I remember when Zegapain first started, I was really turned off by its first episode, so I dropped it without giving it much of a second chance. In the end, though, this series turned out to be pretty capable. While it starts out like any other series does, with a typical teenager who just lives a normal life and gets to meet a cute girl and pilot a big mecha (like an expert as well), it gradually evolves into a fascinating post-apocalyptic series, successfully degrading human beings in a bunch of computer bits.
This definitely is one of those series that doesn’t play all of its trumps right in the first turn. The whole mecha-fighting indeed does feel like a mere game to the lead character in the beginning, but gradually more and more about the setting of this series gets revealed. It’s basically the Matrix meets anime, though with differences I’m not going to spoil here.
The cast is likable, no character really feels wasted in the end, and overall it’s a pretty solid series, although it doesn’t hit any heights. My only gripe with the series is that the final bad guy hardly has any attention or development at all, and feels a bit shallow because of it. The action-scenes are also very prevalent throughout the series, but they hardly ever form any highlight. This is going to be a short review, because there’s not a lot that you can say about this series. Basically, there are some very nice ideas put into this series, and that’s the biggest reason why you should watch this.
| Storytelling: | 8/10 |
| Characters: | 8/10 |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 |
| Setting: | 9/10 |
This is by far the best mecha show I’ve seen. Like you said it starts out pretty typical of the genre but the melancholic feel the show takes on after a while is so awesome. I loved the atmosphere, and the ending song is a magical piece of work that fits the mood perfectly.
I didn’t think it was gonna be good at first, but the story twist was really nice and though it wasn’t the most exciting series I’ve watched, it flowed smoothly and I enjoyed it ’til the ending.
Aquarion on the other hand… ugh. I regret ever watching that.
Almost the exact same thing happened to me when I watched it. I watched the first 2 episodes, then dropped it cause it was uninteresting. As it turns out, Zegapain got good on episode 3 and it’s now one of my favorite cyberpunk/mecha series out there. (Noein still remains my favorite)