Red Garden Vol. 3: The Body Snatchers Review

            The girls are finally getting used to their nightly routine of killing while trying to adjust to their daily lives. Claire needs a job, Rachel is having more and more issues with relating to her friends and Rose is still trying to take care of her siblings. Kate, on the other hand, has decided to do some more digging and finds out more about how much danger she’s really in. The people they’re fighting aren’t monsters; they’re the results of curses that have been placed on two families and the horrible scientific experiments that are taking place because of them.

Good and the Bad 

            Upon putting this volume into my player right away I noticed that the animation didn’t look as crisp as I usual. Perhaps this is something that has been evident since the very beginning and I just never noticed but I kept seeing a very grainy appearance to the animation when I’m used to seeing much sharper colors.

            Getting past though this volume takes the series to some fabulous new places, just as I figured it would. After volume two proved to be so oddly out of place for me due to the inclusion of, but hardly explained, new story path with Herve and his younger sisters. On this volume though, the two stories are brought together into one path which not only perfectly explains much of what was confusing about volume two but also really starts to develop the plot in unforeseen directions.  

            The pacing on this volume was really well done. While there was very little actual action on this volume, the story moved at a great pace throughout the volume. The information presented to the audience about the new character and plot points were always delivered at a steady pace.

            I was also really impressed with how this series decided to use the secondary characters throughout this volume. Lula and J.C. didn’t get much screen time on this volume but they did provide some very well placed commentary when needed. Herve is still a fairly new character and while he is being set up as the villain, he’s also being set up as an anti-villain. It seems that every character, even the secondary background characters, have at least one motivation inside of them that remain pure and just, making them all the more intriguing to an already interested audience.   

Music

            While most of the music in this volume was fairly low key and nothing out of the ordinary, there was one piece of music that I found particularly powerful during episode 11. The music plays during the second half (won’t tell you where) but it’s an absolutely phenomenal string arrangement that really captures the soft desperation that some of the girls exhibit during this volume.           

            A new ending theme is debuted on this volume. The new ending theme, ‘Oh My Juliet’, is shown for the first time at the end of episode 12 and is done by the same band that did the first ending theme. The song is a hard Japanese punk track and I really enjoyed it quite a bit. I once again can’t say that I think it really fits with the overall feel of the series nor does it match the odd pop/jazz tune that opens each episode but on its own, it’s a good song.

Dub vs. Sub 

            The secondary characters sounded great with Joe Diaz as Herve and Lesley Tesh as Paula really stepping up with great performances. I’ve always believed that even smaller roles have their moments and these two found theirs on this volume. I am extremely interested in both of these characters and where they going to end up by the end of the series and the performances that I heard on this volume did nothing but help that.  

Extras 

            Just clean animations.

Overall 

            This series has been impressing me more and more with each volume and now that I’m just shy of the halfway point I can’t imagine turning back now. Filled with mystery, intrigue and fabulously developed characters that keep the audience engaged, this is a series that fans have been waiting for. Very recommended.