FREEZING – 12 (END)

「Satellizer vs. Pandora」

Who says an anime can’t improve upon its manga counterpart? Just when I thought Freezing was going to ride out the remainder of this arc and conclude around Satellizer’s battle with Cathy, it throws in an added twist that further develops her connection to Kazuha, shows the entire Pandora cast banding together, and foreshadows what’s to come with cameos from the most powerful Pandora in the world, Yi Suna (Saitou Fuuko), and Kazuya’s grandfather, Aoi Gengo (Ono Atsushi). Sequel please.

FREEZING – 10

「NOVA Form」

While I knew the battle was coming to West Genetics, it didn’t take away from the excitement in this episode one bit. The Nova’s arrival on the outskirts of the school jacked up the suspense right from the get-go, so I was pretty psyched even when it was a bunch of unfamiliar fourth-years who were sent in first. Once the first platoon was deployed and the music kicked in, there was an immediate sense of the urgency drew me right in.

FREEZING – 09

「Godspeed of the East」

I wasn’t sure what to make of Kugimiya Rie cast to play Cathy Lockharte at first, but she brought out the best of the powerful yet soft-spoken Pandora and left me thinking this is her new calling in anime. Less loud, violent, little girls and more kind ones like this would probably make me look forward to her roles again, which I haven’t been able to do for some time now.

FREEZING – 08

「Pandora Queen」

Seeing as I was expecting a date at the amusement park this week, the episode title struck me as rather odd. It only took me a few minutes in to quickly realize why, as we had an anime original episode centering around a yearly prom where Pandoras and Limiters get a chance to mingle. That’s what the West Genetics tradition is promoted as anyway, when in reality the Pandora Queen beauty pageant is the only thing that matters.

FREEZING – 06

「Machination」

Following her introduction last time, Rana is quickly stirring things up school-wide in ways that only make the story better for me as the viewer. Her forwardness with her feelings for Kazuya contrasts well with Satellizer’s reserved demeanor, and also forces our Untouchable Queen to take the initiative if she doesn’t want to lose her newly-partnered Limiter.

FREEZING – 04

「Tempest Turn」

I was anticipating some content to be skipped if this adaptation was going to make any headway with twelve episodes, but I wasn’t expecting five chapters to be sped through in a mere twenty minutes. It was a furious and pace and came at the cost of a lengthy flashback, which is unfortunate because it showed a lot more depth to Ingrid’s character.