set during one of those rare times of peace these episodes are purely for entertainment and lend nothing to the general plot of the story. however... they are very entertaining and any fan of the series wll enjoy them greatly. all of them are tied together in sequential order and so must be viewed in said order to fully understand the events taking place. as these are special episodes no attempt is made to introduce any of the characters. that being said if you are reading this and havent seen/finished the anime...TURN BACK NOW! otherwise you will find yourself scratching your head and wonderingwho certain characters are.