Stylishly cool, action-packed and overall fantastic! “K- The Complete Series†was an entertaining and awesome anime series from beginning to end!
Image courtesy of © GoRA – GoHands/K-Project. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: K – The Complete Series
DURATION: Episodes 1-13 (300 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: 16×9 Widescreen, 2.0 Stereo Surround Sound, Bilingual (Japanese & English), English Subtitles
COMPANY: Viz Media
RATED: TV 14
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Original Creator: GoRa
Series Director: Hiromitsu Kanazawa, Susumu Kudo
Director: Shingo Suzuki
Series Composition: GoRa, Tatsuki Miyazawa
Music by Miko Endo
Character Design: Shingo Suzuki
Art Director: Masanobu Nomura
Chief Animation Director: Makoto Furuta
Anime Production: GoHands
Featuring the following voice talent:
 Daisuke Namikawa/Sam Regal as Yashiro Isana
Daisuke Ono/Matthew Mercer as Kuroh Yatogami
Kenjiro Tsuda/Keith Silverstein as Mikoto Suoh
Mikako Komatsu/Stephanie Sheh as Neko
Tomokazu Sugita/Patrick Seitz as Reisi Munakata
Jun Fukuyama/Ben Diskin as Misaki Yata
Mamoru Miyano/Johnny Yong Bosch as Saruhiko Fushimi
Miyuki Sawashiro/Tara Platt as Seri Awashima
Satomi Satou /Carrie Savageas Kukuri Yukizome
Sho Hayami/Grant George as Miwa Ichigen
Shozo Iizuka/Kirk Thornton as Daikaku Kokujouji
Takahiro Sakurai/Todd Haberkorn as Izumo Kusanagi
Tetsuya Kakihara/Lucien Dodge as Adolf K. Weisman
Yui Horie/Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Anna Kushina
YÅ«ichi Nakamura/Grant George as Rikio Kamamoto
Yuuki Kaji/Lucien Dodge as Tatara Totsuka
Shiro is an easygoing teenager content with just being a student – until his seemingly perfect life is halted when a bloodthirsty clan, glowing red with fire, attempts to kill him in the streets. Unbeknownst to Shiro, he is suspected of murdering a member of their clan and will need a miracle to escape their vengeance. Miraculously, a young man named Kuroh Yatogami swings in and aids Shiro in his getaway, only to reveal he’s also after Shiro’s life.
Now a hunted man, Shiro will have to evade the clans of seven powerful kings and desperately try to prove his innocence – before it’s too late!
In 2012, studio GoHands and director/character designer Shingo Suzuki’s (“Mardock Scramble” films, “Coppelion”, “Gravion”) anime series titled “K” began airing on television in Japan via MBS.
The anime series would go on to launch manga prequels, light novels, a visual novel and a sequel film slated for a summer 2014 release.
And now, “K – The Complete Series” was released on Blu-ray and DVD in February 2014.
“K” revolves around a teenager named Yashiro “Shiro” Isana, a happy-go-lucky teenager.
What would appear to be a happy day of finding a small cat which he calls “Neko” and just a normal teenage life, his life is changed when he is attacked by Misaki Yata of the faction known as HOMRA. As Shiro tries to outrun him, he is pursued by more of the Red Clansmen of HOMRA.
But all of a sudden, he is rescued by Kuroh “The Black Dog” Yatogami, a swordsman who is hunting down the next “Colorless King” and serves the late King and master, Ichigen Miwa.
But as the Red Clansmen leave when they see Kuroh, what Shiro believes Kuroh to be a friend is actually a person who is wanting to hunt him and kill him.
Shiro is then shown a video of a future in which he murders Tatara Totsuka, a popular member from Homra. And Shiro is seen, claiming to be the next “Colorless King”. But Shiro claims he is not the person in the video. The person looks like him, but it’s not him. So, Kuroh gives him the benefit of the doubt to prove his innocence.
To make Shiro’s day even more stranger is when his cat Neko turns into a human cat girl who has pledge to serve Shiro and help prove his innocence. Meanwhile, factions such as HOMRA and SCEPTER 4 are after Shiro.
The main characters of “K” are:
- Yashiro “Shiro” Isana – The main protagonist who is a normal high student who is being pursued by factions who believe he murdered Tatara Totsuka of HOMRA. A video was show of Shiro shooting Tatara Totsuka and claiming to be “The Colorless King”. Yet, Yashiro claims his innocence.
- Kuroh Yatogami – A swordsman serving the late king and master, Ichigen Miwa. A man of honor, despite having a cold exterior, he is on the hunt for the next “Colorless King”. Despite having video footage of Shiro killing Tatara Totsuka, he is giving Shiro a chance to prove his innocence.
- Neko – A cat that Shiro found, she mysteriously changes to a girl and will do anything for Shiro.
- Mikoto Shou – The Red King and leader of HOMRA. Held in custody by SCEPTER 4.
- Izumo Kusanagi – The second in command of HOMRA and owner of the Bar HOMRA.
- Misaki Yata – A member of HOMRA who is a skateboarder.
- Anna Kushina – The youngest and only female member of HOMRA who will do anything for Mikoto.
- Reisi Munakata – The Blue Kiong and head of the Special Task Force Unit SCEPTER 4. Enemy of Mikoto.
- Seri Awashima – Second-in-Command the only female member of SCEPTER 4.
- Saruhiko Fushimi – A former member of HOMRA and current member of SCEPTER 4. A man with a bad attitude.
- Kukuri Yukizome – Yashiro’s friend who often tries to help Kuroh find Shiro.
VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“K – The Complete Series” is an anime series that is known for its many characters, it’s beautiful art backgrounds and detailed artwork. The look and feel of “K” is colorful and stylish and definitely one of the cooler looking 13-episode anime series thanks to the production value. Cool character designs, awesome background art, it’s a beautiful anime series.
But I recommend for anyone who wants the best picture and audio quality, to check out the Blu-ray release of “K – The Complete Series”. On DVD, picture quality does look good!
Since the series is front channel driven, for those with a modern home theater receiver probably will enjoy a more immersive soundscape by selecting stereo on all channels. But the voice acting in Japanese and English Dolby Digital Stereo are both well-done!
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“K – The Complete Series” comes with the following special features:
- K Events – US Convention Highlights – Highlights of “K” cosplayers at Anime Expo 2013 and the English dub voice talent.
- Clean Opening/Ending
- K Trailers
- More from Viz Media – Viz Media trailers
Stylishly cool, action-packed and so much fun! “K- The Complete Series” was an entertaining and awesome anime series from beginning to end!
What draws you into the series is no doubt the beautiful visuals but also its storyline of one teenager who happens to be hunted down by various factions for his killing of a popular member of the faction HOMRA.
Yashiro “Shiro” Isana seems like your average go-lucky type of guy until he becomes the hunted and with Kuroh Yatogami on his side (more like giving him a chance to prove his innocence or else he will slay him), it’s a rather interesting storyline with each episode building up to something more exciting with more twists along the way.
It’s one of the major positive draws of the series is its steady pacing, its attention to character building storylines and of course, the wonderful character design and art backgrounds. And aside from beautiful visuals, the acting on both Japanese and English soundtracks are also well-done.
While my review is for the DVD version, I strongly recommend the Blu-ray version if you do prefer better picture quality. Special features are limited but I did enjoy the short convention highlight from Anime Expo 2013.
Overall, “K – The Complete Series” turned out to be a fantastic, stylish anime series. It’s easily accessible thanks to its 13-episode storyline but it’s one of the cooler anime series I have seen for 2014.
If you are looking for an action-driven storyline with gorgeous visuals, “K – The Complete Series” is highly recommended!
