Oh yeah so King's seiyu is the voice of Frieza in Japan.

And while not the Frieza for the dub, it is a Frieza, one of the newer one's to the role I believe.

Thought that was a funny coincidence.

It is. King's' design being that of a skinny pale alien makes for a fun coincidence too.

This episode almost worked, but ended up crashing hard by the end.

And through this episode it's become clear to me that the writers of this show really didn't know how to write an emotional climax.

First off, there's way too much going on in this episode for its own good. We're constantly cutting between the exploits of the four different groups, and as such none of them outside of Sophie and Lizzy receive nearly enough focus.

Second, the framing of the episode overall is incredibly weird. The way it flows feels like it's the final episode, only to take it all back by the final minute. And speaking of that final minute, the thing is weirdly framed as if it's supposed to be comedic even though it very much isn't.

And last, none of these arcs get wrapped up in any sort of satisfying way. With Sophie it's more of the same with Bishop barely even doing anything, with Gina it's that her and Queen never really had much of a connection to begin with, with Luke, infuriatingly, he's not the one who gets to finish off Knight, and lastly, and the one that annoyed me most, during Sword's' bits it's revealed that not only are all of the anime in the same continuity, but that King killed off the previous casts off screen.

If you're about to quote Dan Slott and say that an enraged fan is an engaged fan, well then sorry to disappoint but when things like this annoy me, I don't hyper focus and go bitch at the author on social media, I emotionally check out completely. I cease caring about the narrative at that point. It'd be like if in Power Rangers they revealed that all of the Sentai-exclusive teams were killed off screen. Why should I at all care at that point?

About the only cool thing in this episode was the stylistic black and white action scene with Sword and Zaruba. A shame that this show didn't have the budget for a miracle hour super mode though, with Sword just getting a new weapon instead. Otherwise, this entire endgame has just been one big fumble after another.

Next episode is the last one. Let's see if it can somehow turn things around.

I'll be completely honest... I never really viewed King's speech as like, killing them? Maybe it was a dub thing? Cause going back and watching the dub and sub on certain parts uh... the dub I've noticed takes way more liberties than I expected.

But anyway the way King talks is like "I've tried countless times to snuff you all out and really you all just keep coming back" and it's very much supposed to be taken as more metaphorical than literal? Like he's not literally killing the people he's showing, it's just showing that the shows are connected throughout the eras and showing the wider scope of it all as King laments how he can't seem to get rid of the Makai Order.

So yeah, I'll be real when I say I really think you just took it the complete wrong way somehow.

As for Luke... well I'll be honest. I'm fine with him not getting the deciding blow on Knight. Like, I feel like that would've gone completely against what he's being built up as? The dude's whole thing really has been needing to let go of pointless revenge, find out what he needs to protect, and gain the strength to protect all throughout the series. Him killing Knight, while potentially satisfying, wouldn't really work with how he went.

I honestly thought it was cool and a bit sad how, he's on his last legs but you can tell he's satisfied. He's not angry, he's not in despair, he knows what it means to protect, to be a knight now, and he almost pity's the fact that Knight can't understand that. Even Knight doesn't really properly get a retort in, he just vanishes on Luke. He doesn't even try to kill Luke in response either, and in a way, Luke wins in that moment.

Given what company dubbed this, that doesn't surprise me.

Here's how the dub translates his speech:

"So predictable. Mankind never changes. Struggling, rejecting annihilation, no matter the era. Again and again I crush you under foot, yet you scuttle back with the tenacity of roaches."

All while we're shown images of Crimson Moon and Carved Seal of Flames. It really is the "crush you under foot" part that makes me think the implication is that he fought the previous Garo and won.

The only other way I can think to take it is that King is somehow the one behind the plots of the previous two anime? Which is its own sort of asspull. Not even like arc welding would be all that hard either, given that the previous two plots very heavily featured the moon in them.

That's all well and good, but on the other hand, Luke and Knight are the most tied together in terms of both backstory and character arc. Knight is Luke's' father. Knight is the one who killed Luke's' mother. And Knight is the one who was training Luke to be the Silver Knight before things went to Hell.

Even if this didn't end with Luke killing Knight off, having Luke not only lose the fight with Knight barely having a scratch on him, but making it so that the final battle is instead Knight vs Sword, two characters who barely have anything to do with one another, it makes it feel like the entire arc had no end goal in mind and makes the entire event ring hollow.

There is nowhere near the emotional investment that Sword vs Knight has compared to Luke vs Knight, and I would've respected the story way more had Luke and Knight been the final battle instead, or at the very least have Luke be able to do enough to both physically and morally win rather than the equivalent of him preaching while getting stabbed repeatedly.

That's Luke as the new Silver Knight, and it would've been so great had there been an episode dedicated to him coming into his own as one.

I'll be upfront. I did not like this ending.

I think the best way to sum it all up is that alot of it very much feels like set up for a movie that just didn't ever happen. Sophie wanting to be an Alchemist, Luke becoming a Knight, the underused Makai Stone, Bishop still being alive...

There's so many things left unresolved or undercooked in terms of story that nothing in this ends up feeling satisfying, and that's saying nothing about how half the episode is wasted on a subplot of Sophie's' memories getting erased only to come back anyway.

Really, the entire endgame of Vanishing Line to me felt as though it needed either more focus, inwhich certain filler episodes(like the motel one) should've been cut in exchange, or that it needed to be cut down more(removing alot of the dumb stuff with Martin would've helped). Instead we get this very weirdly paced stretch of episodes that's less than the sum of its parts.

It overall leaves me with some very mixed feelings concerning the show as a whole, and I think it'll be good for me to give it a day or two of resting in the back of my head before I call final judgment on it as a whole. Certainly it has alot of good stuff going for it, but unfortunately it ended with alot of things that were much not my taste either. One thing I do know for sure though is that I personally feel it's the weakest of the GARO anime.

Really wish they'd gone for something bombastic in the end, but I guess all the budget was spent on the first Knight episode and the Mad Max-esque one. Such a shame.

Final thoughts on the show as a whole come either tomorrow or the day after depending on how busy I am.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON GARO: VANISHING LINE

The final arc and ending of a story can have a big effect on one's' feelings about it overall.

On one hand, some will say that it's the journey that matters and not the destination, and on the other, some argue that if the ending isn't satisfactory, then what's even the point?

Me? I really can't say either mindset is exactly wrong.

In my experience, I've ended up on both sides depending on the story involved. For example, the final act of Kamen Rider Faiz really messed with my headspace concerning that show. It was a story that I was thoroughly enjoying up until that point, and it's what always sticks in my mind whenever I think about the story as a whole.

Meanwhile, with, say, Hug! Pretty Cure! that is show that, while I feel the ending is rather rough, doesn't ruin all the great times I had watching it, and I still put it as one of my favorite magical girl shows to date. The journey was so good that a lackluster ending didn't do much to hamper my looking back on it.

I think the main factor on if a final bit of a show super dampens the experience for me or not is the length, and with that in mind, perhaps you'll see where I'm coming from when I say that, at the end of the day, I find Garo: Vanishing Line to be... decent. Not great, not horrible. Just an overall alright experience. But rather than just leave it there, I'm gonna bring back the final thoughts format I used for the previous two GARO anime. Here we go.


The endgame and the pacing.

Those final six episodes are a serious slog to get through. Not even just in terms of pacing, but in handling an ending off the arcs of every character involved.

I think the biggest factor that killed it all for me was how the show very much tried to have its cake and eat it too without actually going all in on any of the concepts that is brought to the table.

One minute Martin is an evil overlord, the next minute he's a pure soul who's misunderstood... there's alot of back and forth, and not even solely concerning Martin either. Sophie, like it or not, IS the main character of this entire show, and the final arc focuses on her so much that every other character is left behind.

They really bank on you being all in on her part in the plot, but unfortunately for the writers, as the show continued to go on, I began liking Sophie less and less and started liking Gina, Sword, and especially Luke way, way more. Sophie's' development lead to her becoming a self-centered brat, whereas everyone else took the exact opposite progression.

And also keep in mind that this is six episodes out of a 24 episode show. That's 25% of the run time, which is alot! Also not helping that is there's two episodes towards the middle that could've easily been cut: Episodes 12 and 15, which don't amount to anything at all in the grand scheme of things and aren't even particularly engaging to watch. I think it would've been alot better to have two more episodes in the anime's' beginning arc instead.

While I wouldn't say the beginning arc is bad, it's definitely a bit unexplored. The show does give just enough of it to be satisfactory for the big transition point, but I do think one or two more character focused episodes in Russell City would've done the overall pacing of the show some favors instead of an episode where nothing happens other than characters talking in a motel or a villain focused episode that doesn't tell us anything the audience doesn't already know at that point in the show's' run.

This anime's' endgame is a serious killer of its momentum, and while I wouldn't say it ruined the story as whole, definitely did make me knock it down a point.


The middle chunk.

This was where the show really found its stride, with engaging character focused episodes and the two best action sequences in the entire show bar none.

While not perfect(again, episodes 12 and 15 could've easily been cut), I had a great time with that section of the show. The development that the Makai Trio go through felt very organic and were capped with very emotional moments.

Plus, it was a rather unique approach for the show to take compared to its previous two counterparts: Featuring the crew traveling to different locations each episode, meeting new people, and experiencing their stories alongside their own. Shout outs to episode 16!

It really is the sort of thing that only a Toku made into an anime could get away with, and I am so glad that the show went this route.


Luke and episode 14.

While I do think that one more episode focused on him in the early days and especially a better ending to his story would've helped alot, Luke overall was a character that I came out really liking, and is easily my favorite in this cast.

Similar to Cruger in Power Rangers SPD, a big part of Luke's' story is about learning to not let the feelings of anger and vengeance ruin you as a person, and instead focus those feelings into motivation towards a better tomorrow for yourself and those around you. In other words, use them as a means to find better empathy towards others and their hardships, and work to lessen the impact of similar evils.

While almost every Luke focused episode is great, episode 14 is by far the biggest highlight, featuring not only great growth for him as a character, but also featuring pretty much everything that makes the GARO anime great: Mature themes, rich characterization, engaging atmosphere, solid comedic beats, and a stylish piece of action.

While not my favorite character in the entirety of the GARO anime(that's still Alfonso), he definitely became my favorite of the Makai Alchemists, and even if I did come out of this show not liking it, it would've been worth the watch if only for him.


If you want my rating up front, I give Vanishing Line a 3/6. I do think that it's overall the weakest of the three anime. While you could argue logistics of the plots of each one, when it comes down to it, the biggest deciding factor for me is that, really, the character work in Crimson Moon and especially Carved Seal of Flames is just way more my taste.

Sure, there's a few other things that hold it back, such as the lower budget compared to the other anime or the obvious setting up for a movie that never happened, but at the end of it all, that's the deciding factor for me. For all their flaws, the other two anime were just so much better at making their characters emotionally engaging(for me atleast). Is VL a bad anime? No, but with such a great track record this subset of the franchise has had, it had some big shoes to fill and it unfortunately just kinda fell short.

I don't regret watching it, and hopefully as time goes on my brain will remain more focused on its positive aspects like it does the previous two shows.

Until next time, Golden Knight...

I finished my second dive into the Pretty Cure franchise!

This time with the season that directly proceeded my first exposure to the series in Hug: Commonly affectionately referred to as Furry PreCure.

And while I didn't like it as much as Hug, I still had a fun time with it for what it was as a more simplistic magical girl show that still manages to throw in some rather nice messages and themes throughout.

Using sweets as its primary vehicle, the show is all about the importance that hobbies and the sharing of them with others are in our lives. The love of baking is not only what brings our cast together, but is what allows them to explore various avenues of their own lives and grow as people.

What is particularly interesting about that in terms of the show's' plot is that the final few episodes of the show have the plot slowly transition into the themes that would be fully explored in the next PreCure season: Planning for your future and the importance of not giving into nihilistic despair. To the point that the final episode almost feels directly out of Hug.

And on both of those notes, my favorite character this season ended up being Yukari, or Cure Macaron. To me she was a much better take on the sort of character that was attempted with Tsukasa from Kamen Rider Decade. The majority of her arc is about how many people will only find value in others based on outward appearances and natural ability as shallow tasks, and how important it is to find love not only in yourself, but for yourself.

She's someone who's so naturally gifted at everything she does that she grows bored with life, and all the praise she gets showered with feels entirely fake. It's only when she attempts to bake macarons, noted to be a higher level sweet to bake, and fails at it that real passion begins to blossom within her, and her working with the other patisserie in the Pretty Cure that she not only finds love in the romantic sense, but looks inwardly at how she treats not only those around her, but also herself. "Beauty and excitement" are her core values, afterall.

And even if she didn't have a great character arc, she's just in general a really fun character to watch. Her primary attitude with almost any given situation is looking at it and going "Can I have fun with this?" and she almost always proceeds to in a way that messes with everyone that's really funny or cartoonishly petty to the point of hilarity. She's very much framed as the token evil teammate early on, but none of her actions are really heinous or mean spirited to the point of making her unlikeable. That she ends up in a romantic relationship with Akira is just icing on the macaron.

Outside of that, while not as physically involved as many other Pretty Cure shows, the fights in KiraKira are still rather fun to watch, with alot of the magic flung around being used in rather creative ways most of the time and rather nicely animated to boot. Chocolate that's molded into a sword, a giant macaron turned into a buzzsaw, ice cream turned into a storm of icicles, the list goes on. All while set to a rather well done musical score throughout the entire anime. Again, not as good as Hug in my opinion, but still done well overall in a way where I have no real complaints. Though sadly some of the best songs are soundtrack only.

Now, is it a perfect show? No. There's definitely fumbles here and there such as one character's' mother being treated like a saint despite her being totally neglectful of her daughter, the conclusions of certain arcs being rather unsatisfactory, and the ending being somewhat contentious. But, none of these made me think of the show any less and I still had an overall fun time watching it. As such, I give PreCure a la Mode a 4/6. Is it anything super deep or amazing? No, but it is an overall fun ride from start to finish with fun action and equally fun and endearing characters while still having some surprisingly solid looks into some slightly more mature aspects. And hey, if representation is your thing, this show has a cast full of lesbians, and one of the Cures is even autistic. Points for that.

It's a good time all the way through, and I do recommend checking it out.

I personally always theorised that king might be whatever' left of Mendoza from seal of flames since he technically never did actually die and the end of that series

I guess I could see that, though it does raise the question as to what the Crimson Moon cast is doing at the start of the flashback given that Mendoza had nothing to do with that. Unless he was meant to be possessed by the final Horror of that show or something.

See the problem with my theory is that in the chronological Garo time Crimson Moon takes place BEFORE Seal of Flames

I admittedly have very little knowledge for experience when it comes to the Ultra franchise. And thus I am no expert when it comes to those shows.

And yet, I can't help but feel like this is an Ultra show in disguise?

The majority of the plot for this first episode is about a duo of paranormal investigators looking into a strange Indian folk song that continually plays on repeat across town; Thinking it might have ties to aliens.

They're eventually proven somewhat correct of course, as the ending of the episode involves Rodan coming down to make a mess of the town. But it really is the investigation and all of the technobabble throughout the episode that made me consider calling this show "Ultra G."

It's also thanks to that that I can see why not many people saw Godzilla: Singular Point through to its end, and why it also has the reputation it does amongst the few who did. There's alot of technical jargon all throughout the episode, and I'd be lying if I tried to claim I didn't need to play back a few scenes due to getting a little lost along the way.

Look, all you really need to to know is that the two leads are huge science nerds who investigate the paranormal, such as fish that swim through time. Everything else just kinda seems to be fluff for how the government has somehow kept the existence of Kaiju under wraps. While there is a little bit of character stuff sprinkled throughout, this episode really is all about the setting up of the overall plot, and letting you know outright that Jet Jaguar is here to stay.

Outside of that, the animation is done well and the art style is nice to look at. The music being rather minimal and the atmosphere being so heavy reminded me alot of the opening episodes of both SSSS.Gridman and Dynazenon, making me think that Gridman ended up carrying quite alot of influence in terms of how Toku anime start their stories. And while I'm not exactly complaining, you'd think Godzilla would actually make an appearance, given the very title of the show in all.

But hey, maybe like the Gridman Universe anime, Singular Point was made with binging in mind, and as such I'm doing a disservice by going episode-by-episode like I usually do. But, only time will tell, and so for now I'll say that while I don't think that this was a particularly great intro episode, I am certainly interested in where exactly this anime is gonna go from here.

Hmm. I never really got the idea that this was an Ultra show, but it most certainly is a Jet Jaguar show, and the history on that guy makes it pretty clear he is an Ultraman Rip off.

My understanding of the origin of Jet Jaguar is that Toho wanted some fans to design a new godzilla character and some sweet innocent child drew a blatant rip off of Ultraman and mailed it in. The toho execs said: “This is how we can rip off ultraman and steal his clout!” and they did it!

So circling around back to it, I will declare my first paragraph wrong and state this is an Ultra Show*.

*The author of this post does not stand by this statement.

Also good luck binging this show. Haha. It’d be like binging some college lecture.

The design of Godzilla and the opening to this show are both impeccable.

Again, I could very easily be way off base with my comparison, haha. Though the origin of Jet Jaguar's' design is certainly interesting, and hey, if the show really is all about him then I'm all for it. Love this robot.

Believe it or not I used to do that with my online courses in college. Would just get everything I possibly could done in one day if not two. So uh, I might be able to pull it off!

Well I hope you enjoy it. Studio Bones does great work so it will at least always look good.

*Returns from the dead*

Hoho! Godzilla: Singular Point! I think I know how this is going to end for you as far as the science talk is concerned. I watched this with fansubs when it was airing in Japan, so I've been planning on rewatching it with official subs, but I'm really busy right now.

Now, let me just say this right now: do NOT expect Godzilla to be as onscreen as often as you're thinking! Now, as a longtime Godzilla fan and nerd, I don't have a problem with this, and I'm aware this is a constant critique amongst the crowds, and I'll just confidently declare that Godzilla not getting as much screen time just because his names on the title is normal for Godzilla standards, even from the Original 1954.

That said, there will be a LOT of science talk that will go over your head more than once (if I haven't rewatched it by the time you're done, you'll have to take my horrible memory when I try to summarize this poorly), but there's also a lot of Mythological aspects to this show that may or may not be apparent to you.

I personally really enjoyed this, and it should provide some very fun scenes as this progresses. But be prepared, that there's going to be some moments that sound like Shin Godzilla on paper, but I can assure you, that some of them work in a completely different way. But overall, I hope you get some enjoyment out of this, despite how much it will go over your head.

I assure you they won't be.

Also, welcome back!

While I didn't think the first episode was bad, episode 2 was way more my speed.

It starts off really strong with not only some intense action of Jet Jaguar vs Rodan, but also showcases how the men of the Otaki Factory all have balls of wrought iron via immediately jumping at the call to defend the city.

And beyond that, the personalities of the cast are shown off alot better in this one too, with the voice actors giving performances that make everyone alot more likable and endearing. And before you ask, yes, I am watching the dub as per my usual go-to.

Probably the biggest thing for my though was that the overall atmosphere was actually rather captivating.

There's a bunch of little things that go into that which all come together to keep me hooked. Society's' response to the sudden appearance of a real, live, dinosaur, the planning stages for the next attack by a flock of Rodan, more science-y technobabble to go with the investigations and inventions being made; I found myself pretty hooked!

Both the OP and ED are pretty good too, with some nice music and interesting visuals. But those aside, it felt like episode 2 overall was the proper second half of episode 1, to where I'm surprised that they weren't labeled as a two-parter outright. Though I don't exactly know what these titles are supposed to mean either way...

Anyway! Yeah, this was a fun one, and I hope that the rest of the show can keep up this good pacing and atmosphere.

You may or may not have noticed, but the Ending is nothing but Godzilla References, and for that, it was probably one of my favorite Anime Endings of that year. I got excited and emotional watching it the first time.

I also really enjoy the Otaki Crew, they're a fun group. The old guy, Goro, is likely a reference to Goro Ibuki, the creator of Jet Jaguar in Godzilla Vs Megalon, and while someone brought up that odd origin story of him, he was indeed from a contest for a Godzilla monster to appear in a later film, initially he was titled Red Alone (I'm sure some people might get the reference he makes in Evangelion), but he didn't look like Ultraman until he was projected to get his own film, which was eventually turned into a Godzilla Movie and to capitalize on the Tokusatsu Superhero boom, thus was changed entirely.

Now the titles are interesting. Episode 1: Terzetto, basically means "trio," a musical number involving three voices. Which is funny since the first episode revolved around a song. Episode 2: Gamesome, means "frolicsome," from the word "frolic." And yes, I googled these, partly because I didn't know the episodes were titled when they were fan-subbed, so count on me to translate them for you.

I'd talk more about references and such, but I'm really tired as of writing this.

Thanks for the elaboration on the titles! And yeah, I noticed a few of the Godzilla references, so that was certainly fun.

I really should marathon the movies again sometime...

We're now a quarter of the way through and I am most certainly having a good time!

This anime has found some ways to be absolutely refreshing to me, both in terms of "Netflix Originals" as well as shows that I've been watching recently.

Like, let's just get it out of the way right here, this is already way better than that Film Trilogy that Netflix put out a few years ago, the biggest factor being that at the very least stuff is actually happening in this show unlike those movies.

The majority of this episode is all about the Otoki Crew saving the town from the Rodan invasion, and the various different hurdles they run into along the way. Meanwhile, Biologist Girl goes off to get an advancement in her career or whatever, but really, who cares about that?

Speaking of which, Yun is so refreshing as a protagonist for me. I've been watching so many shows recently where the main protag is either a total meathead or is that sort of fantasy fake "smart guy" who solves all of his problems with brute force despite their alleged intelligence. But Yun not only isn't going around punching Kaiju, he's figuring out creative ways to save the day.

But really, the best thing about this show so far really is its atmosphere. Both episodes 2 and 3 have had me totally hooked from start to finish thanks to it, and it's an aspect that I really hope the show as a whole doesn't lose. The characters being likable, the animation being visually pleasing, and the action being fun all add to the experience, but man, this team nailed the atmosphere first and foremost for sure.

Though I do hope I don't end up essentially just repeating myself with each write up going forward. There are shows are I think are much better reviewed as a whole rather than on an episode-by-episode basis, and I think that this might be one of them? Only time will tell of course, but still, I'll do my best to try and vary things up going forward. But for now, all I can really say is that I'm having a good time so far, and I'm looking forward to how the anime is going to go about unraveling the few mysteries that it's set up so far.

I think I'm noticing a pattern.

This is an episode that goes back to the investigation side of things, this time involving one of the Rodan corpses going missing.

And if I'm right, the next episode is gonna be another action climax about how exactly to deal with this new Kaiju that's appeared. And ya know, I am totally down with this pattern if I'm right.

Because I am atleast having fun watching it all unfold, and it makes me think that Godzilla itself is gonna be the final boss, especially with those bones that the show keeps reminding the viewer exists. Though given how little she has to do with everything so far, I am wondering where exactly the Mei subplot is going.

So, yeah. We're back to alot of science-y talk that I'm sure makes some sort of sense to someone with a biology or science degree, but to me it basically just translates to "Kaiju come from an alternate dimension that's breaking into ours." Which, hey, works for me. And given the whole "archetype" stuff that the plot has been expanding on, maybe that'll come back around to affect Jet Jaguar somehow? I'm really just speculating at this point.

But yeah, back to square one, but that's not really a bad thing, I think.

Is Yun a Kaiju?

I'm actually really starting to wonder that given not only the plot of this episode, but also some of the interweaving threads of the show so far.

Outside of the usual Kaiju hunting, this episode talks about about time loops, or rather, different points in time being brought to a singular point, which also ties into the first episode, where Yun talks about how the future is fixed.

That, combined with the very interesting behavior of Anguirus, makes me really wonder if Yun really is a normal human. If not a Kaiju, then maybe at some point he was exposed to the red dust, which is apparently what archetypes, the material which defies time and space, are made of?

Speaking of Anguirus, is it weird that I actually feel kinda bad for the thing? Not only is it a child Kaiju, but it only ever seems to act in self-defense, rather than any sort of malicious instinct like Rodan does. It ate one of the Rodan corpses in secret, and only ever attacked any humans who attacked it first. Heck, it even let Yun and the hunters go despite being shot at.

It really makes me hope that the next episode ends in a more peaceful solution for the thing, but given that Jet Jaguar is readying up to fight it, I think that might be wishful thinking unfortunately. This is one of the few times where I'm actually not looking forward to a big and flashy action climax to the arc. Or maybe I'm thinking about robots beating up Kaiju too hard, which is ironic given the kind of science-y driven plot that this anime has.

Oh, almost forgot, maybe we're not supposed to think about it too hard, but I am rather confused as to how exactly Mei's' plotline and Yun's' plotline line up. Not in terms of like, themes and ideas, but more the exact timeframe. The way the events of the episode is played out, it really seems as though the two are exchanging texts all while Yun is running around looking for Anguirus. Which, while not impossible, is a bit improbable. My current theory is that the AI in his phone is doing all of the talking for him, given that the two exchange replies near instantly. Well whatever, it's not a huge deal I suppose.

But yeah, action climax, next episode. Hoo boy.

Making a cameo to clarify titles and talk a bit once again.

Episode 3: Tigerish, kind of speaks for itself, same with Episode 5: Theorist. Episode 4: Gadabout, refers to pleasure seeking or wandering, which fits the behavior of Anguirus.

Speaking of Anguirus, he's one of my favorite Kaiju among the Godzilla Monsters, and it's no surprise I absolutely love him in this series. He's even equipped with a new ability. Which brings us to some more Science talk! I may be no Bill Nye, but I can tell you, you're on the right track of mind about what they're discussing.

I'll probably talk about the topics of Archetypes they're discussing a little later, but for now, if you remember the "Goshira" (a picture depicting a monster using Godzilla's base names but the "Kushira/Whale" is more prominent since it's a sea creature) being a very old Japanese folklore style painting, you might have some idea what they're referring to about the Kaiju and the Archetype.

Also, I can tell you right now, that Mei's role will make sense soon. As for their communications, it's likely just using the LINE messaging as a display or a summary of their discussions. The A.I. take is an accurate bet, since they've explained how their A.I.s somewhat work, so either take is reasonable, but the former is likely what they went with. I could be wrong, though. Also, Mei and Yun are meant to be two geniuses bouncing off each other, so it'll all (maybe) make sense in the future.

The chats being a sum up of their conversations rather than happening in real time would make a bit more sense given the events going on, though it does still make me wonder how exactly these two plots line up at times.

Thanks again for clarifying on titles and such!

Anguirus did nothing wrong.

With that out of the way, is it bad that the first half of this episode immediately brought to mind the "everything is connected" meme?

Because this episode ups the analytical ante by involving not just the science of alternate realities, but also the word of creative writing, religion, and even straight up magic is mentioned at one point.

And while it is quite alot of words, the gist of it all is that the Kaiju might be appearing in "our" world due to humanity tampering with forces it was never meant to. Which, ya know, does fit in with a handful of Godzilla movies, despite being a bit of a movie cliche.

The second half of the episode has to do with the fight against Anguirus, and while it is choreographed nicely enough, again, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the thing. I feel like the show made it a bit too "real world animal"-like for me to not. For example, while I get that the intended idea of it pushing Jet Jaguar around was likely meant as a way of Anguirus "playing with its food" the way its animated and also how it just leaves Jaguar alone more came across to me like a pet playing with a ball.

But that aside, while I've already noted the brass iron balls on the Otoki Crew, I do wanna give a special mention to Goro, who is very much a more light-hearted and kinda comedic character, but yet he never actually ruins the overall vibe of the show. Sure, he's not exactly knee-slappingly funny or anything, but I also can't really help but get a smile on my face whenever he's around doing his thing. It's a nice little bit of levity from all the more dramatic science talk.

Two Kaiju down. Two more to go?

Halfway in and I am convinced that this show is absolutely better off binged.

The reason being that I feel like I'm kinda out of stuff to talk about? Don't get me wrong, things certainly happened here, but I'm struggling to think of what to say.

I'm not even trying to say that this episode is bad, or dull, or whatever, I am still having a good time, it's just more of what the show has already provided in terms of characters and whatnot? A recap is really all I can think to do here.

So, if you're curious, the Otoki crew continues to try and find ways of upgrading Jet Jaguar, with their latest addition being a spear made out of one of the spikes torn from Anguirus' shell. A spike so sharp it can cut through metal cable like it's nothing, I might add.

Meanwhile, the subplot of the makers of the Archetypes continues forward, with them finding a way to kill a beast that can control the red dust via using a device that I think is an homage to the oxygen bomb from the first Godzilla movie? And it's all thanks to Mei breaking down Professor Asahashi's' research.

...Right, I forgot to mention that stuff in these write ups, haven't I? Yeah, one of the many, many subplots going on in this show is the mystery behind the guy who first discovered the red dust and studied it, known as Professor Asahashi. What exactly the red dust is is unknown, with the only definitives so far being that it's what allows the Kaiju to exist in our world.

Also, Godzilla shows up in this episode! Which actually surprised me given that I for sure thought that the dinosaur bones contained in the basement of the government factory were supposed to be the bones of Godzilla, especially with how this episode establishes that the skeleton is technically alive, to the point that it's what played the song in episode one and appears to be beconing the other Kaiju into the world.

One thing that I am surprised that this episode really didn't dive into is the question it poses near its start: What good is having knowledge of the future if there's no way to change it? This is actually a rather deep question(to me atleast) that I've not only heard discussed myself, but one that alot of people have various different answers on. But outside of the question getting posed again during a chat between Mei and Yun, it's unfortunately not really explored. So I hope it gets brought up again in a later episode.

Oh, speaking of the start of the episode, it actually had me thinking that Yun had gone deaf due to the climax of the the previous one. Which really would've made sense given he point blank fired a harpoon cannon, and those things I imagine are incredibly loud, just like guns in real life. But no, the weird white noise transition was just kinda... there, for some reason. Well whatever.

Yeah, that's about all I got. Surprised we're getting to Godzilla at the halfway mark rather than during the final couple of episodes, honestly.

Admittedly I'm not the most well versed in terms of Godzilla lore.

But despite that, I still feel like this is an overall unique take on both the character and franchise?

It's a really interesting decision to make: Having Godzilla show up only to then immediately cocoon itself without much of a fight. And ontop of that, this one breathes gas rather than Godzilla's' signature Atomic Breath.

Past that, Mei gets ahold of Ashihara's' research notes, and surprisingly comes to understand them more or less. The big reveal being that it was due to Ashihara's' being able to see into the future that spelled the end for the universe as a whole, with a hint that Mei might be going just as mad as he did.

But the big takeaway for me was of course the exploits of the Otaki Crew; This time fighting against a legion of Spider Kaiju who can manipulate their own blood to keep moving even after being chopped in half. And man, I already don't like spiders. A sight like that would send me over the edge easy. Still, the Spear of Anguirus certainly puts in work.

And that's about all there was to this one really. It was fun, but it was very much just a sort of stepping stone type of episode. The big deep question from last episode is still left unanswered unfortunately, though in a very quick line it's established that Yun's' AI has 5 siblings of sorts, so maybe that'll go somewhere? Speaking of which, I think this is the first time we actually see Mei and Yun's' texts in real time rather than in a sort of montage? Kinda funny seeing the texts pour in during the Kaiju attack, especially fresh off of a show like Samurai Flamenco. (If you know, you knw.)

But yeah, Spider Kaiju! Looking forward to seeing how Yun's' genius is gonna get the crew out of this one.

The Catastrophe has begun.

Although that being said, is it weird that one of my immediate thoughts upon reaching the end of the episode was that a crossover of this and Pacific Rim would be incredibly easy to do?

When it comes to science-y side of things, alot of the talk has to do with how Ashihara was desperately trying to map out various different timelines in order to avoid an apocalypse from hitting own universe. And in a cute nod to the original Godzilla, brings up the famous "I am become Death" quote.

Rather tellingly, alot of the suits ignore the majority of what Mei has to say about her findings and are only concerned with profit and getting rid of the red dust.

And while that was all well presented and interesting to listen to, the other half of this episode is pure A Awesome, detailing the struggles of the Otaki Crew against a legion of Spider Kaiju. The entire sequence is high energy, intense, and even contains probably the sickest action scene so far: That being Jet Jaguar fighting a hoard of Spiders atop a burning warehouse.

While there are certainly victories across both plotlines, the ending is very much "get ready for the climax" as the whole world is starting to get overrun with Kaiju, just as Ashihara had predicted. Though it also does raise an interesting point about being able to see the future, which is the idea that in order to actually see a specific future event, it must be one that actually has the possibility of happening, otherwise you wouldn't be able to find it.

Very interested in seeing how this all ends across these last four episodes!

Oh I was so frustrated that that dude kept texting that girl about unrelated crap while he was in the middle of getting attacked by GIANT HORRIBLE BLUE GOOP SPIDERS!

Like, just tell the girl you will text her later! I don’t remember specifically, but wasn’t a dude literally being eaten by the goop spiders as the guy was texting his friend?!

also i wanted to see the giant horrible blue goop spiders wrecking dudes. I did not want to see a bunch of texts about science

EDIT: I don’t know if we were supposed to think about hedorah when those blue boys were running about, but I thought about Hedorah.

Not quite. The threat was there, but no one actively got eaten. The mission was to save a guy who'd been captured by the spiders, and they did.

Ah ok. Well I don?t want to micromanage him if he got the job done, lol. Go ahead and text. I think he had it on silent at least, right. Haha.

It's time for Toku Titles! Episode 5: Enfatico, means emphatic or forceful as a direction of music, which is one of the topics of said episode. Episode 7: Omniarch, refers to the ruler of the world or everything, this can be connected to the Kaiju or Godzilla himself specifically. Episode 8: Graftage, is the process, practice, or technique of Grafting, referencing Ashihara's notes. And Episode 9: Erumpent, means bursting forth or through a surface, another reference to Godzilla.

Now, there's a lot to say, so get ready for a long one.

First off, this isn't exactly obvious to many, but this Anime is based off the 1974 Toho Disaster film Prophecies of Nostradamus. Now you all know Nostradamus, the film was basically centered around said prophecies while trying to make sense of the book of the man himself. Very similar to what's going on in this show. However, the same was true for Shin Godzilla, though the key difference is that unlike Shin Godzilla, which was about Godzilla himself, Singular Point has it more in line with the Prophecies of Nostradamus with the future and such.

I've already said how Anguirus is one of my favorite Kaiju, but the Anguirus Spear is also a really neat idea for a weapon. And not only that, Jet Jaguar gets an actual pair of legs! There's a reason people refer to this Anime as the Jet Jaguar Anime, and I'm all for that.

Now, interestingly enough, the other Kaiju are all based off existing Toho Monsters, albeit some with different names. So, first off, the Spiders, whom I think were called Kumanga(?), are based off Kumonga (the Spider Monster that first appeared in Son of Godzilla 1967) and Megalon (from Godzilla Vs Megalon 1973), while its main build is that of Kumonga, Megalon's drills and patterns are shown throughout the design. The blue goop monster is Hanega, based off Hedorah the smog monster (Godzilla Vs Hedorah 1971) and Dogora a giant energy jellyfish from space (Dogora 1964). Salunga is based off Gabara from All Monsters Attack/Godzilla's Revenge (1970), though the one in that film was named after the bully kid, here it refers to the Celestial Bow of the Hindu God Vishnu (remember how I said there was a lot of mythological references?), supposedly also based off Baragon (first appearance Frankenstein Vs Baragon 1965).

As for Godzilla, his Aquatalis Form is based off Titanosaurus from Terror of Mechagodzilla 1975 (apparently there's an actual dinosaur named Titanosaurus, so Toho likely couldn't keep his name trademarked). His Amphibia Form is based off Varan from the 1958 film of the same name (Toho initially tried to make Varan the new star as a replacement for Godzilla but it never really took off, partly due to the poor conditions of the suit). His Terrestris Form is either based off Gorosaurus, a Dinosaur Kaiju who first debuted in 1967 Film King Kong Escapes, or the 1998 American Godzilla. Now, Godzilla evolving was first introduced in Shin Godzilla in 2016, but here, it's more in line with Oni from Japanese Mythology, as some people have pointed out the similarities in the design of Godzilla in this Anime (who might I add, were all designed by the same person who worked on Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle), but the "Goshira" painting is further proof of the Japanese Mythology influence for Godzilla.

I think I've said enough trivia here, so I'll just let you get further in before diving into some more details about this Anime.

Not gonna lie, all of that is actually really interesting to know, especially the bit about this being based off of a movie totally unrelated to Godzilla. I honestly never would've even realized had you not told me. Rather interesting choice to make for a show set in a Godzilla universe.

Incredible post, Daikaijuman.

This is the first I am hearing of Prophecies of Nostradamus, and it’s actually uploaded on the internet archive too! I might check it out in the next few days. Although, I have been burned by Japanese films from the 70s, lol, they all end up being porn! Even freaking Terror of Mechagodzilla sort of had some nudity in it.

Also only true intellectuals with good taste like Anguirus. This is the enlightened take!

My brain hurts.

I hope you love text messaging and science talk, because that's like 90% of this episode as Yun unravels more of the mystery of Ashihara's' research.

The big reason as to why my brain was thrown through a loop though is because most of the science talk involves time travel and various ways one could use it. Not just sending information between time, but people too.

And not just sending stuff back into the past either, but the future at the same time. An exchange, but also not an exchange. Yes it's confusing if you think about it too much. This leads to weird time loops such as getting answers to questions you didn't even know you were gonna ask.

Look, to sum it all up the best I can, there are two main takeaways here: First, that Ashihara, having such a thorough map of the different possibilities in the future, left the key to solving the Catastrophe within the text messages between Yun and Mei, and Second, that somehow, the Professor who introduced Archtypes into the story is actually the future version of Mei.

There's also a bit of backstory provided on those Godzilla bones: They're a part of what kickstarted Ashihara's' research and also belonged to a Kaiju that blew up his hometown years ago, but everyone forgot about it due to the war going on at the time taking precedence. Given the old painting that served as a warning of the Kaiju invasion, I'm guessing that it was another Godzilla, or atleast a Kaiju who was alot like it.

Anyway, despite time travel making no sense as per usual, I still found the overall episode engaging to watch. Sure, I might only understand like half of what they're getting at, but it's presented in such a way that it actively makes me invested and want to know more, so hey, points to 'em. It's the sort of thing I've seen many shows mess up. Plus, seeing Godzilla's' Atomic Breath premiere was a hype moment in and of itself that made me happy.

I am a very simple man with simple pleasures.

Jet Jaguar was the key all along.

Turns out that not only was a secret message hidden in those texts between Mei and Yun, but a secret update file for Jet Jaguar was too.

This update actually gives JJ's' AI sentience, and causes it start back at infancy and rapidly age while also revealing another piece of Ashihara's' puzzle. That being that something will appear in the sky above Tokyo Station.

Meanwhile, Mei goes to inspect the supercomputer that Ashihara first used to discover Singular Points directly. And in all of this it turns out that all of the Singular Points are actually one Point, but yet they're not, but they are. It's some weird hivemind thing and I don't wanna think too hard about it.

The main takeaway I got from this is that this last act of the show, wherein we're not both directly but also indirectly dealing with Godzilla, is actually kind of a decent reimagining of the original Godzilla film. The Orthogonal Diagonalizer allegedly being the key to killing it and saving the universe most certainly being a callback to it if nothing else.

Also, maybe my brain turned to mush with all of this science but uh, I won't like, I actually totally forgot that Professor Li died? So when characters began talking about it all throughout the episode I was first like "Wait, did she?" Oh, and before I forget another thing, apparently the journalist who's been popping in and out is also a poacher or something? He stole the original Godzilla bones and waxed philosophy, so I imagine we're not quite done with him yet.

I'm really anxious to see how this all ends. Part of me wants some super-science stuff to go down given the nature of the show, but another part of me is super hungry for some sort of epic showdown between Godzilla and Jet Jaguar.

You ever put the fate of the world into a Nintendo DS?

The funny thing about this episode is that, while not a whole lot happens in it, what does happen is really trippy to think about.

On Mei's' end, she accesses the supercomputer that's hooked up to the original Singular Point, which in turn causes Pelo II(her AI) to time travel, and just the thought of that alone throws me through a loop.

Meanwhile with Yun, it's discovered that Ashihara planned for the secret to killing Godzilla to appear, well, with Godzilla. More specifically, at the point in which Godzilla finishes its final evolution into The Catastrophe. Cuttin' it uh, cuttin' rather close there, Ashihara.

...And that's basically it? I could easily see people saying that this episode could've easily been half the length, but I dunno, I just kinda enjoyed the ride for what it was, which was just investigation and talking with some neat visuals. I also think this might've been the budget episode of the season though, given that the animation was kinda weird in certain spots.

Well whatever. The grand finale is up next!

Crack the code and you'll understand.

Something that's come up a few times throughout the show is the concept of sending information back and forth through time, and what exactly that'd entail.

Well, in this instance, it's something that's utilized by Pelo II and Jet Jaguar, because, as it turns out, while Ashihara laid the foundation for alot of the plot, most of it came about via the time travel antics of the partner AI.

And really, it all makes sense, and had some decent foreshadowing with that opening narration in episode 1. How was Ashihara able to have such an intricate understanding of technology in the future? He didn't. But the two AI sure did, which is why they were able to put everything in motion to begin with.

And keeping with the overall themes of the past and future being directly connected, it turns out that the song heard at the beginning of show, which is not only what started the entire mystery to begin with, was also the key to everything all along. Within it lied the ultimate version of Jet Jaguar, which in turn transforms the robot into a gigantic Orthogonal Diagonalizer.

Going outside of the plot for a moment though, one thing that I definitely appreciated about the finale overall was its sense of scale. Everything about it comes off as Big. From the size of Godzilla, to the escalation of the stakes, to the ending narration that goes into how time affects everyone and everything, and how the universe is one, giant, beautiful contradiction.

...And of course, there was that after-credits scene that totally took me by surprise.

It's a sequel hook that might not come to pass, sure, but it's also a twist that totally makes sense when you consider the story as a whole! Said twist? Ashihara wanted to avoid The Catastrophe, sure, but only so that he could build Mechagodzilla, using the bones stolen by the Poacher Journalist who seemed to have disappeared from the plot entirely. Just because Ashihara didn't want the world to blow up, doesn't mean he was an altruistic guy! And it explains why the bones were transmitting that signal all show.

I'll admit, I don't even know if I fully understand the ending, or even the overall message of the show, but really, isn't that part of the fun, given what show this is? Really, I dunno if I'd've had it any other way.

No need to explain the Titles. They're words everyone knows.

Godzilla Ultima, the final, perfect form and symbol of the calamity. Lots of people mocked the design, but I personally enjoyed it. "Thunder Thighs?" Well, as a wise man once said, "Thicc Godziller is Best Godziller." Much like Shin Godzilla, it works to support his massive weight (in some sense) but also works for the dinosaurian build overall. Now for some more fun facts! Oni are shapeshifters, a theme that's present in Godzilla in this show. Unlike Shin Godzilla whose Evolutions were him adapting to the world as he ascended to a perfect godlike creature (which this one does share to), here, it works like said shapeshifting. Even his design bears resemblance to Oni as pointed out by some people and may have indeed been intentional.

A statement I'd like to recall back, I'm not entirely sure Singular Point was based off Prophecies of Nostradamus, which was based off a novel series, but given the similarities between Ashihara's predictions to disaster, I couldn't help but make the connection. Aslo, I've not actually seen the film or read the books, I'm only going off what knowledge I come across.

Now for something I've been dying to talk about is the music. Ken Sawada did a fantastic job making it sound reminiscent of Akira Ifukube's scores while also bringing in something new and modern to it. For example the use of Inuit Ainu language for Godzilla's themes, Inuit Ainu being used in many of Ifukube's works like Varan and King Kong's themes, or Alapu Upala which is sung in Sanskrit (I believe?), I wanted to wait for the Choir Version before talking about it since that's where this song is absolutely beautiful. Again, if I remember right it being in Sanskrit fits into the Hindu Mythology being played into the story.

The Orthogonal Diagonalizer is indeed based off the Oxygen Destroyer from the Original Godzilla, even the initals are the same. As for the "I am become Death" quote, it too comes from Hindu Mythology, Oppenheimer (one of the men behind the Atomic Bomb) says so himself when he recites those lines. So again, lots of Indian Mythology! There's even a group called Shiva!

Now then, the time travel aspect is where everything gets a little confusing, but in a way, I think it makes sense. See, A.I. and technology as it is now, can hold memory, or at least that's how my tired brain is trying to put it with what I remember of the conversation (I should really watch it again). But yet another possible reference might be that the Supercomputer may or may not be based off Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, which if perfected could have become the very first computer, made with steam power. Again, not sure if it was intentional, but I look back and put that connection there, which might just make me look like an idiot.

Now as seen, the A.I. did serve a purpose and it worked so we could get a giant monster fight! Some last-minute cameos here, Mothras appear, you already know her, and the big blue snakelike Kaiju is Manda, an eastern dragon who first appeared in Atragon 1963 (fun fact: this movie inspired Space Battleship Yamato).

Now for that ending. Mechagodzilla. I know of at least one person who likened Ashihara to Dr. Mafune from Terror of Mechagodzilla, and I love how he was right on the money. So Mechagodzilla mainly has the 1974 design prominently, but being made around the bones of a Godzilla or similar monster, it would be more based off Kiryu/Mechagodzilla 3 from 2002. Remember that one title that I likened to Godzilla being a ruler of all? Well, it's possible Shiva might also fit that category, since Mechagodzilla might be some form of controlling the Archetype or something, since I feel like they've been a little dubious from the start.

I've talked enough here; I'll see you for some more fun trivia later!