Volume four of Magical Meow Meow Taruto wraps up the series in a very satisfactory way. All of the questions about Taruto and her past are answered, and the series ends on a high note. One of the better volumes in the series, this is a fun and exciting show for younger children.

Series Synopsis:

The legendary land of Ganache that is located in a different dimension where cats are the rulers. This land was ruled by the kindly House of Kinka, a family that had magical powers. The House of Byoh, rivals who possessed powers of deception, wanted to rule and so they started a civil war and defeated the Kinka. As King of Ganache's castle was about to fall, he gave his newborn daughter to a royal retainer and told him to flee the land with the royal heir. The retainer, mortally wounded, sets the princess afloat in a basket on a river that led into an alternate dimension where Ganache is just a legend.

Years later, Iori, his sister, and his cat Taruto move into a new neighborhood. Taruto, like the other cats in this world, looks human but with cat ears and a tail. She stands about three feet tall, walks erect, and even wears clothes. The special thing about Taruto though is the fact that she can use magic. She's not very good, of course, and most of her spells backfire with comic results, but she tries to help Iori and his sister as much as she can.

The local cats notice that something is odd about Taruto. They start to suspect that she may be the legendary missing princess from Ganache. Together with her newfound friends, Taruto has many exciting and comical adventures.

This volume:

After accidently traveling to Ganache at the end of the previous volume, the Byoh have come to Iori's world to capture Taruto. They have sent three of their best warriors to capture her. Of course, most of the cats in this world think that the Byoh and Kinka are just a legends, but when they appear and attack Taruto, everyone realizes that they are all too real.

Though their first attack is unsuccessful, the Byoh don't give up easily. Eventually they do capture the young cat and try to make it back to Ganache. Taruto's friends aren't about to let these strangers take their friend away though, and set out to cut off their escape route. It's three highly trained special forces officers against a ragged group of untrained cats. Don't underestimate the determination and strength of all the friends that Taruto has made though.

This was the best volume of the series. Some of the earlier episodes didn't seem like they were going anywhere and ignored the main plot, but this set of shows had a strong story that really grabs the viewer.

Of course this series is aimed at young children and it's perfect for them. The bad guys aren't scary and they don't come across as evil. They are just following orders and trying to bring Taruto back to Ganache. There is more suspense in this volume than is the previous shows, but it isn't too strong, and I think even timid children will enjoy it.

This was also the funniest volume in the series. Every time that the Byoh soldiers capture Taruto, one of her numerous friends pops up and rescues her and it's always funny the way that they do it. It's also touching to realize how many friends that she's made.

Older viewers will probably quickly grow tired of the almost endless last minute saves and deus ex machina surprises, but young elementary and preschool children probably won't notice. They'll just sit back and enjoy the ride.

This disc contains the final three episodes of the series in a unique purple keepcase. There is an insert with episode synopses and some information on the characters. This insert DOES contains some major spoilers, so you shouldn't read it until after you've seen the series. The first pressing of the disc also has a window sticker of the main humans included too.

Audio:

This disc offers a choice of an English dub or the original Japanese track both in stereo. I viewed the show in both languages. Both tracks are solid and work well. A lot of the characters in the English track had high pitched voices that I didn't really care for, but younger viewers surely won't mind. My eight year old didn't. There wasn't any dropouts or hiss in either track, and they both fit the show well. There are optional English subtitles.

Video:

The full frame video looks very good. The image is a tad soft, but not much. The show's bright colors are dynamic and vivid, and the detail is fine. Digital defects were almost nonexistent. A nice looking disc.

Extras:

This disc also contains a textless closing and the fifth and sixth sing-along-songs. These are a mixture of live action and animated clips. There are also trailers to three other shows aimed at the younger set.

Final Thoughts:

This was a fun light series perfect for early elementary kids and younger. This volume wraps up the story in a satisfactory manner with an ending that children are sure to enjoy. (To give you a hint at how it ends, the last episode is entitled "Happily, Happily Ever After.") While older viewers used to Power Rangers and Yu-Gi-Oh may be disappointed that there isn't more action, girls and younger viewers are sure to enjoy it a lot. Recommended.