So, Robotics;Notes. I really appreciated it when you claimed to try and be as realistic as possible. The fruits of that were really visible in this episode’s best parts. However… don’t pull stupid stuff like what you did in other parts of this episode. Those parts didn’t really work.
The worst one was where the life of a young child was saved by… a parrot. Seriously, I could buy the robots perfectly. It’s part of your setting. But don’t randomly introduce superbirds. That just… makes no sense whatsoever without build-up. Beyond that, there were a few plot twists that didn’t sit right with me. This more has to do with personal taste, though:
– First of all, why did Kimijima Kou find it necessary to tell everyone about his evil plans? What point does it make? He could just kill everyone and have things over with. But then again, nobody could anticipate that damned bird…
– Second of all, brainwashing. I do not like the usage of this as a plot device for having characters do things they wouldn’t do on their own. It takes away all of their free will. It’s like saying “screw our differences, I was just brainwashed and I totally agree with you!”
– Third of all: why did you have to wreck a plane for that?
– Fourth of all, why the robot? The villain here is a bit of data. The focus should be on Frau and Kaito as they use some sort of Killballad H4x0rz to get rid of him or something. Why are the robots useful?
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)
I was very disappointed with the anime adaption here. I mentioned it in the shoutbox, but I’ll say it again here…
1) Tarou, the parrot. It didn’t hit me until this episode in the anime, but… Tarou was a big part of the big dude’s model and personality in the game. He didn’t really do anything that special, so it made sense that the anime didn’t include his presence that prominently, but you could consider him a mascot-ish character who appeared over and over until you warmed up to his unforgettable presence in the game. Then… when this thing happens in the game, it’s more like, “Oh, hey! Thanks, Tarou!” but in the anime, it’s like, “What… is this bird doing?” The bird was emphasized to be wacky and smart in the game every time he appeared on the big guy’s shoulder. In the anime, he just barely existed, so this was totally out of left field… I mean, it’s a ridiculous concept in general, but it didn’t seem that out of place in the game where it was completely uncalled for in the anime.
2) Aki’s sister is more of a plot device for Aki’s development than a direct character. The brainwashing is the conflict. I won’t say anything more than that at this point as the arc hasn’t concluded yet.
3) Everyone coming together was more exposition in the visual novel and the plane crash seemed to have done for a random entrance scene in the game, where it simply worked as such. I still can’t figure out why the plane crash didn’t work as well in the anime as the events were practically the same. Maybe it just looked over the top when animated? :/
4) Why are the robots useful? Because this show picks up on the mecha trope! Gotta at least try a mecha fight! ~_^
Okay. That doesn’t justify anything. But I’ll keep my lips shut for now.
I was excited about how the anime really surpassed the presentation of the game in the first half, but I suppose the format still lacks some storytelling elements. We will see what happens from here on out.
Juno, are you trying to justify the parrot scene?! Good god man, just give up.
In all honesty, the parrot didn’t work for me in the VN either. Still enjoying this show though.
OK, I see where’s you’re coming from, except that last part. They need the robot, or they won’t be able to get past the SUMERAGI.
I don’t even want to watch it anymore….
Ok. So I agree with everything pgsl points out but there’s one other thing… Why in gods name is everyone relying on a bunch of teenagers and a pos robot that can’t even move 5 feet. Where the fuck is the army… JSDF, USA, etc. This is world annihilation so what the fuck is everyone doing? From what I’ve seen SUMERAGI consists of 1 giant spider robot and maybe 300? infantry, what’s so difficult about this?
Actually, I think SUMERAGI is just the name of the robot. Problem is, Kou can hack anything with a computer so they need that shitty robot.
The whole monologuing scene in front of the plane with Kimijima Kou didn’t make any sense at all! The only thing he could have achieved with Ari would be to kill them before they got on the plane. What would have been the point of blowing her brains out anyway? It would have just removed one of his tools. He should have just shut up and killed them.
Also, if he had the time to get a girl out of the hospital and get to the airport he sure had time to grab a couple of goons and send them to the airport as well.
He can’t control just anyone.
Yeah, his exposition made absolutely no sense.
landing a plane normally would not have enough IMPACTO
Haha, yeah, they didn’t even bother putting the landing gear down. Which I’d assume you’d want to do even in a predetermined crash landing, for some cushioning.
This series wasn’t going for realism with the robots, after all. Oh well, I’m still enjoying it.
Went from finding this show charming at the start to… This. Wow they really dropped the ball on the concluding arc.
Man, 21 is even worse. I had such high hopes for this. Once you know who died, it ll went downhill.