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DuskyPredator
Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15506
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:43 am
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Episode 21
And now a super suspense episode. Starring Hana kidnapped, space station in trouble, and Teppei in the line of fire. Not that I actually wanted it or entirely believed it, but the possibility of Teppei maybe being killed was totally nail-biting, him and Akari were only just starting. It did seem that the dedication finally broke through to one of their enemies, that seems to be a first as I don't remember any others.
This episode I was thinking about my general thoughts on this series, and I came to the conclusion that I think Captain Earth is pretty messy transitioning from situation to situation, like having Akari wanting to go swimming, casinos, and to underground fighting arenas, but when it gets to a good meaty scene, it can do pretty good. Maybe explain it like some of the characters, on the outside Daichi is kind of an uninteresting mess and Hana the team chick who is innocent, but then it transitions to Daichi having to make decisions and Hana being deeper. The show also tries to do it where villains are laughably evil, but gives them some other motivations.
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DuskyPredator
Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15506
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 4:32 am
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Episode 22
The amount of death flags in this show, is too damn high. Things have gotten to the super serious stuff for the finale of Captain Earth. And more about what the different factions are thinking, Salty dog think they are doing the right thing, and pink haired girl is realising Earth is not that bad.
Salty Dog's tech could have been useful before now in stopping all humans from being killed, although as we have seen maybe it would not have been.
My guess for the end of the episode being like a dream is that its the effect the mentioned on the mind during a hyperspace jump, we will have the sort of standard episode where he shakes himself out of the dream. I do like the sound of the episode's title, A Midsummer Nights Dream, it is something that had to pop up.
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DuskyPredator
Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15506
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 3:58 am
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Episode 23
This was a great episode, and I think most importantly tied in what happened at the beginning of the series that did not seem to fit correctly with the show. It tied a bunch of things together, and was among one of the better stuck in a dream episodes I have seen. With a mixture of familiar scenes from the beginning of the series mixed in with the villain team, he directly faced their motivations and whether he could overcome it.
Lets be honest, Daichi has been pretty bland, and this episode looking at his character felt quite key in getting character development. The festival, memories of Hana, Pitz and aiming at the medallion, it was great, been quite lukewarm with the series in general despite a number of posts, but here they did good.
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Dessa
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:09 pm
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I think that this episode was probably one of the strongest episodes of the series. I mean, I am partial to dream sequences/visions/mental traps/alternate universes/etc, where the character gets a sense that something's "wrong" and has to figure out how to break themselves out of it anyway, but despite that, it was still a strong episode.
For a while I was questioning on if his visions of the real Amara and co were his mind or was that they had set up this trap for him and their true selves were leaking through. Ended up, by the end, deciding that it was the latter.
I don't think, myself, that Daichi has been that bland, but this episode did strengthen his subtle growth, harkening back to when he was first named as Captain and he didn't think he wanted/could handle being in charge, but when he gets an "out", the fact that he has grown into the role is what I feel led to his determination to break free.
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Ohoni
Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 3421
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:21 am
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Yeah, I thought that this was a really spectacular dream world episode, those don't always work for me, but I think this one was just really well crafted. I loved the little touches throughout the episode, like where during the parent conference Moko and Ai were teasing Manatsu from behind the glass, or when they mentioned his father dying the rocket crashed into the asteroid in the video game behind him, or when he was talking to Baku, all the other guys started popping in behind him.
My take on it is that as they were entering "hyperspace," it was a kind of shared psychic environment, so I don't think the gears brought him there, they could just be there, it's like their natural environment as hyperspacial beings, and they were trying to trap him there once he got there.
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DuskyPredator
Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15506
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 11:04 am
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Episode 24
Super awesome anime episode go! Just the halfway mark was quite something, when they finally had the OP play because it was such neck breaking speed. The show has really kicked things up lately in a very enjoyable way. There was a point in the episode that had me realise that this is actually a pretty good mecha fight. Okay, Puck's evil thing is a little over the top, but we want a villain we can hate.
The preview for next episode looks rather ominous, as in it is going to be rather dramatic. Just one episode left, and it is named after the series name.
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Generic #757858
Joined: 03 Nov 2008
Posts: 1354
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 2:37 pm
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So ends Captain Earth and the only response I can muster is a resounding "meh". The final episode's attempts at drama, depth and gravitas just fell flat, like they were just going through the motions because this is the way you're supposed to end a mecha series: The real bad guy reveals himself, the former bad guys suddenly have a change of heart, battle, love conquers all, being just an ordinary human sure is the best! *yawn*
Final Rating: Not Really Good. It wasn't bad, but completely failed to capitalize on it's potential or really even make me care about anything that happened.
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DuskyPredator
Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15506
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:35 am
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Episode 25 (final)
Well I got really into it. I got a bit worried for a bit, but it seemed they were saved by the livlaster. I do think it needs an OVA, the ending where it did was kind of pretty for the image, but I want a wind down. Make it either hilarious or romantic.
My opinions on the show in general, it was a bit juvenile, but not quite in the way I think other anime that try to suck in younger adults with fanservice. Yes there was fanservice, but it did not feel to abused, mostly either to make a point about pink girl or Hana's naivety. Akari also took part, belly button forte, but that was more humorous and for the most part I was happy with her actually being rather covered. Back to it being juvenile, the story or at least its pacing was not exactly complex, good and bad guys were pretty easy to spot and did not try too hard to convince you otherwise. But the series did marginally improve when it decided to go above that, the planetary gears had more interesting personalities, Teppei was shown to be more complex, Akari could really threaten, and Hana was just plain awesome. Hana really became a favourite character, not because how she was initially shown as an innocent girl who does not understand things, well how kind friendly she was did help, but she was also shown to be much quicker and not just the team princess.
Overall after a weak start, some good development, pointless episodes of them going around, good kisses. Puck, a surprisingly good stuck in a dream episode, and this not too surprising ending, I rate it Decent. Make it past the as mentioned weak parts, and you may have a good time.
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Merida
Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1945
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:05 am
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Well, i enjoyed this more than that other mecha show that just (temporarily) ended. It had far less of an eyeroll and wanting to punch several characters in the face...real hard...and repeatedly factor for me.
Sure, the plot wasn't terribly original, but it hardly ever is in this type of anime and i agree that the conclusion was fairly clichéd, but it was a pretty entertaining show overall.
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Dessa
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 11:15 am
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You know, thinking on people calling it "juvenile", what came across to you as "juvenile" is actually why I loved it so much: they were kids, and they acted like realistic kids, not hardened mecha pilots (like so many shows do).
I am, however, hoping for an OAV epilogue. Seeing that they saved the day was good and all, but I'd like to see where things go from there and how people move on.
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DuskyPredator
Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15506
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 11:38 am
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Dessa wrote: | You know, thinking on people calling it "juvenile", what came across to you as "juvenile" is actually why I loved it so much: they were kids, and they acted like realistic kids, not hardened mecha pilots (like so many shows do). |
Oh I did not mean it as entirely a bad point, it gave the show a kind refreshing easy to watch feel.
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Beltane70
Joined: 07 May 2007
Posts: 3908
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:29 pm
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Nine pages and not one comment about how the latter part of the show was one giant Shakespeare reference!
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getchman
He started it
Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9122
Location: Bedford, NH
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:25 pm
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Beltane70 wrote: | Nine pages and not one comment about how the latter part of the show was one giant Shakespeare reference! |
a specific work, or just Shakespeare in general?
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Ghost_Wheel
Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 203
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:44 pm
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Captain Earth was absolutely worth my time. I really liked the planetary gears, and how their anatomy really shaped their philosophy and motivations. I thought our cast of heroes was pretty cool, with Hana and Teppei both fleshing themselves out far more than I expected. And last but not least, thank GOD for drawn mech animation in 2014. Bright colors and thick lines, lots of interesting action scenes with great effects and motion. Stayed through all the way up to the glorious finish and I'm very happy about that.
Lighthearted but passively explores serious themes (always a nice mix for me), and great animation made it a good ride. The kind of thing I wouldn't recommend to others but I still got a healthy amount of satisfaction out of.
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jl07045
Joined: 30 Aug 2011
Posts: 1527
Location: Riga, Latvia
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 11:43 pm
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getchman wrote: |
Beltane70 wrote: | Nine pages and not one comment about how the latter part of the show was one giant Shakespeare reference! |
a specific work, or just Shakespeare in general? |
The obvious one is A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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