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Aldnoah.Zero
Episode 12

by Theron Martin,

For all of its 12-episode run Aldnoah.Zero has been a story about dramatic events played out at least partly on a stage of heavy-duty mecha battles. The final episode of the first season, aptly-named “Childhood's End,” lives up to that with a course of events that is intense, bloody, and in places shocking.

Unlike the previous couple of episodes, which presaged the opener with a significant amount of recap as a lead-in, this one starts immediately with the opener then gets right down to business, picking up at the second where episode 11 left off. The Deucalion has crashed into Saazbaum's castle, leaving the advance attack team to pry out Princess Seylum. When Saazbaum's Kataphrakt comes crashing down, someone has to hold out against him to cover the other two escorting the princess, and role naturally falls to Inaho. Like the boss bad guy that he is, Saazbaum's mecha's ultimate form naturally has traits of all of the previously-seen Vers Kataphrakts, but unfortunately for Saazbaum he's facing someone who has survived fights with all of those mecha before and knows how to exploit their weaknesses. Even so, things get hairy, Slaine eventually arrives on the scene, too, and then things get really interesting. And it isn't over even when the princess manages to play her ace in the hole – not by a longshot.

I will not get into how the episode concludes because some things should remain a complete surprise, and there are some stunning turns of events in the final couple of minutes, including at least one (and possibly two) twists that almost no one will have seen coming. All I will say is that what happens in those last couple of minutes raises some massive questions about where the series will go next when it resumes in the Winter 2015 season (a fact which is confirmed by the episode's final screen). It isn't exactly a cliffhanger ending but may have as well been one.

There are some points that can be discussed, however. Many (including yours truly) have complained about Inaho's emotionless behavior, and while this episode does not do much to change that, glimmers of him actually emotionally reacting to things do finally start to show, including one telling scene where he actually smiles – and given the timing of that scene, it was doubtless intended to be loaded with meaning. About what, exactly, is not entirely clear and will certainly be fodder for much debate. The other Earth Forces mecha pilots finally get to do a bit besides just be decoys and Slaine gets to play the “caught in conflicting loyalties” role to the ultimate degree. Saazbaum also has a few interesting things to say here, too, ones which suggest even more strongly that the writers are trying to draw parallels to real-world situations, especially the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under Hamas rulership. The comments he makes are more subtly provocative than those heard in a mecha series like, say, Flag, but they have some edge to them nonetheless.

But for all of the character dramatics, the most critical point here is whether or not the action component works, whether or not the episode fulfills its role as a spectacle, and on those two points it succeeds strongly. Regardless of how one feels about what happens with the characters, this is the flashiest and most involved animation of the entire series. With a musical score that is right on the money whether in full hype or silent running modes, the episode delivers all of the impact and intensity one could hope for, with the only real flaw being that the combining power-up sequence for Saazbaum's Kataphrakt drags on longer than it really needs to.

Doubtless the ending is going to generate mixed reactions and a lot of heated discussion. If its goal was to keep talk about it alive during its off-season, though, then on that point it succeeds magnificently. The season has had its shaky points on plotting, backstory plausibility, and character development, but at least it ends with a bang.

Rating: B+

Aldnoah.Zero is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.


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