Having two boys who like anime as much as I do, I was looking forward to watching Legend of Mystical Ninja with them.  I enjoy other kids anime shows like Dragon Ball Z and  Sailor Moon, so I thought that this show might be fun too.  When the disc arrived in the mail we sat down with this second volume and gave the DVD a spin.  I should have listened to Don Houston who reviewed the first volume.

The plot to this show is simple.  Harakiri Seppukumaru (whose hobby, you may guess from his name is killing himself) has traveled from the video game world to the real world with his four evil sidekicks who look like large eggs with swords.  Every episode they do something to get people angry.  This fills up his rage gauge, and when it is full, he uses it to release a monster.  His hope is that the monster will cause so much rage that he'll be able to open a cybertunnel for Lord Makuamuuge, his master.  If Makuamuuge is able to cross over, he'll be able to conquer the world.  But Goemon, a ninja from a video game, has followed Seppukumaru into 'our' world.  With the help of a couple of his friends, and some ohagi (A type of rice ball) that gives him energy like Spinich does for Popeye, Goemon calls forth a giant robot to defeat the monster.   Seppukumaru, feeling bad about being defeated, tries to commit ritual suicide, but is always foiled in some way.  (A wall falls on him,

Each episode has the same plot and resolution, which gets a little tiring after a while.  Other shows, like Sailor Moon, are formalistic but this show doesn't have the continuity that SM does.  Without the continuity, there isn't much reason to watch the next episode.  After all the characters are two dimensional, and stories are incredibly predictable.  But the show does have its moments, like when one of the supporting characters takes the place of a pop star on stage, all dressed up in a pink dress.  There are one or two small laughs in every show, but they certainly are not worth sitting through the show for.

So, how did the kids like it? They didn't dislike the program as much as I did, and they laughed at all the right parts, but it wasn't one of their favorites.  To quote my eight year old son "It was okay."  There are many other DVDs that they have enjoyed a lot more (the various Power Ranger ones for example.)  Overall, this is a less than average offering.

Audio:

The audio for this DVD was fairly standard.  Both the English dub and the original Japanese soundtrack were in stereo and sounded clean.  There wasn't any hiss or distortion, but there wasn't a lot of bass either.  The loud explosions and battle scenes didn't have a lot of impact, but I wasn't rally expecting a children's show to by really dynamic.

Video:

The video quality was pretty good overall.  The full frame image was clean without any specks or dirt, and the colors were fairly bright.  There was some aliasing in the program, but these digital defects were minor.

Extras:

This disc sports an eleven minute interview with the English voice cast.  The cast has fun dubbing the show, and it shows in the interview.  No great revelations are given out, but it is still a fun bonus.  There are also trailers for Cosplay Complex, King of Bandit Jing, Orphen 2, Sakura Wars TV, Nijica Blitz Tactics, and Super Gals!

Final Thoughts:

I can't really recommend this show.  After the first couple of episodes the formalistic plot grew tiring, and there wasn't anything to keep my interest in the show.  Even my kids thought it was mediocre, and they are the age that the show is aimed at.  If you are looking for a DVD to give to a young relative, I'd look for something else.  Skip it.