Re:CREATORS

Episode 20

Re:CREATORS needs one hell of a finish to recover from the doldrums and absences it experienced earlier this season, and the good news is that it seems to be getting one! While the last couple of episodes helped restore some enthusiasm for the series, this one doubles down on that strength and sets up some intriguing possibilities for next week's dramatic finale. (While there are two more episodes, I'm fully expecting the last one to be a “wrap-up-and-send-everyone-home” affair.)

Episode 20 is the series' most densely-packed episode in both plot developments and not-so-veiled statements about the creative process. On the former front, Altair predictably delights in Selesia's sacrifice before showing off the most “meta” application of her Holopsicon yet: the ability to negate plot twists, which in application means “if it's not part of the core story, I can neutralize it.” This is also an incredibly ironic power, since all her meta powers could be interpreted as coming down to that in the end, but she uses this ability to depower Hikayu – which makes me sad, since I found her abilities thoroughly entertaining, even the deliberately-corny weapon transformation she gets right before being depowered. Still, Altair makes no attempt to kill her because there has to be a helpless bystander, right? Yuya and Sho definitely aren't as lucky when their turns come, though neither is actually dead by the end of the episode.

We also get to see the ultimate intended ace in the hole the Creators had built: Sirius, a more developed duplicate of Altair who shares her powers, based on Setsuna's final design before her suicide. (How appropriate is it that a character designed to eclipse one of the brightest stars in the night sky is named after the brightest star in the night sky?) Her appearance marks the first time that Altair's been rattled enough to actually struggle in a fight, but she also creates a problem in terms of establishing realities in storytelling. Since she's merely a doll built for a specific purpose and not a fleshed-out character, she lacks the internal identity of the other characters. That's why Altair is eventually able to take over her body when it appears that Sirius has successfully used the Holopsicon to absorb her, allowing Altair to upgrade on the outside while remaining the same within.

But what would a story about the creative process be without matching a dramatic reversal and counter-reversal with a counter-counter-reversal? And so we finally get to see the fruits of Sota's labor and why Magane's involvement was so essential: he “created” Setsuna. This turn of events is a possibility that has been brought up by viewers before, so it's not entirely out of left field, but combining it with the venue where Setsuna committed suicide is a ballsy move. It definitely makes logical sense as a ploy, since Setsuna functions for Altair much like Blitz's daughter functions for him; she's her motivational force, the one thing that she has no defense against. In retrospect, the series has also been setting up this ploy all throughout its run. The longshot nature of it succeeding is only made possible by Magane's reality-twisting power, so it doesn't have to follow the normal audience-acceptance standard; in fact, its very impossibility is what makes it possible, according to the logic of Magane's power. It also provides a tangible mechanism through which Sota can get closure with Setsuna, which I fully expect to be prominent in the remaining two episodes. Regardless, as both a potential dramatic and emotional development, I don't think the series could have pulled out a stronger ace in the hole.

The commentary on creation is hardly lost in all of this drama, either. The lack of stability in a poorly-developed character, Hikayu's depowering, comments made by both Altair and Hikayu about audience acceptance, and comments made among the Creators about trying something else if the first attempt fails all serve that purpose. However, Altair's description of the creative process empowering her is also interesting. While the series has rarely addressed doujinshi directly, it casts Altair is the ultimate doujinshi character, who has innumerable Creators contributing to her nature in an exercise of “passion gone mad.” In other words, she is the product of fan art and fanfiction taken to its ultimate extreme: the formation of a collectively-owned character.

This makes her confrontation with Setsuna next episode even more intriguing. Altair has clearly grown beyond what Setsuna created, and yet – as the current opener has suggested – she's still firmly tied to Setsuna. And what depth of character will Setsuna have, given that she's not the “real” Setsuna? We'll have to wait a whole week to find out, and I will be awaiting it eagerly.

Rating: A-

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