Power Stone: Mystery of the Stones is the first volume for the Power Stone series based on the CAPCOM Video Game of the same name. Art and animation are done by Studio Pierrot based in Japan. Lacey Entertainment has licensed Power Stone for release in the U.S. and Canada. DVD production is being handled by A.D. Vision.

Right away, you can tell Lacey Entertainment is targeting kids with this release and trying to ride the coattails of other Japanese fads. The opening song harks back to the songs for other imports like Pokémon and Monster Rancher. There is also no Japanese language track available, so viewers are stuck with the English dub.

The show itself follows the line of the standard quest show. The heroes' father has gone missing on a quest for Power Stones, seven stones with mystical powers. There are the typical characters: a faithful butler, mysterious mystic, two ninjas and a rival samurai, which all add up to a good start for a quest story.

Production values are very high for this show. The artwork and animation are gorgeous. Bright colors create the necessary atmosphere for this light quest comedy. The character designs do lean towards being childish in nature, but again only add to the overall atmosphere.

So where does this show fail? The viewer is stuck with the English dub, so she has no idea what the original intentions were for this show. Being a typical fan, she'll probably want to know if these are the original names for the characters and if the translation is staying true to the original release. Considering the fact that this show definitely feels like its being targeted towards kids, it's a safe bet that the translation is nowhere near the original script.

The DVD itself is nothing to write home about. It contains the first four episodes with appropriate chapter stops. The closest thing the viewer gets for extras would be the previews for other ADV releases.

Overall, the show has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it's being released without any information on the original Japanese version. True fans of anime will probably not waste their time with this show. The show will only do well, if it manages to find a nice spot on some afternoon block of cartoons.