“Clash! Space monster vs. giant robot!” (Gekitotsu! Ocho Kaiju Tai Kyodai Robo!)
“Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!”
Well, I’d call that going out with a bang. However, this is not the end (thankfully), as the third season has been announced. taste He sure loves ending seasons with a full cliffhanger. The first season wrapped things up with Kido’s men approaching Momo in the hot spring, and now this season with the mysterious girl in the kaiju suit. That’s always a sign of a good show – it leaves you wanting more.
This was an unabashed celebration of intelligence and loving what you love – as it should be. Robots and geeky interests have no expiration date, no age limit — and hey, you never know when your hobbies might come in handy in unexpected places. Sakata was in full hero mode here – it’s not every day a dream like that comes true. The juxtaposition of his leadership and being bullied was somehow poetic. The hobbies he gets criticized for are the ones that help save the world.
Boy, what an epic action scene. I love that they have a nod to Gurren Lagann with the sunglasses. Those fight scenes were a real treat – very elegiac, and very appropriate for the fight Sakata had been waiting for all his life. I was amazed by how he trained even for motion sickness by riding many roller coasters. Much to the chagrin of the girls, who are tired of motion sickness and take matters into their own hands to settle the fight once and for all.
Everyone gets their chance to shine – move over Sakata. Just when you think there’s nothing more you can do, Momo and Aira put their differences aside and team up to take down the big bad. The beauty of nanoskin is its ability to adapt to the users’ abilities and perceptions – to hilarious effect when the barrier breaks, exposing them to the general public, whose collective imagination turns them into a strange UFO.
After getting KO’d, our kaiju shrinks to only a fraction of the size, but that’s still a problem when everyone crowds around to poke, prod, and shoot him. After some quick thinking on Ocaron’s part and a hot pork bun later, Ocaron and Gigi book her out of there as quickly as possible, pulling the alien between them.
This is where things get even weirder. Okaron notices a head inside the kaiju (it scared Sakata and Jiji lol), and upon closer investigation, reveals it’s not a kaiju – but an adorable alien girl inside a suit. Not only that, Okaron also gets a good slap from the extraterrestrial visitor. Of course, Momo happened to see him, and as expected, he exploded in anger. Things end there, but I think we can imagine how the follow-up process will go, to some extent. Just who is this girl? Not even the credits say what satisfies us with the symbols where the name should be. Just wait until next time guys.
I think one of my favorite things about this episode, other than the epic kaiju robo battle that would leave Godzilla vs. Mecha Godzilla in awe, it was Evil Eye. His facial expressions and reactions to the events as they unfolded were hilarious. I have to say, the evil eye on me has increased throughout the season. At first he started out as a pain in the ass, but now I can see his adorable side – he’s really a little kid in a body that’s too strong for his own good, and we see that more clearly than now. All thanks to our group of weirdos who saw Evil Eye for what it is and refused to compromise. Good on them for that.
Looking back at the season – it was very strange. One of Dandadan’s endearing qualities is that she is not afraid to outdo herself. Just when you think it can’t get any weirder, he tops it off, like the cherry on top of whipped cream on top of a crazy sundae. The art direction and choreography continue to be mostly top notch – some of the best fight scenes of the year right there. Some of my favorite moments were Hayashi’s (almost) exorcism, the battle of musical genius, and the finale. This is not a show that just anyone can make, it takes complete commitment and a certain artistic prowess, and somehow, the staff manages to outdo themselves and the manga. Hats off to season 2 onwards to #3.
