DVD Corner

Eden Of The East: Paradise Lost Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review

“Eden Of The East” goes out with a whimper in “Paradise Lost.”

Taking place after “The King Of Eden,” “Paradise Lost” opens with Takizawa and Saki arriving in Japan. Working with the Eden group, Takizawa is determined to finish Mr. Outside’s game along with the other Selecao. Fans can expect to also see several loose ends wrapped up involving the game (naturally), Mr. Outside, the missile launch, Takizawa’s past, and the Prime Minister scandal.

After the dull and uneventful “The King Of Eden,” I had hoped that this finale to the “Eden Of The East” series would be a satisfying conclusion. Alas, it didn’t quite turn out way. Instead of going out with a fast paced, exciting finish, the writers opt to go for a slow paced 90 minute affair heavy with phone conversations, long exposition rants, and several scenes involving characters hiding. Yes, there are answers to many questions here, but was the payoff worth dragging out the finale over two films? I don’t think so. Both films are nowhere near as interesting as the series nor is the wrap-up story.

Summary: All in all, both “The King Of Eden” and “Paradise Lost” proved to be e a disappointing ending to an acclaimed anime series.

Video/Audio:

I spotted no problems with the widescreen 1080p picture quality. “Eden Of The East” will definitely be pleased by this hi-def transfer.

The Blu-ray disc contains English and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio tracks. The English dub is surprisingly better than average here and the Japanese track is solid too. Honestly, either track is a good choice here (especially since they are both in 5.1). The DVD version includes English and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks.

DVD Extras:
* Trailers for “Trigun: Badlands Rumble,” “Noir,” “Spice And Wolf,” “Casshern Sins,” “RideBack,” “Peacemaker,” “Black Blood Brothers,” “Dragon Ball Z,” and Funimation.com.
* TV spot, movie 2 preview, and trailers for the “Eden Of The East” series and “King of Eden” and “Paradise Lost.”

* An interview with director Kenji Kamiyama.
* A passable commentary by the English dub voice cast/crew.

The Blu-ray extras are the same as the DVD extras except there is no interview with Kenji Kamiyama. Instead, there’s a video commentary by Kenji Kamiyama and other crew members using the Eden system (AKA pop-up texts). A clever idea to be sure.

September 17, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Eden Of The East: Paradise Lost Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review, Eden Of The East: The Complete Series, Eden Of The East: The King Of Eden