7.0

The Needless Part 2 - Episodes 1 to 12

This series is set in the not so distant future where Tokyo has been ravaged by a devastating attack that created an area called the "Black Spot" which has never been able to recover. Within this area that most Japanese are too scared to enter is where the Needless live and for those living in this region, they have learnt that they have strange powers beyond mortal man. At times, this "Black Spot" reminds me of the Western TV series Heroes as the powers of the characters are quite diverse within this series and to make matters worse, they are being hunted by an organisation called Simeon, a pharmaceutical company who want to harness their powers.

Part 2 of this collection returns the viewer to Cruz Child and Adam Blade, two Needless who are trying to fight against Simeone and more particular, their leader, Adam Arclight who has an army of the Needless under his control. Unfortunately in part 2, Eve is being controlled by Mio and her two partners in crime for Simeone  and the small team that Adam Blade has banded together has been vanquished due to him being severely injured in battle. However as Blade and his team regroup and heal, they once again attempt to thwart Arclight that launches this series into a huge battle with Simeone and the Needless.

Just like part 1, there is plenty of fan service in the sequel from outrageous over the top battles to lots of ripped clothes for the girls and a healthy amount of panty shots. The battles are a pure joy to watch that looks like an anime series on steroids. Thankfully, the characters in the series are also quite entertaining to watch and there's plenty of comedy thrown into the mix which generally involve Blade and his female colleagues or enemies. The only thing that did become a little too much in part 2 is that the battles seem bigger and badder than the first release and I really wanted to learn more about the characters as opposed to just one big fight but fortunately the writers do close some of the plot holes left open from the original story.

The DVD quality of the Needless Part 2 is quite decent, especially the animation techniques employed in this series. As mentioned, there's plenty of fan service for those who like anime babes getting their clothes ripped with their almost ample breasts shooting out of their clothes. Besides this, it's a well animated series with some awesome choreographed action scenes. Containing both the Japanese and English tracks, there's definitely something for both purists and casual lovers of this genre. I must admit that some of the English actors did make me laugh a little, especially at their outrageous lines but hey, it just made the series that ever so more entertaining.

In the end, The Needless Part 2 is a fun series that combines a clichéd story of Tokyo's children being given superpowers who are being hunted by a government like agency. Throw in the fan service animation and you have a fun series from start to finish with lots of battles thrown into mix. At almost 300 minutes, this is definitely great value for money!