Peach Girl - Volume 5

At last! 'Peach Girl Volume 5' hits the shelves after a wait of nearly three months. (Just one more disc to go to complete the series, though this won't be released in the UK until November). You certainly have to have a lot of patience, and good long-term memory to be a dedicated anime fan in the UK. I find myself having to watch the last episode of the previous disc just to remind myself of where this series last left-off. And as it's a series firmly aimed at teenagers, by the time the whole series is released, some may well have become fully grown adults in the meantime. I'm guessing that the release of the final disc will mean that the whole set will get released in a single box - a far more satisfactory state of affairs.
So with that set aside, for those who haven't seen or heard of this series before now, it's worth reiterating a point from previous reviews. 'Peach Girl' is essentially a teenage high school soap opera which will have enormous appeal to fans of The O.C, Dawson's Creek or One Tree Hill.



It's astonishing how clearly the genre translates. Unlike some anime, 'Peach Girl's' narrative is simple to follow and its central themes and situations are fairly universal. No weird cultural anomalies here - this is as American as you can get. As a consequence, the English dub is perfectly satisfactory. It seems to work really well.



As far as it goes, 'Peach Girl' is fairly unremarkable. In common with other soaps, nothing of major significance ever really happens. Just a lot of High School kids falling out with each other, making up and then bitching about one another to each other. With the exception of Peach Girl of course who seems morally perfect. The animation is clean and simple, though won't set any new standards for lovers of innovative anime. In truth - it's all a little contrived and vacuous, though there's no doubting its ability to draw its intended audience in. My two teenage daughters love it - and they have shown little or no interest in any other anime that's played in the house. (Not even the thoroughly entertaining 'Ah! My Goddess' which is a far superior series.



So what do you get on Volume 5? Well, four episodes as per, and a handful of extras that barely register on the Richter scale. (A sneak-peek at the next set that lasts 2.5 minutes; some original Manga advertisements which turn out to be printed sheets or posters; some trailers and some textless songs).

So for those that like a brief episode synopsis, here it is:
Episode 18: "A Summer Seduction"
Episode 19: "The Emotional Puzzle"
Episode 20: "One Stormy Night"
Episode 21: "Continuous Love Storm Warnings"



Episode 18 sees Kairi pouring his heart out to a Nurse. He feels like he needs a break from Momo and from everything else to better clear his head. In the meantime, Momo tells him to get back into town in time to go on a trip together, or - call the whole thing off - forever.



Toji, realizing that Kairi has quit his job at the store, decides that he would like the job. After all, he needs the money. Of course, this is slightly awkward for Momo because she works at the store , and as his ex-girlfriend, this could be embarrassing. She assures Toji that she can deal with it so he takes up the position.
We get a whole episode with Kairi as he journeys to 'find himself'. The journey is actually tougher than he thinks, especially when he loses his wallet. With no cash, he takes a job at a noodle shop. Catching severe pneumonia forces him to talk with his brother to try and get his health insurance sorted. While Kairi is fighting his illness, Toji and Momo go on a perfectly innocent date to see the fireworks but this just revive Momo's feelings for Toji.



After recovering from pneumonia, Kairi manages to make it to the meeting place in time to meet Momo for the trip. However, Kairi's brother Rio has a new enemy who attacks Kairi, Rio and Misao forcing Kairi to leave the meeting place and head to the hospital.
As a result, Toji ends up going on the trip with Momo. But danger lurks in the form of an incoming tsunami.



Kairi manages to fight through the dangers of the tsunami to get to the hotel where Toji and Momo are staying - and sees them holding hands. At that point, and on an Eastenders style cliff-hanger, fans will just have to wait till November to find out what happened next. Let's hope they have the patience!