Even though Shadow Skill the series originally came out in 1998, it hadn't found its way onto DVD until recently. The show is based off of a few OVA from 1995 and 1996, but essentially follows the same characters and core concept. The tone has been changed a little bit to offer up a more lighthearted affair, but fans of the various OVA will appreciate the similarities between the two. All of this of course got its start as a manga, which was created by Mugumu Okada.

The series is a fast paced anime with a fantasy setting and a lot of combat. It focuses on a disproportionate woman named Elle Ragu who happens to be a revered warrior known as the 59th Sevalle. The Sevalle are honored among the Karuda people as their most skilled fighters and many have ascended to historical ranks among their culture. The current king is a Sevalle known as Scarface, but Elle has a long way to go before she can rule anything other than her own fighting skills.

As with many anime series, Elle tends to over do it sometimes while she's fighting (or drinking) and tends to cause more damage than she can pay for. Because of that she and her brother are constantly in debt and have to take odd jobs in order to make a little bit of money. Unfortunately for the pair, Elle is extremely stubborn and arrogant, so that often leads the two into trouble. Luckily Gau (her brother) is a skilled warrior as well and thinks with a clearer head than she does most of the time. Together they roam the countryside looking for stuff to do, but they aren't totally alone. A magically inclined woman named Folli tags along with them, as does a demon hunter girl named Kyuo Lyu.

The show has a great sense of humor with a ton of action. It's easy to see how after the popularity of the first installments of Shadow Skill a couple of years prior to this release, that there was a call for a complete television series. The style of the humor and setting is very reminiscent of Slayers or Orphen, though the show has a little bit of Tenjho Tenge tossed in for some good measure.

The opening volume contains the first four episodes (of twenty six) for the show and really gives a good idea of what you can expect from the series. Elle and Gau are roaming the countryside and eventually come to the aide of a caravan that is being attacked. This leads them to a city where Elle is targeted by an assassin who has the power to control beasts. In this fight we not only get introduced to Folli and her powers, but also get a glimpse at what a Sevalle is capable of. The ensuing aftermath from her powerful strike destroys a building, but wins the praise and respect of several onlookers.

From here Elle signs up for a fighting competition, does a little bit of drinking and eventually the group moves on to the next task. The first volume provided enough continuity with character development and overall concepts, but a predominant plot hasn't surfaced yet. For the most part these episodes are just an introduction to the series, the characters and how they came to be traveling together. Shadow Skill proves to be an entertaining diversion, especially for anyone that has seen the OVA, but given the age of the material, it feels a little dated. Even so, the series could turn out nicely if the rest of the volumes provide more fleshing out and interesting storylines.

With production of the show being done in the late 90s, the quality is obviously not going to be as strong as a title put together now-a-days. The DVD is presented with a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio, which is fine, but the image suffers from many artifact flaws. There is quite a bit of grain, speckle, aliasing, cross coloration and some blur to be found in the picture. The animation is very fluid though and even though some of the colors appear washed out, for the most part they are pretty vibrant.

Both soundtracks available on Shadow Skill are presented with 2.0 stereo, so if you were hoping for a 5.1 English dubbing, you're going to be left out in the cold. As it stands the voiceovers are very good for both tracks, but I preferred the original Japanese language, because at times the English sounded like it was coming from a tin can. The quality is alright for a 2.0 audio presentation, but even so there's little to no directionality and everything seems to come across at the same volume.

Aside from a couple of previews there is nothing available on this disc as far as extra features go. Not even textless opening and closing animations made the cut here.

I hadn't seen Shadow Skill since the original OVA was released back in the 90s, so my knowledge of the franchise was a little dusty going into the TV series. Fortunately the show was charming enough to draw me in and there was enough action to keep me entertained. The first volume does a very good job of setting up the characters and story, though in reality there isn't an awful lot that happens here. Hopefully the show will branch out more and take on different subjects instead of Elle beating the crap out of people and monsters. Then again, I suppose that's part of the attraction to the series.

The DVD has some iffy image quality, though considering that the show was put together in 1998 and seemingly had a lower budget, that's not entirely surprising. The audio is pretty much on the same page as the video with some questionable quality, though really both get the job done. No bonus material is kind of a bummer as well, but that's present in many other series. Overall, I had a good time with Shadow Skill, but am skeptical about where the show is going to go at this point. I'm going to recommend a rental for now, but when the next batch of episodes comes along we'll see if Elle's adventure is really worth your time or not.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!