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 first volume of the show opened up with introductions for all of the characters and a glimpse what the type of fighting that they each are skilled at. Elle was targeted by an assassin only to have a huge beast interrupt the fight and the bill for the damage go through the roof. Then a fighting competition opened up and an intriguing storyline was played around with that left some things hanging. Nothing as far as a plot really surfaced, but it rarely happens in the first volume of a show, so with that in mind we take a look at the second.

When we join the group of warriors, Kyuo learns that she has an outstanding debt and the salaries that everyone makes at the Octopus Leg aren't exactly enough to cover it. They take on the task of delivering some food and water to some of Karuda's soldiers in a forest in order to make a smooth two thousand silver coins. As you know though, nothing is ever as it seems and nothing goes the way that you'd expect it too. There's some guy running around the woods with a snake for an arm that has to be dealt with before they can collect on their reward.

Kyuo also gets some letters that raise some suspicion and we also learn that she seems to have a thing for Gau, since she gets jealous of Elle being so close to him. This all leads to Gau duking it out with the white haired guy that has been sending the letters. It spawns a little bit of a rivalry not only for Kyuo's heart but also for the future title of Sevalle. The next episode tells the story about a village that was frozen solid by the Talisman of ice, Louis Frasneel. Folli and Elle fight it is believed that Elle actually killed her father. Lastly there is a peace ceremony in the holy city that Gau and Elle must attend, thanks to her duties as Sevalle. A guy named Diaz is also introduced in this volume who turns out to be Elle's big brother.

This volume features a lot more character development than the last one did, but there still isn't anything to REALLY pull you in. The show has a great sense of humor with a ton of action. The style is very reminiscent of Slayers or Orphen, though the show has a little bit of Tenjho Tenge tossed in for some good measure. I like the series so far, but there just hasn't been anything that unique or great about it. It's decent enough if you're looking for a fighting/fantasy anime; it just hasn't done enough to win me over so far.

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 several 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. The series almost looks as if the production predates the time that it was actually put together.

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 though the English selection offered a couple of poor dubs. I also 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.

The first disc didn't offer a lot in terms of bonus content, but the second volume kicks it up a notch with a commentary and some interviews in addition to the clean opening and closing animations. The commentary is for the eighth episode and features Luci Christian, Monica Rial and John Swasey. My experience has taught me that anime commentaries tend to be more upbeat and funny than theatrical ones so in that regard the one offered here doesn't disappoint. There is also a collection of interviews with some additional voice actors, but the audio quality for it is horrible and the content isn't very interesting.

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 second volume here develops the characters and concept even more, but doesn't really introduce an interesting plot. I'm interested in seeing what develops between Gau and Kyuo in the future, as well as where Elle ends up. The only problem is that the series hasn't done enough up to this point to cross the line into recommendation territory. It's entertaining with a lot of humor and action, but it feels wildly generic and offers some poor aesthetic qualities on DVD.

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!