When I look back at Star Driver a few months from now, I’ll probably think about how the show straddled the line between seemingly gratuitous, entertaining action and actually telling a story. A show that can actually pull both of these things off is a pretty rare thing. While Star Driver was at points able to do both of these things quite well, it never seemed able to do them at the same time. This ultimately keeps it from being great, and instead relegates it to the land of pretty good.

First off, the show always knew where it wanted to go and it always had a plot. From the first episode’s in the series, it is fairly clear that Takuto would be a rival in love with Sugata for Wako’s affections, and later on in the series, that he would have to take Head/his father down a few notches. Unfortunately, or I guess fortunately depending on your point of view, the plot seemed to be constantly placed on the back burner for the purpose of giving the show’s lot of colorful side characters their chance to shine. While these characters were often enjoyable to watch, see Kanako and Professor Green, and some even had symbolic meanings and/or purposes, the show really could have gotten along just fine without them.

But as I said, every time the show hinted at something bigger, it let something go untouched for episodes at a time, or not at all. When it became obvious that Marino wasn’t actually real, the show dropped that plot line for two or three episodes. So what (though it was addressed eventually)? When it was revealed the Simone was out to get revenge against Kanako. Forget about it. When we found out that the VP/Sarina were aliens. Not important. I touched on the question of whether we really needed to find out about these things in my episode 25 review, and came to the conclusion that we really didn’t need to, as in the grand scheme of things they aren’t really that important.

Still, I could have done with a few less Zero Time action scenes if it would have meant that a few of these things could have been resolved. I hate to use Utena as a reference, but god, I hated those sword fighting sequences. ALL OF THEM. EVERY PART OF THEM. But damn it, Utena was a great series because the characters had closure, plus everything else. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy a lot about what Zero Time or the Glittering Crux had to offer. I mean the costumes, the Kiraboshi, the it’s a pinch, the poses, and the list could go on. The animation and action in most of these fights was generally good and really enjoyable, even if some of it was reused a bit too often. Still, the show definitely fell into a mid season rut, and I think the length of these fights were to blame.

But like riding a bicycle, the plot could always almost pick up on the drop of a dime. Sure, some of it was a bit forced. It will be hard for me to forgive (not that I’ll lose any sleep over it) the laziness the show employed for giving Head his second mark. But most of what happened in the show’s main story had ample build up, even if it was a bit of overkill. The eight or nine times we were shown Head painting with an R as his signature. It was there. All the times Wako swooned over Takuto’s performance in Zero Time with Sugata there noticing. It was there. And then the show occasionally used this build up. And when it did, it was great. And the great thing about it all was that we knew when these events were. The end speaks for itself.

It’s hard to imagine that the show’s creators didn’t realize that all of the essential content in this show could have easily fit into 16 or 17 episodes, and that a lot of the main character’s were being extremely indecisive most of the time (I.e. Sugata in joining the Glittering Crux or Wako during the entire series). Everything and everyone else was really just context. I mean Ruri was never that interesting of a character, but she was important to Wako. Other characters were interesting, but in the end all they were was just interesting plot devices used to influence the character’s emotional state in the grand scheme of the main plot. It is what it is. It’s certainly interesting, and definitely worth a rewatch down the road, but the show itself isn’t really that complex.

As for my rating, I really want to give this show a 9 out of 10 for so many things it did well. A lot of things I didn’t mention about Star Driver were really top notch. The soundtrack was amazing, and so was the animation. Also, as much as I explained away the show’s side characters, they really are a major tilt factor in this show’s favor. I’ll admit I’ve even done a Kiraboshi here and there when no one else was around. Still, just based on the plot of the show, which is how I rate my shows, Star Driver is around an 8.5 out of 10, at best.

KIRABOSHI!

 

For everything that happened in Star Driver’s hectic finale, the episode pretty much focused on two tried and true anime themes, youth and friendship, and in that order. Though there were a few things that made me question how the series was written, the copious amounts of action, the levels of character growth, not to mention the background music made the conclusion to Star Driver a satisfying one that clearly does NOT need a sequel.

First, the plot. Couldn’t say that I was a fan of the revelation that Keito was so childish in the last episode (though I mean, that Karaoke segment several episodes back made it pretty clear), but I thought all of that  really helped make the differentiation between all of the different sets of characters and their emotional state. I mean, by this time, you would have had to be blind not to see what, in general, Head was after, and thus the revelation that he wanted to end time and relive the past over and over again really wasn’t all that out of place with his character, even if it was just thrown in. And again, it would have been hard not see that Takuto was meant to be the complete opposite of his father, as he blindly ventured into the King’s Pillar to save Wako.

While that was all interesting I suppose, I thought that the real soul of the episode was the scene with all of the member of the Glittering Crux regaining their marks. Yeah, it was an interesting fight, but I thought that Simone’s monologue about how they were all too early in trying to move forward by defeating Takuto was really well done. What’s more, I loved how only certain characters were able to regain their marks (though I have to question where Mami is), and how others didn’t. Looking back on the series as a whole, it seems like almost all the other Glittering Crux Brigade members tried to defeat Takuto on several different occasions (see Vanishing Age). Perhaps, this end of series revelation was some sort of reward to those who realized that they had to wait to grow and become their true selves, before they could face the challenges ahead (by the way, totally called it back in Episode 2).

In a way the same thing happened to the main trio, but with the added friendship element thrown in. Ever since the play episode, it seemed like we had been waiting to see what, if anything, Sugata would do to change his situation, and in the end he wasn’t really going to do anything, just like Ryousuke. So when there was that moment between Wako and Takuto , who eventually then broke Wako’s seal, you could really see the difference between Sugata and Ryousuke; the differing strength of their friendships. What made that scene even more impactful, even putting aside the fact that the souls libidos of everyone at earth were at stake, was the huge shift in the dynamic between the three. I mean, you pretty much had Takuto making a move at Wako, which finally caused Sugata to do something. Though Sugata was eventually defeated, I thought that that last line or two by Takuto in which he mentioned that this would be the last time they would see this beautiful sky, but that they would one day see another even more beautiful suggests to me that both are ready to get rid of their masks/become their true selves (I’ve been watching Kare Kano recently, so…).

That in mind, some might lament not being able to see some sort of epilogue. Now while there may eventually be one, I don’t think it is really needed, nor do we want to see it. Clearly, Wako is one of the most indecisive people on the face of the earth, so Takuto and Sugata are probably going to pull out all of the tricks needed to win her heart, which will eventually cause rifts in their friendship. Though you know they would eventually all work it out and see an even more beautiful sky, we really wouldn’t want to watch that show, especially without Cybodies. Further, how the hell would the world react to the Cybodies, or more to the point, how would Takuto and Sugata get back to Earth.

Still, this episode didn’t redeem the series completely. The biggest complaint I had was that Ryousuke really didn’t do anything in this or any episode. Was his purpose only to comment and observe the goings on of Takuto and Sugata, and to provide some sort of anchor to compare against other characters? There seems like there was a lot that could have been expanded upon in regards to his character.  There was also the aliens, things that might have or might not have happened in the past, or events elsewhere in the world, but I suppose that really never mattered (like LOST), plus I have to save some stuff for my series review (next week).

Overall, it was quite the finale that really used the emotional build up of its characters quite well, even if it took a bit too long, but somewhat failed to deliver on the larger main story that had been the focus of many of the questions out there. Though I guess what we thought was the main story really never was.

So in the end, Sugata eventually did make his move for power as the show had been hinting at for some time. Still, before leaving, he made quite the grand exit with Wako before switching sides and joining the Glittering Crux. I thought this episode tried really hard to emphasize, via Takuto’s conversation with the RA and her trio, that Sugata wasn’t only leaving Wako, but the trio as a whole. That makes Sugata’s actions in Zero Time a little difficult to understand, as it seems he had already made up his mind to join the Crux early on in the episode.

Now I’ve taken two psychology classes in college, so I am obviously an expert in group psychology, but one of the things I remember from my textbooks is that people have different stages of involvement in groups. It starts from joining the group, to working towards the group goals, to taking from the group in the form of status/position/rewards, to then eventually leaving the group when you have nothing more to gain from them. This episode seemed to focus on that last part. Sugata clearly had saw the writing on the wall in terms of Wako and him, so he either took one last shot at her hoping he could change her mind, or just wanted to see what his life could have been like after investing so much of his time with her. It appears, however, that it doesn’t really matter why he left Wako to Takuto as his “backup”, Keito, is awesomer in every sense of the word, and more importantly really seems to appreciate Sugata’s actions on their own merits, rather than lump them in with Takuto’s, as Wako remarked after the battle.

Still, it seems as though Sugata must have come to this conclusion before the battle in Zero Time, so why was he so adamant about helping Takuto beat the 3 Vanishing Age members. I suppose you could use the bros before hoes line of reasoning, but there seems to be a little more at stake here than in a normal friendship. Perhaps, Sugata has fallen into the same trap that other members of the Crux have in that he needs to be the one who defeats Takuto, but it seems to me like he already has everything that he “needs” and he seems to be completely aware of what is happening to him, unlike Columnar in the play.

But aside from the main trio, this episode made a point of showing us Benio’s trio at the school, and most notably George and Tetsuya questioning as to why they were still even in the Crux at this point, given the fact they are no longer drivers. The two commented that they both had other possible love connections waiting for them, but that they were going to stay by Benio’s side within Fliament as that is the way it had always been. That kind of suggests that if there were no Filament, or Crux, that George and Tetsuya might have moved on and be doing something different with their time. They also mentioned that while they were singing out their youth the others might reach departure.

It’s rather difficult to either agree or disagree with that statement as it seems like the higher levels of the Crux are not necessarily departing from their youth, but are sticking to it as it seems to be the case with Head. This danger of being stuck in this developmental stage seems to have been mentioned earlier in the series as becoming trapped in Zero Time after breaking the third seal is a real possibility.  Likewise, it appears that some of the lower levels of the Crux have begun to realize they are on the wrong side of maturity(its difficult to say what the wrong side is as growing up is important, but so is the ability to appreciate simpler things is too) and are looking for a way out, as Kou and Madoka did. It’s difficult then to determine where Sugata is on this spectrum, because as I mentioned it seems like he is aware of the changes in people, but he is also retreating into the cocoon from reality that is the Glittering Crux. Why some of the lower rungs of the Crux continue to hang around despite not having real marks, or being drivers is beyond me, but it would be interesting to see how their lives change if and when Takuto defeats the Crux and it is disbanded.

That aside, it is still difficult to determine who the ultimate foe for Takuto will be. It seems like Head is Takuto’s opponent in the next episode, which would then leave Sugata for the conclusion, but I keep thinking that things aren’t going to be that simple for Takuto. Looking back on fish girl’s story, it seems as though Sugata might be the one to recognize that he doesn’t need power, and that Takuto and Head are Sam and the Squid Emperor, respectively. The build up for this conclusion has been a long time coming, but I am looking forward to these two final episodes as even though the show up until this point has been fairly predictable, there has been enough evidence for many different arguments as to how it will end.

The play was certainly an interesting way to add some clarity to past events. Sarina’s veiled questioning of Takuto and his answers were certainly interesting enough, and I do get the feeling that he will back up his claims to protect Wako. Still, there is one thing that really seems out of place to me.  Assuming that Takuto is the one who will eventually embrace Wako, that would make Sugata the one who had Wako, but lost her due to his dependence on the boat’s power. But for whatever reason I don’t get the feeling that real world Sugata has given in to the boat’s power yet, because I don’t know what his “boat” could possibly be.

Though the play mirrored the events thus far in the show, and I would suppose the show’s past if we are assuming that this has all happened before, there was one thing that doesn’t seem to jive with the current trio. The play suggests that Sugata should fall into a deep long term slumber and forget about Kleis/Wako, but he hasn’t. Sure he did, and others in the past probably have has well, but he woke up, and has been constantly reawakened via whatever the hell Keito is doing. So it would seem from that point on, from about the same time that fish girl ended her story, that the story changed in some form. In fact, it seems that given the ending to this episode, in which Sugata fell into a slumber without going into Zero Time shows that something else has probably been the root of his problems. Perhaps, seeing Wako kiss Sugata during the play was the same thing as seeing her fawn for Takuto in Zero Time.

All that aside though, what would Sugata’s “boat” be? What is or could consume his life so much that he completely forgets about Wako? Nothing from the series thus far seems to be capable of fitting that description. That said, it would appear that Sugata did in some way give up or lose his rights to Wako before her birthday, considering that Takuto was the one who gave her Sugata’s knife, which clearly know has some sort of significance.

I guess all I’m trying to say is don’t think that Takuto has “victory” in his hands just yet. The series has thrown in more than enough hints to show us that while the present day characters are similar to the people in the past, they have been doing things a little bit differently and will eventually break through. Does a Takuto v. Sugata match up seem likely at this point? Yeah. Does Sugata look like an ass in the previews for the next episode? Yeah. But three episodes is more than enough time for this series to throw one last twist at us.

Oh yeah, I have a twitter page now @ CPAnime, so shameless plug.

I’d love to be the guy to add to the parade of comments about how Wako seems to be favoring Takuto over Sugata, but I feel I already did last week. Instead, I’d like to comment on what seems to be the apparent end of the Kou/Madoka arc. These two, aside from having the hots for each other, really seemed to be shallow characters without much of a back story, which may lead many to question why they were even in the series at all (Save filling air time). But, this isn’t a really new phenomenon, and many anime have utilized this late introduction of new characters to varying degrees of success, and Star Driver actually did a pretty good job.

Perhaps the most notable end of series introduction was Kaworu from Evangelion.  Questions about his, and Shinji’s, sexuality aside, Kaworu’s introduction was the catalyst for the long-awaited change in Shinji’s character. Whether it was the fact that Shinji finally did something, or that Kaworu’s betrayal finally broke Shinji, his appearance was necessary to explain the events that occurred later in the final two episodes/End of Evangelion.

On the other hand, some characters that are only introduced near the end of the series really do seem to be pointless. While there are probably many better examples than this, I have always kind of had a problem with the introduction of Luciano Bradley in Code Geass, though R2 had a lot of problems I guess. Still, did Code Geass really need to introduce a new character only to kill him off a few episodes later. It seems like the only the show introduced him was so it could kill somebody off without having to lose any of its main characters.

So where on this spectrum do Kou and Madoka lie? It would be easy to say that they were just eye candy, and given their entrances during Zero Time, it would be tough to debate this point. Still, there were some things about the two that I think really speak to their importance. Though definitely overdone, the two really seemed very close, and furthermore seemed to make no secret about it. Kou stopping Takumi in episode 20 because she didn’t want to leave Madoka behind was probably the most visible example of how much they cared for each other.

But what really made them important characters was how their openness was something others in the show began to adapt. The volleyball scene in episode 17 is certainly indicative of this, especially given how flustered Wako became by the attention the duo put on Takuto, but I thought that the Karaoke body snatching scene in episode 18 was even more important. Sure, in the end, nothing really happened, but the two seemingly forced Takuto and Sugata out of their shells and into action. I suppose the same thing could be said for Keito, for obvious reasons, and Wako.

In fact, I think Wako “benefited” the most from Kou and Madoka. Her use of her seal power in this episode to save Takuto reminded me a lot of what Kou did for Madoka in the last episode. I don’t think she would have done the same, and she didn’t in the past, had she not met Kou and Madoka. I suppose this was a rather roundabout way of saying that Wako seems to have chosen Takuto, but I find the why and what events led to her doing so now just as important. And that is why I appreciate Kou and Madoka. That said, I think they have served their purpose and the story should now begin to focus on other members of the Glittering Crux.

It has been a few episodes since my last post on this show, but aside from some Karaoke and late night shenanigans from Keito, nothing much happened in episodes 18 and 19. It doesn’t help that I’m not really a fan of either Kou or Madoka, as I find their characters rather shallow. Episode 20, on the other hand, threw a whole bunch of stuff at us that is worth mentioning, but my main focus is going to be on the how the modern trio of Sugata, Wako, and Takuto is eerily familiar to the one fully introduced in this episode.

The main thing from this episode was that we finally got to learn about the back stories for both Head and the Eye Patch Guy. Though it had already been heavily hinted at, Head is Takuto’s father, but the way it all went down was actually more interesting than I thought it would be. It is almost as if Takuto and Sugata are somehow reliving the events played out in the past between Ryousuke (Eye Patch Guy) and Tokio (Head) over Sora, but with some fairly substantial differences.

First, how can Sugata and Wako not remind you of Ryousuke and Sora. Both pairs are seemingly forced to be together, but yet it seems pretty clear that both Sugata and Ryousuke developed some feelings for the respective women in their lives. Then both Takuto and Tokio seem to come out of nowhere to kind of throw a wrench into things. That’s not to say that I expect Takuto to steal away and impregnate Wako, or for Sugata to rip out his eye anytime soon. Now while I don’t know who will end up with who in five episodes time, a conflict between Sugata and Takuto seems less likely now than it had been in current episodes, all evidence to the contrary.

I mean the show is clearly trying to build up some sort of tension between Takuto and Sugata. The kiss Sugata gave Wako while Takuto unknowingly watched just seemed like it could be the match to start the fire, especially after all the friendship stuff from Wako’s birthday. Further, it seems like Wako knows who she likes at this point, from the end of episode 19, and now might just fear the consequences of what might happen if she were to choose.

However, it would seem that given the limited number of episodes remaining, that all the plot threads are going to converge together in last one or two episodes. While what will happen with Keito’s seal, the forgotten members of the Glittering Crux, and the Departure are all important, it would seem to me that Head’s access to a new mark and the resolution to the Wako-Sugata-Takuto triangle will happen simultaneously. If that does turn out to be the case, I think Ryousuke will be extremely important to the story’s conclusion. I find it hard to believe that he is just supporting Head to see the conclusion of the Cybody project, as there must be some other reason he is there. I get the feeling that in the end, he will give Takuto or Sugata some piece of advice as a way to prevent the two from fighting, so that the two do not end up living with regret, as it seems he is. I mean the show is about living out your youth.

A few other interesting things from this episode is that the revelation of Takumi’s first phase certainly means that I’ll have to re watch this show sooner or later, because there were probably many instances in which he had a bird’s eye view of things, which may come into play later in the series. Also, while I had thought it possible at one point, I had all but given up on seeing more than two cybodies fighting in Zero Time at a time. But this episode debunked that line of thinking with Kou preventing Takumi from defeating Takuto. It’s hard to believe that all of the members of the Glittering Crux are so selfish that no one wants to help each other beat Takuto, because of the benefits that might come from being the group’s leader. It’s really the first big and fairly bad plot hole in the series.

One final thing is the episode stated that Sora had Takuto and gave him to Tokio’s father, but left soon after. I wonder where she went?

That was one hell of a way to shake things up. While the last episode was more of a conclusion to things that were really inevitable given the nature of the few episodes before it, this episode added a lot of things to this show that need to be discussed. First off, and most importantly I might add, were the introduction of Kou and Madoka.

OK. Not really. But still, do you even care what happens to Mizuno and Marino now after you’ve seen these two. I mean there is charm, and then there is “charm”. And Yuri. Unfortunately, I don’t think that these two are going to have any huge impact on the remaining episodes of the show, as they remind of some of the Knights of the Round from Code Geass in that they are there just for the sake of being there.

Anyway, back on topic. It seemed like the crux of this episode, aside from the volleyball scene anyway was about how things are becoming more serious, the consequences for your actions are real, etc, etc. I guess if you wanted to read into it more, you could say that the conversation between Wako and Ruri about choosing a boyfriend already was about the same type of thing.

Other things that seem to give off the general vibe that things are getting more serious is that Head( or Reiji) seems to have a sick friend in the hospital (something tells me that One of Head’s possible motivations for doing everything that he does is to save this friend, in a way similar to how Kanako saved Simone), the transformation scene at the Glittering Crux Meeting (which was awesome), and Mylene’s report to someone in the shadows, probably Kanako’s husband (which was meh).

All that aside, the one thing that seemed the most interesting in this episode was that Takuto seemed to be holding back in his fight with Madoka, as several of the characters commented upon. The only real change that has taken place is that the Glittering Crux is now in the third phase, so something may be fundamentally different. Accordingly, I found it weird that Takuto went to such great lengths to get Madoka out of her Cybody before it exploded. Perhaps, now that only people with real marks can pilot Cybody’s, the consequences for losing become more real. Going back to last episode, Head was almost decapitated when Takuto’s sphere went through his command sphere thing. Furthermore, it looked like Head escaped the blast by leaving the Cybody before it exploded last week.

It makes me think that Takuto did Madoka a favor by removing her from her Cybody this week, as she could have gotten hurt, for realz. One obvious hole in this theory is that Takuto didn’t help Head escape last week, but that could suggest that Takuto either didn’t care if he escaped or knew that Head could do so on his own. Regardless, it appears that as the show moves on, there are less and less safety nets for the Glittering Crux. It now seems that Cybercaskets provided a sort of protection for its users from the harsh realities of zero time, with potentially getting hurt from an explosion being exhibit A (I use harsh reality here, as that’s how I am referring to the real world in my last semester).

Harsh Reality, Exhibit B, is that someone could become stuck in zero time should the Glittering Crux fail to succeed in their plans for departure, which was the reasoning Head had for keeping Keito’s true identity a secret. Seeing as how the show isn’t going to kill anyone off, having someone stuck in zero time for any considerable length of time would seem to be the ultimate punishment that any character could receive. This possibility, along with the 50/50 chance of failing to reactivate a Cybody shows just how delicate the situation is for the Crux. I mean they are down to like 8 people with real marks, and many of their Cybody’s are broken. Aside from that, I’m getting this strange feeling that Keito is going to wuss out in the end and someone is going to be stuck in zero time because of her actions.

Still, all this just shows how complex things are getting on the island. Even more to that point is that even though people may be riding high at the moment, that doesn’t mean that they all don’t all have some sort of personal problems or won’t get knocked off their perch in an upcoming episode. I’m sure we’ve all felt on top of the world at one point or another, only to be brought down a few pegs right after. On the flip flop though, I’m sure that we’ve all been knocked off a horse once or twice in our lives and have gotten up. I only bring this up as it seems, at least from the new ending animation, that Takuto might be getting some help from many people he has already defeated.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t some big new revelation or twist for Marino’s disappearance, but that things were exactly what most had been speculating for a few weeks now. That Marino was nothing more than a creation of Mizuno. The only thing this episode did to solve that puzzle was provide us with the details. Now did Mizuno create Marino mainly as a way to avoid dealing being abandoned by her mother or was it to avoid Zero Time. I don’t know, and at this point it doesn’t really matter as there are other questions to answer.

This episode finally gave us a little background on Takuto’s past, and much to my surprise, Takuto hasn’t always been as galactically pretty as he is now. There was that nice flashback scene with his old friend Natsuo living life to the fullest before he died to illness, but I really don’t understand how Takuto’s recollection of these events led him to the fourth phase. Furthermore, I don’t really understand what Mizuno was doing in Takuto’s flashback, but it did give her a chance to draw parallels between her life and his, and that she needed to face her fears rather than run away from them. Still, I don’t know what it had to do with Takuto beating Head.

Don’t get me wrong, that fight between Takuto and Head was really interesting, and by far the best fight scene in the series thus far, but it feels like this show is only maintaining the status quo of having Takuto one phase ahead of the Glittering Cruz because the show doesn’t know what it wants to do. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Head after this fight. All signs point to Head being somehow related to, or being, Takuto’s father, so it would have seemed that if someone was going to beat Takuto, it would have been head. Now I don’t think Takuto knows who Head is yet (even though he was standing next to his father’s painting before he entered Zero Time), so there is still time for a few big twists and turns. Also, what will become of Head in the Glittering Crux now that he has lost? I imagine he will lose some credibility with his peers, but I don’t think he is just going to give up his badge or his leadership position without a fight.

As for Mizuno (and Marino), I really did enjoy their characters, even if there are a few glaring plot holes. I mean was it only Mizuno’s aunt who realized that Marino wasn’t real, or did other people realize it as well and just keep quiet about it, like they do with everything that involves Cybodys. Someone else must have realized that Marino just suddenly appeared one day. Regardless, this was a pretty good arc and I am sad to see Mizuno and Marino leave the show, and we even got a happy ending with their reunion. I suppose you could read into the fact that Mizuno is still able to use her first power abilities after having her seal broken and off the island, but I’ll let it go for now.

With all that said, it will be interesting to see who the Glittering Crux turns their attention to now. Will they go back after Wako or will they turn on Keito.

No Cybody fight this week, but this episode did a lot to bring the two big storylines closer to their conclusion. While I know a lot of people have been focusing on the Mizuno’s endless eight like experience, I thought the far more interesting storyline came from the very short segment between Sugata and Head.

First, given that Sugata must have figured out by now that Head was a part of the Glittering Crux, it was only natural for Head to finally offer him the position as the Emperor Squadron leader. While it seemed that Sugata was at first against the idea, his conversation with Takuto later in the episode about fighting for Wako did make me wonder what his motives were for this sudden change. That aside, the big revelation in this scene was that Head signed his painting the same way Takuto’s father did/does.

Now does this mean that Head is Takuto’s father? That would be pretty messed up if that were the case, but I think it is more plausible that Head somehow has access to Takuto’s dad’s memories after he apprivoised. This line of thought would require that Takuto’s dad would have at one point piloted Head’s current Cybody, which I guess isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but who knows. Star Driver does have a way of pulling things out of left field. However given that this show has already used some time/age altering plot devices, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that time passes differently for some characters (I thought that it might be possible that time passes at a different rate on the island than on the mainland, but it seems that Mizuno’s aunt recognized her now returned mother fairly easily, so that theory doesn’t seem to hold any water).

Then there was poor Mizuno. Not only did she have to deal with the news that her mother had returned to the island, but she had to hear the aforementioned conversation between Takuto and Sugata, in which she deduced that Takuto liked Wako, and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It now seems even more likely that Marino doesn’t actually exist than it did last week, especially considering that Mizuno likely created her as some sort of coping mechanism after her mother left. One thing I would like to know is if Marino really is just a figment of Mizuno’s power, does she realize it and does she have her own thought processes.

Regardless, I thought that Groundhog Day sequence was very well done and in such a short time period at that. I didn’t really understand Wako’s explanation for how she figured out what was going on, or why she and her grandmother didn’t keep a better eye on Mizuno after taking her in, but those are minor complaints to an otherwise very good episode.

Looking ahead to next week from the previews it seems like Takuto might finally lose to the Blue Cybody shown, but I wonder it will be interesting to see if this is the true form of Sugata’s Cybody or if it is Head’s. Additionally, it will be interesting to see what Keito and the Glittering Crux do with Mizuno. I find it weird that Keito would tell Mizuno how to leave the island, when it seems that there needs to be some sort of ritual performed, but maybe Keito isn’t all that bad (probably not, I mean did you see the above picture?). Still, all signs point to a lot of things happening in the next episode, so it should be good.

For a show with a rather ridiculous premise, Star Driver sure is expecting a lot out of its viewers. Could you see the revelation that Head knew who Keito really was? Sure, if you wanted to analyze every little piece of information (end of episode 4), you probably could have deduced that Head knew who Keito was, and that the Glittering Crux would inevitably find out that Mizuno was a maiden. But still, it seemed a bit too convenient.

That aside, this episode did give us a few new things to consider, the most perplexing being if Marino is really even a real person. From, the flashback scenes in this episode, it seems like Mizuno was the only one who existed in the past (the new OP seems to suggest this), but then again this could have something to do with Marino’s trauma with her Cybuddy. Still, we don’t exactly know what Mizuno’s first phase power is. I mean can she talk to birds, or is it possible for her to create another person?

One interesting note is that this episode finally seemed to confirm that people who pilot Cybuddys can access the memories of those Cybuddys. While it certainly seems that Takuto is one of only a few who can fully understand these memories, it is interesting to wonder if the Cybuddys can alter the moods of the Star Drivers. Since it seems pretty clear that Ayingott was evil, you have to wonder if it gave some evil thoughts to Marino, which may have caused her visions of her nonexistent past. On the other hand, if Marino is a creation of Mizuno, maybe she will inherit these evil traits. Either way, it finally seems that there will be some tension between the sisters in the next episode, though there were some hints in this episode that signaled rough waters for our favorite pink haired twins.

There were some other things that also intrigued me in this episode. For such an inconspicuous character, I was a bit surprised to see that Sarina was even shown in the OP. She did play a fairly pivotal role in this episode by choosing Mizuno and Takuto for the kissing scene. I wouldn’t be surprised if she first had to run this by someone more important, as it seemed like she could have easily given those two the part when Mizuno first brought it up.

Then there was what seemed to be the final Head/Sugata interaction for a while as Head left during zero time to return to the Glittering Crux, which pretty much signaled to Sugata that he was indeed part of the Glittering Crux. This does raise a few questions though. How was Head able to stay in black and white view when Zero Time began so that he could initially fool Sugata? From this, it would seem that Head has reached the 3rd phase at the very least, and likely has reached higher stages. Finally, what will Head do with Keito down the line? It appears that he is the only one who knows Keito is a maiden, but it seems like all of the seals will eventually need to be broken (though the pacing of this series suggests that all four seals will not be broken). What will he do when that time comes?

Though still pretty interesting, this episode seemed like kind of a let down after the last arc. It’s not that I don’t like Benio or any of her antics, but as the title suggests, I felt that the episode featured too many of them. With that in mind, this episode provided a few new pieces of insight on the story, even if it felt like we had seen it all before.

Seriously, I sometimes wonder if Star Driver is really about Takuto, which is probably a good thing and probably done on purpose. Still, since every episode features an opponent of the week, and more recently Sugata’s interactions with Head, I don’t feel as though we have gotten any plot development on Takuto since episode 8 or so, and the show seems to have completely forgotten about Wako. This reliance on weekly supporting characters is kind of the show’s Achilles’ heel, in that if you don’t really like that week’s character, you aren’t going to like that episode. That’s not really a problem when the story centers around Kanako or Mizuno, but I have found characters like Benio and Keito not as fun to watch.

Though I loved Benio’s collection of awesome faces, more specifically her eyes, there were just too many things about her character that I didn’t like this time around. Her constant flirting with Takuto, for whatever reason, just wore thin with me, and it seemed like her character didn’t have enough to do, considering the scene with that kid confessing to her added nothing. Still, the revelation that her first phase power has lost its effect, though this has been hinted at earlier in the series, was fairly interesting, especially when you consider this week’s conversation between Head and Sugata. In that conversation, Head mentioned that the things people think they’ve lost were never really lost at all , which was in reference to his painting. I tend to get the feeling that Benio hasn’t necessarily lost her first phase ability, but that she may be focusing on other things instead. What this means for Sugata,  I couldn’t say, but it looks like he is losing some of his childhood harem of Wako, Keito, and Benio to Takuto, which probably doesn’t make him too happy. Or is he?

The other big plot line in this episode was that the Glittering Crux Brigade finally succeeded in regenerating a Cybuddy. Seeing as how Benio, and Filament in general, seem to be having a tough time in the Glittering Crux, it does seem like Benio took a big risk in being the test subject for regeneration test, and it also may be the reason she couldn’t use her first phase. Regardless, Filament does really look to be nothing more than a bunch of test subjects for the Crux, so that they don’t take any unnecessary chances with the pilots and Cybuddys that matter. Though it is interesting to see that this is the third episode since his defeat in episode one that has shown George, so I still wouldn’t be too surprised to see him come back eventually.

That is really all that stood out to me in this episode, though I will say it was pretty funny when Benio realized that she would have won if she hadn’t challenged Takuto in the real world before fighting him in Zero Time. You would have to think that sooner or later the Galactic Pretty Boy’s luck is going to run out, if for no other reason than for a change of pace.

I was not planning on making this list because I missed the starting point, like last year…and this year I’m four days away from when the ‘moment’ posts are supposed to end. But hey, nothing says I can’t make one big post for all my favorite moments in anime for 2010! I watched even less [...]

A theme that appeared in a few series this year was the power of the individual – the idea that anyone can make an important contribution, and often also the idea that what makes people different is what makes them valuable. Sometimes, this theme was used well (generally, when the concept cropped up more subtly/not as forcefully). Sometimes, it was used not so well. Frequently, though – in my eyes, at least – it was used memorably. Minor spoilers for Railgun and Liar Game, and slightly bigger spoilers for Occult Academy under the cut.

The power of the individual was a huge theme in Railgun. Of course it was; after all, Railgun was a series revolving around several super-powered people, and it enjoyed shifting its focus – when it wasn’t focusing on day-to-day adventures – to how its characters chose to use the powers they had. Supremely strong lead character Mikoto used her abilties to dole out justice in an often less-than-lawful way (even more so in the Sisters arc of the manga). Powerful (but weaker) sometimes-sidekick Kuroko also used hers to fight for justice, but she used the law as a tool. The actions personally taken by Harumi Kiyama were also motivated by a desire for a better world… and even later antagonist Telestina’s actions were, too, though her “better world” was decidedly warped. Yes, the theme of the power of the individual was employed heavily in Railgun – if you want to get critical, we were somewhat beaten over the head with it. The instance of this that was most memorable for me, though, was in Saten’s case. The superpower-less girl, who was so desperate to be among the ranks of the espers, was the finale’s true hero. Armed with a baseball bat, guts, and determination, she threw a major wrench into Telestina’s plans, and saved the day where her teleporting, electricity manipulating, and constant-temperature-keeping friends were unable to.

Railgun was set in a city in which those without strong powers were essentially taught that they were worthless. The message in Saten’s heroic scene was loud and clear: nobody is worthless, and everybody has the potential to do good. It was a message that popped up with regularity throughout the anime.

In Occult Academy, this message was something more like ‘even a wimpy, selfish jerk can save the world’. Fumiaki, also known as Bunmei, was easily unlikeable in the first three-quarters or so of the series, mostly because he was so incredibly quick to save his skin (even when it meant endangering others). As well as this, though, he, like Saten, struggled with feelings of powerlessness. And also like Saten, with a huge amount of bravery – which in his case was summoned up just in a nick of time – and aplomb, in the end he managed to save the people he cared about. Soon after, he gathered up even more courage, and sacrificed himself to save his friends and everyone else once again.

In addition to the two above, we have Takuto in the currently airing Star Driver, who is the new guy in a place where everyone else has deep ties to each other and to their home. He is quickly popular, but also very much an outsider. And he fights for what he believes is right, despite this meaning fighting against a force much larger than him. He stands out as an individual, and takes this completely in his stride, using this to his advantage or for fun.

Earlier this year, too, we had Angel Beats!‘s Kanade/Angel/Tenshi, who strove to do her best and preserve order, even when she was the target of some (mostly unintentional) cruelty. She fought against alienation and loneliness, as well as the SSS brigade, to do the job she felt she had to do. She did it well.

I think my favourite ‘power of one’ moment of the year, though, came in the fourth round of the tournament in Liar Game. Yukiko Abe, member of one of the opposing groups in the Liar Game, was initially cold, pushing away main character Nao when she attempted to form a friendship. As the round progressed, however, the two were able to get closer. When Yukiko was called “useless” by the leader she had placed all her belief and trust in, she was shattered. She opened up to Nao, and we saw flashbacks to her childhood, where she was abused by her parents and told she was stupid, worthless, and a burden. Of course, Nao’s response to this was to tell her that “no-one is useless”.

Nao soon proved her words right, as Yukiko became of vital importance in a manoeuvre that led to the protagonists turning the tables. Many people played a part in said manoeuvre; indeed, the success of it depended solely on people, quite literally, standing together. Without the cooperation of any single one of them, all would have failed. Yukiko was seen as the weak link in the human chain and she was targeted, but she showed her strength and pulled through.

I can understand how the power of the individual theme could be annoying, given its prevalence in anime and manga – particularly in those aired over the past year. But I think it’s a nice sentiment, and I believe that, when used effectively, it can definitely add to a character and to a work.

That’s it for Borderline Hikikomori’s Twelve Days of Anime series! Have a very merry Christmas, and a happy, healthy 2011.

Even though there were some segments of this episode that were pretty weird (see anything related to boxing), Kanako always makes Star Driver worth watching. Setting the strangeness of this and other episodes aside, Star Driver has been doing a good job of developing its characters and setting up plot points for later on.

While Kanako losing to Takuto was nothing new and pretty much expected, the events, both before and after the fight were pretty interesting. Mizuno’s seemingly childish response to Kanako, in which she explained why people couldn’t use magic anymore, seemed pretty weird and out of place on its own. However, by combining this scene with what Kanako said about becoming the demon king so that the world can go on does leave some room for imagination. It makes you wonder if Takuto is doing the maidens and everyone really, a disservice by preventing the Crux from reaching new stages.

Perhaps Kanako, who seems to think she is in a position to do good, believes that if she can beat Takuto she will be able to unblock whatever is keeping people from using their magic. Now to say that Takuto is the show’s antagonist wouldn’t be right, but it is pretty selfish of him to prevent the rest of his classmates from reaching the next stage, while he gets to build a harem that will stand the test of time.

Speaking of his harem, it appears that Takuto tried to consolidate his hold on both Kanako and Simone/Pamela. Kanako’s newfound desire to kiss without the glass after being defeated says volumes about Takuto’s appeal. However, I thought the most interesting interaction this episode was between Takuto and Simone. Though you have to give credit to Takuto for casually working in that beautiful eyes line to Simone, she seemed to realize that he had used that line in the past, and we know that he did on Marino in episode 10. You have to think that this is going to come back and bite in the ass in future episodes, as pulling off the harem is difficult to do, but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet.

Then what would an episode of Star Driver be without Sugata brooding over what his next move should be. That scene with Head was nice in that it showed that Sugata still hasn’t done everything that he wants to, and that his actions in the last episode weren’t his ultimate goal. While I suppose its possible that he didn’t want to help Takuto in this fight due to fairness concerns, its also possible that he wanted to see Takuto lose. On another Sugata related note, I thought it was interesting to see Keito ask so many questions about him at the Brigade meeting. Knowing that she and him have some sort of past, it will be interesting to see what she will do in the future, especially considering that she hasn’t lost the ability to pilot her Cybuddy yet.

Finally, there was that comment of Kanako’s, in which she stated that she would not be able to compete in the Olympics even if she wanted to because of the Crux’s plans for departure. Now I know that these pilots call themselves Star Drivers, but it would be pretty out there, even for this show, for some events to take place in space. However, given the similarities between Zero Time and space, I suppose it wouldn’t be that big of a leap. I mean, the show has taken the time to show that there are a lot of people in the world with a stake in the Crux’s operations, so it would have to be something pretty important for them all to drop a large chunk of change.

I’ll start this post off with a confession: I have a thing for side characters. You know, the ones who don’t get as much of a turn in the spotlight as the lucky main few; the ones who aren’t the stars of their series. Maybe they’re the ones who should be or could be, though, and at the very least, they help the stars shine brighter. I love these characters. I’m not sure why, either. Perhaps it’s that the lack of character development allows me to theorise endlessly about potential hidden depths. Or perhaps it’s just the fact that if a character has less screen-time, there’s less potential for them to be irritating. Regardless, this side character fascination is certainly there. Throughout 2010, we were presented with a wealth of delicious flat characters – ‘flat’ in the sense of a lack of character depth, of course – in anime, and I want to take a look at some of them here.

I suppose the girl featuring in my current avatar is as good a place to start as any, eh? Aoi Yamada of Working!! is largely a mystery. What we do know about her is as follows: she’s a klutzy, incredibly blunt, drama-mongering, supposedly sixteen-year-old girl who fancies herself a ‘super waitress’, has a huge collection of disguises and is inexplicably good at bugging people. Aoi is also a fantastic comedic side character. She’s entertaining and charming, and she also brings out the funniest in everyone around her, whether they’re members of the main cast or not. To quote what I said in my final post on Working!!, “I honestly think that her addition [to the cast] directly or indirectly led to each character’s funniest moment of the series”. One more Working!! character who definitely deserves mention is Maya Matsumoto, who only had her first real lines in the last episode of the series. Her obsession with normality was what set her apart from her bizarrely-behaved coworkers… and it was also what makes her fit perfectly among them, as it caused her to act as strangely as the best of them.

Another creator of hilarity and easily one of my favourite side characters of the year was Railgun‘s Mitsuko Kongou. Mitsuko toed both the fanservice character and gag character lines, but got a bit of development as well and a crowning moment of awesome (or two, arguably) to boot. She’s essentially presented as the ojou-sama with the giant ego. She’s confident to the point of boastfulness, and self-assured to the point of narcissism, and I loved her for it. We got hints, though, too, of her private persona being quite different to this – she seemed a lot milder and kinder to her friends, albeit not less boastful, telling them stories about how she single-handedly brought down one of Railgun‘s primary antagonists with ease. I think she’s fantastic, but I don’t at all think she could have carried Railgun. (For the most part, it was too laid-back for all Mitsuko all the time.) She was, however, both an excellent rival to Kuroko and an excellent unknown rival/self-proclaimed friend to Mikoto.

Sometimes, side characters don’t have terribly much to say or do. If we’re lucky, though, whatever they do end up saying or doing is hilarious. Angel Beats! had TK with his nonsensical English backed up by an array of dance moves, Seitokai Yakuindomo had Satomi Arai playing another schoolgirl lesbian in the snarky and slightly depraved Ranko Hata, and B Gata H Kei had the permanently cheerful and cheerfully frank Mami Misato. But perhaps the ultimate scene-stealer of the year was Milky Holmes‘ unforgettable Twenty. Milky Holmes actually had a few characters like this – another notable example being Arsene/Henriette’s chest, which seemed to have a mind of its own - but even in a show full of people with little tethering them to reality, Twenty managed to stand out the most. Whether he was stripping at an alarming pace, showing off his incredibly pointy nipples to the camera, moaning and screaming in Engrish about how beautiful he was, or going on a date with a hug pillow of himself, he demanded attention.

There were the usual side character duos, too. Occult Academy‘s sardonic janitor Smile and cheerful goth JK begged many questions. Why were the two of them always together? How was JK able to consume so much pudding? Why was Smile permanently wearing a smiley face badge, and what the hell was up with his giant spanner? Even more mysterious were Durarara!!‘s Erika Karisawa and Walker Yumasaki. Prone to fast-paced banter and off-the-wall conversations on topics ranging from fandom to philosophy, the two also displayed a wide variety of skills and prominent sadistic streaks. In addition, they made an excellent couple.

Lastly, we had – or should that be ‘have’, given she’s in a still-ongoing show? – Ruri Makina of Star Driver. … Yeah, she’s kind of only here because she reminds me of Utena‘s Wakaba, somehow. I’d love for her to get even comparable character development to Wakaba; I really want there to be more to her than “Her specialty is meat and potatoes!”. Star Driver, I have faith that you’ll deliver. Don’t let me down!

Okay, that concludes day five of Borderline Hikikomori’s twelve days of Christmas. Who were your favourite anime side characters of 2010?