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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...