Rubénerd!

As far as blatant beach episodes go, Gurren Lagann's was surprisingly tame, and had a plot!

Plot: Hey, I just said it had one. Dai-Gurren and her (his?) fine crew have reached the coast, with no option other than to traverse it. Of course, once in the water this allows whatshername and whosits (what I call Adiane and Viral now) to launch an attack in their home territory. Well, Adiane's territory specifically. No wait, whatshername.

Hilarity: What Gainax lacked in their restrained RBE (below), they more than made up for with abject absurdity! Dai-Gurren's retrofitting, complete with a gigantic paddle and the giant feet converted to flippers had me giggling a little too loudly to be considered healthy!

The Required Beach Episode™: In short(s), the Required Beach Episode is nearly always included purely so the animators can dress their characters in various states of undress. Surprisingly, Gainax's Gurren Lagann beach episode was surprisingly tame. Not a single top "accidently" came off!

Relativity: Upon seeing the swimsuits of the Black Siblings, Yoko exclaimed their attire was "ridiculous". This coming from a fighter who wears a bikini top and hot pants all the time. I suppose for her they're just clothes, in which case it's relativity? I have no idea.

Explanations: So the reason they have to frolic in the water is entirely due to the fact Dai-Gurren's appearance of seaworthiness is merely a façade, and that a retrofitting will take time. I've seen far more tenuous reasons ;).

Blush: So it seems Yoko's hostility and general frostiness lately have largely been due to jealousy and an understandable sense of insecurity, both of which only became more acute as everyone lavished their attention on Nia this episode. Her accident with the food though showed she had a really cute side too... I'm unashamed, this is my kind of "fanservice". ^^

Art: Gainax's strong suit seems to be their skies and landscapes. The water in this episode looked fairly flat. Oh well.

Tactics: Having tried blowing them up, crushing them, shooting at them and tricking them, the enemies this time attempt to push Dai-Gurren's pressure limits underwater with some pretty evil looking hook things, from the comfort of their rather swish bridge. Clearly taking back the Gunmen isn't the priority any more!

Production: I'm not a media student, but splitting the screen up into frames to focus on all the chacracters faces, then having Yoko's hair drift over it before she whooped arse was just brilliant!

Cliche: After being outcast for much of the episode, we all knew Yoko would be instrumental in saving the day and winning everyone back, but it was still awesome to see her do so. Of course, Nia also has the unshakable belief Simon will save them; and the room in which she confesses it to Yoko proves to be another one of the more hilariously framed scenes!

Character development: After seeing Yoko portrayed as a more stubborn and cold person of late, we finally see her more caring side, while obviously still being a fiercely independent and strong person. The final scene at dusk where she and Nia bond while she cuts her hair was really sweet. I hope to see more of this :).

Conclusion: An episode I feared would be shallow turned out to be a great watch, with some real progress in the story and the characters. I approved!

After several depressing, mopey episodes, we finally have an epic one again worthy of being watched several times! Gurren Lagann is back!

Plot: Eager to take on the barbarians on the surface after two aborted attempts by his colleagues to do so, the tortoise looking Guame goes out to reclaim Dai-Gurren with the most amount of fan service and evil smurking he can muster. Of course, he fails!

Parody: Not content making subtle (and not so subtle!) jabs at anime stereotypes, Gainax parioed the song of the siren with a town comprised entirely of attractive (though eerily similar) young women in white robes. I've seen that screenshot above floating around the net for years!

Backfiring: By locking up Simon and the entire team in a room lined with rock to await their fate, little does Guame realise he was facilitating Simon's rediscovery of his talent and motivation in life, as well as restoring his honour amongst everyone who had started to doubt him.

Relationships: Was dissapointed in Yoko again this time, she was so ready to dismiss Simon again when things were tough. Fortunately Nia was a kind soul who took an interest in what he was doing, even when it was just digging and making sculptures of his lost friend.

Technology: After being pictured amongst the litter on the deck of Dai-Gurren (a mighty fine land ship Gunmen that lacks garbage chutes, much like Australian apartments) Lagann miraculously comes back to life and is able to come to Simon's aid. The key Simon has around his neck has incredible transmission strength!

Explanations: So my initial assessment of Nia's resting place as a status chamber was far more sinister. She and Simon understand now.

Legacy: Kamina is alive once again, through Simon. The epic moves, the passion and drive. Now all we need is for Simon's confidence to translate into some lovable goofiness, and we'll be all set. I'm confident he can do it :).

Flashbacks: When Simon sees Lagann after tunelling through rock. When he shoots into the air as its pilot and sees the rocky world below, with the epic sky; it was all the stuff episode one was again. A cliché english major at universitiy would claim it was a rebirth of Simon's spirit, though I would never say anything as cheesy as that.

Unanswered questions: How is a creature like that supposed to operate a firearm?

Heart tugging: When he broke through the rock into the air with Lagann the first time, it was with his bro, now it's with this really sweet girl whom he saved, and who was saved by. It was wonderful to watch :)

Conclusion: A real touch and go episode there at times, but I feel as though I'm watching Gurren Lagann again, and not a sad drama series; perhaps having those sad episodes just made me appreciate the epic ones even more. In any event, I'm excited to see what's ahead, how's Simon's character develops, and what mindf*cks I can expect. I've been told there are several!

Aside: This post was supposed to be auto-posted on Tuesday, but for some reason it only just went through. Sorry about that!

The first double digit episode of Gurren Lagann and progress seems to have stalled in solving some issues. At least they kicked arse again, quite literally this time.

Plot: Having rescued Nia from her cryogenic chamber thingy, Simon slumps back into depression given he feels personally responsible for his brother's passing. They're confronted by Adiane, one of the Spiral King's generals, but a combination of stalling tactics and ultimately getting their Dai-Gurren ship working enough again leads them to temporary victory. Not that it matters much to Simon.

Art: Lots of really nice clouds. I love clouds, it's why Sola was such an enjoyable (though sad) anime, and why I've always wanted a super wide angle Tokina lens for my D60. I heart clouds, and they provided some really beautiful backdrops.

Relationships: Strained. Despite seemingly having a crush on her in the previous episode, Simon's resurgent cold and distant emotional state renders him largely oblivious to her. Yoko's anger at what she sees as a talking down by Nia when she tries to apply logic to an emotional state only makes things more frosty.

Tactics: A gigantic Gunmen ship's best weapon isn't its artillery arsenal (or Manchester United), but the feet it walks on and their ability to kick. Not roundhouse kick though, that's a Chuck Norris trademark. Was the Chuck Norris Facts meme around in 2008? It was, wasn't it? UPDATE: Seems as early as 2007 according to this post I wrote which features FreeBSD, Mikuru and Chuck Norris. Really.

Technology: Despite being an advanced piece of technology, Dai-Gurren can seemingly be disabled and kick started by having a spaghetti bundle of power cords plugged in again. Reminds me of my DIY Sim Lim Square machine.

Secondary Characters: Coco is a good cook. Coco is awesome :).

Backfire: Despite realising she's a princess and daughter of their sworn enemy, her interrogation at the dinner table ends up being more of a language lesson for the relatively innocent Nia, and a comedic break from this otherwise heavy episode. We learn more when she confronts Adiane on the deck of Dai-Gurren.

Explanations: The reason she was in a cryogenic status pod thing was what we probably all expected - she was abandoned. As such, we can only assume the Spiral King will continue to hunt them down again.

Pride: Kamina never stood down from a fight, and seemingly the Spiral King's cronies, pawns, generals or whoever they are... are no different.

Conclusions: Simon is still understandably upset, but so much so that his fleeting interest in Nia has seemingly disappeared. The rest of the crew of Dai-Gurren seem to have warmed to her though, owing to the applause and happy faces after the retreat of their enemies.

Hope Simon can forgive himself soon.

Not all of this Gurren Lagann episode was a downer!

Plot: Team DAI-GURREN are understandably mopey and upset after losing Kamina, but especially Simon who blames himself for his death. Understandably, despite their comfortable new home morale isn't terribly high. Still, a series of severe malfunctions (presumably caused by his mood) lead Simon to make a discovery that you can tell will be pivotal to the course of the series.

Science fiction: The series further morphs into science fiction now the primary setting is their new ship. They have a full crew. The layout of the bridge, the crew quarters, the shuttle bay (or would it be the Gunmen bay?), even the whoosh sounds of the doors are all eerily Star Trek-esque. Only the round portholes and the external views of the turret guns look turn-of-the-century.

Settings: Their new ship (itself a Gunmen, as almost everything is), but we also get a glimpse into The Enemy Lair of the Spiral King, complete with drill-shaped chandeliers and mood lighting. When his minions leave and he's left to ponder his next move, the ground turns transparent revealing a gigantic fortress. Or maybe they're buildings. Or maybe they're part of an even larger ship or Gunmen, don't know yet.

Perspective: For people used to living underground in drilled out holes, the idea of having proper furniture and rooms would be pretty amazing. Yoko mentioned it was pouring with rain outside, yet she was still able to perform target practice in the ship's firing range, and have a hot meal. Still, none of this luxury really means anything if you're not in a positive mood to appreciate it.

Relationships: Simon is understandably upset and feels personally responsible, though he isn't the only one. Tensions are running high, and barbs are thrown. Surprisingly I thought, Yoko does little to console him; perhaps she resents him as well?

Acquaintances: The one shining, happy moment comes when Simon unlocks and frees a potential new friend, Nia. Assuming their visuals represent the same ideas as Star Trek or most other science fiction, we can assume the box she came from was a cryogenic freezer that kept her in suspended animation, though we don't know why. Who is she?

Rain metaphor: Just as horror films have to be shot at night, episodes where emotions are running high because of personal loss must be set in depressing weather, to be magically lifted when moods change and when someone special arrives in your life who makes it all better.

Love interest: Well, maybe just a crush at this point, though it was developed quickly enough that he was willing to defend her with his life. And for someone who was clearly interested in someone else, Yoko's reaction was surprising ;).

Team colours: Much as Gurren Lagann adopted their signature red and yellow, so too did their captured Dai-Gurren ship. Much nicer than the grey, I have to say.

Heart tugging: When my mum moved on, the last thing I wanted was to be told things by people, even if they meant well. Rossiu sees Simon and wants to help, but Yoko tells him to stay away. It was... refreshing. If this were a Western series, no doubt there would have been an intervention with many people saying its important to express feelings over and over again.

Conclusion: In the Gurren Lagann universe a week had past since Kamina's passing, though everyone is still understandably shaken and sad, which was a bit of a downer to watch. Still, the way they introduced Nia's to Simon towards the end after all he'd been through was so sweet, and her ability to block a sudden attack was a hell of a cliffhanger, so they've got me hooked for the next episode!

I don't suppose anyone makes Nia figures, do they? ^^;

Starting our second week of Gurren Lagann with an episode I couldn't summarise any more than this... any less wouldn't do it justice.

Plot: After setting themselves up for something seemingly even more impossible than anything they'd attempted before, they go right ahead and do it.

Design: We see into the bridge of the Arc-Gurren battleship in more detail this episode. As a boy brought up on Star Trek, Firefly fascinated me with its dystopian, retro-new designs for the ships and bridges, and Gurren Lagann (the series) takes this to an extreme. They really do appear turn-of-the-century inside with bulkheads and hull plates that look as though they've been lifted from old submarines, along with high tech computer equipment. I'm a nerd, I admit this is one aspect of the series I'm really, really enjoying!

Art: Some of the most beautiful of the series so far. The night and early morning scenes with the lights amongst the greenery with the wild desert and volcanoes in the background was a powerful image, and this coming from someone who's knows diddly squat about design, art and cinematography. It pains me they haven't released this series on HD media!

Tactics: A confident, goofy tongue wag is essential for putting enemies on notice. Also makes a snappy comeback to a less than snappy comeback, and adds an air of sophistication to your dialogue!

Explanations: Anger and despair are powerful enough emotions that a Gunmen consisting of a tiny head and little else can merge with and commander the largest Gunmen they'd ever seen.

Relationships: Still feeling insecure enough about his abilities, coupled with an event he witnessed that's preoccupying his mind, Simon is incapable of performing his part of their plan. Reassuring words from his blood brother gave him the courage to do it... eventually.

Unexpected: Kamina's apparent death understandably drove Simon to the brink, before overhearing his reassuring voice on the comm. They make one last final stand in Gurren Lagann and kick some serious evil guy arse, to afford ourselves the use of relevant terminology. Needless to say, we're lead into a sense of security.

Love interest: After much innuendo in the first week of episodes, a love triangle develops and the result of said is immediately used as a primary plot device. To be honest, it felt a little tacked on and rushed as a result, meaning the impact at the end was blunted (okay, only a little). Still, their embrace was extremely sweet, even if the character I relate to didn't feel the same.

Heart tugging: The lifeblood, the fire, the passion of the Gurren Lagann team is extinguished, and a potential love is lost. When the episode finished, I had to turn the screen off and go for a walk. I've lost real loved ones (as we all have), and I've been moved this much from an... anime? Nuts to those who've criticised this series.

Quotes: "Don't believe in the you who believes in me. Don't believe in the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself".

Conclusion: They have their movable fortress which only six episodes ago was the distant, menacing spawning point for all the Gunmen that terrorised our heroes in their home towns underground. Now they really are ready to take on the world, in the memory of their fallen comrade. Peace.

We've made it into a week of Gurren Lagann episodes, and finally they're getting some assistance! Take on the world!

Plot: Up until this point, the Gunmen they've been fighting have been more like Gunboys. I thought I was rather clever with that renaming. In any case, we learn there are far larger ones, and they spawn others rather than just merging. Ouch.

Laws: These people are the sworn enemy of evil Gunman piloting blond guy. They've stolen one of his people's Gunmen machine device things. Yet despite this hatred so deep he wants to kill them and destroy every trace of their being, he can't fight people without clothes. In episode 6 our heroes had lost them in a faux hot spring Gunmen, you see.

Explanations: Previously I'd mentioned learning about just how many humans were scattered around the place, though I'd wondered why nobody else was taking up arms. More on that below, but suffice to say they did exist after all!

Technology: Despite being thrown to the ground, stretched and crushed with incalculable amounts of pressure and force, Gunmen can survive provided the fighting spirit of their operators is maintained. This we had already ascertained from previous episodes, though not to this extreme.

Setting: The super gigantic gathering point was itself a Gunmen, eerily reminiscent of a Japanese World War II battleship. Despite being able to manufacture these incredibly sophisticated devices that can regenerate and withstand incredible forces, their moving regional gathering point takes cues from 1940s design. Too late for the Strike Witches to fly out from somewhere and start battling too?

Strategy: Kamina's raw, surging passion (oh dear) meant he and Simon were able to take some pretty severe punishment, but it was Simon's strategising and Kamina's belief in him that ultimately won them the battle. Obviously Gainax are parodying the brain/brawn divide from countless super hero shows and series since time immemorial, but was still satisfying to see it executed so well :)

Swagger: Cool people don't look at explosions.

Inspiration: Sometimes, all people need is a powerful motivational force to get them off their behinds to join a cause. In this case, the legendary antics of Kamina (oh, and Simon) and Kamina and their Gurren Lagann who's reputation spreads around the world. We need some people like that here.

Design: One of the great things about shows that revolve around magic, or dreams, or alternative realities, is that designers can be really creative without restrictions on common sense or what's available to us here. I loved the yellow Gunman the best, he looks like a banana :).

Unanswered questions: Yoko is beautiful, Kamina is terribly masculine and rugged, and Simon is... Simon. They were all seemingly picked from random by chance encounters. So why are the others in their coalition of awesome so... overly, stereotypically Ruben-Schade-esque in attractiveness? Which is to say, not very attractive at all? Were the attractiveness genes confined to a specific area of the planet, or layer of crust?

Relationships: Yoko continues to warm up to Simon, going out of her way in what looked like a terribly awkward pose to give him words of encouragement. I'll admit it, I can finally see myself liking her now :)

Heart tugging: Kamina describing to Yoko why he's doing this: wanting to have children living under the sky without a worry in the world. *cries* :')

Conclusion: A real motivational episode. Human spirit and determination. United they stand, and they'll take on the world. A most relevent episode given what's going on in the world right now. We'll be watching \o/

This episode of Gurren Lagann brought to you by the fine folks at Gainax, as a tribute to Hayao Miyazaki! Perhaps you've seen some of our other productions?

Plot: We follow our heroes trudging through the desert, though with a few additional crew members. They battle some more Gunmen -- ho hum -- however it quickly turns into something else after the team is prompted to follow an old man. In the desert. In fog. Makes sense.

Logic: Rather than destroy all Gunmen, why not leave some barely functional so in their process of limping back to home base they can lead our heroes to them? I'd thought this before, and finally someone makes the suggestion too.

Setting: We finally see a semblance of civilisation, even if ultimately it's fleeting! Not that there's anything wrong with caves or the noble tunnels our favourite character (or is he just my favourite character?) created back in his village, but this episode featured a building. An honest to goodness building!

Hayao Miyazaki Reference: Previous episodes have made subtle (and not so subtle!) jabs against some anime genres, but this time they make reference to locations. Was it just me, or did I see the bath house of the gods from Spirited Away? And the sneaky, watery Gunmen we meet later looks an awful like a sinister version of Howl's Moving Castle. If true, well played Gainax, well played :)

The Underdog: Just because you've lead a sheltered life under a man who's been lying to you the entire time doesn't mean you're incapable of detecting deception. In fact, our new travelling companion was the only one who noticed something was up from the beginning. I was disappointed in you Simon!

SFX: Cute winks by Yoko must always be accompanied by a loud, audible "ding" sound reminicent of a 1980s game show. Such "ding" noises must also always result in blushing on Simon's part.

Gainax Reference: My knowledge of Gainax productions aren't what they should be, but I'm sure I recognised the characters from Diebuster and the legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion amongst the eager workers of the bath house.

Rules: Given the episode was largely played out in a bath house, some sacred rules of anime had to be enforced, and given this is a Gainax production, they had to parody it to an extreme. If men and women are in a bath house, the women have to talk loudly enough to be heard through solid stone, and the men have to want to see what's happening on the other side.

Censorship: Pets make a good substitute for black rectangles in covering certain aspects of male anatomy, and bathing suits are good insurance for accidental disrobing, which we all knew would happen. This is still PG folks!

Explanations: While soaking in the hot springs specialised Gunmen, Simon and Kamina discuss their dream to reach the "moon", along with some pretty graphics. Technically a moon is any naturally occurring mass of sufficient size orbiting a planet of a star, but to specifically call it such suggests this is Earth, not a distant planet far, far away.

Relationships: For once, Yoko makes a nice comment about Simon behind his back, albeit disguised under another layer of criticism. For those keeping score at home, what are we up to in the nice/nasty ratio? Can my initial frosty opinion of Yoko improve?

Unanswered questions: Yoko is so ecstatic that they defeat the giant cauldron or Moving Castle or Gunmen or whatever it was, she jumps out of her top. While plausible... she wears similar garb all the time without this problem! Perhaps her regular bikini top has carbon fibre strings?

Conclusion: So we've come full circle from introductions, to something silly, to something more serious, to a fanservice-filled advertisement for other Gainax shows with a serious cliffhanger. Just when I think I've got a grip on this series...

After yesterday's tribble-fest, today's episode of Gurren Lagann had the makings of a more sombre affair. Kinda.

Discoveries: We're rapidly realising there aren't just a few colonies of humans, we're everywhere, and we all have our own way of life. How precedent!

Limitations: As we saw in the first episode, while these enviably powerful machines can tap into the life spirit and energy of their operators, Gunmen have a limited passenger and storage capacity. Despite being above average, super bad arse incarnations of Gunmen, the components of Gurren Lagann aren't any better, forcing some to sit in less than comfortable positions.

Tricorders: Leeron has one reminiscent of a powder compact, and it can date rocks. I mean, it can estimate the age of a rock surface, not that the tricorder device thingy goes out with rocks. I'm also positive in the Gurren Lagann universe they're not called tricorders.

Booby traps: Have you ever dug a hole, covered it with mesh and leaves, then waited expectantly for a poor sap to walk into it and fall in? Allegedly that's how vast, deep entrances to underground labyrinth worlds are created some of the time as well, perfect for a stray Gunman to put pressure on and subsequently find itself in.

Colour: Everything looks more dark and sinister without colour, and stone only adds to sinisterness. Is that a word, sinisterness?

Religion: Is allegedly a comforting lie used by well meaning authority figures to shield people from truth that would be hard to accept, such as morality. Good thing that's only true in anime!

Behavior: Sure it's fine for Yoko to be walking around in a bikini top and hot pants given her colleagues of awesomeness walk around without shirts, but for a more conservative culture like the one they encountered today it seemed to be too much. Ironically they didn't question Kamina's lack of upper body clothing, but rather his behavior... I have no idea what they could have been talking about.

Explanations: After being compelled to dress accordingly for their culture, Yoko is forced to wear a flowing shawl which she hates because it "restricts her movement". I suppose that's the closest explanation we'll get for her attire? Wouldn't a regular shirt do the trick as well? Ah Gainax ;).

Unanswered questions: How would a Gunmen made of stone be repaired? How does one keep ceremonial white robes clean underground? Where does an underground civilisation like that get their food? Will a young man and two small children survive on the surface by themselves? Wouldn't they stand a better chance at survival if their whole village braved the surface together?

Laws: The Gurren Lagann Gunmen can't be merged unless stock, tongue in cheek transformation scenes are performed, and firearms cannot be operated unless one removes their shawl in an epic, twirling fashion.

Heart tugging: These kids who would presumably have been killed or starved on the surface were joined by the star of the episode on the surface, to brave this new unexplored world together. Aww :'). Also was it just me, or did they have a Hayao Miyazaki like look to them?

Conclusion: After the high-jinks of last episode, this was a more toned down affair, or at least as toned down as this series could hope to be with its giant mecha robot high octane fight scenes in caverns underground. And so their journey continues...

A power failure couldn't stop me from posting my Gurren Lagann episode summary yesterday, and sure as heck a university network failure won't either!

Plot: Compared to the previous episodes, the situation our heroes found themselves in (or on, given they're not underground anymore) bordered on the surreal with it's weird fuzziness; the design of the characters also seemed more exaggerated and cartoon-esque. I was informed (warned, if you will) about this by a friend, but I had to see it to believe it. Just wow.

Scenery: The first episode in the underground village, and Kamina and Simon's subsequent first view of the sky after breaking through showed some amazing art, but I think this episode topped it. The desert scenery was beautiful, if a little cliche. Dear Gainax, we want BluRay. Danke.

Safety: Proving a point regarding rugged manliness is worth sacrificing the safety of your brother, and baby dinner plate robots a fabulous hardware guru designed and built.

Enemies: Calling a spade a spade: they're Tribbles. As Star Trek did to lighten the mood after heavier or more involved episodes, this Gurren Lagann tale (of Alan A'Dale) was more lighthearted with a formidable enemy too fuzzy and cute to be scared by. I suppose they're the most dangerous though for that reason ;).

Explanations: Men are incapable of hunting for food when hungry, so naturally its up to their new (and obviously very attractive) acquaintances and Yoko to gather comestibles. Of course, their catch turned out to be sleeping sentient puffballs.

Technology: As we learned in previous episodes, these stunning Gunmen contraptions are effected by the mood and passion of their operators. We now learn more primal urges such as hunger have a direct effect as well, with their combined Gurren Lagann going as far as to point out low stomach contents on their displays. They also need increasingly lengthy, colourful and epic transformation scenes to pull off their combining.

Authority figures: Have stunningly brilliant hair, and wear more clothes without breaking a sweat.

Ruggedness: Merging Gunmen in a manly way is critical, and shaggy dog like creatures with thick white fur that would catch all sorts of dirt make for far more valiant desert steeds than horses.

Mini harem: Compared to most anime (so far), Gurren Lagann has a male dominated cast, but this was temporarily reversed in this episode, with comedic effect of course. The sisters from the so-called Black Siblings took quite a shine to timid little Simon... before they see the far more attractive and charismatic Kamina of course. Oh well!

Dysfunctional yet functional family: The assertive one, the shy one, the cutesy one, and the brother who can't go hunting when he's hungry. They roam the world on shaggy dogs. Wait, I already said that.

Pets: I'll be scolded for this, but Boota reminds me of Butan from Clannad. Puhi~Puhi.

Conclusion: After some more serious episodes, this was a more light hearted romp with silly villeins that still managed to deliver some character development and plot advancement. Because their dashing steeds were the part of the episode that made me laugh the hardest, we ride into the sunset in style:

Not even a power failure could stop me from publishing this next Gurren Lagann summary post!

Empathy: While we can understand Yoko's disappointment at Simon tagging along with Kamina and her frustration at his lack of combat readiness, it still made me feel personally insulted when she talked behind his back like that! If I were in their situation, I'm clearly a Simon not a Kamina! Still, its a sign of how strongly cast the characters are here that I'm empathising with them so strongly already!

Physics: We get a glimpse into just how technologically advanced these enemies of theirs are that their machines can literally be merged together in a destructive drilling fashion (stop thinking like that), and they end up becoming stronger.

Innuendo: Did Kamina just say... merging? George Takei Voice: Oh my!

Enemies: So originally these enemies all looked like Chewbacca (in related news, Trek > Wars, just saying), but the elite guy Kamina and Simon battled with in the hunting grounds was creepishly human. He's a blond guy too, so he must be evil ;).

Facial expressions: Can you forgive me for being so mean behind your back if I pull a cute facial expression? Simon blushed, but I can tell you right now that wouldn't work on me. Which is to say, it most likely would.

Explanations: Their source food and weapons that I questioned in the previous episode's notes were explained. It also struck me just how successfully they've suspended my disbelief that these gigantic machines that look like faces can be piloted and merged, and that the characters came from underground, but I had a qualm with supply lines ;).

Heart tugging: I don't know whether its the characters, or the situation they find themselves in, or the pacing, or the story, or all of the above, but at the end as Kamina says goodbye and they leave for their quest, I choked up again. Gainax, what have you done with my brain!?

Bonds: I don't care for your reasons Yoko, you can't break us up. He and I are a team that believe in each other, and that's why we work! Awww :').

Conclusion: This anime wastes no time. These characters only just met each other, two of them have only been on the surface for a tiny fraction of their lives, and already they've banded together and are going on a quest reminiscent of Tolkein (that's okay to say, isn't it?).

Suffice to say, I see why the critics loved this, with the exception of that silly writer for the Sydney Morning Herald who probably waves those darn kids off his lawn with a broom. That reminds me, I need to scan and discuss his qualms at some point too. Where does the time go?