Back in 2004 when Melody of Oblivion came out it was met with success and ran for 24 episodes but wasn't exactly a landmark success. Under the direction of Hiroshi Nishikiori and produced by J.C. Staff the series went on to be released by Geneon and was met with somewhat lackluster fanfare. Maybe it was the atmosphere, the pacing or the mismatched smattering of concepts but whatever the reason the show didn't generate a lot of buzz.

After seeing a trailer for the show and checking out a couple of episodes though I thought it was interesting enough to take a bigger look at the whole collection. The basic premise behind the series was relatively fresh and the characters proved to be appealing with a fair amount of intrigue. It had all of the components to make for a good watch but somewhere along the way things got lost in a jumble of strange concepts and muddled plotlines.

In the 20th century a cataclysmic war erupted between man and monster. For years the ferocious fighting continued but in the end humanity lost and we found ourselves living under the devilish rule of a variety of monsters. Each town is governed by its own demon and all hope seems to be lost. Luckily some Warriors of Melos are still kicking around and though their resistance may not seem powerful enough to do any good things are starting to look up.

Bocca is a silver haired teenager and the star of the show. He's struggling in school and finds himself fighting to make passing grades so that he can move forward with his schooling. All he has ever desired was to be a Warrior and to fight the monsters but at this point in his life it seems like a child's dream. Over the summer he got a job at old man Tsunagi's repair shop though his exceedingly busty friend keeps telling him that it's dangerous working for the crazy old coot. Instead of listening to her, he continues to dream about being a warrior and plucking away in a rusty garage.

One day he sees a strange man picking through some debris with Tsunagi and when he bumps into a girl named Sayoko later that night he sets out to meet the guy. When he sees Kurofune and his Aibar-Machine he recognizes him immediately as a Warrior. Naturally awe struck their meeting is short-lived when a monster riding a bus comes by. It's not just any bus though, this one is bovine-like with a stampeding set of legs and horns protruding from its front. Yes, this is Horu; a villain that will appear many times throughout the series and one of the main players in the grand scheme of things.

After that encounter Bocca finds that he has changed. Call it fate or coincidence but a Melos tattoo appears on his arm and thanks to Tsunagi he connects with an Aibar-Machine of his own. With his new found power he sets out to learn about the Melody of Oblivion and fight monsters like he always dreamed about.

Sayoko joins him in his quest because she's looking for Kurofune and riding with Bocca is probably her best chance of finding him. Together they travel from town to town searching for each of their own causes and one of their first stops together is a resort town known as Midnight Sun. This place is always night thanks to the monster that rules it as an overlord. While looking for some information the two encounter a young girl who is apparently to be used as a sacrifice to a giant robot chicken monster. Bocca whips out his Melos powers and scares the creature away though something more sinister is behind it all.

One group of characters running throughout the series that we're introduced to early on is the Monster Union. They are basically a satanic cult of followers for the monsters who are regular folk that have embraced their rule. Bocca interacts with the leader of the cult but as her character becomes more fleshed out he begins to wonder if he's doing the right thing in fighting the monsters. Early on his character gets quite a lot of development and he faces many questions and situations that bring the meaning of being a Melos warrior into question.

Their next stop is a valley blocked off by a dam and overrun with robotic mice. The Monster Union has a hold on this quant little village and there are many mysteries afoot such as a boy with his hand plugging a hole in the dam and a painter making a mural of a giant eye. Bocca and Sayoko run into a young girl named Tone who is actually revealed to be another warrior of Melos.

Beyond that point more Melos warriors are met and monsters are defeated. The nice thing about Melody of Oblivion is that virtually every episode is tied into the one before it. Stories take multiple episodes to come to fruition and there is a great deal of continuity to be found. Series like this are usually ruined by episodic encounters and a lack of development but that's not the case with this one.

Overall I enjoyed the show from start to end but it wasn't a series wrought with groundbreaking achievements. Many of the characters have a somewhat generic flare to them and some of the stories are entirely too predictable. The series also doesn't tell its tale in the most fluid of ways. Pacing is often erratic and in many cases episodes jump back and forth between present time and flashbacks without answering questions of filling in the blanks. It can often be frustrating while you're trying to get to the bottom of things even if the payoff in the end is decent enough.

The ending didn't really payoff after putting in the time to watch all 24 episodes though and quite honestly I felt cheated. This is a show that isn't for everyone due to the "out there" nature many of its concepts have. Even so I found it to be an interesting series with a decent degree of entertainment vlue but it's nothing that I went gaga for. If you're going to check it out you may be better off renting it rather than buying.

Originally produced in 2004, Melody of Oblivion looks pretty darned good despite the fact that it appears to have been short on budget. Presented with a 1.33:1 fullframe aspect ratio the show features some great contrast in imagery with some decent video quality. There are many areas where grain and some aliasing appear but they aren't bad enough to really mar the experience. Some repeat animation in combat doesn't help the look of the show though since it makes it appear cheap in a way.

2.0 stereo is the only technical selection that you're going to be able to make when it comes to listening to this show. These six discs include Japanese and English tracks that each offer varying degrees of quality in terms of their dub. For sheer personal taste I felt that the Japanese track was much better though the English version isn't bad at all. Quality is as you'd expect with some minimal directionality between the front channels and little else. Volume balance is maintained and there were no moments where pitching or distortions were noticeable. English subtitles are included as well.

Since this set is comprised of the previously released volumes it's no surprise that more bonus content wasn't added. You can expect to see some previews, clean animations, production galleries and a couple of production notes. In other words there's nothing to get excited about.

Melody of Oblivion is a surreal show that presents an interesting premise and a wide variety of concepts. The show takes its time with telling its story and there is a great degree of continuity held throughout the series. Unfortunately some bits are extremely muddled and the pacing is all over the map. The ending also didn't do it for me either so in the end I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. Still, if you can find the set for cheap I'd recommend picking it up but since MSRP is $119.98 this collection is a firm rental.

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