Record of Lodoss War: The Complete OVA Series

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Product Description

In a land torn by war, young Parn and a ragtag team of adventurers set out to restore peace to the island of Lodoss. While an evil sorcerer seeks the destructive power of an ancient goddess, the Grey Witch presides over all with a cold-hearted bent for neutrality. The ensuing battles cost many lives before a brave new generation of heroes rises to face the sinister enemies once and for all.

Product Reviews

Brings back good memories of when I first started watching anime.

I’m glad I finally get a chance to finish this show and in high definition to boot.

A worthy upgrade!

First and foremost: Thank you, thank you Funimation for licensing and releasing a number of classic anime series this year. It’s been a joy revisiting shows like Outlaw Star and Wolf’s Rain in full high definition glory. But this, THIS release was definitely the most unexpected and quite possibly the most welcome of all.Record of Lodoss War is one of those essential classic series every anime and RPG fan should check out at some point. It has everything a fantasy junkie could want: Magic! Action! Beautiful Elves! Excellent world building and mythology! Well fleshed out characters with rewarding story arcs! Beautiful and distinctive background music! Did I mention MAGIC?! Lots of magic. Anyway, overall it’s aged remarkably well. Unfortunately it’s also a series that has never been given a worthy presentation in the United States. The long out of print DVD sets from 15 years ago have commanded high prices in the secondary market and feature what I consider to be incredibly poor, muddy transfers.Now this has finally (mostly) been rectified with a long overdue blu-ray release of the original OVA series. Sourced from new HD masters, the clarity, detail, and color of this new presentation is so good that I feel like I’m seeing the series for the first time again. Viewing this on a 100” projector screen at full resolution is absolute magic and it was difficult not to burn through all of the episodes in single viewing.The sequel series is unfortunately only included on standard definition DVD - but even so it looks light years better than the shameful masters used for the 2002 set. Anyone viewing these on a regular television (HD, 4K, or otherwise) will notice that they upscale rather nicely with the help of a trusted blu-ray player. It’s a shame that the Japanese rights holders haven’t mastered part two in HD in time for this set, but until then this is a fantastic option and certainly a worthy upgrade or purchase for anyone interested in enjoying this magical series for the first time or for the 100th. Quite pleased.

Not a true Blu-ray collection, but still a classic!

As others have stated before, THIS IS NOT A TRUE BLU-RAY COLLECTION!!! Only the OVA has the pleasure of being Blu-ray (and DVD).Aside from that, if you don’t already own the original DVDs then I strongly suggest this series if you’re a fan of the fantasy genre. I’m glad they kept the original English dub with this set instead of re-dubbing it. The lack of special features outside of textless songs makes it a bit of a disappointment (especially if you own the DVDs). Admittedly, I still don’t regret the purchase because it’s supporting a series that I love.I haven’t watched this in some time, so it will be fun to go back and see it again! And if I have something else to say about this release, hopefully it will get newcomers into Record of Lodoss War and make veterans of it to go back and watch it all again.

An iconic fantasy brought back by Funimation

It may seem old-fashioned and dated to Anime viewers spoiled by more flashier, faster-paced fare, but RECORD OF LODOSS WAR was, for its time, one of the most iconic Japanese animated series to come from the land of the Rising Sun, and arguably one of the first to do fantasy right. Around the late 1980’s to early 1990’s, most fantasy films (both live action and animated) were of variable quality. Some managed to get the tone right (WILLOW, THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS, and THE DARK CRYSTAL), others were uneven but admirable (THE BLACK CAULDRON, CONAN THE BARBARIAN), while others were absolute dreck (THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, DEATHSTALKER). RECORD OF LODOSS WAR isn’t without its occasional faults, but it’s still deserving of being a fine example of fantasy, even before THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy.I won’t talk too much about the OVA and the TV series, as both are fairly well known by now (and I’ve written about a great detail of both), but I do want to comment on Funimation’s presentation of the OVA series. First of all, the video quality for the OVA – notably on Blu Ray – is absolutely spectacular. The colors are rich, sparkling like never before. You can see every nuance of the artists’ brush strokes, and given the beautiful art style of the animation (supplied by Madhouse, albeit at a somewhat cheaper budget than what they normally do), it is so gratifying to see it in full glory. LODOSS OVA has never looked as spectacular as this. It’s easily superior to the old Central Park Media releases, both of which suffered from grainy video quality and sometimes washed out, muted colors. They went back to the original film negatives, and it shows. It might arguably be the real star of Funimation’s release.The audio features the English and Japanese language tracks, both remixed in Dolby Digital True HD. Considering the age of both language tracks, don’t expect much in the way of directionality or 5.1 surround. Personally, I’ve always liked the dub of the OVA in spite of its occasional drawbacks (a few awkward moments here and there, some mistimed mouth movements, and some minor characters that could stand to be better). The performances are solid from the principal characters, notably Lisa Ortiz in her debut role as Deedlit, although John Knox (Ashram), Simone Grant (Karla), Greg Wolfe (Ghim), Al Muscari (Slayn), Chris Yates (Kashue), and especially Bruce Winant (Wagnard) all provide great turns as well. Bill Timoney is also in fine form as both Parn and the voice director for episodes 1-8. Since it was done in 1996, the dub may seem somewhat quaint to people accustomed to modern dubs, but I feel it holds up fairly well for its time period. Either way, it sounds great on this disc.Oddly, the previews for the episodes are relocated to the extras instead of before the credits. Why Funimation managed this is beyond me. Otherwise, RECORD OF LODOSS WAR OVA on Blu Ray is handled very well, and while I do lament the loss of the making of featurette from the DVD release, the commercials from the Japanese BD release are nice to have, although there could have been a bit more extras.Some people may object, however, to the price point of the set, as only the OVA is presented in BD and DVD, while the (admittingly weaker) TV series, CHRONICLES OF THE HEROIC KNIGHT, is DVD only. The reason is because while LODOSS OVA was edited on film, the TV series doesn’t have any component masters. The series was edited on video, and so it doesn’t look as good as the OVA. Although given the mediocre animation quality of the series (done by AIC), I doubt much would have helped. Still, the video transfer is considerably better than the CPM release, thankfully less grainy.The CHRONICLES dub, however, hasn’t aged as gracefully as the OVA, which is odd because it was done three years later. Unlike the Japanese version it does reprise most of its cast, but the acting is a step down from the OVA. I respect Timoney for his decision to make Parn a bit more older, but I honestly like his turn in the OVA better. Ortiz continues to do a fine job as Deedlit, though, as do most of the returnees. The problem is that the TV dub suffers from a lot of uneven turns from many of the other actors, ranging from mediocre to downright bad, with Ashram’s minions in episodes 4-7 (mercifully killed), the talking dragons, Governor Rabido, Prince Reona, and most of the minor characters coming across as particularly embarrassing. The lipsync continues to be inconsistent as well. I learned that the crew behind the TV dub wasn’t experienced in dubbing Anime at the time it was made, which explains the problems with it. More jarring are instances where some characters inexplicably get new actors – temporarily or permanently. It’s most distracting when Lisa Ortiz is distressingly replaced for two episodes (she was sick and out of state), and her replacement, sorry to say, pales. That said, Crispin Freeman and Angora Deb fair the best in the cast as Spark and Leaf – both bring a lot of much needed life to an otherwise problematic dub. Even fans who prefer watching Anime subtitled are bound to be disappointed; because the TV series doesn’t reprise its cast from the OVA (and ironically, Deedlit’s VA gets changed halfway though, too!). Either way, neither language track lives up to the OVA.I will say that the inclusion of the clean credit opening sequence (arguably the best part of the TV series) is a nice bonus, and at least the previews aren’t shuffled to the extras section this time. All in all, while CHRONICLES OF THE HEROIC KNIGHT isn’t a complete loss – there are some episodes toward the end that thankfully look better, animation-wise than the jarringly dubious earlier ones – it’s just not as memorable or even as well-executed as the OVA.Luckily, as the OVA series is the real crown jewel of this set, that’s where my high rating of Funimation’s repackaging is going to. Price issues aside, the OVA is presented well on the OVA, looking better than ever and sounding as good as it did back then, and the overall entertainment value of the OVA is still as timeless as it ever was. It may not appeal to everyone, but to a fantasy fan such as myself, I can’t get enough of it, and it’s gratifying to have it brought back again after so many years of being out of print. For that, I highly recommend Funimation’s edition of LODOSS.

Don’t waste your money!!!

I preordered this through funimations website. I was excited to watch it, but was shocked that the poor audio of the original DVD releases are here.

Great series but was expecting better product

I love anime and this set would have gotten 5 stars if it weren’t for the lack of love put into this product. First, it’s presented in the 4:3 ratio. Come on funimation!!!

A must-purchase for fans, but not definitive

I see a lot of reviews are expressing anger over the fact that the TV show included in this set is not in Blu Ray format, but I’m seeing the TV show as more of an extra than…

Roll for initiative and watch the return of an all-time anime classic, Record of Lodoss War.

I bought this set immediately on sight when I saw it an anime dealer at San Diego Comic Con this year.

OVA Blu-ray about time.

I first watched the OVA in 1998, and to this day, it is still my favorite series. I have been hoping for years this would come out in Blu-ray.

Looks great on both

Just to clarify, this contains both the OVA and TV series. The OVA is on the blu ray discs and the TV is on the DVDs. Looks great on both. Great buy.

Yet more Funimation Shenanigans.

This is yet another Funimation Hack-JobThe “box” the two BD cases come in is about as cheap as you could get, barely the same quality as teh insert sleeves…

Hardly a Bluray Set

As another review states only the OVA is bluray while the entire TV series is just DVDs. Considering I already own the TV series on DVD this is pretty dissapointing and a pretty…