Knight Hunters, Vol. 5: Midnight Finale (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Takehito Koyasu
Directed by Kiyoshi Egami

Features:

• Voice actor interviews
  
• Outtakes
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• You want to care...you just can’t.
• Vicious assassins, the boys in trouble, the end of humanity—the usual
• Enough posing to choke a horse

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Skip it.

In this, the final disc of the Knight Hunters title, the Weiß boys must fight against the Schreient group, as it reforms strongly enough to be a danger. Masafumi Takatori, thought no longer a danger, is back and worse than ever, as well, and the villain Schwartz is also after Takatori, but for reasons of his own. Now, our heroes must beat Schwartz to Takatori, while stopping not one, but three, assassin groups from destroying Japan between them. It’s Weiß’s last mission as they attempt to stop the end of the world as we know it.

The animation of this series has been attractive and good all along, even though the video quality had a few problems now and then. There is still a bit too much darkness on this disc, but at least the shadowy, washed-out areas could be considered thematic. The sound is similarly mediocre, but good enough not to interfere with a viewer’s enjoyment.

The features on this disc are similar to those in quality to those of the previous volumes. There is a selection of outtakes, which are not quite funny enough to make up for the intended angst of the series. The voice actor interviews are fun and always an interesting addition. In this case, the voice actors have more interesting things to say that the series writers had to write, it seems.

The problem with this title has never been the animation or the sound, even if they were mediocre and even problematic at times. It has always been that the interesting concept and different characters were simply not developed as much or in the way they could have been. The focus has always been far too much on interpersonal angst, with tortured souls who lack the backstory or likeability to make viewers care about their problems. Besides, if all we get to see is their angst, then we can’t seriously be expected to assume they aren’t happy that way.

As always, this title seems as if it could have been something special, but the increased angst and constant attempts at grinding misery make the whole thing less than it could have been. Besides, when the Weiß boys defeated such a hugely powerful enemy relatively early in the series, it’s hard to be all that concerned about these lesser villains later. If you have been enjoying the Knight Hunters saga, then you will enjoy this installment, as well, since it is basically more of the same. If you have not yet been following the exploits of Weiß, then this finale probably will not, sadly, be enough to convince you. Maybe eventually, someone else will take up the idea of this series and remake it as interestingly as it could have been. It might be worth watching just to enjoy the concept or to dream about what might have been, but otherwise, you’re better off with something else.