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Summary:
In the aftermath of the bus explosion, the aircraft above Sentan Island start dropping large pods, and one of the those lands in the school yard right by the carcass of the bus. From it emerges a large creature that the soldiers recognize as a Humanform Weapon, and it has the ability to rip through nearly anything with its beam weaponry. After destroying an armored car and cutting the school in half, the creature turns its attention towards the bus where Haru and the transformed Akiyuki are. Their friend Furuichi tries to get Haru to escape with him, but Akiyuki grabs her hand to stop her. The two are separated when the creature fires a beam through the middle of the bus and then tackles Akiyuki. While Akiyuki holds onto its snout, the creature runs amok through the industrial part of the island, and when Akiyuki finally lets go, he goes flying into a nearby waterway. The creature still tracks him down and fires at him though, forcing Akiyuki to block with his newly acquired transforming skin. He responds by punching its face and then leads it to another part of the waterway where he continues the struggle against it. Haru had followed him and tries to get Akiyuki to run away, but her words have no effect, and debris causes her to fall off a broken pipe.
Akiyuki manages to catch her, and, while holding her in his other arm, he charges at the creature. He manages to slice off a leg and then starts hammering the creature with his fists, and this leads to a layer of stone suddenly forming all over the creature’s body. While this is going on, Nakiami arrives on the scene and stabs Akiyuki’s arm with her cane. She wonders why a complete Xam’d is in a place like this, and when Nakiami questions if Akiyuki was a human, Haru asserts that he is. Nakiami then offers Akiyuki the choice of either dying there or going with her and living, and when Akiyuki chooses life, she subdues him simply by touching the gem on his forehead. This also causes him to change back to his original human form, and Nakiami carries his unconscious body off with her, leaving Haru behind. She brings Akiyuki back to Ishu’s ship, and after they depart from the port, Nakiami performs a procedure on Akiyuki that involves stabbing and restraining the arm with the gem on it. Once it’s done, she lets him rest and wonders how he can want to live even though no one is happy about his creation.
Back on Sentan Island, Haru is reunited with Furuichi and listens to the report over the radio about how the attack today was targeted at the military base and industrial complex. She believes that Akiyuki is still alive, but she feels bad about how she wasn’t able to keep her promise to his mother. At that moment, Akiyuki’s mother is paying a visit to his father at his clinic and tells him that Akiyuki never came home. Akiyuki’s father is worried, but he also has to prioritize his own patients, and this frustrates Akiyuki’s mother because she feels that he doesn’t care about their son. She thinks that Akiyuki could be waiting for them under a pile of rubble, and when Akiyuki’s father doesn’t move to act, she decides to search for Akiyuki by herself. Meanwhile, at an underground installation, a man named Commander Kakisu meets with a Dr. Kanba in front of a chained creature that Kanba refers to as a Xam’d. Kakisu talks about moving a research institution to Sentan Island, and Kanba urges Kakisu to show the island inhabitants the power of the Xam’d.
Preview
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After all that, I don’t think I can call this series slow-paced anymore. I didn’t doubt that the BONES team could pull off a good action scene, but it’s always interesting to see when and how they’re used. The battle here reveals what appears to be Akiyuki’s key ability – reforming his arm and/or body into any shape – as well as one of the common enemies that he’ll probably be facing from now on (it’s the same as the one in the OP). The monster didn’t really pose any big threat to him though, and I would have thought his transformed body was close to near invincible if it weren’t for Nakiami showing up and stabbing his arm. It’s not entirely clear what that was about, but I assume that the gem is his weak point.
Speaking of things not being clear, this episode just raised more questions about pretty much everything – who’s Nakiami, what are the Xam’d, why did that Humanform Weapon target Akiyuki, etc. The writers appear to be taking the route of just introducing as much as they can before going into any explanation or significant character development, and while that’s not necessarily a bad approach, it can get pretty confusing and overwhelming in the beginning. One of the few things that was evident though was Akiyuki’s parents’ strained relationship. For whatever reason, I really liked all the emotion in that scene between the two of them, and I think it’ll make for an interesting subplot as the story moves forward. The preview indicates, however, that the focus of next week’s episode will be on Akiyuki getting acquainted with Nakiami and the crew of Ishu’s ship, and they’ll get attacked by a flying Humanform.
Nice (watched it on veoh already) – btw, Omni, do you know when Xam’d usually airs? Anidb is a bit confusing on that and raws are surprisingly hard to find.
Hah, looks interesting, can’t wait.
Renegade334: It’s available on the Playstation Store starting every Tuesday of the week.
@Omni: uh-uh. I know about that but…err, is it actually broadcasted on TV or is it just Playstation-exclusive?
@Renegade334:
Xam’d does not “air” on TV. Rather, it is released ONLY on the US Playstation Network Video Store, on a weekly basis(?)
@Renegade334:
It is supposedly slated for a Japan in the Fall. Not sure if they meant that they will broadcast it, or post it on the Playstation Network Video Store…’>> Basically, anyone who owns a PS3 in the US is getting a sneak preview of the anime before the rest of the world.
Another good episode. I have to say while I think the price is a bit steep, that the fact that this is even being done makes me want to support the effort in the hopes that they continue it, even if the anime aren’t exclusive airings.
It will be on the Japanese PSN store in Sept from what I’ve been told.
Basically the studio missed its chance to get a timeslot for the new season, so they managed to make a deal with Sony to get it out on the PSN network. Or that’s what the rumors say anyways.
So far the first two eps look great, the story seems very interesting. And the staff working on this are top notch.
This looks to be a very promicing anime. We need a couple more episode for us to get the main idea of what to expect but it seems to go very smoothly right now so no complaints from me. I am actually expecting a lot from this anime and anyway even if it sucks the opening song is so amazing that i dont care!
@Omni….
Just watched it…. damn it’s good. I agree with you regarding the scene between Akiyuki’s parents. The mom’s performance was simply flawless.
I’m starting to see some similarities between Xam’d and Eureka7…. but I hope Xam’d doesn’t turn out that way…. I hated the way Renton was abused by the crew in Eureka7, and his only fault was that he didn’t know what was goin on, even if he tried his best to understand it….. The preview for ep3 of Xam’d seems to be pointing in that direction a bit (the punching)…. but I guess it’s too early to pass judgement on that.
One thing I’m still not sure of is who the main star is….. Akiyuki or Nakiami??
I’ll probably continue to watch this, though…. I’ve got time since I dropped MacrossF (cheesy idols irritate me)….
The animation was awesome, the soundtrack mostly good, the mystery of the Humanform’s intriguing…. I’m hoping this doesn’t crash n burn like so many other similar types of anime.
Thanks for the screenshots and synopsis.
Cheerz!!
I wonder doest omni have a ps3? hmm not like it matters.. hmm maybe i should pick this up looks quiet interesting
@Omni
It’d be very nice to tell us where the hell you watch this show. It’s only available in the US and what’s out in the net so far isn’t from that quality like the screenshots you present us – thx.
Definitely the best show I’ve seen out of all the new series that came out this season
@mutio: You can get the ripped episodes at Tokyo Toshokan.
The first episode was uploaded onto the PSN video store when it first lunched on Tuesday night, the second episode was uploaded to the PSN video store on Tuesday afternoon so we can expect the episodes to be released on Tuesday afternoons/early evenings. As for when and where you can find the raws, this weeks raw was uploaded to demoniod on Thursday in a group torrent that also included an improved video of first episode as well as the first two trailers. The person who uploaded them said that he will continue to upload the episodes as they come, so check on demoniod on Wednesdays although if we’re lucky we may get it at the end of every Tuesday.
Am I the only one who loves the opening?
Ya Tuesdays, for some reason I waited til Thursday to see if EP2 is up. Kinda glad to hear I’m not the only one confused about all the hinting.
On a side note, normally I don’t have a problem with the fansubs and stuff, but it’s complicated with this series. Most shows airs in Japan at the same and the staff is paid by the advertisements, but this show has zero advertisements, the staff’s pay comes directly from the PSN. So please ppl let’s try to keep this show going, pay for it if u can, note the quality between the PSN versions and the ripped ones is like night and day.
*end rant*
@Mark No, no you are not alone.
This series is amazing and it resemble so much of Eureka 7 (hell yeah!). The crew can almost compare 1:1 to Eureka.
The only reason I watch the rips is because I’m from England and I have been waiting to see this ever since it was first announced. If they were to bring the video service to the EU PSN along with Xam’d, I would be more than willing to pay for the HD episodes.
Haru is awesome, along with Akiyuki… she is gonna play cool role in this… Yeah this one gonna be good, and also that Furiuki or whatever their Glass Friend said the stupidest thing ever lol…
sigh… Sony, when will you learn…?
For those who are talking about this looking like E7, check the staff list. Almost everyone who is working on this worked on E7. There are also people who worked on Cowboy Beebop, FMA, DtB, and some other good shows.
As for who the main character is, it’s the guy, but the red head chick is also more or less a main character. It’s like E7 really, Renten was the main but Eureka was also up there.
It’s stupid how much Xam’d blows away everything else this summer. I mean, there’s crazy promise here. Sony needs to get their brains together and get this anime on TV.
Any Rich Dude here… Hire a Assassin Have him hit someone important in Sony, with a note lol… jk
Think a bit marketing… What you think, an Anime, that are not even out in Japan.. in the Playstation channel… What boost it gives to all the Anime lovers outside Nippon?. Nice catch. And i hope it will be more come out, from this idea.
Why, this Anime remind me of Princess Mononoko and Nausicaa of my youth?
well, we still don’t know the details guys.. Maybe Sony IS planning to air this in TV, maybe they don’t have enough $$, or maybe they think its risky.. We don’t know. Ignorance is bliss.
Well it’s obvious they’re trying to promote their super-duper PSN. Otherwise, no anime watchers would pay attention to it. Dirt cheap.
This IS going to be aired on TV, just not b4 it’s already finished on PSN. Hence the price for “watching sth that shouldn’t be out yet”.
Well, consider this guys, Bones/Sony is actually getting paid to broadcast this series on the PSN. Considering that normally Anime studios/distributors in Japan pay TV stations to broadcast their product usually at a slot past midnight of all times, I personally don’t mind supporting this as long as they can keep the animation standard and production values to this level throughout all 26 episodes. Some of the animation quality shown in episode 2 is comparable to a lot of high budget anime films, so really I don’t mind supporting works like these.
Ah ah, I really want to watch this in HD, but to bad I don’t have a PS3. If I had a PS3, I would consider buying every single episode of this. Guess I have to wait for a box set.
@AnotherGeek
You could just wait for it to show up in the japanese PSN store and let someone over thre rip HD versions. HD versions WILL come for this, it’s just a matter of time.
Hi:
How many episodes come out in PSN?
All episode of the show?
Or only somes?
@Budy
The whole show.
Haru is Hot
I heard this will be airing in Nihon this fall…. not 100% sure, though.
My setup’s different…. I’ve done some hackin to trick PSN that I’m American….heh…. still gotta pay for it, though.
you see it on youtube
While Haru’s scored a lot of cool points by drop-kicking that soldier in the face, I still like Nakiami better. Just something about mysterious, strong, silent female warrior types that appeal to me, heh. The fact that she’s a red-head doesn’t hurt either. If only she’d ditch the dopey purple parachute pants. It hasn’t been hammer time since the 90s!
And yea, I totally agree that Renton went through a lot of BS (borderline child abuse; ok, we get it, he’s a dumb n00b) on Eureka 7 when he was first initiated by the ship’s crew. Hopefully Akiyuki doesn’t have to put up with quite so much crap (most likely from that snotty kid and the domineering lady-captain). Still, his character seems more upbeat and mature and a bit smarter than Renton was starting out (Akiyuki appears to be taking his parents’ divorce pretty well too where most teens his age would sulk and act out all emo-ish).
The emotional interaction between Akiyuki’s parents was great. From that one scene alone you can see just how and why those two drifted apart. Hope their relationship does feature more in future episodes (along with more answers as to what the heck is going on plot-wise). A show has done its job when viewers start to care about what happens to even minor supporting characters, and it’s only the 2nd episode.
this episode was totally awesome ^^
I think there is a human inside the Humanform Weapon. Perhaps in the future it will be revealed that the Humanform are actually the good guys, like the Vajra in MF.
… this anime definitly reminds of Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä
If you take a look a the faces of Princess Mononoke and Nakiami then you will see that they are a bit alike (they’ve got similar paintings on their cheeks … btw. why do they have such things in their faces?)
Then i first saw these flying ships in the sky I remembered the flying island in Nausicaä and this vehicle Nakiami uses to fly around reminds me of the glider Nausicaä used.
… but i loved these Animes in my youth an so i hope this Anime will be better 🙂
It won’t be ‘airing’ in japan in the fall. It will be available on the PS3 store in Japan when the video store launches there in November.
Right now its available on the US PS3 video store, new episode each week. The quality is pretty damn good, 1.5gb for 25 minutes of 720p video. It’s interesting to have downloadable content for once that exceeds usual fansub quality.
The main problem a lot of people have with the current releases (besides it only being available in the US on the PS3), is that there currently is only an option to rent the episodes. The rental is fairly expensive too. $2.99 for SD, $3.99 for HD, plus tax for a 2 week window to start watching it and once first played, 24 hours of time to play it in.
I didn’t think I’d be willing to pay that for a rental, but after watching these first 2 episodes I think I’m going to continue to pay for the rental. If the show wasn’t so good I never would have been able to justify paying for it.
Some d-bag(he call himself that) is release HD version for this, only except it HUGE! 2GB for an ep. ToT
episode 3 with subs
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v15368713zBq4mxYj?rank=8&category=Animation&order=mr
i cant find the dubbed anywhere where can i fnd it cus i saw a comercial for the DVD box set for this anime at best buy and i got ll excited and started jumping up and down and started to tell every1 that that was anime and that it was epic in almost every way well has it been dubbed where can i find it and if not am i stupid