Crest of the Stars - Wayward Soldiers (Vol. 3)
Jinto and Lafiel escape from the treacherous Baron Febdash and crash on the planet Sufugnoff, which is controlled by United Mankind. After functioning as the junior member of the partnership for eight episodes, Jinto begins to assume a more active role, steering a disguised Lafiel through the crowded human metropolis of Lune Biga City. Meanwhile, the prospect of war between the Abh Empire and United Mankind increases, as negotiations collapse and the rival fleets square off. Despite the often flashy CG special effects, the story never generates much excitement. The filmmakers seem to have devoted too much attention to re-creating details from Hiroyuki Morioka's science fiction novel and too little to pacing and character development. After the first few episodes, the subtitles in Abh runes cease being a novelty and become an annoyance. Rated 13 Up: Minor profanity and violence, largely limited to spaceship versus spaceship.--Charles Solomon