Okay, to start with, I didn't get the first two volumes of this series from Geneon so I had to make educated guesses about the characters. From the looks of it, there were three monster characters in this set of three episodes and one human. The human's point of view seems to dominate but it looked very much like they were leading him on a journey of sorts as they traveled the countryside of Japan when the Shogun was in charge. Kind of like a supernatural detective squad, they sought out other monsters and demons that were causing problems (in these episodes, it was around those who killed humans for kicks) and stopped them from doing so. So the premise seems pretty simple but what about the stories you ask?

Well, each episode contained a whole story with some minimal background data on one of the four leads of the show. In episode 8) Field Gun: Nodeppo, the lead human, Momosuke, is on a side trip to visit his brother's village to catch up on old times. Shortly after arriving, one of his brother's coworkers is killed by a stone sunk into his forehead. The initial story is to find out what kind of monster could throw stones that hard and why but the story managed to evolve pretty quickly as the group investigated.

In episode 9) The Unkillable: Kowai, one of the traveling monsters, Ogin, faced off against a demon that couldn't stay dead, and had killed her mother long ago. The Kowai still kills as it sees fit and the team looks into the details a bit deeper because of its past relation to Ogin. Then, in episode 10) Flames of Desire: Hi No Enma, the group takes a task of finding a lost bride that may have something to do with a mysterious rash of fires that have killed numerous townsfolk. This last story managed to have the most twists and turns in it, as things were definitely not what they initially appeared to be.

It would've been easy for me to dismiss this series, especially joining it so late in the game, but by the end of the meager trio of stories, I was wanting to see the earlier volumes as well as the fourth (and last) DVD as well as any Manga related to it. I'm not going to kid you and suggest there weren't faults with the stories but the manner in which they unfolded, the creativity put into them, and the very different visual aspects of the anime all combined to make me think that there was a huge untapped potential here. Further, there was a lot of replay value in the shows due to the complex nature of the offering. As such, I'm going to rate it as Recommended but actual fans of horror will likely find it even more worthy of praise for all that it had to offer them.

Picture: Requiem: From The Darkness 3 was presented in the same 1.33:1 ratio full frame color that it was created in for Japan. The anime style itself reminded me of nothing short of the American R. Crumb comics mixed with Go Nagai and a far superior way of handling horror. The animation itself was limited in terms of movement but the way in which the black and dark scenes were handled with minimal problems really helped propel the stories beyond what I would have expected of them. I saw no compression artifacts or video noise and precious little grain (which was also a surprise).

Sound: The DVD offered up the usual 2.0 Dolby Digital audio with a choice of the original Japanese track or an English language dub, both with optional English subtitles. Each of the tracks were similar this time with less of an emphasis on enhancing the dub like most series seem to do these days and the special effects were almost as well done as the eerie music that set the tone for the three episodes. In all, the audio was a very nice addition here, even if the material cried out for a full 5.1 DTS track.

Extras: The only extras on the DVD were some trailers and a bit of artwork with the DVD case containing a paper insert of minimal value.

Final Thoughts: Requiem: From The Darkness 3 was a surprisingly engaging set of episodes for me. Had I seen the first two volumes and if there had been four episodes of this quality on the disc, I probably would've given it an even higher rating; even without better extras. The replay value was high and the spook value of the stories better than most anything I've seen from Hollywood in years (many years in fact) so fans of horror and anime (especially horror anime) will likely find this one an exceptional show to look for although I'd strongly suggest you watch from the beginning (and if you do, please email me about those two volumes if you would).

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