Manga Review – Blade of the Immortal: Volume 5, On Silent Wings II

We’re finishing off this arc of Blade of the Immortal this week, with part 5, finishing off the On Silent Wings arc.Title: Blade of the Immortal Volume 5: On Silent Wings II
Written & Illustrated by Hiroaki Samura
Translated by Dana Lewis & Toren Smith
Published by Kodansha  (Japan) and Dark Horse Comics (USA)
Published on March, 2000

Available from Amazon.com

The Premise

After encountering another of the Ittou-Ryu responsible for her parents’ murder and discovering that he has a son, Rin tries to end the cycle of bloodshed and ask him to apologize.

It doesn’t work.

High Points

The confrontation between Rin and Araya is very tense, but in a different fashion from the confrontation with Anotsu last volume. Last volume Anotsu had Rin out-classed in combat, while in this one volume, Rin has mis-red Araya, based on what she’d learned from Araya’s son, and not realizing that he was putting on a false front for his benefit.

Low Points

The fight between Araya and Maji feels a little underwhelming, I think due to the fact that the fight feels more restrained, as opposed to the earlier fights with Manji, where all parties involved didn’t hold back, as they’re all life-or-death battles.

Scores

Originality: The assassin with a family who tries to keep his profession secret from them isn’t exactly an original concept. However, the way the concept is executed here makes for a nice twist on the concept. 4/6.

Story: Like the last volume, this volume focuses more on character development and interactions than combat, and it’s executed well. 5/6

Artwork: Samara’s art is continuing to be excellent. This is particularly notable with the second page of the second chapter of this volume. It would be a small facial twitch into a human actor, but it’s one that speaks volumes, and it’s depicted perfectly. 6/6

Characterization: Very nicely done. Rin’s actions fit with her character, and the reasons for Araya’s actions are explained very well. 4/6

Emotional Response: This is an interesting volume, starting off with us wanting to avoid bloodshed, and every quickly changing the reader’s perspective to wanting to see Araya dead once we realize what he’s done, while also not wanting to see the cycle of revenge perpetuated through his son. 5/6

Flow: 6/6

Overall: Very good conclusion to this arc. 5/6

In total, Blade of the Immortal: Volume 5 gets 35/42.