The fourth volume of Fancy Lala has more of the same from the previous volume, so I assumed it would be a disappointment; however, somewhere along the way I seem to have stopped caring whether the show provides me the necessary amount of plot substance. Why this happened, I am not certain, but Fancy Lala has hooked me again. This is some quality stuff.

Volume four starts off on a fairly serious note, and really hit home with my experiences. Through Hiroya, Lala meets his guitarist, who is divorced and has a son named Tappei. Being really only 9 years old and living with both parents, Miho doesn't understand how the boy could be happy without his mother around all the time. Finding out that his mother is someone she knows makes Miho want to set things right. The next three episodes are a mini-arc that seems to move the plot along a bit. Miho takes off all by herself on a trip to visit her grandparents and gets lost, of course. (What fun would it be if she didn't?) She meets a boy named Shoichi, and remembers him as, well, an older version of Taro Yoshida - her nemesis. He's kind to her, though, and only mean to his childhood friend Haruka. Of course, Miho won't stand for that, and the standard mahou shoujo hijinks ensue. Throw in the legend of the water imps (that Miho swears exist), a dinosaur, and our favorite Mystery Man (which is his name, as far as we know or care), and episodes 16 through 18 turn out to be a lot of fun.

Tappei takes a liking to Pigu, much to the little guy's chagrin.	"Fushigi-san" shows up at the strangest of places, like in the middle of a forest.

A lot of children (I was one of them) have had experiences with divorce, so to me, the first episode of this volume was not only a grim reminder of the weight it places on a child, but also a reaffirmation that even the worst of events aren't without redeeming qualities. It was a treat to see the idea from Miho's point of view, since she still has both parents. As for the rest of the story, I realized somewhere in this volume that an involving plot was something that I had wrongly come to expect from the show. It really never promised such a thing, and I liked the show from the beginning for a different reason altogether. Fancy Lala has a great set of characters and is a show for families. This is why I liked it in the first place, because the good feelings that can be had from family togetherness are unique.

The fourth volume of Fancy Lala again has a single extra: this time a gallery of various fashion designs for the show. The extra doesn't pass the test for being worthwhile this time, as it's just too short (at only 10 images). I'll admit that the notes accompanying each image are nice, though. The insert accompanying the disc is a set of episode summaries, as has been the norm for this series. The cover art is nicely done. It's a shot of Hiroya on his bed looking at a Lala poster.

Volume four made me like Fancy Lala again. The lack of plot movement didn't matter anymore, because the entertainment value was back up to its earlier quality. I look forward to finishing this series now, and will be sure to tell you about the rest.

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