DVD Review: Shin-Chan Season 2 Part 1

[Chris Beveridge]

Review by Paul Gaudette

Mania Grade: B
* Audio Rating: B
* Video Rating: B+
* Packaging Rating: A
* Menus Rating: A
* Extras Rating: A
* Age Rating: 17 and Up
* Region: 1 - North America
* Released By: FUNimation Entertainment, Ltd.
* MSRP: 39.98
* Running time: 325
* Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
* Disc Resolution: 480i/p
* Disc Encoding: MPEG-2
* Series: Shin-Chan

In Summary:

Purists will still likely ignore this show but those who dug the first two volumes or watch it on Adult Swim will probably want to pick it up especially at the low price point. The show is still funny enough with some memorable episodes scattered throughout, but the rewriting has become very obvious with this volume. The show seems like it resembles the original Japanese language program even less. In fact, the show feels more like actors just joking around in the booth than an actual show. The series still produces big laughs but the increased randomness makes for a less memorable experience. Of course, this complaint probably seems like nitpicking to those who already accepted a localized show that’s happy enough to throw-out the original script sometimes. This DVD is a top-notch representation of the material with nearly flawless audio and video and even more extras than the previous volumes.