Fall in love with the enchanting tale of Deemo, a mysterious, lonely character who lives in solitude, playing the piano in a castle. One day a girl who has lost her memory falls from the sky. Wanting to help her recover her memories and return to her world, Deemo discovers that a tree kept atop the piano will grow whenever the piano is played. But if Deemo succeeds in helping her, will the loss of her companionship prove to be too much? This gentle, ephemeral story of love spun by Deemo, the girl, the mystical residents of the castle, and a tree that grows with the sound of the piano will make you want to return to this world again and again.

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[youtube https://youtu.be/rfJ6aManTqo?t=1080]

Video Quality

DEEMO Memorial Keys comes to Blu-Ray with a vibrant and detailed 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The standout aspect of the presentations are the colors, which breathe life into the story with deep hues permeating the frame. The tonal accuracy is where the film truly shines as you get a lot of nuance within the environments. Black levels are quite strong with not much in the way of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. The animation style lends itself to very fluid character movements, but the distinct detail and texture of 2D animation leaves you wanting more. Although it is not as detailed as the traditional hand drawn animation, it serves as a formidable representation of its intended aesthetic. There are some instances of banding against some harsher gradients, but overall this is a transfer free of major encode issues. This is a fetching Blu-Ray presentation that should please fans of the film.

Audio Quality

This release delivers a pair of immersive DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio tracks in the original Japanese and English dub that more than get the job done. While you should listen to your personal preference, we always advocate listening to the original audio track with subtitles. One of the foremost details of this feature is the thematic importance placed on music. The tunes in the film are very effective in stirring up deep emotions that make the film flourish sonically. There is also a fair amount of activity in the low-end due to the various music moments which adds great texture. Dialogue comes through clearly without getting overshadowed by any competing sound effects or score. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and environmental sounds that provide a fully immersive world. Shout! Factory has delivered a 5-star audio presentation that brings this story to life perfectly. There are optional English SDH and English subtitles provided.

Special Features

Trailers: This disc provides a 60-Second Trailer (1:04), 90-Second Trailer (1;31), English Dub Promotional Video (2:41) and a Promotional Video (2:41)

Final Thoughts

DEEMO Memorial Keys takes the slightly unusual approach of taking a very rhythm-driven video game and translating it into a narrative journey that feels deeply personal and universal. On a narrative level, the movie works as you slowly learn more about the characters and the lingering darkness of their past. By the time you reach the end, you will be left quite moved even if certain moments are not altogether shocking. Where the film feels slightly lacking is in the decision to make this a digitally animated tale instead of the preferred hand-drawn style. This is not an unusual choice, but the quality of the digital animation feels a bit undercooked which takes you out of the story at times. The film also exhibits some pacing issues which can leave your attention waning in stretches. Eleven Arts and Shout! Factory have provided a Blu-Ray with a very strong A/V presentation but not too much in the way of special features. Overall, the film is decent, but there are some issues holding it back from standing out as an essential watch.

DEEMO Memorial Keys is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Shout! Factory and Eleven Arts have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.