:anime: Nice Box…:: Ristorante Paradiso Complete Collection

In what is now a semi-regular segment on HD, "Nice Box" takes a quick look at recent releases that I've personally purchased, featuring "beautifully"-captured cell phone pictures of the sets from the blog's Facebook page. I don't intend to post pictures of every single thing I get, but I would like to at least showcase particular major releases or something that I've found neat or liked. It's essentially meant to give you a basic feel of how they came out, plus I'll share my thoughts on the content of the discs themselves (menu design, video quality, extras, etc.). So, please enjoy! --HD

While work has played a major role in the lack of updates lately, one good side-effect to it is that you get money out of it. And when you get money, you can get stuff, like nice anime box sets! This particular one, though, isn't a box set, per se…

:anime: Nice Box, Pt. 3…:: Madoka Magica LE 3 Pics!

It's been awhile since the last post of pics from Aniplex USA's release of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, but here are the final batch of the final set! Box 3 concludes the company's very strong presentation of the series, featuring much of the same kinds of swag that came with the previous two: double-sided posters, double-sided BD/DVD case cover, a soundtrack, a booklet, postcards featuring the episode endcards, and a proof-of-purchase card (OK, so that last one's not quite "swag"…). The quality is evident all around and once more shows that Aniplex USA knows how to pull out all of the stops for a top title like PMMM. It would have been nice if the disc extras had more worth beyond a textless OP (the memorable second/true ED never received the same treatment even in Japan), but all of the physical material certainly makes up for it (although I do take some points off for not fully translating the credits--a growing problem with recent releases).

:anime: Nice Box, Pt. 2…:: Madoka Magica LE 2 Pics!

I originally received the second pretty box set of Puella Magi Madoka Magica last month, but thanks to a few very busy weeks, I am just now managing to get around to posting the pictures I took of it now (which is actually a second round of shots, since the first batch was marred by a setting sun). Aniplex USA, once again, did a stand-out job with box set and its content. Same items of postcards, a booklet, and posters (two this time around), but the quality of it all is high, as is the presentation that went into the discs and cases. I could certainly question having Mami on the front side of the box as opposed to Sayaka--who is the real star of these batch of episodes, but is regated to the opposite side of the box--but, it does not subtract from the overall impressiveness of the set.

The show's quality shines on both the BD and DVD and the accompanying soundtrack is quite pleasing to ears.  The English dub makes a few, somewhat questionable script choices--one, for example, sort of spells out a subtle, yet big, reveal and another punches up a conversation between two jerks into an overly "street" one that sounded more like it was coming from two stereotypical black thugs than two casually-speaking, callous guys. I got the intent and purpose of conveying them in a "hoodlum"-kind of light, but it was hard not to squirm while hearing them talk. That aside, the dub is a very good and strong one, with the largely inexperienced cast bringing their A-game and the script holding its own and staying accurate and true to the spirit of the great original. And as much as I don't want to single out any one VA, Sarah Williams was simply perfect as Sayaka.

Just one more set to go, and I'm expecting more of the same (which is a good thing, in this case).

:anime: Nice Box…:: Madoka Magica LE 1 Pics!

The first volume of Puella Magi Madoka Magica comes out tomorrow in a limited edition BD/DVD combo set and regular edition DVD and BD, but with pre-orders having shipped out last week, some have been able to get there's a little soon. I was one of those people, so I decided to do something a little different and post a few pictures of the loaded set and all of the swag that came with it on HardDoor's Facebook page! In actuality, I've been planning to do something like this for a while for a major or special release, and since my new cell phone has a camera, I now had a means of doing so. The quality's not the greatest, but they're there to give you an overall gist of what everything looks like.

Overall, I really liked the set and the high-quality job Aniplex USA put into every aspect of it. Even the paper and print job is of a high quality, with the images and type coming out very clear. The discs themselves were very well done, and even featured the original Japanese menus. The Blu-ray's colors were eye-popping in their vibrancy and the shading was great as well and the DVD was impressive in its sound and visual quality, especially since I was expecting it to get piecemeal treatment (it basically mirrors the BD version). I'm glad to see the amount of effort that was placed into the release and it has me anticipating the next two boxes even more now.