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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Monday, 03 March 2008 16:00 |
 Another volume of Elemental Gelade sees the journey to Edel Gardens continue, along with the problems our heroes must face along the way. Between Viro wreaking her own brand of mayhem and the surprises about to be sprung on the gang, they're going to be wondering if the effort was really worthwhile...
18 - Fictitious Reaction
Almost without realising it, Cou finds that he's Reacted with Viro - he hadn't even realised she was an Edel Raid, and now he's in combat with her. Together, they're able to quickly deal with Varl and peace is restored - but Cou's new bond with Viro soon causes friction. There's also the little mystery surrounding Viro's status - all Edel Raids should show up on Cisqua's radar, but for some reason Viro doesn't. Could their new ally be hiding a dark secret..?
19 - Unspoken Thoughts
After far too long on the road, the gang take a break from their journey and set camp by a lake they find along the way. Ren's been becoming ever more distant - having learnt the meaning of 'jealousy' from Cou, and having to watch as he seemingly gets ever closer to Viro, she's beginning to feel the pain of lost love. Cou's noticed this, but not being the sharpest tool on the box, his efforts to spend some time with her don't come to much. Viro, meanwhile, is still trying to keep her mission secret, while struggling with her own growing feelings for Cou. Is this developing little love triangle going to be the wonder boy's undoing..? Meanwhile, the Chaos Choir take steps to ensure that Viro completes her mission as planned...
20 - Viro
After Cou chose to React with Ren during their last battle, it's Viro's turn to feel the pain of rejection - which, as it happens, is just what Chaos Choir want her to feel. She's far more likely to complete her mission if her feelings for Cou tend more to hatred than love, and they've been busy manipulating events from the sidelines to make sure that that's the way her feelings go. They've also changed her orders: rather than just separate Cou and Ren, Chaos Choir now want Cou killed. On one level, Viro does love Cou and doesn't want to harm him, but there are other forces at work - inner demons as well as outside influences - that may lead her to do what she doesn't really want to...
21 - The Truth Unfolds
The gang continue on their way to Edel Gardens, minus Viro, and with Chaos Choir still plotting to stop them with their new army of Sting Raids. As they get closer to their goal, Ren begins hearing voices in her head - it's Eve again, but rather than just being a distant voice, she's now painfully clear and causing Ren real problems. Heading back to Viro's home village to find somewhere to let her rest, they find it nothing but a ruin - and with the Chaos Choir waiting for them. They're also unaware that time is running out, as Arc Aile are now planning an all-out assault on Edel Gardens...
I knew Viro was too good to be true, and so (no surprise) she turns out to have her own mission and motivations. I'd mentioned in my last review that the greatest thing Viro had going for her was that she had a definite personality – and one that was fun to watch, too. Most of this volume continues to focus on Cou's greatest fan (allegedly), and on how her presence is disrupting the relationship between Cou and Ren – which is, of course, her plan. This being Elemental Gelade, Viro's story plays out in ways that are well telegraphed and almost completely unsurprising, but the character is portrayed in such a sympathetic way that you can't help but feel for her and the inner conflict she's having to deal with, and almost single-handedly she makes these episodes the best arc of the series so far. It's too good to last, of course – if you've been watching anime for a while, you'll know what it means when an episode is named after an existing character, and that's Viro's fate here. But it was good while it lasted, and shows that the writers of this series can produce stories that are worth watching when they put their minds to it.
The final episode on the disc also does exactly what it says on the tin. Up until here, the basic story has been fairly black-and-white – as far as Edel Raids are concerned, we've been given the clear indication that Edel Gardens good, Arc Aile bad. With the revelations about Eve's true identity and the role the Chaos Choir are playing behind the scenes, suddenly we have shades of grey to deal with, and Ren's future seems a lot less certain that it used to. The volume ends on a cliffhanger and it'll be the next disc before we see how Cou and his friends handle the new reality they've been left with (and there would seem to be a few more surprises still to come, at that), but just for once Elemental Gelade did something I wasn't expecting. Given how this series has been almost completely by-the-numbers since it started, that’s real progress, and combined with the Viro story arc made this disc the first in the series that felt like a worthwhile use of my time. It's just a shame that is was left so late in the day.
This volume of Elemental Gelade surprises by actually being good - all four episodes are entertaining, for a variety of reasons, and as the gang get closer to their goal of Edel Gardens, the show finally breaks out of its predictable rut and throws a few spanners into their plans. It's good to see that finally happening – and hugely frustrating that it took to volume 5 to get to that stage. Still, for once I can say that we have a volume that was fun to watch, and have hope that the final volume will close out the story in entertaining fashion. Fingers crossed...
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