▪	RELEASED BY:		BANDAI VISUAL
		▪	ASPECT RATIO:		16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN
		▪	AUDIO:		JAPANESE DD 2.0 W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES
		▪	RUNNING TIME:		74 MIN
		▪	RATING:		13 UP
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		09/16/2008
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		10/08/2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

The new goal of obtaining the Talismans comes with an interesting caveat – the Guardians must search in pairs and combine their powers of Earth and Heaven. Therefore in each direction two of the Guardians roam to try to find the hidden artifacts that will strengthen their borders and help save their people as well as the priestess Akane. But this proves more daunting than imaginable. Not all of the guardians get along. This is well seen between the vengeful Inori whose hatred of Demons is beyond reason and his pairing with the gentle and timid Shimon. Inori still isn’t convinced that Shimon isn’t a Demon since he has the tell-tale blue eyes and blond hair. Alas, poor lonely Shimon is left behind by Inori and ends up meeting another boy with light hair and eyes. Together they strike up a friendship, that is until they each find out the other is one of the Guardians (Shimon) and that Sefle is working for Akram! Sefle feels utterly betrayed and tries to use Shimon to lure out the priestess and in so doing may have convinced Inori that Shimon is a traitor! Will Shimon have to leave his Guardian status and run for his life? Or will Inori see the truth of Shimon’s gentle heart at last and save him? A power will be awakened, truths will be learned, and an interesting thread of friendship and betrayal will be sown.

In the next episode, Tenmari and Yurihisa search for a Talisman but the journey proves to be a fearful reminder of what happened between Yurihisa and his older brother several years ago. Will tragedy strike twice? The same mistakes seem to be occurring and Icktidari is sent to thwart them. The most skilled warrior among the demons serving Akram, the two Guardians will have to find a way to work together in order to avoid history from repeating a sad fate. Meanwhile Tachibana and Takamachi travel together but opposites never did attract between these two polarized personalities. Takamichi’s hard working and fervent ways are not on par with Tachibana’s more laid back approach. In a fit of pique, Takamichi leaves Tachibana behind but to each their peril when Shirin uses her wiles to try to ensnare both men! One ends up trapped and the other separated and unknowing of his partner’s fate. In order to get the Talismans let alone survive this latest deception and danger they will have to learn to work together and accept each other’s differences…before it’s too late!

The new quest for the Talisman’s adds more suspense, action and excitement into the series. The lynch pin of having the two very different Guardians have to work together in pairs to obtain them is also a nice bit of intrigue that allows for a good deal of character development and background to be focused on. The individual episodes feature character songs for the particular Guardian. In this volume one of the Talismans is discovered and viewers get to see how that comes about as well as the curious results. 
 

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 search for the Talismans begin! A new quest sees new dangers both without and within for the heroes of this fine adventure series!