Editorials

DVD Teardown: Emma Season 1, Litebox

Written By Samantha Ferreira

On February 5, Nozomi Entertainment will release the first set of Emma: A Victorian Romance in a Litebox edition. Previously, the company released the season in a deluxe edition in 2008 and a complete series bundle in 2011.

We received the privilege of a review screener for Emma earlier this month. Since we received the whole entire product, I felt that it would be worth taking a look at the product as a whole.

Packaging

The front cover features a shot of series protagonist Emma looking at the camera, as she readies a tea service. The coloration and style give of the appearance of an old photo, with a sepia-toned background and subdued tones in Emma herself. The eye is drawn to the tea set, which features a vivid, green stem of an orchid sprouting from a small vase. The back of the case features a brief description of the series, as well as a listing of bonus features and technical details.

Each of the four discs is adorned with a piece of key of Emma.

Emma Teardown 026   Emma Teardown 027Emma Teardown 031
Emma Teardown 032Emma Teardown 033Emma Teardown 035
Emma Teardown 036

 

Menu Structure

Note: Since the release has a consistent look & feel across most discs, I will only be covering the first and sixth discs. Further dissections would be redundant.

The disc’s front menu is a simple list of options set against a parchment-styled background. A piece of key art is set on the left side of the screen. The episode menu uses to images from each episode as chapter selection options. The “Credits” and preview chapters are presented as plain text. Episode options are placed on the left side of the screen. The special features menu is similar to the front menu, in that it places a list of options in the center of the screen. An image of Emma is placed to the right of the menu options.

Emma Teardown - Menu 001Emma Teardown - Menu 002Emma Teardown - Menu 003

Special Features

Aside from the clean opening and closing, Nozomi’s latest release of Emma features the following extras:

  • Character Biographies
  • Japanese Promotional Advertisement
  • Japanese TV Spots
  • Japanese DVD Commercials
  • Special Thanks to US Supporters

Video Presentation

Emma Teardown - Video 001Emma Teardown - Video 002Emma Teardown - Video 003
Emma Teardown - Video 004

Overall

Aside from the packaging change, the current release of Emma is identical to the initial release. The new Litebox has a minimalist charm in its presentation, the menus are both functional and attractive. The fact that the release shares the same digital goodies as the original release is a pleasant bonus.

Filed Under:

Tag(s): , ,

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

Anime Herald

Support Anime Herald

Anime Herald is brought to you through our Patrons and Ko-fi supporters. Consider backing us for as little as $1 a month to help us keep the site ad-free and pay a fair rate to our writers.

Patrons and backers can access several benefits, including Early Article Access, our members-only Discord, and the ability to suggest articles for our team to write on your behalf.

Become a Patron
Support us on Ko-Fi

Latest Posts

See all Articles