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Remember near the end of the first season when a character was kidnapped by someone using dark magic? Ready to see that plot reused twice for 5 episodes total?

While the show is still enjoyable, it's mostly fluff and does very little to grow the characters or advance the status quo. Notably, some people may be frustrated with Katarina's obliviousness to everyone's feelings towards her, now without the excuse of focusing on avoiding the doom flags to distract her from everyone's obvious affections. Additionally, with how the first season ended resolving Katarina successfully avoiding her doom flags, there's little to drive the overarching plot this season. ... The final episode does add a sequel hook, but how many more accidental romantic conquests does she need?

This show is bad. While there are some interesting ideas and potential for an interesting story, it's most severely harmed by its limited run time and inability to flesh out the world and characters. If they're lucky, characters get 1 trait and the vaguest hint of motivation, but several are confounding. Despite this, the emotional climax of the story still managed to move me, just not enough to negate all concerns about earlier questionable plot choices.

The character designs are fairly unremarkable, aside from transformed vampires, which are appropriately horrifying; and the animation is generally good enough, with the exception of conspicuously noticeable CG for hand ... and finger movement in a piano sequence, and episode 4 utilizes of number of slow pans over still frames for characters dancing and frolicking. The English dub (at least the first episode) is very stiff and unnatural across the board. I watched the remaining 4 episodes in Japanese and it was a significant improvement.

The opening moments of the story explain how humanity has been driven to the brink by vampires, and humans are struggling to reclaim the world, while a few early scenes with the vampires imply the morality isn't so clear cut, but the show never really explores how the world reached its current dystopian state. The show is also kind of flexible with how dangerous daylight/UV is to vampires. It's a major plot point in the first episode that the city is protected by a wall of (spot)light(s), but Fine gets blasted with UV light multiple times and seems only minimally effected by it (this may be because Fine is the queen of the vampires, but there are only about four lines referencing this in the entire show, most of them in the first episode).

The protagonists Momo and Fine flee their warring oppressive human and vampires communities to find a utopia where both species can live in peace, and before they find it, they find a regular city where it's split in half by a river where the two sides have some kind of peace worked out, which kind of undercuts the earlier premise.

Another issue with the plot is that Mome and Fine arrive at the fabled peaceful mixed vampire/human village at the end of episode 3/start of episode 4, so you know that with 2 episodes to go, something will go wrong. If you made three guesses as to what that something is, you'd probably get at least 2 of them right, because the show isn't exactly groundbreaking.

As for Momo and Fine's relationship, which is clearly intended to be the core of the story, it's disappointingly underdeveloped. It hints at a romantic connection between the two of them, but because of Fine's past trauma from how her previous relationship ended leads to her repeatedly distancing herself from Momo emotionally, and relying on traveling montages to establish their bond, it's hard to explain why they should be together.


Ultimately, the show is brought down by incomplete and underutilized concepts and characterization. There are some interesting ideas, but rarely are they brought to the level of a complete thought.

Tears to Tiara is not so much a spiritual successor to Utawarerumono as it is a remake with a change of setting. Both shows were directed by Tomoki Kobayashi, with the production studio being Oriental Light and Magic. Both are adaptations of a tactical RPG/visual novel game from AQUAPLUS, and while the grand sweeping fantasy story is a departure from most visual novels turned anime, the original creators clearly only had the one diversion from the standard. The lack of originality here is frustrating for anyone who has already seen Utawarerumono. Nearly the entire ensemble of characters immediately draw comparison to counterparts in the other ... show; and, more damningly, so do plot points and twists.

The general plot of the story revolves around the Demon King Arawn becoming the leader of the small Gael clan, first leading them to fight off a malevolent Divine Empire,, then eventually to stop the corrupt gods that seek to destroy the world. The story is standard fare as RPGs go, even without comparison to its predecessor. Unfortunately, beyond even the uninspired narrative, Tears suffers from awkward pacing: on multiple occasions, apparent looming conflicts with the series most regular antagonist are ignored for multiple episodes in order to explore other sub plots or character arcs that sprout inorganically from the main story. Even worse, the transition of the primary antagonist from the Divine Empire to the corrupt deities known as the White Spirits is jarringly abrupt and lacking the world building necessary to properly convey the escalation of danger.

The underwhelming story might be forgivable had the cast been entertaining or endearing; they are almost uniformly neither. While Arawn is an improvement over Hakuoro as a protagonist, on account of starting off with much more personality thanks to an absence of amnesia, he is probably the only of Tears' characters that are a clear improvement over their precursors. The next most important characters, Riannon and Arthur, are adequate as the romantic interest who's a reincarnation of someone from Arawn's past and a tediously honor-bound warrior and future leader. With the exception of Ogam, who fills the standard wise old sage role, the remaining cast are so devoid of personality that some of them don't even warrant a stereotype, defined only by a recurring “joke” and the weapon they wield. One pair of characters get a scene about two-thirds of the way into the show presenting them as a longstanding tsundere-admirer relationship, despite having no interaction prior. Such an incident demonstrates that the anime is simply ticking off a checklist of expectations rather than making a genuine effort.

Not helping the character depictions is the dub. The translation is clearly attempting to be grandiose and noble to fit the story's epic scope, but instead comes across as trite and overblown, especially when the subject matter turns to power of friendship or honor speeches. Further complicating the acting is the effort to give many of the cast Gaelic accents, which in seems to make it more difficult for several of them not to speak their lines in a grating squeak (Greg Ayers' Negi Springfield voice is back, for example).

The animation is thoroughly average, although absent is the conspicuous CG from Utawarerumono used in the large battles. The trade-off for the more consistent look is that the fights are scaled down, which hinders the scope of the story. At least the character designs are appealing.

If you really want a mythic fantasy adventure where the protagonist leads an oppressed people to freedom and survival, watch Utawarerumono instead. If you already have, there's not really a need to watch Tears to Tiara.

K-ON! is inconsequential fluff. One might compare it to popcorn or cotton candy: a tasty treat, but if you're looking for a meal, it will leave you looking for something more substantial after it's done.

K-ON! follows the tried and true formula of cute girls doing cute things. Based on a 4-koma comic, the series is about several high school girls who form (technically join, but all the previous members graduated) a light music club and follows their activities. The music itself often takes a back seat to the antics of the girls, and audiophiles may find themselves somewhat disappointed if they go in expecting detailed ... attention to techniques or references to real life bands (there are a couple, but few and far between). There are two concerts in the thirteen episode series, but neither is as impressive as the one from the Live A Live episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (one of Kyoto Animation's earlier shows), but still very enjoyable. The most common scene in the series features the main girls sitting in the club room snacking on tea and cakes while discussing various mundane events, particularly with the more dedicated girls trying to get the rest to practice.

The girls all have their own distinct personality. Yui, the main character, is the some clumsy and adorable airhead. She joined the club hoping to play an easy instrument like the castanets but ends up playing guitar because the club needed a guitarist. Ritsu is the energetic idiot of the show, drummer, and club president because she was the one who dragged everyone else into the club. Mio is Ritsu's long time friend, and the sensible, serious one of the group. She writes the groups songs, and plays the bass. She is also the most moe character, being the prettiest, easily embarrassed, and terrified of ghosts and yucky things. Mugi is the pianist. She comes from a wealthy family, and thus is a source of amusement by displaying the difference in wealth between rich people and normal people. She is also the provider of the tea and sweets that are regularly consumed at the club meetings.

There are a few regular minor characters, too. Ui is Yui's younger, but more mature and reliable sister. Yui has a friend named Nodoka who joins the student council, which means her role is essentially to let everyone know that Ritsu has forgotten something regarding paperwork for the club. Sawako is a music teacher who is recruited as the club adviser in one of the more memorable scenes of the series. Also, a late addition to the cast is Azusa, an underclassman who is much like a miniature version of Mio.

Character designs are generally cute, with the kind of big round faces typical of most Kyoto Animation works. Background art is consistently good, as is the animation, which should come as no surprise. When characters are shown playing their instruments, there is generally more attention to detail than seen in anime to the point where the sound properly matches the characters actions. The singing at the concert features the same style animation as Live A Live, where you can just about lip read the lyrics (if you know Japanese, of course).

The music used in the series can generally be described as light and fluffy, both the background music and the couple of songs the girls play at their concerts, with the exception of the closer, which rocks a little bit harder than rest. The voice acting fits well all around, with Yui being notable for regularly coming off as someone who isn't all there, fitting her character well.

I don't want to close saying this show is like Azumanga Daioh with a music club, but that's about the easiest comparison I can make, and not too far off a description.

CLAMP decides to take the standard shonen fighting tournament setup and retools it into a series for girls. Partly it does this by making the tournament a fighter between customizable dolls, and making most of the competitors young females.

Like most tournament shows, the themes of doing your best and friendship pervade the experience. A doll used in the Angelic Fights is usually treated by her (or rarely, his) owner (deus) as though it were a dear friend, with concerned cries going out when they are injured. Unlike most competition shows, however, Angelic Layer isn't treated as the be-all-end-all of life. Characters who take it ... too seriously end up losing to Misaki and come to see that winning is less important than making friends and having fun. That's not to say the entire show is light-hearted and gay; Misaki's personal mantra seems to be: I'll do my best in spite of my tiny size!

The plot is mostly simple enough: Misaki arrives in Tokyo, since she'll be going to a new school there and sees an exhibition Angelic Layer fight. When the pretty, smaller Angel wins, Misaki is immediately enamored and wants to create her very own Angel. After winning her very first fight, she enters the annual tournament, and proceeds to advance round after round, with help and encouragement from her friends, growing as both a person and a deus. Along the way, she makes new friends, and they occasionally stop by for a picnic or a trip to the beach.

Misaki herself is an adorable girl, and a virtuous heroine, but, unfortunately, somewhat shallow as a character for most of the story. Her motive of being strong is dedicated to not being a burden for her mother, whom she hasn't seen in years and has been away in Tokyo for work; or so she believes. The truth about her mother is revealed about halfway through, and eventually that plot thread allows for Misaki to rise above her basic role as the talented newcomer at the end of the show, but until then, she fails to be much more than an enjoyable stereotype.

The supporting cast lend a great deal of charm to the show, most notably from Icchan, the goofy, eccentric creator of Angelic Layer who hides his role as such from Misaki while guiding her into the game. Aside from tormenting his assistants and providing screwball antics, Icchan displays a caring and sometimes insightful side behind his silly facade, proving to be a deeper character than the lead for much of the series. Misaki's classmates, the childhood friends Tamayo and Kotaro, provide a regular dose of levity, with Tamayo regularly practicing various martial arts holds or wrestling moves on Kotaro, who develops a crush on Misaki. Kotaro's little sister, Hatoko, fills the role of a mentor for Misaki. Many of the rival deus also befriend Misaki, eventually, nearly all of them with a brief, touching, backstory to endear them to the viewer, although pop idol Ringo just provides silly and energetic entertainment value.

The series makes use of lots of vivid, solid colors, and is pleasing to look at. Even during rainstorms, the pallet never feels downright dreary. Character designs are moderately varied (Just, be careful about the announcer's purple suit, wow), although most of the characters have only one outfit that they where in the entire series. One wonders why so many characters participate in these games wearing their school uniform. All of the Angels have unique outfits as well, ranging from strikingly beautiful to kind of funny looking. Hikaru, Misaki's angel, is a distinctive red outfit that's somewhere in the middle. The battles are fairly fluid, although certain moves are represented with flashy single frames, and in some of the longer battles, some scenes are shown from a distance. People who watch more recent action shows won't be impressed with any of it, though.

Sound effects are used well throughout the show, whether in the Angelic Fights or for comedic emphasis. Especially for comedic emphasis. The English dub, however, fairs less well. I only had access to the dubbed version, so I can't judge the Japanese track, but the English voice acting is probably the series weakest aspect. The children, especially younger children, frequently come across as a little wooden or strained, and not entirely believable. Hatoko's light and wispy tone doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't quite seem to fit, Jessica Boon's Misaki always seems just a little bit too dramatic, Monica Rial plays Tamayo maybe a little too gruff, and so on. Icchan feels pretty spot on, though, but his harried assistant's whininess is a bit grating. One major distraction in the voice acting is the regularity of unnatural pauses in the middle of a sentence. Yes, this is a side effect of the difference in sentence structure from Japanese to English, thus the lip flaps make it difficult to get the dialogue to flow easily, but perhaps if the translation was a little less rigid (I'm assuming, again, I only saw the dub) it might have been less obvious. Also, the pronunciation of "deus" as deuce struck me as odd, since deus (day-oos) is Latin for god, and matches the Angel theme.

All-in-all, it's a nice show. It's got a good message and will generally provide a warm and cuddly feeling with a few chuckles along the way. There's nothing really ground-breaking here, but it's a good kid-friendly show, if that's what you're looking for. Surprisingly, there's very little in the way of romance for a CLAMP series.

It's like Prohibition, but instead of ruthless gangsters making piles of money from illegal alcohol, a couple of high school students try to evade a government abolition of chocolate and all other sweets. Also, the police have giant robots specifically built for sniffing out and arresting chocolate enthusiasts. Yes, it's as ridiculous as it sounds.

Chocolate Underground is only made up of 13 three-minute episodes streamed on the internet, so there's only so much to say about it, although the show does cover a surprising amount of plot in the limited time it has. It's based on a satirical novel about two English boys with the ... border-line silly names Huntley and Smudger. If only the anime were any good, because apparently the creators thought in order to make it clear the material is parody, they had to make it entirely silly; the amount of common sense one has to ignore turns the events into a goofy romp.

You get instances like when the protagonists stumble onto a (not so) cleverly hidden secret chocolate party thanks to some research about the history of chocolate. And while the party goers hide when the two first arrive, no one notices minutes later when a police task force dozens strong raids the place. Chaos and hilarity ensue. The two boys, a female friend, and a little sister than go on to open an (figuratively and literally) underground chocolate shop, and eventually lead an action-packed (giant robots, remember?) rebellion against the unfair law. The story even manages to squeeze in a subplot about a turncoat classmate with an older brother in captivity that doesn't really rise beyond a cliche due to the limited length of the story.

Characters are generally little more the pieces to advance the plot. Mostly they don't even rise to the level of one-dimensional stereotypes. Of the two heroes, I think one was supposed to be the spunky go-getter, and the other the more brainy and cautious, but I can't remember if there was any distinction at all.

Visuals and sound are both run-of-the-mill for a 2008 show. They do the job they need to but are utterly forgettable. Also, since the episodes are so short, there is no OP or ED.

The show might be enjoyable as a brief diversion and nothing more. The problem is that the idea of the Good For You Party and people's willingness to surrender simple freedoms for a "better" lifestyle and later regret and realization of their error could have at least left some kind of message to the story, but a last minute plot-twist reduces the villain to a simple corrupt-politician cliche. Apparently there's a movie version coming out with another twenty minutes of material. Maybe that might make this worth the watch. I wouldn't count on it, though.

What's the most generic romantic comedy you can think of? Not a harem situation, just a love triangle. Is it set in a high school for magic-users/monster-trainers/psychics? Presto: Mamoru-kun.

It's not that this show is egregiously bad - the OP is a little annoying and the art and animation is rather lame for a show that aired in 2006, but you can skip the opening and comedies don't need stunning visuals to be funny - it's that there's nothing compelling to draw in the viewers.

The story here is pretty basic: Mamoru, the shouta-looking untalented hero joins a prestigious school to become stronger, and immediately falls ... in love with the notorious, hot-tempered, and powerful Ayako. The problem with this is that Ayako falls equally as hard in love with Mamoru, so any attempted romantic drama falls short of being convincing. People familiar with romances will notice scenarios like: "Ayako/Mamoru is avoiding me, does she/he not like me anymore?" No, they were just busy making you a present.

Being set in a school based around super powers, there are also a number of villains that appear who are made out to be menacing, but once they appear, they do little aside from trying to break up the main couple. By the time everything is over, everyone is friends, because friendship/love is the greatest power in the world.

Perhaps the best thing that could be said about the show is that several of the minor characters absolutely shine in the comedy department. The antics of the student council president, Maya, who also has feelings for Ayako, and his younger sister, Shione, with her ridiculous hair, in their attempts to tease/cheer up Ayako are delightful. The large, muscular dude who is constantly spouting Engrish is a hoot as well. Ayako's romantic rival, the short, flat-chested Emelenzia, is hilarious in her repeated failed attempts at seducing Mamoru. But all of this just reflects back on how weak the leading pair are: while Ayako avoids the tsundere stereotype by being constantly lovey-dovey towards Mamoru while thrashing anyone else who irritates her, the report between the two lacks the tenderness that makes established couples like Keiichi and Belldandy or Aoi and Kaoru enjoyable to watch.

Because the superiority of the supporting cast and the mediocrity of the primary couple, the best episodes are the light-hearted ones, like when Shione suddenly shows up with her hair hanging straight, the Valentines episode when everyone (muscular Engrish-speaker include) make chocolates for Mamoru, or an explosive - literally - mission to peep on the girls in a hot spring. The serious episodes lack a sense of danger or an original twist to make them interesting.

The art is utterly forgettable, except for a fireworks display in one of the episodes that makes one think that the person in charge of animating it was an amateur who had just discovered 3D CG effects. Sound was likewise passable but left little lasting impression.

All in all, this show has it's moments, but there are much better ways to spend your time.

Koihime†Musou is an adaptation of an H-game based on a gender-swapped Romance of the Three Kingdoms. You know, the epic Chinese tale set at the end of the second century AD. With just that much information, you've probably already made an initial judgment of the series. So if you're not a fan of ero-games turned anime or the idea of historical generals re imagined as jailbait, Koihime won't do enough to convert you to the genre. If you read the description and thought, "fanservice, lesbians, and ass-kicking!" rejoice! For this anime delivers on those promises.

Koihime†Musou knows what kind of show it is and it makes ... the effort to please its target audience rather than try to stretch itself to appeal to everyone. Above all, this means that it looks incredible. Character designs are a colorful mix of greens, pinks, light blues, and yellows. The outfits worn are elegant, sexy, and highly detailed, even during combat sequences. The fight scenes, also are surpassing in quality, with a level of fluidity in movement that shows the animators took pride in their work. Intended to be eye candy, Koihime is a great big bar of chocolate. Of course, that level of quality can't be maintained through the entire episode, so the animation will at times switch to super-deformed designs with simplistic backgrounds. These SD sequences, however, are used to great effect in the comedy portions of the show and are thus easily forgiven.

The comedy of Koihime is another of its strengths. The show is able to handle both playfully silly situations, such as Chouhi's overly energetic antics, and the more risqué banter of characters familiar with physical intimacy, which find frequent fodder in Kan'u and Chouhi's pact of sisterhood or Kan'u's virginity. The writers also know how to use a joke multiple times but still recognize when to stop before it has worn out its welcome. The bit about Kan'u being known as the "beautiful bandit hunter", for instance, is used frequently in the first few episodes, but stops appearing before it becomes tiresome.

Since the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is such a widely known and adapted work, the characters don't require the same kind of exposition as if this were an original franchise. The show does provide a little backstory for some of the more notable figures and a couple episodes are devoted to character development, but those familiar with the original material or some of its derivatives will easily be able to pick out a good number of the characters based on a few traits or whom they associate with. Indeed, the difficulty in this situation becomes how to make these personalities stand out from the numerous other variations while remaining true to the spirit of the individual. Koihime†Musou requires maybe a little leniency on faithfulness, but this is acceptable when the reduction in enmity between the historical players creates the more interesting interactions that make the show enjoyable.

The plot of this anime may be its weakest point. While the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a sweeping epic of war and political intrigue, Koihime is an episodic adventure. Characters will join with Kan'u on her meandering journey for a few episodes, and then part ways, perhaps returning again later. There is a small spattering of intrigue, but aside from the nonspecific threat of bandits roaming the countryside, nothing really approaches an overarching story. Not that there's anything wrong with that; many shows try to be something grander than they are meant to be and turn out less because of that, so Koihime†Musou avoiding that pitfall is a good thing. There are a small handful of episodes that hold messages about trying one's best and the importance of friendship, but these are mostly the episodes in which Kan'u meets the characters that stay with her for longer parts of the series, so the moral isn't overbearing. The final couple episodes do get a little more serious than most of the rest of the series, but even if that were a bad thing, it is easily justified by the final battle (which features two highly recognizable badass moments) and a very entertaining plot twist.

Koihime†Musou is not a deep series, and it is better for not trying to be. It is a comfort food, like marshmallows. Big, fluffy marshmallows.

Put briefly, this manga tries to fit too much into too small a space. The reader, like the hero, is shoved headlong into a whirlwind of death, gang warfare, and naked flesh. The pacing never really slows down to explain what's going on, so by the time you figure out what is going on, the story is over. The school setting seems forced, because it's a stretch that a prestigious facility housing over 3000 would be able to hide such a high death rate. With the tests not only allowing or encouraging, but requiring stundents to kill each other, the premise seems intended solely to ... deliver shock value.

The problem with Yakuza Girl's plot is it tries to be three different stories in only eleven chapters, and because of this, it doesn't ever really get enough time to build them up to the level where the reader can get involved in them. Foremost the story wants to be a romance between Senguu and Akari, but there isn't much making them a compelling couple, partly because it is made clear that Senguu's reason for transferring is to find a wife and he spontaneously proposes to Akari after meeting her. Akari, for her role, does make a more gradual transition from stranger to lover. That they both improve to the point that they are able to protect each other is nice, as well, but it still feels like a hollow romance.

The second plot thread that the manga tries to spin is Senguu's rise from defenseless loser to ultimate hero. Unlike shonen heroes, he isn't trying to become the best for the sake of being the best, but to protect his new bride-to-be. Still, like usual, this growth in strength comes in the form of (highly lethal) battles with increasingly strong enemies, and there's not much reason to care about Senguu. Have I also mentioned that the villains are usually disgustingly monstrous?

The final aspect of the plot, and the one that would benefit most from more time to develop, is the infighting between the various clans and the apocalyptic conspiracy that makes Senguu so important. At least, I think it was an apocalyptic conspiracy, unless it was trying to stop the apocalypse. And that's the problem: there are about a dozen characters that show up for short periods of time with preexisting conflicts, grudges, motives, and machinations, but by the time one is explained, the story is already dealing with the threat of the next. The finale, especially, is confusing because it is only half explained.

The artwork, like the plot, is very busy. Battles in particular can be confusing to follow because of the constant motion and various effects, abilities, and technique names. Female characters are frequently at least half naked or suffer massive clothing damage and drawn to be alluring and overtly sexual. Males vary from generic to massive and intimidating, while the monster forms of people are detailed almost to stomach-churning levels of revulsion.

Characterization suffers from lack of development, because after cramming in the plot and fights, there's not much time left over for anything else, and so characters are mainly defined by appearance and their specific abilities. This would make remembering who's who difficult, except only four or five characters really matter for the plot.

Ultimately, whether you like this manga or not comes down to whether you're looking for some quick sex and violence (there's no explicit intercourse, but there are two near rapes). If you enjoyed Tenjou Tenge, but thought it spent way too much time in the flashback, this story is worth a look. It won't take long to read, anyway.

One final comment: the ending seems to have some sort of deeper message tucked into that wouldn't feel so awkward if the whole story hadn't been so eager to embrace killing everyone with little provocation.

Allison and Lillia is a children's show. At least, I assume it's a children's show, as few adults would stand for such massive plot holes, idiotic character motives, and unbelievable action sequences. Not that children's shows should be allowed to have such low standards, but adults often assume children are too stupid to notice the difference.

The story is broken up into several arcs of about 4 or 5 episodes each. The arcs usually occur some several months apart, although midway through there is a gap of about 16 years, and the main characters switch from Allison and Will to Lillia and Treize. The stories of ... each arc may reference and have roots in previous events, but mostly they stand alone, so this series is somewhat like a collection of short stories centered around a common group of characters.

The stories range from adventures searching for a lost treasure that can stop a war between two nations, to uncovering and foiling various dastardly schemes by a parade of generic villains who often have baffling motives. The sense of danger present in the adventures decreases as it becomes increasingly obvious that no one is really willing to kill any of the important characters despite plentiful and convenient opportunities to do so. There is also always some faint romantic intrigue, usually one main character yearning for their painfully oblivious partner. While the awkward moments do make for some amusing scenes, the frustration negates many of the benefits of their inclusion.

The characters in the series are surprisingly flat, and many times incredibly carefree. Royalty and secret government agents too often rely on their emotions and whims. Fortunately for them, and the world at large, so do the corrupt politicians and businessmen. The main characters fair little better. Allison, the show's first protagonist, is a decently strong, if flighty, independent female, and a military pilot, but she is constantly pining for her childhood friend Will, who is comically obtuse to her feelings. It is primarily their interaction that carry the first half of the show, until Will changes drastically in the third arc due to a ridiculous plot twist.
The second half of the series switches focus to Allison's daughter Lillia and her friend Treize, who has a secret that EVERYONE else knows. Treize is also keen to a secret about Lillia that, again, she is the only one oblivious too (with a later character even reaching the conclusion within moments of meeting her). Personality wise, Lillia and Treize are very much echoes of Allison and Will, with the girl being the energetic and free-spirited one, and the boy being practical and subdued, but this time it is the boy with the one-sided crush. Unfortunately for Lillia and Treize, they lack the chemistry of their predecessors, and the pre-existing characters generally outshine them.

If you care at all about a sensible plot, though, this will all be overshadowed by a complete disregard for logic and Occam's razor. The surprises the show springs (the one's it doesn't constantly hint at, anyway) are completely unpredictable because no one in their right mind would make such decisions. In the last arc, multiple elaborate stages are used to kidnap the least likely person to ransom them for another who could have been taken several times early with less effort.

The artwork often captures the essence of the surroundings, and locales give a sense that they are genuine. Character designs are fine, and aircraft deserve special mention, considering how important they tend to be. Trains, however, tend to be unrealistically roomy (although that's a minor issue). Action scenes are passable, but do little to convey the excitement one would hope for.

The opening and closing numbers are mellifluous pieces, soft and soothing, which often puts them at odds with the events occurring in the story, but they remain enjoyable. The background music for the series on the other hand, is often overbearing, often beating the listener over the head with the sense that a given scene is supposed to be tense, suspenseful, or dire.

There are better shows out there. Try Kino's Journey if you want the sense of adventure, or maybe Last Exile for young people caught up in trying to end a war. Allison and Lillia, give it a miss.