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Freedom: Volume 4 (HD DVD)
Bandai Visual USA // Unrated // February 26, 2008 // Region 0
List Price: $39.99 [Buy now and save at Dot-anime]
Freedom's first three volumes wove the story of a dystopian lunar colony and how three teenagers unraveled its most closely guarded secret. The six episode OVA launches into its second half with Takeru and Biz speeding to Earth -- the planet their domineering government had assured them was long dead -- in search of a beautiful young girl who'd blindly reached out for some sign of life.
This fourth volume of Freedom veers sharply away from the Orwellian paranoia, breakneck underground races, and frenzied robot chases that bombarded the first half of the series. It's clearly meant as a bridge to the second act, giving Freedom a chance to exhale. Takeru and the deeply reluctant
Biz botched their trajectory in the chaos that closed out volume three, crashlanding in an almost unrecognizably ravaged Las Vegas. There's no trace of life, the two of them only have a week's worth of food and water, and they're stranded several thousand miles from their intended target of Cape Canaveral.
As bleak as that might sound, this is an almost infectiously upbeat episode of the series. The OVA is titled Freedom, after all, and Takeru and Biz are getting their first taste of it. The two of them understandably feel uneasy at times, but there's a genuine sense of joy and discovery, marveling at the sort of natural majesty we may take for granted but to them is truly otherworldly. It's a mix of space travel, futuristic skiffs, and untouched nature that's furthered by the way Freedom blends painted backgrounds of the American Southwest with its cel-shaded computer graphics.
It is quite a change to shift gears away from three episodes of blazingly fast races through labyrinthine underground tunnels and armies of skittering, spider-like robots only to careen torwards something this left of center. There's no action or nail-biting drama at all this time around. No, Takeru and Biz spend half the episode piling onto a psychedelic VW bus with a man-ape, a Jimi Hendrix knock-off, and a schlub in a beer hat, with their jaunt across the country followed on a kitschy map with the names of cities and Route 66 logos bouncing around to some country-fried electric guitar lick. There's much more of an oddball sense of humor this time around, including an alien-themed dance party and a bit with Takeru practicing his romantic chops by having Biz squeak away in the role of a nameless girl in a photograph.
Admittedly, this fourth volume of Freedom does
feel kind of anticlimactic. The overall story barely inches forward, and it's not propelled by the same kinetic energy or sinister undertones that permeated the first half of the series. I'm still not all that keen on Takeru risking life and limb -- flinging himself and one of his best friends across space to a supposedly desolate planet -- purely because he thinks a gal in a photograph is kinda foxy. Some sort of search for the truth may sound clichéd, but it packs more of a dramatic punch than a long-distance teenaged crush. Still, even though this is easily the most disposable of Freedom's first four volumes, it's kind of a nice, breezy change of pace from that Orwellian dystopia and spider-mech death squads.
Video: This fourth volume of Freedom, like the other three entries in the series, is a twin format release, arriving on a single-sided disc with one HD DVD layer and one traditional DVD layer. The DVD portion of the disc serves up the 24 minute episode in anamorphic widescreen, while the HD DVD version is presented in 1080p and encoded using Microsoft's VC-1 codec.
Freedom has consistently looked spectacular in high definition, and this most recent installment continues to offer the same outstanding clarity and crisp linework as the other volumes in the series. The palette remains rich and vibrant throughout the bulk of the episode, bolstered by deep, robust black levels. I didn't spot any aliasing or compression artifacts throughout, and the light banding sporadically visible in the bright blue skies are easily shrugged off.
Audio: As is the norm for Bandai Visual's releases, Freedom bypasses any dubs or alternate soundtracks. Only the original Japanese audio is included, offered here in the default Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 as well as a stereo LPCM track. Optional English subtitles are enabled by default.
This fourth volume of Freedom isn't as action-oriented as previous installments have been, but the sound design still takes advantage of the multichannel setup. The violent descent of Takeru's rocket is nicely reinforced with some split surrounds, and the music that plays such an integral role in this episode's storytelling fills the rear channels. Atmospherics are also strong, from Biz' first encounter with a torrential thunderstorm to the grass rustling in the wind as Takeru is hushed with awe. The voice acting throughout this volume of Freedom is also reproduced cleanly and clearly.
Extras: The extras should ring familiar to those who've followed Freedom from the start. Bandai Visual provides another robust picture-in-picture "computer graphics simulation", overlaying rough renders and sketched backgrounds over the high definition video. The size, opacity, and placement of
the window can be freely adjusted with the press of a button. Freedom also allows users to place storyboards and English credits in a separate column while the episode plays, and up to seven scenes can be bookmarked.
Also included on the disc is a high definition preview for volume five of Freedom. The remainder of the disc's extras can only be accessed after logging online with the HD DVD player. As I write this, the online extras are limited to a 15 second Japanese TV spot and a highlight reel that condenses volume three of Freedom down to a minute and a half. I still find it somewhat annoying that the digest of volume three is already on the disc but requires downloading an online key in order to access it.
Freedom once again comes packaged in an oversized super CD jewel case tucked inside a thin cardboard slipcase. All of this volume's extras are available exclusively on the HD DVD layer of the disc.
Conclusion: Even though this most recent volume is the least essential of the bunch, I'm still intrigued by Freedom. Unfortunately, its $39.99 price point for just over twenty minutes of material leave these HD DVDs difficult to recommend to all but the most ardent of anime enthusiasts. I've found that the series does hold up remarkably well to repeat viewings, and the outstanding quality of the presentation and its set of next-generation extras do showcase what HD DVD as a format has to offer. I'm continuing to find Freedom to be worth the time and effort to seek out, but the colossal sticker price make this volume better suited to a rental. Rent It.
Related Reviews: DVD Talk also has reviews of other volumes of Freedom, along with detailed looks at Bandai Visual's other HD DVD and Blu-ray releases.
The images scattered around this review are culled from the DVD layer of the twin format disc and aren't meant to represent the way the episode looks in high definition.
This fourth volume of Freedom veers sharply away from the Orwellian paranoia, breakneck underground races, and frenzied robot chases that bombarded the first half of the series. It's clearly meant as a bridge to the second act, giving Freedom a chance to exhale. Takeru and the deeply reluctant
Biz botched their trajectory in the chaos that closed out volume three, crashlanding in an almost unrecognizably ravaged Las Vegas. There's no trace of life, the two of them only have a week's worth of food and water, and they're stranded several thousand miles from their intended target of Cape Canaveral. As bleak as that might sound, this is an almost infectiously upbeat episode of the series. The OVA is titled Freedom, after all, and Takeru and Biz are getting their first taste of it. The two of them understandably feel uneasy at times, but there's a genuine sense of joy and discovery, marveling at the sort of natural majesty we may take for granted but to them is truly otherworldly. It's a mix of space travel, futuristic skiffs, and untouched nature that's furthered by the way Freedom blends painted backgrounds of the American Southwest with its cel-shaded computer graphics.
It is quite a change to shift gears away from three episodes of blazingly fast races through labyrinthine underground tunnels and armies of skittering, spider-like robots only to careen torwards something this left of center. There's no action or nail-biting drama at all this time around. No, Takeru and Biz spend half the episode piling onto a psychedelic VW bus with a man-ape, a Jimi Hendrix knock-off, and a schlub in a beer hat, with their jaunt across the country followed on a kitschy map with the names of cities and Route 66 logos bouncing around to some country-fried electric guitar lick. There's much more of an oddball sense of humor this time around, including an alien-themed dance party and a bit with Takeru practicing his romantic chops by having Biz squeak away in the role of a nameless girl in a photograph.
Admittedly, this fourth volume of Freedom does
feel kind of anticlimactic. The overall story barely inches forward, and it's not propelled by the same kinetic energy or sinister undertones that permeated the first half of the series. I'm still not all that keen on Takeru risking life and limb -- flinging himself and one of his best friends across space to a supposedly desolate planet -- purely because he thinks a gal in a photograph is kinda foxy. Some sort of search for the truth may sound clichéd, but it packs more of a dramatic punch than a long-distance teenaged crush. Still, even though this is easily the most disposable of Freedom's first four volumes, it's kind of a nice, breezy change of pace from that Orwellian dystopia and spider-mech death squads. Video: This fourth volume of Freedom, like the other three entries in the series, is a twin format release, arriving on a single-sided disc with one HD DVD layer and one traditional DVD layer. The DVD portion of the disc serves up the 24 minute episode in anamorphic widescreen, while the HD DVD version is presented in 1080p and encoded using Microsoft's VC-1 codec.
Freedom has consistently looked spectacular in high definition, and this most recent installment continues to offer the same outstanding clarity and crisp linework as the other volumes in the series. The palette remains rich and vibrant throughout the bulk of the episode, bolstered by deep, robust black levels. I didn't spot any aliasing or compression artifacts throughout, and the light banding sporadically visible in the bright blue skies are easily shrugged off.
Audio: As is the norm for Bandai Visual's releases, Freedom bypasses any dubs or alternate soundtracks. Only the original Japanese audio is included, offered here in the default Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 as well as a stereo LPCM track. Optional English subtitles are enabled by default.
This fourth volume of Freedom isn't as action-oriented as previous installments have been, but the sound design still takes advantage of the multichannel setup. The violent descent of Takeru's rocket is nicely reinforced with some split surrounds, and the music that plays such an integral role in this episode's storytelling fills the rear channels. Atmospherics are also strong, from Biz' first encounter with a torrential thunderstorm to the grass rustling in the wind as Takeru is hushed with awe. The voice acting throughout this volume of Freedom is also reproduced cleanly and clearly.
Extras: The extras should ring familiar to those who've followed Freedom from the start. Bandai Visual provides another robust picture-in-picture "computer graphics simulation", overlaying rough renders and sketched backgrounds over the high definition video. The size, opacity, and placement of
the window can be freely adjusted with the press of a button. Freedom also allows users to place storyboards and English credits in a separate column while the episode plays, and up to seven scenes can be bookmarked. Also included on the disc is a high definition preview for volume five of Freedom. The remainder of the disc's extras can only be accessed after logging online with the HD DVD player. As I write this, the online extras are limited to a 15 second Japanese TV spot and a highlight reel that condenses volume three of Freedom down to a minute and a half. I still find it somewhat annoying that the digest of volume three is already on the disc but requires downloading an online key in order to access it.
Freedom once again comes packaged in an oversized super CD jewel case tucked inside a thin cardboard slipcase. All of this volume's extras are available exclusively on the HD DVD layer of the disc.
Conclusion: Even though this most recent volume is the least essential of the bunch, I'm still intrigued by Freedom. Unfortunately, its $39.99 price point for just over twenty minutes of material leave these HD DVDs difficult to recommend to all but the most ardent of anime enthusiasts. I've found that the series does hold up remarkably well to repeat viewings, and the outstanding quality of the presentation and its set of next-generation extras do showcase what HD DVD as a format has to offer. I'm continuing to find Freedom to be worth the time and effort to seek out, but the colossal sticker price make this volume better suited to a rental. Rent It.
Related Reviews: DVD Talk also has reviews of other volumes of Freedom, along with detailed looks at Bandai Visual's other HD DVD and Blu-ray releases.
The images scattered around this review are culled from the DVD layer of the twin format disc and aren't meant to represent the way the episode looks in high definition.
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