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Black Cat R1 DVD ~Volume 1~
By Ace | February 1, 2007
Now, before I start, I have to say, the series Black Cat is one of my favorites, so take that into account as you read this review on the R1 DVD release.
Packaging
Okay, first off, I absolutely love the packaging. Both the Art box for the collector’s edition and the DVD case for vol. 1 are perfectly done. Kudos to Funimation (sure beats the crap out of Bandai, I’m still fuming over the My-HiME artbox).
Production Values
The production values of this set are wonderful as well. The menus are all nicely done, and the sound and video quality is excellent. It is apparent that Funimation has spent a lot of time making sure that people are getting “bang for their buck” nowadays. I mean, look at their latest releases, with Full Metal Alchemist, Black Cat, and Speedgrapher amongst many others, it is my belief that they have the market cornered when it comes to quality R1 releases (makes me wish they had gotten the Haruhi license, if Kadokawa or Bandai blows that one, heads will roll).
Sound and Video Quality
Another A+ for Funimation. The cells are as clean as possible, and the audio (at least the stereo tracks, no way to test the 5.1 yet) is as clear as it gets. The subtitle font is easy to read without being too flamboyant, and its easy on the eyes. I just wish there was a way to turn off the subtitles in the songs, but that’s not a major issue.
English Voice Acting
Now, the question on everyone’s mind, how are the dubs? English dubs, regardless of who releases them have a notoriety for being.. well.. bad. So the main thing that most anime enthusiasts judge an R1 release is by its dubs. For Black Cat, I give it a B. Nothing spectacular, but they’re still really well done. Admittedly, the worst part is that some of the dialog changed slightly, mainly to accommodate phrases and such. This only caused a problem once with a slight continuity issue, but most people wouldn’t have caught it, so it can slide. One thing I noticed when reviewing the cast, was that a lot of the people selected for key roles were fairly new to the scene, or rather, not used to playing main characters.
Train Heartnet (Black Cat) voiced by Jason Liebrecht - the voice fits for the most part, however, it is a little deep considering that Train is only supposed to be a teenager, but after some getting used to, it works.
>Sven Volfied voiced by Brandon Potter - Sven’s voice is excellently chosen, which is hard to do with the kind of character Sven is (the combination of serious and comical scenes, had to make this voice-casting a nightmare).
Saya Minatsuki voiced by Caitlin Glass - This voice irks me, gorgeous singing voice though. That’s the saving grace for this one.
Creed Diskence voiced by Chris Patton - Creed has Greed’s (of FMA) voice, seems odd at first, but it grows on you.
Eve voiced by Brina Palencia - Eve’s lines are mostly very monotoned and trance-like so far, so its hard to say how this voice is. I like what I’ve seen, but this one will be judged more closely once it comes time for Eve to develop a personality.
Rinslet Walker voiced by Jamie Marchi - This one starts off odd since Rinslet is introduced in disguise, but after that charade is over, the true voice acting comes out and the voice begins to fit the character much better.
Overall
Would I recommend buying these DVDs? My answer would be an emphatic “Hell yes.” Anyone who has seen Black Cat will tell you that the series is wonderful, and this DVD definitely does it justice.
Recap
Packaging - 10
Production Values - 9
Video - 9.5
Audio - 10
Voice Acting - 8
Overall -9
Popularity: 20% [?]
Topics: Anime, Black Cat, Region 1 DVD |
July 20th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Very good. I love the anime too and even though at the start you said you may be biased, the opinions and reveiws are really helpful. I thought Sven’s voice actor was great too.