- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit)
- Subtitles: English
- Region: AB (No Region C)
- Rating: TV-14
- Run Time: 300 Mins.
- Discs: 4 (2 x Blu-ray + 2 x DVD)
- Studio: FUNimation Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: April 3, 2012
- List Price: $69.98
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Purchase Okami-san and Her Seven Companions on Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe
Shop for More Blu-ray Titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Series
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Series
[Rating:3.5/5]
A lighthearted teen high school anime based on a series of light novels by Masashi Okita, Okami-san and Her Seven Companions doesn’t necessarily bring anything groundbreaking to the genre in terms of story development, character design or animation, but it is interesting enough to watch over the course of its series. Focused on Ryōko Ōkami, a first-year high school student at Otogi High School, a girl with a tough outer exterior, but gentle sole, and Ryōshi Morino, a shy and clumsy young man who declares his love for her, the story follows the development of their unlikely relationship. The two are members of the Otogi Bank, a sort of favor trading club run by the school that helps solve problems for fellow students, in exchange for “forceful” payback at later date. Through Ryōko’s close friendship with her roommate Ringo Akai, we get to see the lighter side of the tomboyish Ryōko, even more so as her outer armor softens up over the course of the series.
While it is interesting to base a series around a tsundere character like Ryōko, it is her surrounding “companions” that make Okami-san an ever more interesting series to watch. There is some mild fan service early on, but as the two main female characters here, Ryōko and Ringo are both drawn with a slim, flat-chested appearance, they aren’t the typical focus of a fan service fixation. With that being said, the animators do seem to have a fixation on Ryōko’s long slender legs, her highly-customized school uniform having a very high slit way up to the waist that almost seems out of character with her tomboyish exterior personality. Ringo, meanwhile, is loli all the way, sweet, redheaded, with a childlike charm. The president of the Otogi Bank, Liszt Kiriki, is a cross dresser with mild bishōnen characteristics.
The rest of the Bank are rather straightforward in design, although it should be mentioned that each character in the series is based on a character from a fable or fairy tale. Ryōko is the wolf from Red Riding Hood, Ringo is Red Riding Hood, and Ryōshi the hunter who catches the wolf. Liszt Kiriki is based on The Grasshopper from Aesop’s fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper, while his assistant and cousin, Alice, the diligent worker, is the ant. There are others as well and it makes for an interesting if not necessarily relevant fact to this series.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
While I wouldn’t say that Okami-san looks remarkable on Blu-ray or on par with the best, reference quality animated releases, it is far from the worst that I have seen. Images look a little soft and at times there are some slight motion artifacts, but stairstepping and things of that nature are very limited. Overall, Okami-san looks very acceptable.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio, be it the original Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit) or the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) dub, the mix is subtle, yet clean with good dynamics, but within a limited range. Dialogue is intelligible and high frequencies sound natural. The 5.1 mix adds mainly ambience in the surrounds for a slightly expanded soundfield.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Two audio commentaries and a few promotional videos, trailers, and TV Spots accompany the series in this Blu-ray set.
The supplements:
- Episode 01 Commentary
- Episode 06 Commentary
- Tokyo International Anime Fair Promotional Video
- Promotional Video
- Original TV Commercials
- U.S. Trailer
- Textless Opening Song
- Textless Closing Song
- Trailers
- DVD
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Okami-san and her Seven Companions is kind of a cute and breezy series. It goes by quickly, but doesn’t develop very far past its opening episodes. It’s still enjoyable to watch, but it needs a second series for sure.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B0071LEMQ4[/amazon-product]
Purchase Okami-san and Her Seven Companions on Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe
Shop for More Blu-ray Titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Series
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
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