- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Stereo (48kHz/24-bit), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit)
- Subtitles: English
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: AB (No Region C)
- Rating: TV-14
- Run Time: 325 Mins.
- Discs: 5 (2 x Blu-ray + 3 x DVD)
- Studio: FUNimation Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: January 29, 2013
- List Price: $69.98
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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Series
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]
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:4.5/5]
Baka & Test in its second season has gotten even more hilarious than it was in the first anime series. Based on an ongoing series of light novels by Inoue Kenji with illustrations by Haga Yui, this is one bit of hilarity that will have you guffawing from start to finish. If you’re unfamiliar with the series, I recommend reading my review of the first season for a primer.
The second season of the anime seems to have lessoned the emphasis on the avatar battles between the various classes and re-focuses attention on the relationships between the “baka” or idiot Akihisa and his classmates. In particular, the rivalry for his affections between the intelligent and hyper-feminine Himeji and the recently returned from Germany Minami is brought more clearly into focus. Of course, our favorites are still here like Yuji with his delusional schemes who gets up to all manner of trouble with Akihisa, the bishōnen Hideyoshi, the yamato nadeshiko Shouko, who keeps her “husband” Yuji on tight reins, and the always hilarious Shimizu, who seems to assert her obsessive lesbian attraction to Minami even more so in season two. The season throws a wrench into things as the avatars , when they do appear, go wild exposing inner secrets. Fans will get a real treat when the season begins to wind down and Akihisa is seemingly forced to finally make a decision between Himeji and Minami – maybe!
As always, the anime style is top notch, mixing in numerous styles, cut segments, and one-liners in the dialogue. The pacing is wonderful, keeping you on your toes and never seems to have any lulls. It’s a perfect mixture of comedy with high school romance and sci-fi elements.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
The second season of Baka & Test gets a strong AVC/MPEG-4 1080p transfer of the digital animation. Detail is crisp, colors are rich, and there are no issues with motion artifacts or compression to complain about.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The original Japanese soundtrack is available in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit) and an English dub in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) is also included. The Japanese track is more than enjoyable for anyone who wants the authentic experience, offering clean dialogue and a nice bit of stereo separation. Meanwhile, the English dub has a spacious sound with good balance, a nice blend of discrete sound effects and ambience in the surrounds and a little boost of low frequencies.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]
A pretty strong accompaniment of bonus materials is included on disc.
The supplements:
- Episode 3 Audio Commentary
- Episode 13 Commentary
- Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts Spinout!:
- Beauty and the Beast
- Magical Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi, CM 1
- Karaoke Mix
- Magical Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi, CM 2
- Magical Hideyoshi
- Runaway Haduki
- Akihisa’s Inquistion
- Cherry Blossoms Viewing Party
- Promo Videos
- Original Commercials
- U.S. Trailer
- Textless Opening Song: “Kimi + Nazo + Watashi De Jump!”
- Textless Closing Songs:
- “Eureka Baby”
- Baka to Koshitsu to Kodoku Meshi”
- “Hi-Ho!!”
- FUNimation Trailers
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
Season Two of this hilarious anime series exceeds all expectations. Baka & Test: Summon the Beasts – Season Two is a laugh riot with high quality animation, perfect pacing, and great voice acting.
Additional Screen Captures
[amazon-product]B009B82E2E[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Baka & Test: Summon the Beasts — Season Two on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B009B82E2E[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Baka & Test: Summon the Beasts — Season Two on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Series
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]
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