Saber Marionette J to X, Vol. 3 (1998)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Akahori Satoru
Character Design by Tsukasa Kotobuki

Features:

• Interview
  
• Art Gallery
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Political intrigue
• Sexy androids avoiding battle
• Oh, look. A big powerful mecha suit. How creative.

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Rent it.

The third disc of Saber Marionette brings four more episodes for your viewing pleasure. At the end of the previous volume, Lorelei disappeared during her picnic with Otaru and the others. Given her importance to the fate of Terra II, they are quite alarmed, but that’s not all--the Empire of Gartland is back, demanding that the marionettes be handed over to them or Terra II will lose Lorelei. Also, Faust is becoming more evil by the minute. While Bloodberry, Lime, and Cherry struggle to come to terms with Faust’s character reversion, a new ally appears who just might be able to help.

The plots of these episodes fit more into a larger story arc than those of the previous disc. While there’s still plenty of character interaction and development, we see them in the context of a bigger story, developing over several episodes. It looks like things are picking up and are about to get very interesting, though the overall feel of the episodes is still a bit duller than it had to be, like waiting for something to matter. It’s also oddly disappointing to see the Japonesger return. Does every anime title need a mobile suit? This part of the series might bid fair to fill in some plot holes from the original Saber Marionette TV series, but they’ll have to make it a bit more interesting or lose a lot of their viewers.

The audio and video quality of this disc was on par with the previous discs in the series. There were minimal problems in either language, though I found the Japanese voice actors to convey emotion a bit more thoroughly. The dialogue was all nice and clear in either language, though, and the visuals were equally well-done. Again, however, there were a few moments of cross-coloration, but nothing too egregious.

The interview on this disc is much like the one on the previous disc--short and a bit too fluffy for it to be either enjoyable or interesting. The focus of this one, “Man and Machine,” is the idea of how humans and androids interact, but what could be a very cool topic is just kind of blah here. I hope that Bandai hires someone else to do their interviews and features from now on, or does them in-house. Saber Marionette may not be the world’s most pioneering or moving anime title, but it deserves more than this. I’d also like to question the aesthetic choice of randomly causing the interviewee to look like a poorly-drawn anime character. It’s distracting and not terribly attractive. The art gallery, while a bit on the small side, is nice. All pieces seem to have been chosen for quality and show off the character design very well.

Overall, Saber Marionette, disc three, has picked up a bit from the previous volume, but it still has a ways to go. The plot is becoming more detailed and more interesting, but it needs to be a bit less cliché, more creative, and more logical. Check it out for the fun marionettes, but don’t expect much of a hero, a creative plot, or anything uniquely engaging. You will get fun, good art, and pretty interesting characters. Rent it, and see what you think.