Lone Wolf and Cub 5: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (DVD – AnimEigo)

Still available on DVD nearly five years after release, AnimEigo’s licensed and uncut U.S. release of LONE WOLF AND CUB: BABY CART IN THE LAND OF DEMONS remains a pricy yet worthwhile collector’s item unless opting for the label’s six-disc box set which contains all six of the LONE WOLF AND CUB films.

For the sake of clarity, this disc review is of the original, uncut Japanese-language version with English subtitles translated by the label. AnimEigo has also released a separate, English-language version of this movie under the title of SHOGUN ASSASSIN 4: FIVE FISTFULS OF GOLD. As stated in other LONE WOLF AND CUB disc reviews, it is unclear why AnimEigo was unable to put both language tracks on the same disc. My guess would be that it had to do with licensing. Unfortunately, this means completists would have to buy both discs separately to get both tracks which could cost up to $50.

AnimEigo’s strengths as a meticulous, fan-driven genre distributor shine through as usual in the quality anamorphic presentation, original Japanese audio and custom subtitles. The picture is grainy, doesn’t quite fill a widescreen display to the edges, and it does exhibit digital artifacts upon close inspection. The culprits are likely an imperfect source print and budget authoring equipment.

English subtitles are well written but the multi-coloring is a distraction. A second, limited subtitle option that appears on many of AnimEigo’s releases is not explained and should have been ditched as it could lead to less tech-savvy viewers selecting it by mistake and wondering why their subtitles don’t appear correctly.

Cover and menu art is B-grade, largely because of their choice of colors and fonts. This is an area where the label has gradually improved since as evidenced by their subsequent SHOGUN ASSASSIN releases.

DVD-ROM users may experience problems navigating some menus with the mouse because hotspots have not been mapped properly. This should not be a problem when using remote controllers with a standard DVD player.

Trailers – Original (and optionally subtitled) chambara trailers for LONE WOLF AND CUB 5: BABY CART IN THE LAND OF DEMONS, LONE WOLF AND CUB 6: WHITE HEAVEN, ZATOICHI’S CONSPIRACY, and LADY SNOWBLOOD.

Program Notes – The disc contains four “pages” of notes with information on the LONE WOLF AND CUB manga and various Japanese cultural topics referenced in the movie. AnimEigo commonly includes such notes that often have more to do with general Japanese culture and history than the movie. The effort is appreciated but it’s basically sidebar info anyone could find in greater depth on Wikipedia.

Format: Region 1 NTSC DVD
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English
Length: 89 minutes
Release Date: 2004.06.08