The third DVD of Arjuna picks up right after the events of the second. Chris is out of danger for the time being, giving Juna more time to focus on her relationship with Tokio. The two previous discs covered humanity’s handling of nature while the third disc sets its focus on the relationship humans have with each other, making it much more personal. Juna and Tokio are explored, as well as Tokio’s relationship with his father. Juna sees visual representations of relationships and words and she explains to the viewers what she is seeing.
For every relationship Juna sees, she makes a generalization. When Tokio and his father are fighting, Juna is able to see that they are not listening to each other. She then discusses, with herself, how common it is in the world that people talk without listening. Juna begins to “awaken” as the Guardian of the Earth during this disc. She is able to understand or at least determine why humanity relates to each other the way they do. When Juna does not understand a particular relationship, Cindy steps in with some unusually helpful advice.
Cindy annoyed me as soon as she opened her mouth on disc one. I suppose it was fitting, because her character is an annoying little girl. In this disc, her voice changed and she was no longer annoying. Here we finally get to see the real Cindy. Brittney Irvin, her voice actress, really gets to shine. I’ve always liked this cast and nothing has changed for this disc. Ocean has once again done an excellent job of dubbing.
Some of Juna’s understanding is not instinctive. This is where conflict comes in. She and Tokio are not relating to each other. Juna doesn’t get why Tokio plays video games or looks at a certain type of girl and Tokio does not understand Juna’s metamorphosis into the nature freak she is. Another major conflict is between Tokio and his father. Juna does not understand either of these conflicts, or at least she does not understand them entirely. Viewers finally get some help from Cindy and even a little clarification about Chris’ philosophies.
One thing I really enjoy about Arjuna is that it is willing to look at both sides of an argument. Arjuna is the nature freak’s anime but that doesn’t mean us lovers of industry can’t find a place for it. One segment that reminds me of this is a discussion between Cindy and Juna. Cindy talks about hospitals and the way women rely so much on medicine that it drowns out the “voice” of the child they are carrying. Cindy also notes that hospitals save hundreds of babies every day and that being born in a harsh way is worth the trade off.
Animation throughout Arjuna has always been smooth and this disc is no exception. This show definitely has style and the animation only compliments it. Most of the animation is done using traditional cels and computer generated sequences work in concert with the tradition animation to create fluid movement. The visual presentation in Arjuna is superb and really is one of my current favorites.
Another continuing trend in the Arjuna series is the quality of the show’s discs. Audio and video are both authored extremely well. Audio supports a 5.1 mix and sounds fantastic. The video has no artifacts, no cross coloration and looks as great as the audio mix sounds.
Arjuna really is shaping up to be one of my top animes. It has a great story, memorable characters and an awesome art style. There certainly is a lot to like in this show. Take a great anime and mix in a soundtrack courtesy of Yoko Kanno, this disc becomes a definite purchase.
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