This week the reviews begin with a film I have long wanted to watch, Liz and the Blue Bird Collector’s Edition. It is after all, spun-off from the Kyoto Animation masterpiece, Sound Euphonium. It’s similarly set in that particular high school concert orchestra, but here the story is more tightly focused on two friends, as they come close to graduating high school, and face having their friendship change because of that. The story unfolds within the context of a musical piece that they have to play. Kyoto Animation’s work is as sublime as always, and their storytelling and character development rarely get better than this. Click on the review for more.
Next it’s time for another double-dip upgrade, as I take a look at Kamisama Kiss Season One on Blu-ray. It had to be an import though, as it has yet to see a release in the UK, unlike the second season. The director of the first Fruits Basket series, Akitaroh Daiichi takes on the story of a high school girl who becomes the god of a shrine, and the various divine and supernatural beings she encounters, not least the fox spirit that becomes her head retainer. It is another romantic comedy as you might guess, and its feel-good vibe really does serve to entertain.
This Week I’ve Been Mostly Rewatching...
Fantastic Children. You wouldn’t think it, but a show could hang on just how it’s presented on whatever medium it’s released. We’re not even talking the extremes of Kaze’s aborted UK Bakuman release, which used Google translate for its subtitles. Fantastic Children is a compelling sci-fi mystery show, with a very retro feel to its animation. It’s about children being reincarnated again and again through history, compelled to find a mysterious girl who is haunted by dreams of a place she can’t recognise, but is obsessed with painting. I couldn’t find a trailer for this, or indeed a credit sequence on Youtube, so here’s Origa’s end theme song in full.
To begin with Fantastic Children got one of the worst English dubs around, actually dubbed in Singapore I believe. And when it was released here by Beez, they authored the DVDs so badly, that you actually need a guide how to use them. Unless you’ve actually selected the episode you want to watch before pressing play, nothing will happen. And subtitles can randomly switch to French while you’re watching. Here’s my review of that Beez boxset. It’s a shame, as this show is something of a hidden gem, and well worth seeking out. It is deleted now, and hard to find even second hand, but if you have the option, go for the Region 1 Bandai discs ahead of the Beez release.
All the Anime released Liz and the Blue Bird as a Collector’s Edition in January, and last month the Standard Blu-ray was released. Funimation released Kamisama Kiss Season One Blu-ray repackaged as the Essentials Collection in 2019, but given the whole Crunchyroll situation it’s hard to find now and ironically at this point, it would be easier to recommend the UK DVD.
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