[GrandComplete]

Episode 7 "Cleansing of the Earth"

We got two new guys to talk about this episode, those being writer Shin Yoshida & director Takashi Kodama. Shin Yoshida is most well known for being a prominent writer in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime & Mangas. His role in tokusatsu is far more limited in that regard, becoming a writer through Ultraman Dyna before this.


His work can be dramatic focusing on characters bouncing off one another and how that reflects back to them. The characters, strengths & weaknesses are displayed in the mundane conversations they can be having.

Director Takashi Kodama, like Yoshida, has limited work in tokusatsu with Dyna & Gaia being his only works in the medium.

In fact the first Dyna Episode he directed Episode 27 “Monster Game” was also paired up with Yoshida just like what’s happening here. His directing makes good use of contrast, lighting & shadows to create memorable scenes with simple techniques but brought to life with creativity such as Gamu messy room. Or the angle between Fujimiya.

Seemingly an alien plot a device that purifies the Earth at the cost of rampaging uncontrollably potentially causing destruction to human civilization if left unchecked. It’s a dilemma that perfectly fits the show's themes of what is good for the Earth may not be good for humanity and vice versa. Fujimiya plays a small but important role egging Gamu to use his powers more than he is. And even the commander questions if Gamu would’ve sided with Tenkai as from perspective it could be seen as a force for good.

Tenkai is a very unusual kaiju because it is not. A machine created from unknown origins the fact that it doesn't have a combat mode so to speak makes for a unique opponent not only to fight but to interact with a camera.

The track I choose is “Fujimiya & Gamu played when once again Fujmiya confronts Gamu over his choice to protect humanity both the track and the scene direction strike me so much that I had to include it here this week. The mystery and atmosphere in this somber piece shows the complexity of their relationship and I alway love the use of Agul’s chorus.