Misaki Chronicles, Vol. 1 - Second Chances
A prequel toDivergence Eve(2003), the broadcast seriesMisaki Chronicles(2004) covers Misaki Kureha's days at the Allied Military Forces Academy. Misaki is a typical fan-service heroine: well-intentioned, not very bright, uncoordinated, and pneumatically constructed. Because her pilot-father was killed in space--and because she needed a steady job after being sacked as a waitress--Misaki enrolled in the Academy. The Military Forces battle "ghouls,"mecha-like monsters that are too three-dimensional to fit into the drawn animation and too menacing to fit the silly tone of the series. To the inter-dimensional hokum from the earlier series,Misaki Chroniclesadds time-travel and supernatural elements. As the characters bounce between the 24th and 16th centuries, they offer some unintentionally hilarious dialogue: "Time has stopped? Explain!" But fans of Misaka Kureha wouldn't want a coherent plot to distract them from her non-stop jiggling. (Rated TV14, suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, nudity, minor profanity)--Charles Solomon