This disc marks the final DVD from AnimEigo on the Kimagure Orange Road series, as ADV Films had licensed New Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning (1996). For this particular DVD, it suffers on the video side and even takes a step back from earlier DVDs from AnimEigo on the audio front. On the plus side, while nothing spectacular, it does actually feature some bonus content to round out the release.
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Probably not shocking given the video quality on earlier discs from AnimEigo on this series, but the video track presents a number of issues. Print damage is one such problem, with some minor scratches and specks scattered throughout. The frame itself is also unstable sometimes, especially during the opening titles and sporadically during the film, particularly around the six and eleven-minute marks. Colors also fall short here, with overall muted tones and smearing reds, which can be attributed to the extensive video compression applied.
Speaking of, probably the most significant issue is the noticeable compression. This causes pixilation to be visible and also results in a slightly lower number of complete frames, which affects the fluidity of movement. Light shimmering, a rainbow band of colors on finer details, is also quite present. Additionally, there is a fair bit of noise throughout the film, a combination of grain and digital artifacts. The image also suffers from slight halo-like effects due to the application of edge enhancement, though the overall sharpness is lacking thanks to the level of compression.
As for the presentation, it maintains the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. However, despite this, the video track here is not anamorphic. That means there is sizeable black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, which is a bummer for modern viewing setups.
| Audio: |
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Given that previous releases in the Kimagure Orange Road series featured strong audio tracks, I was expecting something a bit more refined here considering the source was a theatrical film. However, it's probably the most lacking of the audio tracks from AnimEigo for the series. Now the audio provided is the original Japanese track in two-channel stereo. While there aren't any direct inconsistencies, like pops or crackles in the audio track, there are a couple of issues. For one the dialogue is slightly lacking in clarity. Another issue is that the music feels a bit distant, losing some fidelity in the process.
The movie is accompanied by removable English subtitles. There are two subtitle options available here: one with limited translations and another that offers full translations of both the dialogue and on-screen text.
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After 12 TV based DVDs and two OVA based DVDs, I feel like I could write a paragraph on how barebones the extras are for these AnimEigo offerings in my sleep. ...and then here comes AnimEigo to flip the script. Well slightly, as there aren't a ton of extras but the fact that it has legitimate extras is still shocking after all these DVDs from them on the series.
Anyway, starting off, the DVD has trailers for two of the OVAs. These are Kimagure Orange Road: Lovebirds in the Snow (1988) and Kimagure Orange Road: Hawaiian Suspense (1988), which are also the first two OVAs that got released. While these would have made more sense to include with those OVAs instead, I'm guessing AnimEigo placed them here either because the movie is shorter than the added up runtime for the OVAs, meaning more space available to avoid additional compression, or simply because this was the final disc from them on the series. Regardless, the quality on the trailers isn't the best, with a murky color spectrum and a ton of noise, likely a combo of digital artifacts mixed with grain. The Hawaiian Suspense one also has the brightness level set way too low. On the plus side, AnimEigo provided full removable subtitles for these, including both for the audio and onscreen text.
Next up is an art gallery, which is a combo of production animation stills that were created and promotional imagery used for posters and other material. This gallery is not related to the film on this DVD, but is once more related to the OVAs, in this case having imagery for all eight of them. While feeling random, the extra is actually nice with some decent images thrown in.
Finally, inside the DVD case is a pair of no frill linear notes. These are focused on translating the songs in the movie into English.
As a side note, oddly, my DVD case was setup to hold two discs, despite only one being present. Not sure if this was a mistake on just my copy, or something that was more widespread.
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Ultimately, I was hoping for a significant improvement over AnimEigo's previous efforts with this release, especially since it's based on a theatrical film rather than a TV show or OVA. However, the quality here is largely similar, which isn't much of a compliment, given that the overall DVD releases have been mediocre at best and often times quite underwhelming. On the positive side, at least there is some actual bonus content included. As for whether this is worth recommending, it's still the primary DVD option for fans outside of Japan. However, for those opting for Blu-ray, the version from Discotek offers a significant upgrade over what's available here.
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