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Concrete Revolutio
Episodes 1-2

by Rose Bridges,

How would you rate episode 1 of
Concrete Revolutio ?
Community score: 3.5

How would you rate episode 2 of
Concrete Revolutio ?
Community score: 3.8

Concrete Revolutio was one of my most anticipated shows of this season. After all, it features the writer, director and animation studio behind my favorite anime ever, Fullmetal Alchemist. Not everything that Shō Aikawa, Seiji Mizushima, and Studio Bones have come up with has been gold (some of it was pretty far from gold), but that trio at least promises something interesting and ambitious. That's certainly what Concrete Revolutio is so far: it looks and feels like nothing else out there. Maybe that's not entirely a good thing.

The show starts with a well-worn idea: "superhumans" blending in with ordinary modern society. They have the power to save the world from aliens and other evils, but the government refuses to officially recognize them (for reasons still unknown). Luckily, the heroes put together a council—the Superhuman Bureau—to take on these threats. They also keep an eye on all fellow superhumans they know about outside of the group, to make sure they aren't wreaking havoc in their own way. This all takes place in a world filled with Roy Lichtenstein dot backgrounds and bright pastel character designs, adding to Concrete Revolutio's uniqueness.

At least, that was the best I could put together from the first episode. That was no easy feat, because that episode was completely bonkers. It introduces our two leads: Hoshino, a magical girl, and Jiro, a "normal human" (except he isn't). His powers are harder to follow. They don't appear in past flashbacks (when he's with the bureau) but do appear in future flash-forwards (when he's an enemy of the bureau), ultimately getting lost in the deluge of crazy ideas that Aikawa and Mizushima throw at the screen. At the beginning of the writing process, it helps to make an outline of all your ideas, and then piece them together into something coherent over time. The premiere of Concrete Revolutio feels like it never quite got past the outline. It's just bizarre imagery after zany plot twist, peppered with gratuitously German names and catchphrases: like Grosse Augen, whose name roughly translates to "Big Eye." He's the remaining important figure in the first episode, hinted as being mysterious or malignant, and ultimately I'm not sure what side he fell on.

Luckily, by episode 2, Concrete Revolutio assembles something of a narrative. It focuses on a new superhuman, Fuuroka, although calling him "human" in any part is a stretch. He's a ghost, presumably of a young boy. In this world, being a ghost not only means you can walk through walls and see things others cannot, but also shapeshift and communicate with animals. The episode starts with Fuuroka using this power to bust up a ring selling exotic bugs to children. He transforms into a blue duck-like bird and whips up a wind attack that frees their most exotic beetle. It flies away, but in the process Fuuroka gets caught up in a much bigger (or should I say buggier?) conflict.

The villains of the week are the Tartaros Bugmen—not actual aliens this time, but dormant former rulers of the earth. They are remnants from millions of years ago when bugs were huge, but these giant insects eventually "gave up their power" to new evolved forms of life. (Lower oxygen levels were the real culprits, but okay, Concrete Revolutio's explanation is way more fun.) When humans took over, the Tartaros Bugmen confined themselves to the forests, brokering an agreement that they'd leave our society alone if the humans could do the same for them. Of course, this didn't last, with modern humans cutting down trees and capturing insects to sell to bug-loving children. Yep, if you didn't get it from the opening lines bemoaning how bug-catching, formerly a fun summertime activity for kids, is now commoditized, there's an obvious environmental message here. Don't destroy nature if you don't want nature to destroy you! So that's exactly what the Tartaros Bugmen start doing once Fuurota sets them free.

The Superhuman Bureau sympathizes, but they still must fight the bugs, especially since they've trapped so many innocent humans in a "Black Fog." None of the heroes can penetrate it, except for our little blond ghost. He makes quick work on the giant bugs with—what else?—bug spray! Unfortunately, this is before he knows all about their complex society and agreement with humans. At least, I think so?

This episode's chronology is confusing. It keeps cutting back to a confrontation between Fuurota and a bug-girl named Campe. He met her in human form one lonely night while walking around the city, and they promised to be friends. It's abundantly obvious that she's one of the Tartaros Bugmen, with moth-like antenna coming out of her head and big empty bug-eyes. Still, the scene promises a sweet friendship between the two, up until she attacks him years later, now grown and dressed in skin-tight buggy fanservice. She laments the loss of their friendship because he destroyed her people, and Fuurota realizes that Campe and the exotic beetle he saved were the same person, way behind the audience on that one. She attempts to kill him, until the currently bureau-opposed Jiro (in this timeline) talks her into the act's futility and she flies away, back to the forest.

Whew. At least this scene digs into some thematic depth too: the loss of innocence and introduction of moral complexity. Presumably, Fuurota's previous, corporeal form died young, so Fuurota is eternally stuck at that impressionable age, unable to wrap his head around the fact that the villains he fights are sympathetic and complex. It frustrates Fuurota that even Campe, an insect, can grow up so fast, while he is forever young. I guess that's the way of the world when ghosts and giant humanoid insects are real. Concrete Revolutio's ideas may not always be applicable to real life, but at least they're interesting.

This thematic ambition bodes well for the show going forward. Concrete Revolutio is still overstuffed with ideas, and it really needs to figure out what's good enough for an episode and what should have been left behind. At the very least, it needs to connect its ideas in a coherent fashion. If you're going to do flashbacks and fast-forwards, there are ways to convey those changes without leaving the audience scratching our heads. Like its grab-bag of superheroes—ranging from tokusatsu mecha suits to magical girls—Concrete Revolutio wants to be everything at once. As of Episode 2, it's starting to fine-tune that focus and improve by the same measure. Once it fully separates the signal from the noise, Concrete Revolutio could be something special yet.

Rating (episode 1): C+
Rating (episode 2): B+

Concrete Revolutio is currently streaming on Funimation.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn.


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