Alderamin on the Sky Blu-ray (Review)

By: AlanVIkta Solork has the demeanor of a slacker, but beneath the façade there is a tactical genius. As the Empire of Katjvarna is on the brink of war with the Republic of Kioka, Ikta will be pressed into military duty. While he hates war, he will do all he can to ensure the safety of his friends and those in his command. This is the beginning of his rise to becoming the Invincible Lazy General.Ikta serves as a foil for everything in the world of Alderamin on the Sky. He is steadfast in his admiration of science, trying to tackle anything that comes his way with logic. This is a stark contrast to the people that surround him, most of which have no idea what science even is. Ultimately, this is what gives him his cutting edge as a commander, and makes the idea of him being such a great tactician more believable.The action that appears on screen does so in quick bursts. It never overstays its welcome, moving briskly to accomplish what it needs to. This means that viewers don’t have to sit through slogging, boring battles that can drag on for multiple episodes that don’t move things along.The brevity of the time spent on the battlefield allows the interactions between the core group of characters to shine. The best moments are when you see Ikta and his friends talking with one another, discussing different points of view and sharing ideas. One such moment is while Ikta is eating dinner with his comrades and one of them asks how he handles his “manly needs.” The whole back and forth ends in an enjoyable moment.Where Alderamin on the Sky really misses the mark is with these small beings called spirits. These spirits accompany the soldiers to help them on the battlefield. However, the anime neglects to explain how these spirits are connected to their human partners and how they share their power, even though they are an ever-present part of this world.It’s too bad that the plot “twist” really knocks the wind out of the story’s sails. It completely changes the tone of the story and questions everything else that came before it. It doesn’t feel like it belongs, and the direction it’s proposing goes against everything we’ve come to believe about the future Lazy General.VideoThe video presentation for Alderamin on the Sky is solid. The animation is top-notch and the world is full of small details, really showing well in 1080p. There are no major issues to report on this front.AudioThe English language version comes in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, while the Japanese language track comes in Dolby TrueHD 2.0. There are some great performances from both sets of voice actors for this one, with only a small hit to the English version with the childhood voice of Ikta. Dub and Sub fans will be pleased with what they’re getting in this release.ExtrasThe extras are a bit thin with this release. There are web previews of each episode in Japanese, clean opening and closing songs and trailers for other Funimation properties. It felt like this anime should’ve gotten a bit more.Alderamin on the Sky is a solid military themed anime, where its characters are allowed to grow with their interactions with one another and the world they inhabit. This blu-ray release delivers great picture and audio to match. It’s a shame the plot twist derails things a bit, though. You can pick up this release here.