Aquarion EVOL / First Impressions / Series Introduction

「終末を抱いた神話的禁じられた合体スペシャル」 (Owari wo Dakiita Shinwateki Kinjirareta Gattai Supesharu)
“The Mythical Forbidden Union that Embraces the End Special”

The sequel to Kawamori Shouji’s Sousei no Aquarion arrives seven years later and kicks off with a one-hour special of the first two episodes. Things took off at a feverish pace with the reawakening of the legendary robot Aquarion, complete with the orgasmic-like “gattai” combinations that the original was known for, and quickly shattered the premise where male and female unions are forbidden. There was a lot to take in and I really enjoyed the action-packed start, but I admittedly found the progression a bit of a “garbled mess” at the same time. Rather than the first two episodes of a TV series, the pacing was very reminiscent of the Sousei no Aquarion OVAs (which I did get around to watching recently, only to find out that it’s a noticeably different retelling of the series).

After a quick glimpse of how Amata (Kaji Yuuki) and Mikono (Kayano Ai) first met, the two of them are caught up in an Abductor attack not too long after. Amata is forced to “release” his Element powers to protect Mikono — in spite his childhood complex about them — and subsequently awakens as the reincarnation of the Solar Wing Apollonius, seizes control of the “Aquaria” Vectors, and forces a “Sousei Gattai” with both sexes to form Aquarion Evol. Not only that, there’s actually an intermediary conclusion with Amata, Zessica (Hanazawa Kana), and Cayenne (Suzumura Kenichi) driving back Kagura (Uchiyama Kouki) and his hound-like robot, effectively providing the same roller coaster of emotions as its predecessor’s one-hour OVAs. Heck, there were even scrolling credits to seal the deal.

For a condensed OVA, I kind of expect some of the subtleties in the story and characters to be lost in the pacing; however, it’s an unusual approach to take for a TV series that has the time to properly build up the story, hence my confusion over the producers’ decision to start Aquarion EVOL the way they did. Amidst everything that happened, they even found time to inject some backstory and foreshadowing to give us something to look forward to, so I really didn’t see the need to go all-out in these first two episodes. If anything, this feverish pace might work negatively against them because 1.) it’s probably incredibly jarring to those who haven’t seen Sousei no Aquarion and 2.) the high tension will make subsequent episodes feel like a huge step back.

Of course, it’s far too early to tell exactly what this sequel has in store in the upcoming episodes, so if there’s one real positive to take away from this jam-packed start, it’s that I’m really curious to see how Aquarion EVOL turns out. From what I’ve seen of the original series and heard about it, there’s almost an unwritten understanding that almost anything goes on the robot side of things — true to its intended homage to super robot anime — so providing a heavy dose of that could have very well been the goal of this one-hour premiere. In terms of high-speed high-adrenaline mecha action that defies all logic — such as Kagura ripping an arm off one of his ally robots and attaching it to his own to replace a leg — we definitely got that and more. Once the opening theme “Kimi no Shinwa ~Aquarion Dai Ni-shou” started playing as an insert song, my suspense of disbelief kicked into high gear and I just enjoyed the over-the-top super robot ass-kinking that Amata delivered.

At the moment, the only thing I’m wary about is how well the story will hold up. While the “anything goes” mentality is perfectly fine when it comes to super robot action — especially when it’s backed by a soundtrack by Macross legend Kanno Youko — the same can’t be said about the main plot. Thus far, I like what I see from the characters and the support cast, so the potential is definitely there for EVOL to be another great chapter of the Aquarion legend that takes place 12,000 years later. On the seiyuu side of things, I’m a bit too reminded of Guilty Crown with Kaji Yuuki, Kayano Ai, and Hanazawa Kana in the lead roles, particularly when Uchiyama Kouki is opposing them as Kagura, but at least Amata’s already proven to be better than Shuu for having the “courage” to ask Mikono for her name. I just hope he can bring about the same story of love that transcends time, since he’s a lot more wishy-washy than Apollo in Sousei no Aquarion.

* The obvious possibility is that Mikono is the reincarnation of Celiane and Zessica of Scorpius, so it’ll be interesting to see how their actions mirror them.
* I like the setting for this sequel as the city’s waterways and gondola seem to be modeled after Venice, Italy.
* Hanazawa Kana in a bit of a promiscuous role always works for me. As does the interesting “sounds” that she and Kayano Ai when they’re manhandled into unions.
* Full-length images: 11, 33, 48, 55.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「月光シンフォニア」 (Gekkou Symphonia) by AKINO & AIKI from bless4
Watch the ED!: Streaming ▼

100 Comments

    1. Yeah, that’s the story of Aquarion. The original series was about reincarnations of the Humans and Shadow Angels that fought 12,000 years ago. EVOL takes place 12,000 years after the first series and is another repeat of the original legend.

      Divine
      Reply

      2. Good question. From what I gather, the technology has improved.

        In the original series, Aquarion was always the most powerful, since it was created by Apolonius using extremely advanced Shadow Angel technology. Here, we have an evolution of it in the form of Aquarion Evol.

        Divine
        Reply

      3. That 12,000 year gap always kinda bothered me, especially when I heard about the second season. In 12,000 years how can development stagnate so much that there isn’t that much change at all. If we were to look at our history, in 12,000 years we went from cave dwelling and the invention of the wheel to the time we live in now, where something invented 5 years ago is considered old. Kinda expected at least MASS EFFECT level technology.

        Oh well, if we ignore that part, I’m sure its going to be a fine show, though Apollo’s character has grown on me, even though I initially disliked him. Is the original Aquarion still inside the earth’s crust holding the world together with its Sousei Gattai Mugen Attack?

        Suppa Tenko
        Reply

      4. History isn’t necessarily a straight line of continuous progress. It stutters, deviates, regresses and/or devolves at points. Thanks to the Dark Ages, to this day we still don’t have the formula for concrete the Romans used to build their architecture.

        Zammael
        Reply

    1. It’s not crucial since EVOL features a new cast of characters and takes place 12,000 years later, but as with all spiritual successors, you’ll probably enjoy it a bit more if you did.

      These first two episodes may be a bit of an exception, since they threw viewers into the thick of things, but even then you shouldn’t have any problems understanding what’s going on (no more than anyone else anyway).

      Divine
      Reply

  8. That “Kimi no Shinwa” makes Gattai scene awesome.

    Actually, I think the pace they’re doing is more or less the same as its prequel. Sousei no Aquarion started off with some epic gattai where Apollo kicked asses. Then after he enrolled as element user, the show turned into light-hearted slice-of-life. I kinda expect the same from EVOL.

    BTW Divine, you mistype Mikono as Mizono more than one time.

    KaitoDash
    Reply

  9. Any show this season that doesn’t feature HanaKana?
    And then we even have almost all the lead characters of Guilty Cross assembled? I mean I love HanaKana, but sometimes more new voices would be nice.

    yeahair
    Reply

  10. I initially didn’t like that the voice cast was almost a carbon copy of Guilty Crown, but I shouldn’t let my preconceptions get the better of me.

    I’m admittedly tired of seeing HanaKana everywhere; but the voice she’s using here is different enough from I used to so it’s refreshing in that sense. As for Yuuki Kaji and Kayano Ai…I’m only familiar with them from their roles in GC. Not exactly the best first impression; hopefully their roles here might leave a better one.

    Legion
    Reply

      1. You are correct, but the voice used for a character adds to one’s impression of that character. In my opinion, I didn’t really like the voices used for GC’s main characters and they added to my dislike of them (the characters).

        Imagine if you will a world where Shuu was voiced by Norio Wakamoto. That’d give you a totally different impression of that character, right? My point is basically that a voice, depending on how good or bad it is, can help make or break a character.

        Legion
        Reply

  13. lol. Was it just me or i think that the drama was overly played? The protagonists were overly too sensitive and were not given a proper solid reason.

    For example, the girl was crying we should run away we cant fight and so on. She must have a reason related to her past and insert key screenshots about her memories hinting people curiosity but no. They let her scream up to the point of annoyment.

    As for the main guy, he was yelling it is my “fault” and so on. The heck! If you didn’t save her, she would have been dead by now. And no, they have to play Guilty Crown’s annoying melodrama where at the beginning, everyone from the organization just hates the protagonist just because he was an outsider.

    Sorry to break your excitements, but certainly preferred the first series where the protagonist was a kickass and the crew members seemed to have more personality. Here they are just either too confident and cocky or too surprised of everything.

    P.S. I mean this series started so cliche like if it were to be kids Power Rangers. Aquarion ‘Evol’ they name the machine. I didn’t mind to call the series Evol but calling the machine a new generation ‘Evol’ sounds like digimon. Abd then there is the only kids series attack naming “Flying Love Attack!” Are you serious!?

    banzemanga
    Reply

      1. Exactly, look at the final attack of the series “Genesis Combination Infinity Attack” or if you want the romanji, Sousei Gattai Mugen Attack! Or that “Mugen Bitchslap” Or the Sword Foot Cube Mugen 3D attack.

        Suppa Tenko
        Reply

  15. So apparently its Aquarion with gender segregation? Feels like some contrived way to add a twist to the whole GATTAI ORGASM shtick. I don’t think much of the characters yet, the two leads are a bit dramatic. Zessica is fun to watch at least. Still Aquarion had plenty of fun dynamics with its large cast, I’m hoping they will do the same thing here.

    Kagura is displaying beast like characteristics much like the protagonist of the first series. The fact the he looks almost like Apollo is definitely suspicious.

    Also GEN IS BACK and he’s hammy as ever! At least I think its Gen.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. That’s intended I think. Kind of like the old protagonist becomes the new antagonist. Also, his animal like mech fighting is reminiscent of Apollo’s wild animal side in the summary OVA.

      Ptolemaios00
      Reply

  20. So I’m interested to hear your impression of the original Aquarion, Divine. Did you ever finished the whole TV series or just the OVA? IMO, it’s worth sticking with it just to see the last few episodes filled with orgasms of musical performance playing during the giant robot action.

    masso
    Reply

  21. … my love of Venice is conflicting with my lack of time… D:

    You’ve convinced me to watch the sequel, but I’m just going to skim through the original. Hopefully I don’t miss out on too much. But dammit there are too many series I need to go watch D:

    Luxor
    Reply

    1. Super Robots are not suppose to be realistic. Super Robot Wars is one of the more realistic super robot animes I’ve seen, since most of the SRs in that show are made with plausible technology.

      Suppa Tenko
      Reply

  24. hmm… I really like what I saw in this special so far… Having watched the original a couple of years back, I can say I am hooked just by to see where the story is headed in this sequel 🙂

    As for the plot, it can be argued that Show Spoiler ▼

    Heck, they even brought back that one-eyed guy who resembles Fudou 🙂 now as long as those over the top special attacks keep coming back, I am all set for the rest of the show for sure 🙂 this restriction on male+female combination is certainly interesting spin… also don’t know if others have picked that up, EVOL, while implying evolution, can also mean love if reversed. So there will definitely be more emphasis on relationship I guess…

    ps. how did Maoyi’s pic from Nisemono gets in this post (in that courage link)? is that an Ester Egg of yours, Divine?

    jrj
    Reply

  27. reincarnation of this , reincarnation of that.. tsch does it really matter? Lately most mecha anime had been disappointing.. the only thing that im looking forward to about this anime is the character interaction..(did not like the plot at all)

    Mubashwer
    Reply

  32. Aquarion EVOL compared to Sousei no Aquarion seems like a mile away. The first episode here just didn’t seem that great in my opinion. Looking back, I still get goosebumps from rewatching the first episode from Sousei no Aquarion…

    Reianz
    Reply

    1. A mile away? Sousei no Aquarion is 12,000 years away from Aquarion EVOL! My friend I guarantee your goosebumps will return. They have been waiting for you all this time. Will you wait for them? 😉

      Audric
      Reply

  35. Well, hearing the “Sousei Gattai! Go! Aquarion!” gives me nostalgic feelings. And didn’t they had some Military Aquarions from 12,000 years ago? Did they scrap them for Aquaria(s)? I wonder if the original Aquarion is still sealed within the Earth, holding the Earth together.

    Then I suddenly thought of this, how did Silvia live her life till she died? She would have seen weddings of her friends and wouldn’t she feel sad? About “Skies of Aquaria”.. I’m guessing Silvia wrote that book.

    Whatsht
    Reply

  36. Guilty Crown has never existed. That series never started, and never comes back on air for another 3 months. You gotta think this way if you have any problems or complaints on VA casting of Aquarion E.

    Aniota
    Reply

  37. Great art and animation, but the dialogue and cliches are too cheesy for me. Don’t know how many times I just wanted to facepalm myself. Perhaps it’s not my cup of tea… first anime to be dropped this year. Thankfully, it’s the only one that disappointed so far.

    Allnighter
    Reply

    1. I actually think Aquarion’s gattai is better, Lagann’s gattai just involves hot-blood and physical combination while Aquarion’s gattai involves physical combination, the overlapping of the souls of the pilots and hot-blood is optional(you can shout the combine phrase as hot blooded as you want)

      Whatsht
      Reply

  39. Actually I much prefer Evol compared to the original series. The original Apollo seems too off for me although it was hinted from the exact beginning that he is the incarnation of Apollonius causing him to actually know how to control Aquarion and stuff but still he is way to cliche as a super robot character. I liked how Amata gave a much different feel by showing a character which is not as lame as Shu/Shinji, but also not impossibly energetic like the original Apollo.

    I actually think Kagura is the actual incarnation of Apollonius since he resembles him much more than Amata resembles Apollonius. Also in Cayenne’s vision, he saw Kagura with Mikono which might point out that both them are actually the real incarnations of Apollonius and Seline

    Boo
    Reply

    1. Wrong
      Amata – Gained apollo’s kind heart and passion after apollo meets apolloniouses
      Red haired guy – Gained apollo’s animal instincts and fury
      Both – Gained apolloniouses love for sylvie (purple haired girl)
      You can see it clearly

      Tren
      Reply

  40. Oh Aquarion, so silly yet so good. You have to go in to Aquarion knowing it is an homage/parody of all things super robot and “team union powers”. Once you get that, I think it becomes more enjoyable. Otherwise it is just a silly cliche mess. I was laughing at the gattai scene, how can you not?
    These two episodse were awesome, I hope that it doesn’t end up like LE:Fam. (awesome first episode, then…nothing)I mam interested to see the love triangle that will develop between Amata, Mikono and Kagura. Amata has the Solar Wings, but Kagura and Mikono have some sort of connection as well. All in all, I’m excited for a fun non-serious and fun series to start.
    Also, the city is based after Hong Kong I read early on, not Venice. I did get the Venice vibe as well, but I have never been to HK.

    Fuuka
    Reply

  41. I still remember the first series…

    For those that think the story is over the top, you haven’t seen anything yet. The original series had plenty of corny moves and orgasmic entries. I remember there was one episode where the main characters went training, and they would emphasize (in my opinion) the silliest things to such an extreme level.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Get ready for move names such that uses extreme words like INFINITY, MEGA, ULTRA, SUPER, …etc. The first season gave such emphasis on those words.

    To be fair though, I did enjoy the first season. The music was definitely amply and timely introduced to give the show more flair at the right times. Their use of music was definitely a forte.

    flCer
    Reply

  42. I’m not quite familiar with the names yet…so forgive me… but that one dude…Amata, is a wimp and the girl Mikono…seems like a wimp too D: maybe they both are the sole reincarnation , it’s just that they need time to develop like how Apollo did in the first series. They have created a lot of potential for character development. I hate to say this, but the first series was way better because I laughed every episode and the music was good. The plot line was “okay” overall. The second series…didn’t “pump” me up because of those…orgasmic…(yeah…and the fact that he “flies” when ever he gets “excited”) D: maybe they will twist things up a bit… Mikono might not be the “true” reincarnation, but perhaps a reincarnation of someone else, but that other dude with Apollo-like features did take an interest in her…so she might be it…but then there is foretold doom so I think that that Apollo-like is a reincarnation of Apollo…isn’t his name like Kagura or something? It means heat-wave…so I think he would be the 2nd reincarnation because I just looked up Amata’s name and it’s relating to mythology…and Mikono’s name didn’t pop up but I got “Mykonos” << that's very close and its a Greek….Island? Forgive me if I'm wrong D: but they must have named them for a reason!~ O: …
    Something I didn't like was that they changed several things, but they did redeem themselves by hinting about the "purity" and what not. It made the awesome Aquarion transformation worth it :3. The "guns" and the new designs …were not the best.
    Overall, this series sets it self up for something more promising. The producers will not let us down :3 ~ I hope to see more of that pirate guy. He's that character who is "all knowing" and wise, I miss a character like that.

    Kairin
    Reply

    1. But that the same time, all of the supporting command center characters are all just as annoying as Jean-Jacques.

      BTW so much sexual symbolism as always. That stone is obviously a hymen.

      Suppa Tenko
      Reply

  46. It’s possbile Kagura is just a reincarnation of the previous main character, who also happens to be the reincarnation of Apollonius , while the other is the reincarnation of Apollonius.

    The fact that he has beast-like movements/insticnts, and almost looks the same as Apollo says something that it isn’t a coincidence

    Alec
    Reply

  47. The enemy this time is no longer the Fallen Angels right? but comes from another dimension just like them.

    It seems to me that the enemy from the original series is a lot more, graceful/powerful, I mean they didn’t have to capture people 1 by 1 using capsules but by using some kind of hypnosis where people exposed to it just walks into the harvester by themselves.

    Hagiri
    Reply

  48. I’m a little concerned how the military “dreamer who foretells the future” guy punched out the “flying Element” protagonist when he got him out of the cockpit. A little heavy-handed there. The guy saves your life, but he’s not military, so you’re going to use bad-cop tactics and “subdue” him? What’s next, having the “flying Element” guy wake up in a prison cell after a full identity and blood workup?

    Grumble, grumble, grumble, individual rights vs. increasingly militant “we control the situation so give us your taxes” governments…

    jhpace1
    Reply

  49. The sudden action first ep appraoch, I suppose they would explain it slowly as the show goes on.

    Watch the original years back and the enemy design really improved to me.
    Looks a bit like Macross F mechs compared to those unappealing things in the original.

    Does the power of Sousei Gattai changes the color of the vector?
    Well, its a super robot show i guess but Bandai will be able to release 3 Chougokins 😛

    iron2000
    Reply

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