The pace accelerates and the plot thickens in the fifth volume of Madlax.  With Madlax and Vanessa trapped in Gazth-Sonika with the army, police, and mafia all looking for them, things look bad.  Madlax is used to fighting against the odds though, and she's not about to stop fighting now.   There are several interesting revelations in this volume, and the pieces of the mystery finally start falling into place.  With a lot of action to fill in the gaps, this is an exciting volume.

Series recap:

Madlax is a mercenary, a gun for hire, who is reputed to be the best there is.  This assassin doesn't look like a hired killer though, she's a delicate looking young lady.  Looks can be deceiving thought as she is quite competent and deadly.  She shoots her victims with her eyes shut, but with pin point accuracy.   Caught up in the middle of the Gazth-Sonika civil war where the Galza resistance is fighting the government, Madlax has more than enough work.

This is also the story of Margaret Burton, an odd young girl.  She lives in Nafrece, alone with her maid Elenore, and it's rumored that she's very wealthy.  Margaret marches to the tune of a different drummer.  She will spend a long time staring at shoes in a store's window display, or leave school early because she's afraid that it will rain, even though there isn't a cloud in the sky.  When she looks at the world, it's almost like she's seeing something different from what everybody else sees.  In addition to her maid, Margaret spends a lot of time with her adult friend Vanessa, a woman who works at a large corporation.  Vanessa has traveled to  Gazth-Sonika, where she has retrieved some very important data that will show who really started the civil war and who is profiting from it.  There are many powerful people who want to kill her for the data, and she's hired a bodyguard:  Madlax.

Margaret also has a book, the Secondari, a very special tome that may have mystical powers.  Many people are looking for this book.  People who are willing to kill for it, including the criminal organization Enfant.

This volume:

Things aren't looking good for Madlax and Vanessa.  Enfant knows that Vanessa has the data proving that they are behind the Gazth-Sonika civil war, and they don't want that information to get out, so they frame the two women of killing a top government official.  With the army, police and Enfant after them, they have few options.

Meanwhile in Nafrece, Margaret hears the news about Vanessa being a wanted fugitive and decides to travel to Gazth-Sonika and find her friend.  Elenore can't persuade her to give up the foolish idea, so she accompanies the quiet young girl to the war zone.  Once there, all of the main characters finally come together and all of their lives are changed forever.

This show keeps getting better and better.  This volume is my favorite so far with the plot unfolding rapidly and the mystery starting to get just a bit more clear.  There's also a lot of action which keeps the show exciting.  There is a lot of Madlax doing what she does best, fighting against impossible odds and winning with ease.

This series manages to mix high action and an intricate plot very well, and makes it look easy.  The main story is very intriguing too.  They give just enough information in each volume to keep viewers intrigued, and the subplots and action fill out the show nicely.

Audio:

ADV provides the original stereo Japanese track to this DVD as well as a 5.1 English dub.  I alternated tracks between shows, and both of the audio tracks sounded very good.  The English dub was a little more full and robust, but the Japanese track reproduced the sound well.  The voices seemed to fit the characters a little better in the original language, but that's just my opinion.  The only problem I had with the dub was that the music level was a little high in places, making it hard to hear the dialog.  There were no audio defects.

Video:

The anamorphically enhanced widescreen image is very good.  The lines were very crisp, and the colors were reproduced well.  The color reproduction is important, since They used a wide palate, with both the jungle scenes and the urban settings having distinct looks created by the colors that were employed.  Digital defects were practically nonexistent.  A great looking DVD.

Extras:

This disc has a good number of bonus features.  In addition to the standard clean opening and closing, there are Japanese promo spots and a two-minute reel of design sketches.  My favorite bonus feature though was Conversations With SSS, an 11-minute reel of outtakes where the English voice actors come up with some pretty humorous lines for the scenes they are dubbing.  Very funny stuff.

There's also a music video "Nowhere", the theme from the show, in both regular and karaoke versions.  Finally the Limelda Video Clip strings together a series of clips of the female sniper.  A very good set of bonus material.

Final Thoughts:

I'm really enjoying this series.  There's an intricate plot with several mysteries that play out well, and a good amount of action that is very well done.  The show continues to reach new heights with each successive volume and I'm always anticipating the next episode.  A truly above average show that is Highly Recommended.