Love is in the air

Cynthia Ward · April 7, 2004 | Someday's Dreamers Lesson 2: Power of Love continues the story of seventeen-year-old Yume Kikuchi, the small-town girl who apprenticed to a big-city mage in Someday's Dreamers Lesson 1: Magical Dreamer. On that DVD, Yume was continually breaking the laws of her alternate-history Japan and its Bureau of Mage Labor by casting unauthorized spells. On this second DVD (episodes 5 to 8), the focus shifts from Yume's failing to her friends' problems.

In episode 5, "An Apron and Champagne," a young girl runs away from home, and her mother and Yume must find her—without Yume using her magic. In episode 6, "I Want to be a Mage," Kera reveals his deep, long-standing desire for a Special Power; his desire is exacerbated by a dying child from the orphanage where he grew up. In episode 7, "The Mage Who Couldn't Become a Mage," Yume meets an apprentice, Inoue, who's having his own difficulties with magic; Yume realizes becoming a mage isn't inevitable, even for someone with a Special Power as great as hers. In episode 8, "Enormous Power in the Name of Love," Yume's fellow apprentice, Angela, finds herself falling in love with Inoue against her will, and as a result wreaks magical havoc on Tokyo—havoc that may be irreversible.

Someday's Dreamers Lesson 2: Power of Love Geneon Entertainment, 2004 Originally released in 2003 Directed by Masami Shimoda 100 minutes Shop for Someday's Dreamers DVDs and more: Amazon.ca Amazon.com

Watching these episodes, I was baffled. I'd assumed Someday's Dreamers was a mini-series, with a finite storyline about Yume growing up, coming to terms with her powers, and finding her place in the world. The second DVD's wide focus—on four other characters—confused me, until the disk's bonus commercials showed that Someday's Dreamers is a TV series. The series must be open-ended. At least, I hope so; it's too diffuse to work as a mini-series.

What's Good: Excellent art; good characterization; fine soundtrack; gorgeous binanshi.

What's Bad: Lack of focus.

DVD Features: Bilingual audio (English and Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital); English subtitles; three Japanese television advertisements; Geneon previews; reversible cover; limited quantity bonus collectible postcard.