Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 15

Episode 15 – Maidens of the Seals – 封印の巫女 (Fuuin no Miko)

Once again in this show there is no Zero Time of any sort (which rarely happens), yet this episode had to be one of the most interesting out of the entire series so far. We get a ton of plot twists and new revelations this episode, and if you think about everything in context with previously aired episodes, a lot more questions and intriguing possibilities arise. Besides that, Mizuno gets a ton of screentime this episode, and it actually reveals a lot about both her character, as well as gives her some more development. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how everything pieces together in the larger, overall picture, but the amount of questions left unanswered really makes it rather difficult to get a clear idea of what’s going on overall. If you’ve checked out speculation on other blogs (such as this one, warning there are some spoilers), it’s easy to tell that this show has gotten rather complex quite quickly.

One of the major events this episode is definitely Mizuno’s realization that her mother has returned to the island. Of course, Marino is quite concerned about Mizuno because of this, but I bet she didn’t expect such a frantic, almost hysterical reaction from Mizuno when Marino suggested they talk to her mother. The fact that Marino has seemed to have disappeared makes me think that Marino herself was actually Mizuno’s first phase, which would explain why Marino noticed that Mizuno was actually alone in the past. Perhaps Mizuno’s first phase is what enabled Marino to actually exist, even though she hadn’t been with Mizuno in the past. Knowing this, it seems like Mizuno’s mother’s reappearance definitely helped push the main plot forward.

What was surprising here was that Mizuno actually attempted to leave the island, and like I mentioned in my episode 14 post, it is well known that the maidens cannot normally leave the island. The island’s way of preventing the maidens from leaving is to induce a little time loop, where whenever the maiden goes too far away from the island, time is reset to the time at which the maiden in question woke up that day (on the island, of course). The fact that Keito is taking advantage of this to coerce Mizuno means that, more likely than not, third phase will be achieved by the Crux Brigade next week.

The short, yet probably the most important event in this episode, was almost definitely the meeting between Sugata and Head. For one, we now know that Head too can move around in Zero Time. It still hasn’t been revealed as to if Head has a fake or a real “mark”, but considering he can move around in Zero time means he definitely has one of them. Considering how, after Zero time ended and he didn’t return back to where he was originally, I’m guessing that he has a real “mark”, just like Takuto. The interesting thing here is that Takuto and Wako are the only known instances where they reappeared from Zero time outside of their original locations (think back to episode 1), so what does this exactly imply for Head? Also, the fact that Head is openly trying to recruit Sugata as the “emperor” does make me curious about the structure of the Crux brigade.

What caught more of my attention was how Head declared that the Galactic Pretty boy would fall, as well as how he is the unrivaled “warrior” Star Driver around. If you include this with the revelation that Head is indeed the painter “R” (who is apparently Takuto’s father), there are even more questions this show brings up. If Head really is Takuto’s father, why does Head look so young? Head definitely seems to plotting something extremely important behind the scenes, and knowing his mysterious way of doing things, I just can’t figure out what he’s trying to do. I guess there’s a lack of information to say for sure.

Either ways, this episode did an awesome job of throwing in little tidbits of information here and there that keeps you wondering, as well as hinting at some major changes in the upcoming episodes. I suspect that Head has some sort of grand plan of sorts in motion, which really makes me wonder what in the world he is plotting. And how is Takuto, Wako, and Sugata exactly involved in all these events? Either ways, this episode had some excellent buildup to what will probably be a major turning point in this series next week.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.3/5

P.S. Dang, I just noticed I wrote a pretty long post. Perhaps I should cut down on my rambling next time ^.^;;

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 14

Episode 14 – The Eyes of Ayingott – アインゴットの眼 (Aingotto no me)

After a long two week break from Star driver, this episode brought a ton of new information, as well as brings up some pressing questions, that definitely entails a lot for future episodes. For one, we pretty much get a confirmation of all four of the maidens’ identities, which hasn’t happened before, not to mention, there are some odd disparities regarding Marino and her past. All of this, along with the newly wrought information from Ayingott means that Star Driver probably has hit the tipping point for the main plot, where everything will start to get more serious. Unfortunately, we don’t really get too much character development or anything (unlike previous episodes), seeing all the implications with Head’s return, confirmation of Keito as a maiden, and Mizuno potentially being in a dire situation in the future. In other words, this episode was pretty much buildup, setting up a lot of the background info that will probably be crucial in the upcoming weeks of this show.

Considering how long ago that Ayingott was introduced, we finally get to see it in action with the Cybody regeneration system was functional. There obviously was a reason why Ayingott was the only originally disabled Cybody, though, with it’s apparently evil aura threatening to take over Marino when she apprivoised with it. This does get me curious as to what the actual nature of Ayingott is, and exactly what it’s “third eye” exactly does for Ayingott. All we see is Ayingott go berserk, but we actually have no idea as to the significance of it’s existence. Is it supposed to be the opposition to Samekh or something? Or is there a more important meaning to Ayingott’s existence. I’m obviously grasping at threads here, but still, Ayingott’s presence definitely got the plot moving again. The interesting thing with Ayingott is that it’s two giant eyes allow Ayingott to see all four of the maidens, with Mizuno obviously being one of them.

What took me by more surprise is that, from what we see of Mizuno’s memories through Ayingott (or at least, I think it’s Mizuno’s memories), Marino strangely doesn’t seem to exist. Considering how Marino distinctly remembers being with her in those memories, this does make me question as to whether Marino is actually a normal existence or not. My guess would be that she somehow has a copy of Mizuno’s memories that were modified to include herself, but this is pretty much a wild guess here. The plot twist here was definitely not something I anticipated, and does make me wonder what roles both Mizuno and Marino will play in the upcoming conflicts.

Obviously the mech fight was a joke, with Takuto predictably winning out in the end, but we do also get a few interesting developments outside of Zero time. For one, we finally get to see Wako showing some sort of feelings towards Takuto (which hasn’t happened for a long time), and it seems like Mizuno and Marino seem to be doing the same. It seems like all of the maidens, except for Keito, seem to have a very strong relationship with Takuto in some way or form. Keito most likely, based on the spoiler heavy new opening theme, definitely has a deep connection with Sugata, and will probably be addressed in the future. Along with all this, Sugata’s realization that Head can somehow move in the real world while in Zero time should prove to make their previously odd relationship much more intriguing. On a side note, Head, bring back Sakana-chan already 😡

In the end, this episode was pretty much setting up the background info necessary for Mizuno to finally become more involved with the Zero time incidents, and what has me curious is how in the next episode preview, it looks like Mizuno is on the exact same boat that took Sakana-chan away from the island. Considering how the maidens are not supposed to be able to leave the island, I do wonder what this entails for her if this is really the case. After watching this episode, I pretty much have a ton more questions about the plot and what is about to unfold, as well as exactly how and what Mizuno will be involved in starting next week.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 13

Episode 13 – The Lovestruck Red Sword – 恋する紅い剣 (koi suru akai ken)

In this episode we witness the return of the RA Shinada Benio, and although it was interesting to see her Cybody in action again, there was actually quite a bit of other stuff that happened that kept this episode intriguing as well. Things such as the ineffectiveness of Shinada’s first phase, the encounter between Sugata and Head (again), the recovery of Shinada’s Cybody, and the fact that Shinada also seemed to have had a “mark” at some point, were all very interesting revelations from this episode. While I can’t say that seeing  Shinada struggling with her long time crush on Sugata was the most interesting thing to watch, this episode did an admirable job of developing her character more. Unfortunately, the mech battles are still stupidly predictable, but at this point I see the mech battles as more of a sideline event used to support the rest of the plot.

I mean, it was somewhat obvious that Shinada had a history of some sort with Sugata back when she tried to take over his body with her first phase a few episodes back, but this time we’re finally given some concrete proof of this. Seeing as Shinada and Sugata fought each other in a kendo match as children, and their scene under the cherry blossom tree afterwards, it’s pretty obvious that Shinada has some lingering feelings about Sugata. The involvement of Takuto, though, makes everything much more interesting.

For one, it seems like Shinada’s first phase was not effective on Takuto at all. Is it that she lost her ability, or some other factor that is preventing this, it isn’t really mentioned. This does make me wonder if other people’s first phases have also been lost after losing to Takuto.

Seeing as how Sugata refused to fight Shinada, and instead had Takuto fight, really did spice up the atmosphere this time around. Shinada’s constant nagging of Takuto, and her inner thoughts with regards to him, made her inner conflict much more intriguing and fun to watch. Not to mention, Takuto’s goofy personality kept things quite entertaining for the most part.

What was intriguing about this episode was that it was revealed that Shinada, at least at some point in her life, had a “mark” on her chest similar to what Wako, Takuto, and Sakana-chan had. Does this mean that everybody in the Crux Brigade has a “mark” as well? Based on what Head said to Kanako’s servant several episodes ago, it’s probably safe to guess that there aren’t many with a true “mark”, but this makes me curious. Exactly how many marks are there, and why is it that Takuto is the only one with a mark that can apprivoise with a third phase Cybody, while the rest have to use the Cybercasket? And what exactly is the significance of the “mark”? I mean, there are a lot of questions I have regarding the marks, but unfortunately they don’t look like they’ll be answered anytime soon.

To compound on top of that, we finally get to see the revival of a broken Cybody this week. Knowing that Cybodies can now be revived has a huge significance for the Crux brigade, meaning that all the ones Takuto previously destroyed can now be recovered. Sugata also seemed to notice the significance of the event, and does not bode well for the near future for Takuto. With this, we now know that Ayingott can be revived, and considering how the cybody had been broken from the start, I get a sense of taboo with regards to Ayingott. What this means for Marino, Ayingott’s star driver, should prove to interesting to see.

Also, we got another meeting between Head and Sugata this episode. The fact that Head is starting to paint something, and Sugata’s seemingly curious attitude towards Head, may be indicative of some sort of unknown relationship between them. There are speculations of their relationship all over the place, such as on 2ch and such, but as of now there is nothing set in stone. There is a lot of significance in the “R” painter, and the inherent parallels we’re seeing between Head and Sugata are quite something to note.

Either ways, this episode really just shows us what Star Driver, as a series, excels at. Star Driver’s true strength is definitely in the dynamics of the character relationships, as well as the development of the main cast. The mech battles, while important, mostly serve to further develop our understanding of the characters, which I quite frankly find very nice. At the same time, the show continues to do a good job with maintaining interest levels, by ever so slowly revealing little hints and tidbits of information that keeps you guessing as to what exactly is going on, and the significance of the entire Cybody conflict.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.1/5

P.S. On a side note, I was disappointed that Mizuno’s song wasn’t included this week. The song has started to grow on me, and while not as good as Sakana-chan’s Monochrome song, it was still rather nice to listen to.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 12

Episode 12 – A Kiss through the Glass – ガラス越しのキス(Garasu goshi no kisu)

Quite a surprising episode we have here. We get a lot of focus on Kanako this time around, and this episode does a great job of exploring her characterization, but we do also get a few more new facts (and questions) about the Cybodies and the Glittering Crux Brigade. In the end though, Kanako is simply just fun to watch how she interacts with the entire cast, mainly because her supposed lack of common sense really makes her interactions with others very interesting to watch. I certainly had fun watching Kanako openly flirt with Takuto out loud in the middle of class, have a random boxing match where she completely dominates, and kiss Takuto “through the glass”, only without the glass. Her somewhat goofy, yet at the same time quite serious, antics were enjoyable to see, and Takuto’s actions this episode definitely didn’t help calm things.

Kanako was pretty much the main focus here, where she was probing her curiosity of Takuto and his unique “charm”. To do so, she openly flirts with him in front of the entire class, and even sends out Simone to Takuto to invite him on a date. The thing with Kanako is that she’s highly unpredictable, mainly because her course of action doesn’t always seem to have a logical flow. That makes it all the more exciting to see exactly what she plans on doing next, and in this episode that certainly was the case for me.

I hadn’t expected that Kanako would finally fight Takuto in a Cybody, but after seeing her “olympic class” boxing skills, it definitely seemed like she could have a chance at beating Takuto (… who am I kidding, Takuto always wins his matches, but it’d be nice to hope it’ll change one day). While watching the fight between Takuto and Kanako’s cybodies, though, for a split second I thought Takuto’s “pile driver” weapon was a parody of the famous “Giga drill” from Gurren lagann :P. Maybe it actually is, but it certainly got a laugh out of me with it’s over the topness.

What took me by surprise was how, after Kanako lost her match, it was declared that she no longer had the qualifications to become “the leader”, only for her to retort that “at this rate, there will be no leader”. Interestingly enough, the qualifications for leader can also seemingly be lost permanently if they lose to Takuto, which hasn’t really been emphasized earlier on. Another little interesting fact was how repairing Cybodies worked with the Crux Brigade’s new repair mechanism. The fact that it uses one’s “libido” and life energy to fix a Cybody does make you question exactly what the nature of a Cybody exactly is, and how this fact applies to the King Cybody.

What makes things even further intriguing is that it seems like Head will actually start interacting with Sugata a lot more, so I guess you could say that Sugata is “replacing” Sakana-chan as Head’s person to talk with. I’m not quite sure what Head is plotting (or whether he’s plotting anything at all), but his influence on Sugata should be quite something to watch, and definitely should play a larger role in the future. Kanako also talking with Mizuno about the origin of magic might hold some significance, though I’m not exactly sure what it may be.

Of course, there were those random silly moments in this episode (like where Takuto got Simone to blush, and the kiss Kanako gave Takuto), but there were also a few good key points and questions brought up in this episode as well. Overall, I feel like this week’s episode did a good job of building on past material, and is definitely pushing the story forward in a unique way.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.3/5

P.S. For those that didn’t notice, I just noticed this episode that the bus in the ending theme that used to have a portrait of Sakana-chan on it now has a painting of Mizuno on it. I guess the paintings are indicative of who is the maid maiden of each “arc”, which means Wako should be on there sometime.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 11

Episode 11 – Personal Uses of Cybodies – サイバディの私的活用術 (Saibadi no shiteki katsuyou jutsu)

This episode was actually rather enlightening, shifting it’s focus away from our main characters and instead focusing on Kanako and her servants, in particular Simone. There are a few interesting moments in this episode, but the main focus on this episode seems to be fleshing out some side characters as opposed to continuing the main story. Personally, I think it’s a good idea to flesh out the side characters, but considering how many characters there are in this show, I’m a little worried that the set length for the series (24 or 25 episodes, I believe) might not be long enough to cover everybody.

This week’s installment of Star driver actually focuses in on the very intriguing character dynamics between Kanako and Simone, with a lot more details about their pasts, and how they’re related to each other, being revealed this time around. During the first time Simone appeared (an episode a few weeks ago), she seemed to hold a strong dislike for Kanako, and this episode finally reveals exactly why she hates her so much.

And, oh boy, their backstory is rather complicated. I knew that Kanako was the high school wife, but I didn’t expect it to be revealed that Kanako actually stole away Simone’s father from her. There are some rather complicated family relation issues going on here, which makes certain silent scenes more powerful, or at least you become more aware of the tension in the air.

The most interesting event in this episode, though, was almost certainly Sugata’s brief encounter with Head. I had written last episode as to whether Head’s involvement with the plot is over or not, but this week’s episode confirms that he is, indeed, an important character in this show. He had a very interesting talk with Sugata while watching the sunset, but what caught my attention was Head stating that he was a painter.

Consider how the island is littered with paintings from “R”, Head’s revelation might mean that he was the one who drew those paintings. This also makes me think that the Sakana-chan painting on the side of the bus in the ending theme was also made by Head. While it has been hinted that the painter “R” might be Takuto’s father, I don’t quite see how in the world that would be the case. Head certainly doesn’t seem old enough to be Takuto’s father, but it’s not like I can say for sure if this is completely wrong.

There is a little bit of Mizuno and Marino this episode, but it pretty much just touched upon the idea that Marino likes Takuto. Right now, there is a lot of events going on in parallel, each with their own separate stories and plots. Not to mention, it looks like Sugata might be getting influenced by Head, which may or may not be a good thing. I do remember reading somewhere that Head is very manipulative, so these turn of events could prove to be quite important in the future. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing exactly what all of this is building up to.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 10

Episode 10 – And Marino’s First Love – そしてマリノの初恋 (soshite marino no hatsukoi)

For those that were seriously missing Sakana-chan’s song, Monochrome, there is some good news that comes with this new episode; there is a new insert song courtesy of the West maiden, Mizuno. With this, I’m fairly certain that each maiden has their own specific song. My guess here is that, with each new maiden introduced, their song will be what plays during the battle sequence until the maiden is no longer a main focus of the show. In this case, Sakana-chan’s major role ended back a few episodes ago, and now Mizuno is taking her place in terms of how important she is to the story. I still prefer Sakana-chan’s song though =P

As for the actual episode, although the baseball game thing was a little gimmicky, it did prove to us that Mizuno and Marino are, indeed, twin sisters. The entire baseball game was pretty goofy, but it did give us some character development with regards to Marino. Marino’s random blushing pretty much shows that she, whether she likes it or not, has some sort of affection towards Takuto.

There are hints at a relationship between Keito Nichi and Sugata, which I honestly was not expecting. There is definitely more background to this relationship than we currently know, especially with how Wako mentions how they were good friends back when they were children. There is definitely some significance to their relationship, though we probably won’t find that out right away. If Nichi turns out to be an actual maiden, as some people may have suspected already, this bit of info will definitely be important in the future in some way or form.

I personally could care less for the fight scene in Zero time, mainly because it was completely obvious as to what would happen. What I was more intrigued about was both Marino’s apparent crush on Takuto, and the implications that comes with it. The significance of Mizuno’s last words to Marino, where she says that they “always like the same things”, is pretty much blatently stating that Marino likes Takuto just as much as Mizuno does. It looks like the relationships are starting to get a lot more interesting, though that also means that Wako and Sugata are getting sidelined a bit.

There are still questions that haven’t been answered yet, and the Star Brigade still hasn’t hit third phase yet, but this show continues to build upon previous episodes by continuously introducing new information, and along with that info, more questions. What happened to Head? Is he gone, just like Sakana-chan is? And what roles will Mizuno and Marino play in the whole Cybody debacle? Seriously, these questions, along with a bunch more, still need answers, and it’s these questions that are keeping me intrigued with this show.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 09

Episode 09 -Mizuno’s First Love – そんなミズノの初恋 (Sonna Mizuno no Hatsukoi)

With the departure of Sakana-chan last week (…sob…), we get introduced to the west maiden of this series, Mizuno. And oh boy, what a eccentric girl she turned out to be. Her energetic disposition and carefree personality is a fresh breath of air to the series; It looks like Wako has a new rival for Takuto （￣ー￣）. The arrival of Mizuno also brought a huge amount of new material concerning the plot, especially with her sister Marino. It’s rather complicated at points, with Marino’s involvement in the Crux Brigade contradictory to her goals, but that just makes things more interesting. (´･ω･`)

Mizuno is definitely one of the oddballs of the main cast so far, with her weird antics (such as going to school on top of the bus, rather than inside) definitely attention grabbing. I got a laugh from how she casually walked into the boy’s bathroom, and seeing how Takuto responded to it.

What was more interesting, though, was seeing how Marino, Mizuno’s sister, became the temporary replacement for Head until they find the west maiden. The twist here is that Mizuno, Marino’s twin sister, is the west maiden. The fact that Marino swears to protect Mizuno is completely contradictory to her claim to the Crux brigade, where she says she’d get the west maiden so that they could enter the 3rd phase.

We still don’t quite know the significance of the painter “R”, but considering the fact that R’s paintings are not only in Sugata’s house, but also significant to Head, as well as to significant to Takuto, which strongly implies some sort of relationship between them all. What that means isn’t quite clear yet, but it’s definitely intertwined with the fate of the Cybodies and maidens.

Either ways, with the tense relationship between Marino and her subordinates, as well as foreshadowing at some issues between Takuto and Marino, this episode proved to provide some great background info to help the plot progress. I should also note that, since they mentioned that each maiden unlocks a “phase”, there should be four phases possible for Star Drivers. Since Takuto is only at phase 3, I wonder how phase 4 would change up things?

Overall Enjoyment: 4.1/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 08

Episode 08 – Always Like a Shooting Star -　いつだって隆盛のように (itsudatte ryuusei no youni)

Well, color me impressed. This show continues to build up, and this episode just proves how this show is finally starting to get somewhere, especially with the release of Sakana-chan and the fight between Takuto and Sugata. The creators have done a good job with developing our characters gradually, and we learn a lot more about Sugata’s inner thoughts and character. The development Sugata gets this episode will probably prove to set his relationship with Wako and Takuto for the rest of the series. I’m seriously enjoying how each week’s battles have been unfolding, with each one being more unpredictable than the last. I’m guessing it can’t keep escalating forever, and next week’s episode, with some newly introduced characters, should prove to be interesting to watch.

The initial tension between Wako, Takuto, and Sugata brought up quite a few unexpected points and details I hadn’t thought of before. For the first time, Sugata refers to Takuto as something similar to a foreigner. I’m not exactly sure if he was joking, but it’s still the first time there was a clear distinction between an “outsider” and an “islander”. This quite obviously means that, as an outsider, there are tons of secrets and little facts that Takuto is not aware of, and Sugata makes that painfully obvious.

I’m not quite sure what hidden secrets are still around on this island, but it’s probably safe to say that there’s a lot more stuff to look forward to. The significance of Sakana-chan’s song still eludes me, not to mention, the fact that she left the island (perhaps for good) really makes me wonder how the story will continue without her. Not to mention, Mr. “Head” reveals a painting very similar to the painting shown to us earlier in this show. There are a bunch of little hints and connections in this show that don’t quite make sense yet, so seeing how it all unfolds is actually getting me quite interested in the plot.

Overall, this episode had a great mix of character background development, tense battles, and teasers at potential stuff to come. I’m kind of saddened with Sakana-chan leaving, but I guess her leaving is indicative of what could be major changes in the near future. On a side note, it was interesting to see a part of Samekh’s power in action. What was more interesting, though, was what happened to the pink-haired RA who was the owner of that Cybody. The Cybody didn’t die in it’s typical blaze of glory, and instead, disintegrated. Not to mention, the fate of the Pink haired girl after the Cybody disappearing hasn’t been revealed yet. I wonder if she completely disappeared or something, which would definitely pique my curiosity.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.5/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 07

Episode 07 – Distant World – 遠い世界(tooi sekai)

This week’s episode continues off from where we left off last time, with Sugata in an unconscious state. Quite frankly, after how things changed up last week, I wasn’t sure if this show would be able to keep things interesting. It turns out that I was worrying for no reason, because this week’s episode was rather good as well (although not on par with last week’s ep). The episode delved into the emotions of both Wako and Takuto, and more specifically, Takuto’s uncertainty with his relationship regarding Sugata and Wako. The atmosphere this time around was quite tense, but at the same time, made everything very intriguing to watch how things would unfold. The character development was rather decent, and the plot twist at the end of the episode really has got me thinking about where this show will be going.

After Sugata is thrown unconscious, Wako is pretty much bawling her eyes out for him. The interesting thing here is that Takuto interprets this as a potential problem in their relationship, where after he sees Wako’s passionate reaction, wonders if he is the “unwanted extra” amongst the trio. His doubts dominated most of the first half of the episode, with Sarina finally knocking some sense into him with a nice little talk. Seeing Sarina help Takuto get over his doubts was rather interesting to watch, and definitely has convinced me that Sarina, although she might be a side character, is a rather crucial one with some deep influence on our main characters.

The mech fight was standard “Takuto pwns the enemy” type ordeal, but Sugata’s awakening was by far the most interesting event that occurred during the episode. The very fact that he awakened, although he was supposedly supposed to be dead, means that he now most likely has control over the all powerful Samekh king cybody. However, seeing how his mind was similar to the famous tabula rasa “blank slate” state of mind after his awakening, I never expected the twist where Shinada manages to get Sugata under her First Phase Kiss control.

Knowing that she pretty much has authority over Sugata now, and since considering how Sugata controls the supposedly most power Cybody, that could prove to be quite detrimental to both Takuto and Wako. Sugata’s sudden cold twist in personality reinforces just how much his approvoising has changed him, and will almost certainly tremendously impact what happens in the long run.

Now, my only question for now is, how is Sugata going to act while under the control of the Glittering Crux Brigade? From the looks of it, next week Takuto and Sugata will be brawling it out both in the real world, and in zero time. Sounds like it could turn out to be a pretty awesome episode.

Edit: Ah, I forgot to mention. Sakana-chan’s story continues to get more and more intriguing, and I’m starting to see a parallel between the story and the main plot right now. That being said, I wonder if “Sam” is referring to Sugata, or if there is a deeper meaning to the entire galactic ship, and the squid king. I’m still not quite sure what the story exactly means, but it certainly is getting more and more darker in tone. Perhaps the story is foreshadowing things to come.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.2/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto – 06

Episode 06 – The King’s Pillar – 王の柱　(ou no hashira)

Wow, talk about a game changing episode; this week’s episode went all out and changed the tone to the story completely, with some awesome occurrences in the plot, as well as the great fight scene. I had already known that, sooner or later, Bones would have to change up this show or else it would get nowhere, but I hadn’t quite expected that to occur this week. This episode’s focus on Sugata, and his status as the one in charge of Samekh, the King Cybody, really made this entire episode much more informative than previous episodes, not to mention great to watch.

There was a lot of dialogue this episode, with stuff that’s been left alone for the past few episodes finally being explained in detail. The explanation for the first phase was quite interesting, where it is mentioned how powers that are usable outside of the zero time dimension are first phase abilities. The first phase explanation makes it much easier to understand why the purple-haired RA from a couple episodes almost kissed Takuto; her first phase ability would have enabled her to charm Takuto, which would have been pretty bad for the main cast.

Samekh’s status as the King Cybody is rather interesting, and makes me wonder what it’s role in this series will actually be if the King Cybody is truly “broken” as Wako describes it. I wonder if Sugata will play a major role in future battles with his King Cybody, if it ever becomes functional again. I didn’t expect them to throw Sugata into a coma this episode, though. I figured he would apprivoise later in the series, but considering the situation, I can see why Sugata stepped in and sacrificed himself.

There are some other intriguing little hints in this episode, with the primary one being Sugata and Takuto’s birthdays. Since they are both on the same day, this is in fact implying a connection between them somehow. Perhaps they met when they were younger, or have some other unknown relationship, but I think there is definitely some sort of connection there. Not to mention, Sakana-chan’s story about the Sam the Squid-piercer took quite an unexpected twist this episode, which really makes me wonder about the significance of the story. Is the story supposed to parallel the main plot? How so?

This episode really “upped the game” for Star Driver, with a lot of stuff going on that really made the plot interesting, yet at the same time, more mysterious. I’m loving how the insert songs are used in this show, which creates a great atmosphere at key moments, and the action this episode was great. This episode really got me speculating on a lot of stuff, which hasn’t happened since the first episode or so, and has got me pretty darn excited for next week’s episode.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.