Given the general acclaim that s-CRY-ed has garnered from other quarters, I find myself approaching each volume with the hope that the series will improve and I will finally understand why it is held in such high regard. Perhaps I should know better by now, because as it turns out, this latest instalment is not too dissimilar from the preceding volumes.

Picking up from where the last disc left off, s-CRY-ed #5 sees most of our protagonists still wandering the Inner region of the Lost Ground, and as you might expect, more than a few reunions are in the offing as the disparate groups link up. Unfortunately for all concerned, they aren’t about to be left to their own devices; back in the city, mainland representative Kyoji Mujo is now in command of HOLY operations, and his prime concern is using Kazuma and Ryuho to open the door to the ‘other world’ that is the source of Alter power.

When it comes to the storyline, originality has never been one of s-CRY-ed’s strong points, and this volume is no exception. If anything, the closing third of the series seems determined to follow the path laid out by generic role-playing games, as the hero and his former rivals band together and defeat increasingly powerful minions on their way to confront the final boss. Sadly, this rather simplistic set up is brought down further by a tendency to digress into flashbacks and a script that skirts the realms of laughably cheesy so often you begin to wonder if you’re even supposed to take it seriously.

Fortunately, s-CRY-ed #5 also follows up on some of the more interesting plot threads woven throughout the series. The return of Ayase towards the end of the last volume revealed that the Native Alters sent to the mainland have their abilities ‘refined’ and enhanced, often at the cost of their free will- an idea that is featured prominently in this volume. We are also treated to answers to many more of the questions that have built up over the course of the series, even down to the true identity of the mysterious black humanoid Alter seen in previous episodes.

Unsurprisingly, the series makes a decent showing on the action front, even throwing some new elements into the mix as both Scheris and Commander Zigmarl reveal their Alters for the first time. However, even adding new combatants can’t disguise the fact that we’ve seen so many Alter battles that they’re starting to lose their impact- in fact, this time around I found myself preferring the simpler hand-to-hand battles rather than the more over-the-top combat.

As with previous instalments, s-CRY-ed continues to feel like a series which has too large a cast for its own good. Even though we’ve lost a few characters along the way, development is spread too thinly around the remaining cast members, leaving them many of them still stuck in the generic and two-dimensional fold. As with the previous volume, there are some good character-based moments, such as a flashback revealing how Kazuma met Kanami, but these are mixed in with other segments that come too late in the day to have any real purpose or import. Worse yet, however, is the unwelcome return of Native Alter Biff; an irritating character at the best of times, his dialogue has been reduced to repeating the word ‘Hammer’� over and over since his ‘enhancement’- a most unwelcome trait given that he appears in every episode on this volume.

Visually, the animation seems a little rougher around the edges this time around- the usual standard still applies for the action scenes, but the other sections are a little weaker in comparison. Conversely, the background music feels somewhat improved, including a greater proportion of fast paced tracks that set the tone for the volume.

In Summary

At point when the series could really have taken a turn for the better, s-CRY-ed turns in a disappointingly mediocre instalment. The storyline and characterisation remain as generic as ever, and now even the action scenes are failing to have the same impact that they had in earlier volumes. And with the more interesting plot elements having been pretty much wrapped up in this volume, all that remains is to await the final showdown.