Street Date: 07/31/12 – July 31st, 2012
Closed Captioning: Yes
MSRP: $19.97
Packaging Type: Eco Amaray Case
Media Quantity: 2
Disc Configuration: DVD 9
Product Language: English
Original Soundtrack Language: English
Run Time: Over 4 Hours
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (16×9)
Episodes:
1. Alpha Male
2. Revelation
3. Humanity
4. Failsafe
5. Disordered
6. Secrets
7. Misplaced
8. Coldhearted
9. Image
10. Agendas
11. Insecurity
12. Performance
13. Usual Suspects
14. Auld Acquaintance
Synopsis: Back for another round Robin, Superboy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Artemis band together to rid the world of evil and prove they’re not just kids anymore. Between attacks from the magical deviant and Lord of Chaos Klarion, and threats from the newly formed Injustice League, the crew has their work cut out for them as they travel the globe maintaining justice. With the possibility of a traitor within the group and the absence of the Justice League, the group turns their attention on each other, coming together, and proving they have what it takes to truly be called superheroes!
Review:
The final fourteen episodes from the first season of Young Justice arrive on home video, and unsurprisingly continue the strong run from the first twelve (already released). The animation is still top-notch, characters just as lovable, the writing stellar … basically everything is nearly perfect here. Yes, we do get some episodes that aren’t as strong as others, but the overall quality is ridiculously strong. I could easily gush about this show for quite some time. With these final fourteen episodes, essentially the second-half of the first season, things slowly ramp up to wrap up a host of first season plots, including going head-to-head with The Light. And, for the most part, the show succeeds. For the most part.
Many factors make this a successful series, but the world-building plays such a huge role in the overall story for the series. The world grows and expands with each episode, but it’s done so in such a natural way that it never feels forced. And learning about this world is crucial to understanding The Light and their goals. We’re learning about this great world, sometimes along with the team, but we’re usually following The Team’s lead. As dense and complicated as the DC Universe is, something they don’t shy away from here, producers Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti are able to make it pretty open. It’s easy to get caught up in the overwhelming nature of everything, but the creative team able to use that to their advantage by dropping us into this obviously lived-in world and making these adventures, and this team, matter. Nothing is introduced because it’s “cool,” nope. It’s introduced because it matters.
Episode-specific reviews can be found elsewhere on this site, but overall this series is firing well on all cylinders. While the resolution of some of the ongoing plot threads such as the truth of Artemis’s family ties, Superboy’s hidden addiction, and Miss Martian’s true form are handled in a somewhat disappointing manner, the big threat that this series has been pushing since the first episode comes to head in a very satisfying season finale. And, actually, there’s even a few new secrets revealed in those final moments that will have fans counting the minutes until the next DVD release (and hopefully Blu-ray at some point) for this great series. And part of the reason why these story threads feel so important and impactful is because, during the course of this first season, we’ve found ourselves caring about these characters quite quickly.
The episodes included here, naturally, push things so far ahead. Sometimes the results are shocking, other times just. It’s just a solid collection of episodes for a solid, solid series. We get some standalone tales, yes, but everything feels connected and important. There’s no filler here, despite what it may seem at times. Each episode is just…excellent to watch. Yes, some are better than others, but each episode is watchable. There’s not a stinker in the bunch, folks. Fans of Young Justice already know this, of course. For those who haven’t tried out the series yet, be prepared.
Moving on to the DVD, things improve significantly with this new Young Justice: Dangerous Secrets – Season One, Part Two DVD release. Yeah, the bonus features are still non-existent, but here … we get fourteen episodes spread over two discs. No single-disc volume release here, but a substantial collection of episodes. A digital comic and a selection of trailers make up the entirely of the bonus content, but with 14 episodes included it almost doesn’t seem like an issue. With seven episodes to a disc, the A/V quality here is pretty solid. Audio is a standard English Stereo mix and the video presentation is an anamorphic widescreen encode, resulting in a surprisingly stunning image. Still, this is a show aching for a Blu-ray release (and we all know it’d be a big seller, Blu-ray is the new default format). While I still wouldn’t write off a The Complete First Season release down the road, it’s hard to say if we’ll get that based on the release pattern of other titles in the Cartoon Network DVD library.
That being said, why not just call this release “Volume Four?” The “Part Two” tag looks a bit odd on the shelf next to the three previous single-disc titles.
Taking everything into account, fans really can’t miss this release. There’s no guarantee of a complete season collection be it on DVD and Blu-ray and there’s enough content on this title to warrant plunking down $15 or $20. Each episode on this collection is thoroughly enjoyable, some more than others, and the amount of episodes gives this collection a nice hefty run time. While the lack of extras remains frustrating, it’s certainly not a deal-breaker. Young Justice: Dangerous Secrets – Season One, Part Two comes Highly Recommended. 14 episodes of one of the best action cartoons currently on television? Yeah, don’t pass this one up.
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