It's unusual yet intriguing, disturbing yet sensible. "Gasaraki" is like that rare schizophrenic friend who has not one great personality, but two.

At its heart, "Gasaraki" is just another robot story, but much of the strangeness at the beginning of the series evolves into something intriguing by the end of the fourth episode. Because the story is designed as an unfolding mystery, long pieces of the film (such as the entire first episode) seem incomprehensible until later revelations shed some light.

Yushiro Gowa, the talented yet prodigal son of the famous Gowa family, begins a wrenching search to quiet his unsettled soul.

The colorful and dynamic animation alone carries the film during those stints that the plot line is impenetrable.

While strong in parts, the eras of the story involving Japanese mysticism lack the kind of explanation they need to be convincing to American audiences.

Considering the strange lines they are dealt, the performances are believable.

The "Gasaraki" DVD has quality sound and pictures, but the DVD extras barely live up to the name "extra." The ADV Films website (www.advfilms.com) has all the extra material the DVD has, and more.

For violence

Not since the premier of "Star Trek Voyager" has so much inane technobabble been crammed into such a short span of time.

In order to create verisimilitude in his film, the creators make extensive visual references to CNN's famous coverage of the Persian Gulf War.

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