[DreamSword]

Episode 13: Code EVE

I can't believe this show came along and combined a Kikaider finale with a GARO one!

Joking aside, this is the sort of ending that I could see some finding contentious, given the big twist that it immediately pulls.

Said twist being that Roy, Rouge's' father, was the one behind everything. He even pre-programmed and altered the personalities and memories of the Immortal Nine(which I totally called), meaning he's the source of the Rebellion.

And while I won't argue that such a twist can be seen as harmful to the show's' overall message, I personally take a much more optimistic approach to the entire thing, and feel as though that, with Rouge activating Code EVE of her own free will at the end, it instead works towards an additional, other message.

Essentially, it doesn't matter if Roy, Eva, or anyone else started this entire mess. What matters is what the Neans decided to do with their own lives going forward. Yes, Roy might've been the one who brought forth the idea of Nean equality just so he could watch the chaos that would ensue, but that doesn't in turn mean that Neans still being treated as people is therefore an inherently bad thing.

Really, it's no different for people growing up. Our upbringing and our environment instill our base core values and attitudes, the ways inwhich we choose to carry them and evolve throughout our lives is what will have the most impact in the end. Even if they don't end up resulting in anything and grandiose as changing the whole world, they absolutely change the world in us, as well as affecting those around us.

I won't say that this ending is perfect, as just like last episode they gun through alot of different ideas rather quickly, and we don't even get proper epilogues for every character left alive by the end, I do feel that, like a vast majority of the show, they focused on the things that mattered most. And for that, I am mostly satisfied. Though I will say, I still vouch for getting a Prequel OVA at some point. And maybe an epilogue episode would be nice too. There's still so much more of this world to unpack, and I'd love to see more.

Final thoughts on Metallic Rouge as a whole will be posted tomorrow night.