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Things have been getting a bit serious as of recently… let’s liven things up by having a tournament arc in the fifth volume of Seven Deadly Sins! It is good?
The Lowdown
Here’s the official synopsis for this volume:
Four of the Sins have been reunited and it feels almost so good. Entering a fighting tournament where the grand prize is Diane’s weapon, the unthinkable happens when the Sins and Holy Knights clash on stage! But who is the other faction of Holy Knights, dubbed the “New Generation,” and what could this monstrous group of demon-like knights be planning?
The Breakdown
After dealing with some heavy stuff related to Ban and King’s backstories, the fifth volume of Seven Deadly Sins livens things up with a mini-tournament arc. After what came beforehand, this is actually a nice change of pace for the story instead of just looking around and trying to find the next team member. Admittedly, those excited to meet more members or learn more about what the Holy Knights are up to will be disappointed by this small sidetrack. However, the sense of fun and playfulness we get is worth it. Plus, the story is focusing on trying to retrieve one of the sacred treasures of the group, so we are still getting story progression in some sense. Either way, the change in pace is welcomed, along with new characters and the fact that things are quickly moving instead of being dragged out.
Throughout the cast so far, there were a lot of good character beats here and there. None of those were related Meliodas though, whose unfortunate perverted antics are back (and especially considering recent events in the news, are REALLY not charming). There is apparently a rhyme and reason to why he pervs on Elizabeth and not Diane, who would actually be into it, and I guess I see his logic, but even then, it’s still incredibly wrong. His viewpoint does provide the opening for how Elizabeth could evolve in the future after learning how he views her, which troubles her quite a bit and intrigues me to see where this goes. This volume also gives Diane more chances to shine, getting to experience something that can finally put her on level with Meliodas and her friends. It also shows how great her combat skills are when she just doesn’t rely on her size to win, indicating that she wasn’t initially recruited just her appearance.
Well obviously I’ll do that. First, I just need a stiff drink or two.
The artwork here is visually appealing as per usual, especially shining during the lightning-fast and quick-paced action sequences. The characters are all well designed and stand out from one another, though I’m starting to notice that almost all of the female characters have the exact same body type (Gulia is an exception in that she’s rather scrawny and thin). The art is good at capturing everyone’s expressions and feelings, while absolutely fantastic at depicting the smooth action. Every panel during one of the fight sequences is so lively and you can feel the crushing power with each blow and use of magic. The art has some solid comedic timing, leading to some amusing moments. Outside of sketchy fan service during moments where it felt inappropriate, the book looked great.
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The Verdict
The Seven Deadly Sins Vol. 5 is a welcome change of pace for the series, diving head-first into action with lively, energetic characters, taking a break from the drama for a little while. It’s not a flawless outing by any means — the main story falls to the wayside and the main character’s uglier traits pop up again. However, this was still a solid volume and I’m eager to see how this tournament closes out.
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