There were a few good things that I liked about this episode, but there were also a lot more negative issues in contrast. I gave this episode a 5, though it probably deserves less but the sing off was its saving grace. Anyways, on with the good stuff first.
THE GOOD
1. Leon giving a damage report on the state of Frontier was damn fascinating. It added much needed details regarding the 25th fleet. A pity we did not get a military after-action report of the battle though. I would have liked to hear just how many Vajra there were, what causalities the 25th fleet suffered, and how much damage was done to the Vajra fleet.
2. Sheryl fires the first volley and declares WAR! when she deliberately mentions her and Alto's date. Thankfully Ranka doesn't cower in her shell this time and counter-attacks instead. We've waited a long time for both Sheryl and Ranka to formally acknowledge each other as romantic rivals and they did it with guns blazing in this episode.
3. The sing off was a hell of a lot of fun to watch. I enjoyed it immensely, but I twitch every time I see Ranka do that 2 thumbs up move
.
4. As for Sheryl's character, the foundation was laid for some serious character development in the upcoming episodes. I look forward to what's in store for us.
5. Massive plot development which caused more questions than answers.
6. Bilrer's miclone maid and zentradi size model trains were just awesome.
THE BAD
Despite my positive comments, there are some significant issues that I have with this episode which over shadows all those positive moments.
1. A half-recap episode. Recaps are a sign that the directors and project managers dropped the ball and screwed up big time. No matter how well executed recaps are done, they are still nothing more than an attempt to buy production time for later episodes because management failed to properly pace their development and manage their time. Instead of getting new animation, dialoge, and sound effects, we were treated to a regurgitation of scenes we've seen and heard already.
2. There was very little closure to the fleet engagement. Leon's damage report was all we got and even then that just focused on the damage to the mainland. What happened to NUNS? What about the Vajra? There's not even a tear shed or a goodbye mentioned for Raramia. It sucks how in one episode they can shine the spotlight on NUNS pilots for all of 10 secs and make them feel alive and significant, but in the next episode say nary a word and cut them back down to cannon fodder status. We could've done without the recap and had more focus on the battle aftermath instead.
3. What a waste of "Welcome to My Fan Club". Compared to Sheryl's other insert songs in ep. 1 concert with a badass fight sequence and those of the emotional Goodbye concert, we were shafted with recaps.
4. They resolved the Sheryl and Grace reunion issue by avoiding it completely. I feel that they coped out of addressing this important issue by giving up a brief sentence on how Grace survived and then moved on.
5. As usual, Alto recieves virtually no character development. Episode 14 failed to develop Alto as a pilot and this episode failed to develop Alto as the third wheel to the triangle.
6. (minor issue) Ranka's version of DC doesn't hold up very well. I think they should have just gone with an instrumental version of it instead or stayed with May'n version.