 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | BANDAI VISUAL USA | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | JAPANESE DD 2.0 W/
ENGLISH SUBTITLES | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 74 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | 13 UP | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 08/19/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 10/06/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
Tenma has at long last found his sister Ran but she is under the control of the demon Akram. The tragedy only gets magnified tenfold when Ran curses Akane giving her only 24 hours to live! It is a somber scene with an ailing Akane and her concerned Guardians. They race to find a cure but the only way is to cast the curse back on its caster and that’s Tenma’s innocent sister Ran who is being controlled by the evil Akram. To save Ran, Akane makes the extreme sacrifice of offering herself in exchange to Akram for her. The Guardians are each upset and afraid for her well being. Meanwhile in a strange place, Akane isn’t simply given Ran, she must find and retrieve her from an old dilapidated manor. There she is attacked by a black dragon. The Guardians go all out to save her, risking their own lives in order to try to rescue Akane. With Tachibana leading them they enter a strange plane of existence to try to cross space and time to get to Akane before Akram’s plan comes to fruition. The confrontation will decide a new path for all concerned as a new quest springs to the fore. It is during the aftermath that the new destiny is discovered. A strange white rainbow appears, an ill omen to the people of the capital. An apparition appears before Akane in the form of a beautiful man with an earnest and alarming prophecy. With his words of woe and war, Akane chooses not to sit by passively. She and her Guardians, now a full eight, will go forth to gather the Four Sacred Talismans in order to restore the Four Gods to their places of protection around the capital. This is no easy quest though. The talismans are hidden and no one knows where. Also Akram is more determined than ever to gain Akane’s growing power. The anime sets off in an all new direction, upping the suspense and adventure. The anime remains most appealing. The attractive colors, detailed costumes and in depth backgrounds all remain as impressive as the first volume.
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, and a “Poems Unraveled” segment. The end of each episode has “Tengu’s Lessons on Classical Japanese” which offer omake style insights into historical and cultural references used in the episodes.
IN SUMMARY:
The Guardians and Akane confront Akram and a new quest must be undertaken by the heroes and their priestess in order to save the capital. |
