The first special, episode 0, wasn't anything special and in fact left me rather confused but I expect that's because I watched the episodes in "order" and thus started with it. I'd rate it a 6 overall. The third special, episode 14, offers some nice closure to a couple of unresolved plot-points from the series and breezes by some rather disquieting social elements that are explored in more graphic detail in the second special, The Devil in the Opium Den. I'd rate the episode an 8. The second special, which falls somewhere prior to episode 12 of the series, was the one I watched lastand was, quite frankly, pretty shocking. The familiar characters were passive observers to a kind of public-safety announcement on the evils of Opium Dens (and additional depravities). No conclusion is reached and what passes for a plot made so brief an appearance as to be effectively non-existant. Despite that, I have to rate this episode an 8 also for not candy-coating history. Worth the time to watch, in a Grave of the Fireflies sort of sense.