The Relative Worlds (あした世界が終わるとしても, Ashita Sekai ga Owaru Toshitemo) is a 2019 theatrical anime film based on a two-part ONA series by Yūhei Sakuragi released in 2017 (with the same localised name but known as Sōtai Sekai in Japan). The anime is directed and written by Yūhei Sakuragi, and produced by studio Craftar. Staff credits also include with Animation Directors Hiroki Matsūra and Tomoyuki Takae, and music composed by Hidehiro Kawai. The anime first theatrically released in Japan in January 2019.
Background:
“Shin Hazama is a normal high school boy living an ordinary life in Tokyo… a life that is about to be turned upside-down when he encounters Jin, a boy who looks identical to him but claims to originate from another world entirely. Jin’s world is one very different to our own – a world where an evil queen named Kotoko serves as its dictator, controlling all wealth and crushing any opposition with lethal force. Perhaps more importantly for Shin, the next step in Kotoko’s plan for total domination is to expand her realm by invading his world.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, November 2022.
A lot of anime fans dislike CG anime, as they find the models to look janky and the production feel low budget. While I do get their criticisms, CG anime does work with the projects done by studio Orange and Polygon Pictures, though that can vary on people’s personal opinions. Along the way we also have CG projects done by other studios like Craftar, who have mostly worked on anime that very little have heard of, but their biggest one is probably INGRESS The Animation which was picked up by Netflix as part of the +ULTRA streaming deal.
Craftar did work on another notable project called The Relative Worlds which has two versions: a two-episode ONA series and a theatrical film with a slightly different story but with the same cast and team. The second version is the one that was picked up for release in the UK by Anime Limited. Though I have heard the film’s reception is not particularly noteworthy.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Much like HELLO WORLD, The Relative Worlds was released first as a collector’s edition set from Anime Limited, and this is also the first English-speaking region release for the film on home video.
The package is presented as a rigid box with a Scanavo Blu-ray case to house the Blu-ray & DVD discs, and alongside the case is a 12-page booklet, 4 art cards and a poster. The booklet is brief but includes a short essay by Andrew Osmond about the film.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £39.99 (with its SRP risen due to the current UK climate and rising costs). As of the time of this write-up, a standard Blu-ray currently has yet to be scheduled.
The film was available as an early bird during the September line-up for £29.99 but I felt that price didn’t make sense for a film early bird, so I went for United Publication’s price at £23.99 + Postage.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with clean artwork and Scanavo packaging
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 12-page Artbook
- 4 Artcards
- Poster
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 7th November 2022
The collector’s edition release for The Relative Worlds contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc and DVD disc, with the encode and authoring done by VDMS. The film has yet to be dubbed into English at the time of this write-up, so it is only available in Japanese with English subtitles.
The subtitles are locked during playback, and the disc regions are playable on A & B for Blu-ray, and 1 & 2 for DVD in NTSC format.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Japanese Linear PCM 5.1 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | 1 2 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Interview with Director Yuhei Sakuragi
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
- Interview with Director Yuhei Sakuragi
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
The Relative Worlds is available to order across multiple retailers in the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition Blu-ray can be acquired through Amazon UK, Anime Limited’s store, MVM’s Anime-on-Line, 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 
Leave a comment