Very good quality, I didn't notice the lower quality on ep 4 & 5 as the othert person did, so close to the R1's from which they were ripped as to be hardly noticeable.

Very good, basic stereo, very good in surround sound mode on a digitial receiver.

Very good, basic stereo, very good in surround sound mode on a digitial receiver.

This box set can be a little hard to find but is definetly worth the effort, as for the series itself-fantastic, freely mixing mythlogical elements from Japan and China with originial componets, very well done and like a good book in keeping your intrest engaged. I, like many others was disappointed that it didn't come to a proper end-maybe they will finish it-but don't hold your breath waiting. 9 out of 10 possible stars rating. 48 bucks beats 270 for the R1 release.

The video for this entire set is splendid. The episodes are evenly distributed across the 6 dvds, each having 7 or 8 episodes each. Most all episodes are extreamly clear and crisp with a high vbr of 5 to 7. Which you will appreciate greatly, as it is an understatement to say that this series has some of the most beautiful and detailed artwork of most any I have seen. This set has a few small glitches however. On episodes 4-8 the bitrate of the video is a little lower than the rest of the set for some reason. The increased pixilation durring the majority of these episodes is very minor however. The other, more major, glitches are much more noticeable. For a minute or so, until the scene changes, the video gets blocky and flickers slightly. This only happens 3 or 4 times durring episodes 4-8 and do not occure anywhere else in the set. One of the screenshots I posted shows this odd glitch (it is not macroblocking, however simular). This glitch hardly ruins the experiance.

English 2.0 192kps Japanese 2.0 192kps I find it odd that the audio is encoded in a slightly lower than standard 256kps, however the quality seems perfect and clear of any flaws.

English 2.0 192kps Japanese 2.0 192kps I find it odd that the audio is encoded in a slightly lower than standard 256kps, however the quality seems perfect and clear of any flaws.

Case: The cover features the main character and her kyrin, as you can see from the case screenshot. And yes, at the top of the cover "Chapter Seven Reflection" is printed, but please do not let this slightest of flaw deter you. The Inside artwork is excellently layed out. Under each disk his a half circle with an image of some of the characters, all in a storybook style of art. The back cover is also well layed out and is not your typeical generic design. Disk credits are listed as well as a synopsis from one of the R1 dvds from the middle of the series. Disks: Each disk is printed with beautiful artwork. Instead of printing each disk with "Disk 1" they printed "Disk 43701 - 43706". Which can almost seem appropriate as this series feels like it is but few small chapters out of unimagineably huge chronicle. Menus: All the menus are very straight forward. You are greated to the same main menu for each disk, with a simple menu for each chapter, which all of them are animated. Extras: Disks 1-4 have interviews with the director, fully subtitled. And all disks have some trailers on them. Final Thoughts: This is one of the most amazing series I have ever watched. However, it would not be for everyone. It is not about fighting or magic, or your typical fantasy stuff. It is all about the characters and their storys, their pains, hardships and joys as they go through life. The show begins like your typical "spirited away" story. An average, useless, whiney (oh how so whiney) girl is swept from the modern world to one of fantasy, where she finds herself completely lost. You will quickly learn that this story is unlike any of the other spirited away animes (Escaflowne, Inuyasha, Fushigi Yuugi). Our heroin stops whining, fights unreluctantly, and embraces her destiny. And despite being surrounded by hot men she has no love interest. Of course, she is just but one of the many many many characters in these storys which all twine together. I only have a few nags about this show, the first being that one of the storys is left unfinished, the second being that their are four recap episodes, and lastly your brain will hurt from all the new words (there is even a recap episode for all the new words). However, if you enjoy a true epic tale then you will enjoy this.