The Series (3/5)

    Familiar of Zero: Rondo of Princesses is the third series of the Familiar of Zero anime. The property began as a series of Japanese light novels that ran for 20 volumes, and was on the verge of conclusion (the plan was for 22 volumes) when the author Noboru Yamaguchi died of cancer in 2013. The anime adaptation which had it's first season released by Geneon in 2008, is now being completed on Blu-ray by Section 23. 

    The first series started airing in 2006, and concluded after 4 seasons and an OVA in 2012. The series is an effective mix of comedy, fantasy, and drama. Rondo of Princesses picks up following the events of season 2, and sees Saito, newly married, and also newly dead, and finally resurrected. His death signaled the end of his attachment to Louise, his familiar, and the series explores their relationship from the perspective of not two entities bound to another by force, but by choice.

    The series fells very similar to the second season in that it begins with a problem that will become the narrative drive for the series, in this case the death and resurrection of Saito. It then uses that to reestablish the characters and setting before letting go of it for a time to further expand the universe. It then plows head-first into the main narrative toward the conclusion.

    The series is a pretty brisk watch, with a lot to keep the viewers attention, and a fun atmosphere even in places where heavy drama might be expected. The animation from J.C. Staff is quite vibrant and fitting to the material.

Audio/Video (4/5)

    Familiar of Zero: Rondo of Princesses comes to Blu-ray from Section 23 in a fantastic 1:78:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer. The show looks simply gorgeous, with excellent, vibrant colors, deep black, and wonderful detail. 

    The audio is presented in a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track in Japanese. The track is quite good with dialogue, score, and effects being mixed nicely, and no issues with the audio to report. 

Extras (1/5)

    A clean opening and closing are offered.

Overall

   I had a lot of fun with Familiar of Zero: Rondo of Princesses.  It's a interesting and fun anime series that doesn't take itself all too seriously, where other shows with similar plots might choose to do so.  The Blu-ray looks spectacular, but again lacks extras. RECOMMENDED.