Snowball Earth

Episode 6

Wait, wait, wait, hold on a second. So are you telling me? Are you really telling me? Really, no kidding, not pulling my leg, absolutely 100% serious? This guy devised all of his villainous plans just because he was jealous of a little kid? Him? A grown, adult man?

I have so many questions. Like, first of all, Sagami was basically a war hero for fighting off kaiju pre-apocalypse. Does being a war hero of any sort not net you status? Fame? Popularity? It seems like it does for a while. So what if it turns out you're not the ultimate savior of the world? At least you're not burdened with the responsibility. How are you going to beef on a little kid like you're Katt Williams? Oh, and how does Sagami solve the dilemma? By creating an organization where he teaches other kids how to be the savior. “If I can't be the savior because of some kid, then I'm going to exact revenge by still not being the savior because of some other kids! Hahaha! That'll show them! Fear me.” I can't with this guy. I also refuse to treat his team with any dignity when they're palling around with some goofy mascot-looking character. It'd be like if I created an evil organization and my second-in-command was the Philly Phanatic. Even by wacked-out anime standards, this all plays out like a farce.

And thus, we're back to where the last episode left off. Sagami is the colonel leading his organization of kaiju-taming bad guys to stop Tetsuo dead in his tracks. Literally. He plans on killing Tetsuo and then starting his all-out war at the survivors' malls. But hold on to your hats for a moment here, because right as he and his goons got Tetsuo, Yukio, and Hagane cornered, the episode does that thing where Sagami's squadmates decide to retreat and let Tetsuo live. Because we've got six episodes of this show left. It's hilarious when Sagami says, “I never make mistakes” right after he makes a big one. I'm pretty sure he's bound to come across a few more with an attitude like that.

I'm spoiling a lot here, but it's hard not to with a guy like Sagami. His motivations are so insipid and childish that they just have to be explained. And I'm not even sure if that's enough. He makes a ton of weird poses too, like this shot where his teeth and mouth make him look like a braying donkey. Am I watching Snowball Earth, or the poor man's Au hasard Balthazar?

There's also another shot of his hair transforming into a kaiju, which I guess is supposed to be a metaphor for how being a powerful kaiju tamer makes him more one with his kaiju and therefore more powerful. It's such a weird visual, especially when the kaiju is donning googly eyes here. How am I supposed to take this seriously?

Oh, and the CG is bad. Of course, of course. Definitely liked that most of Sagami's backstory was in 2D though!

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Snowball Earth is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.