Review of Gun X Sword: Vol. 5 - Tainted Innocence

Introduction

After an imposed disruption to the regularly scheduled reviewing - thanks in part to the Reviewer Towers weekly express being derailed by a postal strike - I`d almost forgotten how disappointed I was by the previous volume of `GXS`, and more specifically, the dive in quality the show took after the identity of the show`s antagonist was revealed. While a decent couple of instalments that rounded off the disc did bring a little hope that all was not lost, all enthusiasm was certainly kicked in the groin, and it didn`t help that what seems like a shoe-in for release of the year - `Ergo Proxy` - made its UK debut just as `GXS` was reaching its volume 3 crescendo from which it seemed destined never to return.

I`ve got to say, I`m pretty surprised Volume 5 of `Gun X Sword` actually arrived for review. The last time I made of point of criticising a volume of anime and dropping its score down to the domain of the strictly average following a decent preceding write-up, the PR company never bothered sending in the next one. Sheer coincidence or pen pushers flaunting their power? Who knows, but I was convinced the partnership between this wannabe sci-fi western and I was finished. Alas, it looks like I`ll get to see the end of the journey, the fairly simplistic conceit of a revenge-fuelled man who travels across the world to find the man he believes killed his wife, all the while getting into all manner of adventures along the way.

The volume opens like a scene out of classic JRPG series `Suikoden`, with Van meeting up with most of the characters he`s met over the course of the show, congregating on a newly acquired base where they all pledge their loyalty to defeating Claw and reiterate their reasons for being there. The group head towards Claw`s base on the coast, a journey which takes them through a city run by underwear-obsessed women as well as plenty of resistance from the remaining members of the Original 7. But there`s also dissension in the ranks for Claw, as those once loyal to his plan for changing the world begin to question his radical methods.

Episodes:

17. Chase Coordinate X
18. To Pray is Saudade
19. The End of Hope
20. Wonderful Universe

Video

A top-notch 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, probably the best you`ll see that doesn`t have the words `Ghost` or `Shell` in the title. Beautifully crisp and brilliantly hued with deeply saturated chroma and great contrast, `GXS` sports one of the brightest, most vivid colour palettes outside the works of Miyazaki. There`s a fleeting hint of aliasing now and again, but you have to try really hard to care. What may not be to everyone`s tastes is the choice of character design for Van, which is a sort of amalgam of traditional action anime design and the elongated, disproportionate characters that designer and director Masami Obari (`Virus Buster Serge`, `Fatal Fury`) likes to employ. But Van is the only main character to be drawn this way, if flashbacks of `Virus Buster Serge` and its overstated body models and gangly legs come crashing back to haunt you. All in all, `GXS` is a particularly stylish looking anime, particularly the anime-meets-James Bond opening credits, and the transfer is difficult to fault.

Audio

Your choices are three-fold when it comes to soundtracks. A native Japanese DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0, and an English dub presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The surround tracks are excellent. There`s sufficient directional implementation to remind you anime can do something special with 5.1 when it comes to travelling a soundstage, the dialogue is exceptionally clear through the center, and both the DD and DTS really know how to work a sub-woofer with the show`s gamut of various explosions, thuds and crunches.

The English translation from Californian dub house New Generation Pictures is spot on, and for the first time in a long time succeeds in representing a teenage girl in anime without having her sound either inherently whiny and annoying or shy and reserved. Wendy`s dub is full of youthful exuberance and character, and although Van is a stock tough-guy-loner, all terse and laconic, his performance doesn`t sound samey or feel overly contrived. As the show is set on an Earth-like planet with English featuring exclusively in the signposting and in towns, the English track could be considered the lead track in this instance.

Features

CG micro-series `Gun X Sword-san` hits its ninth and tenth episodes, and you can`t help but wonder if all the energy went into making this little gem. There`s also a complete TV broadcast version of episode 17, an art gallery and trailers.

Conclusion

Volume 5 does little to sway my current opinion on the show, instead continues to flagrantly wave what a disappointment it`s become in our collective pusses. Remember that episode of `The Simpsons` when the family go to an animation fair, and Bart and Lisa are enamoured by a flashy episode of mecha anime, that, in the end, leaves them scratching their heads? It was a not-so-subtle dig at how vapid the genre can be. Well `GXS` is a bit like that. What once appeared to be a robust, lightly comic take on the well trod ground of Cowboy Be Bop is going to end its run as little more than a typical teen market anime with minor flourishes of something more substantial, the sort of thing that zealous anime fans may praise because, well, it`s anime innit? There`s no mistaking that it`s easy to watch, but that`s because it`s so utterly undemanding, and I can only imagine it`s the completists who continue to follow it when there`s much, much better anime out there. Hey, did I mention `Ergo Proxy`?

The writing has definitely suffered during the run, the main victim of this is the feel of the show. Over the volumes the world has become less enthralling and, to put it bluntly, convincing than it once was. Add to that, what was once the balanced agonistic equilibrium of Van`s moody loner and Wendy`s chirpy optimist is now upset by a motley band of cartoon characters. Frankly, the latter part of `GXS` all too often runs dangerously close to the stereotype that anime`s deriders see it as; infantile cartoons who like to think they`re grown up, watched by people who really should know better. Nothing better demonstrates this than episode 17, the entire purpose of it being to watch the female characters strut around in skimpy bathing suits for 22 minutes with the flimsiest of plot excuses and plenty of boob and butt jokes, bringing up a little `Ikki Tousen` chunder thought long digested.

These late volumes of `Gun X Sword` aren`t boring, simply a touch too bland and utterly predictable, and if it seems I go a little hard on it, it`s because it`s never fulfilled the potential it seemed to have at the beginning. To say that this volume is without merit would be a lie, in fact episode 18 - which deals with in-fighting at bad guy HQ - is rather more interesting than most of the episodes so far, but what plot there is is so misguided and directionless, and most it feels like filler as the show takes the scenic route towards its inevitable climax. With two volumes to go, you can`t help but feel that the show would have worked better as a leaner 13-episode series; better, but by no means brilliant.