This volume marks the final and immensely fitting end to The Irresponsible Captain Tylor series, and is possibly the most thought provoking of the series. It's a very fitting end to a truly unique series.

The tape starts off with the welcoming of the Soyokaze crew by Headquarters after the stunning series of victories. Tylor finds no reason for celebration, however, after finding out that his most important friend, Commander Hanner, has died. Tylor's mental state is made painfully clear by his bizarre (even for him) behavior at a banquet in his honor, but the funeral service is made more special by some surprise visitors...

Meanwhile, Tylor & co. is offered a new ship, the Aso (which is kick-butt by any definition), but Tylor is intent on resigning. Yuriko is pressured to take a desk job, which she reluctantly accepts (while thinking about what the future holds for him), but finally grasping what the good captain was all about gives her the urge to go off in search of him. He's already left, however.

I won't try to describe the heart-to-heart Tylor and Yuriko have later, but it is truly one of the most moving scenes in the entire series.

While I never thought Tylor to be very funny, the series has always been special not as a comedy, but as a space opera. Tylor makes his trademark by being a total enigma: totally unpredictable, totally lucky, and totally average. This volume adds "totally human" to that list. Seeing Tylor so totally crushed -- even during his drunken stooper accompanied by the omnipresent Sesame Street music -- is incredibly moving. The space backgrounds are beautifully rendered and present a truly nostalgic picture of the future, and the rest of the art is truly OAV quality. Given that this series was produced some time ago, this puts it well ahead of its peers.

As always, Right Stuf's production values are excellent. All of the titles are replaced with English ones, and although the post-production shows signs of shearing every now and then, overall the video is fine. The translations a la Neil Nadelman are excellent (although I disagree with how some name suffixes are handled), and overall, Tylor makes up a very impressive package. I'm hoping for a DVD box... is that too much to ask? :)