Keeping in mind that the first earthquake-like event that founded the Lost Ground caused a lot of people to display fantastic powers, connecting somehow to another dimensional plane of existence; a second such event in the already scarred land was cause for much worry. The cause of this one was easy to determine though as the fight between the near infinitely powerful alters Ryuho and Kazuma set it in motion. The story picks up months later with both characters struggling to survive with Kazuma having fallen into a great depression and working it out by fighting in gladiatorial combat against other alters. Ryuho's means of dealing with the stress caused by the aftereffects of the shockwave had him wandering the land with amnesia, keeping true to his ideals by fighting for order, much like he did when fighting for HOLY. Other characters had either assumed they died or were otherwise absorbed into the blast radius except for a few holdouts driven by personal needs for closure and the four episodes this time provided some quality entertainment as they struggled with their personal demons.

The episodes this time were 15) Rogue, 16) Sou Kigetsuki, 17) Ayase Terada, and 18) Straight Cougar. In general terms (so as to keep from spoiling it for those who haven't seen the show), each of the two leads is reunited with his former friends (the ones that survive at least) but not in as easy a fashion as would normally be done. Both suffered trauma, emotional and physical, and both are being manipulated by outside forces. Their powers having peaked during the fight make them so dangerous that only their very best friends are willing to assist them and only the greediest try to lure them into traps. In many ways, the anguish on display could be likened to a great many personal dramas we all hold, keeping in mind the philosophy of "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger" seems to be one of the focal points of the series.

I liked this volume as it expanded on the themes of the fourteenth episode which would've been right at home with this group of episodes. Bridging the two parts of the story nicely, this allowed for the furtherance of the meatier material of Kyoji Mujo's big plan as it relates to both the lead alpha male characters. I'm going to rate it as Recommended as long as you've watched the three volumes before this one since they play such a crucial role in the character development and plot but it showed me that my impressions were on the money when I first saw the show so long ago.

Picture: S-CRY-Ed 4: Aftershocks was presented in the same 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was made in for airing on television in Japan several years ago. The colors looked good, the lines were clean, and my initial concerns about the limited amount of character movement (it's a cheaper method of animating so it's gotten a lot of play in recent years) remained true to form. In all though, it was decent looking and told the story well enough so expecting something to look like a high budget movie might've been a bit unfair. I saw no compression artifacts or video noise during two viewings of the DVD which was in keeping with past experience of the show.

Sound: The audio was presented in the usual 2.0 Dolby Digital with the usual choice of the original Japanese track or the English dub so many fans have come to appreciate (I've received several emails to that effect). The separation between the channels wasn't anything special and the lack of a 5.1 Surround track prevented my home theatre from getting a workout but during the fighting scenes, you could easily tell it was in stereo with a decent balance on both language tracks. I also liked the score a lot as it had a lot going for it but I didn't think either language track was significantly better than the other (except for a few background voices on the English dub track in episode 15 sounding slightly off).

Extras: The extras for the series are actually pretty plentiful, if short in length. They started out with the usual clean openings (all four of them), went on with the usual duo of character montages, this time centering on Cougar and Mimori, then there was the interesting Sound Comic #34: Unshakeable Conviction which uses the Manga version to full effect using Japanese voices and panels from the comic, a design gallery, some trailers and DVD credits. I really enjoyed the isolated music score #2, as it had the better part of twenty minutes of music with some nice artwork, and there was the usual paper insert, plastic collector's card, and Bandai guide to anime from early 2004 too.

Final Thoughts: S-CRY-Ed 4: Aftershocks was a fine example of where the so-called Sophomore slump was turned on its head and the latter episodes were better made, more creative, and more interesting in terms of the themes discussed. For the most part, even the somewhat children rants made weren't that far off the mark and the way the show was starting to tie up loose ends made me appreciate the earlier volumes much more. Was it a case where the original pacing was poor and got better or did the original producer and director make some conscious changes part way through the original broadcast? Either way, the end result was a show that went beyond the fight a bad guy every episode (although that was still a factor mind you) and getting to watch three volumes all at once in a single, no bathroom breaks sitting was great.

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