Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Originally published on otakureview.net

NOTE: This review is a continuation of my reviews of this series. If you have not seen any of the volumes or my previous reviews, you risk spoilers by continuing.



Intro



It started strong but after this slow volume, all I can do it hope that it finds it’s way back to how it started.



The Story



In the first of four episodes on this volume, Ikki is enjoying the reputation that he’s gotten from his victory over Buccha. Even though he’s not really a Storm Rider, he’s getting plenty of attention from the pros including Spitfire who tells him about the eight ways to get to the top of the AT world. Ringo isn’t happy though; Simca has begun hanging around the house more often which means that the two of them are constantly bumping into each other and Ringo is forced to see Simca flaunting herself at Ikki in one way or another. Ikki finds himself in a very serious tug of war between his sisters that make up Sleeping Forest and Simca who wants him for herself and her own personal reasons.



All this attention isn’t great for Ikki though as the leader of the Skull Saders has decided to resurface seeking revenge for his loss. Once again, Ikki is finding himself in a battle against the Skull Saders and it’s not his emblem on the line.



His reputation and attitude are starting to rub off on other Storm Riders though. Buccha has become more serious about his riding though Ikki is getting quite the swelled head from his battles and victories and Ringo is having trouble dealing with her new romantic rival.



In the final episode of the volume, Ikki and his friends hit a major road block in their quest to form a team to be registered as Storm Riders when the head teacher of all the second year jr. high students has threatened to hold them back a year if they don’t all score a high score on a make up class test. Naturally their best option is to break into the school at night with the help of their teacher and steal the test’s answer key.



The Good And The Bad



This volume takes us right back into the main plot and momentum that was built up from the first volume and then while wasting almost zero time, it decides to turn up the fan service about eight levels with multiple scenes of naked Simca, naked Ikki and lots of needless panty and cleavage shots. At the very least, you can’t say that this anime doesn’t know their audience and what their audience might want. I still have to completely disagree with it though. I really didn’t care for the pointless fan service as it really did nothing for the plot but since it did help to develop Simca, you can’t really say that it was entirely meaningless.



The character development in this volume was slow at best but strong when it was on the screen. Of all the main characters in this series, only a handful of them were really developed in the screen time that they had. Simca and Ringo both got lots of screen time in the first two episodes of the volume with some strong development of their intentions but also their feelings towards Ikki (though Ringo gets some bonus time in episode 7 to really solidify it) and both Buccha and Ikki also get a little bit of time to develop and really show what kind of Storm Riders they want to be in the future.



One character that I am still really waiting to see developed though is the mysterious Spitfire who once again only has one appearance in this volume. He appears in the first episode of the volume but is then gone for the rest. It’s going to be really interesting to see what role he plays in the future and also what role he’s going to play with Ringo. I was a little disappointed to see that this volume didn’t touch on the scene from episode four (on volume 1) in which Spitfire asks Ringo out on a date while watching Ikki race. At least, if he did I certainly missed it and it was never mentioned again.



Probably the most frustrating thing about this volume is that after a very solid opening first volume with lots of great plot and character development, this volume decides to just mail it in for the most part. The first two episodes on this volume were solid additions to a series that was already opening strong with lots of development of Ringo and Simca and what their true intentions towards Ikki were. Despite the fan service in these episodes, they carried on the momentum that had been built up in the first volume.



But then the last two episodes on the volume really do nothing for either the characters or the plot. Besides some basic information about the characters and Ikki’s quest to form his own team to become registered Storm Riders, there is really nothing that advances that main plot. There were a couple of scenes in the third episode (episode 7) that were quite funny, most notably the mushroom scene between Ikki and Ume and the fourth episode (episode 8) also was well enough to develop Ikki’s ditz homeroom teacher, Ton-Chan, they were still filler episodes that absolutely killed the momentum.



On the first volume, I was really impressed with the selective use of CG animation but once again, I felt really let down by what I saw on this volume. While much of the animation was still very well done, I was a little disappointed that none of the animation really wowed me. I never felt like I was blown away by the AT racing scenes like I was in the first volume and a lot of the character’s facial expressions felt terribly overplayed for the comedy effect that it never quite succeeded in matching. Then again, I’m also the only reviewer who is willing to say that I think I liked Simca better with her clothes on leaving something to the imagination rather than seeing her naked after only four episodes.



Music



One thing that stayed consistent from the first volume was the excellent soundtrack that was played in the background. I haven’t had a chance to listen it out of context to see if it stays strong but in context, this is a series with a strong soundtrack that really reached out and grabs the audience to pull them into every scene that it’s played. The race scenes in particular were great and the music played during the Ringo scene of episode seven was also very strong.



Dub vs. Sub



Both tracks were well done but with such weak writing and plot development in this volume it was really hard to get into either track. Standout performances really go to Monica Rial as Simca and Hilary Haag as Ume though. These two really played well with their lines and really brought me into the characters much more than they ever had before. The bathtub scene in episode five in particular was very strong for Simca and Monica absolutely nailed the lines as they were said to Ringo. Luci Christian was also a strong pick for standout performance as Ringo.



Extras



Just clean animations.



Overall



What began as a strong pick for teenage audiences, suddenly took a drastic turn with it’s nudity, fan service and weak second half and made it get derailed at some point. While I am very disappointed with what I’ve seen on this volume, I’m not turned off from the series as I have a strong desire to see this series find its bearings again and get back on track. It’s not a great volume by any stretch but I’m giving it a recommendation because I think that the third volume is going to see it get back to where it needs to be. Recommended but not by much.



Final Grade: 80% - B

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Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age