Comet Lucifer / First Impressions

「深淵の祭壇」 (Shin’en no Saidan)
“The Altar of Abyss”

It’s all happening exactly as we expected, and that’s not a good thing.

Roman x Kaon

Here’s a new drinking game: Take a drink every time Comet Lucifer or one of its characters does something stupid and clichéd that everyone anticipated three episodes in advance. Alternately, drink every time Felia says “Sougo!”

Unrelated: I’m too drunk to move now. Gglrr.

So as everyone and their dog expected, Roman is being painted at a nice guy now, and is going to court Kaon all over when they all get back. That’s not a bad turn even when it’s expected, but nothing happened on their adventure so far to cause this change of heart. He was just an insensitive asshole, then less of one, and suddenly he’s supposedly admirable. Bull. Shit. A big revelatory moment doesn’t even have to happen, as long as they showed Roman clearly reconsidering his foolish ways all along, but they never did that. It’s simultaneously out of left field and utterly expected. Drink!

P.S. Of course Felia loves Sougo now. And she doesn’t say it, because it’s not like they’re on a life-threatening quest where they don’t know what’ll happen when they reach their goal. But sure, wait until you get back. Drink!

Black Equals Evil. Attack!

So they find the tree temple they were looking for, and Felia gets swallowed up or some shit, and a new mech appears, which swallows up Felia, so naturally Sougo calls the Moura-mech and attacks because … why, again? The black mech had done NOTHING aggressive up to that point. It could have been what’s supposed to happen when Felia reaches the altar, and she could have still been conscious in there. What if that was all according to plan, and Sougo killed Felia by accident when he attacked?

No, they attacked because the mech was black, and black equals bad. That’s some racist shit! Wait, no, probably not racist. Colorist? It’s @#&$ stupid, that’s what it is. Black does not, and should not, automatically equal evil. Is a guy wearing a kickass black suit automatically evil? How about a lady wearing a little black dress? No, those are cool at worst, and quite possibly #@%&*$ sexy. They aren’t evil. Stop the prejudice against the color black! Protagonists can wear black too! Black mechs matter!

(Oh man, I’m going to get into so much trouble for that last paragraph. Drink!)

Granted, Sougo and Moura ended up being right, but that’s just because the scriptwriter knew the answer and didn’t bother to justify it in the story. Lame.

Piling On The Pain

In the comments last episode, a few people suggested that maybe Do Mon wasn’t dead. Recent evidence would seem to prove he is, though remember what they say:

“Never count a Human as dead until you see his body. And even then you can make a mistake.”
— Lady Margot Fenring, quoting a Bene Gesserit aphorism, Dune. (trope!)

So Do Mon could yet still be alive. But would that make the story better? No, it would not. That would be an unjust reward for Sougo, to dodge a bullet and not lose his father despite doing damn near everything wrong up to this point. Would it make it much worse? Eh, probably not. Comet Lucifer doesn’t have much further it can fall.

I will give the show points for one thing: At least it didn’t totally screw up how it used Do Mon’s death. With a character death, there are (broadly speaking) two ways to use them, narratively speaking. You use them to either, 1) Prove that This Shit is Serious, and Anyone Can Die For Realz, Y’all (trope), or 2) Mine them for maximum drama. (The real best way to do it is—well, I’ll point to an eight year old post on Blogsuki and leave it at that.)

This ain’t the former kind of story, because Sougo would be dead already if it was (oh how I wish), but at least they piled the pain on Sougo by having Felia be taken, seemingly reject him (though her wanting to protect him was painfully obvious), and him learning about Do Mon’s death all at once. Unfortunately, instead of getting Charlotte episode seven out of it, Kaon slapped him out of his (immediate) stupid within half a minute, and dropped her confession to a chorus of “mehs”. One step forward, a running leap back. Drink!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Of course Roman is nice now. Of course. Also, Sougo is prejudice against black mechs. Scandal! #cometlucifer 10

Random thoughts:

  • I like how they were too damn lazy to make Felia an adult in the OP. I’m using the word “like” loosely, here.
  • Maybe all of the Do Mon drama isn’t targeted at Sougo. Maybe it’s targeted at Captain Gus. In which case: Who cares. No one was ever watching this for Captain Gus. It’ll probably just make him help the protagonists or something at the end, ’cause he’s all yandere for Do Mon. Vomit.
  • The crystals are lighting up. Get it? They’re a signifier for female arousal. Felia is lighting up at the thought of Sougo. GET IT!? Orz
  • I’ll admit that I didn’t expect a “Black Moura.” Because Black Moura is dumb.
  • So close, Evil Good Moura. You almost got rid of Sougo for us. Better luck next time.
  • Mechs as characters can work (sup Chamber), but not like this.
  • You should feel bad, Sougo. It is all your fault. Drink!
  • This post is not an endorsement of irresponsible drinking. Drink responsibly. Or, you know, the kind of irresponsible where you get silly and talkative, but don’t get in fights or hurt someone or get knocked up. Responsible irresponsibility. Stilts-oniichan approves this message, probably.

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel novella. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Stephen, what is best in life?, It depends, Momentum & mental space, and The best content is in email.

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「ヒトツニナリタイ」 (One two Naritai) by Ohashi Ayaka

Preview

41 Comments

  1. Moura was revealed to be female, wasn’t she? Maybe she and Sougo will get together and mech/human babies at the end.

    …Or not. Whatever. I just read these reviews to look at the pretty pictures by now. I dropped this series after episode 2.

    Wanderer
    Reply

  2. Your reviews of this series are as hilarious as ever. I admit I stopped watching Comet Lucifer long ago, but I keep reading your reviews. Gold can be mined from everything. I won’t complain about black mecha or irresponsible drinking, but pointing out at Charlotte as an example of how to do things well? That was low, Stilts 😉

    “That would be an unjust reward for Sougo, to dodge a bullet and not lose his father despite doing damn near everything wrong up to this point”. After reading this and knowing the series, it’s actually a reason for Do Mon to be alive. Or resurrected. Or zombified.

    Mistic
    Reply

    1. Oh gods, that’s a good point. This show throws conventional thinking on its head.

      “What would be the smart thing to do?” Comet Lucifer asks. “Okay, I understand. Let’s do the opposite, fast!”

      (Not sure why I’m trying to rhyme badly. Roll with it.)

      And thank you. I try to keep ’em entertaining, nishishi~!

      Stilts
      Reply

  3. I think if you did either drinking game, you would be dead or unconscious after one ep. It was very subtle when the rocks glowed pink and turned into a heart. Yes comet lucifer, we get it. She likes him.

    zrnzle500
    Reply

      1. Challenge. Accepted.

        Anime Fights Round 1

        Question: Who’s more likable as a character? Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion or Sougo from Comet Lucifer?

        Okay, let’s get the obvious out of the way here. Neither of these characters are likable and both of them are complete and utter shit. That said though, which of them is more likable than the other? Sougo, of course.

        Keep in mind that Evangelion premiered waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the ancient era of 1996 (back alongside clunky players called VCRs and non-flat screen TVs. Anyone remember those? Just me? Damn, that makes me feel old… o__o) and there’s a tendency to look back with a sense of nostalgia and, perhaps, give the series and its characters more slack than they deserve. I’d argue Shinji is such a case.

        We all know Shinji got the short end of the stick at every major juncture in his life, not to mention that his father is a complete self-absorbed ass who gives new meaning to the term “narcissism” and would do anything and everything to get what he wants, especially at his own son’s expense. Bad as all that is, none of that detracts from the fact that Shinji is utterly unlikable; a coward who ran away from everything in his life and, to the best of my recollection, never had a single instance in which I genuinely cheered for him.

        No, the original ending of Evangelion does not count.

        Sougo, by comparison, is just as dimwitted as Shinji is and, like him, so much of the crapfest that is Comet Lucifer can be traced back to him and his incompetence as a character.

        That said though, he doesn’t reek as much of despair and sheer emo-ness as much as Shinji does. Yeah, he’s crap, but he’s not intolerable crap. At the very least, he doesn’t run away from every difficulty in his life like it’s the natural thing to do.

        Ryan Ashfyre
        Reply

      2. Unless Shinji have been trough much more hell on earth compared to Sougo that justified his PTSD. Shinji also lost his mother, having a father that throw him away when he is a kid. On the orphanage nobody cares for him at all. For years his father doesn’t give a shit whether he is still alive or not only to force him back when he need disposable pawn. Always being used by the adults while his peers seemingly dying one by one. The world is in peril, sumanity is always on the brink of extinction everytime Angel appears, and he needs to sacrifice himself to protect it.

        Now Sougo: lost his mother but having a kind uncle and being properly loved. Having friends that clearly care for him, and a girl that obviously loving him since childhood. His peers having plot armors so he doesn’t have to worry about them, minus adult Do Mon. The threat is puny, his Mecha is seemingly indestructible.

        Shinji’s character is a lot more believeable than Sougo. Shinji has a lot of convincing reason to end up as he is, while Sougo is only being like that since the author want him to be like that. Yeah Shinji is unlikeable but that doesn’t mean he is a badly written character, he has his own experience, his own thought process, his own fears, his own wills. While Sougo, as a character he only acts without his own reason, “But I want to protect her!” “why?” “Because… I want to protect her!” “Don’t you afraid sacrificing your life for someone you’ve just met?” “I don’t, why I need to be afraid?” “They’re not your ordinary thugs you know? They’re supposed to be professional soldiers.” “So what?” “Do you have a plan to protect her?” “No, why? Just approach the enemy from the front?” “May I know your reason?” “Hunch!” “Urgh…”

        cryarc
        Reply

      3. @cryarc: With all respect, and to be clear, I am in total agreement with you that Shinji went through a hell of a lot more than Sougo did, but the argument isn’t about who the more believable is, it’s who the more likable of the two are.

        Granted, it’s not a fair playing field as one would, ideally, like to have the both of them growing up under exactly the same circumstances and then see how they turn out, but that’s not the case here. It’s probably just by virtue of the fact that he grew up with a lot more positive influences in his life by comparison to Shinji, but Sougo still comes out on top.

        Ryan Ashfyre
        Reply

      4. Is it too late to mention that I only said that for the lulz? I mean, I do think Shinji is more likable as a character, if only because the story he’s in is good and he performs his role in it well, whereas Sougo and everything about him and his story are crap, but didn’t expect the long responses, haha

        Stilts
        Reply

      6. That´s a bold statement considering Shinji is SHINJI. The poor bastard is the poster boy for despair but I get what you mean, Shinji is an interesting character, you feel sorry for him because 99.99% of the reason he´s like that is becuae those monster parents he has, specially on Rebuild, you actually want something good to happen to that poor boy; with Sougo I counldn´t care less howw he ends, I´m watching this to the end just because it is my rule to finish every anime I start watching no matter what.

        haseo0408
        Reply

  7. I’m really starting to enjoy watching this around 1 in the morning, the amount of laughing from all the unintentional humour tires me out in ways a book never can.

    Well, that and brainstorming how the hell all the pieces of this chaotic mess will be tied together in two episodes 😛

    Pancakes
    Reply

  8. This show is one of the most awful shows I’ve ever watched, I think. Why am I still watching it? Is it because I know I will be reading the reviews of it anyway? Or has it gotten so bad that I’ve grown attached to it?

    I don’t know, I can’t stop. I blame you for my future alcoholism.

    Red
    Reply

  9. This show is an absolute trainwreck. And every episode it is speeding up to its doom.

    After I finish watching every episode I’m thinking “this was stupid. It can’t get worse than that”. And every single time it does. So I suspect the reason we’re still watching it is to see how far in the stupid it can go. And so far it’s not disapointing.

    I like how nobody mentionned Old Bearded Vilain suddenly being happy at Lima/Felia’s “awakening”. Wasn’t he, you know, trying to kidnap her ? Stop Sogo & cie ? While all the time it was as easy as.. just letting them go ? Wtf ?

    Nyast
    Reply

  10. This might be cruel and all for Comet Lucifer, but I never even gave the show a chance. I never even watched episode 1.

    I dont even know if Im right but I have a gut feeling that the RC reviews are much more entertaining than the show themselves

    Ginobi47
    Reply

    1. Same thing here brotha’, same thing. I don’t even bother to watch the show, and instead head off to randomc every week to read the “Wa-ta-Pak?” posts Stilts does for this show. Pure gold I tell ya’! Pure gold!

      Nishizawa Mihashi
      Reply

      1. A lot of them think that the script is screwed up and it’s the first time they write a story (こんなめちゃくちゃな脚本ｱﾆﾒなんて見たくないんだからぁ！) xD

        Other comment on how fast (2 minutes) Do Mon’s death brushed into sideline (こいつ心折れたり立ち直ったりするの早いなｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ/ドモン「立ち直るのこんなに早いなら、俺別に死ななくても良くね？);

        Sougo’s unbelievable (lol) mentality;

        how Sougo never actually does anything, that even though Sougo claim he wants to protect Felia the one who does the work is the robot (主人公「なんでだよー！」 ← どう見てもお前が負けて死にそうだからだよ・「俺じゃフィリアを守れない」 ← 守れてたことありましたっけ・・・全部にゃもロボのおかげだよね・・・);

        まだ見てる奴らっているんだな,1話でもう明らかにクソアニメだったのに (Why do you guys still watching this, it’s clear that this is a crap anime from the 1st episode)

        cryarc
        Reply

      2. Here’s some transliteration to help Japanese learners:

        “こんなめちゃくちゃな脚本ｱﾆﾒなんて見たくないんだからぁ！”
        (Konna mechakucha na kyakuhon anime nante mitakunain dakara!)

        “こいつ心折れたり立ち直ったりするの早いなｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ/ドモン「立ち直るのこんなに早いなら、俺別に死ななくても良くね？”
        (Koitsu kokoro oretari tachi naottari suru no hayai na LOOOOOOOOL. Do Mon: “Tachi naoru no konna ni hayai nara, ore betsu ni shinanakute mo yoku ne?”)

        “主人公「なんでだよー！」 ← どう見てもお前が負けて死にそうだからだよ・「俺じゃフィリアを守れない」 ← 守れてたことありましたっけ・・・全部にゃもロボのおかげだよね・・・”
        (Shujinkou: “NANDE DA YO!” ← Dou mite mo omae ga makete shi ni sou dakara da yo. “Ore ja Felia wo mamorenai” ← Mamoreteta koto arimashitakke? Zenbu nya mo robo no okage da yo ne…)

        “まだ見てる奴らっているんだな,1話でもう明らかにクソアニメだったのに”
        (Mada miteru yatsu tte irun da na, ichiwa de mou akiraka ni KUSO anime datta no ni)

        Being someone who knows a decent amount of Japanese, these comments cracked me up so hard! I really couldn’t stop laughing when I first read them! XD

        Nishizawa Mihashi
        Reply

      3. Eyy cryarc, if you’re readin’ this, do ya’ know any other Japanese blogs that do show-by-show impressions and reviews as well? Any Youtube or NicoNico channels that do the same thing? Much obliged.

        Nishizawa Mihashi
        Reply

      4. Too bad I just stumbled across upon it, though probably there is a lot of it on nico nico Japanese server if you’re looking for more. XD Ahaha seriously looking at people’s reactions is much entertaining than the series itself lol

        cryarc
        Reply

    2. Ooooo-Maaaaaiii-Gaaaaaahhhhd, just looking at those comments them Japanese folks made on that Episode 9 post are just waaayyyy too much! Tears keep flowin’ from mah eyes cuz I can’t stop laughin’! Geahahahahhaha!!!

      Nishizawa Mihashi
      Reply

    3. Oooooh man, I can’t, I just can’t!!! Here, I’mma leave some more pure gold Japanese reactions down below. REEEEEEETSU ENJOI MINNA!!!

      Show Spoiler ▼

      There’s a lot more noteworthy ones but are quite difficult to translate due to the usage of slang and the overall structure of Japanese itself. Hope you liked em!

      Nishizawa Mihashi
      Reply

  12. My hope is that the ending of this show is just like the first minute of Akira. THAT would give everyone the best ending I can imagine for them – except Kaon, she’s excused from that.

    7godoehs
    Reply

    1. Wait—so I’m inflicting Comet Lucifer on you at this point? Not sure whether I should be complimented that I have that kind of power, or horrified at what I have wrought.

      Better take the safe approach. I’ll do both.

      Stilts
      Reply

  14. I’m watching it for the reviews, too. And it would be kinda pointless to drop it now… I will suffer through Comet Lucifer until the very end.
    I just really hope bad writing isn’t contagious.

    Maybe the writers just don’t interact with real people and base all their characters on anime cliches?…

    Reite
    Reply

  15. 1. So… Sogo’s stupidity costs him his foster father.
    2. The romance in this show is not just stupid, it’s nauseating.
    3. Don’t make me remember the suffering I had last season with the shows I watched. HAHAHAHA.

    samui
    Reply

  17. “This post is not an endorsement of irresponsible drinking. Drink responsibly. Or, you know, the kind of irresponsible where you get silly and talkative, but don’t get in fights or hurt someone or get knocked up. Responsible irresponsibility. Stilts-oniichan approves this message, probably”

    You are a very wise man Stilts-san. XD

    haseo0408
    Reply

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