Saint Tail, Volume 4

Ryu (Former Staff) — May 20th, 2002
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Saint Tail continues with the same format of the teenage thief that robs evil doers to restore what is right to those that have been wronged. The fourth volume in the series contains four more episodes of this shoujo series.

The first episode details the theft of a little girl's pet by the class bully. Unfortunately, the girl is about to move away, so Saint Tail, aka Meimi, has to rush the heist. The question remains whether Meimi can handle the type of pet is it.

The second episode, and probably the best of the lot, details the theft of an antique mirror that reflects who a person truly is. The folktale behind the mirror says it will lead women to true happiness, so many collectors wish to own it. Meimi has to recover it from an auction avoiding both her would-be beau Asuka and a nosy school reporter.

The third episode is about the theft of an American's bike in Japan by a rich, spoiled child. Saint Tail rushes off to recover the bike before the gaijin has to catch his flight home.

The final episode, and the most pitiful, is actually about a dog that steals. The dog also seems more intelligent than half the characters in the series.

Content-wise, this disc took a dip as compared to the previous volumes, the final episode being the worst. In reality, what truly lowered the standard here was the total lack of character development through these episodes. The previous discs always moved Meimi and Asuka's relationship forward just a bit, but, here, the disc begins to get boring before the end.

However, that being said, the basic qualities of the show remain. There is nothing objectionable for anyone in any episodes. Meimi is still a rather strong female character for young girls with her abilities coming from her own skills and training rather than "magical powers." And, it is amazingly cute and sweet.

The video quality remains constant as with the previous discs. It is very clean and colorful. The sound is perfectly clear, although there is really nothing to put an advanced system through its paces.

There are few extras on this disc, though. There is a textless ending, and the attractive motion menus are still being used. The menus are also very quick to navigate.

If you have been enjoying Saint Tail so far, there is no reason not to pick up this disc. These are not the strongest episodes, however. I recommend spreading them out as though you were watching a real TV series, you might avoid the boredom I felt watching the disc straight through.

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