The background of the series is that as Earth enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in the sciences, there was a resistance movement growing that caused problems, including sabotage of innocents. Humans are established in space and have been excavating alien ruins on the moons of Jupiter. The leaders of Earth decide to assemble a team of talented and genetically superior military officers to go on a secret mission of finding the aliens responsible for an orbiting device known as The Ring and dealing with them as needed. The Ring was found to be a weapon, and in the first dvd destroyed a large portion of the world. An advanced prototype spaceship, the Bilkis, is built, partially using the technology of the aliens, and a robot mech is added on as a weapon, known of as the Shaft. The Shaft is piloted by several of the female crew, a couple of which fight to be the lead pilot. This infighting is a major portion of the internal struggles the crew faces as they battle the aliens from without.

In Geneshaft 3: Orbit, the story focused more on the government fleet trying to capture or destroy the Bilkis by using a couple of crazy genetic males. Mario, in an attempt to use a new program that allowed for him to teleport over to another ship, saved the day for a little bit yet the crew was still in great danger from their own people. In Geneshaft 4: Mobius, the crew is faces a former friend in combat as he attempts to end the human race by means of a newer version of the Shaft and outlines the whole plot against the crew (which extends beyond them). Here's a look at the episodes, noting that the series is finished with these episodes so all major threads were tied up:

11.Rite Of Passage:
With the apparent death of Mario, the crew sulks at their prospects and over the loss of their friend. Mir goes to Sergio in an attempt to get answers as to why he has abandoned the team but he tries to recruit her for his plan. Mika attempts to get her to return to the Bilkis with no luck. Another Ring, far more powerful than the previous ones, attacks and the crew fights it mostly by evading its powerful energy weapons. When the Ring stops attacking the Bilkis, the crew is left to wonder why.

12. The Gentle Man Of Ganymede:
The Captain wakes up and takes charge of the Bilkis once more. He tells them where their target is and that they need to destroy it, leaving no room for doubt as to the stakes they all face. Mir and Sergei attempt to come to terms on where her loyalties lie and what they will do, ending the show with a showdown about to begin between the Shaft of the Bilkis and one from the planet below.

13. Childhood's Beginning:
Hiroto, as Captain of the Bilkis, and Sergei, their immediate opponent, fight in a battle of wills while their representatives, Mika and Mir fight each other in their Shaft robots. The outcome of the battle will determine the fate of the human race.

The show ends will all the main ideas tied up and the origin of the alien threat fully realized. As the show progressed, particularly in the last episode, the anime style looked rushed (more budget problems with the original Japanese release?), but the concepts used made more sense and a lot of background detail revealed themes that had been touched upon but not fleshed out previously. By rewatching the previous volumes of the show, it all made (sort of at least) sense and I think this DVD is worth a rating of Recommended.

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.33:1 ratio full frame format and looked very crisp and clear. During a few of the CG sequences it lost some of its clarity and there was an occasional soft focus but my biggest problem was how it looked like some corners were cut at times. Using less detailed anime and camera movement to simulate a full production saves money but looks cheap. It was otherwise okay but not up to the previous standard set by the first volume.

Sound: The audio was presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo-with English or Japanese as choices. Both audio tracks were solidly produced and I liked them but have to give the nod to the original Japanese track this time. The music and vocals contributed significantly to the entertainment value of the show.

Extras: Trailers, character galleries, textless opening and closing, and another glossary as well as a double sided dvd cover and paper insert that focused on the Shaft and it's many capabilities.

Final Thoughts: I liked the series and wish it had been a longer one in which to fully flesh out some of the ideas presented. The technical issues were generally okay or better and the sometimes-gimmicky aspects of the show made sense in context. If you enjoy science fiction anime, there was a lot to like with this show.