Re:CREATORS

Episode 16

Re:CREATORS had a special last week, and if the schedule I saw back at the beginning of the season is correct, then there should be another one coming next week. That concerns me a little, since the episode they have in between is hardly a thrill ride. Thorough setup is all well and good, but the series may be taking too much time getting all of its ducks in a row.

Given how the story has been progressing, an episode like this was probably to be expected at this point. After all, two episodes ago was all about formulating the plan to oppose Altair, while last episode was about the ground work for the whole project. This episode is all about wrapping up preparations, getting one final morale boost before setting the stage for the Birdcage to come. In other words, this is the last calm before what will hopefully be a very intense storm, which should span most of the series' remaining six episodes. And what better way to carry that out than to send everyone to the hot springs for one big party?

This results in a dramatically upped fanservice quotient for the second episode straight. Nothing scandalous actually shows thanks to some glare on the water, but if you've been curious about the curves on most of the female members of the Anti-Altair team, then you'll get your best look here. The guys get to show off some skin too, but aside from Yuuya's perfectly-chiseled form, there's not much to look at. The female cast definitely gets the better side of this exchange. We also get a different kind of fanservice in the amusing way that Kikuchihara gradually loses her composure and speaks her mind as she gets progressively drunker.

Beyond that, the rest of the episode involves characters talking around the exact details of the Birdcage that's been constructed to contain Altair. Sota appears in a neat opening scene where Selesia is driving him around again – this time legally! – but all we actually find out is that he's been helping Matsuraba with the new story over the past few months of preparation. We also find out that Hikayu got some kind of modification from her Creator, but not what it is. We do at least get some hints though, especially the revelation that seeing Vogelchevalier in the new opener wasn't just a tease; Selesia's robot is actually going to be part of the plan, after being summoned by Meteora's upgraded powers. The final scene, where Altair's team shows up, also confirms that it was indeed Charon who popped up in the shadows a few episodes back. Given how much action was going on before, I find it a little implausible that they were just laying low the whole time, though perhaps Altair has also decided to aim for a single decisive battle; she did intimate something to that effect an episode or two ago, and we know that she has at least some sense of what's being planned. There's also the question of what else Magane may have been up to.

So the next episode we see, whether it's next week or two weeks from now, should be where the crap finally hits the fan. That there are still six episodes left suggests that things are not going to go smoothly for Team Meteora, so I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of dynamic plays and counter-plays. With all this effort put into the setup, there had best be a good payoff.

Rating: B

Re:CREATORS is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.