Dragons exist - and they have psychic bonds with children. They are a powerful legacy, and a terrible curse; even linked with a child, a dragon's desire is to eat humans. The kids who bonded with these dragons are normal kids, much like those in your school class, but you might want to be very careful around them...and their hidden allies. Such is the state of affairs set forth in the fourth DVD of SHADOW STAR NARUTARU.

Quick Note - I have not seen the previous installments; what I know is gleaned from the trailers, so if I haven't gotten everything quite exact, that's why.

EPISODE 11 - Unseen Horizon. We open on Akira's father, who wonders why is daughter isn't 'daddy's little girl' anymore. Her mother claims its because he's 'too nice'. At school, shy Akira is tormented by the 'bitch clique', thus causing her withdrawal from the world. Similar bullying is going on at a nearby school, where timid Hiroko is chided for being too smart by the in-crowd. Since Hiroko passed the recent test, they force her to drink a vile liquid filled with worms. Defiant, she does so, only heaving when her tormentors leave. Once she gets home, however, her father is upset because she didn't get a 100 on the test; thus, she is a failure in his eyes. With their lives spinning out of control and under immense pressure at home and school, can Hiroko and Akira find a moments' peace with their mutual friend Shinna?

EPISODE 12 - My Eyes..., My Hands... Waiting for Shinna to return home, Hiroko confides to Akira she thinks all bullies are really cowards, but she doesn't know how to fight back. Shinna is surprised to find her friends waiting for her, but invites both of them to dinner. She and her father are gracious hosts, and Hiroko seems to be at ease, but Akira can't seem to relax. It gets late, so Akira and Hiroko go their separate ways; Akira returns from a scolding from her father (so much for 'daddy's little girl'), but Hiroko runs into the girl gang. The 'bitches' try to molest Hiroko, but tomboy Mizushima shows up before anything drastic happens. Finally arriving home, Hiroko is chewed out by her father for skipping school (even if it was to avoid her daily torture).

Hiroko's father bans her from seeing Shinna, whom he thinks is a bad influence on his daughter. With all that's happened, Hiroko reaches her breaking point...and since she has a bond with a dragon, things are not going to go down well for her father or the 'bitch clique.'

EPISODE 13 - What We Send To Tomorrow's Children. As the local news relates the horrifying deaths of the school bullies, the class teacher urges the children to be strong. Miyoko can't stand the guilt and confesses her involvement with Hiroko's hazing -which is perfect timing as Hiroko's vengeful dragon busts into the classroom. As the other bullies are dealt with terminally, Miyoko can only stand there. But Shinna hasn't panicked, and confronts the dragon head-on. When the dragon grabs Miyoko, the girl tells Hiroko how sorry she is - and the beast hesitates! Shinna realizes her friend has unleashed her dragon for revenge, but how can she make Hiroko stop her bloody trail of vengeance? Will she have to call on her own dragon to settle the score? And what of the missing Akira?

SHADOW STAR NARUTARU seems to be a very uneven anime series, especially for those who've come in late. There is no synopsis provided, and telling the characters apart was kind of tricky. The story seems to be forced into fitting the show's time frame. By that, I mean Episode 11 is the set-up for this particular arc, but feels dragged out to insure the next episode starts at a certain point. When the action heats up in Episode 12, it stops abruptly to make sure Episode 13 starts at the school. The flow of the show just feels chaotic. Character-wise, its obvious Shinna is the center of this universe, and her presence (or lack thereof) sets events into motion. Her relationship with Hiroko, and subsequent handling of her friend's breakdown, is dealt with very well, but poor Akira's own downward spiral seems to be an afterthought. There is so much potential in these characters & relationships, but it feels like the producers only scratched the surface before the big climax. The secondary figures - like the bullies and Mizushima - are developed even less, which left me disappointed. SHADOW STAR NARUTARU was originally made as a children's show, but the issues dealt with and implied are really teen level. To that end, the animation is 'blacked out' in many intense scenes, obscuring much of the violence. Like putting the proverbial square peg in a round hole, SHADOW STAR NARUTARU wants to be one type of series and is forced to be another, but this has left a disjointed and unsatisfying result.

The animation in SHADOW STAR NARUTARU is the capable Japanese TV standard; well-drawn main characters, acceptable backgrounds, but nothing that will leave you breathless. Quality is very good with nice rich colors and a clean image. Audio is also the usual good TV standard. The main theme is a catchy tune, but incidental music is fairly innocuous. English dubbing is adequate.

The DVD release for SHADOW STAR NARUTARU 4 includes a bunch of stuff. Beyond the trailers and previews are several art and storyboard galleries, as well as a convention piece spotlighting some of the Japanese voice actresses. Each episode also has the option of a Q&A commentary with director Toshiaki Iino, which I found to be very interesting and added some 'meat' to the episodes I think they were lacking. His commitment and passion to his show makes me want to see the whole series to understand his complete vision.

Sometimes you can come in halfway into a movie and not have missed a darn thing - not with SHADOW STAR NARUTARU. I have the feeling the whole series is a bit uneven, since it's not allowed to go where it seems to want, but the intensity and complexity in the fourth DVD really gives one pause. I can only hope the negative points I feel are exonerated in the bigger context of the series; therefore, I do not recommend watching SHADOW STAR NARUTARU unless you start at the beginning. Then we shall see what we'll see, won't we?