 The Xenogensis Assault Team is no more, ripped to shreds by their former leader, Wolf, with only Amanda escaping the carnage. Only the mysterious Joseph, with his ability to turn into a Blassreiter, can help take down the mutant forces he shares DNA with. Can Amanda and Joseph save Germany from utter destruction and redeem the name of the XAT, or will the pale rider fail to save the world?
Blassreiter has turned out to be a surprisingly interesting series. Much in the vein of Kamen Rider (humorously so, since the title translates to "Pale Rider" in German), the series stars a motorcycle-riding superhero who has the ability to transform into a monstrous form for insane battles. But this isn't what made Blassreiter interesting; what threw normalcy out the window was when, six episodes in, the character you're led to believe will be the main character is killed. That, and the way the entire team had been slaughtered by the end of the series' first part, showed that Blassreiter wouldn't stick to the norm.
From the onset, Part 2 has a different vibe than the first half, with the series finally coming into its own with a clear goal, hero, etc. While the first half was entertaining, it had a rather jumbled approach to characters and plot; half of it was intended misdirection, and the other half was expecting the wrong things out of the series. Part 2 focuses like a laser beam on Joseph and his actions, starting off with a two-episode origin story, and one of the most depressing scenes I've ever seen in animation, let alone in any media, especially one that features superheroic monsters. If you cried at the first bit in Up!, you've not seen the horrors of a child selling life-saving drugs for bread, only to be followed up by a procession of children caskets and hate crimes. From there, it takes four episodes to get to any action; the series has seen fit to compartmentalize the story into the first bit of the first disc, leading to mostly non-stop action for the last half. The second part of the series has action that's fit for a big, final episode bonanza, yet tries to sustain it for the whole half of the series.
 The two-disc set appears to follow what is a new trend in FUNimation releases: one commentary, one featurette. The commentary offers, at least, an insight into the dub script process, pointing out that the mature nature of the series allows the director to slip in curse words to fill out mouth flaps that would otherwise be awkward to adapt. It's an interesting and enjoyable change from the usual commentary, which usually focus more on actors and actress talking about they got into the business, and less about the actual production of the show. But the real extra is the sole Japanese extra in the set, an interview with Ichiro Itano, the series director. In it, Itano describes what fans have called the "Itano Circus": his visual signature of an abundance of missiles flying towards an enemy, each with its own smoke trail, and a sporadic direction. He used it in Macross (known as Robotech in America for many years), which made the action in that series iconic. His use of it in this series is nothing scientific, but it is emblematic and iconic, and Blassreiter runs with it, does a few crazy flips, and stabs it in the eyes of the monsters of the series. It's with the action that Blassreiter shines, and a feature covering it definitely opens the curtain a little on the magic.
Blassreiter has easily been one of the standout action series in recent years. Viewers will never get comfortable, and that's a good thing, as people die without expectation, pull moves never expected, and otherwise keep you on the edge of your seat. Blassreiter is an honorary Kamen Rider series, with the starring Pale Riders walking the path of justice and being badass at every step.
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