Wolf's Rain Volume 5: War for the Soul (DVD) - Anime Reviews


	Number of Episodes 4 Language Options English/Japanese/English Subtitles Released by Bandai Entertainment Extras - Textless Ending Collection
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Wolf's Rain Volume 5: War for the Soul (DVD)

A most dangerous dream.

Kiba seems to have found paradise. It’s just him and the enigmatic girl known as Mew. He’s happy, but he’s sure he was supposed to be doing something. If only he could remember.

The rest of the pack is still looking for him. Along the way, they meet the Mon, a tribe who believes that humans are descended from wolves. They work together to try and save Kiba.

Their search for Cheza leads them to another battle between humans. Meanwhile, Cheza and Blue are held prisoner by Jaguara’s forces until they are rescued by Hubb and Cher. But their freedom is short-lived.

Now, the pieces for the endgame have been put into play, as everyone converges on Jaguara’s keep, where the future of the world will be decided!

Isn’t irony wonderful? I originally watched scans of this series as it was being released, but became impatient with the shows pacing and stopped watching. Now 2 years later I’m watching the show almost exactly from the place that I stopped originally. Well, Wolf’s Rain does have some of the highest production values that you will see in an anime, but I found the storytelling to be too deliberate and found the developments to be to few and far between. But don’t say I never gave anyone a fair chance, so I’ll keep an open mind as I revisit this series.

Episode 19: A Dream of an Oasis

In the aftermath of Kiba being lost, the 3 remaining wolves are at a loss at how to proceed. Hige is upset and does not want to continue, Tsume is insistent on continuing to search for Kiba, and Toboe is fixated on the injured hunter that they have come across. Toboe decides to nurse the hunter back to health while Hige and Tsume press on. After making sure the hunter will survive, Toboe rushes to catch up to Hige and Tsume, but as he approaches the two he is surrounded by a pair of hunters but is saved by his mates before they can attack him. Once the hunters see that they have attacked wolves, they immediately apologize and identify themselves as members of the Mon tribe – a group that lives in harmony with many different animals and they hold the wolf in great reverence. The tribe’s shaman tells the 3 wolves about the creation of man through the wolves’ ancestors and expresses that the discovery of Paradise may cause the current world to end. The hunter that found them then shows them the best place to search for Kiba, but as they are about to set off, Toboe states that he does not want to go anymore, and he wants to stay with the Mon.

Elsewhere, Kiba has awoken in a beautiful meadow with a lake. The only person nearby is a girl named Mew (who is a fox… the animal… not the metaphor for a pretty woman… well, she is pretty… dammit…). Kiba is enjoying the paradise that he has awoken in, and despite his initial mistrust of Mew, he is getting closer to her and even tells her about his past. As Kiba settles in to this new life, he is starting to see hazes around his vision, as if what he sees is not real.

Episode 20: CONSCIOUSLY

In the desert that they were directed to Hige and Tsume head into the open only to see a human vehicle heading towards a plant in the middle of the desert. The humans are more of the same group that attacked them previously, so they chase after them and see that they are rushing towards the plant. Attacking the humans,

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they see what they were after, the prone body of Kiba who was underneath the leaves. The 2 try to fight the humans but cannot overcome their technology, thankfully Toboe felt the presence of the humans approaching and led one of the Moe hunters to them. The hunter pulls the unconscious Kiba from the plant, and brings him back to the village. In the dream world, Kiba sees the middle of the world open up into a black-sink hole, and Mew tells him that it is his time to return home.

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The Mon’s chief spends the evening praying over the body of Kiba until he finally awakens. With the group together once again, Toboe decides to rejoin the pack and will continue to travel with the group towards Paradise. But before he leaves, he asks the Mon to save the Hunter. So Iyzek searches for him, and saves his life and tells him that it was for the sake of a wolf that asked to save him. The Hunter does not believe that he was saved thanks to a wolf and continues on his journey.

Episode 21: Battle’s Red Glare

The pack nears a city that is in the midst of a pitched battle for control of the streets. The city’s defenders are being pressed against the well armed forces of Jaguara and the Nobles. Seeing the enemy, the wolves jump into the fray and begin wiping out Jaguara’s forces. After freeing the Orkham defenders, the leader tells the pack where Cheza is being brought to, and so the pack heads off after her.

The transport group that is bringing Cheza and the rest of the prisoners to Jaguara comes under fire from Orkham forces, and so Cher and Hubb are able to free themselves and then free Blue and Cheza. The foursome tries to escape during the confusion of the attack, but a transport appears overhead and teleports Hubb and Cheza away from the rest. Just as Cher and Blue are surrounded by Jaguara’s forces, the Orkham attack again routing the remaining enemies. Cher decides to continue towards Jaguara’s stronghold, and Blue will join her for the rest of the journey.

Episode 22: Pieces of a Shooting Star

Three separate groups are getting attention here: Blue and Cher continue to drive towards Jaguara’s stronghold – the two seem the most unsure of what they want to accomplish. Blue admits that she still loves the hunter, but now that she has become what they used to hunt, she is unsure of what to do in life besides help Cheeza. Cher wants to help Hubb, but is fascinated in helping Cheeza. Hubb is now in custody in Jaguara’s stronghold, and unlike most prisoners, he is imprisoned instead of being executed. He is placed into a cell next to an elderly woman, who after asking him about his history, she reveals that she is one of the people that Jaguara hates but provides no more information.

The pack continues their ardous trek across the tundra towards Jaguara, but they now have to cross an ice floe to get to the island where she is staying. Their trek is strenuous, and so young Toboe struggles to keep up with the rest of the pack and even appears to be injured. The silent travel is interrupted by an unexpected attack by a giant walrus who tries to kill Toboe. The rest of the pack tries to bring down the walrus, but the 15 foot tall beast will not be brought down by the wolves and even manages to pin Kiba with one of its’ tusks. The fear that covers Toboe dissipates, and he dives at the walrus and even grabs it by the eye. Now in immense pain, the walrus rushes in every which direction to shake Toboe off, even diving underwater. The young wolf refuses to let go until the walrus falls and the youngster scores his first kill. The wolves now are able to feed and continue their journey with renewed strength from finally having eaten.

This volume of Wolf’s Rain did have some more action than previous ones, but still is a very slow paced show where much of the animation is of the characters chatting amongst themselves about what is going to happen soon. As with most things, the discussion about what is going to happen takes significantly longer than the action eventually does.

- Tazman

(August 7, 2005)

"Leela's been named orphan of the year!"

"Your parents must be so proud! Oops, sorry."

- Professor and Amy (Futurama)