[DreamSword]

Episode 8: Confrontation

This episode is probably the most well known in the entire anime.

It's also the one that I come really close to having a huge problem with. I don't out and out hate the episode or anything like that, but, well... I'll get into it.

Here's the setup. Akane decides to basically create her own Mechagodzilla, and plans to unleash it on the school, possibly killing literally everyone who attends it. Why? Because they dared to host a school festival, and she hates those!

She even goes so far as to challenge the Gridman Alliance directly, showing that she's not having any second thoughts about this and feels no remorse. Despite this, our heroes somehow still feel as though there should be a debate on how to handle the situation? Like, guys, this is dumb for many reasons.

First off, why didn't they just smash the statue that Akane made? I guess it's kinda vague, but she almost blatantly tells them that it is what will infact become the Kaiju, and while yeah, she could just carve another, that'd still set her back some, ontop of basically being a slap in her face. Win-win. But none of them really think to do that so yeah, time limit is on.

Next, Rikka and Sho get into an argument over how to go about combating the oncoming disaster. Rikka wants to try talking to Akane, and Sho basically tells her that that's a stupid idea because frankly, it's idealistic at best and unrealistic at worst. The big problem comes in not only when the other characters say "both sides are valid" but when Rikka storms off... everyone calls Sho an asshole for telling Rikka she's being emotional.

But here's the thing about that.

Sho.

Is.

Correct.

I HATE when stories frame the complainer as the wrong one solely because they voiced their stance. ESPECIALLY when they, infact, turn out to be right, yet we're meant to sympathize with the person they upset. Heck, the Alliance even at one point assumes that Alexis MUST be manipulating Akane... even though there's not really any evidence to say Akane isn't anything other than a psychopath. And lo an behold, when Sho and Yuta try to ask Akane very nicely not to unleash the Kaiju, she laughs in their face and tells them to get lost.

But yeah no, Sho is the dick for not trying to offer the person who's killed tons of people a hug. Yeah, his friggen bad. Honestly the entire thing even seems really out of character for Rikka too, considering she had zero problems helping the Team deal with Kaiju up until now. So what's different, the girl who Rikka herself admitted she hasn't really talked to in years is now proudly declaring she's a killer? Boo hoo. Auuuuuugh.

Yes, I am aware of the twist presented towards the end of the episode, but the entire situation still annoys the heck out of me. It'd be different if the episode didn't frame Rikka as justified, but it does, and, well... let's just say there's something else I can't quite talk about yet.

Enough complaining, let's move onto something I actually like: Anti!

Yeah, he's seen better days. And even though he's not exactly prominent in this episode, what little time he does have speaks volumes. Heck, his first instinct isn't to go to Akane for help, but he actively makes a point to look for Rikka, since she's the only one who's ever shown him any sort of sympathy. Ontop of that, he doesn't even attempt to fight the heroes. And I don't just mean at the shop either. When Gridman shows up, Anti actively chooses to stay out of it for the first time. And man... that was a powerful 6 seconds to me, lemme tell ya. Love this character.

...

Oh yeah I did mention a school festival, didn't I?

That's a reference to the Fusion Dance from Dragon Ball Z, and it's also foreshadowing to how the episode ends.

Know what? Screw it, let's just get right to that.

This is Full-Power Gridman, this show's equivalent to Phormo Zenon(or "God Zenon" in the JP version) from Syber-Squad. It's cool, and how they actually get it to work via cutting the size of every component in half means that it's justified if your action figure of it is the same height as your Gridman figure! Sadly, I'll just say it here, this show does not have an equivalent to Drago. Maybe in season 2?

By the way, that G in the background, as well as how the Kaiju is killed, are both references to GaoGaiGar, a mecha anime that I personally do not recommend, but hey it's popular so what do I know?

With all that said, you might be thinking that it's the references or the big twist Akane gives to Rikka, or even the big fight at the end that makes this episode stand out to everyone who's even heard of this show, right?

Well dear reader, you are mistaken. Allow me to show what is widely considered this anime's' most (in)famous moment:

And believe it or not, the crossdressing IS a callback. See, back in Syber-Squad, there were like 3 episodes where Sam had to crossdress in order to go undercover. Mainly for petty things(like sitting in on an all-girls class), but yeah, it happened, and I found it pretty funny that the anime decided to call back to that specifically. And it's double funny reading the reactions of viewers who don't have that prior context in mind when this scene pops up during the last minute of the episode. Good times.

All in all, I do still like the episode, as it does have good stuff to offer, but it sets an unfortunate precedent for events to come.