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REVIEW: Blue Exorcist Blu-Ray Box Sets 1 & 2


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SouthPacific



Joined: 24 Oct 2013
Posts: 689
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:48 pm Reply with quote
Blue Exorcist Blu-Ray Box Sets 1 & 2

^I always think that the review is going to be about the actual release, rather than the show when I see such titles... Shocked

The release was good though, Aniplex really delivers when it comes to physical extras & good looking art boxes. I like how the reviewer makes fun about the usual "extras" companies such as Sentai Filmworks & Funimation includes (textless OPs and EDs Rolling Eyes ). I really hope Viz starts pushing the LE/premium type releases after their latest anime poll. My only fear is that NA folks love their expensive barebones so much & that deluxe treatment in this industry is too rare that it's seen as foreign, which is a concept many people tend to reject at first. I really hope this isn't the case with Viz's fanbase.

While we've got NISA & Aniplex, another company that offers high-quality releases w/ good packaging & physical goodies is always welcome Very Happy !
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PurpleWarrior13



Joined: 05 Sep 2009
Posts: 2025
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 5:13 pm Reply with quote
Looks like a great set, but I won't be able to afford it for a long time. Hopefully limited edition = cheaper BD release down the line. It's a great show I'd love to have.
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Hellwarden



Joined: 10 Aug 2013
Posts: 321
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 5:20 pm Reply with quote
Really looking forward to seeing this on Toonami.

Seems like it'll be a good fit for the block.
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luffypirate



Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 3186
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 5:46 pm Reply with quote
Looking forward to owning this one day. Don't get me wrong, the physical presentation is beautiful, but I do wish the N. American branch would step it up a little. They should add some digipaks into the mix. Most of their limited edition sets (all maybe?) have the same "three Amaray in a rigid box" look.
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SouthPacific



Joined: 24 Oct 2013
Posts: 689
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 6:10 pm Reply with quote
luffypirate85 wrote:
Looking forward to owning this one day. Don't get me wrong, the physical presentation is beautiful, but I do wish the N. American branch would step it up a little. They should add some digipaks into the mix. Most of their limited edition sets (all maybe?) have the same "three Amaray in a rigid box" look.


I can suggest checking out the brand new company in the UK "Anime Limited". I got their 2-part Cowboy Bebop BD release & it's amazing. Each release has a chipboard box w/ a 40-page booklet & a digipack containing two discs. Not to mention the on-disc extras are great. And they're cheap. Really cheap for the stuff included. Both releases went for ~40$ each, which is just insane if you look at how much your standard barebones BD costs... Shocked

The company really seems passionate about bringing quality releases into the western market, they've even said themselves that they wish to deliver just that & they've got some great licenses (Gurren Lagann on BD, Patema Inverted BD, Outlaw Star remastered DVDs etc).

So if you have a region-free BD player I can really suggest getting one or two of their releases Wink .
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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 3983
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 6:16 pm Reply with quote
Hellwarden wrote:
Really looking forward to seeing this on Toonami.

Seems like it'll be a good fit for the block.


Yup, I think so too, I also agree with the review, it's going to be good re-watching this on Toonami.

Also, reading the review, glad to see yet another who really enjoyed the dub cast for this a ton.
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ColonelYao47



Joined: 01 Jan 2013
Posts: 274
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 6:45 pm Reply with quote
I'm way too excited for the .000001% chance JYP will insert his whisper on the ending. He did have the Wonder Girls on Teennick. 2PM on Toonami? I can't wait...

*Realizes nobody cares about this, nobody, nobody but me*

Oh, and I'm looking forward to watching the show, too... Embarassed


Last edited by ColonelYao47 on Sat Dec 14, 2013 6:51 pm; edited 1 time in total
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normajean19



Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 81
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 6:49 pm Reply with quote
I guess I should have expected the review to focus more on the show than the actual product itself, oh well. I really do like Blue Exorcist though, and I'm glad its coming on Toonami, since I can't afford these types of releases.

What's crazy is that the premium sets by Aniplex and NISA are "so great" that everyone forgets these companies also release the worst barebones sets in NA. The Blue Exorcist barebones DVD sets cost 70 bucks each. At least the barebones sets from other NA companies actually include blu-ray discs in them.
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luffypirate



Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 3186
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 7:55 pm Reply with quote
SouthPacific wrote:
luffypirate85 wrote:
Looking forward to owning this one day. Don't get me wrong, the physical presentation is beautiful, but I do wish the N. American branch would step it up a little. They should add some digipaks into the mix. Most of their limited edition sets (all maybe?) have the same "three Amaray in a rigid box" look.


I can suggest checking out the brand new company in the UK "Anime Limited". I got their 2-part Cowboy Bebop BD release & it's amazing. Each release has a chipboard box w/ a 40-page booklet & a digipack containing two discs. Not to mention the on-disc extras are great. And they're cheap. Really cheap for the stuff included. Both releases went for ~40$ each, which is just insane if you look at how much your standard barebones BD costs... Shocked

The company really seems passionate about bringing quality releases into the western market, they've even said themselves that they wish to deliver just that & they've got some great licenses (Gurren Lagann on BD, Patema Inverted BD, Outlaw Star remastered DVDs etc).

So if you have a region-free BD player I can really suggest getting one or two of their releases Wink .


Thank you for the info. I have been curious about European releases I just need that region free player. There are a lot titles out that haven't been available in N. America. I'm really into buying Japanese BDs right now. Maybe after I finish collecting the JP import singles that I'm into I will start a European collection.

normajean19 wrote:

What's crazy is that the premium sets by Aniplex and NISA are "so great" that everyone forgets these companies also release the worst barebones sets in NA. The Blue Exorcist barebones DVD sets cost 70 bucks each. At least the barebones sets from other NA companies actually include blu-ray discs in them.


The theory is that they intentionally gimp them to make the premiums that more enticing.
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TsunaReborn!



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Posts: 4713
Location: Cheltenham UK
PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 9:16 pm Reply with quote
I remember when I fist watched the series I had 2 days off work in a row and watched the entire series within that time frame. I remember I enjoyed the series until the final episode and felt it was rushed and kind of came out of no where. It's a shame that for me the final few episodes put me off buying the anime... But it helped me to discover the manga and I now look forward to, hopefully, a less rushed climax.
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Thatguy3331



Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Posts: 1791
PostPosted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 12:03 am Reply with quote
I wish I had as much enthusiasm as you carlo, but quite frankly I thought everything after episode 17 or 18 was just too off rails for me to enjoy the overall package. Still I had much more fun with the beginig of this than with magi's anime (also done by A-1) adaptation, and the visuals and music really helped. I hope to be able to listen to some episodes of the dub as well.
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SquadmemberRitsu



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 1391
PostPosted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 1:27 am Reply with quote
I don't think I liked it nearly as much as Carlo, but Blue Exorcist was definitely a fun ride for me. I completely agree with Carlo on the dub though. I haven't watched it in Japanese but based on its own merits I honestly thought the dub was probably one of the best I've ever heard as well as being amongst the best I've heard from Bang Zoom (Which is saying a lot since they also did the fantastic dubs for Eureka Seven, Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann, Madoka Magica and recently Fate/Zero)

I didn't really care for him as Masaomi in Durarararararara (Which was otherwise a mostly well made dub) but Bryce Papenbrook is damn near perfect as Rin. He does so well with capturing both the teenage angst and frustration and the goofy and occasionally somewhat awkward side of his personality.

Johnny Yong Bosch is great with Yukio's 'no fun allowed' attitude and in general does a fantastic job at playing him. Christine Cabanos is great at playing Shiemi. Usually the cute characters are hard to portray in English but I can say from watching the entire show dubbed that I thought Shiemi was absolutely adorable. Hanazawa is overrated anyway. Kyle Hebert, Wendee Lee (Especially when playing drunk Shura), Kirk Thornton, Stephanie Sheh, Sam Riegel, Brian Beacock and Kira Buckland also put in some great performances.

A nice straightforward action series with fantastic English dub, generous budget, unique art style, mostly competent writing, a nice fantasy setting with some thought provoking themes, a godly score (Sasuga Sawano-san), good sense of humour and above all a likeable cast that managed to keep me entertained even when the show went a bit off the rails. What more could I possibly want? I had a hell of a lot of fun and that's all that really matters in the end. In that regard, I'd say the show is perfect for Toonami.

I'm definitely going to re-watch it when I get the show on Blu-ray
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ZODDGUTS



Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 600
PostPosted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 3:48 am Reply with quote
Series starts off great, but man does it lose focus in the 2nd half though by then they had run out of manga material to use. This is one of those series I hope gets a remake like Fullmetal Alchemist especially if it's by the staff that made the Blue Exorcist movie.
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EnigmaticSky



Joined: 06 Aug 2011
Posts: 750
PostPosted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 7:23 am Reply with quote
I'm glad the "artbook" is more substantial than what was put in Bakemonogatari, which was more of a pamphlet that happened to have some art in it. I still wouldn't say this set is "overflowing" with extras, at least for the price. When I look at Sentai just throwing in soundtracks for free (like in Dusk Maiden of Amnesia) and NISA giving hardcover artbooks and an incredible display case for less than half the price of Aniplex's releases (like... Really all NISA's releases), it's always hard for me to justify it. Sure, they can charge whatever they want, and it's more than Funimation's cheapo clean op/ed and audio commentaries, but I'm not sold on it being $100 more. A soundtrack and paper booklet? Funimation has announced that they are doing premium releases as well at a far better price, so I hope that forces Aniplex's hand to lower their prices. Also a random note, but I hope that they have improved the casing for their boxes. Bakemonogatari just kinda felt like it was a cheap cardboard box with the cover glued on. It even kinda showed minor dents if you looked really closely. I dig Funi's super polished chipboard, so I hope it's up to par with that now.

As far as this show goes, Carlo seemed almost fanboyish about it, so I guess i will have to give it a shot soon. It's just always a shame when you see a series start to decline after breaking away form the manga. Japan would do well to stop adapting unfinished material, or at least closing all plot threads when they break away.
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Banken



Joined: 29 May 2007
Posts: 1280
PostPosted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 5:59 am Reply with quote
I had seen a few episodes on TV in Japan and started watching the show again, but I am slightly confused about the universe in the series...

The first episodes make it sound fairly close to the real world because people seem to be totally oblivious to demons and such, yet after the first couple episodes (*just watched ep 11 so I'm only part way through") it seems like most of the characters seem aware of demons, which seems contradictory. Especially when you consider there are only a handful of students in the exorcist classes, despite being an organization large enough to afford a humongous school/headquarters compound.

And then there's the fact the show seems to take place in Japan yet no one seems to care that children are carrying deadly weapons around...

So what's the deal?
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