Oji Tanaka, formerly the lead guitarist of the '80s metal band Black Heaven, is walking on air. He's playing his guitar again, he's pulled out his old hip duds, and his Muse has returned - he's composing a new ballad. He bugs Layla about a chance to try his new song, and, based on his confidence, the aliens enter a key battle counting on increased power from his sound. Unfortunately, Oji's new mellow sound is utterly ineffective in powering the weapon, and it is only when Fomalhaut arrives to pull the plug that Oji finally twigs to the fact that he's participating in a galactic war - and that Earth will fall into jeopardy if they fail. Even worse, he learns that no one cares about his music beyond its ability to wreak destruction. His delusions and dreams shattered, Oji smashes his guitar and walks.

His spirit crushed, Oji throws himself into his work, determined to put the "childishness" of his music career behind him - he even turns down a ticket to a rock concert held by his idol Michael Schenker. Meanwhile, the three alien ditzes Kotoko, Eriko and Rinko are dispatched to re-ignite Oji's passion for music - but, predictably, their hair-brained schemes fall apart. In the end, Layla simply hands him his restored Flying V. He accepts it without knowing why.

Fomalhaut's forces are taking a shellacking, forcing Layla to pilot one of their starfighters. To her shock, though, the ultimate weapon goes online and smashes the opposition. She rushes back to find Oji playing under the guidance of the beautiful but cold fleet scientist Hamil. It seems Oji has had a change of heart about playing. But, alas, something has gone out of his music, and the weapon is not as powerful as it once was. Suspecting the source of the problem, Hamil pounces on a startled Oji in a Tokyo alley, feigning a nearly sexual passion for his music. This reinvigorates Oji, but also brings Layla charging in. She sees that Hamil is manipulating Oji, and wanting to come by his talents more honestly, takes him back under her wing - which is actually what Hamil wanted all along. Meanwhile, Oji gets a brainstorm: If he alone can generate such power, what could a reunited Black Heaven accomplish?

Heavy-metal-rocker-turned-salaryman Oji Tanaka continues his saga in the second volume of Pioneer's "Black Heaven" release. Having established the characters and arc in the first four episodes, director Yasuhito Kikuchi moves in for a more intimate examination of Oji's relationships with the people - and sometimes institutions - of his world. Consequentially, the pace is somewhat slower than in the first installment, making this a less than ideal place at which to jump into the series. However, as an expansion of the story thus far, the second volume proves a worthy follow-up.

Though Kikuchi reveals more about the aliens' war and the potential threat to Earth, he still withholds information about their enemies - what they look like, what they want, etc. But perhaps it doesn't really matter in the end, because it's gradually becoming apparent that the galactic battle isn't the point. "Black Heaven" is a rarity- a character-driven space opera. In most titles of the genre, be it "Macross" or "Gundam," the story unfolds as a series of battles in which the good guys gain or lose ground; characterization arises- if at all- as characters react to external situations.

But in "Black Heaven," Kikuchi and story conceiver Hiroki Hayashi are far more interested in the relationships between Oji and his wife, between Oji and Layla, and between Oji and his art than in developing nifty-cool battle mecha. This may be an anime marketed at teens, but it's written with an older audience in mind. In these three episodes, Oji and Layla grow closer, taking the first tentative step down a road that may ultimately threaten Oji's relationship with his wife, and Layla's relationship with her fiancé Fomalhaut.

"Black Heaven" also continues to draw parallels between the events in the main show and the adventures of the cast in his son's favorite cheesy UFO TV show, which may or may not have symbolic consequences on relationships later down the line. But at the moment, it's an amusing conceit - sort of like the shipwreck adventure tale embedded in Alan Moore's "Watchmen" graphic novel.

And one quibble: As popular as Oji once was as a musician, he apparently has only one guitar solo to draw upon in his battle riffs. Hearing that same exact song every time Oji plays is beginning to become unnerving. As Musically centered as this show is, we'd like to hear a bit more of Oji's oeuvre.