Manga has done something a little odd with their release of the anime Tactics. They've decided to put out this 25 episode series over five discs, which is admirable. Getting five episodes per volume (with a MSRP of $25 each) is a nice way to do things rather than draw it out to 6 or 7 volumes, which other companies have done. The strange thing is they've released the first four volumes and then put out a boxed set with the entire show before the final volume has been released. This is pretty much a slap in the face to the loyal customers who have been supporting the title all along. Not only do they end up paying 2 ½ times as much for the whole series as the people who just buy the set, but they don't even get to see the conclusion first. I'm not sure what Manga was thinking, but this is a horrible idea.

As for the show itself, it's pretty good. The narrative centers around Kantaro, a young man who has had the ability to see spirits and demons since he was a small child. Teased mercilessly because the other children thought he was making things up, Kantaro has always dreamed of finding the mythical demon-eating goblin who has been imprisoned somewhere in Japan.

Now a young adult, Kantaro still searches for the demon-eating goblin. He already has one servant, a fox demon Kantaro named Yoko. If anyone names a demon, that creature is tied to the person who names it and has to do anything they say, and that's exactly what happened to Yoko. Kantaro struggles for money, he's writing a book that is terminally late, and also works as a part-time exorcist and all around general investigator of the supernatural.

While following a map of dubious origins, Kantaro, in the first episode, comes across a magically sealed prison. Breaking the seal he manages to release the powerful demon-eating goblin and names him Haruka. From then on Haruka joins Kantaro and the pushy Yoko in ridding the world of nefarious demons.

This is a monster-of-the-week program for the most part, but describing it in those terms sells it short. While there is only a very thin overriding story, the individual episodes are all well crafted, with interesting mysteries and demons with curious powers and abilities. The program reminds me of Mushi-shi in many respects. The driving force of the program isn't the ultimate showdown between Haruka, Kantaro and the demon, rather it's the story of what the demon is doing and how.

One of the better episodes comes early in the series when a ghost trolley starts terrorizing Kantaro's town. At the same time every evening it will mysteriously appear and cause havoc. Kantaro doesn't have to fight the trolley however; he has to find out what it wants and why it is appearing. It's a touching story with a bitter-sweet ending that will leave you wondering if the resolution was the best thing to happen or not.

Though the show is supernatural in nature, it's not a horror anime. There's no blood soaked rooms or heads being severed off of bodies. Just the opposite, this is a beautiful show. The backgrounds to this program are wonderful and gorgeously drawn. The nature scenes look like paintings and the cityscapes are impressive too. The character designs are very nice, especially Haruka, and fit in well with the attractive environment. Had less effort been spent on the look of this show it wouldn't have been nearly as impressive.

The full 25 episodes from this show are presented on five DVDs. These are housed in full-sized keepcases which in turn are packaged in a thin pressboard slipcase. The DVDs and their covers seem to be identical to the individual volumes that were released earlier.

Audio:

This set gives viewers the choice of either the original Japanese audio or an English dub, both in either stereo or DD 5.1. I alternated between the two 5.1 tracks and spot checked the stereo options, and found all four tracks to be very solid. The surround tracks are very similar and while they don't offer a lot of rear audio, the surround speakers do kick in when the action starts. Both languages were fine, though I ended up preferring the Japanese track slightly. There were no audio defects, which is to be expected with such a recent show. Overall whichever track you pick, the show will sound fine.

Video:

The anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen image looks quite impressive. The colors are solid and bright, the blacks are spot on and the lines are nice and tight. On the digital side of things the encode does its job well. There are no major compression artifacts and even aliasing is very rare.

Extras:

Scattered over these five discs are some standard bonus features. There is a clean opening and closing, some TV ads, a merchandise gallery, some songs from the show, image galleries and a ten minute interview with the Japanese cast.

Final Thoughts:

Tactics is one of those shows that shouldn't work, but does. The idea of a man hunting demons with a super-powered ally is nothing new, but rather than being a run of the mill anime this series is something unique. A thoughtful show will well written stories, viewers will soon find themselves engrossed in the stories and wanting more. This attractively priced series set is the perfect way to get the whole show at one time and gets a very strong recommendation.

For another take on Tactics, read Todd Douglass' reviews of the individual volumes: Volume one, two, three, and four.