It's a series about a couple of private agents that are not officially linked to the government but act on its behalf whenever the royal family needs protection (usually protection from scandal more than anything else but in the high stakes world of the protection business. The team is comprised of a slob guy, Rowe Rickenbacker, and a tidy guy, Jack Hofner. Being straight, I identified more with Rowe but that's just me. In any case, the two compliment one another in a number of ways, usually keeping that sort of male bonding kidding going on at all times, especially when things look bad. The country they work in seemed patterned after England but that's a logical leap since we're all familiar with James Bond and the British Secret Service through the movies. The duo always seem to fall into the right place at the wrong time, getting swept up in events that they are obligated, as gentlemen, to fix. While I prefer seeing mechanized robots, fantastical worlds of magic, and a host of other anime shows, this is one that made me smile more often than not and had some serious replay value, proving anime is not just for kids any more.

Episode Five: Tear Drop:
In an episode borrowing heavily from the theme of the mainstream movie, Leon: The Professional, Rowe becomes friends with a little girl (after accidentally swallowing her neon tetra). Apparently, the girl is the daughter of a Hitman who will stop at nothing to complete his mission and the team is torn at the prospect of using the girl in order to catch her father. Can they save the girl, stop her father, and protect the intended victim or will they have to suffice for two out of three?

Episode Six: Lost Recognition:
This episode dealt with a terrorist known only as "Angel" and his vendetta against Ishtar's largest corporation, DTI. Rowe, Jack and Jack's former partner/girlfriend must uncover the plot to destroy the facilities on Ivory Island in order to save the day (and the lives of a great many people). As they work their way through the unfolding events, the trio finds that things aren't as clear-cut as they originally thought, complicating their mission quite a bit.

Episode Seven: Ivory:
The team takes the show on the road to Ivory Island in order to finish the job, running into an old friend (Noelle, from volume one, the gal that would be princess). DTI's secrets are revealed and the locals attempt to stop the team from achieving their goals. It seems that Jack and Rowe's efforts to save Noelle in earlier times might actually save them in the unfolding chaos.

I would have liked this one a lot more if there had been four episodes or a host of related extras unique to the DVD but I know the series was short lived to begin with. I'm going to rate it as Recommended for the many solid qualities it had and only the lack of more episodes kept it from being rated higher. The themes were genuinely well thought out, complex, and a notch above most anime on the market, making it a good alternative for those who "think" they don't like anime (I tried it out on a few friends that are not into anime and they enjoyed it a lot).

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.85:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color and looked very crisp and clear. The colors used seemed a bit subdued but that seemed to be intentional and worked well with the content of the feature. I didn't notice any dropouts, artifacts or other problems with the DVD transfer.

Sound: The audio was presented in 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo with a choice of either the original Japanese or dubbed English. There were also optional English subtitles for those who prefer them to learning Japanese (or, I guess, English). The vocals were clear and distinctive as was the excellent music.

Extras: There weren't a lot of extras this time, with the usual clean opening, clean closing, paper insert, and art gallery. There was also trailers to Volume 1 (English and Japanese versions), Master Keaton , Heat Guy J, Haibane Renmei, Lupin The 3rd, Sakura Wars: The Movie, Mao Chan, Mahoro Matic, Someday's Dreamers, and a couple of others (many of them looked very appealing to me).

Final Thoughts: Geneon is really hitting its stride of late in terms of the anime they have decided to focus on. Licensed By Royalty is yet another release they can be proud of, with a lot of cross-over potential that the genre could use to disprove the thought that anime is just for kids. If you've never liked anime before, give this one or Volume 1 a look and let me know what you think; you may be surprised at what anime has to offer.