Peacemaker Volume 5: The Spider's Web - Anime From Japan
- Anime From Japan
- Jared Elswick
- 06/29/05
- click here
"Visually, Peacemaker is just as impressive as you would expect it to be coming from Gonzo."
Inching ever closer to the end of the series, this volume of Peacemaker plays out quite well by offering up a good, small arc that enhances the overall storyline. Being just what this show needed, this volume really turned out quite well...but then again a little more action never bothers me.
Visually, Peacemaker is just as impressive as you would expect it to be coming from Gonzo. The colors almost seem a little dull at times, yet they retain a sense of vibrancy that could almost confuse your eyes if you don't pay enough attention. Throughout all four of these episodes I couldn't notice any aliasing or cross coloration, and the incredible animation in this show meshes quite well with this wonderful transfer. As for the audio, you get the choice of an English 5.1 track or a Japanese 2.0 track, so I obviously went with the English track. Voices, for the most part, sound amazing and really suit the characters quite well. The score for this series fits the tone of the storyline very well and while there isn't a ton of directionality in this volume, the rear speakers did see a little action and the front speakers managed to provide a good sense of directionality to make up for the lack of rear directionality.
Making use of a few different view points, this volume of Peacemaker takes a good turn and doesn?t spend a great deal of time focusing solely on Tetsunosuke. Starting things out we do get some time with Tetsu as we see him sparring with some of the others, and he actually wins and proves that he?s really learning how to hold his own in a fight. Even though he may be get strong on the outside though, we quickly see, through a dream, that his inner demons are tearing him up inside, but it has led to a bit of maturing on his part.
A good deal of time is spent focusing on the continued and heightened attacks against the Shinsengumi. Hijikata is the first to realize that this no ?country bumpkin? attack anymore, obviously referring to Sakamoto, and that they?re being attacked by increasingly more power foes, which of course includes Yoshida and Suzu. However, there?s a newcomer to this arena, although I don?t think he gets a name just yet. What?s interesting about him is that he employs an Onmyou mystic, which comes as a bit of a surprise because up until now I don?t believe there has been any mention of the Onmyoji in this show, but it?s a welcome surprise as far as I?m concerned.
Coming in with the last episode here we get a new character in the form of Kichisaburo, who is basically a copy of Souji, although he wears his hair a bit differently. The two are so similar that Kichisaburo is able to fool a young girl who has a crush on Souji into believing he?s Souji, although his love for killing somewhat destroys the illusion. Kichisaburo does have a point though, as he?s used to through off the public and government into distrusting the Shinsengumi, as he goes around killing the local police and the blame falls on Souji. He?s even good enough to waltz right into the Shinsengumi stronghold, although Hijikata is able to pick him out, although he?s a bit surprised at how powerful Kichisaburo really is.
Overall, this volume of Peacemaker has really succeeded in taking advantage of most of the supporting cast in these three episodes. The addition of the new attacker and his Onmyou, as well as Kichisaburo, has been quite interesting and it?s sure to make for some interesting future content, but for now it just makes for a good time that does this series a good justice.
Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 (Archive on Friday, July 29, 2005)