Maburaho Volume 5 DVD Review

By Dansolo Published: April 2, 2006

PACKAGING AND MENU

8 / 10

The DVD cover is very busy with an image of Rin and Morisaki fighting, plus Yuna and Nakamaru and other classmates in the background. I would say it’s too busy, though it is not terribly bad. The background is light pink and the spine/back are blue.

The inside insert features some info about Black Herman, a so-called conjurer from the early twentieth century. Black Herman published a book called The Greatest Magician In the World, which I found somewhat humorous considering that Kazuki is (or was, anyway) called by the same name. I’m kind of getting bored of these inserts, though. As interesting as they were at first, now they just feel like I’m in history class at school.

The menu is identical to previous volumes other than the option changes (episode numbers, extras, etc). It does the job.

FEATURES

5 / 10

The extras presented include an interview with Fumiko Chino (US Art Designer), clean opening/ending sequences, and picture galleries. All I can say about the interview is that I could not even watch more than a minute or so because it was so boring.

VIDEO

7 / 10

While I don’t note much dot crawl or rainbowing, it is apparent to me that the video does contain some occasional aliasing. Since most people still use interlaced displays anyway, it’s not as much of a problem as it could be, but it is still noticible.

AUDIO

6 / 10

Technically, not much has changed from previous volumes. The English track is still in 5.1, and I would like to mention that if you listen to it and you have a surround setup, turn the volume way down on your rear speakers. There’s quite an echo that reminds me of running a stereo (non-matrix encoded) source through the original Dolby Pro Logic with a cheap receiver.

Of course, the dub itself is still bad, with the usual mispronunciations of names and voices that just don’t fit characters. I cringe when I hear Kuriko or Elizabeth or Kazuki. Heck, I basically cringe when I listen to the dub.

The Japanese track continues to please me, other than the usual less-than-stellar amount of directionality. Keep listening to it.

CONTENT

7 / 10

Kuriko has been skipping her after-school duties in the student council, and nobody knows why. So, naturally, it’s up to Kazuki and the other girls to follow her and find out what she’s up to. Kazuki and Elizabeth take it especially hard when they find another guy propose to her and she… accepts!? Has Kuriko given up on Kazuki?

And since Kazuki is still a ghost, so the Kamishiro and Kazetsubaki head families put pressure on Rin and Kuriko to move on. And they’ve found another person with genes that will give birth to the greatest magician in the world, and it’s… Nakamaru?! And the rest of the class has decided to help him take over the world?

Then, it’s time for a school trip to Kyoto. With the rest of their class gone off to try and scam some money, Kazuki and Yuna wander off alone to actually do some touring. They run across Morisaki Sayumi, who is then confronted by men with swords wearing all white. They later find out that these men are from the Kamishiro family, who has been a rival to the Morisaki family for centuries. Rin, however, shows up to stop them and apologize to Morisaki. But, sensing a chance for profit, their other classmates force Rin and Morisaki into a duel. Will Rin be able to win?

While I’m still enjoying Maburaho, this disc seems to be pretty episodic and it doesn’t seem to really advance the plot. I think Kazuki may be slightly less annoying in this volume, and we get some Elizabeth time. Elizabeth has been one of my favorite characters in the show since her appearance, so I always enjoy Elizabeth time.

While I said nothing really happens in this volume, there is something that occurs at the end of episode 18 (the last episode on this volume) that seems to be pretty major. It’s not really explained at all, though, so make sure you have volume 6 available if you don’t like cliffhangers!

OVERALL

6.5 / 10

I’m getting tired of new ways to say this. The dub is still bad. The video and audio technical qualities are still mediocre. But the show is still pretty good. Press on!