As a fan of this genre, I found Tokko Volume 2 to be a good deal of fun and I would recommend it. While I don't feel it is an instant classic, it is sophisticated enough for the seasoned anime veteran, and has lots of eye candy-filled action for the attention-deficit disorder crowd. The opening animation for the menu screen is pretty tasty and that kind of production design is always appreciated. There is plenty of fan service in this one, so, for those who don't mind their kids watching people being horrifically slain, but are offended at the sight of breasts, consider this fair warning.

Viewers need to exercise patience with this off-the-radar title. Each episode is a weird combination of different types of anime. All Red Garden images © ADV Films.

Red Garden Vol.1 Live to Kill
2006. TV series (four episodes). Director: Ko Matsuo. 100 minutes. DVD, bilingual, $29.98. Distributor: ADV Films.

GONZO Studios, the lovely people who brought fandom Hellsing, Afro Samurai and Gantz, have serialized another unique story for the small screen. This time they have tackled a fan favorite from the monthly magazine Comic Birz called Red Garden. And ADV Films has managed to bring yet another off-the-radar, but noteworthy, title to the United States for release.

Red Garden is a bit strange. Initially I didn't know what to think of it. Each of the episodes on this disk has a sort of all-over feeling to it. It is like each episode is a weird combination of different types of anime, with no single genre standing out. Think of each episode as the baby of the combined DNA of Witch Hunter Robin, Tokko, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and a sprinkle of The Sound of Music. That is not a typo; I did in fact say The Sound of Music. I know it sounds strange, but give it a chance. Like fine wine, certain things improve with time, and Red Garden deserves a chance.

The story begins rather enigmatically, if not disorientatingly. Dark roads, mysterious people clad in black, unconscious young girls being transported by car somewhere. Suddenly one of the cars is ambushed and destroyed by a group of men using their bare hands. The beautiful young girl inside is taken away by the attackers. The following morning, the story picks up as the rest of the girls all wake up late for school and feel ill the next day. Each of these girls attends a private and very securely controlled high school on an island off of New York City. There is Kate, a member of Grace, the school's self-governing police of sorts and the social elite. Rachel is a part of the party crowd and is always going to crazy parties and wearing the trendiest clothes. Rose is a quiet and intelligent girl who cares for her little brother and sister while her mother is in the hospital. And finally there is Claire. Living on her own and working to pay her own rent, she is easily the most independent and put-together of the group. What ties all of them together is a friendship with a girl named Lise. Lise is a bit of a mystery; all that is really known about her is that she met a boy with whom she was enthralled and the other girls' trouble is tied to Lise's disappearance.

Each episode seems like a baby with the combined DNA of Witch Hunter Robin, Tokko, Revolutionary Girl Utena, with a sprinkle of The Sound of Music.

While the four girls are still recovering from their illness, an announcement is made at school that Lise had been found dead in a forest. Lise's death is ruled a suicide, but the detective investigating the incident has a hunch that there is more going on because Lise's death seems a bit too similar to five other suicides that have happened recently. That evening, Rose, Kate, Claire and Rachel all see butterflies that only they can see and feel compelled to go to a park. There they are shocked to find that none of them can remember the night before. At that moment, a strange woman and man walk out of the shadows. They tell the girls that they will be their teachers. They go on to say that the other night they all died and were brought back to life. Now they must fight and kill if they want to continue to live. Pointing to an approaching man, they tell the girls that they must kill him with their bare hands. The man begins to change before their eyes. Eyes glowing, moving on all fours, the man is transformed into a vicious doglike creature. He attacks the girls with the fury of a rabid animal. The girls, who have no combat training, must rely on their will and each other to defeat this beast and stay alive. The horrifying part comes when the girls find that this is what they have to look forward to for the rest of their lives.

As I mentioned earlier, I didn't know what to think of Red Garden. It is almost as if the anime clashed mentally for me. Take the opening titles, for example. They're in a '70s American TV retro style with flat color and vibrant colors and animation revealed through cut-outs. Visually it's very interesting, but it conflicts with the opening title music. And initially I found the music irritating because it seemed like the beat was not fixed. Kind of like a riffing live jazz quartet, only with a singer trying to keep up with the changing music. And the visual style of the series itself is a bit shocking. The characters are way too tall for their heads. Some of the characters are also far too emaciated, compared to others in the series. And probably the worst part is the singing. That's where The Sound of Music ties in. There are actual scenes in which they are just singing as if it was a musical. Normally that would be fine, but the singing isn't so great on either the English or the Japanese language track, and the lip sync is terrible. All the lip syncing is just random lip-flapping that isn't in time to the music or the words.