Background by Bandai:
"By the 22nd century, mankind has spread to every corner of the solar system. But in the year 2137 AD, a tremendous solar flare kills millions and spreads a dense plasma called the Sea of Geduld across the solar system. Space travel becomes difficult because no spaceship can withstand the immense pressure within the Geduld.
It is now 2225 AD and teenage cadets learn to navigate around this deadly obstacle at the Liebe Delta Astronaut Training Center on the edge of the Geduld Sea. An act of sabotage during a routine dive procedure sends the space station plummeting into the Geduld. Juli Bahana, a member of the elite Zwei cadets, must take charge and lead the others to safety aboard the Ryvius, an interstellar space ship hidden inside the station. At the same time, navigator-in-training, Kouji Aiba, is coping with sibling rivalry while trying to find the courage to use his skills to deal with this deadly situation. Since all the adult crew and instructors were killed during the evacuation, the young astronauts can only rely on their training and each other to survive the journey home."

After the initial act of sabotage kills off all the adults aboard the ship, the youthful crew attempts to contact the authorities in hope of a rescue. Needless to say, when they find themselves under attack by those they trust, a severe funk spreads across the crew and cadets of the ship. Against all odds, they prevail in attack after attack, guided in some ways that they don't understand, while finding themselves their own worst enemies. The dynamics of the warring factions aside for a moment, various relationships foster the belief that they'll find a way, somehow, to escape their predicament as the people that want them dead hatch scheme after scheme in order to get their way. This all brings us to today's review of Infinite Ryvius 5: Retribution, a volume I missed when it first came out a long time ago.

The episodes this time were 19) Smiling With You, 20) Something I Can't Let Go, 21) We Don't Need Tomorrow, and 22) In Order To Survive. The general theme this time was that the crew, having suffered under leadership of varying levels of incompetence, has allowed the ship to fall into chaos. Ikumi seizes the Vital Guarder, threatening to destroy the ship if anyone breaks the rules, providing a demonstration of his resolve to the delight of some of his more ruthless associates. Juli finds herself questioning her ability to lead after the deaths of several members of the crew during the last attack and Ikumi ends up in command by default. With no one to challenge his authority, a watch is set up that uses brutal tactics to force compliance with his directives, and the population lives in fear that they may end up victims of the patrolling thugs, many of whom were the initial troublemakers now given authority to do as they please. All the while, there was some substantial exposition about why the Ryvius is under attack, the history of the ship, and the meaning of the ghostly gal that has been appearing at regular intervals is finally discovered as the series sets itself up for the finale in the last chapter.

Whatever thematic limitations of the show and limitations of the pacing it had, I still thought it was worth a look but only as a Rent It unless you're a big fan. Too much similar ground was covered this time and the plot twists were seen coming a mile away (if not more). I liked the idea of the show at this point more than the execution of the show itself but perhaps if watched as a boxed set, all in a sitting or two, it would work better for me. Perhaps the last volume will wrap things up nicely or maybe it'll just leave too many questions unanswered but my desire to find out is somewhat lesser having seen this volume and that's a shame for a series with such strong initial potential as this one had.

Picture: Infinite Ryvius 5: Retribution was presented in the same 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was shot in for presentation on Japanese television several years back. While there was some grain and fairly limited animation used to tell the story, I thought the biggest flaw had nothing to do with the picture or other technical aspects of the show. There were no compression artifacts, no video noise, and most of the special visual effects looked preplanned rather than the result of some issue or another.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of either Japanese or English 2.0 Dolby Digital with optional English subtitles. There was a good mix here with some very noticeable separation between the channels. Some care was exercised with the audio and I think both languages had something to offer. I liked both versions but give the nod to the English track this time as the story unfolded a bit better without having to read the subtitles.

Extras: The extras were plentiful this time with a series of 3 art gallery/audio dramas( 7, 8, and 9) on top of the latest Ryvius Illusion (#5; a humorous parody of some of the situations and characters of the show), some commercials, textless opening #5, and trailers for a few shows. There was also the usual paper insert with minimal sketches and the large plastic thick cover included.

Final Thoughts: Infinite Ryvius 5: Retribution furthered the story enough to give it a look but unless you're watching the entire series all at once, it lacked the kind of dramatic punch of other contemporary Bandai series. To date, much of the series could be edited down to a much shorter version with minimal loss of comprehension towards the story (and maybe even a better understanding given the way the show meandered around so much in several episodes). It looked and sounded good enough but the story didn't do much for me in most of these episodes that often seemed like filler to me.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003 and Best Of Anime 2004 article or regular column Anime Talk