When an anime launches a second season it's generally a good idea to be sure that you watched the first prior to checking it out. Sometimes you're ok and can figure things out but other times you'll be lost from the very beginning. Such was the case with Misaki Chronicles; for me at any rate.

I wanted to check out Divergence Eve but have not had the opportunity yet. Therefore when I started watching Misaki Chronicles in all of its bouncy glory I felt somewhat disconnected. From the very first episode characters referenced events and people from the first season with no introduction to anything in between. This was naturally a little disconcerting and though I grew to understand things on a basic level as the episodes rolled on I was initially left out in the cold. It goes without saying that you need to (should) see the first release before checking this one out.

One thing that makes Misaki Chronicles so confounding at first is the fact that the storyline bounces back and forth between a set amount of years. This my be well and dandy to uncovering the intricacies of the tale but from a newcomer's standpoint it's frustrating beyond belief. One episode it takes place in 2315 while another jumps to 2317 and then back to 2316. From there we go back to 1594 then to 1936 and again to 2305. This goes on and on for a while and if you think Star Trek confused you with its temporal mechanic plots wait until you get a load of this.

Now, all of this time travel does have a lot to do with the backbone of the story. Everything centers on a young girl named Misaki Kureha who we see throughout from the very first scene. She's a young girl then and is waiting with her mother for her father to show up. After a brief reunion the show jumps forward to 2315 where Misaki is bumbling through military training trying to make her parents proud. The only problem is that her parents died in an accident and she entered military training to see what her dad saw.

While Misaki is screwing around during training exercises there is something strange happening in the sky above. Attached to the moon is an orbital array of some sort and from their vantage point we see the Earth covered in a green mist. This is apparently caused by Ghouls that have been traveling through Earth's history wreaking havoc and bringing the planet to an inevitable event. The people who live on the array are charged with traveling to the green Earth and going back in time to stop the Ghouls. It sounds kind of convoluted but as the show progresses more gets explained.

The funny part is that while Lyar, an agent from the array, travels back in time to stop the Ghouls she also runs into a ghostly Misaki. It would seem that due to an event at the end of Divergence Eve Misaki has traveled through time to correct timelines and make everything right again. The show takes on a Quantum Leap-like mentality as we see various Misakis throughout human (well, Japanese) history. It definitely adds an interesting spin that keeps the show moving forward despite any amount of confusion that may set in.

With thirteen episodes in the show I found that the pacing was fine enough and even though I was lost at first the story unfolded nicely. Granted my understanding of things that occurred in Divergence Eve was limited to brief explanations in Misaki Chronicles so, again, you'll appreciate it more if you saw the first season.

There were a few things that I didn't really appreciate about the show though. For starters the character designs, while attractive, feature some god-awful female form. Swelled breasts are commonplace and jiggling is taken to the extreme. With how floppy their large melons are (especially when running) it's shocking that they aren't walking around with two black eyes. Another design issue I had with the show involved the infusion of CGI. The Ghouls and mechanics just look cheesy thanks to the way they are presented. Granted these complaints are minor but they did detract from an otherwise interesting and thought-provoking show.

Without having seen Divergence Eve I admit to being lost through most of the beginning of the program. As more of the plot became explained I found myself actually enjoying it and become interested in seeing what became of Misaki, Lyar, and the other characters. That's quite the turn around from my initial impressions of the show. I do question the character designs though but that's only a minor gripe. If you enjoyed the first season then this second release is a must buy. Otherwise you should check out the original show because you'll be lost for most of what's going on here like I was.

Misaki Chronicles was originally aired in Japan during 2004. The show was later transfer to DVD in 2006 by ADV and in this thinpak form the video quality is much the same. The colors are vibrant, the contrast is great, there is virtually no grain, and no compression appears throughout any of these three discs. I did notice a little bit of aliasing from time to time but that seemed to be associated with the tacky CGI. Overall this is a solid looking release that offers a fine transfer but the mixing of art styles doesn't do much to win viewers over in the aesthetics department.

Like most anime released nowadays Misaki Chronicles gets a 2.0 stereo treatment for the Japanese language and 5.1 for the English. As far as dubbing quality is concerned the Japanese offered the better experience with less obnoxious voice work. The English track improved things by creating a greater sense of immersion but I found that the action implementation was a bit lackluster. The rear channels weren't used to their fullest and mostly they just provided some ambient noise.

This is an ADV thin collection and you know what that means. No bonus material!

Ok, so I didn't appreciate the big boobs, crappy CGI, and fact that the show didn't recap events from the first season. I was lost for much of the beginning and quite honestly didn't know up from down. Ironically as the show progressed and some things were revealed my appreciation of the material improved. I actually came to enjoy the show's fine character development and amount of intrigue. It may not be for everyone but the way the series dealt with time travel and quantum mechanics gave it a unique edge. If you enjoyed the original series then pick this one up, otherwise you could probably do with a rental just fine.

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