Final Impressions / First Impressions / ZEGAPAIN

Summary:
When the Gards-orm quantum portal overloads, the resulting explosion envelops three Oceanus-class ships. To Commander Isola, the situation looks grim since they are unable to stop the advance of the Deutera. But what she does not know is that Kyo and Shizuno are taking off in the Zegapain Altair version 2.0.1 on the moon. Shizuno thinks to herself that this is the first time the Zegapain has been controlled by a real human, but she also knows that this is also the time for the eternal separation between her and Kyo. As they blast their way through a corridor in the lab, Kyo remarks about how strange it feels to have two 16-year-old memories. Shizuno blames herself for everything, but Kyo disagrees. He remembers that some time ago, flying over an autumn forest in the Altair, he had been telling Shizuno about Maihama and how he discovered something new every time the server repeated that time period. Kyo had said that if they accomplished Shima’s plan, they could bring everyone in Maihama back to this world. However, Shizuno had informed Kyo that she couldn’t become human because she was no more than quantum data. Shizuno remembers that at that time, she still didn’t understand the things that people felt and the feelings that they shared. And then, the incident on the moon occurred where Kyo sacrificed himself and the Zegapain after sending Shizuno away. Kyo had said back then that even if he were revived, he would probably not be himself anymore.
The present Kyo thanks Shizuno for giving him a second life, and as an enemy appears on their sensors, he declares that he won’t be crushed anymore. That enemy turns out to be the Anti-Zega, piloted by Abyss and an outline of Shin. As the two mecha clash, Chris and May-Yen meanwhile use the Hraesvelg to burst onto the Oceanus’ bridge, destroying all the AIs except for Lemures. Their plan is to use the Oceanus as a QL bomb to take out the weak point of G-Phaetus, which May-Yen suspects is the globe she saw earlier. Back in the Altair vs. Anti-Zega fight, Shizuno warns Kyo about how their defeat would mean the end of the Maihama server. But that’s not all, there’s also Kyo’s own life to consider now too. Inside the Maihama Server, Ryoko is astonished to find a damaged Shin lying in the ruins of the playground. Shin wonders why they who had evolved had been defeated and why they had eternal life. Ryoko thinks that it’s because they were too scared to lose it, so they wanted eternal life. Hearing these words makes Shin think that Ryoko is indeed a good person, someone who she considers a friend. She hopes to meet Ryoko again soon since she believes that she can be revived because her life is eternal. With that, Shin’s hand goes limp. Abyss – in the real world – senses it immediately and watches as Shin’s real body turn to sand. To him, eternity has stopped and the last Shin has disappeared. After Maihama Server Shin disappears into red sparkles, Ryoko promises that she won’t forget Shin’s name. But she calls the eternity thing stupid and wants all of these kinds of things to stop, causing her to cry out for Kyo.
It is at this point that a gigantic explosion rocks the moon and destroys G-Phaetus. From Earth’s atmosphere, Commander Isola and the Dvaraka see the blast wave. With G-Phaetus gone, they are now able to make easy work of the Gards-orm forces around the orbital base. Isola thinks that although the Gards-orm have been destroyed, their side now does not have the chance to resurrect mankind anymore. She’s surprised to learn from Lemures that the Gards-orm are still active and are still expanding the Deutera Areas on Earth. Furthermore, another explosion occurs in front of the Dvaraka, this time coming from the quantum portal on the orbital base. They see the Altair appear from the smoke, dragging along the cockpit remains of the Hraesvelg, with a heavily damaged Chris and May-Yen inside. After having the Dvaraka take those two, Shizuno tells Kyo that the North Pole Server is acting autonomously, and so the Deutera Area on Earth is still growing. But the two have a plan: they’ll go into the Claude base’s control system and aim the Deutera Cores at the North Pole Server. Those Deutera Cores will be able to break through the barrier around the Sabato and act as a missile to destroy the server. With Abyss and the Anti-Zega arriving soon, Shizuno opens the cockpit so that she can enter the control system. Before she goes, Kyo apologizes and thanks her. In response, Shizuno admits that she was really happy when he was revived. He had changed and so had she – finally waking up from a bad dream, finally becoming human. With tears in her eyes, Shizuno confesses that she loved Kyo, and Kyo says that he did too. When she reaches her hand out and says goodbye, he takes it and tells her that it’s not goodbye – it’s a promise. Shizuno says that she’ll do her best and then disappears into the control system.
Inside the control system however, Shizuno comes under attack by the security system. Outside, Kyo and Abyss go literally face to face when Abyss brings the Anti-Zega alongside the Altair. Abyss wants to know why Kyo refused eternal life, but Kyo challenges what Abyss knows about him and tells him to think independently. The two trade punches to the face and then return to their respective mecha. At first, the Altair takes a beating from the Anti-Zega and gets knocked back. When the Altair’s hand falls on the Claude’s system interface, the Maihama Server inside the Altair starts glowing as a connection is established. Back inside the system, a damaged Shizuno says to herself that she originally thought that not returning was ok, but now she wants to return to Kyo. Fortunately for her, Minato suddenly appears and tells her that she’ll go back – together with everyone. Once Minato gets rid of the security, Kuroshio, Irie, Tomigai, and Hayase all appear to support Shizuno and help her use her powers to control the system. After Shizuno sprouts digital black wings and then disappears into data, the Deutera Cores of the orbital base activate. Kyo meanwhile enters Banishment Mode, but directs it only into the Altair’s left fist. Uses it as a projectile, Kyo successfully causes the fist to explode on the Anti-Zega. When Abyss makes one final charge at Kyo, the Altair skewers the Anti-Zega and finally destroys it. During this time, the Deutera Cores have been fired towards Earth and crash into the Sabato. The effects are immediately apparent as all the Deutera Areas on the Earth quickly disappear. In addition, the orbital base also fractures and explodes. Normal life returns to Earth, including a conch shell washing up against the beach.
It is some time later that morning dawns in Maihama. In his apartment, Kyo’s mother appears and urges Kyo to get up. Kyo goes to the dining room where his little sister tells him about how his father suggested they go somewhere for vacation. She teasingly suggests that they invite the senpai for whom Kyo has an unrequited love, causing him to throw a towel at her. In his head, Kyo thinks that it is a dream. If either one is reality, then the other one is the dream. Which one is…? At school, the guys are admiring Minato as she prepares to dive into the pool. Before she makes the jump Minato thinks to herself a word of thanks to Shima. Meanwhile, Kurashige is with Mizusawa and is remarking how the second semester will come after summer vacation is over. He gets caught up on how the words second semester has a fresh sound to it, causing Mizusawa to laugh. Outside, Hayase is walking together with Tsumura Sachiko. Inside the student council room, Kuroshio is telling Irie that life is mysterious. Because of the limits of life, a person sees everything as precious and important, and the current moment may be loved. From this, Irie can tell that Kyo has had some influence on Kuroshio. Nearby, Lu Sheng discovers that it is indeed possible to upgrade the apparition repair program, which would allow Shizuno to become human with them. Unfortunately, they realize that Shizuno doesn’t have her memories when they go talk to her. Lu Sheng says that “have” was born from “have not” and that by chance, mankind approached god. He wonders how Naaga would feel if he knew. May-Yu is more worried about the future – when Shizuno becomes a human, there’d be a love triangle again.
In the real world, the Dvaraka is still on watch for the remaining Gards-orm forces along with Chris and May-Yen in the Hraesvelg. However, today they have a supply mission in Japan. It is on a beach in this real world that Kyo recites a famous line: “Man’s 50 years are like passing dreams or visions, in comparison with the everlasting cause in the universe.” Truthfully, Kyo thought that he’d live for eternity in the server, but he saw how dazzling the real world is with its genuine blue sky, genuine flowers, waves and winds. He wants to touch everything in this world, this genuine world that Yehl created. Thus, he’s picked up a flower and shows it to Ryoko, who’s still in apparition form on the beach with him. Nearby is a building with a painted sign outside that reads “Chiba Prefecture South Maihama High School, Swim Club Branch Office,” and inside is a large piece of machinery. Facing the water is the Altair, with many seagulls resting on top of it. Kyo tells Ryoko that for the sake of touching everything in this world, he feels that it’s ok to have a limited life. Ryoko agrees and notices that Kyo’s hair has gotten longer. However, she notes that the server is still on a loop, though now a year-long one. When she tells Kyo not to grow up too much, Kyo responds by asking her to wait for another two years for the graduation ceremony. At this point, they see the Dvaraka appear in the horizon, which makes Kyo quite excited because he’s hungry. The two of them board the Altair and fly out to the ship, amidst a sky of seagulls.
Many years later, in that same beach spot with the same lighthouse, Ryoko is drinking some water. She puts down the glass and rubs her abdomen, hoping that her child can be born soon into this world full of light.

The famous line that Kyo quotes is supposedly recited by Oda Nobunaga from the play Atsumori. See this reference for more translation variations. I think it’s a very fitting line that captures both the fleetingness of life and thus the importance of living life fully, perfect for Kyo talking about experiencing the real world.
Anyway, I went “WTF” no less than 3 times during this episode, particularly at the very very end with Ryoko’s pregnancy. Kyo would likely be the father, but they don’t show Kyo anywhere in that future scene. By the lighthouse ruins, it would seem that many years have passed now, so there’s no guarantee that Kyo is still alive. But it’s at least implied that Kyo is the father, and that regardless of whether or not Shizuno got a real body, he ended up with Ryoko.
Speaking of Shizuno, they sneakily answered the question of where her name came form posed back in episode 20. They don’t verbally say it in this episode, but the credits of this final episode lists Kyo’s little sister’s name as Sogoru Misaki. Although the kanji are different, it would seem that that’s where Kyo got the name from. Incidentally, Kyo’s little sister is so cute! She would have easily become one of my favorite characters in this series if she had appeared earlier.
As for the overall ending, I was quite happy with it. Not only did they give an exciting end that wrapped things up nicely, they also put in a few small surprises. It was nothing big such as having Shizuno end up with Kyo or something, but they still managed to give Shizuno a fairly happy ending along with the rest of the Oceanus crew. Some of the best endings are ones where you go in not sure what to expect, and come out pleased with what you saw, which is what was the case for me here.

Final Thoughts:
ZEGAPAIN was one of those series that looked like it was mecha on the surface, but turned out to be much deeper than that. At first, it didn’t seem terribly unique: when red-haired Kyo was introduced, I saw Aquarion parallels, and when they got into the real world/fake world question, I saw Matrix parallels. Yet the story had me hooked from beginning to end, as they skillfully melded together the characters and the backstory into a great series. I actually did quite a bit of research for this series, usually in the form of quotations from people like Decartes, George Berkeley, the aforementioned Oda Nobunaga, and even the Heart Sutra. In that sense, I’ve learned quite a bit from this series, and so ZEGAPAIN was entertaining in many respects. I honestly think that it deserved more attention than it perhaps got in the English-speaking anime community.

60 Comments

  2. That was a brilliant finale for a grand series!!!

    It was neat how they showed how time had passed in the epilogue via Kyo’s ponytail.

    Did you also notice how they drew Ryoko subtly older in the post-ending credits scene?

    Dave Baranyi
    Reply

  7. “I conclude that Shizuno is the real heroine and Ryoko is the default love interest.”

    Good point. When Shizuno told Kyo that she loved him before she went into the Gars-ohm main server, Kyo responded that he loved her too. (But that’s the easiest thing for a guy to say when a girl is going off on a suicide mission… LOL)

    “And that Ryoko is pregnant with Sin”

    You know, I got that same instantaneous impression too, partially because it looked like Ryoko “gathered” Shin into her when Shin died in the Maihama server, and partially because of the words that Ryoko said to her fetus about the sun shining.

    Of course, imagine Kyo’s reaction if the baby looks like Shin – he will suspect that Ryoko cheated with Abyss! (LOL)

    Dave Baranyi
    Reply

  8. soo that holographic ryoko with kyo was that on the real world and the pregnant one was on the server world or was it the opposite? or did time reallly fly by and thats a ryoko 2 years after the holographic one?

    Fury
    Reply

  9. “so that holographic ryoko with kyo was that on the real world and the pregnant one was on the server world or was it the opposite? or did time reallly fly by and thats a ryoko 2 years after the holographic one? ”

    Both were in the real world. The scene before the ending animation had a still holographic Ryoko with the real Kyo in the real world. The scene after the ending animation was more than two years afterwards – notice that the lighthouse was now a ruin, and that real Ryoko’s hair looked much older, and she even sounded a bit older.

    Dave Baranyi
    Reply

  12. it’s nice to see everyone made it to the end (except Arque… and Sin… and Abyss… but Abyss was evil, so he had to go). that girl at the beginning of the episode looks pretty cool… who is she?

    btw, it’s not a big deal, but some of the pictures on the bottom aren’t enlarging.

    Kimiyae
    Reply

  15. I’m still learning Japanese, but from what I got. It seems that Older Kyo is real and ageing while Ryoko is still a Hologram’s or that while the progress is happening Kyo gets older and that if we assume by the time that everyone becomes real Kyo is dead and Ryoko is left with his baby, OR for my finally theory that Kyo is the baby inside Ryoko/Ryo to old dead still had enough juice for some Ryoko loving and the end….. Blah blah blah

    Kosta
    Reply

  19. Think about if ZEGAPAIN was an YURI anime somebody could ask at the end scene :

    ” WHO´S THE FATHER of that baby?…….Shizuno san or the blound seito kaichou!!??

    We could answer:
    ” I DON´T KNOW LET´S WAIT THE BABY TO BE BORN ” 😉 😉 😉 😆

    tensai_otaku
    Reply

  32. WOW SHIZUNO! that girl Rocks! it’s sad that she didn’t ended up with Kyo-kun but hey whe looks happy at the end ^^ I’m happy with this series and totally relieved it didn’t ended up like eva

    RickaZ
    Reply

  33. WHOA! Great ending! I still feel bad for Shizuno though but oh well….all’s well I suppose. Ryoko’s pregnancy…..who else can the father be except for Kyo? I doubt she’ll go for any other guys after what she’d gone through with Kyo.

    dward
    Reply

  34. Even with the old lighthouse, it wouldn’t take anything more than a decent sized hurricane to do some quick damage and plants are voracious when growing. I think the problem would be showing a decently older Kyo with an obviously younger Ryoko. I would picture a good gap between them, probably late 30’s to mid 40’s… would not look good on TV if it was animated in the slightest, so it’s just hinted.

    Blade
    Reply

  35. My only question is… There would be two Kyo when the resurection took place. One was the server Kyo that was in the loop, the other was the Older kyo in the real world. Now Ryouko was in love with the real Kyo, not the one in the server. So it is possible that Shizuno ends with the server Kyo(Kyo’s sister hints about the crush that Kyo has on his Senpai) and Ryouko ends with the real Kyo. Argh! I am so freaking tired of this “leave it to the audience” endings. First was Blood+, then Zegapain. Why can they spell things out. 🙁

    golthin
    Reply

  40. I’m a bit bummed I didn’t finish watching this on its original run, I stopped at around episode six because I had too many animes too watch and this one just got swept up in the midst of all of them. It looks really neat, even if the CGI wasn’t all that appealing, the animation made up for it. Gaah, one of these days I’ll watch it all, because you made it out to look very good later on in the series.

    Taxxed
    Reply

  41. NYKT17, the entire “Do not believe the world you see.” and “Stay away from Shizuno” thing was explained in Episode 16. You just need to rewatch the starting 6 to 8 min. To summarise, it’s a “red pill” and “blue pill” thing.

    wc3promet
    Reply

  43. The multiple Kyos theory, sadly speaking, has already been logically disproven.

    1) Data of Humans cannot be backed up and/or replicated, although they can be cloned using Gard-Orms technology.

    2) Once resurrected, Kyo doesn’t exist in the Maihama server anymore. Kyo’s non-Celebrant friends in the server would be brainwashed into thinking that either
    a) he doesn’t exist
    b) he has switched to another school
    c) he’s dead

    3) The current Kyo says that he has 2x 16-year-old memories in his head now but he no longer loves Shizuno.

    4) Kyo’s sister and other family members only exists in Kyo’s dreams. He can now only remember roughly their names and faces.

    5) Kyo doesn’t remember anything about the entire Real Maihama to Virtual Maihama evacuation process. (Probably erased by wet damage or by some emotional-damage-control software)

    wc3promet
    Reply

  44. Two months and a week later the temptation was defeated…

    Today, December 8th (9th trough) I was able to see the final episode of ZegaPain thanks to you-know-who. I don’t know if this ending is good for me or not, maybe because I was a Shizuno lover (thanks to Ayako Kawasumi), or maybe because I felt so unfulfilled after waiting and resisting the temptation of peck in over Onmi’s blog.

    Overall, ZegaPain was a great series, I’m glad to know that SUNRISE can do good stuff when they don’t think too much.

    First Kanon 10th with Makoto’s goodbye and now ZegaPain 26th with Shizuno’s (for me) unfulfilled wish…

    Syaoran Li
    Reply

  45. You guys are all crazy! The baby is Kyo’s. Just before the credits Kyo says just wait 2 more years. Presumably that’s when the ressurection system is completed. So obviously that baby is Kyo’s. She’s awfully young to have having a baby though.

    Bombomba
    Reply

  46. Well all I can say is that I loved Zegapain, one of the best mecha anime ever (although the zegapains were fugly xD).

    And well I didn’t undersand the ending very well.

    From what I understood I think Ryoko’s baby is Kyo’s since he said “wait 2 years, blablabla graduation…” so that leads me to believe that the resurrection system was only 2 years away from being complete.

    And yeah I think that Ryoko’s baby may have some Sin in it too, since she was like “the world is shinny, not like you were before… so hurry up a be born”.

    It would be cool if they made a TV special or a OAV to clarify stuff up, and ofcourse to see kaminagi some more ^^

    Mundox
    Reply

  47. ok ok ok there is one thing I need cleared up… why does that voice on the radio sound like kaminagi and also in the real world why is the a weather woman saying the WEATHER… the only reason for someone to say the weather in the real world was if someone was already reborn from the maihama server or the other servers that may not have been destroyed.
    But from all else why did they put the weather woman right before the credits… and one more thing WHY IS THERE A RADIO ON THE BEACH IF THE WORLD WAS PREVIOUSLY DESTROYED?????????

    klio58
    Reply

  48. and to add to my last comment … In episode 3 or 4 they make mention of the “Southern Chiba Prefecture”… If I can recall correctly the was a location outside of Maihama… for the weather woman to have anounnced that, that insinuates one of 2 things
    1) That server did not get destroyed by the garbs-orm or
    2) Someone was already ressurected, if not resurrected then never died. Or if not that that something strange is going on with that, for them to take the last minute of the show and focus in on a radio on the beach then that quite possibly was a setup for a ova or a spin off of the show. Quite possible the ressurection of the garbs-orm?
    (wishful thinking)

    klio58
    Reply

  49. A pregnant kaminagi made me think of echi stuff…like maybe orgies were held between members of the celebrants since they are apparitions, there are no consequences to love making. hey….being cooped up 10000 years in a server that repeats itself will make anyone bored!

    LOL!

    But seriously, good series. I think a good OVA will be to go on the events of the XBOX360 game, which is a prequel on how the humans were defending against the Gards ORM and how they eventually lost the battle on the moon which connects to ep1 of the anime.

    echi-brain
    Reply

  50. About da Baby, I kno da author did that 2 mke us wonder and wnt da anime even mre but I think it’s Kyo’s from the way it ended. Why would it show da baby like that if it isn’t his. I bet when u all saw that scence u all thought “Is Kyo da father!? “

    Melody Melody
    Reply

  51. buildings near the sea need lots of maintenance due to the humidity.even 2-3 years can ruin the lighthouse easily.The plants around it are not like trees they grow very fast they could cover it in less than a year.Lastly why must she got pregnant the moment she became real from all we know she could be years a real human before she got pregnant.

    pewpew13
    Reply

  54. hmm i tink that when ryoko and kyo was at the beach…ryoko was still data and they prolly used the apparition repair thingie to make shizuno and ryoko into human thus making her able to be pregnant? well this is what i tink. Im a lil dissapointed how Shizuno and Kyo weren’t really *together* much but still it was a great ending and great series. I enjoyed it very much.

    Enraiha
    Reply

  55. Kyo can return anytime he wants.. remember he already dematerialized his body into quantum form once in ep25? But since Ryoko is emotionless inside the server, that might make Kyo think twice about spending time with her there.

    “I will be there before graduation”, says kyo. Since everyone in Maihaba can’t come outside, kyo will have to go in after two years. I don’t think it makes sense to make false promises here, so he must have a way of getting in the server. He definitely needs one of the battleships around in order to log in the server, otherwise there’s no reason to starve because restaurants are everywhere in Maihaba.

    Regarding the server time.. the population would definitely be made celebrum because there’s no way to hide it with so many already there. Once made celebrum, their perception of time is continuous, so the graduation isn’t really an issue. Physical objects would reset every year, but not the people, and the teachers can simply decide to teach different things every year.

    Given all that above, Kyo is just going to be outside for two years and then log in the server as promised. The alternative would be a lonely death by aging too much and he probably doesn’t want that. Without much age difference, he and Ryoko will have a child in the future as shown.

    Shizuno doesn’t really have an issue because like Kyo, she will regain her past memories when materialized. A body helps to reorganize damaged quantum data it seems, otherwise there’s no explanation for Kyo’s perfect memory.

    As for the radio.. it’s probably a lament if anything, particularly to reflect on the sea-shell mentioned in the insert-story. The shell is broken in the end, but radio still functions here with its broadcast, it’s really an attempt to take a poetic approach here, and honestly I think it’s quite successful — the voice that comes through the radio sounds cheerful and refreshing, completely overthrowing the sentimental touch by the sea-shell. But that also implies the coming to past of many things.. lost lives, lost memories and the series coming to an end. This is all done through a cheerful broadcast, it is ironic and quite depressing in its own way. Honestly I don’t want things to move forward from here, because inevitably the time from that point on would seem at a stall compared to earlier times. Like kyo says.. “suffering for happiness”, it’s really a great reflection for the bad times. The gains and losses, and the sentimental feelings that accompany them are what made the hard times memorable, but the departures take away the physical suffering, and it takes away many others more worthy.

    p.s. there is one thing i can’t come up with an explanation for.. that’s the scene with kyo and all his family. maybe those are phantom type beings like shizuno or AIs?

    QuickStellar
    Reply

  58. zegapain love mai otome kyo and arika in pool swim they good for zegapain you good with you kyo i with you too arika ok i love you arika i love you too kyo come mai otome well ok thanks all ok zegapain let go come arika i be with you kyo thanks zegapain and mai otome thanks you

    JOEL PEREZ
    Reply

  59. Here’s a thought on the ending, if you noticed in the server there was a kyo that talked to his parents and sister, my thought is he was resurrected with the rest of the maihama inhabitants, thereby making a clone if you will. So the Kyo that became human probably died before the resurrection of everyone else but since there was an extra Kyo metabody he’s the one that knocked up Ryoko, explaining the old lighthouse, and without making mental images of dirty old man secks.

    Muse
    Reply

  60. Late to the party but I will give my comment on the ending anyway <.<

    The whole scene of Kyo being with his family just had to be inside a quantum server simply because all that buildings couldnt have been restored in such a short time(compared to the barely older Kyo later shown at the beach).
    Imo it makes the most sense that for the new one-year loop to set in the server got reseted again and what you see is simply a rebooted Kyo although his old equivalent still lives and waits on the real earth.They even hinted at him having a crush on Shizuno(upper classman)without any mention of Ryoko.
    Seeing how they reprogrammed the server there really is no reason for them not killing the cerb-reset limitation so I see no problem in a second Kyo(also he was never shown,they could have altered his outward appearance or something)either.His version there going on about the “which world is real” phrase again indicates that imo.
    Its the best happy-end I can come up with anyway.

    Having said that I really dreaded the series after Ryoko became a cerb because it felt like they just shoved the romance into ones face in a eat-or-die fashion.
    Really couldnt enjoy the series much afterwards,no matter how much I tried.
    Always waited for something to happen so that Shizuno becomes the main interest again.
    Well looking back Im still quite pissed that Kyo didnt clearly end up with Shizuno and only in such a unclear way but I guess this ending was still better than Shizuno getting killed off.

    Anime could have been more if it had built on the Kyo-Shizuno romance instead imo but well they didnt and although I really hated the whole Ryoko drama it was a enjoyable watch(mecha battles looked horrible though but I guess considering how old the series is that had to happen).

    Raz
    Reply

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