Blue Thermal (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Blue Thermal (ブルーサーマル, Burū Sāmaru) is a 2022 theatrical anime film based on Kana Ozawa’s manga series Blue Thermal: Aonagi Daigaku Taiiku-kai Kōkū-bu. The film was adapted by studio Telecom Animation Film, and the staff credits include director and screenplay writer Masaki Tachibana, screenplay writer Natsuko Takahashi, character designer Miho Tanino and music composer Shōgo Kaida. The film was first released theatrically in Japan in March 2022.

Background:

“”I want to experience a love that sparkles!”

Arriving from Nagasaki with this wishful mantra is Tamaki Tsuru, who in high school could think only about volleyball. Things don’t begin well, however, when she looks for an extracurricular club to join, proceeds to immediately damage a glider at aviation club tryouts, and ends up having to work it off. She is initially disillusioned with campus life. Then Kuramochi, the club leader and glider pilot, takes Tamaki under his wing … and from the moment he takes her up for a flight in a glider, she becomes a captive of the vast beauty of the skies.”

Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, February 2024.

When I first heard about Blue Thermal, all I knew was that it had something to do with planes and that was about it. Reading further and in reality it does have an emphasis on planes but it’s core focus is a slice of life romance type story following a lead going into University which is perfectly fine by all means, since it’s not common to have slice of life stories that aren’t dedicated to high school.

That being said, Blue Thermal didn’t gather that much attention despite the fact that we have the Barakamon and Princess Principal director attached to the project with an animation studio also known for assisting TMS Entertainment on various projects to even adapting Tower of God. I suppose just because you have notable staff and studio involved, the marketing is what pushes the anime into the spotlight.

North American distributor Eleven Arts picked up the theatrical and home video rights for Blue Thermal which for some folks doesn’t inspire confidence given their history of providing theatrical masters onto the Blu-rays that Shout! Factory produces and the lack of English dubs in a lot of cases. Anime Limited tend to carry over whatever Shout! Factory and GKIDS release so Blue Thermal made its way into the UK through them. Anime Limited have done their best to market the niche anime films but in a lot of cases you just have to blind buy them to see what they are about.

Collector’s Edition Contents:

Anime Limited have been increasing their slate with more collector’s edition releases and Blue Thermal being a film also fits the bill.

The package is presented as a rigid box housing a Scanavo case that includes the Blu-ray disc. Also with the set is a 32-page booklet filled with various artwork from the film.

The artwork is free of any information on all sides of the box and the info sheet covers the BBFC content, information and specification. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £39.99. A standard edition Blu-ray is expected to be released later down the line.

The film was announced for Anime Limited’s February 2024 early bird slate and I pre-ordered it given that I was interested in owning it and miraculously arrived as soon as the offer ended.

Physical Contents:

• Rigid Box with Scanavo packaging and clean artwork
• Info sheet with info, specification and BBFC description
• 32-page Booklet

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 5th February 2024

The collector’s edition release for Blue Thermal contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode & authoring produced by Shout! Factory from their North American release with Eleven Arts. No English dub was produced, so the only audio options available are Japanese with English subtitles.

The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to Blu-ray players set to B.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	Japanese
Audio	Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video	1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio
Region	B
Subtitles	English
Locked Subtitles	Yes
Discs	1 BD-50

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

• Interview with Director Masaki Tachibana
• Character Highlights:
  • Tamaki Tsuru
  • Jun Kuramochi
  • Daisuke Sorachi
  • Chizuru Yano
  • Yo Asahina
• Trailer

Unboxing Photos:

Final Notes:

Blue Thermal is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland. The collector’s edition Blu-ray release can be bought through retailer AllTheAnime Store.

(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.)