4 out of 5

Director: Takashi Miike

Oddly, the split of MPD Psycho into 2-episode discs seems to work in its favor: while set 1 was an exercise in piecing together something understandable from disparate elements, disc 2 lets up on the intense waywardness to produce two very strong episodes. Episode 3 plays up an oddly comic tone – pretty strange stuff for an episode about a school shooting – before plummeting into very dark material for episode 4, which deals with dissection and youth gangs. There starts to be more of an understanding of whats going on (perhaps more difficult for those, like myself, not familiar with the comic), and more of an acceptance of the episodic pacing without sacrificing the overall plot of the series. Episodes 1 and 2 are necessary for introductions, but episodes 3 and 4 really allow for characters to come out and to sit down and feel like youre watching something instead of just experiencing it.