[GoldenXtreme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Byg42

I enjoy Z fine enough but I'd say my biggest issue with Z is that I felt the show never really explored or emphasized its themes and messages as much as I wanted it to. The best of Ultra is usually when an episode leaves me deeply thinking about what the episode was doing and trying to say, whereas most of Z left me feeling "ok that was cool" and then I don't think about it much afterwards.

I do really like Z final arc though, in particular its message about the nature of power, namely that power is not inherently good or evil, it's merely dependent on whoever wields it. I think this is a cool message to have and part of me wishes it was a much more overarching theme of the show, cause I feel the setup of Z, from the Devil Splinters to Z himself, is there to support it. The biggest example for me is Delta Rise Claw, which thematic feels like it embodies that final message on power. It's a form that uses Belial's power, but doesn't have any of Belial characteristics, showing that Haruki and Z are able to use the powers given them without letting it corrupt or influence them. But the debut of DRC doesn't emphasize any of this, so it just remains as subtext.

They touch on a lot of interesting ideas but don't explore any of them with the depth needed! I like the idea of just locking in and focusing on the concept of how good and evil comes down to the wielder (though it may have felt like a rehash of Geed to some extent). It still took the show like... 10 episodes to even get to some of its more interesting ideas though, which messes up the pacing even more. I thought about this after I typed my initial post about Z, but the final fight was quite anticlimactic too, which has left me with this haunting feeling that I did not actually finish watching the show. I see the show's vision, but it just doesn't come together anywhere near well enough to leave to leave me with any feelings beyond "that was fine".