[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON STAR DRIVER

As sad as it is to say, Star Driver is a shining example of a "fad anime."

What I mean by that is that while it was very popular for its time, as time went on, less and less people talked about it, and now the show is relatively obscure.

And really, I feel like that's a total shame because there's still so much great stuff to be found here. If you want the short version of this post, it's that if you're even remotely interested in this show, you should watch it.

Because really, where else are you gonna find a Magical Boy Slice of Life Romantic Comedy Mecha Tokusatsu anime? And not once does anything about it ever feel out of place, regardless of whatever inherent tropes that comes with so many genres are played straight or subverted.

I can't state enough just how much of a joy rewatching this actually was for me. Like Samurai Flamenco, Star Driver impressed with just how smart it actually was, despite on the surface appearing to be something rather outlandish and basic. And just like Flamenco, you absolutely can just turn your brain off when watching it, but looking deeper yields its own reward.

That was for sure my experience. When I first watched the show as it was airing, I was mainly captivated by the more flashy and comedic aspects of the show, while not really paying any mind to the finer details. And now here, on rewatch, I see just how much Star Driver actually respects that the viewer is paying attention. The amount of fore thought put into the plot and character arcs is actually really nice.

But as wonderful as most of the characters are, I can't help but think that the biggest plus in all of this is the soundtrack. As I've noted before, Star Driver has one of my favorite soundtracks in all of anime. Not only because the music itself is so good, because it is, but the way that it's utilized within the show itself really makes it feel as if the music itself is its own entity within the world that SD does its best to build. It's the sort of effort that you'd only see in shows like, say, Macross. And while I wouldn't doubt that that was an inspiration, Star Driver really does make the execution of the concept its own.

Adding to all of that, the atmosphere is always on point, the action sequences are stylish, and the animation, even now, is always wonderful to look at. That's not to say the show is perfect; There are definitely some missteps here and there in terms of the handling of certain characters and whatnot, but I can honestly say that I was never bored or outright dreading an experience I was having with any given episode. Every single time I was finding some new aspect or detail to appreciate that the me of over a decade ago totally missed.

In the end, Star Driver is a show that I definitely appreciate way more now than I did when it aired, and I think it's safe to say that it's now one of my favorite mecha anime. It's a show that I think deserved some runaway popularity far more than a few other shows of its era that ended up becoming regarded as classics as time went on. Yōji Enokido and Studio Bones really outdid themselves with this one, and I think from here on out I'll be adding SD to the list of the anime that I try to make it a point to revisit every few years. Something I usually only try to do for all of my most favorite shows.

I give Star Driver: Radiant Takuto a 5/6.