Dual

Dual - Trouble Adventure - Boxed Set

Dual - Trouble Adventure - Student Housing (Vol. 2)

Kazuki and Mitsuki attempt to adjust to life in the parallel world where they were inadvertently sent by Mitsuki's addled scientist-father: they pose as siblings, attend school, and train as pilots for the Core Robots used in the strangely stylized war with the fanatic Rara.

The situation is further complicated by the arrival of the amnesiac alien girl D, who talks like the robot-heroine of Key, the Metal Idol, and the attractive Yayoi, their school teacher, battle instructor, and house guest. Yayoi's presence arouses Mitsuki's jealousy over who will be the domestic leader of this mismatched ménage. Mitsuki arranges an engagement interview for Yayoi with a wealthy industrialist just as the next battle with Rara begins. Rara unveils a gargantuan, seemingly invincible robot that is an example of "ancient technology," and the battle ends with Kazuki's capture.

Dualis a series that sharply divides otaku. Fans praise its blend of humor and adventure; detractors dismiss it as weak copy of "Evangelion." It's similar in tone to the "El Hazard" series, with a whiny, put-upon hero and strong female characters linked by ill-defined relationships. There's little chemistry between the characters, which makes it difficult to care about them.

Rated for ages 13 and up for mild profanity, sexual humor, and robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon

Vol. 2 (Episodes 5-7) Kazuki's old life is gone. Now, in the parallel world, he must juggle his life as a Core Robot Pilot along with his school work, and the most difficult subject of all - girls! Its bad enough to share the house with the most beautiful girl in the the school, but then D, the alien girl moves in, and his teacher invades his bedroom! Now, when Rara reveals its most powerful weapon, will Kazuki be up for the challenge, or suffer a crushing defeat?

Dual - Trouble Adventure - Artifacts (Vol. 3)

The adventures of nerdy Kazuki Yotsuga and temperamental Mitsuki Sanada in a parallel world continue in three episodes marked by odd shifts in tone. Injured in one of the stagy battles fought against General Rara, Kazuki is found and cared for by his daughter, Mitsuki--the counterpart of the abrasive girl from Earth. She arranges for Kazuki to escape; after he beats her in a high-stakes battle, she defects to the opposing side. Although she was a leader of the enemy forces, Mitsuki Rara moves into the house of the head of the Defense Forces with Kazuki, Mitsuki Sanada, the semicatatonic Dee, and battle instructor Yayoi. Without her, Rara's squadrons repeatedly lose to the Defense Forces, as Kazuki's new Core Robot crushes everything in its path. Rara's steely wife Ayuko, who is really waging the war, takes matters into her own hands, and Kazuki literally goes down in flames at the end of "Repatriate," although mecha pilots are notoriously difficult to kill. Reluctant warriors have become a feature of many mecha series, but Kazuki lacks both the complex motivations of the melancholy Shinji in Neon Genesis Evangelion and the self-deprecating humor of Akito in Martian Successor Nadesico. Rated 13 and up for mild profanity and robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon

Caught behind enemy lines! When a seriously injured Kazuki awakens, he finds himself iin the clutches of the infamous Miss Rah! Or is she? Kazuki is confused when Miss Rah tends to his wounds and even cooks for him! What's Kazuki to do? Meanwhile, the Rara army has come up with a plan that will ensure their victory. Get rid of Kazuki...

Dual - Trouble Adventure - Visions (Vol. 1)

Although the packaging proclaims that this new series is from "the creators of Tenchi Muyo!", Dual! is closer in tone to a mecha version of El Hazard. Everyone at Naniyo Academy regards nerdy Kazuki Yotsuga as weird because he flinches and ducks for no apparent reason. But Kazuki sees visions of giant robots fighting in the city where he lives. When the pretty and popular Mitsuki Sanada learns about the visions, she takes him to her father, Ken, an eccentric scientist whose specializes in "dimensional physics." Kazuki's visions confirm Ken's belief in a parallel world--where he accidentally sends the two teenagers via an untested invention.

In the very different parallel world, Ken heads the Earth Defense Force, commanding the giant robots that engage in stylized battles against the troops of the fanatic scientist Rara. In the best anime tradition, Kazuki demonstrates an unheard of empathy with the huge mecha Hartzenan, winning a battle for its injured pilot. But all the other pilots are girls: to hide the existence of his new star warrior, Ken puts Kazuki in drag, which leads to new problems.

The results are agreeably silly, although Dual! lacks the warmth that gives the "Tenchi" series its offbeat charm. Rated for ages 13 and up for mild profanity, sexual humor, and robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon

Kazuki is plagued by visions of giant, destructive robots that no one else can see. But all of the years of ridicule are about to pay off! Before he knows what's happening, Kazuki gets ensnared by a pretty face, and then a mad scientist's experiment throws him into his world of visions! Now the danger is very real and his allies are twice as strange as he ever imagined! On the plus side, he gets to drive the robots! Includes episodes 1 - 4

Dual - Trouble Adventure - One Vision (Vol. 4)

The barriers between Earth and the parallel world begin to break down in the final episodes of this adventure-comedy, threatening to destroy both planets--and what remains of the story line. When he's on Earth, Kazuki worries about his friends on the alternate planet; in the parallel world, he finds the war with Rara going badly. Dr. Sanada makes it clear just how confusing the links between the planets have become when he asks Kazuki to send his greetings to himself. The battle for the parallel world crystallizes around Ayuko and her pursuit of ever more power. Kazuki agrees to sacrifice his beloved mecha, and the explosion somehow creates a new Earth that preserves elements of the parallel world. It's not clear why Kazuki's wishes have the power to transform space, time, and matter. Many of the artists who created the series worked on Tenchi, but Tenchi is the long-lost crown prince of the planet Jurai and commands extraordinary powers; Kazuki is just a whiny teenager from Earth. The story really ends in episode 13, "The World"; the following episode, "Final Frontier," is a sort of coda that suggests a sequel is in the works. Rated 13 and up for mild profanity, sexual humor, and robot versus robot violence. --Charles Solomon

The barriers separating the parallel worlds are breaking down the existence of both Earths! In theory, the process can be halted by the elimination of elements unique to one of the two Earths, but that means either the alien technology must be destroyed, or Kazuki must die! (Episodes 11-14)

From the creators of Tenchi Muyo! Collectable "Static Cling inside (while supplies last)! Black BRC response card (regular version).