[DreamSword]

Episode 2: Under Current

ERUPTING, BURNING FINGER!

This episode's' heart was in the right place, though the plot was definitely a bit contrived, and it did some tropes that tend to annoy me a little.

The general premise is that the local military science team assigned to investigate the Kaiju decide to hook the kids up with communicators. The Kaiju tend to prey on children, and as survivors, the four main kids would likely be hunted again.

Which also somewhat begs the question: Did the other three bullies who hung out with Brody get eaten off screen? Like, sure, they're not main characters, but they were also involved in that initial Kaiju attack, so like... where are they?

Anyway, Brody then gets the absolutely not at all stupid idea to try and hunt the Kaiju with the other kids in tow. And I guess because kids are stupid Boco and Junichi are all for the idea. Joe, meanwhile, is against it every step of the way. And unfortunately, the show seems to portray him as the one ultimately in the wrong. This annoyed me.

"The complainer is always wrong" is a trope that is almost never done well in my experience. Every time, Joe brings up very valid points. Such as: "Hey, we're only the kids. The hell are we supposed to do against a Kaiju? We'd get eaten immediately." But I guess that's not solid enough logic for anyone involved. Granted, the episode does throw him at bit of a bone at the end with the drama between Brody and his father, but even so.

There's also some background drama with the military that serves as the B plot, and whle not perfect, I felt it was handled rather decently. The Commander(Brody's' father) being portrayed as a guy who's rough and stubborn, but ultimately well meaning was actually a pretty refreshing sight to see, given how often the "unreasonably authority figure" character archetype is in media. The two lead scientists were also likable in their own way, even if they don't exactly have many layers as of yet.

But of course the main highlight(for me anyway) is right in the tagline of the show: Gamera vs Kaiju. Seeing Gamera totally brutalize the enemy Kaiju is once again a total delight, only elevated by him performing Burning Finger from G-Gundam as his finishing attack. And after seeing Ultraman Nexus, I did appreciate the actual explanation we got as to why the military doesn't trust Gamera initially.

Just like the first episode, this one is just overall fine. A decent time killer if nothing else.