Short Synopsis: Haru buys a flying jetbike and searches for Akiyuki.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6,5/10 (Lacking)
Ah, COME ON! Things went so well! The past few episodes followed so naturally on each other, and then the series comes with this. How did Haru know the exact place Akiyuki would be at? Why the heck did she appear on the exact moment that he reached his limit and jumped to his death. I really expected better from this series at this point.
I mean, what’s wrong with just Haru, arriving at the village, searching around a bit and finally finding Akiyuki? They could have still used the failing flying motorbike as an excuse to explain Akiyuki’s flying powers. I think that the producers here made a slight error. This episode was a clear ending to the third quarter of the series (the next episode looks like the start of the return of the storyline!), and the creators realized too late that they reserved too little time for the reunion between Akiyuki and Haru in the final episode of that quarter.
Thankfully it’s doesn’t seem that this error is going to snowball itself into the rest of the series, it’s only the reunion between Haru and Akiyuki that felt really rushed, nothing more. The next episode looks like it’s going to be just as good as the rest of the series, but it really remains annoying. It breaks flow, in a way to have such a blemish at such a late point of a thus far perfect series. Ack, such a shame!
I have to agree. After 18 episodes, it was a total shock to see Haru suddenly dues ex machina into Akiyuki. I rewatched it to see if there was something I missed, but I didn’t catch it.
I think I can forgive it if they avoid such mistakes in the rest of the episodes. I’d almost rather they ignore it than have it explained away in an offhand comment next episode.
Bah. So she just happened to arrive at the exact right moment. It’s not that hard to assume something like her asking around the town about him happened when we weren’t watching. They really did stuff a lot else into this episode, after all. Mostly, I’m a sap, and couldn’t care less about a coincidence very minor compared to the shit that sometimes gets pulled in fiction if they watch themselves from here.
Also, it may just be the image of Akiyuki’s and Haru’s positively awesome new character designs seeping into my head, but I only just realized how much I appreciate the way Xam’d does things. Because it at first looked like an action show, before I was constantly a bit bored with the nagging thought of how long it was taking for anything to happen. But if you know what to expect, it’s really wonderful how mellow a show this is. It simply goes about its job putting on a mostly quiet show of the characters’ emotions, and e v e r s o s l o w l y developing the rising conflict between the North and South. Those characters, too, are very unique next to most things-even if Akiyuki stands out only for his amazing blandness as a protagonist, watching his development is a vaguely enjoyable experience. That, at least, is an improvement over E7, where character development involved extended periods where near everyone was extremely fucking annoying. And even though it didn’t look to have a strong female cast at first, even though all the Xam’ds shown have been guys, it’s the women who get the best development.
So, yeah. For the first time, I can’t wait for more of Xam’d. Sorry for the long-ass comment.
wow, you guys are epic fail if the fact that Haru finds Akiyuki without being explained how before hand ruins this episode for you.
because that is just what it is.
As unlikely as their reunion was, i think it is an overstatement to say that it ruined the episode. I would rather they not waste time showing her looking around for akiyuki and assume it happened off screen than take time away from the meat of the episode.
uhh, didn’t the guy who sold her the air bike give her directions to that instatute after asking about someone coming by? That’s enough explanation for me. It was at the right exact time because it’s fiction and that’s how it is.
While the timing of their reunion is unbelievably coincidental in its perfection, that fact that Haru knows exactly where to find Akiyuki is not coincidental. In episode 16, the white-haired boy, Azami, projects his image into Haru’s cell and tells her that Nazuna, in Akiyuki’s father’s clinic, knows where Akiyuki has gone: “He is currently in lands to the north, near warm and gentle ocean currents, amidst immaculate hearts. At the summit of a tall tower, the darkness works to devour him. Please, save him, and lead him to the Quickening Chamber.” Then, later, the General locates the most likely location on a map.
Seems like a fairly precise description of Akiyuki’s location, down to the water tower.
Haru is beginning to remind me of Haruka Shitow from RahXephon, which is no bad thing since she’s one of my favorite female leads.
Also, apropos of nothing, that is Haru’s school armband that the floating eyeball eats, rather than her military armband.
The male Xam’d are interestingly passive; when Nakiami first encounters Akiyuki, she is disappointed that he is another male Xam’d; I wonder what a female Xam’d will be like? On the other hand, “Xam’d” is full of decisive, active human women. Among the male characters, only the emperor (presumably male) and Tojiro Kakisu seem to trying to drive an agenda forward, and both seem to be making a botch of it.
Oooooooh Good explanation dbm.
Well, Kujireika is a female Xam’d.
@Son Gohan: I totally remembered that about an hour after I commented, hah. She’s certainly not looking to be as passive as the males, though.
And I have to agree with frog, dbm just owned us all. Although, I could’ve sworn that was Akiyuki’s school armband that got eaten; why would Haru have bothered bringing her own?
@senerikfred
I was mostly commenting on the design of the armband: that is the high school bus pass armband (yellowish with vertical orange stripes), not the military armband (tellowish with orange medallion). When I first watched the episode, I had forgotten which was which.
But the symbolism makes sense if that is Akiyuki’s armband. Haru is trying to give back to Akiyuki permission to return to, and live on, Sentan Island (the bus pass); the eyeball doesn’t want that (since it wants Akiyuki to come find him instead) and so destroys that permission.
@Son Gohan – Kujireika is an a female Xam’d, but one created through an unnatural process and not by implanting a Hiroko seed. Guess we’ll see what she is like next episode.
I think that the eyeball might be either Furichis hiruko or some sort of embodiment of furichi. I dont really know why but the voices are similar to me and i dont understand why the eyeball would want akiyuki to kill him if it is his hiruko.
@Jako — there is an important scene after the ending credits, in which something is revealed about the eyeball. Did you watch past the end credits? When the eyeball first speaks, it recites the Hiruken “enemy” propaganda radio speach, using the same voice as the radio broadcaster.
@Jako- it explains at the end of the episode that the flying eyeball thing is the emperor not Furuichi.
I think Haru knew exactly where to go because Nazuna knew exactly where he was. Maybe it is possible that she knows the future. The white haired kids are considered the Gods of Tessik. Maybe there is more to them than we think. Also Haru was trying to get to Akiyuki as fast as she could because she knew he was going to jump.
You really don’t believe in coincidents. They do really happen you know.
I was immediately thinking of Eureka 7 when I saw the wings. XD Couldn’t help it.