Okay, so with episodes like this one it may have been better to have recalled the old director, because with episodes like this one you need subtlety, and the new director sure as heck doesn’t have any. The result is that we have an episode full of character-development that may have been a bit too straightforward for its own good.
So yeah, my guess would be that this episode was the new director’s way to just get the character background over with, presumably because the first director either forgot it or didn’t find it too important. We learn how Haruka decided to become a shoe designer because she saw giant footprints when she was still a child. She also dated James Loan for a while because he was the first one to believe in her story about those giants. We also learn that Miyuki had lost her father in an accident when she was younger, and that’s why her grandfather ended up taking care of her.
On top of that, Flora’s sister busts our two male companions out of prison (finally), Flora herself starts realizing that she can’t just follow Dan and the other around for the rest of her life: she’s had her fun, so what’s next? Rouge also finally woke up again from her slumber. Overall, in terms of continuity this was a very valuable episode.
But yeah, the CHEESE. This also was a big episode for the romance, but without the subtlety that this series used to have it was just an onslaught of blushing, embarrassed faces and very cheesy smiles at each other. Oh, and lots of angst in Rouge’s case. That definitely was annoying and not near as good as the romance between Dan and Rouge during the beginning of the series. This is just waaaaay to predictable.
I’m really not sure what to think of the finale, the way it’s being set up. With a finale that’s going to be a cross between Kiss Dum and Macross Frontier, it really can go either way; it’s all going to depend on whether the new director decides to focus on his manly action… or his cheesy romance. Please let it be the former!
Rating: (Enjoyable)]]>
Basquash! – 20
Where’s the fun gone!
This show used to be so much fun and even the new soundtrack sucks compared to the old one.This series deserves so much better and I hope it gets it!!!
I think this episode needed no subtlety. What was subtlety going to do for it? And romance was hardly a focus on this episode at all, anyway. It was about background, development and progress. And I think they did it nicely.
And I think Miyuki needed and deserved very forward development. With her previously dwindling role and all, it was nice to see her get back her screentime and be able to develop smoothly. And it was also nice to see Flora honest with herself about travelling with the crew.
And back to the romance, it was very minute, and not meant for much I don’t think. And I think the blushes meant something romantically, but the rest of it hardly did. And I don’t care much for Rouge (or Eclipse) but I think her part was handled fairly well as well. It reminds me of ep 13 (I think) where we see Miyuki frustrated when she couldn’t find Dan. Yeah, there was the underlying romantic attachment, but it’s also the fact that she has to understand she’s losing someone close in a sense. For Rouge, she’s losing her identity (and her love/feelings). There’s no subtle angst for something like that. And we all saw it coming, and I actually think it would have been annoying if it didn’t happen. Sometimes, predictable is not a fault.
I don’t feel it going toward the romance. I think it’ll definitely play a small part, but something I appreciate about th new director is how much he continues to develop the characters and have plenty of action. I’m looking forward to everything that comes (especially the finale), but I don’t have my hopes up. (It’ best not to with basquash I think.)
I rather liked this episode, all the more compared to the previous ten episodes that went nowhere at all, this one at least gave way to the chters’ emotions and didn’t have so many dumb altercations. I hope the final ones would be as good as this one.