English Dub Season Review: Date A Live Season 5

Based on the light novel series written by Koushi Tachibana with illustrations by Tsunako. The story continues as Shido Itsuka faces greater peril than ever due to his continued involvement with Ratatoskr. He has already sealed 10 spirits, and Isaac Westcott, leader of Deus Ex Machina Industries, has finally decided to kill Shido and plunder the Spirits’ powers for himself.

To accomplish his twisted goal, Isaac declares an all-out war against Ratatoskr, forcing the organization to exhaust its resources to ensure Shido’s survival. Despite being severely outnumbered and outmatched, a glimmer of hope exists in the form of the Spirit of Time, Kurumi Tokisaki. Shido must seal and acquire Kurumi’s power to travel to the past and confront the “Spirit of Origin” the catalyst that started it all…

On the technical side, season five was produced by the animation studio “Geek Toys” (Dead Mount Death Play, Migi to Dali, Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don’t Believe in Humanity Will Save the World and various other Date A Live projects) who also previously worked on Season Four which consisted of Jun Nakagawa as director, with Fumihiko Shimo writing the series’ scripts, Naoto Nakamura designing the characters, and Go Sakabe returning to compose the series’ music. The opening theme song is “Paradoxes”, performed by Miyu Tomita, while the ending theme song is “Hitohira”, performed by Sweet ARMS.

Season five expands upon the intricate world built in the earlier seasons, and also unravels the long unanswered mysteries surrounding the main characters, Shido Itsuka and Mana Takamiya, while revealing the motives of the show’s longtime antagonist, Isaac Westcott. The battles are especially noteworthy, with the territory clashes being rendered with stunning visuals that help the proceedings.

Shido’s relationships with the Spirits are explored in greater detail, adding more layers to his character. Mana’s background and her connection with Shido bring new complexities to the story. Even the villain, Westcott, is portrayed with greater nuance, making his motivations more understandable and adding depth to the narrative.

The spirits, including Tohka, Origami, Kurumi, and Mio, each have their moments to shine. Their interactions with Shido and their individual story arcs contribute significantly to the emotional richness of the season.

The animation and music are also big standouts visual quality has improved significantly, with detailed and fluid animation that enhances the storytelling, while, the soundtrack returns to the style that fans love, with Miyu Tomita’s opening song “Paradoxes” fitting the season perfectly, while the band “Sweet ARMS” delivers an appropriate and thematically bittersweet ending theme, making the musical elements of the season equally memorable.

Overall, season 5 raises the stakes even higher, building towards an epic conclusion. People new to this series might get lost so it’s best to watch the previous seasons to connect the narrative dots. But at least the dedication of the “Geek Toys” animation studio is in good hands as the series maintains its quality and excitement. As we look forward to the rumored 6th and final season, It’s easy to assume that the animation team has a lot of work to do in topping itself and hopefully it will.