From director Rintaro of "Galaxy Express 999" fame comes the mystical action-packed adventure SPIRIT WARRIOR. With supernatural battles, martial arts madness, rival siblings, the epic clash of light and darkness, and a handful of Nazis, SPIRIT WARRIOR makes for a heady brew of anime.

In the past, the gods themselves walked the Earth, waging the eternal war between Light and Darkness. The Gods of Light prevailed, casting the Darkness to the depths of the Earth. But now, after millennium, a new threat appears which may give Darkness dominion over all. Young warrior Kujaku finds out he has a sister - and he must eliminate her or the world is toast! Seems his sister Tsukuyomi suffered from amnesia and has been captured by the Nazis to be their conduit to reawaking the Darkness. She reveals her considerable powers when her friends Asura and Kaiho Ko are threatened by their captors; Nazi leader Haushoffer is pleased by her awakening powers. When Kujaku and his companions arrive in Germany however, they find the Nazis and Tsukuyomi have left. They do free Asura and the wounded Ko who were left behind to die. The gang follows the Nazis to Tibet, where the fiends hope to use Tsukuyomi to open the Mandela of Darkness.

As Nazis attack Kujaku and company in the village below, Tsukuyomi embraces the "Dragon Orb" (a sinister skull), and confronts the mummified remains of her father. When she touches the corpse, she learns her true origin; Tsukuyomi and Kujaku were chosen by the Gods at birth to be their avatars. Kujaku is the Light; she the Darkness. Embracing her destiny, Tsukuyomi unleashes the darkness from its confines and sends her brother's soul to the underworld! Resurrecting the castle of darkness, Tsukuyomi prepares to envelop the Earth in her power. Even a recovered Ko can't stand against her might. Will Kujaku find his way back from Hell, or is the world doomed to the Darkness of Tsukuyomi?

And that's not even the half of it, campers. Wait until you see how SPIRIT WARRIOR plays out. There is an awful lot going on at all times because this show is less than an hour long, which is both good and bad. The good point is SPIRIT WARRIOR moves at an incredible pace, building to a literally explosive climax. We get to know the sibling intimately; why Tsukuyomi embraces the darkness, and Kujaku's need to free her (and himself) from destiny's vicious cycle. The downside is the secondary characters aren't given much depth - you really don't get to know anyone outside the two leads. It wouldn't have hurt this series to be a bit longer and let these characters evolve and interact more with Kujaku and Tsukuyomi. The story is very complex, and although it could also have used more time to unfold, it's pretty straightforward so as not to be too confusing. The animation is well down at the TV anime level, but there's some nudity and graphic violence to make this for the older crowd only. The picture quality is very good, as expected, and the sound is the usual high standard.

SPIRIT WARRIOR has been released on DVD with only a few extras. There is the obligatory trailer and art gallery; however, there is feature-length commentary (subtitled) by the director Rintaro. In this option, Rintaro explains about the use of the Kanji Japanese characters for the names of the anime's characters, which add subtitles (and puns) not found when translated into our pedestrian English. He also comments about casting the right voice actors, and the importance of details in the picture. Rintaro also reveals he likes women's butts, in case anybody wondered. Whatever, the commentary is insightful more about Rintaro than his film, but is definitely worth watching (err...reading).

SPIRIT WARRIOR is one of those few films that might have been better if it were longer. There is so much packed into it as is, one wishes the creators had taken more time to let the picture unfold and let the characters develop in a more casual flow. That said, SPIRIT WARRIOR is still a worthwhile DVD, brimming with action and sorcery at a madcap pace that grabs you in and never lets you go - not that you'd want to get off this anime roller coaster ride.