Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1 (Limited Edition) Madman Review
25th September 2016 at 7:36 pm
Dear Chibi,
This post will be a review of Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1 Limited Edition DVD/Blu-Ray Combo released by Madman for Australia and New Zealand.
Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1 contains the entire first season with 14 episodes. It has the original Japanese audio with English subtitles, as well an English dub by Viz Media.
Firstly, let’s take a look at the packaging! (Click on the thumbnails for a larger view)
Special Features
- DVD & Blu-ray Combo Pack
- Limited Edition Collector’s Box
- Art Cards
- Art Booklet
- Textless Opening & Closing
Limited Edition Collector’s Box
I really love this box design. Look how gorgeous and shiny the details are :D The golden foil makes it extra sparkly and is my favourite part of the packaging.
The back cover design is also very pretty, though I did notice an unfortunate grammatical error: “What is his connection to the Sailor Moon?” It’s minor but an official product shouldn’t have copy errors. This can also be found on various websites containing a synopsis of this series.
While the box looks aesthetically pleasing, the material is a bit of a let down. The cardboard box is thin and flimsy which makes it feel less “premium”. Seeing how this is a limited edition collector’s box, it deserves the same hard-cover treatment as other LE releases like Madoka Magica.
DVD & Blu-ray Combo Pack
There are 3 formats of Sailor Moon Crystal set 1 that can be purchased: DVD, Blu-Ray or this Limited Edition Combo Pack. To be honest, I never really understood the purpose of a Blu-Ray/DVD combo. If you had a Blu-Ray player, chances are you wouldn’t watch this on DVD. The video quality is just so much better on Blu-Ray, it’s time to make the switch if you haven’t already ;)
I would’ve preferred a Blu-Ray only Limited Edition, and save on costs from the DVD to improve the box quality instead. Fans aren’t buying the combo pack to have it on DVD and Blu-Ray, they want the bonus materials. The 2 DVD discs seems a bit wasteful as I would never use them… but that’s just me. This is probably awesome for fans who only have DVD players and wish to get a hold of all the bonus goodies.
There are 4 discs in total; 2 DVD and 2 Blu-Ray discs, each containing 7 episodes per disc. Considering the Japanese releases have 2 episodes per volume, this sure is a sweet deal.
Art Cards
There are 7 pretty art cards (the same size as the box), featuring art used in the Japanese release. These are from the first 7 volumes and I’d imagine we’d get the last 7 in the next set. These are single-sided.
Art Booklet
Included is a thin 20 paged art booklet containing character sheets and some items/props. There are no profile pages, text, or screen captures from the series.
Menu Screens
Upon loading the Blu-Ray disc, I was very underwhelmed by the menu screen. Not only was it completely static, but the design felt flat and uninteresting. Even the choice of fonts failed to generate any kind of excitement. It may not seem that important, but it does contribute to the viewers enjoyment level. I really hope this is improved in future Sailor Moon Crystal releases. Viz Media’s US release promised “intricate, sparkling, full motion menus”~ I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get the same treatment here in Australia.
Conclusion
All in all, this is a very exciting time. We’re finally getting Sailor Moon Crystal on Blu-Ray :D! Despite a few complaints, this would be a delightful addition to any fan’s collection. The packaging looks really nice, especially the golden foil on the box. I like the inclusion of the art cards and the booklet, though I was a bit disappointed by the cardboard material. The video quality is great, though the menu needs some work. I really hope Madman will listen to feedback and improve future releases…because you know what? Sailor Moon Crystal only gets better and better!
Thank you for reading and I hope you found my review helpful.
What do you think of this release? Comment below and share your thoughts!
Note: This is Madman’s AU/NZ release of Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1. The Blu-Ray is Region B. DVD is Region 4. If you’re interested in getting a copy, you can order it here. This is a review copy kindly provided by Madman. For more links to other merchandise, check out our Sailor Moon Shopping Guide!
I have one and I must say I’m very impressed with what they put in it! I can’t wait for the next box set!
Woo! Glad you like it :)
Looks pretty good. Very similar to the Original. But I prefer my Blu-Rays with the gorgeous charms. I was so dissapointed by the Season III packing. No charms and very cheap boxes but twice as expensive -_-.
I think the main difference with the Season 3 release is that it contains more episodes, right? Instead of 2 episodes per volume like the first 2 seasons?
Yeah I was a bit disappointed in the actual video quality. It look so compressed, especially for something that’s supposed to be on Blu-ray, it falls short compared to the release by Toei… They should have made it a 3 or 4 disc set with less episodes on each Blu-ray Disc :(
Yeah it’s actually kinda crazy that they fit 7 episodes on one disc o.o
Well finally now i can order my stuff. Not shopping from right stuff ever again.
I see you thought the same. Admittedly, I didn’t read the box and missed out on a second disappointment.
I hate to say it, but this box set was so not worth $95 dollars. I was livid when, even after I went back and paid $70 for the Blu-ray only release, which is still expensive, only to have both Madman and JB put everything on sale!!
I” going to order the American set at some point, if I decide I want the booklet and a proper, solid box like Madman released for the Classic series.
Otherwise, no point in blowing more money. I” happy to have the series on HD.
I was annoyed at Madman’s new trend of hard-coding the subtitles onto the Japanese audio. But I can’t have everything ?
Hey Padriac85, sorry to hear your negative experience :( DVDs/Blurays go on sale every now and then which is great for the customer- but sucks if you’ve just bought it before the sale. I’m curious why you went back and bought the Blu-ray version though? Is it different apart from the extras/packaging?
Interesting that you mention the hard-coding of the subtitles onto the Japanese audio. I had Japanese audio setting on and watched the bonus creditless opening & closing- but there were subtitles at the top which I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of.. Kind of defeats the point of it since fans would want to watch the clips without any text on it.
I got this ages ago, the US version though haven’t watched it yet at all XD really need to get around to it!
hehe yeah it takes us a bit longer to get the series as Madman has to wait for the US release first.
Did Madman have the opening song credits translated into English. The Viz verson doesn’t have that. It sucks you guys don’t have the full motion menus. Madman could have done a better job on the set with the use of more art in the digipack and the menus being better.
Yup, they did! The opening and closing themes have English subtitles, but they’re embedded in the video so you can’t switch it off.