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BSS&A are below par it's true, but the only sub I've been able to find since Nyoron knocked theirs on the head. Maybe I'll have another look.
I think the series is taking a braver than average tack, after fifteen or so episodes exalting the virtues of blind faith, acephalic striking out into the void and visionary optimism, in suddenly putting us in Rossiu's shoes and stating that caution, strategy, realpolitik and unpleasant sacrifices are what's really needed now. The set up of heroically gung-ho Simon and his mighty mecha onslaught versus cowardly bureaucrats has been so well undermined I can't wait to see how the imminent show trial pans out.
For all that, Simon has been allowed to remain the undoubted hero and our sympathies are with him all the way - his perplexity at suddenly emotionless Darq Nia was verging on heartbreaking. A team-up with Viral would be very welcome, as anime has a long and noble tradition of minor bad guys, once the bigger threats above them show their true colours, becoming staunch allies. Not that we're likely to see Renji-like depths of characterisation in a short series like this one, but even so.
Re: the meta issues, whatever the creators' intentions it certainly seems as though the 'One Ring' theory advanced about the series prologue is looking more and more credible, with the huge expodump this episode concerning the 'Spiral Knights'. I'm sensing a callback to Gunbuster with the theme of pestilential humanity being attacked by the mindless galactic immune system - something you can also find in novelist Alastair Reynolds' Inhibitors, and the scenario of humans forcibly primitivised to keep us out of the hair of warring alien gods is right out of Stephen Baxter's Xeelee stories. (I sometimes wonder about the influence of English-language sci-fi on anime creators and what the hell they make of it after it's been through the language and cultural membranes.)
Best daft Gainax callback theory I've heard: Yoko leaving on her hoverbike last episode was a reference to the end of FLCL. Ehh, maybe.
What else? Well, the CGI and animation in general for the last few episodes have been the bomb. The 'Mugan' ('Faceless' - what's with the whole subtheme about faces in this show anyway?) invaders, and the oh-so-pretty polygonic spree when they get blown up, are a perfect example of how to use CGI well - make it as obtrusive, unnatural and forced as possible. And the secondary characters remain a joy - I loved teenage Gimmy and Darry upsetting expectations by being wiser and more level-headed than Simon, the tech-savvy couple with their subdued kids, and permanently pissed-off Kittan. Share the Kittan love! |
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