Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Animation, good sitcoms
Likes: Anime, Shin Chan
Dislikes: gross-out comedy
Hates:

The Story So Far...
The star of the show is the titular Shin Chan, an odd little 6-year-old with an obsession with his own backside, an aggressive personality, a love for superhero Action Bastard and some weird thoughts about how the world works. His traditional family, with mom Mitzy, dad Hiro and little sister Hima, is a boiling cauldron of resentment, frustration and oddness, though they still love each other (sorta.) his school life brings more friends and freaks into his life, including uptight conservative Georgie and Penny, whose home life is far from storybook. The first half of Season One was released on DVD in May of 2008, followed by the second half in September of the same year, and the first half of Season Two in February of 2009. DVDTalk has reviews of all three sets.

The Show
After two seasons, the plug was pulled on the adult swim Shin Chan universe, and we're left closing up the shop with the fourth and final DVD release, collecting the final 13 episodes, which, taken one by one, aren't much different than the 13 before it, and the 13 before that. But we don't get DVD singles, so we must judge these episodes as a sum of its parts and a whole as well. As such...well, there have been better instalments of that lil' bastard.

Let us begin with the one-offs, as there's a lot to like in here. An Action Bastard entry where his sidekick Lollipop takes on thealter-ego Jailbait Poon (yup, it's a Sailor Moon parody,) continues the inappropriate nature of the comedy, while another episode sees Shin help his neighbor Yu try to get work as an actress, one of the more bizarre schemes he's been a part of. "Box for Hire" may be the best overall episode from the entire series, with three solid stories back to back to back. First up, the creepy failure of a neighbor Yonro has lost the money he planned to use to get a prostitute, and enlists Shin to help him find it. The misinterpretation Shin has for the phrase "box for hire" is classic Shin. Next, Shin invites his pals over for lunch, but suddenly Mitzy isn't home, and so it's up to Shin to cook, which, as you might expect, is disastrous. Finally, Mitzy has a nefarious reason to have Shin physically hurt her, and decides the best way to make it happen is to battle him as supervillain versus Action Bastard, expanding the dark sense of humor in the show.

While there are some good stories in this set, there's a good deal to complain about as well, and that's a serious lack of appearances by Shin's magnificently damaged friend Boo and almost no Principal Ench, a character who should be on-screen at all times, even if just in a box in the corner of the TV. When he attempts to teach the school kids the way of the ninja, it's just comedy gold. There's something about this guy that's just fantastic. Also on the ehhh pile is an episode that repeats Mitzy falling for a character on one of Shin's favorite shows and the return of flashback episodes, set back at the Noharas' apartment building. That whole plotline was an annoyance when they were living in cramped quarters, reducing plots to dealing with nearby neighbors, and it was great when it was gone (even if it didn't make much sense how it happened.) But now we're back. It almost makes me appreciate the simplicity of Shin and Georgie at the library bothering an addict studying for a drug test (Rimshot!)

After the last set highlighted the Action Bastard miniseries over several episodes, this collection offers up The Dildor Saga, spread through nearly the entire run, and culminating in an episode-long finale in the series' final show. In the story, which mixes The Karate Kid with some odds and ends, Mitzy pushes Shin to take up kendo, in the hopes he'll become a sports star and the family can mooch off him. To send him on his path, she signs him up for free lessons with a local teacher, who happens to be utterly insane, and believes that Shin is the chosen one who will save the world. Of course, Shin's not one to cooperate, even with the fate of the world supposedly on the line, and it's a series of misadventures in kendo, including Mitzy taking her turn with the sword. While there's some good goofiness in this, including the ever fun pedophilia overtones, the story's far too long, and devoting an entire episode to it, even in the hopes of giving the series an "ending," was just too much for a series that's otherwise prettyanarchic.

The DVDs
Like the previous sets, the 13 episodes of the second half of Season Two are spread over two DVDs, with seven episodes on the first disc and six on the other. The discs are packed in a three-panel, two-tray digipak, which is held in a solid slipcase, carrying over the gangsta design theme from the previous set. The discs feature static full-frame menus with options to play all episodes, select shows, and check out the extras. There are no audio options, no subtitles and no closed captioning.

The Quality
Unlike the previous sets, these episodes seem to pull entirely from more recent episodes of the original Japanese Shin Chan, and as a result, the video is much cleaner, and sports solid detail and impressively vibrant color (with the exception of the opening titles and closing credits, which remain the same as in the past.) With no dirt or damage in the image, these episodes are the best Shin Chan has ever looked.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio tracks haven't changed over time, offering the same balanced, center-focused mix, with clean dialogue and decent music. It's your basic television presentation, without any negatives, but without anything great either.

The Extras
While there's once again only one audio commentary, this time on episode 51 "Box for Hire," the participants have been changed up, with the supporting cast represented by voice actors Colleen Clinkenbeard, Carrie Savage, Brina Palencia and Chris Casen. The group is obviously having a good time, being very silly and giggly, talking about the filthier aspects of the show and their time working on the series. Apparently they thought they'd only be commenting on the first third of the episode, so they get caught watching at times on the other two stories, but it's a nice change of pace from the usual participants.

The rest of the extras follow the pattern of the first volume of Season Two, as you get another installment of "From the Bowels of the Booth," 6:36 of alternate takes and bloopers from the actors, which are fun to check out, along with another gallery of storyboards from the original series (a feature with very limited appeal (at least to this reviewer.) Aside from the usual promotional trailers, there's one final extra, one I only somewhat understand because of some research. It's a music video for the song "Long Grey Winter" by Ben Arntz (a writer on Shin Chan), with "Profound Artsy Visual Interpretation" by writers on the series. It's not a bad song, but it's got nothing to do with the show really, and the video is just a little wacky, not really Shin Chan-level.

The Bottom Line
This final Shin Chan collection is good, with a few great stories here and there, but not the proper send-off for the series, with too many flashback episodes to the apartment days and the drawn-out multi-part Dildor Saga. The previous set is much more consistent when it comes to laughs. The episodes are in the best shape they've ever looked though, and the extras are about as good as they've been throughout. Fans will want to watch these last few episodes, but for the curious, it's just not as good as some of the others.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.