When we last saw our intrepid Lemuel Gulliver's, Emi and Yuko, Shall, Beret and others were taking them on the journey into the enemy Valgidan land in the hope that they could find the captured princess and she could transport them back home. The last episode (four) ended with Shall and the girls being attacked by a mysterious assassin.

Synopisis

Episode Five- PAST THE FOREST, OVER THE FIELD: The assassin is revealed to be Shura, a Glianian soldier and Shall's brother. Shura believes that Shall sold over the princess to the Valgidans. During the fight Reza, Mani, and the Glianian crew that captured them arrive, stopping the fight and capturing Shall. This new crew begins the trek, the Glianian commander being reverential to the girls, making offering s to them, trying to figure out why the supposed Great Protectors are so reluctant to help.

Episode Six- SNEAKY HUNTER: A nighttime raid by a Valgidan strike force results in Reza, Mani, Shall, Beret, and Yuko being captured, most of the Glainains are killed, while Shura and Emi, who was off taking a pee during the attack, escape and follow their captured friends from a distance, formulating a plan to rescue them. Yuko meets the vixen in charge of this Valgidan army, Levian, who has hatched a sly plan to convince the guardians to defect to her side. She reveals to Yuko, that they don't even have the princess, who, she claims, somehow escaped, and disappeared into thin air. Shura and Emi attepmt a daring rescue (during a feverish bird migration) but the escape is thwarted by Levian, and they are all captured.

Episode Seven- NO ONE SHALL SLEEP TONIGHT: Deum, Levian's second in command, beats on his prisoners and ruthlessly forces Beret and Shall into fighting with his men. Meanwhile, Levian talks to the despondent Yuko and Emi, and convinces them that it doesn't matter whose side they are on, both sides want them to fight, and if they switch sides and join the Valgidans, she will let their friends go. The girls kowtow to this plan, and as they tell Reza, Mani, Shall, Shura and the others of their defection, word comes in that the first Valgidan stronghold has fallen to the Glianian's. Duem usurps his commander, Levian, and rallies the army, convincing them that now the guardians help, they should immediately counter attack the Glianian army.

Well, Jonathan Swift. would probably be impressed with this inspired version of Gulliver's Travels and the, complex world and political struggles of its Lilliputianesque inhabitants... Then again, Jonathan Swift would be amazed the Japanese had evolved into something other than a secretive nation of sandal wearing, goldfish tenders (I stole that line from the Simpsons).

This second volume continues the development nicely. Some things I didn't touch on in my synopsis were the continuing love triangle between Reza, Mani, and Shall, with the demure Mani keeping quiet about her crush, and Shall brushing off Reza's declaration of love because he is too consumed by the warfare and his guilt over losing the princess. Also, in episode six, Yuko receives a ghostly vision, but the ghost offers the opposite advice the Emi's ghostly vision form the first volume... Once again, what really struck me was the seriousness of the series. The art and rating suggestion (recommended for most ages) would lead you to believe it is much more lightweight. And, while there is some brief comic relief, it is actually played straight and not cute in the slightest way. Including such moments as when Beret is forced to fight he somewhat graphically (PG-13ish) slow motion brains a Valgidan soldier with a sword, killing him. Yet, confusingly, the cover of this second volume is of a bikini clad Emi and Yuko and a smiling Shall, Reza and Mani swimming in a fantastic underwater wonderland. I don't think any of the characters have so much as cracked a smile at all in the series. And why should they? Its not a fun-time swimming party at all.

The DVD: Urban Vision DVD. The first edition had more extras, but also more episodes, four instead of three. Its a real disappointment, since with only three episodes, the DVD is 70 mins long. Take out the credit sequences and you have just barely an hours worth of entertainment. But, that is often the case with anime- higher prices and low content.

Picture- Nice picture, in its proper tv ratio. Good, production values, with nice painted backdrops, and crisp, clear character designs and animation.

Sound- Two Language/audio options. A remastered 5.1 English dub. Like I mentioned in my review of the first volume, its a crying shame the only 5.1 option is this dub. The (Australian?) voice actors for Emi and especially Yuko are terrible and annoying. Beret, a gruff male character, has a woman doing his voice completely ruining he characterization. Technically, this time out, the 5.1 track is too loud, actually crackling because the volume is mixed too high. The original Japanese 2.0 Dolby Surround audio mix is a significantly quieter and less dynamic, of course, but is the preferable track. Optional yellow English subtitles.

Extras- The first volume had more extras, character designs and a sticker sheet. This time it is fairly bare--- Nice animated menus--- Trailers for Strange Dawn, Dragon Slayer, Tekkaamn Blade II and Legend of the Crystals--- Web info--- Scene Selections, each episode is divided into five chapters.

Conclusion- Once again the sound is a disappointment and this volume offers fewer extras. It is good, not great, and fans/people who enjoyed the first volume of the series will pick it up, anyway. Lets face it, you have to in order to see what happens.