And with this, we’ve reached the end of Gen-ei Hen. And I have to say that it left with one heck of a cliff-hanger. It’s not like this episode didn’t provide closure to the whole OVA: it was a great ending. But I’m just so curious as to what’s going to happen next. Before that will happen though, there still are two spin-off movies in the way.
Beyond progressing the story, the entire Gen-Ei hen was meant to bring all of major Votoms installments together, so it’s very fitting for this final episode to bring Wiseman back. It’s interesting how he had this kind of back-up server ready, that may not have been able to rule the world like he did for the past 3000 years, but was enough in order to prepare a proper successor for his legacy, one who could even surpass Chirico in terms of intrigue.
The politics were also a bit interesting this episode: Gilgamesh and Balalant were too scared and didn’t do anything, while the Church did send the pope to Wiseman, yet in the end he just got killed as a bit of an aftermath to the Brilliant Heretic. It’s still very good to see what happened to him in the years that followed that OVA though.
Now, all that’s left is the three movies. What I’m hoping for the first two movies is that they’ll be good standalone stories, that at the same time flesh out the universe of Votoms. The third one however is by far the movie I’m looking forward to the most: Chirico and the Child of God have been picked up from outer space by what I guess to be Balalant forces. What is the point of the Child of God for Chirico? That’s going to be the central question to that movie, but beyond that I’m also clueless.
This episode also partially explains the promo art for the upcoming movie, and what Vanilla and Cocona’s children are doing there. It’s clear that they had no part in the Gen-Ei Hen, and yet they’re supposed to play such a big part during the “Alone Again” movie. Speaking of which: how does that title make sense? Chirico was alone anyway after what happened at the end of the Brilliant Heretic. At the moment he finally has company again that could replace Fyana (the Child of God), he’s about to meet those six children (who I’m also pretty interested in, by the way), so how is that title going to relate to what’s going to happen?
Still, the biggest mystery of the Alone Again Promo Art isn’t answered yet: what’s someone who’s supposed to be dead doing there?
OVA Episode Rating: 8,5/10
Actually, everything I’ve read, seen or heard about Alone Again indicates it’s supposed to happen before Phantom Arc and after Shining Heresy / Brilliant Heretic. That also seems to be how most Votoms fans on 4chan and elsewhere are interpreting it.
In other words, if that’s the case it’s absolutely unlikely that the cliffhanger will be resolved in Alone Again. That is, at least, unless they include some flashforwards.
The two other productions are spin-offs that might be good on their own, but since they almost certainly won’t involve Chirico I’m not hoping for too much.
And yet, I think fresh takes would be a good idea. I think even Takahashi acknowledges the need for innovation.
Speaking of which, are those two new upcoming series/ova’s that were shown at the Votoms festival and are finally coming out pretty soon totally stand alone works in the franchise?