The season draws to a close with action, action and more action. Awesome action.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the changes that have happened recently between Godou and Erica, the finale for the season (and series, at this point) is an interesting one as the fight that has to happen has to keep him out of the picture, at least for now. With Erica taking point and insisting that Godou flee with Athena since her death would cause the end of the world, all the girls end up coming together to fight against Metis. It’s rather neat seeing how they all come together so simply in a way while knowing that they’re all into Godou in similar but different ways. It’s a harem show in that sense to be sure, but it’s not a “typical” harem show with how all the girls interact and deal with each other. And with Godou being fairly manly and not an idiot for the majority of it either.
While it’s good to see how strong the girls are and how they’re not going at each other constantly, Godou is also someone who won’t let others always fight for him. He’s smart enough to know when to get out of dodge at least, but when events come at him full, he’ll stand tall. So while Erica and the others pull off a good fight with Metis as they intends to absorb Athena, it does come back to a fight between Metis and Godou. And with his position as a god-slayer, seeing him completely go at it, using his abilities in a kind of natural way rather than through a lot of training, really is exciting to watch since it’s not bound to any particular style or level of ability. Godou’s been able to “cheat” in being able to do whatever is needed at the time and it makes for some great visuals – and this episode is no exception.
Thankfully, pretty much the majority of this episode is all about the action and the budget is completely on screen. With the girls all having their individual moments, Godou powering up over and over and the dramatic moments hitting all the right notes, the fight against Metis is definitely filled with powerful segments. Each of them has their own piece that works really well, though it goes a little over the top when it comes to Athena and Godou making their bond together when it comes to the weapon. But considering who Athena is, and her ties to Metis, it makes sense for it to become “epic” in this way. And that does help to give it a sense of closure that’s appropriate for the season.
In Summary:
Campione is a series that, while a little uneven at first with what it was doing, really became one of my favorites of the summer season. There’s something different about it as it plays with the stereotypes but manages to not be just another cookie cutter piece. I loved the character interactions and dimensions given to it, I loved that Godou wasn’t just another wuss constantly. I loved the animation and character designs as well as the whole god slaying angle that was very well played. The ending here may feel a little rushed, but if it was ongoing it would just have meant that it would have lasted two episodes. We get everything in here, hit hard and binding the group together against a powerful threat that works well. Campione hit all the sweet spots for me this summer and as a whole has likely left me the happiest of all the shows I’ve watched.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
