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Apr 09 2006

Categories: anime, episodic review
Tagged: zegapain

16 Comments »

Wait, Sunrise? Giant robots? Forced relationships? School council charged with saving the world? Crazy-ass Rahxephon-type reality distortion waiting to happen? Potential for huge train wreck circa episode 13? I’m so there. Welcome to Zegapain.

(Damn, I don’t have time to blog four series… what do you guys want? Zegapain? Black Lagoon? Haruhi? Belldandy? )

The episode begins by showing us a glimpse of the star mecha (I’m assuming since the series is named after it) Zegapain getting owned on the moon, and it casually introduces us to the male pilot (?) and the female pilot (Shizuno)… seeing Zegapain is in a hopeless situation, the male pilot ejects the female pilot to safety and pulls a Heero Yui-type self-detonation (it’s Sunrise… so… keep that in mind).

Kyo is a normal high school student enrolled in a normal high school. If “normal” means that he is the only, fantatical member of the school’s swim club and also a potential pilot for an overpowered mecha, Zegapain. He just doesn’t know it yet since he’s too preoccupied with not kissing his male buddy while being filmed by his female buddy. He’ll be more popular than the Star Wars Kid if it leaked onto the Internet, I think. However, what’s really on his mind is his beloved swim club, which faces closure since… ah… it’s just him. (Wait, the school has an Olympic-class swimming facility as well as high diving board, yet there’s no swim club? Sunrise? Plot contrivance? Never!)

He sees a hawt woman (I had an eye twitch from the Y4L scene and seeing Shizuno in her two-piece cleared that right up), and goes out to meet her. Only everyone thinks that he’s a lunatic because (1) he’s running around in just his Speedos and (2) no one else can see this hawt mystery lady. The girls in class even comment about how undesirable he is because of his, uh, particularities. Wow, some sense in a Sunrise series. That does not bode well for this blog entry.

Meanwhile, it’s raining like it’s 2006 in San Jose, and Kyo and his female childhood friend who sticks by him through thick, thin, and Speedos, Kana go home. I’ve never seen this female childhood friend archetype in anime before. Swear on my “Mr Wong is the greatest father ever” bumper sticker. The school council is making really weird statements about the rain, keep this in mind.

After Kyo and Kana return home, Kyo finds himself confronted by these weird STEELE-type holographic displays with military-ish people talking technobaubble. He eventually comes face-to-face with Shizuno, and she impores him to “Save the world” and transport the two to a “virtual world” that’s “like a videogame.” In reality, it’s probably some future warzone, and instead of killing mindless drones, he’s really killing people. That’ll be fantastic when Kyo has his first Shinji Ikari-type breakdown (I feel it coming!).

Anyway, back to the episode, there’s not a lot of explaination going on… Kyo just gets ripped from his apartment to some future warzone and now is stuck in a giant robot with a hawt chix0r and all he can think of is asking her to appeal in a promotional video for the swim team. The boy has his priorities straight! Shizuno in a swimsuit is the only thing keeping my attention as Kyo flawlessly pilots Zegapain and impales (Sunrise!) the drones. Random high school boy instantly piloting highly complex mecha without even reading the instruction manual? I had to read how to install WordPress, and it’s nowhere as pwning as Zegapain.

(I also think Zegapain is a very butt ugly robot… then again, I’m a fan of more industrialized designs like Arbarest and Zakus and a huge fan of swimsuit-based designs like Powered Natsumi. Powered Shizuno? Hell, omega best series of the year award if that happens. Though I am a fan of these giant robots that require both a male and female pilot for whatever reason, like Vandread or that thing from Gunparade March.)

Using its vast assortment of mad skillz (flying, sword, and gun) Zegapain slices and dices the enemies. None of the attacks are really impressive… if the original Athrun vs Kira battle in Seed were a 7 out of 10, this battle is barely cracking 3 out of 10. Zegapain also saves this “Zegatank” that’s doing… I have no clue. Nothing has been explained at this point. And then the student council show up, complete in their school uniforms, managing the bridge of the mothership. I mean… I… am… lost. Haruhi made more sense than this show. (Though Shizuno in a bunny costume… mmm…)

After the battle, Kyo and Shizuno reappear in the swimming pool… and she welcomes him back, strongly hinting that the original male pilot of Zegapain was none other than Kyo. Then she kisses him. I haven’t been this upset since Luna went after Shinn.

I’m very interested in this show now for seven reasons:

1. It’s Sunrise. It’ll either be Gundam Seed, Mai Hime, or Keroro level good or be Gundam Seed Destiny or Mai Otome level bad that it’s good. It’s a no lose situation really.

2. Kyo and Kana. Ayako Kawasumi’s Shizuno rightfully gets a lot of press, but I’m afraid that two new seiyuu (the ones for Kyo and Kana) are going to have to carry the show eventually. They’re the two characters who either make or break the series… if Kyo turns out to be like Yuji more than Shinji, maybe it has a fighting chance. Or if Kana becomes the next Shizuru maybe the show has a chance. Either way, I need a reason to watch beyond, “Sunrise” and “Shizuno in a swimsuit.”

3. Shizuno in a swimsuit.

4. The mystery built-up thus far in the plot. Will it be a good thing, a la Rahxephon or a bad thing a la Divergence Eve and Jinki:Extend. Honestly, for giant robot shows, I prefer drama and action, and less so trying to wedge a mindfuck into the show. But knowing it’s Sunrise, I bet they’re giddy, “OMFG the viewers will never know what hit them when we reveal that Shizuno is really a man!”

5. The potential for high school romance/mischief. Maybe the giant mecha is just there to sell toys and the real fight is between Kana and Shizuno for Kyo? I want to see Kana freak out after learning that Kyo felt up Shizuno before she even introduced herself. Just like how Gundam Seed eventually turned into Athrun vs Lacus vs Flay vs Cagali for Kira and how Shakugan no Shana‘s finest moments (except, of course, twincest) dealt with the Yoshida vs Shana battle.

6. Great production quality. Top notch… even if Zegapain looks waaaaay too CGI for a 2006 series. The OP (?), Kimi he Mukau Hikari from Akino Arai is pretty solid.

7. The forehead symbols, a.k.a. Laughing Man meets SEED Mode.