Having watched my limited edition DVD a couple of times now I think I can say with conviction that it was well worth the money.
Picture and sound quality of the concert DVD are excellent, especially considering the constraints M:N had to work with: poor organisation on the ground, an unfamiliar venue that was so small and so crammed full with people that there was barely any room for the cameras to move around and a sound system that left a lot to be desired. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), I think the DVD captures the raw energy of the live and the charged-up mood within the audience very well. There is the occasional awkward camera angle or glare from the lighting system, due to which some of the best parts of the live – e.g. Mana, Juka, Kazuno and K standing together at the edge of the stage during Ange and Juka spinning to Pageant – don't come across as well as they could have but nevertheless I think it gives a good impression of what an incredible live act M10M are.
The extras are very enjoyable too. The Munich and Paris live documentaries were recorded with a handicam, which unfortunately makes for poor sound quality but at the same time it gives a lovely "fly on the wall" feel. Watching the band's backstage antics and their nervousness immediately before going onstage to play outside Japan for the very first time is priceless. My only regret is that there is no footage of the autograph event in Munich but, given the controversy surrounding it, perhaps that's something Mana would rather not remind us of.
I think the Shibuya AX digest is a little short. I would have preferred it to be more like the Munich and Paris documentaries with the live performance of Unmoved at the end but given the circumstances (Juka having announced his departure from M10M only days before) it is perhaps not surprising that we aren't seeing more.
The travel diaries (AKA: "Sightseeing and Posing with Mana") are great fun, as is the image shooting documentary, but my favourite apart from the Munich and Paris live documentaries is the Japan Expo documentary, especially Mana playing with the giant inflatable Orangina bottle and posing in EGL for the Magnifique photo book. It's amazing how his usually very masculine movements change to ultra feminine as soon as he puts on a dress!
The only thing I'm a little disappointed with is the photo "book", which is really a photo booklet. I had expected it to be a bit more substantial but the photos are very beautiful, so oh well...
Overall I think M:N have once again produced a solid release that will be a treasure in every fan's collection!
I also think the extras are very well divided between the regular edition and the limited edition: you can buy the regular edition without missing out on anything essential to do with M10M's first tour outside Japan (e.g. the live documentaries and the Shibuya AX digest), whereas hardcore Mana fans can get some additional extras that won't necessarily interest more casual fans (e.g. Mana's travel diaries and photo shoot documentaries) by buying the limited edition. I really hate it when someone produces 2 versions of the same product where, despite major overlaps, it is impossible to not buy both versions if you don't want to lose out in a major way, or having to buy a very expensive luxury edition that includes lots of non-essential stuff in order to get something absolutely essential. That's definitely not the case with this DVD, so well done M:N!
eyeball_princess wrote:
am I really the only one who noticed that Mana's guitar is barely audible?
I was expecting everyone to state that but seemingly no XD;
I think Mana's guitar is quite prominent. In fact, I think it is almost a little too prominent at times, e.g. during Nocturnal Romance it is sometimes the only thing I hear.
Shadows Paradox X wrote:
i spotted geisha a couple times. she was the one with jewels on her forehead correct?
Yes, that's me.