Aquarion EVOL / First Impressions

Episode 22

「復活の翼」 (Fukkatsu no Tsubasa)
“Wings of Rebirth”

It was interesting to finally see how Kagura came to existence. The original Amata was too frightened to do anything about his mother but there seemed to be a part of him that was more courageous or impulsive which ended up being Kagura. We see that Mykage had manipulated Kagura’s memories so that he would forget about his mother so he could groom him to be his dog. It made me wonder why Amata didn’t remember that he had split in two since his memory was not directly affected by Mykage. Maybe his feeling of abandonment meant that he put a mental block on his unpleasant memories. Kagura’s disdain for Amata because of his inaction seems to have persisted past the manipulation though.

Hearing two people fight over the woman they love is pretty jarring especially since they are one and the same. It’s even more odd when one of them overhears that he wants to kill the girl he loves (or hates?!) so much over and over. Amata obviously misinterprets that but the audience knows better since we got Mikono’s explanation back in episode 15.

The two Amata’s are fundamentally different on their approach to love. Kagura loves Mikono because he thinks she is Sylvie and wants to fulfill the legend of 12,000 years past while Amata loves her because he genuinely fell in love with her. This sort of sets up a pseudo-battle between fate and emotion. Technically speaking, Amata is Kagura and Kagura is Amata so either way he is destined for Mikono. There isn’t really a case for him going against fate as people have said in the past.

Zessica’s apparent end seemed pretty unreal to me last time around and I seemed to have guessed right when I said she hadn’t fulfilled Mykage’s wish yet. This led him to use his patented deus ex machina role to intervene and save Zessica’s life. While it is very annoying since he has continually used it over the show’s entirety, it’s to be expected.

I was quiet surprised with the detail and the fluidity of the mecha fighting. The burst of pictures of the universe in the background while Aquarion and the Cherubim crossed blades reminded me of battles in past animes, namely Star Driver which also used surreal stages for battle.

Full-length images: 11, 26

 

Episode 23

「神話センリツ」 (Shinwa Senritsu)
“Song of Legend”

This episode really blew me away. We got many revelations through the Book of Twin Stars. In this episode we learned:

  1. Apollo is not Apollonius’ reincarnation but the reincarnation of Pollon, Apollonius’ faithful winged mut.
  2. Amata is Apollo’s reincarnation who was split into two (Kagura and Amata) by Mykage.
  3. Mykage is the reincarnation of Touma.
  4. Mykage is seeking revenge because he felt tricked that Apollo was not actually Apollonius.
  5. Mikono is the reincarnation of Silvie (Genesis of Aquarion) who is the reincarnation of Celiane.
  6. After the Tree of Life withered away, Earth split into Vega and Altiar.

While this episode answered many questions, it also left me with many questions. For example: Who is Fudo? Where is the real Apollonious? It was suggested previously that Celiane’s reincartion was split between Silvie and Sirius. Where does he fit into this?

These revelations are extremely interesting since they have shattered all the theories and charts that were floating around on the internet. It’s like the writers were online looking at what we thought was the real answer only to break all our images. If I remember correctly there were countless theories – some were far-fetched while others seemed very plausible. Now not everything we thought is wrong. Mikono really is Silvie. Unfortunately Zessica is just a common element. It’s also interesting that even the characters from the original series were wrong in their assessment of the legend. The legend was wrong for 24,000 years and as far as I can tell, Fudo let the misinformation propagate.

I must tip my hat to the writers. This was a well written twist because it totally debunked everything set before it. It also didn’t feel out of place because it felt like they were only filling in the rest of the legend that was forgotten by time. Who would have known Apollonius had a dog who had unrequited love for Celiane only to wish that he could have a chance at her in the next life.

And once again EVOL has done a great job alternating between storytelling and action. This episode was especially balanced and uniquely interwoven with the use of the book. It took scenes from the original and refreshed them with Crea and Fudo’s storytelling. Seeing the story chronicled within the pages of a book seemed like a very natural thing to do in this case.

Notes:
* Next week I have finals so I definitely won’t be watching much (if any anime) this weekend. Expect episode 24’s post to be delayed until at least Wednesday. It should be out before Friday (June 15th). I’ll be busy with graduation next week. I know you guys have been worried about the status of posts recently. Please bear with me during this hectic time! Your patience and readership is greatly appreciated.
* Full-length images: 04, 07, 11

 

Preview

69 Comments

  2. Well, that solves the old argument about why Apollonius isn’t feral like Apollo…

    Is it safe to say now that Silvia and Mikono are bitches? xD

    Good luck in your finals!

    Beedle
    Reply

  5. Shrade died!!! No one is going to say anything about that?!
    Also, Zessica really became a man on the inside now.
    I cared about those points more than Aquarion’s past really (I still cared, just not as much). But it looks like this anime is ending soon, so I’ll look forward to a good conclusion.

    random viewer
    Reply

    1. I was going to attempt to say something deep about the anime transcending gender while using andy/mix and cayenne’s and shrade’s bromance (while mentioning he died) as examples but eh. The post was getting longer than usual. lol

      unlisted
      Reply

      1. It’s alright since you’ve went into such great detailed on the plot development. Besides that’s where the comments come in to mention the unsaid. It’s usually the characters that stay in my mind longer than the story anyways.

        random viewer
        Reply

      2. just thought about andy and mix. if male mix is mixy, if andy turns into a female would her name be and?

        also i just got into this show this week so i’m now caught up. i thought mix is an appropriate name for a character that’s going to have transgender issues. but i completely agree that this show’s pretty damn bold for their discussions of love and sexuality. while it’d be extremely progressive for mixy to remain male, i do hope she turns back into a female. those big bangs must have vanished into the hole in her heart andy was trying to fill.

        RickyMack
        Reply

      1. More like he kept shoving his death flags onto other people like Jin and random NPCs. Unfortunately when he tried the same with Zessica she threw it back at him.

        Momogoldfish
        Reply

  7. Its not a well written twist. A good twist makes everything come together not open even more questions and open plot holes you could fly a spaceship through. This is such a blatant asspull that it contradicts a lot of plot points from Genesis. It doesn’t help that this revelation provides some really creepy obsession context to Amata’s love for Mikono, something that wasn’t even present in Genesis.

    I can officially say that I hate EVOL now. I could tolerate the awful love triangle or the rather bland main character. I might have even bought Amata/Kagura coming from Pollonius. But they had to take that extra step and have this crappy series affect the canon of Genesis to the the point that it affects my viewing of the previous series.

    Amata is once again completely useless. Just when he is about to do something he once again just stands around and gets upstaged by Shrade. He is literally just a walking plot device. Shrade had the right idea for dying. That way he can leave the show while he was still awesome and not fall victim to the shoddy writing that ruined Amata, Mikono and Zessica’s characters.

    fragb85
    Reply

    4. Do not know how to express what I feel anger and disappointment as Touma / Mykage, or amazed by how Kawamori wrote this. It is not anger, that’s for sure, I’m just speechless that in one episode contradicts everything.
      1) The history of Sousei no Aquarion.
      2) The Legend of eternal love that transcends time and space.
      3) The reincarnation of Apollonius
      The series had its faults but was going well. I think there were better ways to put a spin on the story and make it great. I liked Sousei no Aquarion, I still like Aquarion evol, I like his characters, I like the story of Vega and Altair, I like Aquarion and its three forms. I will continue watching the series until the end and see what happens, and maybe change things, or maybe not, no matter.
      Like every story, there are things we like and things we dont like, that makes it fun when there are things you dont expect.

      Shadow74
      Reply

  8. At least we all know now that Apollonius went AWOL and NEVER took part in the legend or anything for that matter besides the backdrop story. His dog did all the work, that was more surprising, my face was stuck in Dafuq for a whole minute.

    Well, since they are not following no manuscript and shattering all previous evidences and theories like tissue, EVOL is making the third chapter of the book REAL crazy.

    Space Dreamer
    Reply

  9. Very interesting plot revelations. I hope that Zessica will survive until the end of the series, and I want to know whether she is a reincarnation of someone, like Otoha from Genesis of Aquarion or someone else.

    Chaos Raiden
    Reply

  10. with 3eps left how will also wrap it all up.

    not like pull a retcon last second deus ex machina on it or like random bring in bag face for something.

    yet ONORE mykage-basco indeed all of this from turn all women to men, hijack zess, etc all for a golden aquarion good grief really yea feel where CAPTAIN MARVELOUS to kill this basco of evol.

    KLAC_OF_PERSONALITY
    Reply

  11. Well this explains why Amata is such a lame main character. It’s cause he’s only half of a main character whose a reincarnated dog. It looks like someone tried to elevate themselves in story status! Where as Amata/Kagura upgraded through reincarnations Mikono/Celiane’s downgraded into a rather bland love interest.

    EliteF22
    Reply

  13. I guess this is what happens when one refrains himself from taking a dump for seven years. At some point you cannot hold it anymore and then, the results speak for themselves.

    Ananas
    Reply

  18. The problem is not him… humm “they” be a dog.. in anime we see this all the time, many main characters are animals or turn into animals, dogs, cats, etc…

    The biggest problem is: where is the Apollonius in all this?? The Celiane was the only one that reincarnated twice! In reality, three… and Apollonius? Where the hell is he?

    vane
    Reply

    1. Being a good master by giving the woman that he betrayed his own kind for to his dog. I guess not half but all of Apollonius is in the Aquarion? His dog was a pretty good mimic of him all throughout Sousei no Aquarion.

      Nellie
      Reply

  19. I’ll freely admit, when they said that Apollo was really the reincarnation of a dog and not Apollonius, I was a little taken aback… I thought to myself, “Kawamori you troll!!!” But reading around the net, I’ve found that the whole “Apollo being Pollo” thing isn’t as much of a troll as we may want to believe. I’m willing to wait to see how things ultimately conclude before I make a decision on how I feel about it. Personally, I would’ve kept the whole split reincarnation thing with Apollo just to carry on the theme of an eternal love between Apollonius and Celiane.

    Shrade… well he went out well, though they never did confirm whether he was Sirius’ reincarnation. I’ll miss his Ho Yay with Cayenne and his musical attacks. Though I have to wonder, with him gone, who’ll pilot Spada?

    Mikono is Silvia, and Mikage is Touma. No surprises there… though I find it interesting that the only reason Touma reincarnated into Mikage was because he was angry that Apollo was never Apollonius and as such he never got his revenge or even meet his former lover again at all. The man can certainly hold a grudge.

    I still like Amata even after all the flak he gets, but I do agree they could’ve done a little better job establishing him as the main character. Hopefully, since he’s the other half of Apollo, he’ll be the only one capable of stopping the original Aquarion and thus regain his status as main character. And hopefully Miknono hasn’t given up on him, though the two haven’t had one romantic scene together for like 4-5 episodes.

    Also, I gave a little squee when Solar Aquarion returned… and I just thought one thing: Izumo and Altair are screwed.

    Frontier
    Reply

  20. The whole fate thing is going borderline retarded at this point. Amata fighting himself over the girl he was destined to end up with, no matter how they sugar coat the fighting and the reasons, is not fighting fate. He’s fighting fate by not fighting fate at all. It gets dumber when you look past the trio and look at the nobody-special Zessica, who is actually the intruder disrupting and trying to fight against fate. There’s no consistency to be had because the character who IS NOT fighting fate when you get down to the nitty gritty will win, while the character that IS fighting fate, again down at the nitty gritty level, will lose.

    There’s no clear message to take away from this.

    Asilil
    Reply

  21. I thought making Apollo into the loyal dog was odd. I felt kind of cheated, like the love story of the first Aquarion was not real. Like how did Apollonius and Celiane talk through Sylvia and Apollo then if Apollo was NOT Apollonius but his DOG? I mean, it is a nice twist and works…but..something was wrong.

    But very good episode all in all. I like how they just wrapped up all the questions in one episode finally. I do not think they will tell you exactly who/what Fudo is. Just that he has been alive for 24,000 years and is the same Head Commander in the first series.

    I was surprised he did not say that Zessica is Scorpius. I was really sure about that one. Zessica will most likely die in the end. I am personally more concerned about Andy and Mix right now.

    Fuu
    Reply

    1. This episode takes away the concept of eternal love that transcends time and space, not are two lovers who by the strength of his love are reunited in each reincarnation. Everything is by the caprice of a dog. It’s like a joke that destiny is moved by the desire of an animal.

      Shadow74
      Reply

      2. I agree. Making Apollo the dog…just…made me think “WTF? So the entire theme/theme song of the entire series means nothing.” Maybe they put more focus on AKB0048 and that will be good.

        Fuu
        Reply

  22. Opinion only. Not completely true.

    Apollonius – Amata (cited by some cites because of the Wings); Pollon/Apollo – Kagura; Celiane/Sylvia – Mikono; ? – Zessica

    Pollon had normal wings. Apollo inherited Pollon’s beastly traits. Then inherited by Kagura after taken out as half from Amata by Mykage.

    Mykage is after all a bogus mastermind. He maybe made Zessica had fake vision. He caused Altair women and some Vega women missing in action or dead out of nowhere. He caused Jin’s death. He might have known all along Amata as bearer of The Solar Wings and Mikono as True Eve. Well his heart is with full hatred and revenge.

    Hopefully Amata unleashes his hidden power to save the day. Cos maybe he may end up with Mikono. Well as for Mikono, dunno whether she genuinely loves him or not love him. She told him after the war she wanted to tell him her feelings (maybe).

    CA
    Reply

  24. I have got to say, when I saw the dog, I felt trolled! but after some thoughts, it is not all that far fetched…

    1. there was indeed a winged dog either in the original Aquarion or the OVA.
    2. Apollo’s behavior and his trademark smell is sure more in line with a dog than an angel.
    3. there are some indication that Apollonius’s soul was trapped inside of the Legendary form Aquarion.

    my rage comes from the treatment of Zessica… the writer is clearly not in favor of her… 🙁 why can’t they do something good to this poor girl?

    I am not going to rule out the possibility that Shrade will make it alive unless they dig a grave for them…

    jrj
    Reply

    1. I feel trolled to, a full 12,000 err years later and Pollon (never new it had a name as it wasn’t given in Sousei no Aquarion) was the soul of Apollo! I wouldn’t shock me that Apollonius’s soul is the heart of Aquarion.

      Now here my beef with this, it was strongly implied that Rena Rune new who Apollo was and always flashed back to the winged dog when she talked with Apollo. In hind sight yeah she could be remembering Pollon before he became Apollo. BUT she implied she new him well (aka as a servant) but what if she was his MASTER. O_o Rena had the ability to fly as well.

      Straight from Rena’s summary on the wiki:
      (In episode 16 there is a possible suggestion that she is the winged dog creature or a reincarnation of the being that is seen during certain flashbacks of the incident where Apollonius tears his wings off to save Celiane from the Shadow Angels. One such flashback takes place in episode 12 where a small dog with wings is seen flying to Apollonius’ back while whining after he tears off his wings to block Moroha’s blade from hitting Celiane. The same winged creature is also seen floating and looking at Apollonius before he tears himself from the cross. In episode 16 when Apollo is calling Rena there is a quick scene of a dog with wings atop a green mountain with howls echoing both during and after Apollo screams her name a couple of times. Rena states (in the English dubbed version) “He Calls” after a vision of Apollo changing into Apollonius and then teleports to him inside his Vector. When she asks him why he isn’t afraid during the conversation that follows he states (again in the English dubbed version) “What like I don’t know you?” and then rubs his nose.)

      SO TROLLED!!!

      Speaking of Rena, this might have been lost in the amount of information divulged. But their was a short scene were Crea sat in Rena’s wheel chair as if it was she own during the retelling. Rena and Crea has always had the same air about them but there are different again but see Crea hold that book in her lap while reading brought back memories.
      https://randomc.net/image/Aquarion%20EVOL/Aquarion%20EVOL%20-%2023%20-%20Large%2013.jpg
      http://www.animenfo.com/anime/character/image/6078_78522.jpg

      Fudo is Fudo. It’s not a question of who he is but WHAT he is. (I’m calling TIME LORD!) He was the third pilot of the Aquarion when Apollonius created it, we never saw his face or form (it was left blank white in the flashbacks) but Fudo himself confirmed it in Sousei no Aquarion.

      Ani_BEE
      Reply

      1. I think Fudo is actually the “story teller” of Aquarion, the person that carries the Book of Twin Stars(or Genesis), and guides the characters to their destined role.

        Whatsht
        Reply

  26. Disappointed.

    A pretty good twist turned out to a joke. I’m really disappointed at Kawamura. I expected a lot more from him and bang… Apollo turns out to be a dog out of nowhere who fell in love with his master? That alone killed the original love story 24,000 years ago.

    Speaking of a thousand years ago, where the heck was the real Apollonius 12,000 years ago? How about at their current timeline? And how the heck was a dog able to pilot the Machine Angel?

    A lot of questions unanswered, I’ll believe in Kawamura for now and hope he finds a good way to bail out of this mess.

    The Story You Don't Know
    Reply

  27. I can see why everyone is angry, that they’d twist the first series. I mean, it’s true. How dare they mess with it like that? Yet, at the same time, I’m happy they threw a curve ball because…well, they needed to do something to make this series stand out. That revelation was a big one for the aquarion series.

    Oh, and Amata finally revealed his feelings for Mikono. Seriously, after 21 episodes of him trying, it was nice getting that out in the open finally.

    evilcleo
    Reply

  29. All this time, these 12,000 years I have been trolling you….
    12,000 years from the time of the last show you my troll grows strong than ever before…

    A perfect song from Kawamori to fan.

    Jonz
    Reply

  31. The twist really is a big retcon. Very early in the original Aquarion, Silvie was shouting back and forth at Apollo with Celiane (under Silvie skin) calling Apollo “Appollonius”, and Apollo scolding Silvie as Appollonius.

    Forgot which episode but it’s along the “That’s the best you can do? Celiane?” “Shut up, Apollonius!”

    masso
    Reply

  32. I always thought Zen Fudo was implied to be the 3rd pilot of the original Aquarion. He is also the same person as Gen Fudo from the 1st series. Somehow his body and soul has persisted for the past 24,000 years, perhaps longer. He might be similar to Touma/Mykage as a species, immortal human, or something else all together. He and Mykage obviously knew of each other but never interacted in the first series. Fudo is likely the author of the Book of Twin Stars and the Book of Holy Genesis by DEAVA in the first series. (A journal/diary of his)

    The whole Apollo is Pollon, the dog of the Apollonius, threw me for a loop. It changes all the dynamics of Sylvia and Apollo’s interactions in the first series who we thought were Apollonius and Celiane. He definitely tricked everyone to think he was Apollonius including Touma. In original series, it was implied that Rena was the reincarnation of Apollonius’s dog because Apollo mentioned he “knew her scent” from a flashback in the episode about Rena being a “vampire.” Seems like they completely forget that Sirius was the other half of Celiane. Mikono acquired both halves?

    As for Izumo, is he Amata/Kagura’s father? or he knows who is his father? What about Shrade? After all the dues ex machina is this series, his existence just disappears? That sucks. Why does a virus cause all the women to become men on Altair. Mykage’s doing in order to reach Vega to obtain Aquarion in the end? I’m curious to see how this all wraps up.

    Winged one
    Reply

  34. Probably I am in the minority, I like the way they explain away the Canon’s idea of the “animal side” of Apollo; as far as I can recall, Apollonius because the crystal that powered Solar’s Aquarion’s head piece. Apollonius’s dog was only thrown into the Movie rendition after the TV series is done. I always find it odd about Apollo animalistic side just because he was brought up in the forest back in Sousei no Aquarion. If Apollo is really Apollonius reincarnation back then, IMHO, that Apollo should be more of a serial killer (nature of Apollonius) then an anime (aka Polloius).

    I do agree that the current writing complete screwed up the original series. It left me with an after taste like George Lucas going back to keep re-imaging Esposide 4,5 and 6 just because he can.

    I also found it really short sighted that the writters completely write off Zessica as part of the plot device. I was really hopping that she have half of Slyvia (the good half), and Mikono have the bad half of Slyvia.. like the good parts of Apolloius to go pairing with the good parts of Slyvia.

    But of course, the puppy love thing just make this theory impossible nowadays.

    Sign…

    Vic Viper
    Reply

  35. I agree how sad it is to degrade Zesscia’s character development by changing her into a weak-spirited female instead of the strong-willed character she was initially portrayed. Of course with Mykage possessing her, I suspect she will meet an unfortunate demise as a sacrifice to save both worlds by restraining Mykage enough to allow the others to destroy him. I wonder what will happen with Alicia, Mix, and Izumo in the next episode. Seems like Mykage is on a warpath to kill off everyone. I guess I would be upset as well if I was tricked into thinking Apollo and Kagura/Amata were Apollonius when they were really…a dog!?

    Winged one
    Reply

  37. You’re right. I remember Touma saying that Aquarion was Solar Wing/Apollonius after he chained Aquarion to the World Tree in the 2nd to last episode right before he tried to kill Sirius. So perhaps not surprising that Apollo wasn’t Apollonius. I think that is what you’re referring.

    Winged one
    Reply

  38. Ok so they just turned the entire love throughout the series into bestiality. Man what a load of crap. Glad i stalled on watching this all the way back at ep 10. Looks like mans best friend just became mans best lover.

    Casshern
    Reply

  39. >Who is Fudo?

    Fudo is.

    >Where is the real Apollonious?

    See Solar Aquarion.

    >It was suggested previously that Celiane’s reincartion was split between Silvie and Sirius. Where does he fit into this?

    Shrade is apparently the reincarnation of Sirius or at least a part of him.

    Golos
    Reply

  41. Amata’s Nightmare? I think it’s the 1st ending of Aquarion Evol.

    Good luck on your finals unlisted. Can’t wait to see comments when Ep 24, 25 posts are up. Mykage/Touma should be pissed. That’s who the real Apollonius is…?! Well, finally makes sense and clears up the story. Explains who the lovers in the OP song in the first series are about as well.

    Winged One
    Reply

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