At the end of volume 2, Steel Angel Kurumi reached what was its first interesting plot twist coupled with its first mildly unpredictable character: Karinka, an angel who proved herself to be quite the little demon. Volume 3 picks up right where it left off and quickly resolves the situation - possibly a little too quickly, but not without immediately raising a new question. However, once all is well again the gang heads to a train ride to the next town. After a few rather humorous attempts at undercover work from Karinka, they predictably pick her up for Group Kurumi (well, kind of). Finally, once they reach the Professor's old lab (Remember that was their goal? Right, I didn't either.), even more information is given. As more time passes, things become a bit more interesting and ambiguous.

I must admit that for the first time ever I'm actually interested in the developments of the plot. Yes, a few of the "twists" are extremely clichéd, but there are some genuine surprises and ANYTHING to move the focus away from the cast, which is still one of SAK's weaker areas, is good. The new characters have blended into the show well, and their purposes are intriguing though somewhat obvious. MINOR SPOILER-DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW! There are also some major logic flaws once the time traveling element is introduced, but I've yet to find any show that deals with that topic that doesn't have similar errors, so I can't hold it against them. SPOILER DONE-CONTINUE WITHOUT CAUTION!

However, plot aside, let's focus on Karinka for a little bit. I found her to be the best of the angels thus far, not quite conventional and always leaving mischief in her wake (not to mention she's probably the second character so far with a brain). Her crush is by far the most unexpected and has progressed into a nice triangle, even if it is causing more Kurumi whining scenes. Also, her unspoken alliance with Saki is just plain funny. Period.

The rest of the cast returns in all their varied success, with Dr. Amagi once more proving that less is more-especially on a show rife with cheap gags. Kurumi is still whiny, Nakahito is still naive and unsure, and Saki is still silent and polite while wishful. My main worry here is whether these characters will ever change! The show has set up a cast of vibrant, if not always tolerable, personalities that need to be explored, but mostly each supposed trigger for development is really just a rehashing of themes we've seen before. Yes, I still like Dr. Amagi, but they don't give the girl nearly enough to do. Maybe this is why I'm pleased with the arrival of Karinka; maybe she's going play the devil's advocate and get issues out in the open so people can grow. Obviously, if the show ends with the characters exactly the way as they began, I won't be a happy camper.

The audio and video is up to par with the previous installments, and the OP and ED are still very enjoyable. Sure, it's nothing to revolutionize the world, but bubbly fun nonetheless. I should note I checked out the English dub to hear the American versions of two new characters and am happy to report they are performed ineptly, thus giving you more the reason to listen solely to the talented Japanese cast.

Again, the packaging is simple and tasteful with a shot of one of the angels semi-nude against a background of gears, this time with Karinka. It's a decent picture, though as far as cheesecake goes, Karinka is obviously not as beautiful as the other girls. The insides are the same as always with a paper fortuneteller themed around the cover girl included along with the usual episode list. The menus continue the design they've had from the beginning; they are nice to look at and even manage to give off a surreal, mysterious mood that the show itself hasn't been able to capture. The extras continue to be half-informative and half-needless, with the Video Clip of the Month centered around the second (and thankfully last) photo shoot with the English dub cast. This shoot is entirely disinteresting, without any insights into the cast or photography in general, and to be frank the photographer doesn't seem to be all that talented based upon the two sessions I've seen.

Overall, I must say the show has grown on me since last, but its flaws are still rather apparent. The new plot development and characters are promising, and Karinka gratefully opens up new character-based possibilities for the series. However, the static characters and their one-note personalities are getting to be a drag, and to sacrifice character depiction for plot would be a very stupid move at this point. However, Kurumi still manages to entertain while staying on the lighter side of things, and I'll be watching til the end.

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