Title: The New Gate Vol. 5
Author: Yoshiyuki Miwa (Manga Adaptation), Shinogi Kazanami (Original Story)
Publisher: One Peace Books
Language: English
Format: Physical
Pages: 200
Genre: Isekai, Fantasy, Adventure
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
The Story
Volume 5 of The New Gate sees Shin reunite with Girart. After 500 years, he is still alive and he explains that it was all due to time being frozen for him; however, Shin’s arrival back into the world somehow caused time to move forward once again. He is nothing more than an old man… a king of his land… but an old man nevertheless. They catch up and share some stories with one another; however, the true meaning of their discussion comes up.
Because time has decided to start moving for Girart again, he knows that his time to live is drawing to a close. As a proud warrior who believes he should die in battle, Girart has asked Shin to duel him. Shin is filled with regret but completely understands why he is being asked. With a heavy heart, he accepts the challenge. They set the duel for one week from that day.
In the meantime, Shin gets access to their library. He searches for the dungeon where he saved the world but it appears that it no longer exists. He did learn about the earth veins and how they are connected to the dungeons, though, so he figures that if he follows them, he may discover a way to go back home.
After everything is said and done, the remainder of the volume focuses on the duel and we get to see just how powerful Girart and Shin truly are!
Characters
This volume was all about Girart. As a friend, as a king, and as a man, Girart is about as noble as they come. He always worries about those who stay by his side, he was kind enough to stay with and raise generations of kids into adults. He was always there for his people when they needed him and because of such, the whole land looked up to him with reverence. Even in his battle with Shin, there were no cheap shots, no dirty tricks, none of that. Just a warrior fighting with honor and enjoying the thrill of the fight. You could clearly see why Shin held him in high regard as his No. 3 support character.
Despite being powerful, Schnee herself stated that Girart was still not as powerful as she was. Given the power we’ve seen from him, that’s a pretty bold statement to make. Still, he is truly an incredible character, one that you can feel the warmth of his soul through soulless black and white pages.
We were also introduced to two beastmen… Van, an elephant, and Rajim, a tortoise. They are Girart’s right and left hands, respectfully. In Shin’s absence, he fought alongside them for the past 500 years. Girart kept good company because they were as noble and honorable as he was.
We also got to meet Wolfgang and Curoe, two of Girart’s descendants. While we don’t get too much of a deep dive into their characters, you can tell that Wolfgang is just like his father while Curore is a bit more outward with her feelings. She wears her heart on her sleeve sometimes so it’s easy to see what she’s thinking. Despite that, she has enough maturity to understand things and, eventually, comes to accept them.
Final Thoughts
It was nice getting some background information on another of Shin’s supports. Girart is truly a magnificently-written character and because of such, this volume had a tremendous range of emotions to experience. The volume didn’t exactly end on a cliffhanger, but we got some clues as to what may happen next. Shin did learn about the earth veins and their connections to the dungeons themselves so there is a clue right there that might help him get back to his world; however, Girart also posed a question that sets up a future plot point… will Shin leave Schnee behind if he finds a way back home.
While Shin did give an answer, I have a feeling that answer may change over time. That is something I’m sure we can look forward to in the future. Until then, as for what’s next, your guess is as good as mine but for now, I think we should all let this volume sink in a bit.
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This item was purchased for review.
