The Best Episodes Directed By Yoshimasa Hiraike

The ship has a new name thanks to Parfet… Nirvana, a name that symbolizes Harmony, Stability, and Joy. Dita still has an interest in the ""alien"" Hibiki, who finds the highly energetic girl annoying and would rather spend time trying to find out more about his Vanguard. Meanwhile, Jura schemes to find a way to unite with Hibiki's Vanguard. The Nirvana then comes across a barren desert planet, where they find a artificial structure that is partially buried in the sand. Hibiki isn't happy when the female pilots start to train on the other Vanguards that are left to go down to the planet's surface - especially when they decide to paint them all sorts of ridiculous colors. Despite Hibiki's unhappiness, the Vanguards go down to the surface and find themselves in trouble - but getting out of the situation may be the only way to find out what exactly the mysterious enemy's motivation is.

A very vivid and horrifying nightmare plagues not only Hibiki, but also Dita, Meia, and Jura as well. While they struggle to figure out the meaning of this strange dream, a mysterious pod appears which the Harvest fleet seems to have a vested interest in. Deciding to capture the pod, the Nirvana launches its pilots to retrieve it - but when the events of the nightmare repeat themselves, Hibiki and the others must do whatever they can to make sure that their nightmare doesn't turn into a chilling reality. The contents of the pod, meanwhile, may prove to make things more interesting on the Nirvana than ever.

The second attack on the Harvest mother ship has failed, although now Hibiki and the others have a ray of hope in the form of a way to penetrate the mother ship's defenses. Forming a plan around Parfait's limited ability to stop the machine-controlled Harvest fleet, Hibiki and the others launch one last, desperate attack on the mother ship, using Pyoro to upload a virus directly from the mother ship's core. Now the Vandreads must defend the little NAVI robot as he struggles to do his job - but the new enemy form is not far behind...

Every single year, Meia dreads one day - her birthday, when the crew attempts to surprise her with a party. Meia has managed to run away every single year, but this year, Hibiki is here, and he decides to help out the women. Shaking up the plans the women use every year, Hibiki's scouting cuts off every possible escape route for Meia. But when Meia decides to go to Magno with her complaints, Hibiki and the others have to find the perfect thing to keep Meia busy until they can plan the party - even if it happens to be a certain newborn baby.

Having come through the minefield, the entire crew of the Nirvana is promptly captured by both Tarak and Mejale fleets. The men are to be forcefully ""re-educated"" for their desire to be with women, and the women are put on trial and imprisoned. With all seemingly lost, and the Harvest fleet on the way, the Nirvana and its crew are powerless to stop anything. But Hibiki, along with a few other key individuals, may be able to turn the tables and get the Nirvana back from its captors.

Back in Paris, Albert's sheltered friends grow suspicious upon the arrival of the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo.