The Normanic Vault: Unboxing [UK]: Expelled from Paradise

As part of the Christmas Day 2017 haul we have another double-dip for the collection. This time this film is actually out of print in terms of the collector's edition model so that's quite a lucky pickup.

Expelled from Paradise (Rakuen Tsuihou) is a 2014 film directed by Seiji Mizushima, animated by both Toei Animation & Graphinica, and published by both Aniplex and Toei Animation (though mostly Toei). The film was also written by Gen Urobuchi.

Expelled from Paradise is mostly a 3D computer generated anime which is not that common (whereas it's the main source for a lot of american cartoons these days). Other anime that have incorporated CGI as its main source of animation include 009 Re:Cyborg, the 2016/17 version of Berserk, Land of the Lustrous, Batman Ninja and FREEDOM.

If you are a long-time viewer of my blog you may have noticed that I actually already own this film. Back in June 2015 I received the Aniplex of America version of the film and watched it months later. Overall it's a pretty solid film and worth checking out, and while I went with the original audio it does feature an all-star dub cast like Steve Blum, Wendee Lee and Johnny Yong Bosh as the main leads.

This release is from Anime Limited and their collector's edition set is one of their first in terms of the model change. Rather than using logos and info on their chipboard box they now have a slipcover for all of that plus the actual chipboard box containing clean art and the main logo on the spine. The disc was authored by the French branch @Anime and offers both English, French and Japanese audio with English & French subtitles. The English dub does not feature on-screen subs whereas the French dub does, and the subtitles themselves are locked during playback. The discs are also Region B only.

The Aniplex of America release was Blu-ray only and also included an extra Blu-ray disc with more bonus content. Interestingly those bonus features are included in this UK release.

You can order the release on Amazon UK (AllTheAnime listing is now sold out). Standard edition DVD also available.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English, French

Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1 (for all three languages)

Video: 1080p HD Native 16:9

Region: B

Subtitles: English, French

Subtitles Locked: Yes

Discs: 1

DVD Specs:

Languages: Japanese, English, French

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 (for all three languages)

Video: SD NTSC 16:9

Region: 2

Subtitles: English, French

Subtitles Locked: No

Discs: 1

Plot Synopsis (via Anime Limited):

With Earth now left in ruins following the "Nano Hazard," most of humanity has abandoned the planet they once called home along with their physical bodies and rebuilt their digitalized minds into a society within the cyber universe of ""DEVA.""

A.D. 2400, DEVA's central council detects an incident of unauthorized access into their mainframe. Someone on Earth was trying to hack into the system. The only information DEVA was able to retrieve was that the hacker referred to himself as "Frontier Setter."

To investigate the mysterious hacker's motives, the high officials of DEVA dispatch System Security Third Officer Angela Balzak to the Earth's surface. Equipped with a prosthetic "material body," Angela attempts to make contact with a local agent Dingo, but what awaited her instead was a swarm of Sandworms now infesting the Earth's surface. Angela intercepts the gruesome pests with her exoskeletal powered suit Arhan.

Will Angela and Dingo be able to find Frontier Setter on this devastated planet? Their journey to explore the secrets of the world begins now...!

On-Disc Extra Content:

Making Of featurette

Trailers

Collector's Edition Extras:

Chipboard Artbox: Clean Box w/Title on Spine, Logos/Info/Specs on Slipcover, Digipack for Discs

40-page Booklet

3 Postcards