The SoulTaker: Flickering Faith (vol. 2) (2002)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Features:

• full-motion menus
  
• art gallery with McFarlane Toy's SoulTaker action figures
  
• textless opening and ending
  
• English and Japanese language tracks
  
• English subtitles
  

Doc's Anime Warnings:

• Cheezy rock tunes at inappropriate times
• Annoying "scream your technique" fight scenes
• Rampant surrealism
• Psycho nurses
• Ultraviolence

Rating: 16+

Anamorphic: Yep. Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

My Advice: Own it.

Flickering Faith continues the oft-bewildering adventures of Kyosuke, a mutant with the ability to transform himself into a powerful killing machine called the Soultaker. His continuing quest for answers about his abilities, his past, his missing sister, and the unusual "partial souls" known as "flickers" puts him at odds with a number of powerful enemies, all of whom want to turn his incredible power to their own purposes.

In this second installment, the search for his sister Runa takes Kyosuke up against the Kirihara Corporation, who intend to experiment on the flickers to discover their secrets (and to get a cheap source of "lab rats"), as well as his continued battles with the enigmatic mutant group known as the Hospital. To Kyosuke's credit, he does manage to win a convert from the Hospital's staff, when a certain psychopathic nurse becomes enamored of him.

While volume two does serve to answer many of the questions of the first disc, Flickering Faith leaves plenty of mystery to be resolved in future installments. The storytelling and style are reminiscent of groundbreaking TV like Twin Peaks or The Prisoner, with lots of surreal visuals and unexpected story turns. Following the complex tale is not for the faint of heart, and demands attentiveness from the audience, because it moves very quickly, and quick-cut flashbacks can leave a viewer bewildered in mere moments.

Aesthetically, The SoulTaker is beautiful to behold, and the freeform surrealistic style of the show allows the animators great freedom in their design. Backgrounds often strobe and flicker during hectic scenes, adding to the confusion, which creates an interesting connection between the bewilderment of the main characters and that of the audience. The audio is equally good, with the same exception of the terrible 80's guitar-rock battle theme that plays any time Kyosuke takes his SoulTaker form.

The DVD itself is well-produced, with a nice anamorphic digital transfer, and Dolby 2.0 audio in both English and Japanese. The art gallery is fairly extensive, and includes a peek at McFarlane Toy's SoulTaker action figure line. The textless credits (both opening and closing) allows viewers to appreciate the design of the series intro and outro. It's hardly an extensive enough set of extras to compete with A-list anime DVD releases like Akira, but certainly strong enough to hold its own with most series anime.

If you're looking for something a little more advanced in your anime, or just appreciate inventive storytelling, then The SoulTaker is definitely your mug of coffee. Aside from its status in the anime genre, it makes for really interesting science fiction, too, if you don't demand the emphasis on science. Above all, however, you should in no way attempt to digest Flickering Faith without first examining the series premiere, The Monster Within. To do so would be to invite aneurysm, and is not advised under any circumstances.