Volume three of Saikano turned out to be a bit of a downer, compared to the excellent setup that the previous volume afforded it. The story effectively went where I was hoping it wouldn't, and one of the characters surprised me in the wrong way. It did have a few hidden surprises that made me hopeful that the show would recover, though.

The third volume has a bit too many things going on with secondary characters for the viewer to keep a firm grasp on where the plot is going. In a way, this hurts the story a bit, but it could pay off later on. The fifth episode, Usotsuki (Liar) continues the drama surrounding Fuyumi. Chise has an episode when an earthquake disrupts class, and Shuji gets angry with her response to the situation. He yells out to her to meet in their special place, and then doesn't show up. Episode 6, Classmates creates a temporary resolution for their situation, which is hardly acceptable for either. Also, Shuji's friend Atsushi announces that he's joining the military in order to protect another of their childhood friends, Akemi. The volume wraps up with Episode 7, Mamoritai mono (What I Want to Protect), where Atsushi finally joins the military. Things begin to stir again between Shuji and Chise, as well. Both are troubled with the thought that they can't protect anything, or anyone. Chise begins to feel as though she's losing herself, and some of the things she says frighten Shuji. The episode ends with a premonition that something big is about to happen.

Shuji becomes increasingly scared at some of the the things Chise says. She acts as though she's losing herself.	Atsushi discovers that things are worse than he thought after joining the Army.

The third volume leaves me not knowing what to think about the show, and slightly skeptical about what it has in store. Part of the problem is that it's becoming readily apparent that our main character and narrator, Shuji, is a horrible excuse for a human being. He is overtaken by his confusion over his relationship and the surrounding chaos, to the point of drowning in self-pity and being generally rotten toward others. In the current state, it's difficult to believe that he could redeem himself later on. At the very least, the other characters are attempting to come to terms with the situation and continue on living as long as they can. This angers Shuji because he can't act so carefree like the others. On the other hand, the strength of this volume is in the idea that denying your feelings accomplishes nothing. Both Chise and Shuji are able to come to terms with their feelings for each other, so there seems to be a ray of hope despite their poor decisions. Also, this volume does a fairly good job of driving home the idea that letting your emotions think for you has a way of blinding you to the harm you might be causing to someone. If the fourth volume uses one of these ideas to get the story back on track, the rest of the show should be worth watching.

There is virtually no change in the quality of audio and video in this release. There continues to be a few small errors in the subtitling, but aside from that, it remains excellent. Volume 3 took a bit of a dive in cover art quality, with a shot of Chise atop a tank, and Fuyumi's husband Tetsu with one of his subordinates in the foreground. It's a nice enough cover, but doesn't make an artistic statement as much as the previous two. By contrast, the picture provided with the insert is gorgeous. It would've made a much more suitable cover image than the one that was chosen. It's a picture of Shuji and Chise in their school uniforms. She is in her "other" form, and has a priceless loving look on her face. He is staring off into oblivion, as always. Also included with the insert are 4 stickers, with each of the show's eyecatches printed on them. This was a very thoughtful extra, I must say.

Just to avoid any potential confusion, I still believe Saikano to be a stellar show. Even though the story in this volume was a letdown, the music and visuals are excellent. I expect that GONZO will continue to impress with their high production values as the show continues. I also expect that the good parts of the show will outweigh the questionable parts in the end. We'll see if I was right in the next edition of this review series.

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