Yugo the Negotiator: Pakistan--Departure, Vol. 1

Beppu Yugo, the world's greatest negotiator, is regularly called upon to help diffuse troubling situations around the world. But viewers looking for slambang fight sequences, wild action chases, and logic-defying plotlines, won't find them in this anime: Yugo's skills are actually closer to real-life negotiating tactics. In the opening three episodes of this debut volume, Yugo finds himself embarking on missions to deal with Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan and humorless Russians in Siberia, where his mastery of language and cultural appreciation not only saves the day but also the lives of those he is sent to bring home. As a psychological drama, in which Yugo works to break down the mental and emotional barriers of those in his path, this is compelling stuff, but this is also an extremely verbose production--replacing credits-to-credits violence with a surplus of talk. Yugo the Negotiator, presented on a dual-language disc and rated 16-up, deserves credit for not recycling the standard anime themes, but in trying to be different it also winds up being stodgy. DVD extras include interviews with the voice cast and crew. Optional. [Note: Yugo the Negotiator, Vol. 2 is slated for release on Sept. 6.] Aud: P. (P. Hall)