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Hikaru is a seventeen year old student living in Tokyo, little
does she realise that she is the living embodiment of her
ancestor from the Heian period. Unfinished business has drawn
the spirits across time and space. Hikaru sets off to find
her missing brother, Raiko, with the help of Urabe, a fortune
teller, Sadamitu and Tsuna, a writer and a tenant of hers
in the Minamoto Heights apartment complex...
This
disc contains volume four (Modern History) of the series
Otogi Zoshi. This was always going to be an interesting
juxtaposition, cutting a series in half, with the first half
being set a thousand years ago and the second half being a
contemporary story. Although, the premise for each appears
to be very different, the first half being the search for
the Magatama and the second for Hikaru's missing brother,
both are essentially quests. Given that Otogi Zoshi is
a single story you just know that somehow the two events are
related.
Episode
fourteen, Tokyo, and we meet modern Hikaru, a self
reliant young woman who still mourns the loss of her brother,
a year ago. When she goes on a ghost hunt with Tsuna she thinks
that she sees her brother on the ghost train. Unable to get
it out of her mind she returns, with Tsuna, in an effort to
find him, only to be warned off by a red haired stranger.
Episode
fifteen, Shinjuku, following clues left in Raiko's
room Hikaru finds a secret passage beneath Tokyo. Tsuna, worried
about her disappearance, seeks out the help of Urabe. Travelling
into the underground passageway she meets the red headed stranger,
who she first met near the ghost train.
Episode sixteen, Shibakouen, and strange things have
been interfering with radio and television signals. Hikaru
and Tsuna go off to investigate. She meets a monk whose sister
has fallen through a gap in time; Hikaru sees this as a way
to find her brother.
Episode
seventeen, Kourakuen, and it's one for the boxing fans,
as something is defiantly going on at the local boxing arena.
Names appear on the wall from nowhere and late at night cheering
can be heard.
You have to ask yourself, what the hell happened; Volumes
One to Three came as a double disc issue and had excellent
extras. The extras were an integral part of the show getting
consistently excellent marks, and then suddenly we're back
in the land of trailers for extras.
Ok, so we were stiffed over the extras, but what of the show,
have they been able to retain the stylistic look of the show?
Well the answer is yes and no. Although the level of animation
remains high, it has an understandably more modern sensibility.
There is a greater use of montage shots as well as a move
away from earth tones as the dominant colours.
The plot remains strong and engaging, setting up a real mystery
over the disappearance of Hikaru's brother. For those used
to frenetic shows like Naruto, this might seem a little
slow but, like a good wine, it's well worth the wait. The
English dub of the show remains a delight to listen to, with
a lot of strong voice acting.
I
can't wait for the box set.
Charles
Packer
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