Martian Successor Nadesico-Volume 5: Secrets and Lies (1996)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Main Menu Audio & Animation DVD Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	1996
Running Time	110:55 (Case: 125)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Tatsuo Sato
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Yuji Ueda Houko Kawashima Kentaro Ito Naoko Takano Maya Okamoto Omi Minami
Case	Click
RPI	?	Music	Takayuki Hattori

    Martian Successor Nadesico: Secrets And Lies is the fifth collection of episodes from this popular Japanese animated TV series. The series was voted the Best Anime Show of All Time by Japanese fans at the 1998 Animage Grand Prix.

    Nadesico is a twenty six episode animated television series that was first produced in 1996. The series is based around the battleship Nadesico and its crew as they help fight the Jovians, an alien race that have taken over Mars and are attempting to capture Earth.

    This science fiction series features an unusual combination of comedy, mecha, romance and action. Numerous in-jokes and references to other anime series are spread throughout each episode and are unlikely to all be understood by casual viewers. If you are an anime fan, these references can be very funny, but if you do not understand all the jokes the series is still able to easily stand alone with its own storyline.

    This DVD release contains the following five episodes. I have included a very short description for each episode but as these may contain some very minor spoilers you may wish to skip directly to the Transfer Quality section.

A Reunion That Came Too Late
    The Nadesico heads to a space dock while the crew is counselled about the truth regarding the Jovians. Mr. Uribatake designs a new Aestivalis while Akito confronts the Admiral about Gai's death.

Echoes Of Self, Echoes Of Water
    Ruri finds out about her past and searches for her parents, as she returns to where she grew up.

You're The Next Captain Of The Nadesico
    In an effort to raise crew morale and inspire others, a talent / beauty contest is held with the first prize being the captainship of the Nadesico.

Run Silent, Run Deep
    The Jovians unleash a new and potentially devastating weapon as the Nadesico heads into battle. In an effort to outsmart their enemy the Nadesico is forced into a silent running mode.

The Meadows We Once Ran Across
    This episode has a completely non-linear time line. The crew are seeing ghosts, some crew members are sharing memories and experiences and the Jovian threat is closer than ever.

Video

    The full frame transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    As with previous releases in this series, the transfer is always slightly soft but this is not distracting to the viewer. No low level noise was detected during the transfer. There was never any problems with shadow detail during the brightly animated transfer.

    The colour palette displayed during the transfer appear slightly muted as typically seen in television animation of this age.

    A number of small MPEG artefacts were detected during this transfer. Some examples of these may be seen at 17:34, 18:04 and 36:43. As seen on the previous discs in this series, during the closing sequence for each episode Gibbs effects are visible around the scrolling credits and lyrics subtitles. All of these artefacts are quite minor and are only slightly distracting to the viewer.

    A number of aliasing artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 60:44, 63:00, 68:40, 71:06, 73:40 and 77:39. Each of these artefacts occur for only a short period of time and are only slightly distracting.

    A small number of minor film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 5:04, 9:03, 9:23, 10:14, 13:50 and 16:09. All of these artefacts are very minor.

    A single set of yellow English subtitles is present on the disc. When compared to the English audio track, numerous differences may be seen but the general information conveyed is the same. As previously seen on other discs in the series the opening and closing credits for each episode contain subtitles for the song lyrics that are burned into the image.

    In addition to the subtitles, numerous overlays are present throughout the transfer. This is done by placing English text directly over or next to the original Japanese artwork allowing English viewers to understand the various signs and monitor displays seen in each episode.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The dialogue was always clear and easy to understand during both tracks.

    As this is an animated feature, there are the expected obvious problems with audio sync for each soundtrack. A single dropout was detected during the Japanese track at 70:35 and results in a slightly distracting crack of static.

    The musical score by Takayuki Hattori varies in style considerably during the episodes, ranging from pop numbers to classically based pieces, but always suits the on-screen action without drawing attention to itself.

    The surround and subwoofer channels were not utilised during either audio track.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The minimally animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    Both versions of this film appear to be identical and I therefore would have no preference for either version.

    Martian Successor Nadesico is an extremely funny and highly entertaining series that should appeal to all anime fans.

    The full frame transfer is quite acceptable but does display a small number of minimal artefacts.

    The inclusion of both English and Japanese audio tracks will satisfy fans of both dubs and subs.

    Absolutely no extras are provided on this disc.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall