As both Mahoro’s showdown with long-standing rival Ryuga and the end of the season 1 draw near, this enjoyable little series becomes even more of a bittersweet romance and less of the fan service-ridden comedy it started out as. While there are still gratuitous breast shots and comedic moments (these being fairly mild and inoffensive, making me wonder yet again how it was lumbered with a 15 certificate), volume #3 focuses more on Mahoro’s past and her limited operation time. There are numerous flashbacks to her early life, which includes some brilliant combat sequences and also show some more of the connection between Mahoro and Suguru’s father. The first episode is however in a similar vein to the earlier ones, in which Mahoro asks Suguru out on his first ever date. Apart from Miss Shikijo’s numerous attempts at sabotaging the whole day (which are surprisingly amusing), the whole episode is executed with sensitivity and thoughtfulness towards its nervous young lead characters.

This DVD also shows a little more of the story behind Saint, the mysterious adversaries of Mahoro’s creators and former employers, Vesper. As far as the final battle is concerned, the animation is of a very high standard, and although drawn out over two episodes (due to the aforementioned flashbacks and some of Mahoro’s most interesting internal monologues to date), the direction and dialogue whips up plenty of suspense and emotion.

Personally, I think there is much more yet to be revealed about the battle between Vesper and Saint, but in truth the main story was always the day-to-day life shared by Mahoro and Suguru, with all its laughs, embarrassments and sadness. When the final episode drew to a close, I was left wondering where the time had gone and was left wanting more. As the end to the series but not the story, volume #3 does its job very well. Although it ends on a rather sudden note, the final scene is memorable and leaves you wondering what series 2 will bring. As for extras, we are treated to another stills gallery, the standard ADV preview trailers and an interesting interview with two of the Japanese VAs, who played the parts of Mahoro and Suguru.

In Summary

Although volume #3 does not make as much progress plot-wise as the previous two, it is more than made up for by the character drama and background storylines; Mahoro and Suguru’s date is one of the best episodes so far. Here’s hoping ADV announce the UK release of series 2 in the near future.