In the small city of Nanao, insomniac Ganta Nakami tries to catch a nap in his school’s abandoned astronomical observatory. There he stumbles upon a sociable and carefree girl named Isaki Magari who has the same problem. The two form an awkward friendship and reestablish their school’s defunct astronomy club.
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[youtube https://youtu.be/66A22AvMBjM?si=J6_bCxr6-kyFluQI&t=3746]
Video Quality
Insomniacs After School arrives on Blu-Ray from Sentai Filmworks with a lovely 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio. The beautiful animation style created for this series is bursting with lush detail and texture. We love the aesthetic possibilities of 2-D animation, and this story delivers everything we want out of a more grounded narrative. The colors are vibrant and formidably saturated with complex hues impressing at every turn. The transfer handles all spaces with perfect stability including no jagged lines or color bleeding. Highlights are appropriately contained, and black levels are deep with no trace of compression artifacts or digital anomalies. This series showcases some rich details that the animation team has memorably brought to life. Every space is filled with unique facets that make the world feel more complex. The character designs are distinct and consistent. Anime fans have been treated well with this one.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless track presented here in its original Japanese. The show is presented with optional English subtitles. Dialogue comes through clearly without being drowned out by any competing elements. The soundtrack complements the emotional beats of the story as it permeates the room. The soundscape makes the most of its sonic peccadillos for some natural texture to the world. The environmental detail is impressive within its stereo limitations. Sentai Filmworks delivers a high quality presentation with this one.
Special Features
- Clean Opening Animation (1:31)
- Clean Closing Animation (1:31)
- Disc Credits
Final Thoughts
Insomniacs After School is really moving, grounded romance that brings a sense of authenticity to the youth perspective. The dynamic that develops between our two main characters is very rewarding as you move from awkward banter to a deep, meaningful connection. The series seems unconcerned with manufacturing too much heightened drama within their lives, instead allowing them to exist as believable characters on a journey of discovery. It is simple and beautiful, even if some audiences may find moments to be a bit too slow. Sentai Filmworks has released a Blu-Ray with a fantastic A/V presentation and very sparse supplemental features. Anime fans should check this one out. Recommended
Insomniacs After School is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sentai Filmworks and RLJE Entertainment 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
