Aquarion EVOL / First Impressions

「男と女のアナグラム」 (Otoko to Onna no Anaguramu)
“Anagram of a Man and a Woman”

In terms of screenwriting and witty dialogue, Ano Natsu de Matteru and Rinne no Lagrange are easily my top two picks of the season, but Aquarion EVOL is really making a case for itself with Kawamori Shouji and Okada Mari working their magic. I probably found this episode way funnier than I should have, but it was largely in part to all the “clever” dialogue about holes was just as funny (if not funnier) in Japanese as it is translated into English. I can’t even remember the amount of times that I found myself chuckling, as this series’ tendency to never taking itself too seriously is absolutely infectious when it features material like this. I mean, I was expecting some great things from Andy and Mix, but having them as complete opposites with him digging holes and her filling them up — in conjunction with the straight-faced cheesy analogies — far exceeded my expectations.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I found the script for this episode absolutely ingenious. The dialogue was one thing, but all the little developments such as everyone’s reaction to Crea’s “Holes Before Boys” pun and Mix’s hole-punching punishment helped bring it all together. Through and through, the hole jokes didn’t miss a beat, and we even got a hilarious reaction from Mix when she was disappointed about doing it with Amata after falling head over heels for Andy, who deserves a lot of credit for welcoming Mix with open arms and breaking that man-hating exterior of hers. As far as the lighthearted side of the series goes, this has to be the best episode to date. Big Bang Gattai? They really pulled out all the stops. At the same time, this episode didn’t lose complete sight of the need to put a meaningful spin on all the humor and supplemented it fairly well by revealing why Mix hates men so much. It was a bit too typical that her father was the source of her complex, but the reason didn’t really matter as much as the fact that we got one.

As for the main trio, everyone seems to be fixated on Mikono — Izumo included — but I’m starting to wonder if Zessica is purposely being undermined in terms of being Eve. It almost feels like the story is gearing toward making it seem like Mikono’s “the one” whom the Altair are after, only to reveal later on that it’s actually Zessica. Granted, Mikono will undoubtedly still have a big role in it all either way, seeing as her Element has the power to unite people. When it comes to a love triangle that she’s personally caught up in, it kind of raises the question on whether Zessica’s feelings for Amata are a result of her power. Zessica did have a stark realization last time after yet another union with Amata and Mikono, so it would be a rather “interesting” twist of fate if Mikono inadvertently created a rival for herself. Either way, Zessica doesn’t look like she’s going to sit idly for much longer if Mikono’s not going to act. She’s clearly restless, especially after seeing Amata with Mikono at the very end.

So um, no big surprise that Jin survived. It looks like he’ll be joining in the festivities next time at Neo Deava too. I’m curious to see if this is going to lead to a scenario where he has a change of heart about humans. I’d say it’s doubtful, but I can picture it happening.

* Full-length image: 26.

 

Preview

62 Comments

  3. Alright Andy! That’s my boy! He hasn’t fully gattai’d yet, but he’s making his way. It’s only been 4 episodes since that forced triangle incident and he’s already breaking hearts!

    Seriously, Mix is so hot, it should be a crime.

    Oh yeah, and Amata did stuff too. But ANDY!

    Da5id
    Reply

    1. Watching the first series may give a further insight into some points but EVOL so far is going smoothly even for those who just boarded the Aquarion train. But if you are really going to do so, do it fast because the more you watch of EVOL, more the Genesis of Aquarion experience may be spoiled for you.

      Exukvera
      Reply

    2. good to know, I’ll be honest I tried watching the first season but it’s just so bad. The art is lacking and the dialog is just god awful. Not to mention the cheesy stuff they do.

      anyway, thanks

      Seven
      Reply

      1. You are complaining that a Super Robot show is cheesy when it’s main selling point is to be as cheesy as possible. Perhaps if you look beyond the initial dislike, you’ll realize that it has the same qualities that people like about Aquarion EVOL.

        Suppa Tenko
        Reply

      2. Yeah, if that’s your gut response to the first season then this show may not be the one for you since this whole franchise is all about being insane and cheesy and weird.

        I tried watching the first one a while ago but didn’t much like Apollo or Sylvie so I couldn’t really enjoy it. This one has fixed my problem with the series; I like these characters much better.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      3. I know that all robot animes come with a certain level of cheesiness, but it was just way over the top. A normal amount is fine; comes with the territory, but the first season was just dumb in many aspects. Also Apollo is just annoying, the whole “zero to hero” deal with him is to far fetched and how the main female lead magically falls for him is just awful in terms of plot.

        Seven
        Reply

  7. So many analogies about holes and filing them up. So many bad thoughts I have right now. Aquarion’s metaphors for sex never cease to be entertaining.

    But hooray for a ship that I can back 100%, mainly because I really like Andy. Heck Andy has displayed more balls than Amata has just trying to get through to Mix. Somone has to fill the funny quota anyway, now that Zessica is no longer being fun.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. Speaking of Mix, holes, and metaphors….

      “I’m filling Andy’s holes!”

      …*shudders* I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at Andy’s fate!

      But yeah, I do hope Zessica will return to her happy self (though I realise she’ll be instantly friend-zoned if she does…).

      Beedle
      Reply

  8. Boo! This episode is the worst! They missed out on the great opportunity to play Sousei no Aquarion!!!!

    Well, that’s the only disappointing part for me, anyways xD Seriously, as soon as Andy gave Mix his pep talk/love confession, Sousei no Aquarion kept playing in my head, and I was at the edge of my seat in anticipation only for Andy to get shot down!

    I wonder if Jin has any Element Powers, considering he’s enrolling in Neo-Deava.

    Beedle
    Reply

    2. Oh yeah, I’m still not convinced that Mikono’s ‘Element Power’ is to bring people together. Maybe Mikono does have the ability to bridge people’s feelings together by acting as a mediator, yes, but actually ‘forcing’ people to get together, not really.

      Also, I think Eve’s really Zessica. In that scene where Jin’s data was being reviewed and Mikono and Zessica’s picture was side-by-side, the camera felt like it was zooming in towards Zessica’s photo. Of course, I still think Mikono’s going to get kidnapped by Kagura at some point, or they do another reversal where we first think it’s Mikono, then it’s Zessica, then it’s actually Mikono all over again. An interesting twist will be that Cayenne’s visions are actually about Tarak Altair, and if Mikono does end up with Kagura, it will spell doom for planet sausage.

      Anyways, it needs to be said again; I can’t wait for Sunday!

      Beedle
      Reply

    1. Yeah, I agree, and it even came off as a troll on the part of staff because it was so random.

      My only thought is that they actually wanted to hold off on Andy’s fusion for a different episode to give him an even more badass fight. This being about Mix, maybe they thought it would steal Andy’s eventual thunder when he finally gets his fusion. I’m holding out hope.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  14. That hole over there! Seriously the dialogues were hilarious. Yeah for Jin’s return! Zessica in love is no good Zessica so far. With Mikono’s power revealed it kinda make sense about Zessica’s sudden feelings. Shushu, not so cute, eh? Next time crying loli.

    Ananas
    Reply

  15. you make a good point regarding zessica feelings. I also think it works in the opposite way aswell. In the last episode when zessica rips her clothes mikono was hesitant at first but then felt zessica confidence and she too followed zessica. In that sense mikono was feeling zessica and her feelings. I think zen must have noticed it then when both their mind levels synched. I see mikono is more like void who will suck feelings from other pilots and mimic them. It could work the other way around aswell like zessica falling for amata.

    Zessica’s card is that of diamond so she is really positive person and she has everything in abundance. I feel mikono will drain her of it. I feel mikonos element is something dark instead of it being positive as they are trying to potray her. I also think maybe the scent that she has might not really be hers but she drained it from amata :p

    Mema
    Reply

    1. That theory has way too many holes (pun not intended) considering all the times that Mikono has gattai with other people nothing of that sort happened. The difference for this episode is how Mix and Andy were initially unwilling to gattai with each other.

      Chaos2Frozen
      Reply

    2. As Chaos said, this isn’t the first time that Mikono has gattai-ed with others, and what she did this episode was bring together people who were already forming a bond by connecting their hearts. We’ve never seen her form a bond out of nowhere, otherwise Cayenne should have started homo-lusting after Amata as they gattai-ed twice with Mikono present. Zessica had good build up on her own for forming a trusting bond with Amata which grew into an attraction and love, similar to how Mix gained a trust and later attraction with Andy (though that happened over the course of one single episode as opposed to several with Zessica <- all her teasing is a build up to forming at least the basis of a friendly relationship). The other issue is the male side of the equation, with Mix and Andy, Mikono brought both together… in Zessica's case we only see Zessica's emotions come out so thats inconsistent with Mikono's power of bring people together during this episode.

      Vena
      Reply

    3. In my opinion, the reason that Kagura can’t detect any scent from Amata is because they’re trying to foreshadow that Kagura and Amata are reincarnated halves of the solar wing. You can’t detect a scent because he smells just like you, much like how your body eliminates the sound of your heartbeat because it knows that it’s coming from yourself.

      asd
      Reply

    4. I doubt Mikono is really a void that sucks people’s feelings and mimic them, she was in Aquarion then, when the 3 vectors gattai, the soul and mind of the pilots overlap with each other, it was stated in the first series that it is possible that memories of the pilots overlap as well, so it is possible that their feelings overlap as well.

      Whatsht
      Reply

  18. With Zessica taking a step back from her usual antics, it’s good to see both Amata and Mikono interacting normally for the entire episode with the former encouraging the latter and giving her more confidence boost and much needed focus after taking the bench for the last two episodes.

    But of course the main couple attraction of this episode is Andy and Mix =D This episode really delivered much needed progress to officially kick start the journey of their relationship. We all knew it was coming and most of us probably predicted the exact method of how Andy would break Mix’s armor, but it still doesn’t make it any less entertaining to watch =D

    Now then, what the Hell is Jin up to @_@ ?

    Chaos2Frozen
    Reply

  19. We will see what happen. Considering mikono’s wedding with kagura is dark wedding. I have my suspicions about her. When zen spoke about mikono in the begining he referred to her as something sweet but sonething dark with in her. I understand you are a mikono supporter but people can have thier own theories.

    Mema
    Reply

    1. You can have your theories yes, but that doesn’t mean people can’t point out the errors in them regardless of who they support. That void that suck in stuff idea seem far too inconsistent with the given data.

      But when did Zen say that? I don’t remember…?

      Chaos2Frozen
      Reply

  20. Didn’t like this episode that much, but that’s mainly because I’m not interested in the hole(har har) Andy/Mix mechanics in the least =0<.

    I thought it important that when the Izumo noted about the possibility of the strongest Reaigler, they focused on Zessica and Mikono, and not Amata(obviously because he ain't a girl). This gives an impression that they will be important chars at the end of Altair's goals. When Zess was sulking at the end watching Amata and Mikono, the thought of Zessica defecting did cross my mind. However, it's possible that, considering Cay's vision, with the help of Kagura, Mikono might be the one "defecting". Defecting is in quotes because it may be the simple matter of her trying to understand why she feels something toward Kagura, and will intrinsically follow him. Personally, I'd much prefer to see it that way. By Mikono defecting, this also possibly gives Amata and Zessica more screen time together, and deepening their friendship. They have more in common with the old Apollo/Sylvia relationship than Amata/Mikono does, which is why I'm more interested in them as a couple. Even if Amata/Mikono will be the end couple, I want my Amata/Zess moments, and I can't get it while Mikono is around!

    frubam
    Reply

      1. The actual Japanese proverbs, in case you’re thinking the staff is trolling you.

        1. can’t catch a tiger’s cub without entering a tiger’s den(hole)- you need to risk something to gain something
        2. If you curse someone, you’re digging two holes- karma
        3. badgers of the same hole- birds of a feather
        4. dumplings before flowers(hana)- food>clothes
        hana=flowers, ana=hole

        holes
        Reply

  23. Hmm…. The power to tie others together…. Could this power be a gift as well as a curse? Could Mikono only be able to tie people together while she is unable to tie herself to anyone? Something tells me that Mikono has a direct link with the Aquarion, a sort of engine, with her thr “donut” is completed and Awuarion can achieve full power. Wonder how her new power will come into her relationship with everyone, especially Amata and Kagura.

    Lockon
    Reply

  30. Aside from all the hole jokes( which I liked btw); Mikono’s power to connect people, eh? In the first season last episode, Sylvie helped with Apollo, Sirius and Touma’s gattai, connecting them.

    Maximilian
    Reply

  31. The episode was great, except for the interruption of Gattai of Andy and Mix.
    They could do with Amata, Andy and Mix team, but as Mikono had to do, everything went to pot. It is a crime not to show the power that would give this team to Aquarion. Something like the ground control.
    I loved learning more about Mix, now we will see Jin in the Academy. I hope that soon we know fully to other characters, I look forward to Ei-chan and Sazanka, the latter will be fun.

    Shadow74
    Reply

  34. Hilarious episode. All the hole jokes, Crea’s “Holes before Boys” line. Oh man, I giggling this episode too. Favorite so far as well. I like how it started kind of serious, getting into the “Eve” plot again, but then just switches to Andy and Mix character development. I’m glad we got to find out Mikono’s element power too.
    Big Bang Gattai was genius.
    I hope Mikono and Amata kiss BEFORE the last episode. I don’t want another Genesis of Aquarion ending. It’s been 12,000 years Kawamori-sensei! Let them kiss.

    Fuuka
    Reply

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