The saga of Venom of the Ninja continues as Crash Cinema release Vol 2 of the 3-disc set. Vol 2 includes episodes 3 & 4 with each episode running approx. 45-minutes each and discs are available individually or boxed together. Episode 3 sets the stage for a retread, while Episode 4 gives us more of what we love, blood 'n action!

Spoiler alert!!!!! Since Venom of the Ninja is an ongoing series, it's very difficult to discuss the entire series on an episode-to-episode basis, without giving some stuff away (by stuff I mean important plot points). If you want to go in fresh - consider yourself warned. You may want to skip the next two paragraphs.

Episode 3 opens with one of the oddest recaps I've ever seen in an ongoing series. Little did I know that the recap didn't end after the first 5-minutes. Nope - it lasted nearly the entire episodes running time, sigh. Master continues to tell Tiger of his past, which includes us having to endure many a flashback scene. One of the oddest flashbacks involves a woman being raped in front of three young boys. While the scene is anything but graphic, it's still quite disturbing. The remaining flashbacks are all retreads, including the entire opening battle from Episode 1, oye vey! I'll admit, it's a lot of filler, but the interesting aspect was how different the footage looked under these conditions. Still, there was no need for the entire scene having to be shown again. Moving along - seriously wounded, master dies and Tiger recalls all of the good times (as well as the bad). Unfortunately for us, this means even more flashbacks! It isn't until 25-minutes into the episode that there's even a new ninja attack which Tiger manages to quickly avoid - please tell me something will happen soon! Tiger resumes his practicing, is introduced to his new master (a blind fortune teller!) and spends some quality time with his female interest (I'm still not quite sure what her name is, but she's the chick from the second episode that he hooked up with). The only bit of interesting info (that makes absolutely no sense) in this episode is the return of the princess from the opening battle (Tiger's mom) thought long dead.

Episode 4 features a lot of filler as well, but it's filler of the fun kind. Blasted by ninja attacks, Tiger feigns death by falling off the cliff of a waterfall and he's eventually rescued by a young girl and her grandfather. While being nursed back to health, Tiger rapes the girl(!) (or does he?) in a VERY confusing moment. In response to the rape(?) grandfather insists that Tiger marry his granddaughter once he's recovered. Needless to say, Tiger writes up a Dear John note and hightails it out of there! There's an abrupt shift in action as the young girl and grandfather return home only to be attacked by ninjas who are still out to get Tiger. Devil Mask returns, only now he's locked in a cage(?) taunted by guards, he eventually kills the guards (in a gruesome scene!) and escapes. There's another battle and the evil sorcerer makes another appearance, simply to let us know that he does indeed still have Devil Mask under his complete control with that magic flute of his.

It's a weird mix as there's really nothing new going on here to help further the story along. There's probably about 10-minutes of pertinent story information presented, the rest is complete filler. Episode 3 is a bore and a waste, nothing happens and it plays off as a very unsuccessful best of. Episode 4, while making very little sense, is a lot of fun and just flies by at an extremely quick pace. There's plenty of violence, action and most curiously - more of that odd sexual depravity that seems to have a very important place within this series for some reason.

The quality of Volume 2 is not nearly as offensive as that of Volume 1. While there is still evidence of print damage, video noise, the occasional video glitch and grain (I know this sounds bad) it's not even near the level of Volume 1. Still transferred from video, the fellas at Crash Cinema have assured me that this is the best they've been given to work with. There are long stretches to be found within Vol 2 that are more than acceptable visually (which is more than I can say about Vol 1). Once again, it begs the question - Venom of the Ninja like this, or no Venom of the Ninja at all?

The English dub remains quite atrocious with evidence of some background noise and embarrassing voiceovers. It gets the job done though - as silly as it may be. Key moment of dubbed absurdity entails a scene in which Tiger is carrying his blind, fortune telling master on his shoulders! The happen upon a massacre and Tiget remarks "There's a lot of dead bodies here!" with his master's reply mumbled "I'm blind, I can't see a thing!"

Extras include trailers for a few other Crash titles (and only two chapter stops, one for each part!). So far I've enjoyed the series, and am looking forward to the final volume. You'd be best to skip Episode 3 on this disc (or at least only watch it once for the sake of curiosity and then enjoy Episode 4. The quality isn't perfect, but the entertainment value remains quite high.

For more info, visit Crash Cinema online by clicking here!