Teen misfits Roma, Toto, and Drop call themselves the “Don Glees,” an informal name for their backyard adventures. One day, when the trio gets blamed for a nearby forest fire, they set off into the woods to prove their innocence. As disaster strikes their expedition, tensions flare between the friends as they realize that growing up has taken them on wildly different paths in life.

Director Atsuko Ishizuka follows up her critically acclaimed series A Place Further Than the Universe with her first original feature film. With luminescent animation and lush backdrops, Goodbye, Don Glees! is a tender coming-of-age story about the fearlessness of being young and the bittersweet journey of self-discovery.

For thoughts on Goodbye, Don Glees!, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/6XO5FyU1Fr0?t=1644]

Video Quality

Goodbye, Don Glees! comes to Blu-Ray from GKIDS and Shout! Factory with a stunning 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio. The animation style utilized for this tale is bursting with terrific detail and texture. Every scene delivers so much awe-inspiring imagery that you can imagine being framed and hanging on your wall. The colors are balanced and well saturated with deep hues delighting the senses. Black levels are quite deep with no trace of compression artifacts or digital anomalies.

This feature showcases such delicate attention paid to the design, and the team has really brought the creative vision to life in a formidable manner. Each environment is filled with unique facets that make the world feel more alive. The character designs are skilfully rendered as they each make a distinct impression. The transfer handles every change in environment with respectable stability including no jagged lines or color bleeding. Viewing anime in high definition just feels right given the care put into each frame.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track presented here in its original Japanese, along with an English language dub. The film is presented with optional English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Dialogue comes through perfectly clear and without being overshadowed by any competing elements. The terrific score delivers added emotion to the story as it stirs the audience with the surround sound presentation. The environmental detail in the surround channels is very worthwhile as the sounds of nature transport you into this narrative. This is not the most bombastic story, but the sounds make the most of their placement for some appreciable texture to the world. GKIDS and Shout! Factory deliver a top notch presentation with this one.

Special Features

Interview with Director Atsuko Ishizuka: A nearly 11-minute interview with the director in which she discusses why she decide to tell a story with characters of this age, the comparisons to Stand By Me, why she decide to tackle a tale with boys, the importance of the character Tivoli, the character she most identifies with, the impact of her student films on her career and more that is worth a watch.

Trailers: A seven-minute collection of trailers are provided here for the film.

Final Thoughts

Goodbye, Don Glees! is a fairly rewarding coming-of-age story which flourishes when the story is kept simple and personal between these characters. The way in which director Atsuko Ishizuka portrays friendship is very moving and captures the beauty of the close-knit, shared experiences. It is when the story feels manipulative with certain narrative choices that it loses some of its potency. Even with some heavy-handed turns, the film is really lovely and has a lot to offer. GKIDS and Shout! Factory have released a Blu-Ray with a terrific A/V presentation and a decent supplemental interview. Anime fans will want to give this one a shot if they appreciate more grounded narratives. Recommended

Goodbye, Don Glees! 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: GKIDS and Shout! Factory 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.