All Out!! Part 1 Blu-ray (Review)

By: AlanVKenji Gion is a freshman at Kanagawa High school, and he has one hell of a napoleon complex. Luckily, he finds the perfect sport to play, rugby. He doesn’t know the first thing about rugby, except he wants to be out on the field tackling people. He and his newfound teammates have their work cut out for them if they want to make it to the national tournament. However, they have the spirit to make it there.All Out!!  hits some of the beats of a typical sports anime. A newbie on campus discovers a sport they are clueless about but decide to go for it anyway. The team they join is less than stellar, and it will take a herculean effort to becomes anything resembling a decent team. This is all topped off with the goal of competing in a tournament against some of the best teams in the country. Plenty of well tread ground being covered here.What makes a sports anime work is if the characters are worth caring about, and All Out!!  succeeds on this front. While Gion can be a bit grating at times with his outbursts, he is neutralized by his teammates. There are Iwashimizu and Hachiouji who are kind and empathetic. Sekizan, the team captain, checks Gion when his behavior becomes too much. It’s a nice mix of characters that complement one another well.There is also a concerted effort to give screen time to the supporting cast, which is another good move. Rather than focus on Gion every episode as he works his way through learning the sport, we are able to get a look at others on the team. It helps to establish how they are coming together as a goup, and lets viewers get to know them better.As with other sports anime, the main character isn’t the only one learning about a new sport. Viewers also get to learn all of the new things Gion is learning, and it does a decent job of explaining some of the basics. They probably could have squeezed in a bit more, but the anime is most likely trying to strike a balance between rugby veterans and newbies.This rather solid package is wrapped in a nice bow of artwork. Colors are bright, and the line work is defined. It’s obvious that this anime had a healthy budget to work with, which adds to the enjoyment of the series.Video QualityFunimation keeps churning out nice releases, and All Out!!  is no exception. This Blu-ray sports 1080p video with a healthy bit rate. There are no major anomalies to report, with the only slight issue being a small amount of banding. Fans of the anime will be pleased with the visual aspect of this release.Audio QualityThis release comes with both Japanese and English language tracks. The Japanese version is Dolby TrueHD 2.0 while the English version is Dolby TrueHD 5.1. Both casts do a great job, with just a slight edge in favor of the Japanese version. It felt like the Japanese did a slightly better job in regard to casting, but only barely.ExtrasNot many extras to speak of on this set. There are cleaning opening and closings included with some Funimation trailers, however that’s all that’s included. Although this is the case for most releases, sadly.All Out!!  isn’t doing anything new or special, but what it’s doing is being done well. It will probably continue down this path for the rest of the series, but maybe they throw in a curveball or two. Regardless, it’s a series worth watching. You can pick up the Blu-ray from Funimation here, or stream here it if that’s more your thing.