The second volume of Princess Nine is another hit. Combining sports and high school drama with high production values, this low exposure gem is one of the best anime series to come to the American shores. Unbelievably, the second volume ups both the drama and competition.

First off, the rivalry between Izumi and Ryo heats up beyond all expectations when Izumi finds that her mother keeps a locket with a picture of Ryo's father. Ryo has to focus on finding four more teammates, though, because the team has its first practice game in only a few days.

The first episode deals with the team working hard to recruit two new members. The first is Mao, a girl with an imposing build and the timidity to match. She's a member of the judo team, but she doesn't have the confidence to win. The second is an aspiring idol who decides, after she fails an audition, that being a sports star would be fine with her. She can't play, and she is deathly afraid that a ball will hurt her face. So, she uses cuteness and tears. The coach wouldn't give in to that, would he?

A team is almost assembled...but still a bit low on heavy-hitters, like Izumi.	Ryo gets serious, as she risks it all to win and win against Izumi, to complete the team...

The next three episodes cover a story arc of Ryo attempting to convince Izumi to join the baseball team. The team is sorely lacking power hitters, and Izumi fits the bill. When revelations about Ryo's father's relationship with the chairwoman begin to surface, Izumi finds that her hatred of Ryo knows no bounds.

Izumi challenges Ryo to a final duel. If Ryo wins, Izumi will join the baseball team. If Izumi wins, the baseball team will be dissolved and Ryo will leave school. The grueling training the two go through to prepare for the match is exhausting just to watch; the pain Izumi goes through in learning how to hit a baseball is palpable to the viewer.

Even better, the outcome is a true surprise. This keeps the level of tension high at all times, something that is incredibly important in a sports drama.

As with the first disc, the colors are extremely vibrant and the animation is just perfect to capture the triumphs and tragedies the girls face. As mentioned in the previous review, this is a newer transfer, and it looks fantastic. The soundtrack is still performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic and is incredibly sweeping. The quality of the English dub is actually quite impressive, and this is one of the better attempts.

The case has another attractive action cover with Ryo pitching. The extras are nice. They include more player statistics, and the US trailer and teaser. The trailer is actually very well done; just watching it makes me want to view the whole series again.

The disc also contains what must be one of the strangest extras ever included in a US release. In the series, Ryo's mom owns and runs a oden restaurant; indeed, Ryo enjoys cooking oden, too. So, included on the disc is "Ode to Oden" - an oden cooking special. The special is a 4 ½ minute live-action oden cooking demonstration, which also includes some cultural information on oden. Bizarre, but interesting, is the only way I can sum it up.

This disc drops the number of episodes to 4, but it can still be purchased for $19.99 at most establishments, making Princess Nine one of the best deals in anime. If the series continues to improve as it has, I can't wait until the conclusion. This series is a great escape from the giant robots / rampaging warlocks / depressing future shock-type anime that has been the recent trend.

I can't give Princess Nine any higher recommendation; do yourself a favor and buy season tickets. This is great anime.

Video Quality: A+
Audio Quality: A
Presentation: A
Content: A
Overall: A