Mamoru Hosoda Movie Collection: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time / Summer Wars / Wolf Children / The Boy and the Beast

I had never really heard of Mamoru Hosoda. The film that got me to look at his previous works was "Mirai". Another incredible family film that is his best work to date. In this bluray collection, which might I add looks beautiful. I love the hardshell chipboard outer box that houses the 4 films inside. As you pull out the contents, you see artwork of each film on the backside of the bluray holder that folds out. The blurays themselves have a nice amount of extra's that i wasn't expecting. Each film has the typical trailers for other shows or movies, but also has both the Japanese and US trailers for each film. The extras vary, but some have premiere footage from japan/paris, interviews with the US or Japanese cast, promotional video for each film, etc. While minor, they do a great job in treating these films as films and not just an anime. While other anime films have been released here in the states, we usually get a barebones release with almost no real bonus features for us to enjoy. So it was quite a pleasure to be treated to some pretty unique features.Mamoru's films are all family themed, from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time which deals with the main characters connection with her Aunt and her friendships at school, to Wolf Children's story of a mother trying to do whats best for her two children, these films mainly revolve around some sort of familial connection and really grounds the films for you. You become fully invested in their stories want to see how it ends.If I were to recommend a viewing order for these four films, I would suggest the following order:Wolf ChildrenSummer WarsThe Girl Who Leapt Through TimeThe Boy and the Beasti might also add that the filme "The Girl Who..." is a direct continuation of a 1967 novel of the same title. So if you want to do your research for that film, feel free but you dont need to. The reason for the order I chose above really deals with the emotional toll you'll get from each film, from lowest to highest. Not that Wolf Children is a weak film, but it's message is different from say Summer Wars. Each film deserves a view and if you've seen "Mirai", you'll love these four films. I highly recommend these.

I’m really happy these popped up on here

The movies are great and bundled at a bargain price when compared to getting each movie individually.Note: The digital codes that come with this are only redeemable on Funimation and can only be watched on the Funimation website or app. You can not sync to any other digital libraries such as Vudu or Movies Anywhere. The box does come with a code for UltraViolet but this service is defunct and renders the code useless. After contacting Amazon and Funimation, it was made clear that there is no alternative.This was a bit disappointing as the main reason I decided to go ahead and get the collection was because I wanted to add it to my Vudu collection as another review said we could (pre-closure of UltraViolet).Otherwise, you get good quality collector's case with four Blu-rays of classic films. Each movie is great quality animation and a must see for any anime film aficionado.

This review is primarily for the packaging itself and not the content of the movies.TL;DR Main Points:My problems with the packaging are as follows:1. Poor print quality for fonts, though not noticeable from a distance the fonts printed on the box are of very poor quality. Unsharp, blurry even, when viewed in the hand from a reasonable distance. Though difficult to view via photos, print that isn't bold, such as the movie titles on the front face, look to be of poor rendering and side text is even worse for the company logos.2. TERRIBLE CENTER ALIGNMENT, how the heck did you guys miss this quality checkup? I can forgive the poor font print, that could be a limitation of available printer quality, but to just misalign the front but the entire overall packaging? Viewing the side of the package, the side you would usually display on a shelf, shows the blu-ray logo, title, and company logos all skewd to the left edge of the packaging instead of dead center! The back side is also shifted to the left side which really leaves a cheap looking product I wouldn't want to proudly display on my shelf for others to see.3. A nice box with a cheap wrapper, the most minor thing that irks me with this set is how they made it overall. They went to a reseller of blu-ray packaging, had the outer labeling made up and lazily slapped on the standard box. No attempt to have a fully printed-on-box style packaging which would have complimented this set well.Overall Review:My big complaint will be considered minor by some but quite possibly major for the demographic purchasing this set. When I buy a "collection" set or "limited set" I believe in the producer of the set to garner quality as their highest priority. This set embodies some of the best anime films to be released which are high quality themselves, so it would do them justice to present them in the best light possible.I must give whoever quality checked this set before release because they did an outstanding job at overlooking THE ENTIRE OUTSIDE PACKAGING. From what you can see in my posted photos, their print job for this set (at least mine in particular) is extremely subpar for a near $90 set. I can somewhat understand if this was one of the many "economic packages" that we see from series after their initial print run, which cut the costs to as cheap as possible to produce them. Do not get me wrong, economic sets are great for the industry because it allows a cheaper option for people who are looking to still purchase a favorite series in physical format.I hope that in the future Funimation or whomever was responsible for the presentation/quality check of this amazing movie collection makes up for this terrible workmanship. My Serial Experiments Lain, Akira, Ghost in The Shell, and Steins;Gate box sets were produced to a good standard which represent both the content’s reputations and justify the price of the product in terms of presentation quality. This set deserves better in terms of presentation, but the content of the set itself is top-notch by far. I don't typically review products unless they really make an impression on me, this one just happened to make the wrong one.

All four are must have Hosada films. You’re saving a little bit of money too instead of buying each film separate while also creating easy storage for your collection shelf. The case itself unfolds to reveal the 4 dvds, you do not get 4 separate cases for each dvd. This is also a funimation copy so of course you’re only going to get the Dub version, but for me personally the dubs don’t bother me especially if you have friends who only watch dub anyways.

Just wanted to say that I really hope this trend continues with Anime titles to give digital copies not only only Funimation but on Vudu and other popular movie services. Even better is if they were added to Movies Either way four solid movies for any anime fan.

The collection is beautiful and the set was just perfect for my 19 year old Otaku's birthday.

Fantastic movie Collection, all very enjoyable.Came in good condition.