Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life! (究極進化したフルダイブRPGが現実よりもクソゲーだったら, Kyūkyoku Shinka shita Furu Daibu RPG ga Genjitsu yori mo Kusoge Dattara) is a 2021 television anime series based on Light Tuchihi’s light novel of the same name. The series was produced by studio ENGI, and the staff credits include director Kazuya Miura, screenplay writer Kenta Ihara, and music composer Ryosuke Nakanishi. The season was first broadcast in Japan on April 2021.
Background:
“Hiroshi just bought Kiwame Quest, the realest game ever made. In it, he can smell, taste, and even be physically hurt. But his abilities in this adventure suck as much as they do in daily life. Fully immersed, he swears to beat it – even if it kills him!”
Plot Synopsis via Funimation
When you have so many isekai and online video game themed anime, there’ll eventually be one that tries to subvert your expectations. Full Dive is one of those VRMMORPG themed anime that has a very acquired taste due to how brutal it’s concept is to the main character. It’s basically a case of what if Japan made a VRMMO anime game and decided to take the difficulty of From Software’s games in that style which is both hilarious and cringe at the same time. It also doesn’t help that studio ENGI clearly hasn’t had enough time to make the show look any better as it’s quite rough in a lot of places, like their other adaptation Kemono Michi.
Despite that, I did enjoy Full Dive and considering it’s from the author of Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, it does enough to keep my interest. But saying that, there isn’t enough material for any more to cover and I suspect Kadokawa just got the series adapted immediately to try and make the novels a success especially since Cautious Hero‘s novels to my understanding are on hiatus in Japan.
Funimation, now known as Crunchyroll, acquired the streaming and home video rights from Kadokawa for simulcast and provided an English dub which has an interesting casting line-up. As the series hasn’t been scheduled for the UK and received a limited edition in North America, I decided to import that release because the UK branch is a mess.
Limited Edition Contents:
As mentioned, Full Dive got a limited edition release which isn’t a surprise considering the author’s previous work and Kadokawa titles generally have more chance than others. The style is similar to By the Grace of the Gods which has the cardboard box housed separately from the set rather than inside like WONDER EGG PRIORITY.
This package offers a rigid box that houses the series in an Amaray Blu-ray case alongside an 80-page art book. The artbook features character designs, background artwork, item designs and some illustrations. There’s also an outer cardboard box that houses the physical items such as 6 art cards, sticker sheet, metal pin and keychain.
The artwork is free of any information and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Funimation limited edition releases have done over the years. Unit count wasn’t specified for this release, while the SRP was $84.98. A standard edition Blu-ray & DVD was also available on the same day as the limited edition release. Since I imported the set from United Publications, the price was £66 plus postage.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with clean artwork and Amaray packaging
- Info sheet for specification
- 80-page Booklet
- 6 Art Cards
- Sticker Sheet
- Metal Pin
- Keychain
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Funimation
Released: 10th May 2022
The limited edition release for Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life! contains all 12 episodes across two Blu-ray discs and two DVD discs, with the encode & authoring done by Funimation. The audio options available include Japanese with English subtitles and the Funimation English dub.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are accessible to Blu-ray players set to A & B and DVD players set to 1, 2 & 4.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 (1 BD-50, 1 BD-25) |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | 1 2 4 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 2:
- Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life! Voice Actors Panel
- Web Previews
- Commercials
- Promo Videos
- Textless Opening Song “Answer”
- Textless Closing Song “Kisuida!”
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
No extras across all discs
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
The limited edition release for Full Dive is available to order on Amazon UK via AmazonGlobal, Rightstuf and United Publications.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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