The show concerns a group of super powered human fighters from another world, Leafeania, who follow some evil beings to Earth in order to restore order and capture or kill them. The demons they are chasing have the ability to hide until they are very powerful and the team of seven young men and women (several of which are young children) decide it's important that they find a being who can enhance their powers, a "pretear". This being is not known when they arrive on Earth but their survival seems to depend on finding him or her as quickly as possible. The being will have the genetic power to touch one of the team and be absorbed, giving the team member a tremendous boost (each member has their own unique abilities). Here's what the box cover said:

"Darkness & Disaster!
Unable to pret and powerless to stop the Princess of Disaster and her minions, Himeno must come to terms with the mistakes of the past before she can face the future. however, no sooner has Himeno found her faith and renewed her powers as Pretear, than an unexpected defection deals her and the Leafe Knights a crushing blow. And as the Prince of Disaster's evil aura continues to spread, Mawata sinks deeper into the depths of despair. The unknowing world balances on the brink of destruction as Himeno and the Knights wage war against an evil that just might be stronger than they are in the penultimate volume of Pretear."

Warning: Spoilers below!

The three episodes were, as described by the official Pretear website, as follows:

Episode Eight: Moment Of Awakening:
"After learning the horrible truth about her predecessor, Himeno's heart has become so wrapped in turmoil that she is unable to prét with Hayate when the Princess of Disaster shows herself. Sasame tries desperately to reason with his former ally, but his words fall on deaf ears, and she sucks the Leafe right out of her former Knight. Himeno and the others watch helplessly as Sasame plummets to the ground, Fenrir's attack nearly killing the man. Himeno blames herself for Sasame's injuries due to her not being able to prêt. Her friends try to assure her otherwise, but Himeno spirits are no less dampened. Himeno heads home feeling powerless.
Mayune's looking to play another practical joke on Himeno, but her efforts are dashed by Himeno's absence. Mikage informs her that she had taken off early this morning. Hayate overhears Mayune ranting to her mother about this, and rushes off to track down his missing charge. Himeno is gripped by visions of doom and gloom, and wanders aimlessly throughout the city. Himeno almost gets hit by a car, but her step-sister Mawata ends up saving her, since she too is wandering the city aimlessly, worried about Sasame. Mawata and Himeno end up spending the day together talking and doing some actual sisterly bonding. Elsewhere, a concerned Hayate is still searching desperately to track down Himeno. When he finds her and tries to comfort her, Fenrir and her Demon Larva arrive to pour salt on Himeno's wounded heart."

Episode Nine: Unreaching Melody:
"Himeno comes down to breakfast the following morning back to her old self again. Mayune is quick to pull a practical joke on her step-sister, sending her through the dining chair. While Himeno is about to take revenge, she notes Mawata is missing. They tell her Mawata has been feeling ill, and she hasn't come out of her room since that day she spent with Himeno. Himeno looks concerned, but some kind of evil demon insect scurries across the ceiling, disrupting everyone's quasi-tranquil breakfast. Kaoru thinks it was a ghost, but Himeno definitely knows otherwise. Himeno's family decides to set out ghost hunting in the mansion. Hayate gathers the Knights to join in their investigation, sending Shin, Hajime, and Mannen to guard Himeno's family. Sasame, too, has recovered enough to join in the investigation and heads off with Himeno and Hayate, while Kei and Go look elsewhere.
Mannen and pals manage to knock out one of Fenrir's transport demons before it gets a chance to eat Mr. Tanaka. To further discourage Himeno's family from ghost hunting, Mannen plays a spooky trick on the family, sending them fleeing in terror. Mawata, meanwhile, is at her emotional breaking point and asks Mikage to stay and comfort her. Sasame, too, is feeling edgy off by himself and ponders Takako's fate when the final battle comes. Searching the mansion, Himeno ditches Hayate and takes off with Mannen and the youngsters. Sasame, on the other hand, comes across Mikage and realizes she's not exactly the nice little housemaid everyone thinks she is. Hope vanishes and allegiances crumble in this thrilling episode of Prétear!"

Episode Ten: The Furthest Ends Of One's Emotions:
"Sasame tries desperately to get Takako to return his unrequited love for her, even vowing to toss aside his loyalties and become her dark servant. Takako, while seemingly touched, rejects Sasame with force and vanishes. Kei says it's for the best, but Himeno's words of wisdom concerning love spares Sasame the contempt of the allies he was about to betray. In order to spare the Awayuki family from further reprisals by Fenrir, Himeno has decided to move out of the mansion and sets the Leafe Knights to work building her new home. Himeno returns one last time to bid everyone farewell in her own special way. Meanwhile, upstairs, Takako is busy trying to leech the darkness and sorrow out of Mawata's troubled heart to fuel her own power. However, Mawata's attachment to Sasame is serving as the final barrier protecting her heart from the total darkness surrounding it. The Princess of Disaster is less than pleased with her new puppet, but thinks she might have a solution to this little problem. Sasame pays a visit to the Church in hopes of seeing Takako, who happens to be awaiting his arrival before the alter. Meanwhile, the Leafe Knights have put the finishing touches on Himeno's new home, and a joyful Himeno thanks everyone for their efforts. Sasame, too, has decided to join the occasion, but things are not what they appear. To prove his love for her, Takako has ordered Sasame to bring her to Leafenia and kill Hayate, which he gladly goes about doing. Hayate refuses to fight Sasame, so he forces the issue by wounding Himeno. Furious, Hayate charges Sasame and two engage one another in combat to the death. Himeno and the others try to stop the fighting, but the Princess of Disaster won't allow any interference. Can the situation get any worse? Oh, you betcha!"

With only three episodes the content has to be very good and/or the extras need to be more than the usual bare minimum. Thankfully, this is the case here, with some decent extras and the story showing more thought than a great many other series. I'm going to keep the rating for this volume at Recommended since I think it had a lot going for it. The basic themes of good vs. evil were still present but the complexity increased and that made it more interesting.

Picture: The picture was presented in the industry standard 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. While not exactly top of the line, there was little grain or other problems to interfere with the picture quality. The anime style itself wasn't exactly high budget either but it was better than a number of other releases. I didn't see any major edge enhancement, artifacts, or moiré either for those of you who prefer hearing code words to a solid visual description in layman's terms.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of either a 5.1 Dolby Digital surround English track or the original 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese track with optional English subtitles. In terms of music and separation, the dub track was far superior to the original language track but as much as I like some of the voice actors, the original vocals seemed a bit more refined and appropriate. The Japanese track seemed almost in monaural but depending on what you want out of the audio.

Extras: For me, the best extra was a lengthy interview with four of the voice actors, Monica Rial, Hilary Haay, Paul Sidello, and Sasha Paysinger. The feature lasted almost 32 minutes and went into great detail with David Williams interviewing each of them. This is the type of value-added extra I look for in a DVD I want to keep. There was also a section with a minute of Japanese television spots and the usual clean opening and closing, trailers, sketches, and a paper insert that listed the chapters and DVD contents. I thought the television spot was interesting as it considered the show an update of Snow White (albeit without the dwarfs).

Final Thoughts: Much like Volume 2, this release was pretty darned solid with some nice extras and a story that appears to be getting ready to wrap up (I guess it was one of those half-season series I've been seeing a lot of lately. It was worth your time if you enjoy the type of good vs. evil shows directed at a broader audience (while leaning a bit more towards females due to the romantic aspects covered).

Check out DVDTalk's Top Anime of 2003 for more hints on good anime to watch.