The Show:
Even though Shadow Skill the series originally came out in 1998, it hadn't found its way onto DVD until recently. The show is based off of a few OVA from 1995 and 1996, but essentially follows the same characters and core concept. The tone has been changed a little bit to offer up a more lighthearted affair, but fans of the various OVA will appreciate the similarities between the two. All of this of course got its start as a manga, which was created by Mugumu Okada.
The series is a fast paced anime with a fantasy setting and a lot of combat. It focuses on a disproportionate woman named Elle Ragu who happens to be a revered warrior known as the 59th Sevalle. The Sevalle are honored among the Karuda people as their most skilled fighters and many have ascended to historical ranks among their culture. The current king is a Sevalle known as Scarface, but Elle has a long way to go before she can rule anything other than her own fighting skills.
As with many anime series, Elle tends to over do it sometimes while she's fighting (or drinking) and tends to cause more damage than she can pay for. Because of that she and her brother are constantly in debt and have to take odd jobs in order to make a little bit of money. Unfortunately for the pair, Elle is extremely stubborn and arrogant, so that often leads the two into trouble. Luckily Gau (her brother) is a skilled warrior as well and thinks with a clearer head than she does most of the time. Together they roam the countryside looking for stuff to do, but they aren't totally alone. A magically inclined woman named Folli tags along with them, as does a demon hunter girl named Kyuo Lyu.
In the last volume Kyuo's feelings for Gau were revealed and this prompted more than a budding romance. A white haired guy named Lo stepped into the picture to proclaim his love for Kyuo and vowed to defeat Gau at any cost. The travelers were also on their way to the holy city for a peace ceremony and there was a lot of character development. We especially saw bits of history for Gau and Elle, but Folli's character got fleshed out as well.
This time around things pick up at the holy city and the ceremony of peace is well underway. Elle finds herself struggling with the formality of it all, though it doesn't help that she's taunted by one of the other Devas. This feral fight goads Elle into a fight that explodes the tempers of the nobles that get caught in the fray. Gau and Kyuo also go on something that I'd guess you could call a date, though it's interrupted by Lo. After all is said and done Elle is summoned to the kingdom of Karuda to help defend against a Solfan threat. The show takes on a serious tone as the two nations are on the verge of war and our heroes get dragged into the thick of it all.
The main part of the Solfan strike is aimed at taking down the Holy Nation and a mysterious order is pulling the strings. There is a woman named Gana Gig that lures Elle away from the rest of the fight in order to see what she's all about. Gana is an interesting character who is reminiscent of the snake handed warrior from the last volume since she can shoot panthers from her fingertips. Diaz Ragu also finds himself in the middle of everything and has a big target on his forehead. Fortunately for him Gau and company make their way to his side to save him from the surrounding army. The tone of this arc is much more serious than I've come to expect from Shadow Skill, but once all is said and done the show goes back to the happy-go-lucky roots.
This volume features a lot of fighting and a very serious tone, which is something that the show hasn't done a lot of. Up to this point there have been moments where the story would take a somber but for the most part it has an upbeat attitude with a lot of humor. The real surprise here was that there were actually three episodes included on this volume, compared to four on the prior two. Even so, the last episode here is really a catch up story filled with a lot of flashbacks and minimal plot. If you're a fan of fighting anime you'll want to check this series out.
The DVD:
Video:
With production of the show being done in the late 90s, the quality is obviously not going to be as strong as a title put together now-a-days. The DVD is presented with a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio, which is fine, but the image suffers from several artifact flaws. There is quite a bit of grain, speckle, aliasing, cross coloration and some blur to be found in the picture. Many of the colors for this show appear to be very washed out in many parts, but there are times when the show looks vibrant; especially when it's spraying blood everywhere. The series almost looks as if the production predates the time that it was actually put together and it's not a look that is really beneficial.
Audio:
Both soundtracks available on Shadow Skill are presented with 2.0 stereo, so if you were hoping for a 5.1 English dubbing, you're going to be left out in the cold. As it stands the voiceovers are very good for both tracks though the English selection offered a couple of poor dubs. I also preferred the original Japanese language, because at times the English sounded like it was coming from a tin can. The quality is alright for a 2.0 audio presentation, but even so there's little to no directionality and everything seems to come across at the same volume.
Extras:
Usually with these types of shows all you really see for bonus material is a clean opening and ending animation reel. Fortunately for the Shadow Skill series we've been getting better treatment and this volume includes a commentary track with Greg Ayres (Gau Ragu) and Christine Auten (Folli). The talk about the ninth episode of the series and while there may be a lot of play-by-play commentary, for the most part it's an entertaining track. All that's really left to round things out are a handful of ADV previews.
Final Thoughts:
Shadow Skill is proving to be an interesting fighting/fantasy anime with a lot of personality and action. This volume changes the tone of the series a little bit and shows that it can be very serious when it wants to be. The fight with the Solfan forces is intense and it certainly kicks Gau's character development up a notch. Up to this point the show hasn't done a lot to peak my interest, but I do have to admit that I was on the edge of my seat for most of the action here.
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