Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water Vol. 9: NADIA IN LOVE- Episode #33- King's Rescue: Nadia's pet lion cub, King, has been abducted by a treasure hunter, Gonzalez, who is holding poor King ransom in exchange for the treasure of the villagers Nadia and crew have befriended. Nadia and Grandis try a rescue attempt which only gets them captured. So, Jean and the rest mount a far too complicated rescue mission that goes awry, naturally in a comic way, and everyone is reunited despite the bumbling. Episode #34- My Darling Nadia: A musical episode centering around Jean trying to compose a ballad to express to Nadia how he feels about her and lift her out of the doldrums. Episode #35- The Secret of Blue Water: Drawn by a mystical force to her birthplace, Nadia leads them through the underwater city of Neo-Atlantis and explains the cities and her peoples history. As she fears the powers awakening within her, Nadia's worry is compounded when two Warships of their arch villain, Gargoyle, have trapped them down. Episode #36- The New Nautilus: Nadia bargains for her friends safety by turning herself over to Gargoyle. As the crew tries to escape Gargoyle, they run into old friends, Captain Nemo, who has uncovered one of Neo-Atlantis greatest warships, more than a match for Gargoyle, but getting Nadia back will still not be very easy.

This is the next to last volume and the episodes have that setup feel, like they are just making the stage for the big finale. Mostly the adventures are lighthearted and even somewhat vacuous (like the musical episode), providing a nice cushion for the serious finale just around the corner.

The DVD: A.D. VISION

Picture: Standard Full-Screen. Looks pretty good, as good as early 90's tv cel animation can look. A nicely done series, slightly upper crust tv animation. Good color, contrast, and sharpness with some minor wear, spots, the occasional slight rough line that comes with all cel animation.

Sound: English dub or original Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional yellow English subtitles. Good, clear, but minimal Stereo with the dialogue in the center and some fx and music filling out the sides. In the ever popular Subtitle Vs. Dub debate, when speaking of Gargoyle the characters say he is , in dub "Walking evil.", whereas the subtitles stick with "A bad guy." But really, it is the actual voice nuances that count. Gargoyle, for instance, in the original Japanese is pretty authoritative and coldly forceful, whereas in the English dub characterization he is more placid and cool in his commands.

Extras: Episode and Chapter Selections--- Text interview with English voice actor Nathan Parsons "Jean".--- Preview for the next and last volume, The Prophecy Fulfilled (30 sec).--- Extensive ADV Previews for Excel Saga, Soul Hunter, Steel Angle Karami, Power Stone, Wild Arms and Princess Nine.

Conclusion: Honestly there is no other way to put it... At 33 episodes in, if you area fan and already have the previous volumes, go ahead and get this one. If you are not a fan and are curious, rent/purchase the first few and be rest assured by the time you get to this volume it is fine.