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A review by thisotherbookaccount
Blade of the Immortal Volume 5: On Silent Wings II by Hiroaki Samura
4.0
Five volumes in, I would say that this is my favourite one yet. Samura takes the series to a new level with this entry in the series, filled with nuanced character moments and conversations — something which the series could not quite achieve until now.
Volume five begins with a flashback of Rin's past. Much emphasis is going to be placed on her mother's rape scene, but I feel that the more consequential section is the conversation that her grandfather has with her at the very beginning. The themes explored in this section — about the cyclical nature of revenge and violence — comes back later in the novel to form a full circle. This is the first time, I believe, where a flashback goes above and beyond the purpose of a flashback to tie the theme of the entire volume together. This I appreciated greatly.
The rest of the volume, in a strange way, reminds me of a Quentin Tarantino movie. Allow me to explain: if there were two things that Tarantino is known for in his films, they would be revenge as a theme, as well as his love for set pieces. He takes his time to set up a film's climatic scenes, constantly tightening the knobs until it breaks at the very end. He isn't afraid to stay at the same location for 10 or 20 minutes, then filling the entire scene with long, drawn out conversations. There are also subtext within subtext; a boiling tension just beneath the surface that threatens to blow the lid off at every turn of the conversation. That is the brilliance of Tarantino films, and I think I see shadows of that in volume five of this series.
I am referring here to the scene where Rin visits Araya, after running into his son and saving him at a festival. We know that Araya was the man responsible for raping (not killing) her mother, and we know that Rin is on a warpath — albeit an unsteady one — to avenger her parents. However, when she shows up at Araya's house, she does not immediately carry out her revenge. Instead, the two have a conversation over tea. When Araya first meets Rin in the room, he has no idea who she is until the conversation clues him in. In between, the two share their back stories, and you find out that Araya had long ago turned away from his criminal past in order to bring up his son in the right environment.
Yet, even with the cards fully on the table, Samura does not allow the next section of the plot to kick in. Instead, he diffuses it, almost like a short relief or a breather, by having the son serve tea to the both of them. I love this pause, because it is exactly what Tarantino would do in his films. Think about the scene in Pulp Fiction, when Vincent and Jules are in the room interrogating the men. Halfway through the interrogation, Jules picks up a hamburger to taste it. Not only does this break the tension, it holds it in the air because the viewer — in this case, the reader — never quite know what's going to happen next.
I love that Rin's purpose here is not to kill Araya, but to have him apologise. This ties back to the earlier flashback of what grandpa told her when she was a child. Now, it is naive and silly of her to think that Araya would take up her offer, but I love the turn of events here. Samura almost subverts the expectation that Araya is going to be yet another target Manji has to take down. Instead, this time, Rin wants to exact her revenge without a physical weapon at all. Although, to be honest, I would have preferred if her so-called revenge is to reveal his history to his son. That would have tasted sweeter and still avoided murder.
Alas, even though the lead up is amazing in this book, Samura does resort to yet another fight scene. While this close-quarter fight scene is much easier to follow, having Manji show up once again to save the day does dilute the tension in the beginning. It is just a tiny bit disappointing that the scene has to devolve into yet another sword fight, which we have already seen more than a handful of times thus far.
Samura does attempt to correct this with the last part of the book, especially with the part that concerns Araya's son. I think it is a beautiful closure to the arc and, again, ties back to the words of Rin's grandfather right at the beginning. In some ways, I find Manji's character perhaps less interesting than that of Rin's. Manji feels really one-note throughout the series, but Rin is the one that has been growing as a character. In terms of development, I see most potential in her.
I am excited for the next entry in this series.
Volume five begins with a flashback of Rin's past. Much emphasis is going to be placed on her mother's rape scene, but I feel that the more consequential section is the conversation that her grandfather has with her at the very beginning. The themes explored in this section — about the cyclical nature of revenge and violence — comes back later in the novel to form a full circle. This is the first time, I believe, where a flashback goes above and beyond the purpose of a flashback to tie the theme of the entire volume together. This I appreciated greatly.
The rest of the volume, in a strange way, reminds me of a Quentin Tarantino movie. Allow me to explain: if there were two things that Tarantino is known for in his films, they would be revenge as a theme, as well as his love for set pieces. He takes his time to set up a film's climatic scenes, constantly tightening the knobs until it breaks at the very end. He isn't afraid to stay at the same location for 10 or 20 minutes, then filling the entire scene with long, drawn out conversations. There are also subtext within subtext; a boiling tension just beneath the surface that threatens to blow the lid off at every turn of the conversation. That is the brilliance of Tarantino films, and I think I see shadows of that in volume five of this series.
I am referring here to the scene where Rin visits Araya, after running into his son and saving him at a festival. We know that Araya was the man responsible for raping (not killing) her mother, and we know that Rin is on a warpath — albeit an unsteady one — to avenger her parents. However, when she shows up at Araya's house, she does not immediately carry out her revenge. Instead, the two have a conversation over tea. When Araya first meets Rin in the room, he has no idea who she is until the conversation clues him in. In between, the two share their back stories, and you find out that Araya had long ago turned away from his criminal past in order to bring up his son in the right environment.
Yet, even with the cards fully on the table, Samura does not allow the next section of the plot to kick in. Instead, he diffuses it, almost like a short relief or a breather, by having the son serve tea to the both of them. I love this pause, because it is exactly what Tarantino would do in his films. Think about the scene in Pulp Fiction, when Vincent and Jules are in the room interrogating the men. Halfway through the interrogation, Jules picks up a hamburger to taste it. Not only does this break the tension, it holds it in the air because the viewer — in this case, the reader — never quite know what's going to happen next.
I love that Rin's purpose here is not to kill Araya, but to have him apologise. This ties back to the earlier flashback of what grandpa told her when she was a child. Now, it is naive and silly of her to think that Araya would take up her offer, but I love the turn of events here. Samura almost subverts the expectation that Araya is going to be yet another target Manji has to take down. Instead, this time, Rin wants to exact her revenge without a physical weapon at all. Although, to be honest, I would have preferred if her so-called revenge is to reveal his history to his son. That would have tasted sweeter and still avoided murder.
Alas, even though the lead up is amazing in this book, Samura does resort to yet another fight scene. While this close-quarter fight scene is much easier to follow, having Manji show up once again to save the day does dilute the tension in the beginning. It is just a tiny bit disappointing that the scene has to devolve into yet another sword fight, which we have already seen more than a handful of times thus far.
Samura does attempt to correct this with the last part of the book, especially with the part that concerns Araya's son. I think it is a beautiful closure to the arc and, again, ties back to the words of Rin's grandfather right at the beginning. In some ways, I find Manji's character perhaps less interesting than that of Rin's. Manji feels really one-note throughout the series, but Rin is the one that has been growing as a character. In terms of development, I see most potential in her.
I am excited for the next entry in this series.