One of the traits that often helps distinguish an anime series from other genres is the simple fact that they end. Sure, there are notable exceptions, but with a series like ANGEL LINKS, the earlier episodes set the story and the later ones build up to a climax and conclusion.

ANGEL LINKS surprised me with its sudden shift in focus in order to reach this climax. As I noted with my original review of Volume 1, my main criticism stemmed from its predictable episodic nature. Starting with the end of Volume 3, ANGEL LINKS shed its comic episodic style to take on a darker serious tone.

Faced with some shocking revelations from the previous volume, Meifon Li finds herself doubting everything about herself and the purpose of the Angel Links group. Meifon disbands the Angel Links crew, and Kosei tries to help her break free from her forced destiny by taking her to a small village on a remote planet. However, her hand is forced when the pirate Goryu, seeking revenge (again, watch volume 3 for details) poisons someone very close to Meifon.

Without going into spoiling detail, I have mixed feelings about the ending. On one hand, the plot seemed very rushed and far too set-up in parts, along with resorting to standard clichés. Everything from the, "I'll hold them off! You go on ahead!" heroic moves, to the "Boss defeated - Base explodes" scenario. With the exception of Meifon and Kosei, I found the majority of the crew to be neglected in terms of character development. And in particular the tragic motivations and shift in character of Goryu could have used more refinement as well. However, I give credit to any story that causes me to dwell on it days after I have finished watching it. And after watching the third volume, ANGEL LINKS succeeded in capturing my interest to a degree that I had to see that next episode right away.

The animation quality remained relatively high throughout, especially in comparison to your standard TV series. The characters were well-animated and relatively consistent, with extra time undoubtedly spent on Meifon (I jokingly suspect she may have designed by a market researcher). The voice acting was good both on the Japanese and English sides, and this DVD-only release was well mastered. It also included a six-minute long extra with Meifon explaining the secrets of the Angel Links ship.

Viewers of the first two volumes of ANGEL LINKS might have to re-evaluate this series starting with the third volume. If you enjoyed the original comic style, you might be disappointed with the shift in focus. However, if like me you found the earlier episodes slightly lacking, you may find enough redeeming features with the second half of ANGEL LINKS. I still preferred OUTLAW STAR, and felt that ANGEL LINKS was using the OUTLAW STAR name as an artificial prop, but in my opinion there are enough original elements that make ANGEL LINKS worth seeing to the end.