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SUMMARY

In Kanagawa Prefecture, an earthquake causes massive upheavals, resulting in a raised area called the lost ground.

22 years later, the children who were born in the lost ground have grown up.  Some of them have developed the abilities to re-form matter into a being called an "Alter".  

Kazuma is an Alter User.  He has attracted the attention of HOLY, a quasi-official organization that polices and contains Alter Users.  Now, Kazuma is on the run, relentlessly hounded by Alter User Ryuho, the best that HOLY has to offer.

Mimori has been arrested by HOLD because of her investigation into the nature of Alters.  At the same time, HOLD is continuing it's round up of native Alters.  When it seems that his girlfriend Kanami has been captured by HOLD, Kazuma goes on a rampage.  

Ryuho, angered at Kazuma's total disrespect for HOLY, goes after him.  These two men move ever closer to the inevitable showdown.  However, this fight may destroy the lost ground, and everyone who lives there.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: Great video quality.  There are no pixels, color bleeds or rainbows to be found.  There is a little edge enhancement, but it's not that noticeable.  

AUDIO: The Japanese and English 2.0 audio is the same.  Both are fairly well mixed, with some interesting surround sound elements.  While not very aggressive, it will not disappoint those who like their sound crisp and clean.

EDITS: None.  Everything is exactly the way you would see it in Japan.  Bandai has the right idea.

EXTRAS: There are tons in this volume.  There are the 4 separate clean open and the one clean close.  We have character music videos, a voice comic, design gallery, and a music source collection.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: The screenplay by Yosuke Kuroda reminds me a lot of the early days of the "X-Factor" comic.  It's pretty much a bad boy vs. bad cops with a mysterious "secret" that is starting to unfold now.  The writing is nothing groundbreaking, but it is solid, and there is enough comedy and action to keep things from getting too boring.

ACTING: I am quite pleased with the voice acting on both the English and the Japanese cast.  Steve Jay Blum's voice is a little to old for the teenage Kazuma, but other than that, he does a great job. I like the rest of the cast except for Lara Jill Miller's rather coquettish sounding voice for Scheris Adjani.  

Soichiro Hosshi is perfect at Kazuma, and I prefer Masayo Kurata's stronger voice for Scheris Adjani.  Like the English cast, they all do a superb job.

FAN SERVICE: Nothing I would get into a tizzy over.  Sure there is the very nicely built Scheris Adjani in her black undies, but that is about it. 

CONCLUSION

We must now be at the middle of the series, because we have a flash back episode!  A tried and true element of anime, the mid point flashback helps to introduce new viewers to the series.  The use of this episode is lost when you watch it on DVD.  More than likely, you won't watch volume 3 before one and two.  It also heralds the start of a new direction for the story.  In many cases, things get taken up a notch for the second act.

Things are starting to come to a head, as HOLY really gets aggressive on their hunting of the Alter users, and the citizens who live in the Lost Ground, the inners.  Their methods are violent, ruthless, and just plain wrong.  Funny thing is, HOLY truly believes that their methods are justifiable.  The believe that what they are doing will help bring order.  For Ryuho, when he sees the anarchy caused by Kazuma and the other Alters, his rationalization of HOLY's methods is "justified".  He fails to see that the reason that Kazuma hates HOLY is for the exact reason he does.  If HOLY had left his friends and family alone, there would be no need for conflict.  Yet, Kazuma also fails to see how his actions affect the world around him.

Commander Zigmarl's role in everything is getting more and more convoluted.  It seems that he knows a lot more about The Lost Ground than anyone, including the Japanese Government.  He also has a plan, and it seems he is not alone.

Straight Cougar gets some much needed screen time, as he involves himself in the affairs of Alters, HOLY, and Commander Zigarl.  The more I see of him, the more I enjoy the character.  "Radical Good Speed" is a perfect name for this total nut case.

The women in this series are truly useless, especially in this volume.  They either spend their time pining for Ryuho or Kazuma, getting captured, or having dreams about nothing.  Perhaps the day will come that the ladies will either get some backbone, or bite it in the end, clearing the way for a bare knuckle brawl over their deaths!  Well, I'm not holding my breath.

The ending on this volume was a little surprising.  I did not expect the story line to go the way it does.  I think the next volume may provide some interesting entertainment.

Just to let you know, don't watch the Sound Comic unless you want to know the secret of the alters and Zigmarl.  Same goes for the music score collection.  There are some pictures that may spoil the surprise in future episodes.

"Reckless Fire" is the perfect theme for Scryed.  It's Spanish influenced flavor, youthful lyrics, and strong vocals by Yasuaki Ide really make it one catchy-ass song.  This song fits the personality of Kazuma so much, it should be called "Kazuma's Theme".

We are now at the midway point of this entertaining series.  More mystery, more action, and a few surprises help keep Scryed on track.  While it may not be groundbreaking, it certainly is enjoyable.  I am ready for the next one!

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