Stratos 4

Publisher
Beez
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 at 25 minutes each.
Year
2003

Stratos 4 Volume 2

By Joseph (Joe) Wood
4th Jul 05

I found the first volume of Stratos 4 to be rather poor, unoriginal and lacking in anything that would make it stand out from the crowd. The second volume is better...

The four episodes on the second volume are a lot different from the rather boring, girls study then blast asteroids formula the earlier episodes followed. The first episode sees Mikaze under go an inquiry into why the last comet was not destroyed. Mikaze tries to admit she was at fault, but her interviews keep trying to get her to imply otherwise. This episode really gave me the impression that Stratos 4 may be taking an rather interesting direction, unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be the case. The second episode sees Mikaze and friends back at the Shimoji Island base, where they under go a cat hunt for Alice AKA Admiral, who begins to cause havoc when she follows the girls to work. This was a hilariously funny episode and certainly one of the best of the series so far, not just because the fan service quota is up for this episode. “Mach Speed” the third episode on the disc sees Mikaze and the other girls begin work, with their mechanic Sako, on the Stratos 0 a machine capable of launching from Earth and going into space. The girls begin to work on the ship constantly when they have any free time. The fourth episode sees our young cadets’ parents and family show up to visit them at the base. The girls announce their plans of rebuilding the Stratos 0 and taking it into space, only to be shot down by their parents who think the idea is outrageous.

Stratos 4 only has 12 episodes and 3 DVD volumes, which means we’re already more than halfway through. While the second volume is an improvement on the first, there’s still nothing that makes Stratos 4 stand out. The story, despite some interesting undertones and possible subplots, still doesn’t stand out as anything different or special. The characters are nicely thought out and show a wide range but other than the main four girls very few gain any development. While I admit to changing my mind about the music, the score does suit the show well but nothing more so. With only one more volume to go, it doesn’t seem like Stratos 4 can turn around and offer any sort of surprises. The show has spawned two OVAs since having been shown in Japan in 2003, which could bode an improvement in the last volume.

Unfortunately, despite Stratos 4 volume two being a distinct improvement over the first volume, it’s still surpassed by many other better shows. Again, I would recommend this for young teenage girls, but for anyone else I’d suggest to leave this alone or to rent/borrow before buying.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English/German/French/Japanese dub, English/German/French sub, clean second ending animation, Music clip, Interview and music video.

Release information: Publisher: Beez Relase Date: Out Now Classification: PG

Notes: The "music clip" as it's called in the extras menu is really just the trailler for Stratos 4, The interview is of Melocure the band who sing the opening theme, and the music video is the actual video for the song. The extras aren't bad for Statos 4, and do add to the enjoyment of the discs, but if you don't like the show you won't like these either.

-- Joseph (Joe) Wood 4th Jul 05