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Wolf's Rain Vol. 3: Loss
Bandai // Unrated // October 12, 2004
List Price: $29.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"Something is about to happen."In the distant future, humanity lives in great domed cities on a desolate Earth, and wolves are thought to have been hunted to extinction over 200 years ago. But unknown to man, wolves instead began to live amongst them, disguising themselves as humans. Legend has it that at the end of the world, wolves will lead the world to Paradise – and one wolf, Kiba, is convinced he knows the way.
Ah, this is more like it. Things finally start heating up in the third volume of Wolf's Rain as the assassination of Lord Orkham by the forces of Lady Jaguara starts the final countdown to the end of the world. With Orkham dead, his territory, including Freeze City (the one the main characters are all from), is unprotected. Jaguara will soon control everything. Can a fallen noble like Darcia possibly hope to stand in her way long enough to open the gate to Paradise and be with Hamona once again?
Meanwhile, Hubb and Quent set out on a road trip to find Hubb's ex-wife, Cher. But Hubb learns that records of their marriage and divorce have disappeared. What's going on? And who's the new member of Kiba's pack (as if you don't know already)?
These four episodes mark the calm before the storm, as things really begin to heat up towards the end. But for now, it's a bit more lighthearted. The pairing of Hubb and
Quent is pretty funny. The two are complete opposites, and their trip cross-country in a little run-down Volkswagon Beetle also gives us a chance to see a little of both of their backgrounds. I like Hubb; he's the everyman. Not perfect or particularly special, so we can relate to him more than other characters. Even Cher comes across better in relation to him. She was pretty useless in the second volume, and for the record she's still useless here, but we can at least sympathize with her and Hubb's situation. And as we march closer to the conclusion, we're left to wonder... in a wolf's paradise, is there any place for humans?Video:
A nice transfer with some moderate aliasing here and there, but overall clean with bright, vibrant colors (partially owing the rich color palette of the show). The screenshots are duller. Exactly what I'd expect from a show that originally aired in Japan a mere year before its North American release.
Audio:
As with most anime series, the original stereo language track is the best – voices are
appropriate for the characters and the acting is excellent throughout. Some may understandably opt for the English 5.1 track instead for a much fuller sound, though; I was tempted. It's a shame (but understandable) that five-speaker tracks aren't more common for television shows, as the sound here is excellent. There are some great visceral sound effects like a person's larynx being crushed. There's also an English stereo track, as well as English subtitles, of course.The English actors do a decent job in spite of some questionable dialog in places, and the track is fine for those inclined that way. The real standout exception is Johnny Yong Bosch, who is just fantastic as a subtle, natural-sounding Kiba. Crispin Freeman (Tsube) has some fans and an instantly recognizable voice, but every character of his sounds the same to me, and a lot of the time it seems like he's mismatched with the characters he plays (Captain Tylor, of The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, is a prime example). He's closer here, but Tsube still sounds too deep, too heroic. Joshua Seth as Hige and Mona Marshall as Toboe have perhaps the most obvious "character voices" on the show, which can be distracting. And as in most dubs, stilted delivery occasionally rears its ugly head. But it's inherent in the trade, I suppose.
The music in Wolf's Rain is good (with the exception of the awful, awful opening
song "Stray" which you can safely skip without missing any of the episode), but admittedly it's hard for Yoko Kanno to top her previous work in Cowboy Bebop. Music is not so much the focus here as it was there, but she still manages to work in some nice themes, including the striking credits song, "Gravity."Extras:
No interviews this time! Just four textless endings and trailers for other Bandai series.
Conclusion:
I was a little worried at the end of volume two as to where the show was headed, but this has put my mind at ease for the time being. I'm interested to see where the series takes us next. Recommended.
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