This anime knows no rest. Usually, a slow down episode would be the name of the game for anime series because it allows animators some time to rest after creating some awesome sequences. I can see why BEE Media and Studio A-Cat chose CG for this show because it keeps pushing onward and onward and onward with all sorts of crazy happenings. Animating Getter Robo Arc would take a large production studio that has a large budget for mecha in 2021. Something that Trigger and Sunrise would be able to do, but nothing else. So while the animation is always going to be decent at best, the show’s crazy story telling is still giving it momentum.
As usual, Getter Robo Arc starts up with some focus on the Andromeda Stellaration plotting there next moves. The general in charge alongside McDonald report to Meldusa that their plans are going well and Meldusa gives the ok to attack the whole Earth instead of just the Saotome Laboratory. So yeah, pretty classic “a lot of bad things are going to happen”. What we do learn is that the conflict is a little more layered. McDonald recounts a giant Getter Machine destroyed his last leader thus adding some layers to the conflict. The Andromeda Stellaration are fighting for their future and aren’t attacking Earth because they just feel like it. The Getter Rays are bad for them. I like this because it makes the story a little more then good guys vs bad guys.
As for the Saotome Lab, they are visited by a member of the allied forces by the name of Shou Tachibana (who piloted a Getter Robo unit before). So she does her usual sizing up of the current Getter generation pilots which Takuma gets offended like usual. Plus, she is there to reinforce the Saotome Lab because without her there, the lab only has one D-2 Getter Unit and the Arc for defense. Of course, the show itself does the crazy thing of pushing the Getter Robo Pilots out of the episode by giving them a secret mission deep in the ocean. Something which Takuma also complains about. So yeah, not a smart choice plot wise but other things needed to happen to make the story more impactful. At least we get to see Baku’s Getter Khan unit traveling underwater and at least we get a cliff hanger at the dinosaur empire base. Kamui knew all along.
I also mentioned this conflict being world wide? Well, there is a giant stoker in the middle of the ocean surface somewhere that needs to be dealt with and other stokers in different places. The bigger one might just end in the destruction of the world if it’s allowed to consume the Earth. Well, the navy is here to the rescue. Or not, you know? If only they Getter Robo Arc can go on the offensive, but as Kamui points out to Takuma, the portals can only be used by the Andromeda Stellaration. So anyway, the navy under Admiral Schwartzkomp attacks the giant stoker and their own missiles go through it and then attack the navy ships from behind them. Yeah, the navy is destroyed, so only Getter units can probably hurt it?
Speaking of attacks and Getter units, the Saotome Laboratory is under attack once again as well. This time, a bunch of insectors form together to become one giant insector. So of course, the one D-2 Unit and the three Getter units Sho brought with her fight against it and continue to fail. So, of course the Getter dragon summons a black Shin Getter Robo. One still controlled by Ryoma Nagare, Go, and Baku’s brother Tehir. The black Shin Getter Robo is the hypest part of this episode from it completely annihilating the giant insector to using the Stoner Sunshine to completely wipe out all the insectors at one time. Amazing moment. After the battle, the Black Shin Getter disappears which begs the question of what the hell is the Getter Dragon doing? Can it know when it needs to be defended? Can humans even control it? Lots of things to think about regarding Getter Rays and what they can do. There really is a lot of tension here. If only the Andromeda Stellaration and human kind can talk about this, but I don’t think they will.
I am getting really tired of saying that the 2D art and animation is just bad, but it’s just there to be functional at best. Characters in 2D mainly just sit, stand, or move horribly to be fulfilled here. It’s mainly to fill the space between characters talking to each other. The same could be said for this episode. Shou meeting Takuma, Baku, and Kamui are well directed, but there is no movement to it at all. It’s characters just being cut between stand still moments to at least give a hint of movement before hand. There are powerful moments in this episode like Shou and Hayato shaking hands, but that was it. I couldn’t even tell that it was Shou at the end of last episode because the show got her hair color wrong.
The 3D animation was decent to amazing. The lower end towards decent features the Getter Robo Khan believably going deeper and deeper into the ocean with some good cockpit shots of the characters looking into the ocean here. The slightly better edition of 3D were the models of the navy ships firing missiles into the stoker and then getting destroyed. The models of these ships were pretty good and it was awesome to see them explode. The D-2 and other units against the giant insector were good as well. The high end featured the Black Shin Getter Robo Stoner Sunshining the damn huge amount of insectors. Or general Black Shin Getter robo things in general. It was incredible. While the attacks were never as good as the Getter Robo ovas, the show did fantastically for the budget that its on. I couldn’t be more hyped.
So yeah, this episode was a mixed bag. The Black Shin Getter Robo was incredible and worth every moment of set up at the Saotome Laboratory. The navy segment was there to just add to the threat of the Andromeda Stellaration in how normal units can’t do anything. Otherwise, just a lot of good fanservice moments of characters from past series showing up to help the Saotome Laboratory in whatever way they can. The Getter Khan traveling down to the ocean was just a set up for episode 7. Still a good episode over all and very hype, just never consistently there.
Mechanical Anime Reviews 
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