I’ll confess to being a little unsure as to why there needs to be separate releases for these Kimba the White Lion DVDs. It might have been wiser to bundle them together as either a box set or a multi-disc collection. Still, I guess the powers that be know what they are doing...

So, what does Kimba the White Lion - Volume 2 have to offer that Volume 1 doesn’t? Other than four different episodes, it offers nothing new. The cover is different, but as each episode was designed to be watched separately, then there is no reason why Volume 2 could not be purchased alone.

The four episodes are similar in theme to all the others. It extols the virtues of friendship, tolerance, understanding, anti-violence, trust and honour in equally sickly-sweet doses. All of Kimba’s friends are here, as well as a few new ones and some new foes, but essentially it is the white lion versus Africa. Kimba must struggle to bring peace and harmony to a jungle that has for so long been a dangerous and violent place.

Like Volume 1, each episode has been redubbed (in the ‘90s) which means, technically, they sound great, but I still long for the original theme tune and voices.

There is no difference between the two volumes. Volume two is again full frame, and shows signs of its age in the way of noise, some artefacts and general degradation. Having said that, it is not bad, just not as clear and sharp as much of today’s animation. The kids will not particularly notice or care and only the keenest of fans might feel some disappointment. Real fans though, will again be disappointed by the new audio track.

As with Volume 1, and probably with further releases, the audio has been redubbed in the ‘90s for the American home video market, so while it sounds good, it is not what nostalgia lovers would have wanted. The theme song is different (and wussy and irritating), and the voices seem more generic and less... character defining.

There is no real separation to indicate that this is a Dolby stereo track, but there is just enough sound range to make it all sound quite clear. Again, audio-synch is a tricky one to call as the English dialogue battles to match the original Japanese lip movements. This style of animation makes synchronisation less of an issue to start with.

Volume Two has a two page Kimba bio that is to be continued on Volume 3 in Fan Info. That seems a little unfair, but it doesn't end mid-sentence or anything as outrageous as that. There is also a small gallery of eight shots.

As one of the first examples of anime, Kimba the White Lion certainly has a long history. It still remains a favourite for kids and nostalgic adults. It’s just a shame that this release, like Volume 1, went for the rubbish new audio. I am still longing to hear the original theme tune.