[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON TEKKOUKI MIKAZUKI

Weirdly enough, this post took a bit of thinking.

That's not to say I have any super deep thoughts on Tekkouki Mikazuki as a whole, mind you, it's that how I exactly go about wording everything was escaping me.

Because really, I could just say "The show is good for what it is! Check it out!" and leave it at that, but that really doesn't make for any sort of deeper look into the show or my experience with it, right?

Not helping, I think, is that while I certainly loved the show in and of itself, I must admit that atleast some of that enjoyment came from more meta factors, and I'm not sure how much removing that aspect changes things, if at all. It's a bit of an odd thing for me specifically to think about.

See, the thing is, for those who don't know, I have a very love-hate relationship with Inoue's' works. I tend to call him the "almost" guy, because more often than not he'll present an idea to me that I'm rather fond of, only to seriously fumble it for me by the end and thus ruin the experience. The third act of Faiz, the second episode of the Kiva two-parter in Zi-O, so on and so on.

So color me surprised when this obscure mini-series comes along and, while it's not one of my favorite stories of all time, manages to keep me hooked from start to finish. No serious fumbles, no pretentious narrative, just a straight-forward, well done story about these characters and the world that they inhabit. It's something I don't often expect to see from a writer who tends to prioritize plot over characterization.

But Mikazuki manages to be the exact opposite. Many a plot detail is glossed over or left unexplained, but almost every character gets their own arc that is both enjoyable to see play out as well as conclude. And aiding in that is some wonderful directing by Amemiya, with his signature atmosphere that's thick as molasses and dream-like visuals that kept my eyes glued to the screen. This show is great as both a story and an art piece all at the same time, especially for something made in 2000.

Could there have been another episode to flesh some things out? Absolutely. But I do feel as though all of the important aspects of the show got covered to a satisfactory degree, so I really don't mind. Every episode had me drawn in. Every character was one I was interested in learning more about. And the giant robot action was just the cherry on top. Experiencing this and Changerion back to back really made me want a tokusatsu with Inoue as the writer, Amemiya as the director, and Shirakura as the producer. Even if it didn't end up good, I think think that'd make for a rather memorable experience overall.

It's just a well done piece overall, and I really can't think of a much better compliment I could give it than that. If a giant robot show about how language and memories impact people sounds at all appealing to you, then by all means, give Tekkouki Mikazuki a shot. I feel that it is far and away Inoue's' best work, and I'd be very surprised if that changed anytime soon.

I give this show a 5/6. I really enjoyed it from start to end, and I hope you do too.