Simple, but standard.

Karin’s presentation is a simple one. It’s got cute animation style that’s reflected on the main cover, featuring Karin, her sister Anju, and her friend Maki. But, I’ve noticed that Geneon has a penchant for making dual jacket covers, viewable through clear DVD casing. On the reverse jacket the two sides are illustrations of Karin; one of her stirring batter and another in her holiday attire—there is no DVD detail side to the reverse jacket, only the primary cover. Also inside is a slip for release dates for the Karin DVDs, and on its reverse side is an illustration of Karin and her oversexed brother Ren. The DVD menu is simply artwork of Karin (her holiday image from the jacket) and screen caps of episode scenes dotting the background of the simplified menus. The English voice cast was only so-so—a bit goofier than the series requires. The Japanese cast, however, wasn’t terribly much better, but they did fit the characters better. All in all, Karin’s presentation is no more and no less the standard for most anime DVDs these days.

Extras? Karin has them…

…But they’re not as voluminous as one might hope for. You only get three Geneon trailers, which are usually above the standard for most trailers. The titles you get a preview of are Gankutsuo, Hannaukyo Maid Team, and Doko Doki School Hours. DVD credits are also part of the extra content, but this is nothing of real import except for trivial matters. If you bought this volume of Karin hoping for gratuitous extras, then you’ve bought it for the wrong reasons.

Does it make your blood warm?

All in All, Karin is a really cute series. There are moments of drama (it is a romance, after all), but it’s a balancing act between the drama and wackiness that gets pulled off quite well. Karin is also an extremely easy series to jump into. The characters are easy to pin down without being quite archetypical, and the story progresses as such that you can easily figure out what’s going on. Karin is the perfect anime for most anime fans of any sort and it’s a fun addition to a well-rounded collection. It may not be loaded with nifty extras or extra pretty packaging, but the anime itself makes up the lack, and that’s all that matters.