What They Say:
New York has a new Mayor that is in support of esper relationships, at the same time Hyobu and Andy work their way into the USEI facility only to discover…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The Unlimited has certainly been busy in the last few episodes, though it’s had a certain energy about it from the start. While we had some minor down episodes here and there as it fleshed out the crew that Kyosuke works with, there were still action pieces and dramatic tension brought into it that kept it moving. With the expanded reveals on his past, everything shifted into a faster gear, especially with the assault on his ship that resulted in really throwing him off his game. With Andy’s position now clearer and a certain understanding with the BABEL folks after what’s happened, to the point where they even helped to heal him in secret, he’s ready to get back out into the world and do what’s needed. Which lands him and Andy in New York for an interesting twist.
The push to figure out more of what’s going on has the pair manipulating an election to put someone into power that they want there, which is done at the same time that Fujiko and others back at BABEL realize who may be behind it as there’s a distinct Japanese slant to it all, which brings to mind Eiji Saotome. While BABEL pursues that, Kyosuke and Andy get deeper inside the USEI facility, which they realize is connected to the State Department as well, and understand that they’re working towards biological collaring rather just plain sight branding in order to control the various espers out there. With the mindset that many of them are simply monsters, it makes sense from their point of view. But similar to what the military did back in World War II, it’s just making Kyosuke even angrier and making a monster rather than taming or controlling it.
But what we find is that they do have a strong reason for going this route as they have a number of precognitive images of the future, showing how a group of espers have caused massive destruction and widespread chaos, which was caused by the Queen of Catastrophe that Kyosuke has been courting all along. This just shifts things into a big action aspect for a good part of the second half as Kyosuke and Andy now know what the deal is here and set about stopping it as best as they can, though there’s quite an array of opponents to face. It’s good to see that the two have found a certain level of understanding here to work with each other, though Kyosuke is a bit surprised by Andy at times throughout it. Both men harbor secrets and having that realization hit makes it a bit easier for the two to stand together against a common foe in the here and now, one that’s really well choreographed and animated.
In Summary:
While there are some very good action pieces to be had here throughout, a lot of what makes this episode work is the character material side. Kyosuke and Andy have had an awkward path since the start for obvious reasons, but they come to a really good middle ground here that allows it to work. The bigger problem is getting PANDRA to accept him at this point, but as we’ve seen with the group before, they have a certain way of working that allows them to come together for common cause. The reveals here are certainly interesting as it progresses, from how things are moving along on the American side of things to the mysterious Japanese person that may be further at the heart of it. But making clear the precognitive aspect showing what it is that the Queen will one day do, and making that as the impetus for what they’re experimenting with when it comes to espers, it does make a certain sense. There’s a lot to like here and a number of fantastic moments of animation and direction that simply makes it exciting and engaging to watch.
Grade: B+
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.
