Episode 23: Footsteps Of Destruction:
Episode 24: Dead People's Town:
Episode 25: The End Of The Holy Land:
Episode 26: The Boy Of The Earth:

As the two floating cities continue their war, Eurgoha bombs Yanueas. This would seem like a good thing except now Yanueas is out of control and about to crash into Eurgoha. As Yorn and Spike fight one last duel to determine who the real god hunter is, and therefore what path the universe will take, the rest of the cast is caught up in events beyond their control, awaiting the outcome of both the duel and the impending fight between the winner and Romezaviaa, the God to be hunted. At the end, each character's fate is outlined, some with bittersweet results, and many with surprising futures.

Had I seen the entire series (I'm awaiting a missing volume I ordered online), I'd probably been able to follow it a bit closer and enjoyed it more. As it was, this volume required you watch the previous episodes or be utterly lost, greatly reducing the stand-alone value and replay value unless you've already obtained the whole series. If it were released as a single, properly priced boxed set, I'd suggest it as at least a full rating higher but the weakening production value and the aforementioned factors make me feel obligated to keep this one as a Rent It. It had some intelligent moments but the direction also seemed to go back and forth between stretching the series out and compressing ideas to speed things up in a problem of pacing.

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: On the whole, if you see the entire series in order, I think it was worth recommending to those who enjoy science fiction anime laced with healthy amounts of humor. If you buy this one, make sure you get the previous volumes first or you'll miss far too much of the subtext needed to make sense of the action. There were some weaknesses as evidenced in Volume 5, but I liked the characters enough to appreciate the overall worth of the show.