Wow, they’re still letting Vargas drive?

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE – 28

The Asemu arc wraps up in what I would  say is mostly unsurprising fashion.  Asemu marries the blander than milquetoast Romary (possibly the most lifeless performance KanaHana has ever given), Flit uncovers the huge conspiracy in the Earth government, and Zaeheart settles down for a long nap.  It was interesting to see that Asemu fancies himself a Woolf cub – not only has he painted the AGE-2 white, but he’s dressing like Woolf as well.  I guess that’s hardly surprising as Woolf was the closest thing he had to a father.  As for that conspiracy, it turns out that it led all the way to Prime Minister Froi Olfinoa (Ishii Kouji), who was blackmailed by the Vagan to ensure the info that his ancestor was responsible for the whole Mars colony fiasco never gets out.  Alas for him, Grodek found thing information out, which was the reason he was killed.

No doubt Froi was a bastard, though I do think he was probably honest at least in saying he was trying to negotiate a better deal for Earth and avoid disaster.  Of course Ezelcant was merely using him, but there was something quite ugly in the way Flit handled the whole thing.  In fact Flit strikes me as a sinister figure in many ways, and he admits openly here that his goal is no less than the genocide of the Vagan people.  I sincerely hope the whole point of this series isn’t to convince us that everything Fit believes was right all along, because that would ring pretty hollow with me.  Asemu’s character arc started out looking as if it might be interesting, with him acting as a peacemaker, but it degenerated into standard pap about him fighting for Romary and not an organization.

So now we face the final arc, featuring Kio.  A couple of interesting things here, starting with the fact that we don’t have a seiyuu for him yet (Mikako Komatsu was rumored but I don’t believe that’s confirmed).  Kio also ties Uso Ewin (Mobile Suit Victory Gundam) as the youngest Gundam MC ever at 13 years old.  There are also wild rumors (I’ll spoiler them, though they’re totally unconfirmed) that Lord Ezelcant is Flit’s father. That would certainly be an interesting development. I do plan to continue covering this, despite the intense scheduling overload – we’re two-thirds finished and it would be a shame to drop it now – though I suspect it will continue to be in digest mode until the series finale.

Kimi to Boku 2 – 04

I suspect there was a scene in this week’s KtB that quickened the hearts of fujoshi everywhere…

As you would expect of an episode that was focused entirely on the twins, the pacing was extremely, well, languid.  If Yuta is the hyper one, you know these two move at a pace that makes sloths seem like cheetahs.  It’s a funny thing in shoujo and josei series that feature teenaged boys – they always seem to behave quite a bit younger than they really are.  I suppose that plays into either a maternal instinct or a shotacon fetish.  It’s always been true in Kimi to Boku, that’s for sure, as these are some of the most childlike and least threatening 17 year-old males you’ll ever see.  An episode focusing on the odd nature of a twin relationship is usually a source of some interest and this one was no exception, though I confess I did miss the group dynamic somewhat (only Kaname made a brief appearance).  Fujoshi are certainly fascinated with twins, and some of the moments in this episode were a bit over the top I thought, but I did enjoy the moment when Yuta and Yuuki started to speak to the other before realizing they were alone.  I can’t relate directly, of course, but it must be an odd thing to be together with someone that much right from birth – and their absence even odder.  Surely you get sick of never being alone – yet it must feel a little scary when you are.  This ep did a nice job communicating that in KtB’s typically understated manner.