Unfortunately, this second volume of Arc the Lad is actually a significant step down from the first. Discontinuities and thematic degeneration rule the day.

Let’s start out with the most serious of the two - the discontinuities. The first such gap is the lack of foreshadowing narration in the first few minutes of the show. This was an effective plot device used in the first volume. Its absence is painfully obvious in episode four, which now begins with a poorly thrown-together progression of scenes which try (and fail) to lead in to Arc and Shu’s next ploy. The pacing is all wrong, the scenes blend poorly, and they add next to nothing to the viewer’s experience. You can probably gain more enjoyment out of episode four by just skipping that section entirely. The missing narration is more effectively filled in the later episodes, but not so effectively as to justify breaking the pattern.

Luckily, things pick up after this incident, but unfortunately they don’t really touch much on the conspiracy that drove the first volume. Instead, this volume purportedly focuses on Elk’s connection to Arc. I say purportedly, because when it comes time to actually explain Elk’s hatred for Arc, we get a lengthy background scene showing Arc’s village being destroyed….by invaders who clearly have no connection AT ALL to Arc. Nowhere in this lengthy scene is any footage of Arc’s airship, the Silver Noah, which Elk is always ranting about. And yet, after he finishes narrating this event, he harps again about how the airship was what started it all. Oh, the pain.

Is it Elk, or Arc? Who could this mysterious figure be? Convenient, how alike they look when the light is shining in your face...	Finally, we get a closer look at Elk's past. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that we get to see anything linking Arc to the burning village...

Furthermore, the thematic material is starting to degenerate into a simplistic message about the perils and corruptibility of science, contrasted with the pure goodness of leaving things in the hands of the spirits and living simply. The imagery and animation aren’t enough to carry off this kind of theme effectively, so unless some gray lines are drawn soon, all the potential built up in the first volume will soon be utterly wasted.

From a technical standpoint, graininess still pervades the video, with much the same animation style as the first. The background music, on the other hand, seems a bit more subdued than it should be, in comparison to the first volume. Maybe it’s just me, but I found the rousing battle tunes to be a bit too mute to go along properly with the action.

The presentation is still a consistent bad. The disc art is still in color, but there still aren’t any extras to speak of, or any cool menu effects. You’re still only getting the bare minimum three episodes per volume, belied by the graininess of the video - you’d expect that with all the space, they’d be able to clean up the artifacts. The fact of the matter is, ADV just doesn’t want to spend as much time or money on this series in comparison to hits like Gasaraki and Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040.

All told, this volume is a good reason not to buy the first. The pacing has taken a turn for the worse, plot holes have started rearing their ugly faces, and the thematic material is starting to look too clichéd. I wouldn’t bother if it unless you’ve already seen the first volume, and need to know what comes next, no matter the cost...

Distributor: ADV
Creator: Bee Train
Released: 1999

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