 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 4:3 FULL SCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 100 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV MA | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 06/17/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 06/12//2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
For an anime that has begun so fun and fluffy, it has gone dramatically angst driven in this volume. Primula has fallen ill and has been taken to the Demon Realm. It hides an awful tragedy in Nerine’s past. But that’s just the beginning of the heartbreak in this volume. The volume is pivotal as it reveals a great deal about a couple of the more central characters. Primula’s condition has gotten worse and it leaves the group in turmoil. It gets to the point where all of them, each touched by tragedy in their past, are unwilling to sit back and lose someone else close to them. That spurs Rin, Kaede, Rina and Sia to go to the Demon Realm and try to save Primula…if they can. The journey unveils the background of Primula and her condition as well as Nerine’s past. At last viewers learn what happened – and who – Rin met on the swing on that fateful day long ago. The arc takes up three of the four episodes on this volume. Even when it seems to be resolved and leads to a heartfelt confession (or more), another door to angst opens regarding Asa. She’s hiding something from Rin and the others and it appears to be a dire secret. If all that weren’t enough, there’s something wrong with Sia. Just when Asa might need Rin the most, Sia high-jacks him, having been taken over by what seems to be a split personality! For a show that began as frivolous fun with plenty of fan service and a slight undertow of angst, the drama has done some high-jacking of its own completely taking over the anime at this juncture. Whether that will remain the case for the final two volumes remains to be seen.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include reverse cover art, an exclusive fold-out poster, FUNimation trailers, and clean opening and closing animation.
IN SUMMARY:
Drama hits hard and secrets are revealed in this pivotal volume of Shuffle! |
