Martian Successor Nadesico (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Martian Successor Nadesico (Kidou Senkan Nadesico) is a 1996 original anime series animated by studio Xebec, directed by Tatsuo Satou and published by King Records Company Ltd. The series aired during the Autumn 1996 season in October.

Martian Successor Nadesico is a classic anime series that I managed to get into after picking up the DVD back in 2015. It’s really fun and I recommend it to anyone who wants to check out a 90s sci-fi anime! The movie Prince of Darkness is very different and much like Escaflowne: The Movie it will divide fans of the main series like it has done for me personally.

The series was first acquired by distributor ADV Films for the United States and United Kingdom back in 2003, and was even provided an English dub which included the English VA for Evangelion’s Shinji leading the role for the main character in the dub. ADV’s rights eventually expired and was then re-acquired by distributors Nozomi Entertainment (one of Rightstuf’s anime labels) and Anime Limited. Nozomi released the series first with a limited edition DVD set (which is the one I owned first for the series) and then in 2017 it was given a Blu-ray version from both publishers.

Much like the Nozomi releases, the Anime Limited release includes both the main series and also the sequel movie Nadesico the Movie: Prince of Darkness. As mentioned earlier I felt the movie is well… not that great. It’s an interesting idea but much like Escaflowne the Movie the tone shift is kinda out of place and the story is rather disappointing, though it’s not terrible by all means.

The Anime Limited collector’s edition release is packaged slightly different to the usual approach. Similar to the Full Metal Panic! and Gurren Lagann collector’s editions, the set contains a rigid box with amaray cases and a couple physical items to go along with the set.

Released in August 2017, Martian Successor Nadesico from Anime Limited contains the entire series (episodes 1-26) across three Blu-ray discs, with an additional DVD disc dedicated to the Gekigangar 3 OVA and a fourth Blu-ray disc dedicated to Nadesico the Movie: Prince of Darkness. Audio options available include the main Japanese language with English subtitles and the ADV Films English dub. The yellow subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the region is locked to B for Blu-ray and 2 for DVD in NTSC format.

Martian Successor Nadesico‘s collector’s edition Blu-ray release is no longer available for purchase, however, the standard edition Blu-rays for both the main series and the theatrical film are available on Amazon UK.

Blu-ray Specs (Martian Successor Nadesico):

Languages: English, Japanese
Audio: English Linear PCM 2.0, Japanese Linear PCM 5.1, Japanese Linear PCM 2.0
Video: 1080p High Definition Native format with 4:3 ratio
Region: B
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: No
Discs: 3

DVD Specs (Martian Successor Nadesico: Bonus Disc):

Languages: Japanese
Audio: Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0
Video: Standard Definition at NTSC format with 4:3 ratio
Region: 2
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: No
Discs: 1

Blu-ray Specs (Movie: The Prince of Darkness):

Languages: English, Japanese
Audio: English Linear PCM 5.1, Japanese Linear PCM 5.1
Video: 1080p High Definition Native format with 16:9 ratio
Region: B
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: No
Discs: 1

Plot Synopsis (via Anime Limited):

“The Earth, its moon and its Martian colonies are under alien attack, but the war against the “Jovian lizards” has, so far, been nothing short of a series of disasters.
Disgusted by the incompetence of Earth’s military, the independent arms manufacturer Nergal builds its own space battleship and plans to launch a desperate offensive to save humanity. But due to a shortage of trained soldiers, they’ve assembled the most unorthodox crew to ever launch into orbit! With a pacifist cook-turned-unwilling mecha pilot and a ditsy admiral’s daughter in command, can this unprecedented gathering of geeks, misfits and anime fans prevail against the Jovian menace?”