Knight Hunters, Vol. 4: Shining Cross (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Takehito Koyasu
Directed by Kiyoshi Egami

Features:

• Interviews with the Japanese Voice Cast
  
• Production Sketches
  
• Outtakes
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Blah, blah, blah
• Angsty angst
• No justice in the world at all

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Skip it, and dream of what might have been

The Weiß boys are back, and just in time. The Takatori clan has been defeated, but instead of peace and their own lives, the Weiß members learn that beyond the obvious rivalry between the Takatori and Persia is an even bigger scheme, between the international criminal groups Kritiker and Eszett. Before they can fight this new threat, however, they need to get themselves in order, especially when around every turn lies a new personal tragedy. Along the way, we meet sinister musicians, reunite with former friends, and try to find some measure of safety and peace in the world of assassins.

What is really painful about Shining Cross is, as always, that there was potential here. The ideas are good, both the general idea of the Weiß and the specific episode plots, but the execution is lacking. There’s just too much angst and too little real substance for Knight Hunters to be what it could have been.

The features on this disc are much like those of previous volumes. There are some nifty Japanese cast interviews, voice outtakes, and production sketches. Some of the outtakes register as intentional, rather than true “mistakes,” but that could just be the actors trying to have fun and make the best of their situation in this series. Given the mediocre quality of the art on this series, the sketches are particularly attractive here. It is also nice to have five episodes on the disc for the price.

The audio quality is good, if not great. The new theme songs are shown off nicely at least. The problem really lies with the visuals; whether or not you like the style of the show (I happen to like the show’s art), you must admit that the colors are dull and grainy. There are also occasions where the coloring would shift before your eyes, and that’s just shoddy editing. Short of redoing the animation itself, I don’t think Anime Works could have done much better, but it’s a shame that the show is left with substandard animation and visuals. Anime Works may care, but I wonder if the animators did as much.

If you’re a fan of Knight Hunters, then you might be quite unsatisfied with the fact that the story continues at all into this fourth volume, after the rousing conclusion of the Takatori arc. If you aren’t watching this series yet, then Shining Cross is not the place to start. Overall, the ideas could have been developed much better, and the characters deserved more from their writers.