 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | BANDAI VISUAL USA | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | JAPANESE DD 2.0 W/ SUBTITLES | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 74 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | 13 UP | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 05/27/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 05/22/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
he second volume of Haruka sees new discoveries about Akane’s powers and her role as the Dragon Priestess, another of the Eight Guardians is revealed, and a second confrontation with Akram will shake Akane to her core. Following last volume, Akane has fallen ill but her spirit leaves her body to go to a beautiful yet marked sorcerer named Yasuaki. She becomes involved in a supernatural mystery and possible danger and in doing so, discovers that Yasuaki, the mysterious and gentle speaking young man, is one of her guardians. And it is a discovery that has occurred just in time as the Flower Purifying Ceremony approaches when Akram plans to decimate the capital. The festival is one of great significance. The red petals must be purified before they drop. For if red stained blossoms fall upon the capital, catastrophe is sure to follow. For the first time, Akane takes on her formal role as Priestess of the Dragon God to assist Yasuaki in the ceremony. But when Akram appears and battles the guardians, Akane is deeply upset, even horrified over Akram’s actions and it unleashes her true powers. The aftermath of the ceremony may have seen Akram’s face at last revealed, but it also has left Akane’s heart in turmoil. Despite his coldness and inhuman, even murderous acts, Akane seems unable to completely turn her heart against Akram. It is something the other guardians sense, at least that she is troubled, and each in their own way tries to comfort her. But even there, further trouble begins. Tenma remains irreverent to the Heian era he is trapped in. His only goal is to protect Akane – no matter what. Yet when some of the other Guardians do the same, he becomes overly protective, even territorial over his guardianship of Akane. Is it jealousy or something else? Either way it is creating problems between the guardians. There are eight of them, but not all have yet been discovered. However, considering they are all shown during the opening animation sequence, it is easy to guess who the next ones are and we get a glimpse of the next two in episode five. The fantasy remains involving. Akane at this point is only reluctantly involved in her duties as a priestess to the Dragon God. The anime reveals limits to the powers of the guardians and a risk to Akane’s lack of control over her immense power. She remains unsettled over herself and how she feels towards Akram, a further ongoing mystery in the show, and yet grows increasingly determined to save the lives of the people of the capital. It is her nature to care, but in Akram’s case, her compassion may be Akane’s undoing.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include next episode trailers and a fold out insert that holds full color character art, character profiles with character sketches, episode summaries, and interviews with Satoshi Yamaguchi (Producer) and Junko Okazaki (Series Planner), and a “Poems Unraveled” segment.
IN SUMMARY:
Haruka is an increasingly involving fantasy series. It will strike a chord with Fushigi Yuugi fans. |
