In the anime world OVA are nearly as common as entire series and the occasional feature film. When something hasn't hit TV or theaters yet and just comes straight to video it's typically a project that is meant for fans of that show. Most of the time it's the OVA that comes first though in the case of Saikano this one was released in Japan three years after the conclusion of Shin Takahashi's series.

In Saikano there were only two characters to follow and the tale was entirely about their love and sacrifice. It proved itself to stand apart from the rest of the crowd thanks to some deep emotion and truly tragic events. To be short and to the point I hadn't been hit with a series quite like it before and when the dust cleared and all was said and done it left a big impression.

The whole backdrop found in Saikano focuses on Japan in the thick of war against the rest of a decaying world. Every day there are attacks and countless lives are constantly hanging in the balance. In the midst of battle two school age kids, Shuji and Chise, are starting to fall for each other, even though they seem like an unlikely pair. The kicker is that somewhere along the line the Japanese military kidnaps Chise and turns here into a weapon of mass destruction.

Things are touch and go for a while between the two as Chise is always running off to battle and leaving Shuji behind. Of course, once she actually tells him what's going on he seems to have a greater appreciation for her plight. As the series continues and their love becomes stronger, Chise is faced with the moral dilemma of continuing to fight to save Shuji's life, but at the cost of thousands of others. This slowly destroys her humanity and watching such a sweet kid get torn apart in this manner is one of the most heartbreaking things you'll ever see in an anime.

One of the most interesting things is that the focus of the series is mostly Shuji. We didn't really get to see things through the eyes of Chise, so we never got to learn why the military did what they did or who they are. That's the cool thing about the OVA that was just released here in the States. It takes us through events that happened to Chise during the time period that we don't see her in the series.

Along the way we learn that she was working under direction from a woman named Mizuki who is also a powerful weapon for the military. The difference between the two characters is that while Chise didn't want to fight, Mizuki did and actually volunteered to take part in the weapons project. Granted she was a soldier in her former life and knew all about her duty to her country. This latest adventure really veers away from Chise and Shuji to pay more attention to Mizuki's tragic life, though to be fair the two storylines are relatively similar.

As the OVA progresses we get to see some familiar faces and even events from the series as they tie into this particular story. We don't really get to see Shuji at all since this pair of adventures is based solely on the military's perspective. That's the thing I found the most fascinating about this OVA. In most projects like this it's a continuation of the story or a rethinking of ideas, but here it's all about skewing the angle that you witness the series from.

Fans of Saikano will definitely want to check it out, though it's not quite as emotional as the original series was. If you haven't seen the entirety of Saikano before it should go without saying that you should definitely check it out before sitting down to see this side story.

With a more recent production date the Saikano OVA looks absolutely breathtaking. The widescreen presentation amplifies the beauty of this release and the image is impeccable aside from a few bouts where compression artifacts are mildly noticeable. The colors are much more vibrant in the OVA and the artwork seems more fluid somehow.

With English and Japanese tracks full of Dolby Digital 5.1 goodness you can thankfully expect a fantastic experience. The quality is quite sharp with great use of the soundstage on both the front and rear. The voice over quality is good on both tracks, though I tended to favor the Japanese one a little more. Whether it's a booming explosion, a bit of lengthy dialogue, or a haunting melody the audio here does not disappoint.

On the DVD there is only a collection of production art to peruse and a Japanese promo for the OVA. To make up for shabby bonus content some post cards were tossed into the case depicting various images from the show. I was hoping for something that offered insight into the OVA or maybe the series it was based off of, but alas nothing of the kind is featured here.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the Saikano OVA was a project that filled in the gaps between events in the show. It intelligently dodges back and forth to give viewers a look at what was happening on the other side of the fence. The focus on Mizuki outweighed the attention paid to Chise, but fans will still appreciate the subtle nods towards her character. My only complaint with the OVA here is that things are a little too familiar when you get right down to it. Even so fans that adored the series definitely must pick this up as a companion piece.

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