When I sat down to watch “Legend of Himiko: The Pendant,” I knew virtually nothing about the “Legend of Himiko” series. For some reason I was anticipating yet another tired schoolgirl saves the world saga. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find an engaging story with an impressive cast of memorable characters.

The “Legend of Himiko: The Pendant” is the second installment in a three disc DVD set from U.S. Manga Corps. The “Legend of Himiko” is a story about a girl from an alternate planet who grows up on Earth (without knowing her true origin), but is transported back to her home planet by a mysterious pendant in her possession. Upon arrival on her home planet with her Earth friend Kutani, Himiko finds herself in the midst of a war. Luckily for Himiko and Kutani, they join forces with a group of “good guys” to help end the war.

It could be argued that the “Legend of Himiko” really doesn’t include anything revolutionary in terms of story (not just in the anime fantasy realm, as you would be forgiven in thinking of Superman and his kryptonite “pendant”). But it still goes without saying that a cast of memorable characters set within the constructs of an interesting story make for an enjoyable DVD viewing experience. This is exactly what I discovered in “The Legend of Himiko: The Pendant,” as I was engaged from the opening scene.

It’s too bad the quality of the animation in “The Pendant” isn’t up to par with the character or story development (or even the slick opening that disappointingly isn’t maintained into the rest of the show). In some cases the color and fluidity of the animation appeared to be lacking. As “Legend of Himiko” was originally a TV show, the transfer to DVD did little to enhance an image quality that was already average at best. Similarly, the sound quality is adequate, but don’t expect to use this DVD to demonstrate the capabilities of your home theatre sound system.

The “Legend of Himiko: The Pendant” DVD does include a number of extra features, but again nothing revolutionary. The more noteworthy of the extra features are a collection of English outtakes (a few of which are actually funny!) and a music video for the Japanese title song, "Pure Snow," which I admit is rather catchy.

Although the DVD release of “Legend of Himiko: The Pendant” does little to improve upon the TV show, memorable characters and an intriguing plot make “Legend of Himiko: The Pendant” an enjoyable title worth adding to your DVD anime collection.