Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set [Blu-ray]
by Don Rush
![Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set [Blu-ray]](/images/Full-Metal-Panic-The-Second-Raid-Box-Set-Blu-ray-B0029XFPNS-L.jpg)
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Blu-ray details
Actor: Chris Patton, Luci ChristianDirector: Don Rush
Brand: Funimation
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Digital Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 312 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2009-08-11
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Funimation
Product features:
- It s tough to keep your grades up without having to take off at a moment s notice to save the world. But for Sousuke Sagara, undercover high school student and member of the mercenary group Mithril, life in Tokyo seemed the same as always. But underneath the promising exterior spin the wheels of a conspiracy that threaten to destroy the peace. A new threat has arisen: Amalgam. An unknown element w
Blu-ray Reviews of Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set [Blu-ray]
Blu-ray Review: Wow...
Summary: 4 Stars
Having been a long time owner of many of the Full Metal Panic releases (I have the original series on R3 and R1 DVD, Fumoffu on R1 and R3 DVD, FMP: TSR on R1 and R2 (limited editions) DVD), I was a bit leery of jumping into an upscaled release.
Honestly I'm glad I took the plunge.
First, for those that don't know, this release is upscaled to 1080p from a 480p source. In layman's terms it's the same thing your upscaling DVD player does, only it's done in a studio with almost universally better results than any hardware can accomplish (when handled properly). It also has the added benefit of being able to use the higher Blu Ray bit rates to allow for higher quality video/audio.
VIDEO:
To size up the video, I compared the Blu Ray release of Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid to my Japanese R2 DVDs upscaled via an Oppo DVD player. The Blu Ray video quality blows away the upscaled DVD, hands down. I also compared the Blu Ray to my R1 DVD release and it definitely blows that away. As stated by another reviewer, because of the multiple angles used on the R1 DVDs, the video quality in the opening and ending suffered. There is also some over all softness in the R1 DVD that is not present even in the R2 DVD release as well. NONE of these issues are present on the Blu Ray. There are some issues with shimmering and so on, but those are source related from what I can tell, meaning there won't be a release that doesn't have these issues (both the R2 and R1 DVDs had similar problems).
One issue, also pointed out by another reviewer, is that the opening was animated 30 fps (frames per second). Blu Ray only allows 24 fps in 1080. The result is that the opening AND ending animations appear choppy. This does not affect the show proper, but the opening and ending of an Anime, to me, IS part of the show and should be handled with the same care the "meat" of the show is handled. For this I could only go as high as 4 out of 5 stars for this release.
One solution I would have preferred for the op/ed is separate "title." What this would allow is that the opening and endings could be encoded at 1080i and allow for the 30 fps, while the meat of the show could reside in another "title" where it could be upscaled to 1080p as it is. It's splitting hairs at this point, but there are solutions that FUNimation decided not to follow.
Also missing is the ability to view the opening/ending with the original Japanese title cards. Anyone familiar with the previous R1 DVD release you'll notice you can't switch angles to see credits in Japanese. This is disappointing because it was an option on the DVDs and probably wouldn't have taken a lot of work to replicate on the Blu Ray release.
AUDIO
This is probably the best the show has ever sounded. Using DTS-MA for both the Japanese and English audio tracks is a real bonus. The clarity is superb and the spatial effects come across all the speakers really, really well. No complaints here.
EXTRAS:
One other reason I dropped a star is because of the lack of audio commentary. On the original DVD releases you were able to choose to listen to the Japanese voice actors speak some commentary (with subtitles). For whatever reason, FUNimation chose NOT to include these commentaries with this release and I don't know why. It's unfortunate but it means that if you want all of the extras available you have to purchase the DVDs, if you want the best video you have to choose the Blu Ray release. Disappointing.
All of the other extras from the previous release ARE retained and presented in 480p. I believe they were recorded this way, so the decision was made not to upscale to 1080p on these sections. Wouldn't have taken much effort to do, but wouldn't have offered much improvement though.
CONTENT:
This is my favorite FMP series. Unfortunately the Japanese audience was turned off by some of the violence in the early episodes, which cost it ratings which also means we aren't likely to see further animated FMP series.
Sousuke and Kaname face some big relationship issues while managing to get closer still. There is some light hearted fun to be had, but the majority of the episodes are quite serious.
Lots of action and a great story make this one worth watching.
Final verdict:
A good buy though if you have the DVD release and are satisfied how it looks on your TV, you may want to spend your money elsewhere.
Description of Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set [Blu-ray]
It's tough to keep your grades up without having to take off at a moment's notice to save the world. But for Sousuke Sagara, undercover high school student and member of the mercenary group Mithril, life in Tokyo seemed the same as always.But underneath the promising exterior spin the wheels of a conspiracy that threaten to destroy the peace. A new threat has arisen: Amalgam. An unknown element with advanced mech technology, this mysterious organization has been running things from behind the scenes. As dissension spreads throughout the ranks of Mithril, Sousuke faces his own internal struggle. Spread thin between schoolwork and war, the powers that be have decided to lighten his load....beginning with Kaname! Life and death hang in the balance as the clash between good and evil scale new heights. When the smoke clears, Sousuke's path will be the one that he forges for himself.
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