[TheTakoTank]

So, I finished Agito. It was...okay. Not great, just very okay. Fair warning, spoilers to follow.

It starts out well enough, and the first ten or so episodes are fine. I really do like how in the first few episodes they establish some intrigue and an overarching plot, (unlike other shows that forget they need one until the last ten episodes).

However, after those first few episodes the show just get bad in my opinion. They spend roughly twenty filler episodes just fighting the Unknown with no advancements in the plot. We get a forced love triangle that is the focus for, like, ten episodes that has no lasting consequences. And you know what the worst part is? Almost every single mystery introduced early on is entirely forgotten. What was that giant puzzle? Why was there a DNA code in it? How did Ryou become Gills? What accident was he in? (it's heavily emphasized for something that isn't ever mentioned again aside from one throwaway line towards the end) No one even seems to care when the lady from the lab goes missing. What the hell is the tapestry in the opening? Why does it have Kuuga on it? (If that even is Kuuga, it looks more like a red Agito Ground Form). None of these are ever explained. (How the hell did Ryou become Gills?) Also, I absolutely hate how Shouichi regains his memory around the halfway point only to lose it again in the next episode. So stupid.

Also, characters just suddenly disappear randomly. The guy in Black a.k.a the big bad disappears for half the series. He just stops showing up. The entire police cast disappears for at least five straight episodes at one point. I'm pretty sure Gills is absent at least twice (once because he spends two whole episodes face down in a river). The show just seems to forget about certain important characters.

Speaking of characters, I actually liked a fair bit of them.Mostly the G3 team, Another Agito, and Gills. The characters are one of the show's redeeming qualities. Except Shouichi, who seems entirely aloof to the whole thing except for all of two or three episodes.

Finally the show gets good around episode 30, and from ~30 to 46 it's actually pretty decent. (Partly because of Another Agito. I wish we would have gotten more of him.) But why doesn't Agito use Burning and Shining form more? He only uses the latter about three times. Why wouldn't he use his most powerful forms, especially when he's getting his ass kicked? That battle in 46 is well done, and could have been the final battle if they put a bit more into it.

And then the show becomes shit. After the time skip it just loses all momentum. They unnecessarily add romance subplots for Gills and Agito. Those last 4/5 episodes all feel like they should have occurred around the beginning of the series. And the reason for the time skip is so dumb. The unknown stop appearing for a month because the big bad got punched once in the face. A single punch from an un-transformed Shouichi put the big bad out of commission for an entire month. Am I missing something here? Please tell me.

But that last episode. Did not have a very good impact for a last episode. There isn't even a final battle. The show literally does not have a final battle against the big bad they've been (kinda) building up for half the show. Shouichi just fucking rider kicks him as while he's floating away. The only things they actually fight are just a couple of strong Unknown. The real villain is beaten in the lamest way possible. And Shouichi doesn't even defeat him. The bad guy just decides to give up later on.

The ending was alright. I liked seeing Kouno and Hikawa work together, and Omuro getting some respect. Ryou getting the puppy was definitely a highlight. Why couldn't the writers just let him be happy. ;_;

Overall the show goes like this for me:
Good > Comparatively bad > Pretty Good > Bad > Meh

Also, what's up with the Special? Parts of it are canon while other parts aren't. It's weird.

Overall: 5.1/10