Shadow Skill

"Red is the color of blood seething from fists" is a somewhat awkward locution, I'll admit, but Elle Ragu, skimpily attired fighting mistress, kicks serious animated butt in this two-parter combining Shadow Skill: The Movie (culled from episodes of Hiroshi Negishi's televised series) and an hour-shy Epilogue, further following the adventures of Elle and her orphan charge Gau Ban. While the film's narrative triangle--focusing on Elle, Gau Ban, and the mysterious Scarface--offers a nominal plot, this is essentially another gladiators in the arena smackdown, where beautiful babes, handsome hunks, and humongous monsters all spout lame dialogue ("I am invincible; my blows cannot be matched") before slapping the crap out of one another. Still, the animation is very nicely drawn, the soundtrack rocks, and the whack-each-other-senseless relationship between Elle and Gau is charming…in a rather sadomasochistic way. The skimpy DVD extras include character bios and a photo gallery. Recommended, overall. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)