The second volume of Samurai Troopers, also known as Ronin Warriors, picks up directly from the first. Ryo has been revived, and he sets out to wake up the other four warriors in order to begin their assault on the fortress of Arago, emperor of doom.

In the first episode, Ryo and Naste decipher the clues left by her now deceased grandfather to locate Seiji, the warrior of light. However, one of the dark warlords with the power of venom is following in order to destroy both warriors.

The next has Ryo attempting to wake Shin, the trooper of torrents (water), who lays unconscious in the center of a raging maelstrom. The warlord of venom springs his trap on the two warriors.

Meanwhile, the reawakened Seiji set out with Naste to revive Shu, the warrior of stone. Episode three details their battle with Anubis, another dark warlord, with Shu's life in the balance.

Behold the new-found Trooper awakened by Ryo and Naste...Seiji, the lightweight warrior! I mean, the Light Warrior!	The warlorf of illusion, Rajura, seems too intent on foiling the plots of the good guys to create a truly cool illusory costume. Go figure.

In the final episode, the four awakened heroes set out to find Toma, the warrior of the heavens, only to be misdirected by Rajura, the warlord of illusion.

The second volume definitely moves at a faster pace than the first with the Troopers setting out with goal and a major battle every episode. While this significantly improves the action level, the pacing is still slightly off. Samurai Troopers has not aged as well as some of its counterparts such as Shurato.

However, along with the improvement in action, the transfer seems better than the first disc. While there is still quite of bit of bleeding in the dark scenes, the darkness of the transfer is not quite as overwhelming as the first disc. There is a bit more vibrancy in the colors, as well. This disc is by no means a technical marvel, but it does show improvement.

The sound is fine, but does not have the crispness of more recent releases. This probably has more to due with the sound technology of the period than with a poor transfer. However, many older series have gone through excellent sound re-engineering to upgrade directionality and crispness. Do no expect that here.

The extras are the same as last time - there are none. What you do get is both versions. Ronin Warriors is the cut version broadcast here in the states; this version includes changed names and inappropriate colloquialism in the dialogue. Samurai Troopers is the original Japanese version with poor pacing and cliched writing.

Samurai Troopers definitely upped the fun factor in the second volume, but it still is no must-see. Viewers may find themselves a bit bored through most of the episode. This does not necessarily mean the show is a loss. Dancougar had a so-so beginning, a horrible middle, and an excellent ending. If the show continues to improve as much as it did between the first two discs, the pay-off may be worth the viewing effort.

Distributor: Bandai
Creator: Nagoya TV/Tokyu Agency/Sunrise
Released: 1988

Video Quality: B-
Audio Quality: B
Presentation: B+
Content: B
Overall: B