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EP. REVIEW: Concrete Revolutio


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lostbirdinatree





PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 9:44 am Reply with quote
For some reason, the Urobuchi episode has a slightly off-kilter feel to it - it's decidedly much darker and more serious simply because it decides to leave the Urobutcher to his devices on an episode about war. (I find it hard to figure out where most scriptwriters' work starts and ends, but knowing who's behind this atmosphere shift changes everything.) The ones that were most affected by this change were Fuurouta and Raito, but Jirou's sense of justice doesn't really seem to falter because of it. It actually became stronger, if anything.

Part of the change, I guess, is because of how the US is finally in sight instead of some looming threat...and because it's now established that Imperial Ads is no more than a propaganda front (although, maybe that was clear from some other point in the anime and I didn't see it...?)

That Cheetah unit stuff was interesting, is it related to Hyouma somehow?
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Barbobot



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 460
PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2016 6:30 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
When Jiro spilling blood seems to traumatize Aki, sending her on a rampage and even leaving strange skin markings behind, others wonder if there's something "monstrous" in his blood.


Confused by this part. The markings left on the Aki's legs was from the NUTS fuel that leaked out during their fight and poluted the river. The fuel is the same chemical used in the previous episode developed to kill the family of immortals, the Bio-Destroyer, so it was destroying Aki's legs. It's Jiro's blood that heals Aki.
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Doodleboy



Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2016 9:45 pm Reply with quote
Barbobot wrote:
Quote:
When Jiro spilling blood seems to traumatize Aki, sending her on a rampage and even leaving strange skin markings behind, others wonder if there's something "monstrous" in his blood.


Confused by this part. The markings left on the Aki's legs was from the NUTS fuel that leaked out during their fight and poluted the river. The fuel is the same chemical used in the previous episode developed to kill the family of immortals, the Bio-Destroyer, so it was destroying Aki's legs. It's Jiro's blood that heals Aki.


Actually found the fuel a pretty neat homage to the "Oxygen Destroyer" which killed the original Godzilla. So now another weapon of unparalleled destructive potential is being used as a power source that may cause longterm damage to the environment. Concrete Revolutio has weird metaphors.
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Xylem



Joined: 12 Apr 2016
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2016 11:11 pm Reply with quote
Doodleboy wrote:

Actually found the fuel a pretty neat homage to the "Oxygen Destroyer" which killed the original Godzilla. So now another weapon of unparalleled destructive potential is being used as a power source that may cause longterm damage to the environment. Concrete Revolutio has weird metaphors.


Speaking of Concrete Revolutio, Godzilla and weird metaphors, notice how at the end of the last episode of season 1, Hiroshima was not destroyed but there is a large shadow/ burnt area in a shape that vaguely looks like Godzilla?

Since the original Godzilla is a metaphor for the the fire and nuclear bombings that took place during WW2, this could mean that Jiro = Godzilla.
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vonPeterhof



Joined: 10 Nov 2014
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 2:49 am Reply with quote
Xylem wrote:
Since the original Godzilla is a metaphor for the the fire and nuclear bombings that took place during WW2, this could mean that Jiro = Godzilla.


As has been discussed in the review of the first season's episode 5, that's a bit of an oversimplification. However, it does seem like we're not done with the kaiju themes yet and that Jiro will have to grapple with his dual nature more definitively.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5317
PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 4:09 am Reply with quote
I liked it when Jiro is talking about justice and that Women goes "Justice? Jiro, how old are you?. Aren't you nearing 30?" I suppose this shift in attitude is because of the more nihilistic attitudes of the 70s(as seen in many films of that time) as opposed to the optimistic beliefs of the 60s.

Oh and was the fact that the Robot could be piloted a reference to Mazinger, as that was the first Mecha with a human pilot, it does look a bit like it.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5317
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 1:41 pm Reply with quote
Really liked this episode, Super Robots are awesome.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 6:55 pm Reply with quote
I loved that exchange between the mom and son in the theater. It just shows how easily people can be manipulated by the media. Can't wait to see how these final episodes play out. They seem to be heading towards an end to the era of superheroes.
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Doodleboy



Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:29 pm Reply with quote
I figured the reason Jiro is always so hesitant to become a superhero himself is because he always saw himself as a potential super-villain, and well his past seems to reinforce that narrative. In Concrete Revolutio's worldview at least.

And there are some meta-stuff going on with the reveals here. Particularly how Jiro is the origin of the Kaiju and alot of the superhumans. Jiro being the origin of Kaijuu is definitely purposeful. The other superhumans well... maybe. A lot of the western marvel superheroes were created due to radiation, even the X-men were considered "children of the atom" and Professor X born due to the atomic bomb before they decided being a mutant was some kind of evolution thing.
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Hellsoldier



Joined: 21 Jun 2013
Posts: 754
Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:32 pm Reply with quote
MarshalBanana wrote:
I liked it when Jiro is talking about justice and that Women goes "Justice? Jiro, how old are you?. Aren't you nearing 30?" I suppose this shift in attitude is because of the more nihilistic attitudes of the 70s(as seen in many films of that time) as opposed to the optimistic beliefs of the 60s.

Oh and was the fact that the Robot could be piloted a reference to Mazinger, as that was the first Mecha with a human pilot, it does look a bit like it.


The Nihilistic tendencies started appearing in the late 60's, but yes, it feels fitting. The late 60's and the 70's was the time where punk and heavy metal appeared and called out the hippy peace-and-love lifestyle as utopian and out-of-touch with reality. Literature kept getting darker, a tendency started earlier. And the Sexual Revolution and Protest Movements were slowed down by the victory of the state. In Japan in particular, the status quo is particularly jarring.

Status Quo won... and thus the dreams ended. One of the greater topic of Concrete Revolutio, I feel.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5317
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2016 7:48 am Reply with quote
I was expecting 26 episodes:( well hopefully they can tie everything up in the last episode, it could be that there will be an OVA prologue.

So Jiro has finally given up on trying to find a middle ground and picked a side and chosen an enemy. With there now being a war I take it the public will warm towards superhumans again, now that they need them.
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Doodleboy



Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2016 1:38 pm Reply with quote
I honestly really liked the speculation of our universe from the Concrete Revolutio universe's perspective, even if it's laughably naive and wrong. Actually scratch that I like it because it's laughably naive and wrong. It speaks to the desire for a simpler world, especially in the politically muddied world of Concrete Revolutio.

We know that nuclear power wouldn't solve all of humanity's problems because that's the world that we live in, the people in the Shinka timeline don't know the world we live in. It'd be easy to think that "Hey this solves all our problems", it solves the oil crisis, it solves pollution, it solves America's imperialistic efforts of invading other countries for Yokai fuel. It's that utopian desire that we had in the sixties where we made a science-fiction television series of how humanity magically solves all it's issues and becomes perfect but not really delving in the details of how.

The world is muddy, full of moral greyness, complicated issues, and problems too big for any single person to hope to put a dent on. We use Superheroes as a way to escape from that, what if somebody had super-powers and could as an individual solve all these issues directly?

Concrete Revolutio shows that even with these heroes existing things will still be morally grey, muddy, and complicated. And the irony is that these people are using the idea of nuclear power as an escape from that.

On a side-note I really liked the Gegege no Kitaro reference with Emi losing her eye.

On another side-note somebody translated Sho Aikawa's and Seiji Mizushima's statements on the series website.

https://frogkun.com/03072015-comments-from-director-seiji-mizushima-and-scriptwriter-sho-aikawa/
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Shirο



Joined: 08 Jun 2015
Posts: 17
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 2:35 pm Reply with quote
at some point, i just got lost...i cant remember things easily so for me this format is hell.

I really liked it from the beginning so i guess ill have to re-watch it some time and understand it better...unless someone knows of any place that explains the events in a correct timeline.

i remember finding one during the airing of the first season but i cant find it anymore
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5317
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:58 am Reply with quote
Wow they had some really good animation and cinematography for that last episode. I wonder what jiro is doing now that he has come to terms with who he is, you see a shadow of him at the end, does that mean that he is a kaiju in the other world and that is a shadow of him.
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Doodleboy



Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 6:27 pm Reply with quote
MarshalBanana wrote:
Wow they had some really good animation and cinematography for that last episode. I wonder what jiro is doing now that he has come to terms with who he is, you see a shadow of him at the end, does that mean that he is a kaiju in the other world and that is a shadow of him.


Jiro explicitly didn't go to the other world wanting to stay in a world with superheroes. So Jiro loses control of his powers and dissolves into energy. My guess is the shadow is Jiro slowly reforming himself, also kind of a metaphor for showing that people will always love superheroes and what they represent.

And then the aliens invade. The people cry for superheroes to return. Then Jiro, Kikko, Raito, Emi and all the superheroes return to fight the aliens. Satomi doesn't get the world he wished for because while superheroes are childish, they also represent the side of us that wants to make the world better, as a concept Superheroes are too great to ever forget.

Yeah, it was a good ending.
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