[Fish Sandwich]

One thing that's massively jumping out at me about the OVA halfway through is the music. It's by Kaoru Wada, rather than bringing back Akira Mitake from the series proper, and there is a pronounced difference in style.

The unique moody vibe is largely gone in favor of something much more traditionally theatrical, and while I'm finding the old phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" to have a lot of truth behind it, I also don't think the change is a bad thing. It matches the more even tone of the overall story, which places so much emphasis on the growth Jirou has had, and the semblance of inner peace he's managed to find in his identity.

Oh, and 01's Japanese VA is one Shoutarou Morikubo, who was also the voice actor for Mega Man X at the time. You know, that other sequel to a series about a super fighting robot created by a good scientist to oppose the maniacal ambitions of an evil scientist and his army of evil robots? There's no way any of this was an accident, was there?

And on a really minor note, I can't hear anyone say 01's name without immediately having Kamen Rider Zero-One's BGM pop into my head, and it's driving me crazy... that we still don't have a soundtrack for that show!