Unboxing: Patema Inverted – Ultimate Edition [UK]

The Ultimate Edition of Patema Inverted all began as a Kickstarter attempt by Anime Limited, and while the overall campaign was a success the end result of the Ultimate Edition was even better; and today we are going to take a look at that end result.

So whats exactly included with the Ultimate Edition of Patema Inverted? Well as standard it includes both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the animated movie, a replica of the Lagos letter and a 164 page artbook featuring all types of concept drawings, information and a list of names that supported the Kickstarter project. Additionally, on the disc itself, we are treated to a wealth of bonus content in the form of interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, promotional trailers and – even more surprisingly – alternate angles for the film itself. Of course thats not all; as the Ultimate Edition also contains the films soundtrack on a seperate CD.

All of this ‘magical’ content comes housed within some extremely unique, but collectable, packaging. For instance the discs come placed inside a fold-out card as opposed to a case; whereas both this carded packaging and artbox then slide into a chipboard artbox – think FUNimation but a lot taller. To Wrap-up the presentation a carded sleeve goes around it; a sleeve whereby all the information of this release is presented to avoid any disruptive markings on the artwork of the chipboard box. It all goes together quite well; although for some reason my sleeve was damaged during production.

It really is a unique collectors piece, and it shows that Anime Limited what to do something truly unique for this release, but ultimately it can lead to problems. For starters over time all of the packaging materials will become creased, dented and torn – the card which houses the discs also feel a bit flimsy due to how much space is ‘not being used’ with the plastic disc holders – additionally the disc holders themselves are different to the norm and can prove problematic.

In retrospect the packaging, presentation and contents are all out of this world; but in terms of particality it will no doubt become a nuisance for those who wish to watch the film time and time again.

Patema Inverted is now available on Blu-ray in three different variations; a standard release, a collectors edition release and then this Ultimate Edition release – with each version containing something extra and, more importantly, a different packaging design.