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R1 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Monday, 01 August 2005 12:21 |
 Remember I grumbled in my last review of Daphne in the Brilliant Blue
that we should really be told who this Daphne person is? Well, my
request is answered with this volume. Sort of. But what the
producers giveth, the producers taketh away, as these episodes are
sadly almost devoid of the gun-toting action from the first two discs...
9 - Only I Don't Have Tomorrow
It's time for the annual medical check for the Nereids girls. Trying to
be Mr Helpful, Hanaoka goes to see the doctor to pick them up - but
overhears him talking to his assistant about a deadly infection Gloria
has - cancer, and she's only got a week to live. After telling the rest
of the girls, they do their best to make Gloria's last days on Earth as
comfortable as possible. Problem is, no-one's bothered to tell Gloria
about her terminal condition, and having everyone be so nice to her
very quickly begins to get on her nerves. Hanaoka's not one to keep
secrets for long, though, and once she knows her fate Gloria decides to
use her remaining time to search for the one thing she never had - true
love. Of course, Hanaoka didn't hang around to check that he'd
overheard the doctor properly...
10 - Siberian Super Vacation!
It's holiday time for the Nereids girls, and they're on their way to
Siberia City, where apparently the summer never ends. The trip starts
out well enough - Gloria gets arrested for trying to bring weapons into
the country (which means peace and quiet for the rest of them), Rena
relaxes by the pool, Yu gets some sightseeing done, and Maia gets dragged along by
Shizuka as she tries to eat her way around town. But in every town there's a
criminal element, and in Siberia they've decided to pick on Shizuka.
After getting carried away in a restaurant that serves only mammoth
meat, she's drugged and kidnapped by two men who plan to sell her into
slavery. Cue Maia and Yu to the rescue - but while trying to chase
Shizuka's captors, Maia finds herself in a part of town that she knows
- but how, if she's never been to Siberia before? Truth is, Maia has no
memories of her childhood, but her trip to Siberia seems to be
awakening some of her past...
11 - The Long Stay!
Maia finally talks to Rena about her past - or rather, her lack of one.
Her first memory is of awakening in a hospital after waking from a
year-long coma. She'd been in an accident in which her parents were
killed, and despite the best efforts of her doctors they never managed
to find a way to restore her memories. To make matters worse for her,
just when she was beginning to get back to a normal life and learning
to live with her missing past, her grandfather died of a heart attack -
but not before cryptically calling her Daphne. Daphne is also a type
of tree she's been seeing a lot in Siberia - another indication that
she has some sort of connection with the city? After hearing her story,
the rest of the gang agree to allow her one more day in the city to
give her a chance to try and find out why it's all so familiar to her...
12 - The Day Earth Floated Away
It's 100 years since the Earth's cities were raised from the seabed and
back onto the surface - a day of celebration and commemoration. With
the crowds out on the street celebrating, Nereids have taken on street
patrol duties and are doing their best to keep the peace - at least
until their off-duty hour hits. Maia's due to take part in an
exhibition hovercar race as soon as her shift is over, but a lost child
leaves her running late - not that she's about to miss the chance to
race with Millie again. Even though it's just an exhibition race,
though, someone's taking it a bit too seriously...
Where's all the action gone!? Other than the chase scene in
episode 10, there's very little of the action that's been such an
enjoyable part of the early episodes of the series. Instead,
Maia's lack of memory is suddenly thrown into the mix in a way that
very much feels like the writer had a late idea to liven things up - it
really does feel like an afterthought rather than a planned addition to
the series. The only thing that makes me think there's something
fishy going on is the continued appearance of a man who seems to be
keeping an eye on Maia - if you pay attention, he appears in most
episodes, although he hasn't had anything to say yet. Add him to
Maia's affliction and you can figure out there'll be some revelations
down the line - but so far, that plot line hasn't been played out too
well.
The other two episodes here are pretty much filler - episode 9 has some
cheap fun at Gloria's expense (to be fair she's the character that's
easiest to poke fun at), while episode 12 fills in some details about
the setting and gives Maia a chance to catch up with some friends -
other than that, there's not much to see.
In terms of fun, this has been the weakest volume of Daphne in the Brilliant Blue
so far - there's definitely a change of tone, and not really for the
better. Hopefully the more fun aspects of the show will make a
return in future volumes.
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