An Endless Loop of DVDs!

2009 will forever be remembered in the anime community for one simple arc that created polar opposites of the anime fandom: Endless Eight. While the vast majority of people lashed out at the concept of Endless Eight right after the third episode, there are people out there that grew to like the arc. I am one of those people, so I decided to purchase the DVDs. With the release of Haruhi Volume 5.571428 last Friday (Christmas Day) in Japan, the set was completed.

As ToonLeap commented back in September, the first DVD comes with a post card holder and a box for the rest of the volumes seen here:

The rest of the DVDs come with a “Mini Folder” that has art from the trip back from the Lone Island. Each DVD comes with a coaster and a post card set of both the normal and limited edition cover art. If you’re lucky, you can get a special coaster and/or a film bookmark. I was lucky enough to get two (of my favorite character Koizumi) but no special coaster.

12 3 4

The red disc is the normal DVD included in every package while the bottom is a special DVD only in the limited edition. The normal DVD has the episodes, some commericals for the re-airing of the series, a piece where the staff tours the locations that they animate, and some clips of the making of the [Super Driver] PV with Aya Hirano.  On the first DVD, there is the Textless Opening and on the second DVD, there are commercials for the first DVD set.

The second disc contains the BGM for the series split over the discs with stills from that set’s episodes and some information overlaid. Not being able to read Japanese, I cannot provide any translation. Next is a feature where Minoru Shiraishi (Taniguchi’s seiyū) travels around Japan to various places. Finally he also voices over a scrapbook telling of the events that happened in the episode. On the second set, there is a prologue where Tomokazu Sugita (Kyon’s seiyū) narrates the prologue from the 5th novel (where Endless Eight is from) over the 3 images that appear on the clear files.

Overall, the set is quite nice for collectors. If you’re lucky enough to get the film bookmarks, they are an awesome inclusion to the series instead of stickers. I fell in love with the animation on the final two sets because they remind me of the high quality KyoAni put into the 2006 airing. The second set is the weakest I feel just because the other three are so well put together. If I had to only get one set, I’d get the final one not because it has the ending, but because I kept becoming impressed with the animation as well as the hilarious performance the VAs included for the final two episodes. Would I recommend this set if you could afford it; of course, but it’s not for everyone.  I’ve included many more pictures and screencaps from the episodes and special features at a special album located here for your viewing pleasure (and to save ToonLeap some bandwith).

Finally, on the last disc, Minoru Shiraishi discovers something we’d all like to see:

The storyboards for the Vanishment movie!!!

If you have any suggestions for improvements in the review, leave a comment and I’ll work hard to improve this style. I hope to review the Vanishment OST, Theme Song, Sigh DVDs, and maybe the ENOZ album if I have time next year, so your comments will help me improve.

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