"The show initially focused on a young student, Maia, who is studying for her entrance exams for the last bastion of government, the elite Ocean Agency. Unlike here in the USA, the best and brightest in Japan have long been involved in public service as it honors their family and elevates their social status accordingly. The Ocean Agency is the last true governmental body left in a world gone wild so it makes sense that the intelligent, thoughtful, and highly capable Maia serve in the agency as she is shown to be head and shoulders above her peers in every way. Needless to say, sometimes life throws us a curve or two and young Maia soon finds herself unemployed, homeless, and without a friend in the world (perhaps a mystery that the series will delve into later on; at least I hope so) after failing the exam. Through a quirk in fate, Maia stumbles into a shoot out between some hot looking futuristic detective/bounty hunters/mercenaries (later known as employees of the Nereides Corporation, a nebbish gal named Shizuka and a cold hearted capitalist named Gloria) and a thug on the run. Before long, she ends up working with the two, even though her lack of real world experience hampers her initial efforts at assisting them, often as either bait for their sting operations or to serve as a buffer between the members of the group that don't get along."

This time, the cutthroat gals of the Nereides agency were being overworked as they were forced to cover assignments without a full complement of workers. Here's what the back DVD cover said about the volume: "BEAUTIFUL, DANGEROUS, AND DESPERATE FOR WORK. Nereides' sexy female agents will take on any job for the right price, no matter how dangerous or demanding. But they first have to fight off the infamous crime family, the Wong Chang Lee brothers, out to revenge Nereides for getting them arrested. Than, a mission to find a runaway boy with broken heart takes Maia to Siberia City again, where she gets caught up in a conspiracy involving the Eight Ocean Cities and the entire Nereides organization..."

Okay, the episodes this time were 13) Anger's Aweigh, 14) Old Kook and the Sea, 15) Die Hard, Play Hard, and 16) Die Hard, Play Hard 2. Initially, Maia and her coworkers had to deal with a group of thugs they arrested in the past (the Wong Chang Lee brothers) that were assisted by their skilled sister this time. Using brains over brawn, they managed to save Maia and pick up a rather expensive piece of ordinance but that brought logistical problems of trying to find jobs to cover the costs of maintaining it. This led to the gal's taking a job to prove they could handle sea bound missions in the Old Kook and the Sea; a guy who was across between Hemingway and Ahab in search of a giant sea monster to finish off his career. Lastly, the final two volumes were a tribute to the Bruce Willis series as Maia, on a routine expedition, ends up in unlikely savior caught up in a plot to kill everyone on a plane in order to disguise an escape with the dough.

I've liked the series to this point and this set of four episodes was no exception to the rule although my interest waned a bit as the very familiar stories all started to meld together a bit. Lacking some of the creativity the earlier sets have had, I found this batch somewhat less appealing and I felt obligated to lower the rating to a Rent It this time because of it. The strengths of the series were rarely played to and the quiet Maia got so much screen time at the expense of the more interesting bunch of regulars that I just couldn't justify elevating the rating. The parody of movies has been a saving point at times but this time, the stories were just too closely matched with little originality, making them cute but killing much of the replay value. It wasn't bad but it wasn't the best material offered up in the series either.

Picture: Daphne in the Brilliant Blue 4 was presented in the same 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was shot in for Japanese television a year ago. The colors, with some of the most subtle shading I've seen in a recent anime, were very nice to look at and the anime style itself managed to showcase some of the best Japan has to offer these days. The animation approach itself appeared almost as though it were done in the traditional fashion with painted cels but upon closer look I came to think it was greatly assisted by computer assistance (which is not all bad, contrary to what you may have heard).

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of the original Japanese or an English dub, both in 2.0 Dolby Digital. The music and special effects had the most separation and dynamic range (for each track) and my belief was the original vocals scored somewhat more points for the naturalness of the voice acting. The English dub track won out in terms of the mix as the bass was deeper and the treble somewhat sharper so take some time to acquaint yourself with each track if you want to hear the relative merits of each.

Extras: The only extras included were some trailers, a Japanese cover art section, a double sided DVD cover, and a paper insert that unfolded into a small poster. I guess having four episodes should be considered good enough but I want more from full priced shows and unlike some out there in reviewer land, I'm willing to state it loudly and proudly since value is what makes a title go from a rental to a purchase.

Final Thoughts: Daphne in the Brilliant Blue 4 had the cast doing everything they've done before but the emphasis on the weakest character of the bunch really dragged the show down a bit. I'd rather see Gloria's mean spirited back stabbing or the other gals as they interacted with Maia rather than have her steal the show. The winning combination of the cast was toned down this time in favor of Maia taking the lead as she gained the confidence of her recent training and this volume could be affectionately referred to as a sophomore slump that might've been okay for a look but nothing I'd watch more than a couple of times.

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