Darker Than Black Season 1 Blu-ray Complete Set
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So I saw this pop up out of the blue.
http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/eiN7TSNL8X7QdMWzzW/browse/item/104959/4/0/0
While I did eventually cave and buy the first season on DVD, I'm definitely not missing my chance on the Blu-ray release. However, it seems to be a rather limited release (5000 Units). It's also listed on Amazon, but I'm not sure if the 5000 is shared between the two and where ever else it's listed.
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the 5000 is shared between the two and where ever else it's listed.
Yup. That's the grand total.
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You can thank Aniplex's infernal meddling for that. -_-
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What crappy packaging I was really hoping for a nice box to hold both seasons.
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Got my set in the mail today, and I am a bit disappointed in it overall. The portfolio folder the set came in feels extremely flimsy and I guarantee that unless kept behind glass will not last any amount of time worth mentioning. The rope piece broke off the moment I cut the plastic wrapping off. The included extras are more or less "meh", but the artwork is nice. The discs are held in place better than I had expected with the cutouts made for them.
I'll probably go through a few episodes to see how the video quality is because that's really the only redeeming feature left.
Overall, if this is the direction FUNimation is going with premium editions, it's a shame and worries me about the Soul Eater one. That said, it should fit nicely between some Pokedex's.
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I got mine today too, and I have to agree. It looks cool, but it feels really flimsy and ill-constructed. It's also REALLY easy to scratch (I accidentally gave it a big nasty one right across the logo on the front while I was taking off the shrinkwrap). It's really a hassle to get everything out in comparison to a regular BD case. The artbook is probably the nicest thing about it - its a bit thin at only 48 pages, but the images are really big and bold and look great. The postcards are pretty meaningless (as postcards tend to be, if you ask me) considering the art that's on them is already in the artbook. And yeah, NOT a fan of storing the discs using flaps. When I first opened my package, two of the discs had already fallen out.
I'm thinking of picking up a standard 3-disc bluray case to keep the discs in and printing out my own insert for it, and just keeping the rest of the packaging in storage, because it's so much of a hassle just to get the discs out. It really sucks that Aniplex is forcing FUNi to release the show like this and not allowing them to do a standard BD release, especially since the show is eight years old and isn't really as much of a "time-honored classic" as they're trying to make it out to be. And what's worse, now that the Anime Classics DVD set is out of print, this is officially the only way you can buy the show now.
Bottom line, I'm glad I got this during RightStuf's FUNi sale at a big discount, because I would've felt terribly ripped-off if I had paid full price for it. Especially considering that DTB has always just been a show I "kinda liked" and not a personal favorite of mine. -_-
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It really sucks that Aniplex is forcing FUNi to release the show like this and not allowing them to do a standard BD release
Well even though they couldn't do a non-limited BD run because the license holders wouldn't allow it (which sucks, especially since the DVDs are OOP now) this packaging decision would have still been Funi's. I doubt the Japanese would care what kind of packaging we get.
I'd probably do the same if I cave and get this and just buy a separate case to keep the discs in, but it would have been nice to get a more normal sized art box in the first place.
Thanks for the pictures, CostlyAxis.
I'm disappointed to hear that this release is lacking in the quality department when it comes to packaging. Hopefully the video quality is good enough to make up for it.
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So I went and watched the first two episodes and I can't say it looked much crisper than the regular DVD release. Of course the subtitles look nicer, but I wasn't really seeing the crisp lines I was looking for in the image. However, by no means does it look bad; it just wasn't the jump in quality I was hoping for. The menus were terrific though.
Thanks for the pictures, CostlyAxis.
No problem. Here are a few more:
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Since it's currently on sale at RightStuf for the holidays I decided to pick it up, just for the BDs.
It just feels very cheaply made in hand and it even arrived with a crease along one of the edges on the back (the tie thingy hasn't fallen off yet though). And instead of my discs falling out I had the exact opposite problem. One of the BDs was, for my convenience, glued into the packaging! :D I managed to get it out and cleaned up, but that was irritating to experience and wouldn't have happened, I dunno, with an actual case. Loose discs happen even with cases, but I feel they are overall a far better option.
I just wanted the BDs, and I got them, so the packaging is annoying and inconvenient but whatever. I'll have to test the glued disc to see if it actually works after my clean up… For now I'm just keeping the box in with my oversized artbooks.
