Saint Tail, Volume 3

Ryu (Former Staff) — May 1st, 2002
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Saint Tail Volume 3, Spring Love, continues to do all the right things to keep this magical girl series fresh and fun, even though it is quite formulaic. This new disc continues the previous story arc of Rina trying to prove that Meimi is Saint Tail.

Meimi actually brings some resolution to that, but then suddenly finds another problem. A school journalist who is quite good with the camera is trying to catch Saint Tail. The new character has totally different motivations than the Asuka, Jr. obsessed Rina, making him a fun addition.

Once again, the thieving antics of Saint Tail take a back seat to the character interactions, while the action-oriented hijnks do provide a nice break from the jr. high romance scene.

One of the better aspects of this volume is that the relationship between Meimi and Asuka, Jr. begins to grow again. Asuka is more and more realizing that there is something more to Meimi, but, as always, his first interest is Saint Tail.

What mahou shoujo series would be complete without a cute, cuddly mascot? Will Rina finally uncover St. Tail's true identity?

The problems that plagued the first disc are once again absent, proving that TokyoPop truly did fix all the issues. The menu has a new, slightly animated, image in high resolution that looks absolutely great. The picture is still clear, although on my player using component cables I swear I see some artifacting during the transformation sequences.

The sound is still very good, although this show doesn't really push the extreme of audio equipment. The one major extra on the disc are the outtakes, which are pretty funny from time-to-time.

This disc very much follows in the footsteps of the others. The new journalist character adds some spice, and it is just a cute fun series to sit down with. While I'm not a huge fan of the dub, it is definitely great for younger viewers with nothing objectionable.

It is really nice to see an anime for younger girls where the main character is actually rather skilled and doesn't beat the crap out of stuff. As well, the simple morals of the stories are pretty nice, since they are often relevant to people, not just "I fight in the name of love" stuff.

The same recommendation as before: if you like to let your childlike nature out, try Saint Tail for fun. If you break out in rashes from cuteness or have epileptic seizures from magical girl transformation sequences, this may not be the show for you.

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