Typical anime fare treated with Director Takuya Sato's practiced hand. Genuine characters emerge from the mulch of anime archetypes, but risk being pulled back into the slapstick sludge by the eponymous NieA.

Sato develops his story slowly, almost as if he's watching them as opposed to writing them. Many of his scenes evince keen observations of human behavior. NieA, on the other hand, is as subtle, and as desirable, as a rabid Pit bull.

Soft, muted colors and a realism that blends with the more absurd anime hijinks that festoon the action. Yoshitoshi ABe's character designs, reminiscent of the eeriness of "Lain," serves the human interest of the story.

New Generation Pictures, finding its feet in the world of anime dubbing, cranks out a decent English language version replete with references to Japanese cultural customs and a script that picks up innuendo. However, even a well written ADR script can't fully accommodate the neurotic NieA.

Innocuous. And the thinly veiled exposure of prejudice makes that issue extremely accessible for children. Kids might be bored with the slower passages, but that's where adults might really get into it.

DVD. Extras include footnotes that define some of the references made throughout the four episodes, however none of them reference where in the four episodes that particular term appears. A line art gallery features drawings of the main characters and settings. And, of course, the most thrilling of all DVD features, a non-text opening.

Like a Japanese, non-supernatural Freddy Krueger, Mr. Yoshioka loves his boiler room. Yep, he's either going to make a devoted husband with no backbone, or a serial killer that incinerates his victims in the furnace.

Because at six we could still hear her scream for more food.

Love it? Hate it? Buy it.