Episode 19: Yulgaha's Magician:
With Hairra scheduled for destruction, can Fennis and Sakura save her android body from certain termination? The Rokudoushi priests have given the order and even her powers have their limits. Even if the body is saved, will Fennis be able to locate the soulstone in order to reanimate her long dead friend.

Episode 20: The Cliff:
As Yorn, the old man, and Elisiss attempt to scale a cliff, their old friend Fennis, driven cold by the events of the last episode, unknowingly targets them for termination. Yorn's desire to see his mother and make it back to Eurgoha is driven by something deeper than his conscious mind but will he make it in time to achieve his fate? Yanueas sees Yorn as the means by which to destroy their rival city and Eurgoha sees him as a threat to their god. Will the team be able to dodge forces from both cities or have to fight each of them in turn? Each city captures part of the team and has plans that aren't overly pleasant.

Episode 21: Let's All Be Nice To Each Other:
Yorn is scheduled to be drained of all his power by the scientists of Yanueas, killing him in the process. A similar procedure will take place on Eurgoha with his teammates. Spike, the second god hunter, may be their only hope but he has already made his intentions clear towards Yorn and that further complicates Yorn's position. Help comes from varied quarters and the episode ended in a cliffhanger.

Episode 22: Two Scorpions:
Spike has plans for Yorn and they don't include a rosy, long life. The two end up battling it out for the mantle of god hunter with Spike using force and Yorn using reason. The motives of each come to light and as they battle, they come to appreciate their lot in life even more.

I didn't see the fourth volume of the series so that makes it difficult to follow the complexities of the series. If you were to watch half a film, skip a couple of chapters, and then come back to the film, would you be able to honestly say (with 100% certainty), that you could describe what took place? The general thrust remains the same throughout the volumes I've seen; Yorn is on a mission to find his mother while avoiding the multitude of forces out to stop him, along the way, he falls for a girl that is far more than she appears to be, and the ending is quickly coming with the next volume. The stand alone value of this one is limited since too much took place beforehand, but if you've watched all that has taken place to this point, you'll want to at least Rent It and see the rest. Even though I think the animation used was rushed this time, it furthered the story although it's coasting on past excesses.

Picture: The picture was presented it's original 1.33:1 ratio full frame and was very clear. The colors were accurate and any minor problems with the picture were barely noticeable. I didn't see many compression artifacts but the anime style itself relied more heavily on budget-saving measures (i.e.: limited cell movement and the like) and it made the whole show look cheaper.

Sound: The sound was presented in Dolby Digital stereo with a choice of 5.1 English, English with song subtitles, or the original Japanese with English subtitles. The vocals and music were not as well done as earlier volumes, particularly the English language dub. I liked the way the music was integrated into the show and there was some really good use of directionality with the stereo separation in previous volumes but it wasn't as well done here. I think the same cost-cutting measures used on the picture were employed on the audio as well.

Extras: trailers, clean opening and closing sequence, and a paper insert with art

Final Thoughts: The technical qualities were weaker than in previous volumes but I still liked it enough to look forward to the last one coming soon. Hopefully, I'll find a good sale to fill in the missing volume (ADV is spotty about sending screeners these days) in the future but I think this volume is worth a rental without the others. The character growth that took place wasn't as detailed as before and the direction a bit sloppy but it's not a bad series to check into for fans of anime.