Blood Blockade Battlefront (Kekkai Sensen) Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2015) |
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Blood Blockade Battlefront (Kekkai Sensen) Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2015) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Anime |
More…-Additional Episode 10.5 (24:32) Interviews-Cast-Aaron Dismuke and Ian Sinclair (3:02) Interviews-Cast-Micah Solusod and Mike McFarland (3:02) More…-Textless Opening Song “Hello, world" More…-Textless Closing Song “Sugar Song & Bitter Sweet” Trailer-Promotional Videos (7:04) TV Spots-(0:49) Trailer-Blu-ray / DVD Promos (2:12) Trailer-US Trailer (1:50) Trailer-x 8 for other anime |
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| Year Of Production | 2015 | ||
| Running Time | 317: (Case: 300) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Rie Matsumoto |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Daisuke Sakaguchi / Aaron Dismuke Kazuya Nakai / Ian Sinclair Rikiya Koyama / Phil Parsons Yu Kobayashi / Trina Nishimura Mitsuru Miyamoto / J. Michael Tatum Rie Kugimiya / Megan Emerich |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Taisei Iwasaki |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | Yes, a couple | ||
Three years ago a void suddenly opened under New York City creating a portal to the Alterworld which allowed monsters, ghouls and other creatures into the city. Families with psychic abilities known as “casters” created a barrier of mushroom fog around the city, now rechristened Hellsalem’s Lot, which restricted the creatures to the city; and now humans and non-humans mix, mingle and live, more or less, in harmony. However there are humans and non-humans with other agendas so an ultra-secret organisation called Libra, using people with special powers, has been created to keep the balance between worlds.
Normal human and apprentice photographer Leo (voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi / Aaron Dismuke) is mistaken for someone else and recruited into Libra by Zapp (Kazuya Nakai / Ian Sinclair). There Leo meets other Libra members including the leader Klaus (Rikiya Koyama / Phil Parsons), Chain (Yu Kobayashi / Trina Nishimura), Starphrase (Mitsuru Miyamoto / J. Michael Tatum) and KK (Ai Orikasa / Stephanie Young). But it seems that Leo is not so normal after all for he possesses special eyesight which allows him to see things, including hidden monsters, that others cannot. So Leo joins Libra and soon meets the alluring waif White (Rie Kugimiya / Megan Emerich) and her twin brother Black (Rie Kugimiya / Micah Solusod) who seem very interested in Leo’s eyes.
Based on the manga by Yasuhiro Nightow, Blood Blockade Battlefront (Kekkai Sensen) is unusual, being both simple and very complex. Blood Blockade Battlefront is not a series that explains itself. Instead, episode 1 launches full tilt into a completely normal, but completely extraordinary, world where all manner of weird and wonderful otherworld creatures rub shoulders and live amid humans in familiar New York streets. The director Rie Matsumoto provides a range of unusual camera angles, including 90 degree and upside down shots, and a kinetic energy to proceedings. The frequently occurring action is loud, frenetic, colourful and very diverse; one is never quite sure what the Libra operative, or their opponent, is going to come up with by way of spells or weapons. This uncertainty about what will happen is helped immensely by the music of Taisei Iwasaki which is an integral part of the show; it is incredibly diverse and includes jazz, pop, eastern music, crooners, electronic and orchestral, including Beethoven and Borodin, to support the visuals.
Yet, for all the noise and fury, Blood Blockade Battlefront never loses its sense of fun or humanity. The antics of Leo and especially Zapp are frequently over the top and very funny; the episode where the two, plus “fishman” Zed (Hikaru Midorikawa / Alex Organ ) try to find a restaurant with anything “normal” to eat is very funny while food, or at least burgers, is a recurring theme of fun. Blood Blockade Battlefront is also compassionate; the ghouls are not monsters but mostly creatures just trying to get on with their existence dealing with not a little discrimination on the way. The series, thankfully, also does not resort to girls with tiny skirts or bouncing boobs to maintain interest.
The colour scheme of Blood Blockade Battlefront is impressive, especially the contrasts. Much of the city is covered in a grey smog, and grey and darkness is a recurring palate but it is interspersed with deep and brilliant greens, blues, yellows and reds (used for blood or the on-screen text that identifies attack weapons and techniques of the Libra operatives).
Blood Blockade Battlefront is full of good characters and interesting ideas. Early episodes increase the fun quota but there is always an underlying seriousness. This increases as the series develops; the last few episodes about family and sacrifice become almost a tragedy of Shakespearian intensity with added Judo-Christian mythology and imagery; crosses and a Madonna statue feature prominently. Some of the messages are quite complex, any story which includes Satan, death and resurrection would be, but the writers always know when to add some lightness to the reveal.
Most of the 12 episodes of Blood Blockade Battlefront aired on Japanese TV between April and June 2015, including the recap episode (designated 10.5, included in the extras on this Blu-ray), however the last double episode, number 12, screened in October 2015. Blood Blockade Battlefront – Complete Series contains all 12 episodes on two Blu-rays.
Blood Blockade Battlefield is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the original broadcast ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.
This is a rich, beautiful anime. Much of the city is covered in grey smog, and many scenes take place in darkness, but this darkness is juxtaposed with deep and brilliant greens, blues and reds, with grainy flashbacks and scenes of destruction. The lines and detail are strong, blacks are rock solid and shadow detail very good. Some sequences, such as the coloured lights of the fun park in the dark, look fabulous.
I did not notice any artefacts.
The subtitles are in American English in a clear white font. The subtitles are not burnt in. I noticed no spelling or grammatical errors.
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As is the case with many Funimation releases, audio is a choice between the original Japanese in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and an English dub in TrueHD 5.1. The audio track and subtitles can be changed on the fly with the remote, so they are easier to compare.
I started to listen to both audio tracks but I soon found the Japanese voice acting to be more intense and satisfying. The Japanese is also surround encoded with a good resonance. There is music, monster effects during fights and such in the rears while the subwoofer added boom to the music and heart beat type effects. The Foley in the English dub had more separation, but the effects were not that extensive and that dub was recorded at a lower level.
The music by Taisei Iwasaki is wonderful and diverse and an essential support to the visuals.
It is anime so lip synchronisation is approximate in either audio track.
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On start-up is an advertisement for the Funimation Now streaming service.
A trailer for Project Itoh: Harmony (1:52) plays on start-up. It cannot be selected from the menu.
This recap episode aired on 13/6/2015 between episode 10 on 6/6/2015 and episode 11 on 20/6/2015.
Dismuke and Sinclair (voices of Zapp and Leo) in this short segment sit together and answer text questions on screen about their characters, other characters and their favourite episode.
Another short segment where Solusod (voice of Black / The King of Despair) and McFarland (ADR director and voice of Deldro) sit together and answer text questions on screen about what they love about the series, their favourite characters, the style of the Japanese director and pop culture.
The opening song without the credits.
The closing song without the credits.
Four TV Spot promotions.
Two more TV Spots.
Six TV Spots for the Blu-ray/DVD releases.
As it says.
Trailers for Psycho-Pass (1:40), Tokyo Ghoul (1:18), Assassination Classroom (1:02), World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman (0:48), High School DxD BorN (1:15), Garo the Animation (1:05), Absolute Duo (1:20) and Laughing Under the Clouds (1:18).
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Our local Blu-ray release of Blood Blockade Battlefront is the same as the Region A US version, including the FBI piracy warning.
Blood Blockade Battlefront is fantastic. It is a complex, funny, intelligent, humanistic and kinetic anime series backed up by a stunning colour design, impressive visuals and a killer score. It has been announced that a second season of Blood Blockade Battlefront with be produced in 2017. I cannot wait.
The video is beautiful and the audio very good. The extras are not extensive but are the same as available in the US.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S580, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |