Viz finishes the 20th Century Boys series with the final entry in the trilogy. Sadly, although still a decent DVD, this one isn't up to par with the previous two from the company. The video quality in particular has dropped a bit, while a good audio presentation coupled with a lackluster selection of extras make this a mostly mixed release.
| Video: |
 |
While their previous two efforts on this
series were solid, the company makes a slight
fumble on this one. On the plus side, the
print is in great shape without any scratches
or other signs of print damage. The colors
are also distinct, but at the same time feel
slightly muted and lacking in the rich tones
that the DVD format is capable of. The real
drawback, though, is that the print looks
washed out. This is either due to the brightness
being too high or due to over saturation,
although if its the latter it's shocking that
the colors aren't more vibrant as a result.
Regardless, clouds and other things seem to
vanish in the background thanks to this. What
makes matters even worse is that the video
track shows notable signs of compression in
the form of pixilation, and really just lacks
a sharp degree of detail to the frame. Its
overall a disappointing effort after their
previous two releases.
20th Century Boys 3: Redemption is presented in its original aspect ratio
of 1.85:1, and is Anamorphic for widescreen
TVs.
| Audio: |
 |
In total, there are two audio tracks included
on this DVD. First up is a stereo track with
two channel support, while the second is a
surround track with 5.1 support. Quality on
both tracks is great, without any discrepancies
to note. However, the 5.1 track in particular
excels as it really makes use of the extra
directionality, such as during the numerous
explosions during the film.
The audio is complimented by removable English
subtitles.
| Extras: |
 |
In terms of additional content, this disc
only contains a wide selection of trailers.
Most of these are the Viz trailers, either
dubbed into English or having been edited
with burned in subtitles or changed altogether
as is the case with the Nana (2005) and Nana
2 (2006) which is actually the two
films advertised together. In truth, these
trailers aren't that interesting due to their
nature, but thankfully the disc does contain
seven of the original Japanese adverts for
the main film. These are subtitled as well,
and overall are a worthwhile bonus feature...
it's just a shame the disc is so utterly lacking
in this regard all the same.
| Overview: |
 |
Bottom
line, despite its faults, this is still a
decent DVD. Thanks to the problems with the
video, though, its the weakest effort of the
three 20th Century Boys DVDs from Viz.
|
