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Darker Than Black: Complete First Season Blu-Ray Review

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June 30, 2015

Darker Than Black: Complete First Season Blu-Ray Review

Darker Than Black: Complete First Season
Studio: Bones
Publisher: FUNimation
Format: Blu-ray
Release Date: May 26, 2015
Price: $99.98 – Available Here

Overview
Darker than Black is certainly not new to the realm of anime, as the series made its debut nearly eight years ago, quickly becoming a household name and inspiring a good amount of serial dramas that would follow later. Funimation have finally brought fans a new update to the first season, with all twenty-six episodes releasing on a three disc Blu-ray set. The question now is has Darker than Black aged well enough to still be deemed relevant, or is this set one to skip altogether? Let’s find out.

Story
Darker than Black is a bit of action, mystery, and drama, all wrapped into several arcing stories that eventually intertwine. Truthfully, this why first viewing of the show, which made it a bit difficult to just plunge into. Darker than Black takes place in a world where there was an anomaly that took place years prior, and the current citizens are dealing with the aftermath. It literally is dubbed “Heaven’s Gate” vs “Hell’s Gate” in reference to this event, as beings known as Contractors were birthed – with their purposes and even existence being largely unknown by the general public.

A Contractor in a way is a lot like what you would see in X-Men. Each character who is a Contractor has a special ability, but must pay a price – or a contract in order to utilize it. Some characters are forced to succumb to human like vices such as smoking or drinking, while others carry a greater weight and suffer for their own craft physically. Hei is a contractor and our main protagonist, but does not have a contract to pay, so he and his team spend their lives carrying out assassination missions via the Syndicate so these beings do not put humans on Earth in danger with their power and other motives. As I mentioned, this series takes its time with pacing and I found myself halfway into disc two before I finally felt fully invested. New characters are introduced often, and Darker than Black has a bad habit of establishing a character in a two-part just to drop them a quick minute later- as if they never existed prior. I get that some anime and other forms of entertainment do this to add layers and experience to other characters, but there were a couple faces that got far too much screen time and did little to nothing to add any further depth into the plot.

That gripe aside, the writing actually is superb within the show as a whole. Individually, episodes try to reinforce the characteristics of the cast and do well at actually building up to a greater payoff. Hei is a great lead who the lives a double life. By day he is a student with a snarky cat and by night, he dons a mask to hunt Contractors with his power of electricity. Yin is a Doll, which is sort of like a medium or specter as she uses water to track and observe contractors. Instead of being a boisterous female sidekick however, Yin is completely emotionless and it takes a while to find out her own background, which definitely adds to the mystery of this team. Huang acts as an older leader who simply assigns and adds some comedy, while Mao rounds off the group as a talking cat that has had his own experience as a contractor. These four make up the core of the series and while there is plenty of other interaction with enemies and allies alike, the plot truly builds off Hei and his journey – even with the detailed build-up of the characters on the side.

If you haven’t been able to piece it together by now, Contractors that are in the wild such as the MI6 use their powers for other agendas and partake in evil affairs with dangerous organizations, and Hei and his small group are tasked by Syndicate to simply take them out before chaos ensues. The show always maintains its dark tone and while that atmosphere sets it apart, I also felt it hurt it just a bit. There is a little bit of comic relief thrown in, but Hei is a cold main protagonist that takes a long time to warm up to. I was literally eight episodes in before I realized the true side he was on in terms of motives, and I feel more time spent on his story at the start (rather than the middle) could have made myself as the viewer warm up to him overall. I will say though that once Darker than Black sinks its teeth into you, it is hard to stop watching and a bit of randomly timed viewing for this series quickly turned into a marathon to the fantastic finish by the start of the third disc.

Visuals
You are purchasing a Blu-ray set here, so a slight visual upgrade of the Darker than Black that you knew should be expected. That being said, the picture quality is this anime does not differ much aside from additional softness to the color tones, but the 1080p upgrade is sure to be welcomed from fans who have already obtained the season 2 set that is already on Blu-ray.

As I stated, this is a dark show in terms of dialogue and narrative alike, and the dimly lit setting definitely reflects that in every way possible. Nearly the entire frame of every sequence features rich animation, with even the facial features of background faces standing out and making a scene come to life.

Audio
Fans of the Japanese dub will be elated to know that the full product can be utilized here with English subtitles that are automatic. The English dub has also been retained and is the default of the set, and the voice actors do a superb job of capturing the personalities that are portrayed. I know that is a small compliment, but I have encountered many aged products that did not have great quality, and even though it was just a bit since Darker than Black received a dub, I still feel it is worth mention of the cast’s voice work here.

The music and soundtrack definitely captures the aura of the show as well, with the quick and snappy credits preparing us for a more serious anime, with the ending credits containing a light and airy Japanese tune.

Extras
The special features are a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the episodes contain commentaries that are fairly interesting, but not all are covered with this bonus audio. We do get some clips from the audition process as well as several trailers and other Easter Eggs however, and while there have been better sets for popular anime, Darker than Black offers just enough to appease new and longtime fans with a bit of fan service and extra viewing for this release.

Overall
Darker than Black is a great anime that definitely has aged well despite being eight years old. Is the price point too high for the set? Well, that really depends on the fan as “standard fare” is a good term to describe what is on display here. That aside however, you still are getting over six hundred minutes of entertainment as a whole in this package. Sure, it takes Darker than Black’s first season a bit to get off the ground, but once its off and the skies are clear, this is one show that takes viewers for an unforgettable ride and is as of now the definitive version of a great series.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Attack on Titan’s Live Action Films Licensed by FUNimation

Travis Bruno

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June 30, 2015

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Attack on Titan’s Live Action Films Licensed by FUNimation

As you may know, live action Attack on Titan films have been in the works for a while and it will soon be released to theaters in Japan starting in August but given the popularity of the series, it seems FUNimation has decided that they are going to jump on the boat early with this one.

The company announced earlier today that they have licensed the films for North America as well as Central and South America with the license including the theatrical, digital, home video, and broadcast rights to the films. In fact, the company even announced that they will be holding the world premiere of the first film at Los Angeles’ Egyptian Theater on July 14th, almost a full month before the movie premieres in Japan on August 1st.

FUNimation Acquires Streaming Rights to Thirteen Summer 2015 Anime Series

Travis Bruno

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June 30, 2015

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FUNimation Acquires Streaming Rights to Thirteen Summer 2015 Anime Series

The massive Summer 2015 anime season will start later this week and FUNimation has drawn first blood with the streaming announcements by announcing that they will be streaming thirteen brand new titles this summer season. This includes the continuing streams of One Piece, Fairy Tail, Ninja Slayer, Ultimate Otaku Teacher, and The Heroic Legend of Arslan.

The list of the new thirteen titles can be found below:

Snow White with the Red Hair
Rampo Kitan
Gangsta.
Seiyu’s Life
Bikini Warriors
Prison School
Hetalia: The World Twinkle
Aquarion Logos
Sky Wizards Academy (Kusen Madoshi)
Junjo Romantica 3
Overlord
Castle Town Dandelion
SHIMONETA: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist

The company has stated that they will be streaming a total of twenty shows this season so this means that there are still two titles that have yet to be announced and that announcement will likely come later this week and probably involve Dragon Ball Super in some form.

‘Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~’ Visual Novel RPG Arrives on Kickstarter

Travis Bruno

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June 30, 2015

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You may not have heard of Mr. Tired Media before but you have likely played games that the two members of the team have worked on in the past as it consists of NIS America’s marketing manager Ryan Philips and the company’s localization editor Nick Doerr. Well since leaving the company they have been working on a few things and they have just announced their very first internally developed game that monster girl fans will likely be keen on checking out. The title is called Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ and is a visual novel dungeon crawling RPG that takes place in an apocalyptic world where a zombie plague has swept the land.

Despite sounding fairly generic, Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ is described as taking place in the “funpocalypse” for you see, players take on the role of Reginald “Reggie” Happenstahnce who happens to be the son of the scientist who managed to create a cure for the zombie plague. The only problem is, he must try and deliver the cure to a place where it can be mass-produced and he is fairly wimpy on his own.

Thankfully, it seems that a small number of girls, including one of Reggie’s closest friends, seem to be partially immune to the disease. While it is true that they are indeed dead and have returned as zombies, all of the girls have managed to retain parts of their humanity and are willing to help Reggie on his journey through post-apocalyptic dungeons where the girls will fight against the undead in turn-based battles.

Throughout their journey Reggie will be interacting with these girls and making various dialogue choices during visual novel segments that will allow him to grow closer to the girls and potentially learn more about them. If the player manages to get close enough to one of the girls she might even volunteer to be the first test subject for the cure. Currently Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ is seeking funding on Kickstarter where they are asking for $50,000 to fund a PC version of the game though PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita stretch goals are included in the list for $100,000 and $225,000 respectively.

‘How to Take Off Your Mask’ Visual Novel Steam Release Date Announced

Travis Bruno

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June 30, 2015

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A new visual novel by the name of How to Take Off Your Mask now has a set release date on Steam. Publisher roseVeRte has announced that the visual novel will be released on Steam, where it will be available for PC and Mac, on July 10th. The story of How to Take Off Your Mask follows a female protagonist named Lilia who thought she was an ordinary baker living in Leezera, the capital of Eroolia. That is until one day when she woke up she found herself transformed into a cat-girl known as a luccretia.

After panicking about her new situation, she runs into a city guard named Ronan. Despite being childhood friends with a clumsy boy named Ronan long ago, she is unsure if this man is actually him. How to Take Off Your Mask features only one romantic interest but the character’s personality will change depending on the type of decisions players make throughout the game. You can check out a promotional trailer for the game below as well as an early demo here.

Sunset Review

Nick Boisson

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June 30, 2015

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Sunset
Developer: Tale of Tales
Publisher: Tale of Tales
Platforms: Windows PC (Reviewed), Mac, Linux/SteamOS
Release Date: May 21, 2015
Price: $19.99 (Available Here)

Overview

There have been many, many, many games of, about, and taking place within war. Games in which players mimic soldiers on the front line, generals commanding their troops from afar, snipers specializing in taking out “high-value targets” from long distances, and even mercenaries. Not to mention all the outside the proverbial box (though, not really) protagonists in the space marine, mech pilot, Jedis, and so on. And sure, as the opening to games in the Fallout series go, “war never changes”. But have video games forgotten those the wars affect other than the ones fighting them? Other than the few times seen running away in fear, when do we ever get a look at the effects war has on the citizens in that region? What about the people these wars – fictional or otherwise – are being fought for? In the grand scheme of interactive entertainment, why are these people forgotten in anything outside the scope of an escort mission? Well, Tale of Tales’ Sunset opts to explore the side of war we never experience as players.

Sunset is a first-person exploration and simulation game from Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn, the two-person team that is game development studio Tale of Tales, that examines war from the perspective of an observer. And while this game doesn’t put you in the action, it may be one of the best examinations of war outside of a Ken Burns documentary.

Story & Gameplay

In Sunset, you play Angela Burnes, an African-American ex-patriot living in the fictional Central American country of Anchuria in 1972. Each day, just an hour before sunset, Angela cleans the penthouse of Señor Gabriel Ortega – a wealthy art historian who is trying to save as many pieces of art that he can – while he is away. Outside the apartment, Anchuria is in the midst of a civil war where a military general has seized control of the country and rebels are fighting in the streets for the freedom of Anchuria. But Angela is not one of these rebels. Everyday, Angela has one hour to clean, cook in, organize Señor Ortega’s swanky new penthouse apartment. In doing that, Angela ends up playing a much larger role within the geopolitical climate just outside the doors.

Sunset is an exploration game where Angela’s actions within Ortega’s penthouse can influence the tides of war by influencing Ortega. Each day, you are left a list of tasks to finish before you leave. More often than not, the tasks left do not require the full hour before sunset for you to finish. In this time, the player can do a few little things here and there that get the attention of Ortega. Spend a bit more time on a task to make the result a bit more artistic or visually pleasing, organize his furniture, unpack a few boxes that you are not required to unpack, hide a few private files for him to make sure he is not arrested if the military enters his home, and so on. From performing these tasks, you end up learning more about Gabriel Ortega and his life on the outside as well as more about the civil unrest that is nearly decimating your adopted country. If you do enough, Ortega may start leaving behind little notes for you to read and respond.

Your gameplay is what drives the story forward. You can just stick to your tasks, or ignore them altogether, and your game will be over within ninety minutes; you will never meet Señor Ortega and the country will continue to sink into a brutal civil war. But, if you take an interest in all that is around you in the apartment, you will discover so much more about both Angela and Ortega. The best way to experience Sunset is to take one’s time and learn as much as you can. If you play your cards right, Angela and Gabriel grow closer despite never actually meeting in-person. And when Angela’s brother – David – becomes a rebel leader and is fighting to release the country from the general’s grip, Ortega may also begin working alongside the rebel cause. Every choice Angela makes within the penthouse has the potential to cause a ripple effect that can turn the tide of the war in either favor.

When you read and hear of David’s exploits on the ground during the war, you realize something: David is the character you would be playing if Sunset were the typical first-person war shooter. The brazen rebel leader who is willing to die to save his country from the hands of an evil ruler. We have all played that game. What’s worse is that we will all most likely end up playing that game again. But Sunset is not that game. Angela isn’t the rebel fighter, the heroic marine, or the mercenary with a heart of gold. Angela is everyone else. Angela, quite frankly, is us; the ones who work are menial jobs, sleep in little apartments, go out with our friends on weekends, and live our lives in the background of greatness. What makes Sunset stand out from these other games so much is the simple feeling that it is all okay. Even the person who isn’t the typical dude on the cover of the new Call of Duty game can make a significant difference in that world. And in the case of Sunset, maybe even more so.

Visuals & Audio

It may seem a rather obvious statement to make given the images here, but Sunset is a visually gorgeous game. Because the game always takes place in the hour before the sun sets under Anchuria, the penthouse always basks in a beautifully-rendered warm color palette. And because it is an exploration game, Tale of Tales took the time to add in many small details around the apartment that help seep the player into the early-’70s world of Anchuria. Beautiful artwork, magazine and book covers, exotic plant life, and articles on the war in Anchuria fill the penthouse each day and each individual piece help secure you in the world of Sunset.

The soundtrack is done by none other than Austin Wintory, who has worked on games like Journey, Monaco, and The Banner Saga. As always, Wintory’s tracks can’t help but immerse you into that early-’70s vibe of Sunset. His music alone is a reason to jump into Sunset. The voice work and ambient sounds are also brilliantly done throughout.

Overall

Sunset is a quiet examination of the many factors that lead to a country in turmoil: differences in socioeconomics, geopolitics, the values of art and humanity, and so much more. Themes that are still a driving influence in today’s political climate. But what Sunset truly is, more than anything else, is an examination of the two most destructive and influential elements in humanity. The only two elements that can change the world: love and war.

In the end, we may not know which can be a greater force of change on this blue rock in space which we all inhabit, but we all know that it is our actions in both that will either bring us all together or drive us all apart.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Developer Let’s Play Video with Naruto Storm 4

Nathan Farrugia

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June 30, 2015

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Bandai Namco has released a developer let’s play for their latest Naruto title Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 which showcases some of the new gameplay mechanics that have been spoken of earlier such as the combined battle system (as opposed to the split battle drive system present in Revolution) and the new leader change system. CyberConnect2 President & CEO Hirashi Matsuyama (strangely not wearing a Naruto themed outfit this time) talks us through a couple of battles as they happen in the video which you can watch below.

naruto-storm-4-screenshot-01 — Looks like this official screenshot may have been slightly edited…

As we expected, there is a limit to how many times you can change the leader of your team and there is also a cooldown, however you can swap characters mid combo to continue said combo. If you awaken, it seems everyone on your team will also awaken but you can still switch between them. After much fan request, ultimates can also be used while awakened now. Other minor things talked about in the video include the nicer graphics, more natural colours and that clothes can now catch on fire after being hit by a fire jutsu with other similar natural occurrences also being added to the game. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 will be hitting the PS4, Xbox One and PC on Steam later this year, presumably sometime in October or soon after.

Steins;Gate PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 North American Release Date Announced

Travis Bruno

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June 30, 2015

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In a bit of a twist from the usual fair, gamers in Europe have been able to enjoy the English version of the Steins;Gate visual novel on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita for a few weeks now while gamers in North America have been left waiting.

That is until today when it was announced that Steins;Gate will be released on the PS3 and PS Vita in North America on August 25th. PQube announced that online retailer Rice Digital will be selling an exclusive “El Psy Kongroo” Edition that is priced at $79.99 and it is currently unknown whether or not a standard version of the title will be available for retail purchase.

The special edition contains the following items:

Limited Edition Game Box
Gorgeous, premium quality 126-page art book featuring CG and Key Artwork
Double Pin Badge Set for new Future Gadget Lab members
Metal Upa Replica
Badge Set and Metal Upa Presentation Box

“Major” Tekken Announcement to be made on July 7th

Travis Bruno

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June 30, 2015

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If you happen to be a fan of Tekken then you’ll likely want to keep an eye out for news to come out on July 7th. I say this because the official Twitter account for Tekken is teasing that a Tekken related announcement will be made on July 7th. To be a bit more specific, it says that the announcement will be “major” and that fans should look forward to it.

20周年を迎えた『鉄拳』プロジェクトから2015年7月7日火曜日に重大発表があります。ご期待ください！ #鉄拳7 pic.twitter.com/ln9H9yU0ka
— 【公式】鉄拳8 ＠鉄拳プロジェクト (@TEKKEN_Project) June 29, 2015

Considering Tekken 7 has currently only been released in Japanese arcades this may mean that the fighting game is finally getting an official home console announcement or a number of character announcements through an arcade expansion, though until July 7th that is simply speculation.

Persona 4: Dancing All Night Heading to Europe in Fall 2015

Travis Bruno

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June 30, 2015

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While gamers in North America already knew that Persona 4: Dancing All Night would be released in their region sometime this fall season, gamers in Europe have been left wondering when exactly this unique rhythm game featuring everyone’s favorite characters would arrive on their shelves.

Thankfully it seems that there won’t be much delay compared to their North American counterparts as NIS America has announced that they will be bringing Persona 4: Dancing All Night to Europe sometime this Fall as well with gamers having the option of either picking up the previously announced “Disco Fever” edition or the standard and digital versions of the game.