The fighting anime is one of the most successful genres in the world of Japanese animation. Whether its regular every day folk taking to the streets to beat the snot out of each other for some contest or super-powered freaks fighting to be king of the world; there's always someone battling to be king of the hill. The only problem that I've come across in this particular genre, like many others, is that there is an overabundance of generic shows that aren't worth your time. The latest example of that I have witnessed is Tokyo Underground.

Based on a manga by Akinobu Uraka the 26 episode anime of the same name was released in 2002. Produced by Studio Pierrot (Fushigi Yūgi, Naruto, Saiyuki Reloaded) the show takes place beneath Tokyo in a place called "Tokyo Underground"; creative huh? The basis premise is entirely uninspired and is frankly about as boring as you can get from what I have watched, which is kind of ironic considering there's quite a lot of action.

The series follows two girls and a guy as they struggled against the forces of the sinister Company. By sinister Company, I'm not talking about Wal-Mart, I mean there's a government agency operating a place called Underground beneath Tokyo and keeping these elemental users locked up. Well, Ruri and Chelsea escaped one day and bumped into Rumina (a boy who lived near their escape route) along the way. Somehow they unlocked elemental powers inside of him and dragged the unsuspecting lad into their dark and violent world. That's pretty much all that I know about the history of this franchise because frankly, this is the first time I've watched the show.

Starting to watch a show at this point in its run does nothing for the materiel, my enjoyment, or the ability to give you, the reader, an appropriate opinion based on how the series has panned out so far. All I can do is subjectively look at this DVD for what it is and grade the episodes at hand. After the episodes 19 through 22 that reside here however, I can honestly say that Tokyo Underground just isn't my kind of show.

The first episode on this fifth volume takes place presumably right where episode 18 left off. Rumina is in a battle with some guy on top of some building and gets his butt-kicked to the point that he's thrown from the skyscraper. Ruri reacts out of some form of love for him and uses her elemental powers of healing to heal his wounds and prevent him from becoming a pancake on the sidewalk. Some more gobbledygook about the company and mysterious characters that I don't know followed next with another battle taking place underground between Rumina and some kid with yo-yos.

Once the dust settles and that fight has been squared away Rumina and his gang of buddies get sucked into a big blue vortex of sorts. Despite the fact that they are already deep underground they fall even further and land on a trash heap in Underground. Rumina gets into yet another fight with some random gang-turf leader and encounters a female animal-human hybrid with some sharp claws. If you've been following the series to the point I won't spoil what happens in the last episode so you at least have something to look forward to.

Even though this is the first and only volume of Tokyo Underground that I have seen I have say that I'm not impressed. The story progresses well enough with each episode, but I didn't really find myself caring. What is presented here just isn't strong enough and the characters are entirely generic. There's just a lack of depth to be found in this show, and it feels like an uninspired, soulless thing. There's no emotion, no worthwhile drama, and the gags all deadpan so there's really no sense of humor either. If for some reason you have been watching and enjoy this show I'm sure you'll appreciate this volume for what it is. If you are like me though and haven't seen any of it, just stay away.

Tokyo Underground originally aired in 2002 and features a 1.33:1 full frame presentation. The show looks decent but isn't what I'd call outstanding. There was a fair amount of aliasing and grain in a couple of parts. The image also had a blurry look to it, but I have a feeling that it was deliberate and not a byproduct of a poor transfer. The animation quality is pretty low and the color palette is kind of dull. It's easy to tell that this show had a lower budget than most, but I can't say that I'm all that surprised.

With stereo tracks available for Japanese and English, Tokyo Underground keeps the audio rather low key. The soundstage isn't diverse in the slightest bit so all of the dialogue and sound effects are pushed through with minimal effort. A fighting series, or one based around action, really needs to have a surround sound mix in order to make an impression. To make matters worse the English dub left a lot to be desired so the Japanese track is the way to go here.

Some Geneon Previews and a gallery filled with some artwork are all that you'll find on this disc. There was a clear pencil board included in the package, but that's merely a trinket and not really a supplemental feature.

I have seen a lot of droll and generic anime in my years. Unfortunately for Tokyo Underground the series makes that prestigious list of shows that I can't recommend. The characters are stereotypical, the plot is uninspired, and the overall personality of the series is overshadowed by its common nature. Mediocre aesthetics don't win this release any points either. If you have been watching the show I'm sure you'll dig what goes on in this volume, but if you haven't checked it out yet, don't bother.

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