What They Say:
Amane is using the information Team Doberman gathered to plan the next big attack. But she needs all of Earth’s forces to participate in the operation for it to succeed. Can she win the world’s leaders over?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Having seen the war come home in a closer way in the previous episode that got a lot of the general population to finally realize there is a war afoot, the damage has been done and the losses have been dealt with. The emotional closure will take a lot longer, but we see some of that at the start here with some that have passed and the way it must be dealt with. Though the character side of it means little to me at this stage of the series, I really did like the way that the prologue with it was done in complete silence and given the proper reverence needed for it to be dealt with. Usually we’d get some music or even a bit of dialogue, but silence is golden and worth a thousand words here.
The rest of the team members out there aren’t sure how to deal with the situation themselves as the losses for Team Doberman aren’t easy to process for these young pilots who are only beginning to grasp what’s happening. While they do their best to comfort each other in their own ways, the military command is moving closer to pushing their plans forward and trying to decide the right way to proceed. They do take something from the losses as there was a lot at stake with the mission and they knew what they were asking, but they’re also looking at the bigger picture as well and are figuring out how to best deal with the gate that can stop future reinforcements. Of course, even they’re at the whim of those above them in both the military and civilian command, and have to proceed with those understandings, so they know who the true leaders are. But they’re also intent on getting what they need from them, going so far as to show them what the plan truly is.
There’s a fair bit of political wrangling going on here that’s dealt with and a bit of an exploration of what the Wulgaru that are collaborating with humanity have to say about the gate and their chances. But a lot of the episode just plods along with little going on beyond some character movement at times, including a feeling that’s pervasive that it’s becoming harder to fight without know more of the truth. The truth is kept very minimal and limited when we get an idea of what happened with the princess and her flight to Earth, and about how the pilots are unique in the way they are for a related reason that is essentially danced around but is plainly obvious. It’s not a surprising twist overall, one you could see plain enough, but it’s an aspect of the show that hasn’t been given much attention in general and just comes across as understated and almost too laid back when it’s revealed here.
In Summary:
While action and choreography can save this series for me at times, when we don’t get any of that, it proves to be fairly dull as dishwater. This episode wants to spend its time building the import of what’s to come with destroying the gate, but it wants to go through the political aspect of it first and deal with some of the subplot material. Which can be done well and made engaging, but it had to have had those foundations laid down over a dozen episodes ago. Instead, it just feels plodding and uneven, from the emotional closure moments at the start to the awkward interactions with the military and civilian command later on. The show is one that I still feel has some good and engaging ideas about it but continues to not only fall down in execution but also hits itself repeatedly over it.
Grade: C-
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.
