Death Note: Relight Vol.1 – Visions of a God
Label: Manga Entertainment.
Certificate: 15
Discs: 1. (1 episode)
Running time: 130 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 8th February 2010
RRP: £14.99 – Amazon – Play
Death Note: Relight Vol.2 – L’s Successors
Label: Manga Entertainment.
Certificate: 12
Discs: 1. (1 episode)
Running time: 93 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 15th March 2010
RRP: £14.99 – Amazon – Play
Brief synopsis:
What would you do if you suddenly held the power of life and death in your hands? What would you do if you could kill someone silently and unfailingly from half a world away as easily as writing in your own diary? And what would you do if your identity as the killer could never be traced? Academically gifted but intellectually uninterested high school student Light Yagami, finds these questions to be no mere “what ifs” when into his possession falls a “Death Note”, a tool of the Death Gods mischievously tossed into the human world by a rogue Death God. If the holder of a Death Note writes the name of a human within in its pages then that human will quickly meet his, or her, maker. Realising that he literally holds the power of a god, the power of life and death over mere mortals, in his own hands, Light mounts a one man vigilante campaign against every criminal on the planet in an attempt to rid the world of evil, snuffing out the lives of wrongdoers one after another.
Whether the victim was a saint or a sinner, mysterious deaths still require investigation but the Police are at a loss at where to even start. As the number of dead criminals grows ever larger the mysterious though highly successful investigator known only as “L” who quickly surmises that there’s a serial killer on the loose. When Light learns that L has vowed to track down the culprit and bring him to justice what begins is a cat and mouse game between two intellectual powerhouses with the lives of every criminal – or innocent person – on the planet as their game pieces. L knows that when your target seems able to kill anyone, anywhere, at any time and stay completely undetected then the stakes couldn’t get much higher.
Comments:
For those who’ve already seen the Death Note TV series then these two movie length features make for an excellent way to enjoy all the best bits of the series without having to re-watch all 37 episodes. But, these releases are more than just compression and re-editing of the show, as there are a number of new scenes with new animation and dialogue to go with it.
As mentioned in our previous review of the complete TV series box set (which can conveniently be found here) this is a show well worth watching. The plot is both entertaining and clever – something many shows these days fail quite dramatically at – especially when this tale of “Good versus Evil” has both sides believing that they’re the good guys and that what they’re doing is both just and right. The animation is of impressively high quality throughout, the musical score equally impressive and it’s one of the few shows out there where the English language dub is as good as, if not better than, the original Japanese version.
Be warned though; if you’re new to Death Note then these new releases will leave you pretty darn confused as it does assume you’ve already either seen the show or read the manga, both of which I highly recommend doing.
Extras:
Vol.1 – Visions of a God: Trailers, Original Japanese promos and a “Death Note rewritten with the Japanese cast and crew” featurette.
Vol.2 – L’s Successors: Trailers… and that’s it.
Death Note: Relight Vol.1 – Visions of a God is currently available from most high streets and online retailers while Death Note: Relight Vol.2 – L’s Successors will be available from 15th March 2010.
Fate Stay/Night: Volume 2
Label: MVM
Certificate: 12
Discs: 1. (4 episodes)
Running time: 100 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 15th February 2010
RRP: £15.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Fate Stay/Night: Volume 3
Label: MVM
Certificate: 12
Discs: 1. (4 episodes)
Running time: 100 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 15th March 2010
RRP: £15.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Brief synopsis:
Volume 2: As the Grail War gains momentum, Shirou finds himself up against yet another Servant, this time the mysterious – yet alluring – Rider. The identity of Rider’s master is as much as mystery as that of this dangerous femme fatale herself and Shirou must be extra careful as his enemy may be even closer to him that he could ever imagine. But Shirou also proves himself not to be one to follow the usual Master/Servant conventions as he attempts to introduce Saber to a more “normal” lifestyle, one involving socialising with others in a manner that for once doesn’t involve heavy weapons or sharp objects.
Volume 3: Rider’s master is determined to claim the Grail at any cost, meaning that Saber will have to give Shirou a crash course in self defence if he’s to have any hope of fighting by her side during the ever more deadly battles that are sure to come. When Rider and Saber meet for their final showdown, Saber determines that her only chance of victory requires her to reveal her true identify; and it’s an identity that will shock all who discover her greatest secret.
Comments:
During this pair of volumes, Shirou finally accepts that his habit of spouting on about truth and justice etc is all well and good, but you really need to have the skills to back it up and if there’s one thing he’s learnt from meeting Rider it’s that currently, he doesn’t even come close. Mind you, that’s something every other Master, Servant and most of the audience had figured out by the end of Volume 1 so it’s about time he cottoned on.
The story’s progressing along quite nicely thus far. About half of the Servants have been introduced though a few of them – Archer especially – have taken somewhat of a backseat while rest of the players are all being brought onto the playing field. Hopefully now that there are enough combatants, and these “secret identities” are starting to be revealed, we can get into the real meat of the series pretty soon.
Unfortunately the Dub – which I remarked on negatively in our previous review – hasn’t improved in the slightest and, to be honest, I’m starting to give up hope for it. Thankfully though the original Japanese version is of impressively high quality and includes some respected and well-known Japanese voice actors such as Ayako Kawasumi (Nodame Cantible’s Nodame) and Atsuko Tanaka (Ghost in the Shell’s Major Kusanagi). The animation’s also maintained the impressively high level of production values throughout that we enjoyed with Volume 1.
Extras:
Volume 2: Textless closing animation; trailers.
Volume 3:The original music video for the opening and closing theme tunes; Trailers; “Rider’s Diary” clip show.
Fate Stay/Night: Volume 2 is available now with Fate Stay/Night: Volume 2 available from 15th March 2010
X: Volume 5
Label: MVM.
Certificate: 15
Discs: 1. (4 episodes)
Running time: 100 mins approx
Video: 4:3
Sound: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 15th March 2010
RRP: £15.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
X: Volume 6
Label: MVM.
Certificate: TBA
Discs: 1. (4 episodes)
Running time: 100 mins approx
Video: 4:3
Sound: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 5th April 2010
RRP: £15.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Brief synopsis:
Vol 5: The shock of Kotori’s death has left Kaumi unconscious prompting Subaru to dive into his dream state in an attempt to save him. As the Dragons of Earth step up their offensive, Fuma contacts other member of the Dragon’s of Earth, namely Kakyo and Nataku.
Vol 6: As Sorata and Arashi finally face each other as adversaries, Sorata still has yet to decide where her resolve truly lies. But she needs to make up her mind fast as this confrontation could soon turn fatal. Kamui readies for the final battle and unseals the divine sword in preparation, but will he be able to Fuma to normal while protecting the Earth, or will he have to make a choice between the two.
Extras:
Vol 5: Screen shot gallery; Trailers
Vol 6: TBA
X: Volume 5 will be available from most high streets and online retailers from 15th March 2010 with X: Volume 6 available from 5th April 2010. Previous SFL posting re this series can be found here, here and here.