[Mugen26]

TSR Episode 11 thoughts:

• Gate's comment about possibly engaging in a necrophilia act with Yu Lan is just another addition to his list of immoral acts. The dude is seriously messed up.
• It's pretty sad to see Sosuke just wandering aimlessly around. He figures to drown out his sorrows with booze, but he only knows so much about it without actually experiencing it himself.
• From a storyboard and animation perspective, it was neat to see Woo cover Corporal Yang's six after they notice a corpse.
• I always though the chinese prostitue part reminded me of the movie Full Metal Jacket, the title of which this anime is based on. I know the most obvious reference to that movie was the (hilarious) Fumoffu rugby episode, but I think there may have been a few subtle nods here as well. Just glad the Kaname look-a-like never said "me love you long time".
• It may be for more dragging out purposes, especially since much of this episode is anime-only content, but once again The Second Raid isn't afraid to show some "real time" waiting. Sousuke's thought process on whether or not to join the Kaname doppelganger took a whopping 30 seconds! As a viewer, even I was getting fed up with his wait for an answer.
• The life advice of a chinese prostitue is amusingly terrible. Not much else to be expected. She also mentioned that she knew a guy who looked similar to Sousuke. Where they playing with the idea that everyone has a look a like soemwhere in the world?
• We probably get the most stellar shot of the TDD-1 rising to the surface of the ocean in the entire series (thus far). I do have high hopes that Xebec, the studio in charge of the upcoming Invisible Victory anime, won't be out shined from animation over a decade old. At least when it comes to the Mecha/Military scenes I'm fairly certain it'll be an improvement.
• I got amused when Sousuke spit out the alcohol saying how can anyone drink this stuff.

Overall 6.5/10. Another relatively slower episode with some amusing part here and there. We are finally setting up for the grand finale.

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TSR Episode 12 thoughts:

• So we have the big reveal: Gauron's still alive! I think most fan reactions where like "he's a damn cockroach!". At least that's what I've seen throughout the years. It's a fresh take to know he's just half a body underneath that bed sheet. Many like myself would have been pissed if he was completely fine.

• Originally Posted by Darthtabby

  According to the novel, "Kowloon" is pronounced "Gauron" in the Cantonese dialect.

  When I was younger I had always wondered what the significance of Kowloon meant since it doesn't sound like Gauron in English. Eventually I figured by hearing the pronunciation that it sounded enough like Gauron in Japanese to pass.

• After we see the Amalgam task force go to ESC mode, we see Gate's assistant (forgot his name) being knocked off a building, presumably to his death. It's a bit of amusing dark humor that comes out of nowhere and is barely noticeable.
• The quick flashback scene of child soldier Sousuke burning the bodies of the dead soviet soldiers was a good visual. Gauron spoke how he love his eyes, like those of a saint. The large light reflections KyoAni animated on his pupils brought this description to life. I wonder if it's more romanticized due to it being from Gauron's point of view?

• Originally Posted by Darthtabby

  As I suspected, they didn't cut Tessa's confrontation with Mardukas after all, they just moved it. This is a pretty powerful scene, but what particularly stood out to me was what Mardukas did with that hat of his. It might seem like a minor gesture, but if you've read the short story where Mardukas actually got that hat and know who he got it from it takes on much greater significance.

  Agreed 100%. That scene is one of the first things that I think of when I remember the latter half of The Second Raid. The dialogue, music, and storyboarding greatly intensifies the drama of the scene. The unspoken significance of Mardukas' hat was the icing on the cake.

• I do love the tactics the SRT are doing with the technologically superior enemy. They aren't engaging in 1-on-1 fights, they switch out and try to catch Yu Fan of guard while Kurz provides sniper fire from a distance. It's really all they can do to survive against a lamda driver.
• Sousuke finally snapped and laid Gauron to waist with his pistol! Truly a tension-ridden buildup to a surprising end. Although if there was any villian in the entire series to send Sousuke over the edge, it sure would be Gauron. Whether or not Gauron was screwing with him or truly believed Kaname was dead (I prefer to think the former since there couldn't possibly be photo evidence like he described), Gauron was ready to die and planned to take Sousuke with him. The narrow escape from the rigged bomb was quite an exciting finish to the episode.

Overall 9/10. Some spectacular drama and conclusion to the most memorable villian to the franchise gave some high remarks for me in terms of entertainment. Next episode is the finale of the franchise thus far before the new season next year!