Blue Submarine No. 6 Volume 4: Minasoko

— by John Yung

BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6: "MINASOKO" wraps up this groundbreaking series (previously reviewed in 4.2, 4.6and 5.3). This DVD was released before the series was aired on the Cartoon Network, meaning that the whole series is now available—although it may now be a bit difficult to find, due to the possible interest in the uncut version generated by the edited Cartoon Network presentation. However, the Toonami cuts are not the focus of this review; instead we shall concentrate on the uneven quality of this DVD and look over the neat extras included on the disk.
Picking up where we left off at the end of Episode 3, the Blue Fleet crew members are forced into a battle for their lives and for the fate of mankind. Convinced that talking to Zorndyke is the better way of resolving this conflict, Hayami frees his mutated friend, takes the Grampus with the aid of Kino and heads off toward Antarctica. What the two of them find there is not completely what they expect, and while Zorndyke answers their questions he brings up new questions that only Hayami, Kino, humanity and Zorndyke's own creations can answer. It's a fitting conclusion to this story that draws influences from Joseph Conrad's THE HEART OF DARKNESS and H. G. Wells' THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU.
This volume represents a tour de force of full digital animation. The combination of 2D and 3D animation that didn't mesh well in the first volume seem to work together better in this final chapter because there are fewer scenes where both animation techniques are mixed on-screen. As nice as the animation is, this is one series that should be watched in a dim room or on a good non-glare screen in order to see all the rich details. The lighting in the 3D CG scenes (and a few of the 2D backgrounds) are a bit too murky, which may be realistic but obscures the visuals. This isn't a problem with just the domestic DVD, it also exists on the import.
When compared to the original import version, the domestic DVD is pretty much an exact copy of the Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese audio—with the exception of the English credits, you couldn't tell the difference. However, it is disappointing that the English audio is only in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. True, not every viewer will have a home theater set up for 5.1 audio, so perhaps the English 2.0 audio was a necessary concession. The sound engineering of the English track is strange because the music and sound effects are mixed at lower levels than the dialogue. This may make the editing of the characters' lines for broadcast easier, but it just doesn't have the same energetic interplay heard on the Japanese track. Sound Director Tsuruoka Yota put some effort into designing the 5.1 audio, and it shows by submerging the listener into BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6's aural environment. The battles feel more impressive and exciting with the sounds of explosions surrounding the viewer, and the ocean seems deeper and more mysterious with echoes emanating from various directions. The English track does have its good points though; the casting is appropriate, and the actors perform a great job of delivering their lines and bringing out the personalities and emotions of their characters. The distortion effect used on Verg's voice is faithful to the original but rendered his lines unintelligible in the earlier episodes; fortunately this effect was tweaked to make him more understandable in "MINASOKO."
This DVD includes the "Creators' Eyes" video short that's also available on the import DVD, but the domestic version also includes additional extras. "MINASOKO" is actually 40 minutes in length instead of the 50 minutes noted on the packaging, so it's possible that the marketing people were including "Creators' Eyes" as part of those 50 minutes (but this piece is 18 minutes long, so someone is doing funky math). "Creators' Eyes" is a collection of interviews with the main creative staff of BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6, and it gives us some insight to the thoughts behind the project (although it doesn't cover the same territory explored in EX's interview with Gonzo Studio in 5.6). A recap of Episodes 1-3 is a nice addition, especially for people who may have bought this DVD by accident instead of the first volume (which is pretty easy to do if you don't examine the cover closely, because the episode number isn't clearly on the front or on the spine of the package). Trailers for other domestic Bandai Entertainment titles are available and, as an added bonus, there is a hidden Easter egg on the extras menu.
Sporting animated backgrounds that feature scenes from "MINASOKO," the DVD menus are functional if lacking a certain design finesse. The combination of the white block font and yellow box highlight would have looked fine about a year ago when DVDs were fighting for acceptance however, right now, this design combo isn't as sophisticated as some anime fans expect, even if it does get points for legibility. This shortcoming is apparent on the subtitles option menu where the designers had a truly clever idea of using a bridge scene from "MINASOKO" as the background for the menu control, but the menu's execution leaves something to be desired. One other note is that the background music for the sub-menus is at a much louder level than the music for the main menu; this is an annoyance if you don't like constantly readjusting the volume.
Despite some nitpicking, it's great to see this story released domestically and so soon after the original Japanese edition (the original came out in June while this version came out in October). There have been some complaints that the BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6 DVDs are expensive for just one episode per volume, but considering that the import DVD cost ¥6500, the domestic version with its extras is actually a better bargain at $19.98. Still, it would be nice to see a box set collecting all four episodes into a single package, so hopefully we'll see such an item in the future.

Released in North America by Bandai Entertainment
Bilingual (subtitled/dubbed) DVD, 50 mins
Catalog #0943
$19.98
Available now in the USA
Where to buy