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Everyday Tales of a Cat God Premiun Edition Bluray, The
NIS America, Inc. // Unrated // June 4, 2013
List Price: $64.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Series:
Yuzu is a young girl who runs an antique shop that specializes in old pottery. She barely scraps by, which is a bit surprising because she lives with (and supports) a god, Mayu. It turns out that there are thousands of gods, and Mayu, the cat god of lost items and forgotten memories, is a lazy and self-indulgent one. She has been kicked out of Takamagahara (the home of the gods), stripped of her powers, and banished to Earth in order to teach her a lesson. Not that it's doing too much good. Mayu is still pretty indolent and when she does exert any energy she mainly gets into trouble.
Mayu and Yuzu have a wide circle of friends, all of whom are also gods. There's Sasana, another female who happens to be engaged to Mayu due to an unfortunate misunderstanding when they were children, Meiko, the granddaughter of the god of death, and Shamo, the god of poverty who causes economic ruin wherever she goes, just to name a few.
The stories are episodic and rather simple. Something will put the friends in a bind (usually a careless act on Mayu's part) and they'll have to figure their way out of it. In a typical story Mayu throws away a very large pot (without looking inside it first) only to discover that it was filled with a magic ash that must be sprinkled on the cherry trees or else they won't blossom. Now the pot is missing and a Mayu (whose only power is to locate lost objects) has to join with her friends in order to locate it. What ever will they do?
This is a low-key comedy, and while very few of the gags actually will actually elicit laughs, much of it is amusing. The relationships between the various characters are established early and then milked for laughs for the rest of the show.
That's not to say it's a bad show, it isn't, it's just not that memorable. None of the characters get back stories (with the exception of Yuzu whose tale pulls on the heart strings and is the best part of the series) and so they're never more than caricatures. Still, if you're looking for a show to take your mind off of the problems of the day, you could do worse than this one.
The Blu-ray:
I really like the way NIS America handles their Premium Edition releases. This time the 13-episode show (12 broadcast episodes and the OVA) is presented on two Blu-ray discs. The discs come in a pair of double thinpak cases which are housed side-by-side in a beautiful sturdy board case that's nearly 8 in X 11 in. The case is attractively illustrated with characters from the show. In a nice touch that shows a fine attention to detail, the UPC code in hidden inconspicuously on the side of the case so that the artwork isn't marred. Included with the two DVDs and two Blu-ray discs is a very nice hardcover art book. Scroll down to the extras section for more details on that.
Audio:
This release arrives with the original Japanese soundtrack in lossless LPCM stereo. It sounded very good, with full range and some nice separation. There are optional English subtitles, but there is not a dub track, which is fine with me. I prefer watching anime in Japanese since that was the way it was created to be seen.
Video:
The 1.78:1 anamorphic image looks very good. The colors are strong and solid and they're accurately reproduced and come through clearly. The level of detail is very good and the lines are tight. Digitally it also looked very good with aliasing, which often plagues anime, being nonexistent.
Extras:
This release comes with some cool on-disc bonuses. First up is an OVA episode that takes place after the series ends, Cherry Blossom Viewing Ghost Busters, which is a nice way to round out the program. There are also a series of 7 mini-episodes, which are cute, and a clean opening and closing.
As with all NIS Premium Edition releases, there is a very nice hardcover book that is included with the set. This attractive full-color book is arranged like a scrapbook, with each of the main characters getting a page (at least). There is a complete episode guide (each synopsis is 'written' by a different character) as well as character sketches and lots of photos from the show, many of them full-page images. It's printed on high quality glossy paper, and is really very striking.
Final Thoughts:
A cute show that is fairly predictable, Everyday Tales is still a fun watch if you don't go in with high expectations.
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