Unboxing [US]: Persona 4 the Animation - Complete Series: Collector's Edition (BD/DVD)

So recently I was given an allowance of sorts and not long after Rightstuf announced that Sentai's recent collector's edition release of Persona 4 has gone out of print and whatever stock that's left in other retailers are the only ones left. So I somewhat panicked as usual since I thought the set would last as long as the others did. I found one brand new on Amazon (don't worry they still have plenty for now) and now it's arrived, well the packaging they used for delivery is terrible but the set itself is in like new condition.

As of right now there are still copies of the set left but I have no idea how long they will last.

Well without further notes, here's what the collector's edition set has to offer.

Persona 4 the Animation is a 2011-12 anime series from studio AIC A.S.T.A., based on the video game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 that was released on PlayStation 2 back in 2008. The anime adapts over 75 hours of gameplay into 25 episodes and an OVA. While I basically blind-purchased the series I have completed the story in Persona 4 Golden (the enhanced Vita version), it's one of the best JRPGs out there and I highly recommend if you have a PS2 or Vita.

This is the fifth collector's edition that Sentai Filmworks have made and the second catalogue title to receive one (Highschool of the Dead was the first). Unlike the other sets this is the first two cour show to receive this kind of treatment and since there's a small amount of physical goods the pricing is just about right.

Sentai's release with Persona has also been quite rough. When they released the Blu-rays they were forced to put them out as English language only, meaning the original Japanese audio was not included. Note that Aniplex is the main licensor of the series in Japan and it's been rumoured that due to this incident Sentai are not allowed to touch any Aniplex property whatsoever. Over here in the UK (as well as the folks in Australia) we were lucky enough to get the series available in both language options, however because of Kaze UK and their daftness the sets were released with poor quality control as well as three volumes. Now for the first time in many years Sentai has been able to re-release the series in their special collector's edition with the Japanese audio as well as the existing English dub.

This Collector's Edition contains all 25 episodes and the True Ending OVA across 4 Blu-ray discs and 6 DVD discs with a couple of additional physical goods that came with the chipboard box. The additional content includes a deck of tarot cards, a few Chie badges, a few stickers and a cloth. As for the discs themselves, the subtitles are locked on both formats (this is something that has been quite common across all collector's sets so far) and since it's one of those geo-locked releases any Blu-ray player can play the discs if the country code is set to America. If you don't have a Blu-ray player that can be set to USA, the European PlayStations are also an option. Note the DVD version is for Region 1 players only.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English

Audio: DTS-HD MA 2.0 [Japanese], DTS-HD MA 2.0 [English]

Video: 1080p HD Native 16:9

Region: A, B (Geo-locked to United States, however EU PS3s will work)

Subtitles: English [On-Screen/Lyrics], English [Japanese language]

Subtitles Locked: Yes

Discs: 4

DVD Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 [Japanese], Dolby Digital 2.0 [English]

Video: SD NTSC 16:9

Region: 1

Subtitles: English [On-Screen/Lyrics], English [Japanese language]

Subtitles Locked: Yes

Discs: 6

Plot Synopsis (via Back cover):

When Yu Narukami moves to the country town of Inaba to stay with his uncle and cousin, he's expecting more peace and quiet than he's been used to in the big city. What he isn't expecting is for his uncle's job as a police detective to spill over into his own life. Or for the murders that are occurring across town to be somehow linked to Yu's own strange experiences, odd local weather patterns, and a mysterious TV show world that seems to be attempting to get Yu to enter it!

Now, together with a new group of friends, Yu must plunge into a bizarre alternate reality where he gains unique abilities that will either help him solve the riddle of the mystery killer, or lead him to his doom.

Extra Content:

Chipboard Limited Edition Artbox

Tarot Cards

Chie Badges

Stickers

Cloth

Japanese Commentaries

Director's Cut Episode 1

Mr. Experiment Shorts

A Brief Lesson on Izanagi and Izanami

Clean Opening and Closing

Promos

TV Spots

Persona 4 the Animation is available as a Blu-ray/DVD collector's edition from Sentai Filmworks, the series is also available on DVD standalone. Kaze UK have released the series across three parts on Blu-ray and DVD (with both English dub and Japanese w/English subtitles) in the United Kingdom.