The Good
Good things are worth waiting for, and RAI? Yeah, that's definitely a good thing, so having a little bit of a wait before the new story arc begins was totally understandable. I mean, would you really want Clayton Crain to rush his artwork or have another artist step in? Of course not! When it comes to Valiant's impressive variety of titles, we all have our favorites. However, RAI stands out to me because it pulls us into a brilliant, exciting new world and has visuals that'll leave you speechless. Good combination, right? The first story arc really, really impressed, so expectations are way up there when going into the first chapter of Matt Kindt and Crain's new story. While this fifth chapter may not be as stunning as what has come before it, it's still pretty impressive and covers a good amount of ground.
Seeing as this is intended to be a friendly jumping on spot, it kind of feels like New Japan 101. Kindt basically takes us on a tour of various spots and does an entertaining job dishing out all of the basics with the main cast. The Father/Rai dynamic is well-written and keeps us guessing; Spylocke's history is addressed in a surprisingly funny way; Lula Lee's part ends on an attention-grabbing note; and the material with Momo was my personal highlight. While Momo's story -- just like everything else -- is focused on presenting critical information and slowly building the bigger picture, it's also oozing with a horror vibe and presents a frightening look at New Japan. It's a standout moment for the story and the visuals. Overall, Kindt managed to make this very new reader friendly without alienating people who read the first four issues.
As completely expected, Crain's pages are brilliant. As Kindt takes us on a tour of New Japan's drastically different spots, Crain does a phenomenal job bringing them all to life and fully immersing us in each and every one of them. Each one gives off such a different atmosphere and the tremendous work allows us to really appreciate the fact New Japan is so vast and diverse. It's not just the environments that impress, either. Everything from the unique character work -- some may not be fond of the anatomy, but I think it fits for this unique world -- to the effects are all handled masterfully. It really shouldn't come as a surprise, but it needs to be said that is this yet another beautiful and creative issue of RAI.
The Bad
It's pretty surprising that the cliffhanger doesn't pack that much of a punch; it basically just teases what's to come without delivering a very strong hook. If someone picks this up and they're on the fence about it (which is hard to believe, but you never know with new readers), that ending probably won't convince them to stick around. As for the story, it's informative and, if you love the book, you'll be psyched to see all of these things slowly moving forward. However, seeing as this is a jumping on spot, you'd expect more big moments and shocking twists, yet this one is surprisingly calm. The lack of thrills was a bummer, especially given how well Crain can handle the action. It's still well-written, interesting, and looks fantastic, but it definitely feels like its doing the mandatory job of setting the stage and saving the truly compelling and exciting stuff for the upcoming chapters.
The Verdict
Rai's back with bit of a slow start. You won't see Crain unleashing any jaw-droppingly gorgeous action sequences here, but that doesn't stop it from being a very good read! With this issue, Kindt's pretty much covering all of the ground he needs to as he teaches new readers about this elaborate and fascinating world and its cast of characters while also setting up several key plot points. If you've been loving RAI -- and that should apply to, well, everyone -- you'll likely think this is a solid return and anxiously await the next issue. It's a bit bummer there weren't any really mind-blowing or gripping developments, but it's done a fine job setting the stage for what's to come and, given how good this book has been, I'm thoroughly excited to read RAI #6.