Aquarion Evol – 15

So, it’s finally time for the love triangle to get somewhere. This is something that can easily get really annoying when the creators have no intention whatsoever of breaking up th emain couples, but heck: Kagura and Mikono emerged as better characters out of this episode. Kagura for finally showing a different side of himself than that raging beast (it’s about time here…) and Mikono, for finalyl doing something against her part as Amata’s true love (hah! I got his name right this time!).

Amata and Zessica meanwhile still need to have their moments in which they need to grow. Zessica is nearly getting there, but her growth entirely depends on Amata here: if he doesn’t change, the she’ll remain stuck in in her current dull part forever. You’ve just entered your second half, Aquarion, so the time for delaying is over now. You’ve got the luck that you’re an original story, so you can fully make use of the 26 episode format.

The whole Silvia & Apollo is something that I, as someone who didn’t watch the first season, didn’t really get, but a quick look on the internet showed that they are the two main protgonists of the first Aquarion series. I like how they didn’t go for the predictable “Amata is Apollo route. What I still dislike about this series is how it still adheres to “true love”: the way in which love is always decided and only two people are meant for each other. Amata is the only one who so far goes against that. It’s a problem that has been all over anime, really, and 95% of the attempts to subvert this just turn into harems or psueudo-harems. Chihayafuru last season was one of the very few series who got it right for me.
Rating: *+ (Great)
ED: Entirely dedicated to Yunoha? Okay. It’s just a pity that her voice actress can’t sing, though.

19 thoughts on “Aquarion Evol – 15

  1. A promise to reunite lovers after 12 000 years is hard to top, you can’t get more meaningful than that. Amata should have listen to Zessica, given his obvious lack of physical prowess and seeing the obvious build of Kagura… Amata pulp for all.

    1. “A promise to reunite lovers after 12 000 years is hard to top, you can’t get more meaningful than that.” – True, except of course the part where it’s creepy and possessive, at least the way Kagura goes about it. Found your destined lover but she’s on the enemy side? Attack her and try to kidnap her! Hurt her friends, kill her comrades! Shout about how she belongs to you and only you! (Important: don’t ask for her opinion, it doesn’t matter. How could she NOT want you, anyway?) Crash the car she’s riding in! (could’ve killed her? don’t be silly.) Keep her captive while you explain to her that you’re her destiny! How could this be anything but deeply romantic and completely healthy in every way? ^^;;

      (I really hope the writers are aware of how creepy this is, destiny or no destiny…)

      1. The thing is, Aquarion really teases with the destiny premise, while still not allowing itself to be bound by it. In the original show, it was unclear which characters exactly were the inheritors of Apollonius and Celiane. Here, too we don’t actually know who is who – sure, Kagura is very similar to Apollo, from his recognizing people by smell to the wild demeanor he exhibits. But then we have, of all people, Amata, who is similar to Sylvie (he was even hinted to have family ties to her), and thus Celiane – he possesses her wings, for example. But then, Sylvie is part Angel, meaning that Amata has both a connection to Celiane and Apollonius. Of everyone in the triangle, only Mikono has no clear connection to the reincarnation circle. I can see some of the original side characters as possibly having reincarnated into side characters of EVOL, but Mikono is not among them.

        Thus, while I’m certain that Aquarion will follow the destiny premise, it’s far from certain who has turned out to be the recipient of the aforementioned souls. This can go either way, but, judging from the previous show, it may also pan out in an entirely unexpected direction.

      2. Are u retarded? U missing the point here, the author trying to show Kagura a bad character by kidnapping Mikono. But have u thought about that he is all alone. For siliva, he nearly die! Though he might attack other people but because others are trying to attack him first? If u observed carely, he never hurts Mix.
        If u watched the season 1 u would support Kagura. For me kagura/appolon has no family, and dont have basic knowledge, so the weird stuff that he does is normal for him but not others. Creepy? Love is way beyond that

      3. kuromitsu,

        actually, you’re only stating your opinion from one side which is Amata’s side. you need to think from both sides. series nowadays have that, destined good guy belong to bad sides, hero breaks thru bad sides and reclaim the destined good guy. no one actually paid any attention to this because they don’t mind much about the bad sides. but really, Kagura got his own circumstances. and everything he’s doing, is pretty much everything what the good guys are also doing to get their beloved from the opposition

        1. >Stranger
          I’ve seen the original and wasn’t impressed by the romance, so I’m not interested in whether their reincarnations get together or not, regardless of who they’re reincarnated as. I’m interested in seeing a believable romance that works with Evol’s characters, preferrably without creepyness (and creepy is creepy no matter how much love is involved).
          Also, you’re right, all those kids watching the movie were totally attacking Kagura. And all those civilians in the city he leveled on Altair.

          >Hachikuji Shiro
          Except in *this* show the good guys are not doing anything like what Kagura is doing, and Kagura hasn’t been heroic so far. Or should we accept everything that he does just because he might be the reincarnation of Genesis’ main character, and because he makes fangirls squee? (Never mind that Apollo wouldn’t have done the things Kagura is doing…)

  2. I watched the original show. The Apolo/Sylvie was just referenced the same, as this show.

    I didn’t know that the Apolo/Sylvie romance was ‘Forbidden’ for some reason. And this still needs a little explaining or expanding on before the end of the show.

  3. I don’t get a couple of things. Why does everyone think Kagura is Apollo? I really really doubt he is, for a couple of reasons:
    1. Amata is the main character, which sounds flimsy but remember that this is an anime.
    2. Kagura, with his personality, is way too obvious. Not only that but this reeks like that same stunt the first series tried to pull with ‘Is Sirius actually Apollonius instead of the main character who is named Apollo and who reverts to Apollonius’ personality from time to time’?
    3. Amata has The Wings of the Sun. Kagura doesn’t. Sylvie had had a wing herself, that is true, but it was only one, on her arm, and it wasn’t The Wings of the Sun. That’s basically THE defining mark of Apollonius’ reincarnation.
    4. Kagura’s personality may be similar to Apollo’s, but Apollo’s personality was entirely different from Apollonius’ (‘angels have mouths so they can sing praises to God’) in the first place, just like Celiane was hardly Sylvie (who was a tsundere with a brother complex). That, and it’s way too convenient.
    and 5., the most important: Mygake. If Mykage is Toma, which the series pretty much said he is… then why would he ever encourage Apollo and Sylvie’s relationship? EVER. In the first series he’d have left the world to rot if he could have gotten his ex-lover back, his reasons now could be similar. In fact, the world WAS almost destroyed because Apollo didn’t awaken and didn’t pollinate the Tree of Life in time (as was vaguely explained in this episode), and I distinctly remember Sylvie not being in the gattai that saved it.

    There was also Fudou’s comment from last episode to Mikono ‘you haven’t changed at all’, which seems a perfectly natural thing to say… if you’ve never seen the first series. Mikono is not like Silvia at all; Silvia was a lot more similar to Mix, or to a high-strung Zessica, if anything.

    …actually wait a moment. Sylvie/Silvia’s power was psychokinesis. Zessica can also move objects. And Zessica wore Celiane’s armor in the ED…

    1. I’m with Anca on this one, I think Amata being the reincarnation of Apollo is the only thing that makes any sense given what we know about the original series. Kagura, with all those alarm bells screaming “O HAI I AM CARBON COPY OF APOLLO”, was probably implanted with fake memories by Touma/Mikage to mess things up. Kagura might even be a reincarnation of Sirius – a bit far-fetched, but it would make the whole “forbidden lovers” angle more plausible.

      1. There’s a strong possibility that you two are right. However, there are two problems.

        One, you both completely ignore that in the original series, the Aquarion itself was the reincarnation of Apollonius’ ‘wings of the sun.’ Many people believe this may be what Amata actually is. And it would fit. This doesn’t make you wrong or anything, it’s just a strong possiblity that you both ignore.

        Two, not really a story point but your idea would actually be sort of sad from a writing standpoint. It would mean they’re using a somewhat original reincarnation story (hero becomes the badguy) as a red herring for a really cliche reincarnation story. A lot of people are HOPING that Kagura is Apollo, just because it’s more interesting.

        1. I’m not hoping that, because I don’t even like Kagura. The way he has all of Apollo’s bad qualities, with none of the good really rubs me wrong. Rather I’m hoping that Zessica is Silvia’s reincarnation rather than Mikono.

          Ultimately, the Wings of the Sun were Apollonius’ wings. Apollo manifested them a couple of times, as Apollonius’ reincarnation; Sirius and Silvia didn’t. It’s an interesting idea that he might be Aquarion, but… well, Genesis was never of the ‘mecha with souls’ stories.

          And, of course, you are ignoring the Mykage angle.

  4. I would suggest that the VA for Yunoha made an intentional choice for singing in character, since Ogura Yui does sing passably well, normally.

    That aside, I do look forward to more lines from Kana Hanazawa aside from Zessica pinning for Amata. For whatever reason, I get the feeling though that Kagura and Amata represent two sides of Apollo. Similar after a fashion to Sylvie and Sirius. As for the why Apollo’s soul would split in this next cycle, I’m struggling to find a reason for it, but it would explain how Mikono finds herself constantly split between the two.

  5. Yes, finally – I like/understand Kagura a lot more after this episode. All that trash he was talking, turns out his speech is set to Opposite Day! Except when talking to Amata; pretty sure he doesn’t like him.

    Another awesome touch: using his reverse element power to put Mikono’s getaway car…in REVERSE. Shoji Kawamori must have a thing for Lancia Delta Integrales, because Ranka Lee’s bro Ozma also drove one.

    Glad Zessica finally spoke up; too bad Amata was to distracted to hear her. We’re hoping the series has more in store for her than Designated Piner; there’s eleven episodes to make it happen.

    ED: Chipmunk on Helium. I miss the FFX’d-up character drawings.

  6. This was a better episode for the main characters than the last few, with some actual forward momentum. But they need to keep it up. I feel like this show has wasted a lot of its potential from the first 7 or so really fun episodes with a somewhat dull second quarter.

    Zessica needs to do SOMETHING, Amata and Mikono are actually more dull all the time (although this was a step in the right direction), etc.

    That said, while I normally am a big fan of the ‘screw destiny’ plot, this situation is different. If Kagura is Apollo and Mikono is Sylvia, they SHOULD end up together. Otherwise the first series becomes horrifically depressing. The whole point of the ending was they’ll get their happiness in 12,000 years. I understand that sucks for Amata, but it’ll be a big slap in the face of original series fans if they get split up.

  7. I did not watch the first season, but garnering the information I received from both the comments and the anime: destiny is shit.

    Seriously, what is up with all this reincarnation and destiny themes? You’re born to live life the way you please, not some memory your ancestor shoved into you and so they could fulfill their promises through you. That is the vilest form manipulation anyone could put on a person, ‘fuck, your choices and wants, I’m going to force you to do what I wanted to do for the past 12,000+ years and you can’t do squat about it!’

    Kagura, you are a puppet. Mikono, you are more indecisive than most girls. Amata, grow a pair. Zessica, just tell the idiot you love him and work at it.

    As for the rest of the characters, you development is ballin’ right now, I can see Mix, Andy, Jin, Yunoha and the rest getting thing act together.

    1. The first series played with this opinion as well. Well, when it cared – most of the times the characters didn’t care about being reincarnations. The most it was used was when Silvia was trying to use it as an excuse for wanting to bone her brother.

  8. Dunno about you guys but..why do i’ve this kind of feeling that mikono and her big bro,cayenne are like related to silvia and sirius.. and who knows that amata could be the reincarnation of amata.

  9. No ma mi arrangio. provo ricttee trovate in giro, le personalizzo. mi piace metterci sempre qualcosina di mio in tutto quello che preparo. Ben tornata. Passato delle belle vacanze? baci. vivi

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