As another small recap over how the last episode ended, The Saotome Laboratory was invaded by a large army of what the Lab called insects. A portal opened from an area controlled by a certain Queen Meldusa and an army of mecha that swarmed in like insects started to head towards the base. In retaliation, the Saotome Laboratory sent out it’s D-2 Getter Units. That is where the episode ended with that stalemate hanging over into this episode.
So far, this episode had the strongest opening and it was a flashback to the night where Takuma Nagare’s mother is killed by mysterious men that made it to their door. That dinner conversation about her was very enlightening. She’s very strict and loves Ryoma Nagare despite all the obvious flaws that he had and that’s just true love right there. She also is very strict toward Takuma while also giving her life to protect him as Takuma ran away to meet Baku. I can see every reason why Takuma wants revenge because she sounds like a good mom. This portion is where Getter Robo Arc looked the best as well, so there was some good obvious focus here.
As usual, the middle section of this episode of Arc was to build up the stakes and set the level of how great the Getter Robo Arc is in power. Of course, the D-2 Getter Robo units are the cannon fodder. That’s an anime trope as old as dirt at this point. Out of the five that came out, a couple got decimated by the enemy general that has the power to copy Getter Robo units perfectly. That leads to the remaining ones running away and the eventual launch of the Getter Robo Arc itself in the most bad ass way possible. So yes, the stakes were well set in ways that were expected. Its good writing to not mess any of that up.
The launch of the Getter Robo Arc was absolutely incredible. From missile support directly attached to Professor Shikishima’s personality, the Getter Robo Arc launched at the same time as those with the missiles really close to them. With the help of the remaining D-2 units, the Getter Robo Arc was formed, completely decimated the enemy general in seconds and then the remaining Insector units in seconds with a lightning attack. That was the hypest way to fully reveal the Getter Robo Arc possible. Especially since we haven’t seen it formed together in the series yet. So for all the reveals, it did everything correctly and powerful ways.
There is a little more to ad to this show, because this is where we meet the antagonists themselves. After the defeat of the enemy units, the enemies tell the Saotome lab who they are by creating a giant human figure using some black specs. They are the Andromeda Stellaration (though it’s Andromeda Country in the manga) and they seek to destroy everything associated with the Getter Rays starting with the Saotome Lab. Of course, it gets worse when we learn that is one of the voices associated with killing Takuma’s mom. I thought it would be the lab itself because they took the special blood of Baku and Takuma before flight, but I was wrong. What a great way to create a plot sandwich, right? This episode is very well written and thought out.
I feel a lot better about the sound design this week. It had all the impact it needed for the Getter Robo fights and the fantastic and real Getter Robo Arc reveal. The 2D animation was a lot better this time. Particularly in the opening segment because that was where most of it was present even without showing any powerful fighting. The direction was only needed to show a lot with out that happening and had some digression for her death Very well directed seen for a few minutes of showing that. I guess that is where the focus of this went because the rest of the 2D was characters standing around waiting to be launched.
This episode of Getter Robo Arc did show some of the limits of the 3D animation. It does a fantastic job with the titular mecha, the D-2 Getter units, and the enemy general, but it’s very copy and paste with everything else. The Insector units that were around, who are obvious things to be destroyed easily and didn’t matter in the long run. Same with the missiles launched from the Saotome base itself. Very copy and paced. The direction of the CG was still pretty fantastic though. It definitely is a cheaply produced series that knows where to focus the assets in the most correct moments. I am a busy curious about how the visuals are going to be handled from this point forward. I wonder how many of the other assets in the future will some good attention.
So far, this show is doing pretty decently with everything that its presented. This episode especially shows that. It does a good job of balancing humor by placing them in the right moments that don’t ruin a lot of the character drama of the story at large. I also really like seeing Baku, Kamui, and Takuma getting along with each other, the massive threat the Andromeda Stellaris represent, and so many hidden mysteries that are to be revealed as time goes on. The animation was lacking a bit in the 3D department this time around, but copy and paste is fine with your focus isn’t on the main units. Very solid episode.
Mechanical Anime Reviews 
One comment