Peacemaker Volume 6: Prelude to Battle - Anime Frontier

• Media Source:Anime Frontier
• Reviewed By:Jared Elswick
• Review Date:08/10/05
• Read the original review click here

The Verdict
Audio
For the audio here we've got 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.

Video
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.

Characters
Susumu Yamasaki - A highly skilled spy for the Shinsengumi, Susumu is a mysterious man that doesn't really express himself too much, until now anyway.

Tetsunosuke Ichimura - A young boy whose parents were killed right in front of him. He?s joined the Shinsengumi as a page in order to grow stronger to seek his revenge and fulfill his destiny to become the next Peacemaker.

Yoshida Toshimaru - Suzu's sensei and leader of the opposition to the Shinsengumi. He plans to overthrow the current government and will do whatever it takes to do so.

Story
Reaching the penultimate volume in the series, this installment of Peacemaker plays upon the events of the previous volume to really get things going. At last, the Shinsengumi are taking a stand, but it took the death of one of their own to make them do so, but now that they?re prepared to combat this evil it?s getting quite intense. The main force of the Shinsengumi go after masuya and his men here as they attempt to get Yoshida to figure out everything that?s going on here, although Tetsu and Susumu become the real focus as they happen to find Ayumu standing out in the rain.

Up to now Susumu has been a pretty prevalent character, but he hasn?t really been developed too much, but here we find him delving into his past, stirring up a mess of emotions about Ayumu. He gets a number of scenes here that really help to expand his character, from the scene in the rain, to the Masuya raid to his time spent with Tetsu. Susumu is an all around great character as far as I?m concerned and this series of scenes with him really proves it, and he easily out shines every other character in this volume.

Due to all of the goings on here the Shinsengumi have to increase their presence in town, although it leads to Yoshida?s faction moving up their plans a bit to burn down t he capital as well as capture the shogun. At the same time, there are events that lead to Suzu trapping Tetsu, which leads to him reliving the trauma that occurred when his parents were killed as a one time friend becomes an enemy, and he finally finds the man he?s been looking for. Of course, this all comes at the wrong time, for both him and the Shinsengumi as they?re now depending on him and he?s finally been given weapons, but he?s not able to use them because he?s so out of it.

Despite the fact that this point in the show is quite interesting and entertaining, it's not really unexpected. It was pretty obvious that these events would come to pass at some point in this show, and while this volume is quite good, I really think the material featuring Susumu is what really makes this volume so good, as it comes at just the right moment and plays out perfectly.

Afterthoughts
Overall, this installment of Peacemaker does a great job of getting things ready for the final volume of the show. The overall story and character development here really gets things going and makes every minute of this show enjoyable. From the battles to the overall progression here, there's really not much to complain about here. Sure, some of the material was predictable, but even so, I really had fun watching this volume of the show and it only makes me want to see the final volume even more.

Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 (Archive on Saturday, September 10, 2005)