Heat Guy J delivers another impressively varied array of missions in which Daisuke Aurora and his philosophical android partner J fight crime on the streets of Judoh. The unstable Clair Leonelli, boss of organised crime ring Vampire, causes more problems for J and Daisuke as friends and family become involved in the events that unfold.

This instalment offers more than the episodic ‘case of the week’ format that Heat Guy J delivered in the previous volume: we learn more about the circumstances surrounding Daisuke’s and his police chief brother Shun’s father as well as the identity of their absent mother. This connects them to not only the Leonelli family and Judoh city politics but the mysterious Celestials.

The Celestials are apparently an advanced race of beings on which the survival of the whole city depends. In addition to the mecha-fuelled crime busting action (of which there is plenty!) there is the issue of the Celestials to consider: the city lives life as normal but only through the help of the technology given to them by a group of people who do not visit for years on end. Daisuke and J actually meet one of them - a man who speaks of his interesting view on life in Judoh. Sadly not everyone there feels the same way.

One such group is a settlement not featured in earlier episodes: a community who have shunned the high tech metropolis and instead live their lives closer to nature, in a similar way to traditional Native Americans. They too become drawn into in the events that occur within Judoh and the visits that Daisuke and J pay to their remote village are some of the most interesting missions of this volume; the contrasts in customs and philosophy between these people and those of the city-dwellers are especially telling.

In addition to new people and places that are introduced another noticeable aspect to this volume is the amount that is revealed about the cast members who showed up in earlier episodes. The street photographer Monica, her alcoholic mother and the cynical detective Edmundo all get some screen time and background of their own; this aspect adds considerable heart and warmth into the series.

As before there are some quirks and strange plot devices, such as the criminals with animals’ heads (the werewolf guy Boma is downright cool though, and worth looking out for) but overall Heat Guy J is an immensely entertaining show whose distinguishing features lift it above typical high tech crime-busting fare. The similarities in character designs with Escaflowne are particularly evident (both series share character designer and director), and the soundtrack by Try Force mixes foot-tapping rock tunes with more varied instrumentation (including bagpipes of all things): it shouldn’t work in context of the show, but for the most part it does.

In Summary

The second outing of Heat Guy J delivers everything the first one did and more: it takes the viewer to new places, introduces new characters and explores the more familiar ones. With an episode count as generous as this, you will find a varied and imaginative sci-fi action-adventure that I’d thoroughly recommend.