| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Freedom: Volume 6 (HD DVD)
Bandai Visual USA // Unrated // June 24, 2008 // Region 0
List Price: $39.99 [Buy now and save at Dot-anime]
Freedom transformed into an almost unrecognizably different series once Takeru and his pal Biz careened towards Earth. The dystopian paranoia and conspiracy leanings to this OVA's first three installments were left behind on the moon, traded out in favor of clumsy teen crushes, some schlub clowning around in an ape costume, and a Spandex-clad big American dance party. The previous volume tossed in a hurricane for a stab at a climax and hoped for the best, but Freedom seemed wholly unable to respark the excitement and intrigue of its earlier episodes, limping half-heartedly towards some apparently bland conclusion. Thankfully, this sixth volume -- the penultimate chapter -- sees Freedom standing on far steadier ground, recapturing much of what had drawn me towards the series in the first place.
This episode leaps back and forth in time, nimbly weaving together the present, faded memories of the past, and a future still to come. Volume six opens with a pair of attempted space shuttle launches, the first of which is a catastrophic failure from years gone by that devastated an already fragile colony in Florida. Freedom then flashes forward to, intriguingly enough, a follow-up launch with young Takeru and Ao at the helm. Considering where the last episode had left off, it's a jarring but extremely effective hook back into the series. There's obviously a gulf between the lunar colony of Eden and the planet its government pretends is a scorched husk, but they're separated by more than just a couple hundred thousand miles of space. Eden is a technological marvel; meanwhile, Cape Canaveral has practically become a commune, leaving what little hardware remains to rust and crumble. If a lunar launch is a daunting challenge for legions of brilliant, well-funded scientists collaborating together, how can a wizened shut-in and a gaggle of enthusiastic teenagers hope to bridge that gap themselves with the meager resources they have on hand?
Freedom eventually does take the easy way out when fielding that question and filling in two and a half years' worth of story, but still, I found myself really intrigued by this episode -- an unexpected but greatly appreciated change after I'd practically written off the rest of the series. Takeru at long last becomes determined to uncover why the colony of Eden has feigned the death of an entire planet and to reveal the truth to its people. The series once again toys with the definition of freedom, contrasting the dystopian Eden and the handful of survivors in sunny Florida not just by tone or technology but by an unwillingness to settle...by their insistence on questioning the world around them.
The episode's also bolstered by a much stronger sense of characterization. Ao benefits the most, drawn with more depth than just the cheery-but-doggedly-determined love interest she's been for the past couple of episodes. It's her strength and grit that inspire Takeru to become a better man and Freedom to become a better series. Another fairly clever choice throughout these past few volumes is that Freedom keeps its feet firmly on Earth, never once intercutting with scenes set on the moon. Aside from assuming they're long since thought dead, Takeru and Biz don't have any idea what's happening on the lunar colony they fled, and viewers are kept as in the dark as they are. That adds an even deeper layer of mystery, especially with a finale returning to Eden now within arm's reach. The non-linear storytelling also drew me in, scattering a fistful of puzzle pieces across the 25 minute episode and gradually showing how seamlessly they all fit together.
After stumbling through two consecutive disappointments, Freedom rights itself with this penultimate volume and looks to be on a trajectory for a strong finish.
Video: Even though this is my sixth time through an episode of Freedom, I still found myself caught off-guard by just how beautiful this series looks in high definition. The linework remains crisp, clean, and razor sharp, and its rich colors -- lush, pastoral greens and a particularly striking sunset bathed in reds and purples -- really caught my eye. Even though Freedom is rendered on a sprawling bank of computers somewhere in the Far East, I was also impressed by its deft use of grain in a handful of the flashbacks. This thin veil of grain is barely perceptible, but it gives the opening sequence in particular the sense that this is hand-drawn animation. The only flaw at all is a quick glimpse of banding near the climax, and that's easily shrugged off.
The technical notes are the same as the rest of the discs in the series. This sixth volume of Freedom is a twin format release: a single-sided disc with a standard definition copy of the episode that'll play on most traditional DVD players alongside a high-def version aimed squarely at the HD DVD crowd. The 1080p video has been encoded with Microsoft's VC-1 codec, and the standard definition version on the DVD layer is presented in anamorphic widescreen.
Audio: Following several aggressive volumes teeming with breakneck underground races and skittering warbots, Freedom's sound design has tended to be fairly tame after crashing down on Earth. This installment in particular is intensely focused on dialogue, reserving the surrounds for light atmospheric color and rarely coaxing much of a rumble from the subwoofer. The mix more than makes up for it on the launchpad, though; thanks to the colossal roar of megaton rocket engines and a devastating explosion, the episode is bookended by a hellish amount of bass. All of the dialogue and sound effects are reproduced cleanly and clearly throughout.
In keeping with Bandai Visual's disinterest in dubs, Freedom is presented exclusively in its original Japanese, giving viewers a choice between the default Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio and a stereo LPCM track. Optional English subtitles have also been provided.
Extras: Every other volume of Freedom has included a preview of the next installment; despite this being the penultimate chapter in the series, there's no hint this time around at what's to come.
Otherwise, the extras are the same as the past five volumes. A picture-in-picture "computer graphics simulation" overlays early renders and roughly sketched backgrounds over the high definition image, and the size, placement, and opacity of the PiP window can be customized on-the-fly. Storyboards and English credits can also be placed alongside a downscaled version of the episode, and up to seven scenes can be bookmarked for easy access. After logging online, viewers can unlock a highlight reel for Freedom's fifth volume and download a rough looking 15 second Japanese TV spot.
All of these extras are only available on the HD DVD layer. The disc itself comes packaged in an oversized super CD jewel case tucked inside a thin cardboard sleeve.
Conclusion: Freedom regains its footing as this OVA draws to a close, and the sixth volume's intertwining timelines and rekindled fascination with the lunar conspiracy reminded me just how solid a series it can be. I'd walked away disappointed twice in a row before this, but now I'm intrigued to see precisely what direction Freedom takes in its final moments. Any recommendation is still tempered by its bloated sticker price -- a $39.99 MSRP for just over twenty minutes of material -- but fans who'd followed Freedom up to this point should find its sixth volume well worth seeking out as a rental.
Related Reviews: DVD Talk has reviewed the other five volumes of Freedom as well, and detailed looks at Bandai Visual's other HD DVD and Blu-ray releases are also available.
Although my other reviews of Freedom have been decorated with screenshots culled from their DVD layers, the Blu-ray drive on my PC refused to recognize this disc, restricting my ability to grab images. I apologize for the bland look of this review.
This episode leaps back and forth in time, nimbly weaving together the present, faded memories of the past, and a future still to come. Volume six opens with a pair of attempted space shuttle launches, the first of which is a catastrophic failure from years gone by that devastated an already fragile colony in Florida. Freedom then flashes forward to, intriguingly enough, a follow-up launch with young Takeru and Ao at the helm. Considering where the last episode had left off, it's a jarring but extremely effective hook back into the series. There's obviously a gulf between the lunar colony of Eden and the planet its government pretends is a scorched husk, but they're separated by more than just a couple hundred thousand miles of space. Eden is a technological marvel; meanwhile, Cape Canaveral has practically become a commune, leaving what little hardware remains to rust and crumble. If a lunar launch is a daunting challenge for legions of brilliant, well-funded scientists collaborating together, how can a wizened shut-in and a gaggle of enthusiastic teenagers hope to bridge that gap themselves with the meager resources they have on hand?
Freedom eventually does take the easy way out when fielding that question and filling in two and a half years' worth of story, but still, I found myself really intrigued by this episode -- an unexpected but greatly appreciated change after I'd practically written off the rest of the series. Takeru at long last becomes determined to uncover why the colony of Eden has feigned the death of an entire planet and to reveal the truth to its people. The series once again toys with the definition of freedom, contrasting the dystopian Eden and the handful of survivors in sunny Florida not just by tone or technology but by an unwillingness to settle...by their insistence on questioning the world around them.
The episode's also bolstered by a much stronger sense of characterization. Ao benefits the most, drawn with more depth than just the cheery-but-doggedly-determined love interest she's been for the past couple of episodes. It's her strength and grit that inspire Takeru to become a better man and Freedom to become a better series. Another fairly clever choice throughout these past few volumes is that Freedom keeps its feet firmly on Earth, never once intercutting with scenes set on the moon. Aside from assuming they're long since thought dead, Takeru and Biz don't have any idea what's happening on the lunar colony they fled, and viewers are kept as in the dark as they are. That adds an even deeper layer of mystery, especially with a finale returning to Eden now within arm's reach. The non-linear storytelling also drew me in, scattering a fistful of puzzle pieces across the 25 minute episode and gradually showing how seamlessly they all fit together.
After stumbling through two consecutive disappointments, Freedom rights itself with this penultimate volume and looks to be on a trajectory for a strong finish.
Video: Even though this is my sixth time through an episode of Freedom, I still found myself caught off-guard by just how beautiful this series looks in high definition. The linework remains crisp, clean, and razor sharp, and its rich colors -- lush, pastoral greens and a particularly striking sunset bathed in reds and purples -- really caught my eye. Even though Freedom is rendered on a sprawling bank of computers somewhere in the Far East, I was also impressed by its deft use of grain in a handful of the flashbacks. This thin veil of grain is barely perceptible, but it gives the opening sequence in particular the sense that this is hand-drawn animation. The only flaw at all is a quick glimpse of banding near the climax, and that's easily shrugged off.
The technical notes are the same as the rest of the discs in the series. This sixth volume of Freedom is a twin format release: a single-sided disc with a standard definition copy of the episode that'll play on most traditional DVD players alongside a high-def version aimed squarely at the HD DVD crowd. The 1080p video has been encoded with Microsoft's VC-1 codec, and the standard definition version on the DVD layer is presented in anamorphic widescreen.
Audio: Following several aggressive volumes teeming with breakneck underground races and skittering warbots, Freedom's sound design has tended to be fairly tame after crashing down on Earth. This installment in particular is intensely focused on dialogue, reserving the surrounds for light atmospheric color and rarely coaxing much of a rumble from the subwoofer. The mix more than makes up for it on the launchpad, though; thanks to the colossal roar of megaton rocket engines and a devastating explosion, the episode is bookended by a hellish amount of bass. All of the dialogue and sound effects are reproduced cleanly and clearly throughout.
In keeping with Bandai Visual's disinterest in dubs, Freedom is presented exclusively in its original Japanese, giving viewers a choice between the default Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio and a stereo LPCM track. Optional English subtitles have also been provided.
Extras: Every other volume of Freedom has included a preview of the next installment; despite this being the penultimate chapter in the series, there's no hint this time around at what's to come.
Otherwise, the extras are the same as the past five volumes. A picture-in-picture "computer graphics simulation" overlays early renders and roughly sketched backgrounds over the high definition image, and the size, placement, and opacity of the PiP window can be customized on-the-fly. Storyboards and English credits can also be placed alongside a downscaled version of the episode, and up to seven scenes can be bookmarked for easy access. After logging online, viewers can unlock a highlight reel for Freedom's fifth volume and download a rough looking 15 second Japanese TV spot.
All of these extras are only available on the HD DVD layer. The disc itself comes packaged in an oversized super CD jewel case tucked inside a thin cardboard sleeve.
Conclusion: Freedom regains its footing as this OVA draws to a close, and the sixth volume's intertwining timelines and rekindled fascination with the lunar conspiracy reminded me just how solid a series it can be. I'd walked away disappointed twice in a row before this, but now I'm intrigued to see precisely what direction Freedom takes in its final moments. Any recommendation is still tempered by its bloated sticker price -- a $39.99 MSRP for just over twenty minutes of material -- but fans who'd followed Freedom up to this point should find its sixth volume well worth seeking out as a rental.
Related Reviews: DVD Talk has reviewed the other five volumes of Freedom as well, and detailed looks at Bandai Visual's other HD DVD and Blu-ray releases are also available.
Although my other reviews of Freedom have been decorated with screenshots culled from their DVD layers, the Blu-ray drive on my PC refused to recognize this disc, restricting my ability to grab images. I apologize for the bland look of this review.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||