Kuromukuro – 13

Two Efidolg knights seem to have “gone rogue” in order to pursue their own personal ambitions against Earth. The first is Mirasa, who fights the Black Relic and GAUS units to a draw and escapes into the woods to regenerate. The second is “Muetta”, whose hair immediately indicated is Yukihime, or at least some kind of Efidolg clone of her.

As Takeyama High prepares for their cultural festival in the interests of maintaining normalcy and taking a break from studies and battles alike, Yuki looms over the episode like a silent wraith, crouched and ready to strike.

Yukina’s class decides to do an “Efidolg Forum”, what with three UN pilots in their class. Unfortunately, everyone else at the base is too busy to join the forum, so it’s just Yukina, Ken, and Sophie.

In a particularly clever bit of plotting, because one of the activities at the school festival is cosplay (with Mika switching her usual school uniform for another), Muetta is able to slip into the school without any trouble. Indeed, she’s commended for the craftsmanship of her armor and arms.

While Muetta closes in, Yukina and Ken have a grand old time at the festival, with Ken remarking that modern life itself has always felt like a festival to him, but this takes it to another level. Yukina asks him what he plans to do once he avenges Yukihime, because he has his whole future ahead of him (dundundunnnn).

Almost immediately after Yuki mentions how everyone has two doppelgangers, her Efidolg doppelganger leaps on the stage and charges at Ken, who is so shocked by the sight of her (having just seen her in the digitally altered photo of Yukina), he lets his guard down and gets run through.

The show, knowing we knew who this was all along, still expertly kept most of Muetta’s face out of the frame right up until the very end, when showing it had the most impact. And the camerawork of the stabbing is great stuff, with an extreme closeup of Muetta cutting to a dumbfounded Ken, who then falls to reveal an equally shocked Yukina.

Where goeth things from here? Hard to say. I wonder if Sophie can somehow suppress Muetta, and why Muetta stabbed him. Perhaps, like him, her memories had bene lost on Earth those centuries ago, but now they’re back and she’s punishing him for betraying their people?

In any case, this was quite the exciting cliffhanger to place between Kuromukuro’s two halves: the moment Ken’s two princesses met.

P.S. The rock band in the auditorium is playing the show’s opening theme, a cover of “Distopia” by GLAY.

Kuromukuro – 12

As the Gezon-Reco of Efidolg decide to send another of their own (Nouet) down to Japan to deal with the Black Relic that’s been ruining their plans, the school term has given way to Summer break for Yukina, Ken, and Noelle, as well as Akagi, Mika, and Kaya.

Yukina boasts that she needn’t participate in extra lessons despite her deplorable marks, since she’s already been enrolled in what amounts to boot camp at Kurobe, with the always pleasantly profane Tom Borden as drill sargeant and Noelle, Shenmei, and Seb joining both out of solidarity and to stay sharp. Akagi also joins, in hopes of becoming a geoframe pilot.

What ensues is your standard boot-camp/training episode, with Yukina predictably bad at pretty much everything early on. Indeed, after the first day of exertion she’s skipping dinner to throw up in the sink, but Shenmei grabs her from behind, throws her on the bed, sits on her, and…gives her deep massage and reiki. We’ve seen precious little of Shenmei, but I like how she’s so quietly supportive during Yukina’s descent into her Summer of Hell.

To add insult to injury, Seb is assigned by her teacher to make sure she and Ken don’t fall behind on lessons. But the training is a long time coming now that Yukina is committed to co-piloting the Black Relic with Ken: she can’t rely on him to rescue her from every little thing.

That being said, Ken still saves her on numerous occasions, whether it’s a hand or word of encouragement, or something more dramatic like saving her from drowning when Tom shoves her into a pool in full kit.

Ken is punished for “babying the Princess”, but thanks to Tom not thinking when activating the shock collar, Yukina and Noelle also get zapped, and the three zappees get a day off while Shenmei and Tom test the experimental GAUS water-walking system.

The unusual-for-Kuromukuro level of fanservice continues when Noelle shares photos of Mika in sexy fantasy cosplay that Ken can neither resist voicing his outrage and snapping a pic of the pic for his own, erm, records.

When the water-walking GAUS goes literally sideways and water starts leaking in the sinking frame, Shenmei remains almost comically (but also impressively) cool as a cucumber.

The training continues, with Ken having to push Yukina less and less since she’s pushing herself (though Noelle notices how much he stares at Yukina), and things get easier as she grows stronger and more confident. Where once she couldn’t shoot with her eyes open, now she at least opens one, so it’s only a matter of time before she opens both.

For his continues heroism and lack of betrayal, Ken is rewarded by having his sword returned to him (by Yukina) and his collar removed (also by Yukina), resulting in some very close proximity between the two.

I’m enjoying the slow burn of their mutual attraction and respect, even if it doesn’t go far. Like it or not, Ken has found a new “princess” in Yukina, and thus a new commitment and purpose.

Yukina tells him he gets the sword on the condition he won’t seek his death with it through reckless action. And as the episode closes with a descending Nouet, Yukina’s newfound skills and stamina will be put to the test very soon.

Kuromukuro – 11

No sooner than I complained about the show dragging a little do things really start picking up. And while they picked up in more or less the most predictable way they could, it doesn’t change the fact that this was the first Kuromukuro that actually got my heart pounding, both with the suspense (and suspended disbelief either of the leads would die) and the kinda-sorta-maybe budding romance (or at least mutual respect) between those leads.

Fusnarnie is truly a loose cannon this week, and for a second, I thought Mulder and Scully weren’t going to release Kennosuke to deal with the situation. Also, there’s no more playing around with big robots and evacuations; there is blood and death here, and Yukina witnesses it close up for the first time, and reacts exactly how a non-grizzled warrior would: with fear and near-paralysis.

That fear keeps her alive, though; one wrong move, and she knows she could be toast; this guy only wants her alive long enough to let him contract with Glongur. Before he can, Ken corners him, but he still has his hostage.

This is when Yukina finally springs into action to facilitate Ken’s rescue; quickly darting back and smacking Fusnarnie in the face, a move he clearly didn’t expect her to make. Sure, she stumbles immediately, but she gives Ken just the opening he needs to engage the enemy. Who knows how things would have gone down had Yukina not chosen to act.

Ken is able to best Fussy, but that doesn’t stop the guy from trying to take Yukina down with him. He gets perilously close to her—and she’s again too terrified to move—but Ken does what he has to to protect Yukina, stabbing Fusnarnie in the back. Shortly thereafter, Fussy lets himself fall over the railing to his death rather than stay alive in disgrace.

What follows is a pivotal moment in the show, when Yukina makes a connection to Ken when she sees him trembling just as much as she is. Is this his first kill? Probably not, but it’s certainly his first in a while, and in any case killing is never easy, nor was killing Fusnarnie Ken’s first choice (and not just because the agents wanted him alive; surely Ken wants answers too, particularly about his so-called “altered memory.”

But as he shakes, Yukina sidles over to him and hugs him from behind, as much to calm him as to calm herself. It’s a lovely moment and proof of real growth in their relationship.

Speaking of love interests, I have just plain had it with Akagi, and not because I’m a Yukina x Ken shipper (though I’m certainly far closer to being one after this week).

His impulsive desire to become a GAUS pilot (and belief he has the talent based on his hi-score) is just so dumb for this show; as if he’s some shounen hero in another show who really should have become a pilot in the first episode or two, but instead just talks about it over and over. We get it: dude wants to protect Yukina. I just don’t see him as GAUS pilot, ever. I enjoyed his dad’s incredulous and exasperated expressions, however.

I’d much rather see more of Sophie, who is ostensibly one of the three main characters in the show but has been woefully underused. Hopefully the second half will feature more of her.

Uncle Oshou is another story altogether; he’s a side character who steals nearly every scene he’s in; I especially liked his story about the seated statue and how Ken reacted to it. I also liked how in the same scene, Yukina asks Ken out on a date without even knowing it. And while on the hiking trip, she sticks to the map while Ken of all people embraces the wonders of GPS to get them on the right track. That was unexpected.

Unfortunately, there’s as much mystery surrounding where exactly Yukina was, who or what rescued her, and what became of the “80’s Electronics Cave Base” as there is surrounding Ken’s past, and those answers still aren’t forthcoming this week, but the hiking trip did allow Ken and Yukina to process their emotions about recent events involving one another, and that made up for it.

Yukina and Ken will still blush whenever he conversation turn slightly romantic, but they’re becoming more comfortable being honest with each other. Ken is devoted to protecting her, and Yukina is just fine with that. She’s very candid about how his rescuing her made her feel, and it’s doubtless a feeling she’d never felt before, just as she never before saw Ken trembling. This episode definitely re-stoked by enthusiasm for the show as it approaches its second half.

Kuromukuro – 10

A quick trip to MAL will show you that Kuromukuro currently only manages a very meh 6.95 rating, which for MAL means “Good” but we’ve since come to mean “watchable, but not necessarily recommended.” I’ver certainly dropped higher-rated shows before.

The low score isn’t due to a disgruntled source material audience unhappy with the adaptation, either: it’s an anime original. So what gives?

Well, like Kennosuke’s bizarre experience 450 years ago, it’s kind of hard to put my finger on it, and that’s part of the problem. It’s one thing to be consistently and demonstrably great or terrible; Kuromukuro is merely solid, at best.

It’s not badly put together, and some of the character interaction is quite strong; it’s just not particularly original or exciting. A lack of 9 ratings bear this out: Kuromukuro has entertained, but never wowed.

I never like quitting a show right in the middle, but with a planned 13 more episodes in addition to the 13 this Spring, I need to start taking a good long look at whether this show will be worth retaining into the busy new Summer season, which promises several new mecha series, the quality of which I can’t vouch for. (Macross will likely be continuing on as well, but I’m unaware of whether it will take a season off).

Basically, things need to start picking up, and soon. This episode promised a lot, but it really only amounted to table-setting. Now, table-setting can be interesting, but this week wasn’t, despite the fact we now have an Efidolg captive and learned more about Ken’s aforementioned experience, both under questioning by UN officials brought in from outside the Kurobe Lab.

Interrogation episodes can be great, too, but again, Kuromukuro does not distinguish itself or add anything new to the genre. The interviews are largely dull and uninformative, as Fusnarnie, as he’s called, isn’t interested in giving many detailed answers, and Ken simply doesn’t remember very well what happened.

This is frustrating to him, on top of his whole “continuing to live in shame while his princess is dead” dilemma, and Yukina is just as frustrated (as I was) by the lack of answers from that weird cave with the “demon” who may have been her dad. What could have been an episode of bombshell revelations amounted to little more than more teasing of larger but still obscured things, combined with lots of moping by the main pair.

And don’t get me started on Akagi; this stiff’s cockamamie idea to simply become a pilot without actually putting any work in (and thinking his arcade high score is a gauge of his talents) just fell flat with me. Yukina couldn’t care less about this guy; why should I?

One of the better parts of the episode was the flashback, in which we see Ken is a member of the soldiers fighting for Yukihime, and not, as Fusnarnie claims, an Efidolg advance guard. Or is he? How far in advance did he arrive? Did he bonk his head and forget who he was, and simply joined the princess’ guard since he’s good with a sword?

I’m not sure how else to explain how he’s able to pilot the Black Relic so easily. Was there something in Yukihime’s blood that made that possible? More to the point, is Yukihime really even dead, or was that light just a tractor beam that took her up to the mothership, where she remains? Lots of questions, as you can see, but precious few satisfying answers.

I’m not particularly interested in the UN and Sophie being suspicious of Ken, either, seeing as how he’s only served the good guys faithfully all this time. Also, if Fusnarnie is to be believed, Ken betrayed his people; why would he switch back to the “enemy”?

Nevermind, all we get at the end is a somewhat obvious cliffhanger in which Fussy breaks free, kills his captors, summons his “Lion”, and just happens to bump into Yukina in the corridor, grinning when he realizes she’s a wielder. So great; now Yukina probably needs to be rescued…again.

Kuromukuro – 09

Not long after coming to in a cave filled with clocks and obsolete electronics, Yukina passes back out, as if hypnotized by the mysterious figure with the robotic voice and her dad’s watch and journal. She wakes up in a bus shelter, where Akagi and Kaya find her.

Just like that, all the potential answered questions about Yukina’s dad, and all the other mysteries in that cave, dissipate. That was a little disappointing, and the whole cave thing felt like a tease, but I came to forgive the episode when Yukina came around on piloting the artifact with Ken.

What I like is that there wasn’t any one reason she didn’t want to and tried to run away: she’s scared; overwhelmed by the pressure; uncertain if this was the right path. But she also doesn’t like how she’s been ordered around like some automaton. Would it hurt for someone to ask her nicely?

Having dealt with her absence, Ken is resolved to let Yukina go, but Yukina isn’t ready for Ken to disappear from her life. She’s taken a shine to the guy, and vice versa, and when he realizes it’s as simple as asking nicely, he does so, and before lone Yukina is back in the cockpit with him.

I also appreciated that Hiromi’s decision not to let the military force her daughter into the artifact, even using her body as a shield. The protection is unneccesary, as Yukina was only “annoyed with herself” and needed some time and space, which she got, and is now willing to do her part.

Once Yukina and Ken are in their tough new skin-tight nanofiber flight suits, Yukina puts on a brave front but Ken sees her hands shaking. She admits it: she’s scared shitless, but that command artifact out there isn’t going to defeat itself, and she doesn’t want Ken to use her absence as an excuse to get himself killed, nor does she like the idea of him sacrificing his life to save her. She’d prefer if they get through this together.

What “that” is could have been very intriguing indeed, had Efidolg succeeded in abducting Glongur and bringing Yukina and Ken up to the mothership. But that possibility is negated when the UN’s hunch about the tractor beam neutralizing the artifacts’ shields proves true.

Another possibility not realized: Akagi and Kaya are once again very close to an errant missle explosion, but neither is even slightly injured. Not sure why they keep teasing the fact that these two could end up stains on the mountainside, adding to Yukina’s burden by association, but Akagi is determined to play a larger role in her protection, and not just because he teased her when they were little.

Sophie and the guy with the dirty mouth show up to take out the small fry, leaving Ken free to take on the boss artifact. He has trouble with his acrobatics, but Yukina again uses her unusually extensive knowledge of geology to lure the artifact onto a rock face she knows will crumble.

Rather than self-destruct, the Efidolg pilot surrenders. This was initially surprising, but I’m pretty sure when both Plan A (capturing Glongur) and Plan B (defeating Glongur in a duel) failed, he pivots to Plan C: letting yourself be captured by the enemy so you can learn more about them and possibly escape and cause more damage from within. We’ll see how he plays it.

Kuromukuro – 08

Like Ikari Shinji, who was overwhelmed by duties and expectations, Yukina seeks refuge away from the places that have oppressed her, but neither strays too far. Yukina hides out in Ogino’s room (decorated with posters of other P.A. Works), unsure of what she wants to do but very sure of what she doesn’t, namely fight and kill people in Glongur.

Ogino is a good friend in that she lets her crash there, lies to her mom for her, and gives her space to sulk. But she’s also a good friend because she provides her own perspective on Yukina’s plight—i.e. it’s a blessing, not a curse—and tells her the sulking and running has to end eventually, and she has to go home.

Akagi and Kaya turn out to be fine, and were only gone as long as they were because Akagi’s bike ran out of gas. He gets a punch and a stern reaming from his father, warning his son not to “keep living for others’ approval,” but Akagi is mostly concerned with gaining Yukina’s approval, and he feels bad for ending up in a position where she might have been hurt.

Ken claims not to be worried about Yukina, and is only searching for the key to his artifact, but let’s be real here: of course he’s worried; after all, he’s still not certain Yukina isn’t the reincarnation of his princess. The princess is gone and his sense of purpose with it…except that Yukina has been filling the role of protectee he needs so dearly.

Talk about what Yukina wants comes up both in class and at UN control. Sophie suspects that if Yukina being in that artifact’s cockpit is the only thing keeping Earth safe, Yukina’s getting in that cockpit, whether she wants to or not. Unlike Shinji’s dad Gendo, Hitomi isn’t ready to commit to forcing Yukina; she’s more concerned with simply finding her.

Yukina’s would-be protectors mount a search for her; Ken on the big horse he met earlier, Akagi on his refueled bike (with Kaya tagging alone, hungry for more viral streaming).

Rather than go to school (which would feel like a quick surrender), Yukina heads into the Kurowashi Valley, where the castle of Ken’s lord once stood but has since been reclaimed by nature.

Not having any satisfying answers about how to proceed, perhaps she thinks following her father’s journal and exploring the site where the demons once attacked might shed some light on her proper path. Or heck, maybe she’ll find her missing dad.

Little does she know, the area is swarming with formerly dormant Efidolg Cactii, one of which zeros in on her location and attacks her. She’s saved neither by Ken (who gets close but never finds her by episode’s end) or Akagi (who took off later).

Instead, the magenta cactus is destroyed by a mysterious blue robot and a man with a very sharp sword and a watch Yukina instantly recognizes as—you guessed it—her father’s. The way this reunion has unfolded, it’s almost as if Yukina was always meant to ‘run away’ (even just a little bit) in search of either a reason for—or alternative to—pilot Glongur.

I’ll close by presenting two little snippets from the episode of both Ken and Yukina talking to themselves:

I just wanted to point these moments out because I laughed heartily at both, for different reasons. Ken’s surprise at the horse’s size is another unique product of a samurai from four centuries ago suddenly finding himself in the present, where horses (and Japanese people) are simply larger due to better food, medicine, and breeding. His delivery is great too.

Yukina’s observation, on the other hand, is one of the most sophisticated collections of words she’s spoken. It seems meant to show us there’s more to this unmotivated airhead than meets the eye. She’s either a secret geology buff or maybe she was just paying special attention to one particular part of class.

Kuromukuro – 07

Ken and Yukina achieved a great victory; they are the only ones in the world who were able to defeat a geoframe of Efidolg, even if Hedo took his own life rather than allow himself to be captured. But it’s far worse than that: Yukina is simply done.

She’s gone along up to this point, but she never truly signed up for this, and she just can’t get into the headspace required to take more life, especially when the so-called “demons” have human form. She retreats into her room; into her dreams; into her past, when she was berated by peers for being the daughter of a presumed madman.

His “lies” made her a liar. She’s always resented this, and her mother was never present enough, either emotionally or physically, to do much about it. So it’s stewed. That Dad turned out to be right doesn’t change the fact she carries scars, even if they’re not the kind that show, like Ken’s (whose bashfulness with “virtually naked” girls during a free swim was another nice touch. Dude is simply not used to women.)

It’s not that she takes a particular moral stance against fighting the enemy; she simply feels deeply in her bones that she’s not the girl for the job. Tom doesn’t help matters by calling her worthless. At school, Yukina feels lost, and she can’t accept the adoration and gratitude of most of her classmates, because some believe she did nothing to save Akagi and Kaya from being killed (their fates remain a mystery).

Sophie, for her part, tries to make an appeal to Yukina’s inner bushido, but to no avail. Yukina doesn’t want to be the person with the fate of the world on her shoulders. It’s just too BIG. Why can’t she just go to the supermarket after work and buy ingredients for dinner?

When Ken finally tries to assure her he doesn’t think she’s just a tool, and then plots out his post-revenge course as leading to his eventual reunion with the princess (i.e. death or suicide), Yukina’s refusal to ride with him intensifies. She doesn’t want any blood on her hands.

She also believes the demons aren’t demons, after meeting one and seeing an ordinary human. We’re finally allowed inside the orbiting Efidolg mothership, where a small council of pilots like Hedo reach the consensus that their plans cannot continue as long as Glongur walks the Earth; it and its pilot must be destroyed.

These spacefaring warriors seem so very far away from Yukina’s simple life, but at this point I just don’t see her staying out of the fighting. Even if her mother won’t force her, something will surely come up to convince Yukina, like her male Eva counterpart Ikari Shinji, to jump into that cockpit once more.

Despite Yukina’s multiple (and reasonable, considering the life she’s led thus far) reservations, and the fact this week ends with her running away from home after her mother slapped her for being presumptuous about her late father, this only seems like delaying the inevitable: Yukina and Ken will keep fighting Efidolg, because no one else can, and because those Yukina loves and cares about will be in danger if she doesn’t.

There’s also, like, a million episodes left. Way too early for our heroine to throw in the towel…but probably not the last time she’ll waver, either.

Kuromukuro – 06

The time for messing around at home or school is over, as the Yellow Crab and two red Headless (which Yukina calls Dullahans) land near the airport, which, if you’ve watched Captain America: Civil War, you know is a great open place to stage a big fight while minimizing civilian casualties.

Ken and Yukina arrive to find themselves outnumbered 3:1, and the conventional military backup is completely toothless against their foes. That’s made plain when the Yellow Crab plucks an attacking gunship out of the sky as if it were a buzzing fly.

The mission for our main couple is to stay alive and hang in there until help can arrive in the form of the two GAUS units, which are launched from a railgun-like catapult thingy that emerges from an innocent-looking telescope dome. This sequence comes with all the requisite technobabble checklists and “all clears” one would expect of a sci-fi mecha show.

The show takes its time with this sequence, making it feel like the big deal that it is that they’re launching these things. Heft is also added to the proceedings by the foreboding rust-colored sky, and the hasty evacuation of the city.

The cockpit of Ken’s and Yukina’s artifact is pierced, but Ken only gets a glancing wound to the head and is okay. Things are kept relatively light with Yukina’s comment about there being a “bunch of things” (meaning HUD warnings), and her elation at the cavalry arriving being shot down when Sophie tells her not to chat during combat.

Once the two GAUS’s arrive, the playing field is evened a bit, as at least the two Headless are too busy fighting off Sophie and Tom to gang up on Ken and Yukina.

With some slick moves and samurai training, Ken manages to strike a blow to the Crab’s vital area that brings it down, turning black in the process. Then, to everyone’s surprise (including Kaya and Akagi, who are filming the action from not too far away and streaming it to the world), a pilot emerges and removes his helmet.

He’s…human. Or some kind of space-faring human, or an alien who looks just like a human. He calls himself Hedo, “Frontier Reform Officer” for “Efidolg.” He also calls Ken’s artifact “Glongur” and asks why he betrayed his people. Neither Ken nor Yukina nor anyone else know what the heck this guy is talking about, but they don’t get any time to ask questions.

Rather than be killed like a dog or taken captive, Hedo activates the Crab’s self-destruct. The blast that ensues is pretty intense—intense enough to roast Akagi and Kaya, if the show had chosen to go that dark here—but not town-encompassing. All that remains of Hedo and the Crab is a crater and a heap of questions, chief among them, in the words of Tom, exactly are those asshole fucks up in orbit, and why are they attacking?

Kuromukuro – 05

Yukina has neither nerves of steel nor a dead family to avenge; she’s just…a girl. Below average in some areas, above average in others, and just average in still others. She has a little sister, an uncle, a morning routine.

She goes to school. She has an admirer in Akagi Ryouto, but doesn’t know it. And she’s now suddenly living companion, navigator, and classmate to a ruggedly handsome but extremely prickly 400+ year-old samurai who happens to be the same age as her and ruggedly handsome.

There’s nothing out of left field here, but I’m finding it a neat dynamic that sells itself, even if it didn’t have impeccably clean, attractive design backing it up. Kuromukuro’s originality and pacing may still be in question, but its execution is assuredly not.

Indeed, despite being the fifth episode, a lot of people are introduced for the first time, and Yukina’s suddenly highly-modified, previously-normal life takes a lot of turns. And yet things still begin with breakfast. Kuromukuro has been adept at showing us the life in between the big bold battles.

Kennosuke, AKA Ken or “Kenny-chan”, is now a part of every aspect of Yukina’s life now, and she seems a little…overwhelmed at times; almost in a kind of shock. And why shouldn’t she? So much has happened all at once. She’s a second lieutenant now, as well as a celebrity at school, and she’s being challenged by the likes of established pilot Sophie Noelle “Why do you fight?”

Fight? She’s barely had time to catch her breath, let alone ponder such questions. Furthermore, Yukina isn’t what you’d call a deep thinker; she’s been largely gliding through life so far, and you can see the weight of all this shit suddenly on her.

When an emergency strikes, she’s swept up in a big public departure operation with Ken with the whole school gawking at her. Ryouto, who’d been watching her from afar the whole episode (and certainly before all this stuff happened to her), isn’t content to let her speed off in Ken’s steed; he hops on his bike and goes after her.

Could he do anything to protect her? Maybe not, but he wants to. And say what you want about Yukina, but it’s not like she’s in love with Ken. We didn’t get a lot of Ryouto (most of it came via his two mates), but I don’t hate the guy, and it’s nice to see the guy chase the (justifiably) oblivious girl once in a while.

Yukina didn’t really choose all this upheaval in her life, and yet here she is, in a cockpit, being assured by Ken that he’ll take care of everything. She’s got nanomachines in her body that can’t be removed without risking paralysis or death, and so she’s the navigator of Ken’s artifact, whether she actually wanted to be (she didn’t) or had a reason to be (she doesn’t)

She’s a lot like Shinji in Eva (sans Hedgehog’s dilemma and other psychoses); her emotions have yet to catch up to all this, even though there have been down times here and there to do so. This is a lot, and all she can do for now is go along for the ride.

And like I said, unlike Ken, she hasn’t lost anyone or anything yet, so there’s that. But does tragedy and a desire for revenge have to chart her course in life the way it charted his? Will she find her sense of duty, to protect, not merely avenge? We shall see…

Kuromukuro – 04

A handful of demons are still at large all over the globe, but there’s no imminent existential threat to humanity. But Kennosuke still has a challenging battle to fight: adjusting to the modern world, where even the eating utensils are different, to say nothing of the kind of food people eat.

Much of this episode’s first half is Ken settling into Yukina’s uncle’s house, much to Yukina’s consternation. Samurai otaku Koharu, on the other hand, is delighted to have a real life samurai around to criticize the little men in the box (TV) whose stances are all wrong.

I must say I fall more on Team Koharu in terms of Ken’s fish-out-of-water antics being immensely entertaining and amusing. The show really flexes its slice-of-life and comedy muscles, after previously showing it can do hand-to-hand combat, mecha battles, and general peril.

I especially enjoyed how Ken turns everything—from the strange food to the pet ferret on the roomba—into little mini-battles that test his mettle. As the uncle says, he really is a warrior, and warriors don’t always make the best houseguests, but they are fairly predictable in their behavior and values…especially a distinguished samurai such as Kennosuke.

Of course, there will always be hiccups, like repurposing Yukina’s favorite towel as a loincloth. But that’s just part of the fun, as Yukina’s often mortified reactions are as funny as the words or incidents by Ken that cause them.

So this isn’t the most heavyweight episode, plot-wise, but it does continue to gradually build up a bond between the two leads, Yukina and Kennosuke. She’s tasked with taking him to the mall (which he mistakes for a castle), and she takes the task seriously, even though she’s reluctant. Something about Ken rubs her the wrong way (especially now that she learns they’re about the same age) because he’s new (or rather old) and different; shaking up her old mundane life.

But as I said last week, there’s an upside to Kennosuke, beyond laughing at his archaic way of speaking and the unique ways he sees certain aspects of modern life, and its that very shaking up of Yukina’s life; giving it sudden and profound purpose.

When Ken looks around at all the happy kids at the mall, he remarks that the world has become a very peaceful place, and so his princess did not sacrifice herself in vain. It’s a very poignant, melancholy moment, which is expanded upon when Ken essentially assures Yukina that her father—who was dismissed as a whack-a-doo for his theories on alien demons—was right.

Of course, her father being right doesn’t change the fact that he left, something Yukina, who seemed close-ish to her father in the flashbacks, probably laments/resents about him. But when Ken sees and verifies his bigfoot-like photo of a demon, it’s as if a missing piece of a puzzle has fallen into place. I’m all for badass mecha action, but quiet episodes like this that develop the players are welcome too.

Kuromukuro – 03

After the yellow “Demon” retreats, Ouma spots another part of the world (other than the mountains) that hasn’t changed since his time: a castle. When he calls out to be given an audience and gets no reply, he is confused. When he gets a look at Yukina’s outrageous-for-his-time outfit, he scolds her.

When Yukina starts talking to a “box”, a lady appears inside of it, and the castle’s floodlights come one, he believes it all a matter of demon trickery. This is a man stubbornly clinging to his time, but this week he finally relents, even if it means becoming, as he sees it, ‘useless’.

What Ouma does not and will not set aside is his honor, which means even though he considers Yukina his hostage, he shan’t lay a hand on her, nor any woman or child. That policy is tested when he’s quickly re-captured by the UN, escapes again, and comes afoul of Sophie. She surprises him by taking him down and putting him in a hold, but she releases him when he gropes her. While not every female soldier in this day and age would have reacted as Sophie had, in this case he was lucky.

What’s nice about Japan is that many man-made things haven’t changed much in four centuries; not just the castle: Yukina’s uncle Yakushi Osho is a monk, and wears the same basic threads as his forbears of yore. He manages to finally calm Ouma in a great little scene in which the two men sit together and speak plainly.

Even so, when Ouma is in transit flanked by UN guards, he runs into Yukina’s precocious little sister Koharu, who came to the lab to see her sister and wandered off on her own. Koharu gets in trouble with the guards holding Ouma, who knocks them out for threatening to raise a hand to a child, something he cannot abide in any century.

Now, it’s a bit implausible and convenient for Koharu to have such free rein in a high-security facility, and that of all the halls of the vast complex, she crosses paths with Ouma. Then again, Ouma seems to be a bit of a man of destiny, while Koharu is a known “adventurer”, as some little kids tend to be. She’s also a bit of a samurai otaku, and cheerfully greets him with the traditional –de gozaru vernacular.

She also follows him out into the woods, but it isn’t long before a demon “Cactus” gives them the jump. Koharu is captured, and Ouma must run back to HQ for help—and his “steed.” He enlists Yukina’s aid, promises seppukku if it turns out he’s wrong, and the steed flies to his location to scoop the two of them up.

A thrilling ride ensues, with the steed flying over the massive dam and through the river’s canyon, with Yukina using her phone’s GPS to locate Koharu. They find her just moments before the Cactus makes off with her (covered in some kind of cocoon) and with some UN assistance, Ouma is able to slay the demon.

For his heroics, he is pardoned for his latest escape, but more than that, this whole ordeal ends up leading to Ouma’s final realization that much time has indeed passed since he went to sleep in that cube. He knows this because the landscape tells him: a great rock cleaved in two by his own (relic’s) hand so long ago, now covered in plants.

Meeting again with Yukina’s uncle, with no lord to serve Ouma knows not his purpose nor why he is alive anymore. But I will rest assured that purpose will be revealed to him in due time, if it hasn’t already. I presume he was awakened so he could join Yukina (distant relation to his former lady?) in fighting the new scourge of demons poised to wreak havoc across the globe.

That he was able to rescue Koharu can be a purpose in and of itself, though it’s true she only ended up in danger because of him. Still, before long everyone may be in danger, at which point his new purpose—to protect those weaker than he—will be clear.

Kuromukuro – 02

A brief glimpse is all we need to learn why Kennosuke called Yukina ‘princess.’ Yet for his stalwart protection of the lookalike from robotic monsters, he is thrown in a cell, where he dreams of a time that has long since passed.

Meanwhile, Yukina, who pushed the red button that released him from his long slumber, is told to “stay put” by her mother, at least until they has a better picture of what’s going on.

Yukina does not stay put.

Her mom leaves her phone behind—again—allowing her to escape about the same time Ouma does. It seems that fate was meant to bring these two together.

Kennosuke has been moving so fast, it isn’t until he and Yukina have a moment to breathe that he realizes…she isn’t the princess. He voices he’s upset in a most amusingly old-fashioned manner, but when his cockpit-cube arrives and transforms into a ‘steed’ at his command, he still puts Yukina in the copilot seat. She’s not the real deal, but could she be a descendant? A reincarnation?

Yukina blasts past Mika and other shelterers as the steed takes her and Kennosuke to his “Black Relic”, the centuries-old equivalent (and likely template) for the UN’s GAUS suits (which don’t appear this week).

Once outside in the world, Kennosuke is, not unreasonably, very confused and disoriented. The mountains are familiar, but what’s with the lake? “A wonder of human ingenuity,” says Yukina. “Deceptive drivel!” says Kennosuke.

Similarly, the buildings of the city they approach appear to him like giant tombstones, which they will actually become if the yellow scourge, which Ken calls an Oni or “Demon”, is allowed to stomp around unchallenged.

I dig Ken’s archaic way of speaking, as well as his almost complete unpreparedness for being in the modern world (despite, you know, piloting the giant mecha) Yukina, for her part, remembers her father’s tales of demons coming to devour everyone, suspects that’s now what’s going on, and perceptively declares this situation “the pits!”

Fortunately, Ken was right to put Yukina in the copilot’s seat, because not only does she understand the relic’s interface, she serves as an invaluable second set of senses in their battle with said demon. The JSDF and ASDF’s conventional military forces are completely worthless against the beast, so it’s Ken and Yukina or nothing.

The battle itself is heartening, not just because it brings a ferocious energy that was somewhat lacking last week, but again shows Ken still a lot to learn about modern urban combat. He’s understandably rusty, but thanks to Yukina, he stays alive and his relic is undamaged, while they score a hit on the yellow demon and force it to retreat, ascending up to an infernal mothership lurking in orbit.

In hindsight, these first two episodes work far better as a double episode than separately, with the true climax not arriving until the city battle this week, which puts Yukina and Ken on more equal footing as co-pilots. This may seem like ‘the pits’ to Yukina now, but it’s also a definite path forward.

Where before she was simply drifting about, unsure of how to become the successor to her mom she assumed everyone around her expected her to be, now she has the means to become something else entirely; something just as important, if not more so.

Kuromukuro – 01 (First Impressions)

Kuromukuro opens with a striking image: that of two beastly mechas with glowing katana dueling in a snowstorm, as samurai battle and lay bleeding on the ground.

Cut to a parent-teacher conference in which Shirahane Yukina’s advisor is informing her highfalutin’ mom Hiromi as tactfully as possible (though not very) that her daughter may not have the smarts or the talent to make much of herself, as indicated by listing “Mars” among her future goals.

Hiromi storms off, leaving her UN-issued phone behind, and both her mom and her friend Sophie (who also works at the UN lab in Kurobe) aren’t listening when she tries to return it.

Yukina (voiced ably by Ichimichi Mao, who is also Space Patrol Luluco this Spring) has lofty goals but her motivation is compromised by being the daughter—the princess, in a way—stuck in the shadow of the queen, her mom, the director of the Kurobe Lab.

The episode does a good job establishing Yukina as someone a bit hemmed in and intimidated by her circumstances, who may just need a swift kick in the bum to on track to greatness. But this week she’s very much a passive observer, with one key exception (more on that later).

Sure enough, a potential bum-kick arrives in the form of a rude invasion by a swarm of evil mecha led by one giant one, who crash landed just outside the UN lab. The security forces do there best, but are soon overwhelmed, and Hiromi (ensconced in a very Evangelionesque CIC) deploys their own experimental mecha.

It’s at this point that Yukina, who happens to be in a lab where a large, mysterious, black, cubic artifact that was found during the construction of the dam, stops watching and does something.

Specifically, she hits the Big Red Button on the side of the cube, and out pops a naked man, awakening from suspended animation of untold duration.

Having pushed the button, Yukina returns to Standing Around Mode, while her classmate Sophie pilots one of the UN mecha and takes out the giant enemy mech.

A smaller mech gets in the lab where Yukina is, and the naked guy whips out a katana and protects Yukina, whom he calls “princess” (which may or may not be a coincidence). He looks, talks, and fights like a samurai, and even has a samurai name: Ouma Kennosuke Tokisada.

Once the small mecha is taken care of, UN police swarm in to deal with the naked man. Thus ends Yukina’s big, interesting day of watching stuff happen around her, to which she contributes a single button push that may just be the most important action taken.

Or it would end, but for another giant mecha headed to the UN Lab, along with another swarm of grunts. There’s a similar giant machine in deep storage at the lab, and judging from the configuration of the UN prototypes, it needs two to pilot. So I suspect Yukina and Ouma will be the ones to do so next week.

So far this is a heckuva lot better and more promising than the last P.A. Work Zane attempted, Haruchika, particularly in terms of production values. I’ll give it an 8 for design and a female heroine, and a 7 for overall story, action, pace, and originality.