Aquarion EVOL - Episode 17 Discussion / Poll

[Vena]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Well I won't pretend to know how it actually works, but if I take from episode 5- The 'in Love' in Aquarion is not a constant state that we think it is, but rather a 'level' that is to be achieved. Sort of like a jug that you pour water into. That 'In Love' berserk state is when everything spills everywhere, but it doesn't mean the jug didn't hold water when it doesn't spill.

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Zessica's genuine real pure feelings didn't make Aquarion go berserk before, and it didn't do so in this episode either. But never mind that, it's obviously not imoprtant. ;;

Wasn't the original story (or was it OVA) that made it pretty clear that what's important isn't just love but a love that reverberates on both sides, even if its unidirectional. When Zessica declares her love, if you follow Fudo's words, two hearts (they even have a picture of two hearts with the words BIG BOOST on it) took a step into forbidden love and their union unlocked a forbidden power. So its not a burst of emotion nor is it just mutual liking, what is required is that both hearts be entangled and connected through the purest of feelings, see Donar and GF.

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Her big scared face can be explained with just Zessica's sudden declaration of not giving up.

Why would she be more scared now? "I was rejected but I'm not giving up!", would, to me, imply that Mikono has the clear advantage.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by mayumi

U know wouldn't amata's one sided crush make evol go berserk as well? But it has never. So are amata's feelings just a puppy crush while zessica's are geniune real pure feelings. Amata and mikono have a lot to sort out regarding thierrelationship.

Circumstantial; All that proves is that their love hasn't reached power overwhelming while in Aquarion, but it doesn't mean there wasn't love.

Zessica didn't immediately trigger the Berserk, there is a moment where her feelings are at it's highest. Coincidentally all of Amata and Mikono's highest love points are outside of Aquarion...

Originally Posted by Vena

Wasn't the original story (or was it OVA) that made it pretty clear that what's important isn't just love but a love that reverberates on both sides, even if its unidirectional. When Zessica declares her love, if you follow Fudo's words, two hearts (they even have a picture of two hearts with the words BIG BOOST on it) took a step into forbidden love and their union unlocked a forbidden power. So its not a burst of emotion nor is it just mutual liking, what is required is that both hearts be entangled and connected through the purest of feelings, see Donar and GF.

Well apparently it looks like the mass produced models are alittle more touchy than the original...

Originally Posted by Vena

Why would she be more scared now? "I was rejected but I'm not giving up!", would, to me, imply that Mikono has the clear advantage.

To be honest, 'scared' wasn't how I would describe it My preferred choice was 'shocked' or 'stunned' or 'What is this I don't even-?!'.

Anyway to Mikono, Zessica is her biggest rival (and likewise), to hear that she's not giving up just yet would make her or any girl nervous.

[miketyson]

I just realized we've actually seen something close to this face on Mikono previously: everyone remember "moratte mo ii"? In any case, romantic drama aside I'm hoping this show gets back to the main plot soon, which preview suggests is a possibility.

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Anyway to Mikono, Zessica is her biggest rival (and likewise), to hear that she's not giving up just yet would make her or any girl nervous.

Especially since Mikono has been insecure about Zessica since day one, and she was in the spot that Zessica is in right now, when she wanted to change her appearance and wear more revealing clothes to gain his attention (though many have probably already forgotten that).

[Vena]

Mike, what episode was that in? I don't recall the quote you're referencing.

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Zessica didn't immediately trigger the Berserk, there is a moment where her feelings are at it's highest. Coincidentally all of Amata and Mikono's highest love points are outside of Aquarion.

You should also point out that all (and only) of Mikono and Kagura's highest love points have been outside of Aquarion too. When it comes down to it, Aquarion is the only tool we have in this series for judging the level of people's love for one another.

Its probably rather important that Fudo has been keeping Andy from gattai.
Its probably rather important that Jin and Yunoha were not in a genuine gattai, and still caused the Gepard to show its *Final Form*.
Its probably rather important that Fudo has been cockblocking Amata.
Its probably rather important that Fudo has been luring Kagura.

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Well apparently it looks like the mass produced models are alittle more touchy than the original...

They seem perfectly capable of realizing when their pilots are in love and when they aren't. Shit happened in the past with them, mixed unions were banned because of it.

Originally Posted by wisteria233

Especially since Mikono has been insecure about Zessica since day one, and she was in the spot that Zessica is in right now, when she wanted to change her appearance and wear more revealing clothes to gain his attention (though many have probably already forgotten that).

Its called irony, and, if you want to look it in a positive way, its called taking an initiative. Which a certain purple-haired girl has just about never done in this show.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by wisteria233

Especially since Mikono has been insecure about Zessica since day one, and she was in the spot that Zessica is in right now, when she wanted to change her appearance and wear more revealing clothes to gain his attention (though many have probably already forgotten that).

I don't see how they could forget since it about one of Mikono's flaws

In all seriousness even if they did forget, you can interpret from the bonding scene in this episode that the two girls envy each other the most- Mikono envies Zessica for openness and honesty with her feelings, while Zessica envies Mikono for her sweetness and willing to try her hardest *quoting the subs*

[miketyson]

Vena: around the start episode 9, apparently.

The context was when Mikono was eating lunch with the other girls, Sazanka calls Amata Mikono's partner, Mikono denies it, Zessica says "jya, moratte mo ii...". I remember we had some conversations about how aggressive Zessica was being.

Now that I've gone and looked I was wrong, it's nowhere near the same degree of terror: http://randomc.net/image/Aquarion%20...Large%2004.jpg

...I remembered it being a bit more extreme than it really was.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Vena

You should also point out that all (and only) of Mikono and Kagura's highest love points have been outside of Aquarion too.

Well I thought that could be easily interpreted so I didn't think I needed to add it...

*shrugged*

Originally Posted by Vena

When it comes down to it, Aquarion is the only tool we have in this series for judging the level of people's love for one another.

Yes, but Aquarion only comes with two settings- Overwhelming Love, or no reaction.

Originally Posted by Vena

Its probably rather important that Fudo has been keeping Andy from gattai.
Its probably rather important that Jin and Yunoha were not in a genuine gattai, and still caused the Gepard to show its *Final Form*.
Its probably rather important that Fudo has been cockblocking Amata.
Its probably rather important that Fudo has been luring Kagura.

Probably

EDIT:

Anyway as usual, it's time to agree to disagree so we can move on with our lives

[ZetaAEUG]

Originally Posted by Winged_Memories

AND why do you reckon she has more chemistry with Kagura? (besides the fact he's so damn sexy!!) she has as much chemistry with Amata (even more!...don't get me started on those). I was getting a bit concerned with alot of people saying that Mikono doesn't love Amata as much as Zessica does (uh well you dont have to yell out to the whole world that you love the person...and it wouldn't be in Mikono's character to do something like that). Amata and Mikono's love is MUTUAL...they already blushing, stuttering, being all shy, holding hands etc..Even when she was with Kagura she was happy to see Amata had come to rescue her...Amata and Mikono just haven't confessed their feelings (then again neither did Sylvia or Apollo unless you call sharing a kiss a confession...which is cute but down right sneaky lol) oh and AMATA's love isn't infatuation...he fell in love with the girl at FIRST SIGHT!!!(when she was ballin her eyes out during the skies of aquaria movie!!)...he's fighting to be with her, protecting her, loving her even when she's thinking of another guy, even when another more sexier much more interesting girl confessed to him, even when he's indecisive about the whole destiny crap HE'S STILL LOVING HER...If Amata would have given up on Mikono after Zessica's confession then I would call what he had for Mikono infatuation...but he hasn't and I dont think he's going too either. There was someone on this forum that summed up what LOVE is pretty damn good...but this post is long enough already XD

Once again, I still think that Mikono is on the receiving end of any sort of affection we've seen in either of her pairings, and is probably happy to do so without committing to either. The way they put her across to me is that she always seems to go with the flow of things, not particularly resisting or wondering what she wants.

That said, when kagura makes his advances, she seems to have a more genuine reaction to it especially compared to amata (see episodes 5, 6 and 15). Talking to amata gave her a light shock because of the band, once kagura appeared she was shocked so badly she was rendered unconscious. Add that to the fact that she thinks they're destined now and bam she's falling for kagura.

To me, it just seems like mikono's keeping amata around as a 'silver medal' at this point and she's more inclined to think of him as a friend than a lover. That said there's 9 or so episodes to go so we'll see how things progress. I have noted that amata has been cockblocked and interrupted several times during his advances, but the same can also be said for kagura.

I'm not rooting for either of these pairings (mikono x amata or mikono x kagura) because the characters don't appeal to me very much and I truly don't like the 3 of them for various reasons. Biggest factor being that Mikono's attitude about the whole thing just rubs me the wrong way.

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by ZetaAEUG

Once again, I still think that Mikono is on the receiving end of any sort of affection we've seen in either of her pairings, and is probably happy to do so without committing to either. The way they put her across to me is that she always seems to go with the flow of things, not particularly resisting or wondering what she wants.

That said, when kagura makes his advances, she seems to have a more genuine reaction to it especially compared to amata (see episodes 5, 6 and 15). Talking to amata gave her a light shock because of the band, once kagura appeared she was shocked so badly she was rendered unconscious. Add that to the fact that she thinks they're destined now and bam she's falling for kagura.

To me, it just seems like mikono's keeping amata around as a 'silver medal' at this point and she's more inclined to think of him as a friend than a lover. That said there's 9 or so episodes to go so we'll see how things progress. I have noted that amata has been cockblocked and interrupted several times during his advances, but the same can also be said for kagura.

I'm not rooting for either of these pairings (mikono x amata or mikono x kagura) because the characters don't appeal to me very much and I truly don't like the 3 of them for various reasons. Biggest factor being that Mikono's attitude about the whole thing just rubs me the wrong way.

yes but her reaction to Kagura though genuine has been either fear, or pity.

[MasterVampire]

Im kinda pissed at Mikono after this episode.
She knows that Zessica loves Amata but he rejected her because he loves her.
But yet she still does nothing about it!

[Maximillionus]

My prediction for the end is if they plan on stopping the destruction of Altair. Is that the girls will live, Andy will have a near death experience and mix will be all lovey dovey. Mikono and Zessica will be fine. Kagura and Amata and a third person. ether Shrade, mykage, Ceyanne I can see them all dying. Maybe not even Kagura since he's had no important role in the Aquarion, but nether did Touma but mykage kinda fits that spot ish. All guys dying again. Or maybe no one will die and i will be shocked. Too soon to tell but why not guess and speculate

[kk2extreme]

I like Zessica's new outfit, under boobies ftw

[Triple_R]

I finally got around to watching this (took me awhile due to comp issues ).

Anyway, this was another enjoyable episode.

A couple good things about Aquarion EVOL - It never ceases to be interesting, and it's not at all predictable. Zessica's overall handling of her romantic situation (or lack thereof) certainly took me by surprise (and Mikono as well it seems ).

In addition to that, we had some great Andy/Mix development, some good comedy moments, and another hilariously over-the-top and deliciously cheesy action scene.


But the most interesting aspect of this episode to talk about is almost certainly the Zessica/Mikono dynamics going on.

This is just an out there theory of mine, but here it is: I think that privately Zessica hates how not only is she losing Amata to another girl, she's losing Amata to another girl who isn't even trying really. At some level, this probably hurts Zessica's sense of self-worth, and makes her feel that the entire situation is really "lame".

So Zessica, I think, is trying to provoke Mikono into taking action. Zessica has already accepted romantic defeat, she just now wants that defeat to be to somebody that she could live with losing to. Also, I think that Zessica finds the current situation awkward - With her loving Amata, and with Amata loving Mikono, but with nothing settled. I think that in order to truly "move on", Zessica might need for Mikono to take charge of the situation.

And so Zessica paradoxically throws down the gauntlet just as she accepts defeat. Even though it's paradoxical, it makes some sense, as Zessica wants to motivate Mikono to properly "claim her victory", shall we say, lol.


It'll be interesting to see how Mikono responds to this!


Oh, and I also like Zessica's new look, which intriguingly seems to be based on the idea of Zessica trying to look more like Mikono.

[Vena]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

snippity snip.

Self-worth is an important point that (seems) like it will be carrying over into next episode for Zessica (and has been trailing Amata for a while, Mikono seems to have gotten over hers but now she's suffering from something of an identity crisis). The scene this episode, between Zessica and Mikono, and later Zessica's change of attire, are all building on a similar thematic principle here. The person who truly wants to be like the other, as we can tell by episode's end, is Zessica. She really wants to be like Mikono, the girl that the guys (Amata) like and want to protect. The problem is, as we will likely see next episode if the preview is any indication to go by, a conflict between who she is trying to be and who she is.

It is in this that I would say that she hasn't given up because if she had, her change to be *more like Mikono* somewhat undermines the point of their earlier conversation. Without Amata being the reason for it, Zessica has no reason to change clothes all of a sudden to a style that is, without any doubt, nearly identical to Mikono's.

So where does this lead us? To the underlying theme of this show, be yourself. Not the person you were X thousand years ago, not the person you think will make you more attractive, and so on. All of our characters are falling into this (aside from Kagura, who has nothing aside from this). Mikono is descending into 'am I or am I not', Amata and Zessica have both now started losing sight of themselves; Amata is trying to be like Kagura (ShuShu) while losing self-confidence because of FATE!, Zessica is trying to be like Mikono (dresses) while losing self-confidence because *she isn't the type of girl that guys like*.

Curiously enough, all of this started with Episode 15, the (likely) metaphorical Black Wedding.

If I were to roll up everything I said up above and now tie it to the final exchange between Mikono and Zessica, I think it would be best to say that what Zessica is doing isn't giving up (though to a degree it is giving in since she's not being herself but trying to be Mikono) and she's effectively dropping down (as you said) the proverbial gauntlet: "Do you love him? If you do then show it and act, but if you don't I will because I do love him."

And where does this all lead? Well, we'll have to wait until next episode to really know... maybe. But I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Zessica have something of an identity crisis just as Amata is having one now. Both of them are literally teetering on the edge.

[Zuul]

Originally Posted by ZetaAEUG

Once again, I still think that Mikono is on the receiving end of any sort of affection we've seen in either of her pairings, and is probably happy to do so without committing to either. The way they put her across to me is that she always seems to go with the flow of things, not particularly resisting or wondering what she wants.

That said, when kagura makes his advances, she seems to have a more genuine reaction to it especially compared to amata (see episodes 5, 6 and 15). Talking to amata gave her a light shock because of the band, once kagura appeared she was shocked so badly she was rendered unconscious. Add that to the fact that she thinks they're destined now and bam she's falling for kagura.

To me, it just seems like mikono's keeping amata around as a 'silver medal' at this point and she's more inclined to think of him as a friend than a lover. That said there's 9 or so episodes to go so we'll see how things progress. I have noted that amata has been cockblocked and interrupted several times during his advances, but the same can also be said for kagura.

That's also how I feel for the most part. However I don't think Mikono makes a big deal about the destiny thing. At least so far. The only ones who has been shown caring are Zessica (because it was giving her a bit of hope) and Amata.
Now we also saw that during the rooftop scene, Amata spouting a corny line about destiny had been effective on her (the love ring reacted a bit more) so I won't completelly rule out the fact it could end up having an impact on her choices and behaviour.


I think the one Mikono is guenuinely attracted to his Kagura, but he's completelly off limit, so she's just going with what she can have : Amata.

At least it's how it looks to me at the moment.


Now let's see how it is going to unfold from now on.

[bakAnki]

Just watched this episode.

- No love for FujoushiRanka, LOL. She even did "kira" xD
- Suomi. Suomi. SUOMIIII!!!!! Too bad Donar didn't go together with the group so he couldn't see her :3
- Give Amata a break, Shuushuu. You don't want him to be close with Mikono and when there's that misunderstanding you attack him too? xD
- Just when Andy and Mix finally have their moment... Poor Andy. It feels so bad to see the positive/genki character like him, or Zessica, went into despair like that. But at least Mix still care about him :3 And he still didn't get to the cockpits for mixed gattai
- So this Abductor of the week, is it really a Datenshi/Shadow Angel/Cherubim?
- Please wear your usual outfit next week, Zessica >,<
- Mikono's expression after Zessica told her that she'll always love Amata is so weird. Didn't sure what they're trying to tell us with that expression

[Patriot's Blade]

deathflag? i think Andy watched too much Gundam, i literaly loled to death on the hole jokes

[mayumi]

Maybe zessica and amata will go, I can only be me and launch 3d attack. That was awesome in the original. It is also pretty much the story about 3 arrows.

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by DRAGUN H.E.X.

deathflag? i think Andy watched too much Gundam, i literaly loled to death on the hole jokes

You have to admit Andy is too damn genre savvy even if he doesn't mean to. He was right about Yunoha. He was right about Jin. He was right about MIX!

Goodness he inferred Gen Fudo's feet lesson!

He's got to be a reincarnation. Probably Pierre.