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Lion-Girl – Cleopatra Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 2023
Director: Kurando Mitsutake
Writer: Kurando Mitsutake
Cast: Derek Mears, Julie Burrise, Stefanie Estes, Shelby Lee Parks, Erin Marie Hogan, David Sakurai, Tori Griffith, Kirk Geiger, Wes Armstrong, Katarina Leigh Waters

Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 122 Minutes 16 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English/Japanese, Dolby Digital Stereo English/Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $19.95

"In the year 20XX, humanity has almost come to an end. A tsunami of meteors bombarded the entire planet. There were a very small number of survivors. They kill each other for more food, more power, causing 30 years of bloody civil war. The meteorites contain a mysterious ray inside the rock. If a human being is exposed to this ray, the cells in the body mutate and destroy themselves, causing certain death. But in very rare cases, some humans survive the exposure. Those who get exposed to the space ray and survive undergo a metamorphosis into horrific "meteorite beasts". People call them 'ANOROC'. ANOROC hunt and kill human beings for their lifeforce. ANOROC are the true enemy of humankind.

Now, the Earth has the last defender of humanity against ANOROC; her name is 'LION-GIRL', a superhero Yakuza fighter and a true pursuer of Ninkyo." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Lion-Girl comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.5 GB

Feature: 11.7 GB

Flesh tones and colors look correct, the image looks crisp, black levels are strong, and compression looks good.

Audio: 4/5 (Dolby Digital 5.1 English/Japanese, Dolby Digital Stereo English/Japanese)

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English and Japanese and a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English and Japanese. Both audio tracks sound clear, balanced, and robust when they should. Included are non-removable English subtitles for Japanese dialog.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a slideshow, a trailer for Lion-Girl (1 minute 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a conversation with Japanese Manga Legend Go Nagai (28 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), an introduction by Go Nagai (48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), a Q&A with director Kurando Mitsutake and the cast at the Hollywood theatrical premier of Lion-Girl (31 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled The Making of Lion-Girl (59 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Kurando Mitsutake.

Other extras include trailers for Shin Ultraman, Escape from Area 51, The Rift, Devil’s Revenge, and Life After Flash.

Summary:

Having previously seen adaptations of Go Nagai’s Cutie Honey and Devilman, I went into Lion Girl with high expectations. Though Lion-Girl has many elements that are in those two aforementioned Go Nagai series that I had previously seen, the result is a film that has more negatives than positives.

The narrative takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which humanity's only hope against mutant beasts is a woman named Lion Girl.

The initial setup does a good job establishing who everyone is and what their motivations are. Besides doing a good job when it comes to backstory, the narrative also does a good job balancing exposition and action sequences. Also, when it comes to the action sequences, they tend to be very gory.

The performances are best described as enthusiastic. With many performances falling into over-the-top territory, especially when it comes to the villains, the standout performance is by Tori Griffith in the role of Lion-Girl. She does a great job convincingly portraying her character, and her characters provide an ample amount of fanfare. Also, there is a surprising amount of nudity in Lion-Girl, male and female.

At just over two hours in length, there are many times when the narrative starts to drag, which kills any momentum. Also, in so many areas, Lion-Girl looks low-budget, and nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to the CGI and special effects. Content-wise, there are many elements in Lion-Girl like fake news, a deadly virus, and an overarching government that mirror recent times. Though it is clear that most of those involved in the making of Lion-Girl are fans of Go Nagai, it is the execution that ultimately undermines Lion-Girl.

Lion-Girl gets a solid release from Cleopatra Entertainment that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras.