Reducing NieA's role in the series would greatly improve it, and so it is in the last episode of this disc. The show is about Mayuko, and in this collection of episodes it becomes obvious that the whole alien community, and NieA in particular, are meant as a metaphoric counterpoint to a repressive Japanese society.

Mayuko radiates empathy, the exploration of her insecurity bowling over the campy, anime conventions that NieA's creators feel they must include. They are certainly best when playing with nuance, and the comedy of introspection. Their slapstick is derivative and, often, destructive to the show's tenderness.

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.

The translation retains many of the nuances of character that the script demands. But even though the artistic elements of the New Generation dub are spot on, the disc - at least the screener sent to Akadot - is rife with technical problems, the most obvious being moments when the soundtrack for certain characters cut out entirely, the subtitles being the only indication that there should be sound.

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. One of the episodes alludes to "herb," but I don't think kids will get it … and if they do, then there's no turning back anyway.

NieA doesn't necessarily screw things up physically, she enters the sub-conscious and works spread her insidious disease there. She should be expunged.

Chiaki all but holds Mayuko's hand into a social setting but the insecure bathhouse worker doesn't even follow through with that. Of course it is that decision that saves the series from being just another social lesson, layering the goofy premise with a troubled psychology.

The reason that the old woman at the bathhouse wins her video game round is because she shakes. Haven't we gotten beyond stuff this shallow? If the creators are going to make ageist jokes, they should at least be funny.

Love it? Hate it? Buy it.