimes, a little action & mysterious style series, this is perfert for you. It might be a little slow at first, but I'm sure you will like it.
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