Movie: Fantastic Children V1 was "a story about a group of children who appear to be immortal and in search of someone who is continually reborn every hundred years. The children are called The Children of Befort though the pacing of the show is such that not a lot of exposition takes place on the first volume of five episodes, so exactly what that means was unclear to me at the time of this initial writing. Apparently, they've wandered the globe as a group, searching for this missing link to the puzzle, for longer than any of them can remember. They are all around 11 years old in the sense that their memories are lost before puberty, forcing them to restart again though they have devised a means to store their memories in crystal form so they'll have a better chance of remembering their quest. In terms of the timeline, it jumps around a bit at first, forcing the viewer to keep a close eye on the screen at all times, with the way the material is edited providing a bit of a challenge for fans to keep up with. As the episodes progress, the jumping around in time gets better (meaning that there is less of it) and the story easier to follow but the nature of the show is such that the director is trying to keep from providing spoilers himself, lending to the pacing that is sure to draw at least some complaints from those of you who enjoy action above all else. The series is largely set in 2012, a near future where things are much like they are currently, with some minor variations. The Befort Children get a lot of the initial attention, introducing them, a loss of one of their party to the authorities, and the introduction of a similar looking young man who is clearly from the same background, though on an opposing side, who is also searching for the missing girl in the mystery. Exactly what she means to all of them and how this will interact with the rest of the world is as yet undiscussed but it is certainly made up to be considered important to the parties searching for her."

Okay, now with the third volume of the series, the show fast forwarded substantially with episodes 11) A Special Person, 12) Enma, 13) Memories of Greecia, and 14) The Path. Without spoiling the show too much for you, here's a quick overview of what took place. The Children of Befort are hot on the trail of Helga, the latest incarnation of someone very important to them for reasons that are finally made clear to the viewer. Thoma tries to lead them away from her path but she has left him too and that puts him in a bind as he sets out to protect her from any and all that might do her harm. He's not sure why but he feels she is in great danger from all the people that want to use her for their own ends and can't shake the feeling. She ends up on a research vessel owned by the GED Group (no, they aren't researching ways to pass the high school equivalency test any easier). They had been conducting scientific experiments and one of their human guinea pigs, a man we've come to know as Kirchner, poses a danger to them and the rest of the world as his powers to control energy to be known as Orsel weaken (nearly destroying the ship). The tragedy of his plight is made all the more poignant when the Befort Bunch catches up to the ship and he is surrounded by ghoulish figures trying to contain his blasts of energy. They are known as Enma and have their own role to play in the story, marking yet another group trying to force their will on the rest of the cast, though they are mostly explained through exposition of the children's de facto leader when he confronts Kirchner.

Once that matter is solved for the moment, the children finally find Helga and explain her mysterious past. She and Thoma are skeptical about their explanation but she seems to find an inner calm that transcends Thoma's worrying, regardless of the proposed solution to the mystery at hand. The Befort Children also decide that the GED experiments, related to their own arrival on Earth, have to be stopped in the final episode of the volume (that serves as a nice introduction point as it brings the viewer up to date). With so much made clearer now, the story falls into a more linear pathway rather than rely so heavily on the art of the animation, leaving the characters a little less apprehensive of one another with the joining of forces for a temporary purpose; stopping the destruction of the planet from those who seek to open Pandora's box.

I really liked where the story has arrived at since I reviewed Fantastic Children V1 and will try and rent the second volume when I get a chance. Whereas the initial volume made the Children seem sinister and dangerous, their motivations have been clarified to the point where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as well as more fully appreciate the need for so many flashbacks in the first volume (that I disliked a lot). I'm going to rate this one as Recommended due to the quality of the show and all the elements, hoping that the later episodes are as good (or better) but with so much falling into place, I really need to see the second volume to finish placing the pieces together.

Picture: Fantastic Children V3 was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was created in by director Takashi Nakamura for release on Japanese television. The anime looked interesting as though it combined the retro look of some of the most recent shows coming out of Japan, with some of the finer detail you'll get in the bigger budget (far bigger budget at that) shows we've been giving high ratings to of late. The faces, for example, look like storyboard outlines while some of the backgrounds have most of the detail and movement. This plays tricks on the eyes as it gives the illusion of depth at the same time the characters often come across as coming off a sketch pad at the last minute. I'm not sure I like this style as much as some of you will but it was a step towards something different and I have to appreciate that some are trying to offer new experiences in their anime production.

Sound: The audio was presented with the standard choices of a 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese track or the usual English dub track. To be frank about it, I found the dub voices to be somewhat more appealing this time but that could easily be my own attempt to grasp for the familiarity of language in an anime release that provided little concrete material to latch onto. Most of the characters on the dub seemed to fit their respective roles though and a few of the original track just seemed somehow "off" a bit to me. The music and sound effects were similar in each, with a slightly louder bass track on the dub (was it my imagination?) , and a lot of really interesting music to listen too (I still wish I had an audio CD of it to see if it worked as standalone material). There wasn't much separation and the dynamic range wasn't all that special but the vocals were plainly listenable in each version with little problem (and the subtitles were reasonably close in terms of similarity to the dub).

Extras: There were some trailers but nothing else; no paper inserts, no clean opening or closings, no videos, or anything else.

Final Thoughts: Fantastic Children V3 was another volume in a series that I was originally concerned would flop (and flop hard) even though the elements were in place to help make the series a winner compared to most of the titles on the market. There is still a lot of ground to cover and I will always hope for better extras but suffice it to say that I'm glad I had the opportunity to check this one out more in depth. In summary, the technical aspects of Fantastic Children V3 were always solid but the thematic elements are what makes something worth your money and time so I'm happy to report that the show is on far more solid ground with regards to that part of the show with the release of this volume. Bandai appears to be gaining ground on the competition for unique and high quality shows; a trend I hope continues as other companies struggle so hard to keep afloat.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, and Best of Anime 2005 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.