Chobits-Volume 5: Disappearance (2002) |
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Chobits-Volume 5: Disappearance (2002) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Anime |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Alternative Version-Japanese Ending #2 Trailer-Madman Propaganda (4) Gallery-Art (15 pages) DVD Credits |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
| Running Time | 98:07 (Case: 100) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Morio Asaka |
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Studio
Distributor |
Geneon Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Rie Tanaka Tomokazu Sugita Tomokazu Seki Motoko Kumai Houko Kuwashima Fumiko Orikasa Kikuko Inoue Megumi Toyoguchi Ryôka Yuzuki |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
| RPI | $34.95 | Music | Keitaro Takanami |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | Yes | ||
| Subtitles |
English Titling English |
Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | Yes, next episode preview | ||
We've reached the fifth volume of Chobits, which is the second last one (in Australia...). If you are new to the series, I strongly urge you to start with my review of the first volume, called Persocom — it provides some background material that I won't repeat. You might follow that by reading my review of the second volume, called The Empty City, and the third volume, Darkness Descends., and hey, why not read about the fourth volume, Love Defined?
The first three episodes on this volume form an extended story, and the fourth fits in as a kind of epilogue to that story, and possibly a segue to the final volume.
The episodes on this disc are:
| 18 | Chi Disappears | Chi vanishes on her way to her job at Tirol — at first Hideki thinks she may be lost, but then there's a sneaking suspicion that she has been kidnapped. |
| 19 | Chi Waits | Chi talks to a mini-persocom called Kotoko while she waits for Hideki to come for her. Hideki is getting increasingly frantic, and calls in all the help he can think to summon, as well as getting some unexpected help from Ueda |
| 20 | Chi Wants | Her kidnapper is attempting to analyse Chi's software when he attempts to touch her somewhere that she doesn't approve... |
| 21 | Chi Answers | Minoru discovers more about the origin of the Chobits, while Hideki learns more about Minoru. Both are surprised by what they learn. |
Hideki continues to deny the feelings that Chi arouses in him, especially the lustful feelings he gets when her clothing becomes disarranged. But he knows that she is very important to him; more important than pretty much anything else in the world, although he might deny that if confronted about it.
This volume has another pretty cover, although it seems inappropriate for Chi to be wearing fishnet stockings — she is too innocent. This cover also has the new Geneon logo, as well as the old Pioneer one. If you haven't heard, what's happening is that the Pioneer division that makes DVDs is changing its name to Geneon after being acquired by Dentsu (effective 1st October 2003) — I guess both logos are on this disc as a transitional thing.
Every episode on this disc has the new closing theme.
There is a lot more discussion of persocom addiction in these episodes — clearly it is an emerging serious problem in this world, although not generally acknowledged as yet. Yumi (Hideki's colleague at the pub in which he works, who has something of a crush on him) is worried that relationships between people will vanish, with everyone finding their perfect partner in a persocom. We're seeing this in a number of ways, including the stories of both Minoru and Ueda (both of which are sad — Ueda's is heartwrenching). One might argue that Hideki's case is different, because Chi is something very unusual in the way of a persocom, and seems on the cusp between persocom and human.
There are some revelations during these episodes, including more intrigue about Ms Hibiya, as well as Minoru and Ueda. Quite clearly they are building us up for a spectacular finish. And there are the mysterious pair who have started to appear — they look sinister in their black outfits, standing on rooftops.
I'm amused to see that Hideki is building up a collection of persocoms (you'll see), including Sumomo, whom he is still looking after because Shinbo is living with Ms Shimizu (who has an aversion to them because her husband was addicted).
There's only one disc remaining of this series, but it isn't scheduled for March or April — I hope we don't wait later than May!
This DVD transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It is 16x9 enhanced. The wide frame is used effectively.
The image is clear and sharp, looking better this time than on any previous disc. There's no film grain and no low-level noise. There's no trace of edge enhancement, either.
Colour is rendered superbly; this series uses a beautiful palette of gentle colours that make it quite distinctive. There are no colour-related artefacts on this disc.
There are no film artefacts. Aliasing is almost invisible, unlike previous discs, so this one looks really good. There is no moiré and no MPEG artefacts. All up, this is an impressively clean transfer.
The usual two subtitle tracks appear: both in English, with the first being a "signs only" track, while the second is full subtitles. The subtitles are easy to read (yellow in a rounded font).
The disc is single-sided and single layered. That means no layer change.
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The soundtrack is provided in English and Japanese. Both soundtracks are Dolby Digital 2.0, not surround encoded, at 224kbps. I watched all the episodes in English, and then again in Japanese.
The English dialogue is easy to understand, and appears well synced between the animation and dialogue. The Japanese dialogue sounds clear enough, and is probably as easy to understand.
Keitaro Takanami has provided an excellent score for these episodes, and that's important because so much happens.
This disc makes no use of the surrounds or subwoofer. It is definitely stereo, with some nice stereo panning of voices on occasion.
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| Overall | |
We have the same level of extras on this disc as on the previous one, not that that is a lot.
The menus are animated with music. They are themed to look something like Mac menus, but they don't work that way — you don't click on the menu bar, but rather on the more standard menu in the middle of the screen. The transitions between menus are nice, and it is carried through to the eye-catcher that comes halfway through each episode. OK, so it's the other way around — you get the idea!
The ending, but with Japanese credits on it, rather than English. This has the later theme (Mermaid).
Another fifteen images from the series, these ones drawn from the episodes on this disc.
Four trailers that run one after another (not the usual Madman Propaganda format):
A single page that shows credits for the folks at Madman who worked on this disc, nicely styled to fit with the show
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 version of this disc uses similar artwork, but the content is different. Their disc has episodes 17 to 20 on it, instead of the 18 to 21 that we get.
By reports, their transfer is as good as ours.
This is one series where you'll have to get most of the discs from the same region. The Region 4 discs have the attraction of being just six in number, unlike the Region 1, which extends to seven volumes because they have fewer episodes on some discs. I can cope with the lower cost of having fewer volumes, so I'm buying the Region 4 versions, but you should feel free to spend the extra money to get the Region 1 set...
An anime series that is both beautiful and mysterious, with the sting of a warning. Presented very nicely on DVD.
The video quality is excellent, with virtually no aliasing this time.
The audio quality is very good for a stereo soundtrack.
The extras are fairly minimal.
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| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-S733A, using Component output |
| Display | Sony VPH-G70 CRT Projector, QuadScan Elite scaler (Tripler), ScreenTechnics 110. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Denon AVC-A1SE |
| Speakers | Front Left, Centre, Right: Krix Euphonix; Rears: Krix KDX-M; Subwoofer: Krix Seismix 5 |