Unboxing: The Heroic Legend of Arslan – Series 1 Part 2 (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray) [UK]

Universal Pictures UK continues to produce high-quality Collector’s Edition sets and this tradition continues with their latest release of The Heroic Legend of Aslan – Series 1 Part 2. So what can one expect to receive from this novel-turned-into-anime release? Well let’s take a look in our latest unboxing article!

As per usual we start with the outer packaging and as always we are presented with a chipboard art box thats top-loading; a tradition which originally started with Universal Pictures UK’s first Collector’s Edition release of Seraph of the End. Once again the art box is strong and durable and it also has the ‘premium quality’ feel to it as opposed to Anime Limited’s and FUNimations glossy boxes. In regards to artwork then we have two major pieces of artwork; both highlighting important characters of the series and both looking pretty spectacular.

Of course the art work on the back of the box is covered by an information sheet, which can easily be peeled away, and the information sheet continues the trend of featuring vast amounts of information – such as Japanese staff lists, a list of the content included and a synopsis of what happens in this second half of the series.

Moving on to the inside of the packaging we find twelve art-cards, four character trading cards, a poster,a premium-quality 100-page book and a digi pack holding the two Blu-ray discs.

By now we already know what to expect from the discs, namely twelve episodes spread-across the two discs in both English and Japanese (with other languages also included) as well as a small selection of bonus materials (such as textless songs and comedy shorts) with the disc artwork being cluttered with various logos and universal’s general branding. The digi-pack is also a similar design to past releases as well; with each side of box featuring some form of artwork – all of which are printed to the highest quality.

The art-cards, trading cards and poster – although produced to a high quality and feature unique artwork – are nothing really to brag about; instead it is the 100-page book that deserves the most attention. For starters unlike the books included with Anime Limited releases it has been produced with a rubbery feel, rather than glossy, to the surface while the pages themselves feel thick and rugged. It’s a different type of experience to anything i’ve seen previously.

The same can also be said for the content of the book; as (just like the NEO Magazine) the book is separated into two different segments. One half of the book features concept animation drawings and sketches while the other half of the book features episode breakdowns, factual information about the series and generic artwork.

Once again Universal Pictures UK continues to produce high-quality Collector’s Edition sets and while The Heroic Legend of Aslan is (at times) a relatively mediocre series the contents and presentation of this set is nothing but exceptional.

The Heroic Legend of Aslan – Series 1 Part 2 will be available as a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and Collector’s Edition DVD from the 26th December 2016.