The Irregular at Magic High School: Reminiscence Arc (Limited Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

The Irregular at Magic High School: Reminiscence Arc (魔法科高校の劣等生追憶編, Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei: Tsuioku-hen) is a 2021 television special based on Tsutomu Satou’s light novel series of the same name with illustrator Kana Ishida, and a continuation to the 2014 anime series The Irregular at Magic High School. The special was directed by Risako Yoshida and produced by studio Eight Bit, with script writer Munemasa Nakamoto, character designer Kana Ishida and music composer Taku Iwasaki. The special first aired in Japan in December 2021.

Background:

“April, 2095. A century has passed since magic was established as actual technology. The two siblings enroll at a prestigious school for magicians called the National Magic University Affiliated First High School, better known as Magic High School. Though they are now close enough to be mistaken for a couple, just a few years ago, the two had a dysfunctional relationship in which they were nothing more than a master and servant. One incident, however, alters their relationship forever. Three years ago in Okinawa, an unforgettable experience turns their souls and destinies on their heads…

After selling 20 million copies worldwide, Tsutomu Sato’s hit series The Irregular at Magic High School returns with the Reminiscence Arc! This engaging prologue takes us back to Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba’s rocky past!”
Plot Synopsis via Aniplex of America, November 2022.

The Irregular at Magic High School fans have been eating a lot of good stuff as of late. Not only did the anime make a return with the second season covering the Visitor Arc, but there was also a spin-off anime produced adapting The Honor Student at Magic High School manga and another adaptation of one of the main light novel arcs announced. Now at this point, it’s worth noting the light novels did conclude its run in Japan after 32 volumes in 2020, baring in mind 10 years was a pretty solid run considering many series nowadays don’t get as many volumes these days unless it had a strong following.

The Irregular at Magic High School: Reminiscence Arc is also an oddity, because whilst its a prequel to the events of the series, it’s also the 8th light novel volume which was written before the Visitor Arc. Made sense why it was skipped in favour of the latter arc but at least Aniplex were able to figure out a way to include the story in a different format for the fans, which is a television special with a runtime of 1 hour 11 minutes.

The adaptation was first announced during Aniplex’s event in February 2021 and then revealed to be a television special after The Honor Student at Magic High School had finished airing. From what I can tell, if you have yet to watch the second season you can pretty much see this one right away.

Aniplex of America acquired the rights for United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, with an English dub also produced by Bang Zoom! and the special streamed on Funimation (before eventually being added to Crunchyroll after Sony acquired the latter).

Limited Edition Contents:

The limited edition release for The Irregular at Magic High School: Reminiscence Arc is more in-line with the Visitor Arc release format and unless my copy doesn’t include it, there’s also no info/specs noted on the artwork which is a first.

The limited edition Blu-ray release is presented with an o-card slipcase, an Amaray case housing the disc, and a 14-page special booklet featuring character designs and information focusing on the cast of characters who appear in this season as well as an interview with the author.

The o-card slipcase artwork is free of any information and specs. Aniplex are fairly random when it comes to presenting their specs, they either use a o-card strip or just shove them on the back cover. The limited edition Blu-ray set was released for an SRP of $54.98.

I acquired a bundle of The Irregular at Magic High School releases altogether from a private seller for a similar price to what would it cost to purchase them altogether from the Crunchyroll Store (excluding postage).

Physical Contents:

O-Card Slipcase with clean artwork
Amaray case packaging
14-page Special Booklet

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Aniplex of America
Released: 22nd November 2022

The limited edition Blu-ray release for The Irregular at Magic High School: Reminiscence Arc contains the television special on a single Blu-ray disc, which was authored and encoded by Aniplex of America.

The set includes the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and the Bang Zoom! English dub commissioned by Aniplex of America with optional English subtitles for the on-screen text.

The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the Blu-ray disc is region accessible to players set to A & B.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	Japanese, English
Audio	Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 English Linear PCM 2.0
Video	1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio
Region	A B
Subtitles	English, English (On-Screen Text)
Locked Subtitles	No
Discs	1 BD-50

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

Special New Years Greeting (00:22 runtime)
PVs & CMs:
- Announcement PV (00:32 runtime)
- CM 1 (00:17 runtime)
- PV 1 (01:47 runtime)
- CM 2 (00:48 runtime)
- Package CM (00:33 runtime)