Okay, the series is set in the future when space travel is fairly cheap and Mars (as well as other places) has been colonized. A group of separatists are trying to break free of the ruling authority, which appears to be Earth based. Technology is such that large Mech-robots are commonplace and they are the main military weapon of the time. A small family, led by their dad, James Links, has somehow been implicated in a crime and everyone is after them. The crime appears to involve stealing an advanced Mech, Dolores, that seems to have somehow achieved sentience (she can think like a human). The dvd is a bit more of a stand alone, you can watch it without having to have seen the earlier dvds, than the last volume but you'll get more out of it by watching the whole series in order. I liked this one a bit better than the last volume but I'm still rating it as Recommended. Here's a brief description of each episode:

Episode 19: The Time Of Reunion:
After the events of the previous episode where Dolores and the family had a show down, they decide it's time to attempt a full on battle with the powers that be on Mars. The military sends a swarm of large "raptors"-other mech-robots without human pilots, after the crew but Dolores apparently can control them. The enemy sends in an old family friend, Rebecca, with a super powerful new weapon that is far stronger than anything Dolores can shield against. The family finally finds the one they've been looking for as the battle progresses.

Episode 20: Upheaval:
After a couple of major plot revelations at the end of the last episode, even more is unveiled about the origin of Dolores and her sentience. A military coup on Mars sets the stage for war between Earth and Mars. The rebels use their latest weapon, the Megatron (Hattor), piloted by a man long thought to be dead.

Episode 21: Set Course For The North Northwest:
All out war ensues and the Links family decides which side to fight for, knowing that the madmen in charge of the coup will stop at nothing to win. As cities are attacked and civilians killed, Dolores and James attempt to use reason but ultimately resort to force in order to protect as many people as they can.

Episode 22: Clash:
In a tentative truce between the authorities that were chasing them, and Dolores & crew, they work together to prevent the enemy from taking over the orbital elevator. Dolores finds herself at the mercy of her enemy and James is gravely wounded in what could be their last battle. The beginning of the end is near, one way or another, for the entire cast and crew. With both James and Dolores seriously wounded in the battle, they won't be saving the day any time soon.

Picture: The picture was presented in it's original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. It looked very crisp and clear with no visible compression artifacts or other problems. A few moments were a bit off but those were few and far between.

Sound: The sound was presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with either English or the original Japanese with English subtitles. The voices were clear in both but this time I give the nod to the original audio track being a bit better. I'm generally an original language snob so the fact that the English track nearly bested it speaks volumes as to the proficiency of the people performing on it and the engineers making it though.

Extras: ADR Session with two of the Japanese voice actors (Takahito Koyashu and Yumiko Nakanishi; Dolores' Diary Part 2-a brief background of the earlier events as seen by the robot; Orbital Elevator-a series of diagrams and explanations as to the science of the orbital platform and space technology the series is based on; a clean opening and closing sequence, production sketches and some conceptual artwork, some trailers to other good ADV series, a small pack of trading cards based on the series, and a paper insert of the chapters

Final Thoughts: The more of the show I watch, the more I like it. I'm just sorry the show is about to end just as I really started appreciating it. The anime style mixes drawn and CGI a bit and while it doesn't look like the biggest budget series of recent years, it had a lot going for it-style, character development, and some new ideas. Check it out.