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Marvel Anime: Iron Man
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Plot Summary:
Tony Stark arrives in Japan to help implement his goal of world peace by building the Arc Reactor, a carbon-neutral power plant, that once operational will be able to provide limitless (thus free) energy to the world. Set to retire his Iron Man persona, and about to mass-produce a line of Iron Man armor known as “Iron Man Dio,” Stark’s plans are derailed by a series of high tech Mech monsters. Zodiac, a top secret organization funded by the terrorist group A.I.M. is out to disrupt the Arc Station, steal the Dio armor and put an end to Iron Man. The Armored Avenger’s fight is only just beginning. The Iron Man Anime stars Adrian Pasdar as the voice of Tony Stark.

DVD Bonus Features:
-Re-Imagining Iron Man explores the plot and themes of the anime series
-21st Century Hero: The Technology of Iron Man introduces fans to Tony Stark’s high-tech suits and gadgets
-Special Cross Talk round table discussion with the creators of the Iron Man and Wolverine anime series
-Voicing Tony Stark, an interview with Japanese actor, Keiji Fujiwara
-Trailers

Street Date: April 24th, 2012
Release Format: Two-Disc DVD
Suggested Retail Price: $14.99 (US only)
Feature Run Time: Approx. run time 287 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen (Enhanced for 16X9 televisions)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound
Languages: English (US) 5.1, Japanese 5.1

Iron Man hits DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and the studio has provided a fine – though basic – two-disc DVD release for the title. Not overflowing with content, but still a substantial amount of extra features.

The audio and video is pretty top-notch. The video, best I can tell, is pretty much flawless save for the occasional banding. But even the banding is far and few in-between, and very easy to miss. The intentional soft look to the series helps present a polished finish nearly free of blemishes. The video quality is really surprising, and the same goes for the audio. The Iron Man DVD has a very boisterous and loud mix, usually giving the entire sound system a nice workout. The mix is center-based, but still gives a nice immersive experience when the action really kicks up. The default language setting is Japanese with English subtitles, but that can be quickly altered to your preference with a quick trip through the set-up menu. A very nice presentation, all in all.

Taking a peak at the bonus features here, what we get is some pretty interesting details for those looking to learn more on this anime project. “The Marvel Anime Universe: Re-Imagining Iron Man,” “Voicing Tony Stark: Interview with Keiji Fujiwara,” and “21st Century Hero: The Technology of Iron Man” explore why the creators behind the series chose the X-Men as one of the anime projects and why Iron Man works in this style. It’s mostly talking head and EPK-type material, but given how short some of these run, you won’t be wasting much time going through these. The “Special Cross Talk Session: Marvel Anime’s Iron Man and Wolverine” looks to be on older featurette or documentary carried over onto the release (from a TV special, perhaps?). It’s actually fairly interesting and worth a watch, clocking in at a fairly impressive 30-ish minutes.

Overall, Iron Man is a worthwhile installment of the Marvel Anime line, despite the hiccups here and there. While the onslaught of somewhat repetitive enemies does get a bit tiresome, the characters and their respective personalities does manage to save the series. Toss in some solid animation and voice acting and it’s a fairly good product overall. It does have the tendency to drag or get off-track on occasion, but overall I found it pretty fun, mostly thanks to the enjoyable characters. The best part is … it feels like Iron Man. And, thankfully, the DVD release itself is also an enjoyable affair, especially for those well-versed in anime. I assume those viewers will get more out of the bonus features than casual viewers like myself. The extras are nice and informative and add a nice layer to the overall Iron Man experience. A great DVD release for a solid Iron Man cartoon, but fingers crossed for a Blu-ray release down the line...