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SUMMARY

Chise is a young girl with simple wishes.  She wants to go to school, have fun with her friends, and spend time with her boyfriend Shuji. Because Chise is a bio weapon, and that she is the first and only line of defense for Japan, it's virtually impossible to do any of those things.  It doesn't keep her from trying.

Shuji, on the other hand, is having a hard time dealing with Chise's life as an ultimate weapon.  It isn't any easier when an old fling of his continues to make advances.  Every choice he makes only hurts Chise even more.  When she tells him that maybe they should only be classmates, Shuji reluctantly agrees.

In the midst of her personal crisis, Chise starts to ignore her responsibilities as a weapon.  Her inaction causes the death of thousands of troops, and even threatens her city.  Now, Chise must decide what is more important, her boyfriend, or the soldiers she is supposed to lead.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The video quality looks fantastic.  There were no color bleeds, pixels, rainbows, or edge enhancement noted.  Like always, when you record anime digitally, you will get a dynamite transfer.

AUDIO: There is very little difference between the Japanese and English 2.0 audio tracks.  Don't get me wrong, it's solid and has good directionality, but, as this is mostly a dialogue based anime, there isn't a need for an aggressive surround sound mix.

EDITS: Clean open and close animation was used.  No edits to the episodes have been noted.

EXTRAS: Only two extras in this volume.  We have an interview with the actors that play Tetsu and Fuyumi and a small collection of production art.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY:  Saishu Heiki Kanojo (Saikano) is a love story through and through.  Based of the wildly popular manga by Shin Takahashi, this is a tale of love, loss, and redemption.  The script by Itaru Era really captures the spirit of many great romances, while showing us what it is like to be a teenager in Japan.

ACTING:  Both the Japanese and English cast are excellent.  Shiro Ishimoda gives a pitch perfect reading for the character of Shuji.  While he may seem calm on the outside, with just the tiniest cracks in his voice, Shiro Ishimoda shows that Shuji is two steps from panicking.

Fans of Hellsing may not recognize the voice of Fumiko Orikasa at first.  Different from the strong and aggressive Seras, her voice for Chise is tiny, almost breathless.  The sadness her character feels is portrayed in every line she utters.  That is until she starts to evolve.

While not as meek as Fumiko Orikasa, Melissa Hutchison can still push those emotional buttons.  Her cute voice betrays a deep self loathing that makes you want to get her into intensive therapy. 

Mark Atherlay has the same droll voice as Shiro Ishimoda, but with a more "youthful" feel.  It's a lot different than the ass kicking Polneraf voice he uses in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

FAN SERVICE: Well, there are shots of Chise and Suji's old girlfriend in their bras, but it's not done to titillate.

CONCLUSION:

Dating can be a living hell.  Everything starts off great.  You spend time together, you have fun, you make out in the bushes.  Your walking on sunshine, birds are singing, and you feel great.  Then the honeymoon phase ends, and things start to go down hill.  You start to second guess yourself and your significant other.  They always seem to be late for a date or something.  You start to suspect they are cheating on you.  At the same time, you are neglecting your friends, and they are getting really pissed off at you for ignoring them.

Now, imagine what it would be like if you were an ultimate weapon, capable of zeroing in on your boyfriend with military satellites.  You also have the ability to detect if he is lying or not.  Worse still, the people you ignore to be with this cheating louse are the people you command.  They are counting on you to save their lives and your not there, and they die.  The guilt from that decision would seriously put a strain on any relationship.  For Chise, things with Shuji is heading in a very dangerous direction.  As much as they love each other, life is really getting in the way of things.

Volume one dealt mostly with the rocky relationship of Chise and Shuji.  Just as they seemed to make headway, something would happen to split them apart.  Now, thanks to the ever encroaching war, and Shuji's indecisiveness, their relationship is about to take a turn for the absolute worst, break up.

The focus of the story is starting to change from Hokkaido to the front lines of this mysterious war.  While we barely saw any of the fighting in the first few episodes, we now get to experience the horrors this conflict first hand.  In this war, everyone is expendable, except for Chise.  It seems like the military does not care for their soldiers, only that Chise is ready and able to defeat the enemy.  In the early days, she was viewed as a hero, a savior of Japan.  Now, she is considered the grim reaper, the beautiful glow from her energy trails now signals death to all, friend and foe.  Even Tetsu, the gentle soldier she met in episode four hates her, and everything she represents.  I'm sure there is more sadness for Chise in the near feature.

The animation continues to impress and amaze me. Any time Gonzo (Gate Keepers, Blue Sub 6) is a part of the animating process, it looks wonderful. The character designs capture the essence of the manga, thus bringing the characters to life.  The motion is smooth and the style flows freely.  There are many great "key" frames, making "Saikano" more than just an anime, it's art.

The acting of Fumiko Orikasa really impressed me in this volume.  Because of Chise's continual evolution, she is becoming more and more confident in herself.  When she is in full combat mode, Fumiko Orikasa's modulates her sweet "Chise" voice down a few octaves, giving our heroin almost an evil growl.  The change is so gradual, you don't even notice it until it's too late.  Nicely done.

Emotions are running very high in Saikano: Break Up.  Like our ultimate weapon, the story continues to evolve, bringing more and more drama with each passing scene.  While true love may conquer all, in this case, true love is just the beginning of the misery to come.  Stay tuned for volume 3.  I have a feeling, Chise's life is going to get worse before it gets better.

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