Title: Dimension W Vol. 15
Author: Yuji Iwahara
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Publication Date: August 27, 2019
The Story
Volume 15 of Dimension W starts off with the continuation of Ellie/Uno/Minion(lol)’s backstory of her time in the labyrinth alongside Nove and Venti. It shows how she was able to escape from there and why Nove branded her as a traitor. Back in present time, things have gone downhill up on the surface. Nothingness has settled in and the temperature of the planet began to drop. Snow begins to fall in areas that would have never seen snow in a lifetime.
Back down in the labyrinth, Venti lures Kyouma away from the others and explains to him the purpose of the labyrinth and how it relates to a ship called The Ark. It goes much deeper than but I’ll refrain from explaining why due to spoilers. Needless to say, all of the answers we’ve been looking for throughout this entire series are finally coming into light. While Kyouma is on a game of tag with Venti, Ellie is busy fighting Nove, which becomes a personal battle for her on many levels. The other collectors are also still trapped and are fighting for their lives in their own ways as well.
This would seem like the stage for a final battle but this is merely just a test for the ultimate end goal. With Volume 16 being the final volume in the series, there are many ways this story could go. Right now, Volume 15 does an amazing job setting up something this series has eluded to this entire time: Possibilities. They threw that term in our face for fifteen volumes and ended this one in such a way where volume sixteen could have many “possibilities” for the series’ ending. I don’t know if that was intentional or if I’m looking too much into it but I caught the relationship between the term and the many outcomes that could happen in the final volume.
Characters
With us being so close to the end, character development is minor. While we did wrap up Ellie/Nove/Venti’s background story, it was merely a conclusion with the bulk of the information being dumped on us the last volume. We did get some nice tidbits such as how Ellie came to prefer bats as weapons and how Nove got her mechanical legs. We learned a little bit about Venti’s gift as well which were nice fleshing out points to their characters. These three ended up with the bulk of the development in this volume.
The other bulk of it ventures into spoiler territory but I will allude to it by saying that we found out the true intentions behind the Syndicate as well as Grendel. We got some more insight on the legend that is Dr. Shidou Yurizaki as well as the answer to what Adrastea was back on Easter Island. Everything ties together beautifully and makes a lot of sense once it’s explained.
Final Thoughts
It’s still pretty hard to believe that there is only one volume left for Dimension W. This has been a wild ride and is still, hands down, one of my favorite sci-fi series to date. Of course, nothing will ever rip Steins;Gate out of my number one spot but Dimension W is coming in at a close second for me. The only thing that can solidify its spot at number two for me would be the ending. As I eluded to, there are several possibilities for the ending. Going through them in my head one-by-one, I don’t know which one it will be.
It could also be a situation that we haven’t been presented yet. A Deus Ex Machina style situation that I HOPE doesn’t happen. I would hate for all of this build-up to suddenly be erased because a certain someone activates a certain hidden power and stops everything from happening. It’s the ending I fear the most because it would be too predictable and would be a complete and total letdown. Sometimes, not everything should be saved. It’s okay to do a little damage. It worked well for Neon Genesis Evangelion, why not here? I’d like to see a grim finish to this series with a ray of hope. You’ll understand what I mean by that once you read the volume but it would be a rather somber finish that could send a deep message.
A message that says, even if you force the hand, you still can’t fight a course of fate you set yourself upon.
We’ll see in due time.
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
