[DreamSword]

Episode 3: Tigerish

We're now a quarter of the way through and I am most certainly having a good time!

This anime has found some ways to be absolutely refreshing to me, both in terms of "Netflix Originals" as well as shows that I've been watching recently.

Like, let's just get it out of the way right here, this is already way better than that Film Trilogy that Netflix put out a few years ago, the biggest factor being that at the very least stuff is actually happening in this show unlike those movies.

The majority of this episode is all about the Otoki Crew saving the town from the Rodan invasion, and the various different hurdles they run into along the way. Meanwhile, Biologist Girl goes off to get an advancement in her career or whatever, but really, who cares about that?

Speaking of which, Yun is so refreshing as a protagonist for me. I've been watching so many shows recently where the main protag is either a total meathead or is that sort of fantasy fake "smart guy" who solves all of his problems with brute force despite their alleged intelligence. But Yun not only isn't going around punching Kaiju, he's figuring out creative ways to save the day.

But really, the best thing about this show so far really is its atmosphere. Both episodes 2 and 3 have had me totally hooked from start to finish thanks to it, and it's an aspect that I really hope the show as a whole doesn't lose. The characters being likable, the animation being visually pleasing, and the action being fun all add to the experience, but man, this team nailed the atmosphere first and foremost for sure.

Though I do hope I don't end up essentially just repeating myself with each write up going forward. There are shows are I think are much better reviewed as a whole rather than on an episode-by-episode basis, and I think that this might be one of them? Only time will tell of course, but still, I'll do my best to try and vary things up going forward. But for now, all I can really say is that I'm having a good time so far, and I'm looking forward to how the anime is going to go about unraveling the few mysteries that it's set up so far.

[DreamSword]

Episode 4: Gadabout

I think I'm noticing a pattern.

This is an episode that goes back to the investigation side of things, this time involving one of the Rodan corpses going missing.

And if I'm right, the next episode is gonna be another action climax about how exactly to deal with this new Kaiju that's appeared. And ya know, I am totally down with this pattern if I'm right.

Because I am atleast having fun watching it all unfold, and it makes me think that Godzilla itself is gonna be the final boss, especially with those bones that the show keeps reminding the viewer exists. Though given how little she has to do with everything so far, I am wondering where exactly the Mei subplot is going.

So, yeah. We're back to alot of science-y talk that I'm sure makes some sort of sense to someone with a biology or science degree, but to me it basically just translates to "Kaiju come from an alternate dimension that's breaking into ours." Which, hey, works for me. And given the whole "archetype" stuff that the plot has been expanding on, maybe that'll come back around to affect Jet Jaguar somehow? I'm really just speculating at this point.

But yeah, back to square one, but that's not really a bad thing, I think.

[DreamSword]

Episode 5: Theorist

Is Yun a Kaiju?

I'm actually really starting to wonder that given not only the plot of this episode, but also some of the interweaving threads of the show so far.

Outside of the usual Kaiju hunting, this episode talks about about time loops, or rather, different points in time being brought to a singular point, which also ties into the first episode, where Yun talks about how the future is fixed.

That, combined with the very interesting behavior of Anguirus, makes me really wonder if Yun really is a normal human. If not a Kaiju, then maybe at some point he was exposed to the red dust, which is apparently what archetypes, the material which defies time and space, are made of?

Speaking of Anguirus, is it weird that I actually feel kinda bad for the thing? Not only is it a child Kaiju, but it only ever seems to act in self-defense, rather than any sort of malicious instinct like Rodan does. It ate one of the Rodan corpses in secret, and only ever attacked any humans who attacked it first. Heck, it even let Yun and the hunters go despite being shot at.

It really makes me hope that the next episode ends in a more peaceful solution for the thing, but given that Jet Jaguar is readying up to fight it, I think that might be wishful thinking unfortunately. This is one of the few times where I'm actually not looking forward to a big and flashy action climax to the arc. Or maybe I'm thinking about robots beating up Kaiju too hard, which is ironic given the kind of science-y driven plot that this anime has.

Oh, almost forgot, maybe we're not supposed to think about it too hard, but I am rather confused as to how exactly Mei's' plotline and Yun's' plotline line up. Not in terms of like, themes and ideas, but more the exact timeframe. The way the events of the episode is played out, it really seems as though the two are exchanging texts all while Yun is running around looking for Anguirus. Which, while not impossible, is a bit improbable. My current theory is that the AI in his phone is doing all of the talking for him, given that the two exchange replies near instantly. Well whatever, it's not a huge deal I suppose.

But yeah, action climax, next episode. Hoo boy.

[Daikaijuman54]

Making a cameo to clarify titles and talk a bit once again.

Episode 3: Tigerish, kind of speaks for itself, same with Episode 5: Theorist. Episode 4: Gadabout, refers to pleasure seeking or wandering, which fits the behavior of Anguirus.

Speaking of Anguirus, he's one of my favorite Kaiju among the Godzilla Monsters, and it's no surprise I absolutely love him in this series. He's even equipped with a new ability. Which brings us to some more Science talk! I may be no Bill Nye, but I can tell you, you're on the right track of mind about what they're discussing.

I'll probably talk about the topics of Archetypes they're discussing a little later, but for now, if you remember the "Goshira" (a picture depicting a monster using Godzilla's base names but the "Kushira/Whale" is more prominent since it's a sea creature) being a very old Japanese folklore style painting, you might have some idea what they're referring to about the Kaiju and the Archetype.

Also, I can tell you right now, that Mei's role will make sense soon. As for their communications, it's likely just using the LINE messaging as a display or a summary of their discussions. The A.I. take is an accurate bet, since they've explained how their A.I.s somewhat work, so either take is reasonable, but the former is likely what they went with. I could be wrong, though. Also, Mei and Yun are meant to be two geniuses bouncing off each other, so it'll all (maybe) make sense in the future.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daikaijuman54

Also, I can tell you right now, that Mei's role will make sense soon. As for their communications, it's likely just using the LINE messaging as a display or a summary of their discussions. The A.I. take is an accurate bet, since they've explained how their A.I.s somewhat work, so either take is reasonable, but the former is likely what they went with. I could be wrong, though. Also, Mei and Yun are meant to be two geniuses bouncing off each other, so it'll all (maybe) make sense in the future.

The chats being a sum up of their conversations rather than happening in real time would make a bit more sense given the events going on, though it does still make me wonder how exactly these two plots line up at times.

Thanks again for clarifying on titles and such!

[DreamSword]

Episode 6: Enfatico

Anguirus did nothing wrong.

With that out of the way, is it bad that the first half of this episode immediately brought to mind the "everything is connected" meme?

Because this episode ups the analytical ante by involving not just the science of alternate realities, but also the word of creative writing, religion, and even straight up magic is mentioned at one point.

And while it is quite alot of words, the gist of it all is that the Kaiju might be appearing in "our" world due to humanity tampering with forces it was never meant to. Which, ya know, does fit in with a handful of Godzilla movies, despite being a bit of a movie cliche.

The second half of the episode has to do with the fight against Anguirus, and while it is choreographed nicely enough, again, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the thing. I feel like the show made it a bit too "real world animal"-like for me to not. For example, while I get that the intended idea of it pushing Jet Jaguar around was likely meant as a way of Anguirus "playing with its food" the way its animated and also how it just leaves Jaguar alone more came across to me like a pet playing with a ball.

But that aside, while I've already noted the brass iron balls on the Otoki Crew, I do wanna give a special mention to Goro, who is very much a more light-hearted and kinda comedic character, but yet he never actually ruins the overall vibe of the show. Sure, he's not exactly knee-slappingly funny or anything, but I also can't really help but get a smile on my face whenever he's around doing his thing. It's a nice little bit of levity from all the more dramatic science talk.

Two Kaiju down. Two more to go?

[DreamSword]

Episode 7: Omniarch

Halfway in and I am convinced that this show is absolutely better off binged.

The reason being that I feel like I'm kinda out of stuff to talk about? Don't get me wrong, things certainly happened here, but I'm struggling to think of what to say.

I'm not even trying to say that this episode is bad, or dull, or whatever, I am still having a good time, it's just more of what the show has already provided in terms of characters and whatnot? A recap is really all I can think to do here.

So, if you're curious, the Otoki crew continues to try and find ways of upgrading Jet Jaguar, with their latest addition being a spear made out of one of the spikes torn from Anguirus' shell. A spike so sharp it can cut through metal cable like it's nothing, I might add.

Meanwhile, the subplot of the makers of the Archetypes continues forward, with them finding a way to kill a beast that can control the red dust via using a device that I think is an homage to the oxygen bomb from the first Godzilla movie? And it's all thanks to Mei breaking down Professor Asahashi's' research.

...Right, I forgot to mention that stuff in these write ups, haven't I? Yeah, one of the many, many subplots going on in this show is the mystery behind the guy who first discovered the red dust and studied it, known as Professor Asahashi. What exactly the red dust is is unknown, with the only definitives so far being that it's what allows the Kaiju to exist in our world.

Also, Godzilla shows up in this episode! Which actually surprised me given that I for sure thought that the dinosaur bones contained in the basement of the government factory were supposed to be the bones of Godzilla, especially with how this episode establishes that the skeleton is technically alive, to the point that it's what played the song in episode one and appears to be beconing the other Kaiju into the world.

One thing that I am surprised that this episode really didn't dive into is the question it poses near its start: What good is having knowledge of the future if there's no way to change it? This is actually a rather deep question(to me atleast) that I've not only heard discussed myself, but one that alot of people have various different answers on. But outside of the question getting posed again during a chat between Mei and Yun, it's unfortunately not really explored. So I hope it gets brought up again in a later episode.

Oh, speaking of the start of the episode, it actually had me thinking that Yun had gone deaf due to the climax of the the previous one. Which really would've made sense given he point blank fired a harpoon cannon, and those things I imagine are incredibly loud, just like guns in real life. But no, the weird white noise transition was just kinda... there, for some reason. Well whatever.

Yeah, that's about all I got. Surprised we're getting to Godzilla at the halfway mark rather than during the final couple of episodes, honestly.

[DreamSword]

Episode 8: Graftage

Admittedly I'm not the most well versed in terms of Godzilla lore.

But despite that, I still feel like this is an overall unique take on both the character and franchise?

It's a really interesting decision to make: Having Godzilla show up only to then immediately cocoon itself without much of a fight. And ontop of that, this one breathes gas rather than Godzilla's' signature Atomic Breath.

Past that, Mei gets ahold of Ashihara's' research notes, and surprisingly comes to understand them more or less. The big reveal being that it was due to Ashihara's' being able to see into the future that spelled the end for the universe as a whole, with a hint that Mei might be going just as mad as he did.

But the big takeaway for me was of course the exploits of the Otaki Crew; This time fighting against a legion of Spider Kaiju who can manipulate their own blood to keep moving even after being chopped in half. And man, I already don't like spiders. A sight like that would send me over the edge easy. Still, the Spear of Anguirus certainly puts in work.

And that's about all there was to this one really. It was fun, but it was very much just a sort of stepping stone type of episode. The big deep question from last episode is still left unanswered unfortunately, though in a very quick line it's established that Yun's' AI has 5 siblings of sorts, so maybe that'll go somewhere? Speaking of which, I think this is the first time we actually see Mei and Yun's' texts in real time rather than in a sort of montage? Kinda funny seeing the texts pour in during the Kaiju attack, especially fresh off of a show like Samurai Flamenco. (If you know, you knw.)

But yeah, Spider Kaiju! Looking forward to seeing how Yun's' genius is gonna get the crew out of this one.

[DreamSword]

Episode 9: Erumpent

The Catastrophe has begun.

Although that being said, is it weird that one of my immediate thoughts upon reaching the end of the episode was that a crossover of this and Pacific Rim would be incredibly easy to do?

When it comes to science-y side of things, alot of the talk has to do with how Ashihara was desperately trying to map out various different timelines in order to avoid an apocalypse from hitting own universe. And in a cute nod to the original Godzilla, brings up the famous "I am become Death" quote.

Rather tellingly, alot of the suits ignore the majority of what Mei has to say about her findings and are only concerned with profit and getting rid of the red dust.

And while that was all well presented and interesting to listen to, the other half of this episode is pure A Awesome, detailing the struggles of the Otaki Crew against a legion of Spider Kaiju. The entire sequence is high energy, intense, and even contains probably the sickest action scene so far: That being Jet Jaguar fighting a hoard of Spiders atop a burning warehouse.

While there are certainly victories across both plotlines, the ending is very much "get ready for the climax" as the whole world is starting to get overrun with Kaiju, just as Ashihara had predicted. Though it also does raise an interesting point about being able to see the future, which is the idea that in order to actually see a specific future event, it must be one that actually has the possibility of happening, otherwise you wouldn't be able to find it.

Very interested in seeing how this all ends across these last four episodes!

[Rabbitman]

Oh I was so frustrated that that dude kept texting that girl about unrelated crap while he was in the middle of getting attacked by GIANT HORRIBLE BLUE GOOP SPIDERS!

Like, just tell the girl you will text her later! I don’t remember specifically, but wasn’t a dude literally being eaten by the goop spiders as the guy was texting his friend?!

also i wanted to see the giant horrible blue goop spiders wrecking dudes. I did not want to see a bunch of texts about science

EDIT: I don’t know if we were supposed to think about hedorah when those blue boys were running about, but I thought about Hedorah.