Unboxing [UK]: Seraph of the End - Season One Part Two: Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)

Not long after receiving the second half of Arslan, Amazon put on a lightning deal for Seraph Part 2 from £44.99 to £29.67 so I picked it up, and thus catching up with the Universal anime releases.

The DVD version of this collector's edition is exactly the same, but I have the Blu-ray version for obvious reasons.

Seraph of the End -Vampire Reign- is a Spring 2015 series from studio WIT (Attack on Titan) based on the manga of the same name. The show was split into two different cours, with the second one subtitled Battle in Nagoya during its broadcast. Like Arslan, Seraph was originally assumed to be handled by Anime Limited but it turned out that Universal Pictures would be the ones releasing the show for the UK.

This particular release was done by Universal Pictures, and is one of the first anime titles to be released under their label. As said before Universal did distribute anime before in other territories so they're not new to this. Arslan and Seraph were the first titles for Universal UK, with Berserk (2016), Drifters, and Starmyu in the future. Universal are putting out these really nice collector's edition sets for an SRP of £59.99 on Blu-ray and £49.99 on DVD. The two formats are the exact same content-wise.

Seraph of the End -Vampire Reign-'s second half includes episodes 13 to 24 of the series in English, French and German dubs as well as Japanese audio with English, Dutch, French and German subtitles. The subtitles are unlockable however the discs are Region B only. The physical contents include a 30+ page booklet, 4 artcards, 4 trading cards, a couple stickers, and a double-sided poster, plus a digi-pack to hold the Blu-ray discs, all contained inside a top-loaded chipboard box with clean art and no logos (aside from the Universal logo on the spine).

Also worth noting is that the main menus for the Universal anime sets have the same template of sorts and may confuse people. The discs start with the language options (English, French (Français), German (Deutsch), Dutch (Nederlands)) followed by the main menu so I have a quick guide on the main menu buttons here (from left to right):

 - House - Back to the language section (which played first on the disc), or to the main menu section if you use it via pop-up menu

 - Right Arrow - Play the first episode

 - Shield/Open Book - Episode Count (13-18 on Disc 1, 19-24 on Disc 2)

 - Star - On-Disc Extra Content (Trailers, TV Spots and Music Clips on Disc 1, Seraph of the Endless: Battle in Nagoya on Disc 2)

 - Audio - Language audio options (Japanese (日本語), English, French (Français), German (Deutsch))

 - Square with some lines inside - Subtitle options (English, French (Français), German (Deutsch), Dutch (Nederlands))

Unlike Funimation's release, Universal's video masters use the Japanese credits instead of the English credits that Funimation have. However the Opening and Closing songs are not subtitled. The subtitles on the discs are white and much bigger than the normal. Funimation's English Commentaries are also not included with this release.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English, French, German

Audio: DTS-HD MA 2.0 [Japanese, French, German], DTS-HD MA 5.1 [English]

Video: 1080p HD Native 16:9

Region: B

Subtitles: English, Dutch, French, German

Subtitles Locked: No

Discs: 2

Plot Synopsis (via Universal Pictures):

It’s the beginning of the end for Yuichiro and the Moon Demon Company as the final twelve episodes of Seraph of the End Season One explode across the screen in this limited special collector’s edition set! With Mika lost to the vampires in the Battle of Shinjuku, Yuichiro and his squad must truly master their Cursed Gear if they hope to survive. But when you are literally dealing with a devil every day, disaster is only one wrong move away. When a new threat rises in the form of Kureto Hiragi, the cruel lieutenant general of the Imperial Demon Army and a second war front in Nagoya, Guren and his team are sent on a suicide mission to destroy all vampire nobles. Thus the stage is set for the last stand of humanity as battles are joined, loyalties are tested and the final secret of the Seraph of the End is revealed.

On-Disc Extra Content:

Seraph of the Endless: Battle in Nagoya Parts 1-4

Seraph of the End Trailers

Music Clips (aka Textless Opening & Closing)

TV Spots

Collector's Edition Extras:

Chipboard rigid box packaging with top-load and digipacks

30 page Book of Interviews, Character Profiles and Artwork

4 Artcards

4 Trading Cards

Stickers

Poster

Here's a look at the tons of physical content available exclusively with these collector's sets. It's very nice and worth the extra cost.

Seraph of the End -Vampire Reign-: Season One Part Two is available on Blu-ray and DVD in collector's edition sets. A standard edition will be available in 2017. Funimation have the North American rights while Sony Universal have the Australian rights.