(L+CR) Captain Earth (Bones)

[Mad Pierrot]

I'm suprised with Daichi. He is not only laid back but he is also too friendly. He is in complete negation with fear of dying as a result of what happened with his father. He is kind of like a shonen protagonist but with a different air. He is also befriending the other characters very quickly. The opposite of Buddy Complex. I wonder what are they planning to create development.

[TheSix]

Originally Posted by bakaouji

I think the second episode made it obvious that the splendid visuals are alone are responsible for keeping this show afloat. If you thought the first episode was too jam-packed, the second episode's a narrative mess.

When Daichi doesn't come off as a puppet when he's being pulled by will of Livlaster,

Wherever the Livlaster is controlling him or merely assisting him is uncertain as of yet: Of course, Westbridge does consider it a living thing, attempting to use him, but there is the fact that some of his dialogue ("Was the gun controlling you?" "That's not it! It's my own will telling me I must defeat it. I believe the gun only helped me.") implies that, at the very least, he thinks that the gun is bound to his will rather than the other way around, and the fact that he's successful when trying to will it into his hands at the end of the episode lends some credibility to this conviction.

He's not the least baffled when he finds himself in space piloting a mech and battling an alien. He asks none of the pertinent questions any normal human being would ask when they're thrust into the middle of a clusterfuck

Actually, he does, at least to an extent: After hearing his uncle on the mech's intercom, one of the first thing's he says is literally "What am I doing?" before being cut off by a hit to the vehicle. As you mentioned later, when he's informed of Globe actually being a defensive organisation under a space exploration facade, he asks about whether his father actually died within an accident or not - a very pertinent question to him, considering how close he was implied to be to his father.

The main thing about the mech sequence would be the fact that, as of that time, Daichi is driven by an overwhelming fear of the Kiltgang reaching Earth: He's noticeably terrified when first shown it within the episode, and he goes into the mech in an attempt to prevent it. This is further solidified within the current episode, where his dialogue ("I don't know if I understand it or not. But... I know if the thing in front of me reaches Earth, it'll be bad!"). Something to also consider would be the fact that Daichi has witnessed non-mundane oddities before: Specifically his experience with Teppei and Hana as a child. It might not have been much, but it wouldn't be surprising if he was slightly less overwhelmed by strange happenings than the majority of people.

and when he eventually reunites with his friends after such a long time, he acts like he'd just met them yesterday.I'd be willing to let the last one go if he at least tried to pay attention to what the adults were talking about. His uncle tells him that he'd just fought an alien and he just shrugs it off like it was nothing (although he does ask about his father's involvement with the secret agency, which, at least, means that his head wasn't in the clouds, at least not completely).

Not really: When he first notices Teppei and Hana around him, he acts ecstatic, and with reason: Not only does it initially look like their being there is a positive event, but reuniting and interacting with them is likely what he intended to do all along by investigating the rainbow that appeared on the island. He has every reason to be that happy upon first seeing them.

I'd be willing to let the last one go if he at least tried to pay attention to what the adults were talking about. I'd be willing to let the last one go if he at least tried to pay attention to what the adults were talking about. His uncle tells him that he'd just fought an alien and he just shrugs it off like it was nothing (although he does ask about his father's involvement with the secret agency, which, at least, means that his head wasn't in the clouds, at least not completely).

Him not paying attention, while not the most logical thing to do, is entirely understandable, for the reasons I'd stated above: A focal point of his Character has been how his friends from his childhood affected him, and how he intends to reunite with them, to the point that where, when he does reunite with them, he is pleased enough to focus solely on them. In fact, it could easily add to said reasons: Nobody acting as if he's "only seen [his friends] yesterday" would have that single - minded a focus on them after reuniting with them, and considering his aforementioned focus on reuniting with them, "single - mindedness" could very easily be the case here. Of course, you could argue that what the adults are saying does correlate to his friends, but really: Do they actually suggest they intend to harm them until they activate the gear? For the most part, the conversation consists of discussing one term ("lead gear") that he has never heard of before and therefore doesn't know the meaning of, and some more discussion about some group politics: Nothing within it is something that he thinks actually correlates to the status of his friends.

As to him not questioning the adult's schemes, what "schemes", if the word is meant literally, does he in fact not question? As I highlighted above, there isn't any indication he could take of any "scheme" within the adult's conversation that he could grasp from his knowledge of their terminology. The only indication he could take that the bureaucrat is even the sinister person he is would be during the activation of the lead gear (which the bureaucrat isn't actually seen doing anything directly to activate it, due towards the fact that he doesn't have to), and if the lead gear itself is what you're referring to, then in fact he does question it: During his conversation with Westbridge, he literally asks "Why were they in so much pain yesterday?", and his mood obviously drops to what could definitely be anger when the bureaucrat gives that explanation to him. It's evident he has a larger sense of awareness of his situation.

Of course, you could say that, during said conversation, he was perhaps a little too happy (although do consider that it didn't take place immediately after Hana's lead gear activated, and he was, as shown above, concerned about them during the conversation), but I honestly think that was sort of the point of the scene: From what we have seen so far, Daichi has been shown perhaps most of all to be a person of resolve: Once he knows of the rainbow on the island, he decides almost immediately to go and visit the building he found Teppei near himself; Once he knows of the being approaching Earth, he is noticeably terrified, but still decides to do something about the situation rather than simply cower; When he is losing the fight against the Kiltgang, he's noticeably in pain, but he pulls through and decides to fight the being rather than give up; And when he sees Hana in pain, he acknowledges it and is evidently troubled by it, as shown by his initial reaction, but decides to actually do something about it (asking questions of why Hana and Teppei are imprisoned, and then standing the pain of his own lead gear to free them) rather than wallow. Of course, this may be the entire point you're attempting to make, but I think that the description of him as a "six - year - old child" that you specified only works if he's shown to not have awareness of his situation (or at least a level of awareness that he could grasp from what is shown around him): The examples I've provided show that he in fact does, and to me, this gives him the impression of somebody who acknowledges what is happening, but decides to try and fix situation rather than despair about them.

Also, his uncle probably wasn't his first indication of the thing he battled with being an alien - I think it was clear he knew that initially ("I have to stop that thing from reaching Earth!"). Of course, he could also ask why he's fighting an alien, but at that point it's also clear that he's decided to fight said species simply because of his fear of what will happen if they make contact with Earth.

But that's only a part of the problem. Once the fight is over, the show spends its time spinning its many wheels as we get a sneak peek at a host of new shady characters who've got their own individual motivations shrouded in mystery (although the show makes it pretty clear that they're up to no good what with their obvious conniving smiles). To make matters worse, the characters throw around a string of psuedowords that make absolutely no sense at this point, making the story even more impenetrable than it already is.

I really hope the show gets its shit together and unclogs its holes soon because the pipes are about to burst any minute.

Regarding the pacing: Honestly, I'm fine with it. I almost consider it just right, in fact (it's not quite there, but almost). What they are doing here is keeping just about enough away to give a sense of mystery towards the entire situation, yet giving enough hints to not feel confusing: I am fine with terms being unexplained within the beginning of stories as long as they aren't bewildering, because I expect them to be laid bare later on.

[dniv]

I watched episode one yesterday but didn't have time to comment. I'm glad I watched this one. It's fantastic. It's definitely in my top 3 this season.

The way they introduced everything was very abnormal and extremely well done. I really like how they're controlling what we know and what we see. It makes things much more interesting.

I was also happy to see episode 2 being even better than episode 1 which I already liked.

I already knew this wasn't your normal series after episode 1, but episode 2 confirmed this completely.

The Macbeth plan and Puck. I have a very, very, very bad feeling about Puck. And yes it does somewhat feel like Hal. Though I'm not sure if it's better or worse than it was. This is a really interesting premise.

Most importantly, the MC is one of the best MC's I have seen in a long while. I like his personality and character motivations. I can't wait for more episodes of this show. I recommend it highly!

[bakaouji]

Originally Posted by TheSix

Also, his uncle probably wasn't his first indication of the thing he battled with being an alien - I think it was clear he knew that initially ("I have to stop that thing from reaching Earth!"). Of course, he could also ask why he's fighting an alien, but at that point it's also clear that he's decided to fight said species simply because of his fear of what will happen if they make contact with Earth.

Here's the problem: His conviction is entirely based on something so vague that he can barely put it in words. Sure, maybe its a strong drive that he simply cannot ignore or resist but I can't relate to that especially when I can easily see that the show's intention is to quickly throw him into the middle of the mess by skipping the first act where he's gotta overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed by everything. I'm not even asking him to act all freaked out-- just react in a way that doesn't make him seem that he's indifferent to the things happening around him. He just accepts everything that happens to him without resisting it and always knows enough to do the right thing. Yeah, I can already imagine how many ass pulls this show is gonna throw at us.

Even the scene where Daichi tries to overcome the influence of the control band and blows away the freaking signal tower to free his friends feels very abrupt. Why did his uncle even allow that scumbag to leash his nephew in the first place? How did Daichi know that blowing away that tower would free his friends?

So far, he's proven to be unflappable and I really doubt that's his real nature. But let's say it is, then nothing should shock him or overwhelm him in the subsequent episodes that contradicts his reaction(s) to everything that preceded it. Who knows? Maybe he's actually very attentive in less obvious ways and maybe he has exceptional comprehension skills. It's possible that something changed within him the moment he held the Livlaster and maybe the show might retroactively explain it, but until then, I'm just gonna take everything as a grain of salt.

Right now, I think the show's gonna go into procedural mode where he's gonna be deployed every episode to fight the aliens' attempts to invade earth. I doubt any of my questions would be answered any soon but I just hope the show keeps its Star Driver tendencies in check.

[Esclair]

I hope that Salty Dog molester dies a painful painful death.

I get the feeling that the attackers come from an alternate dimension Earth and there's some kind of setup where only one Earth will survive.

[TheSix]

Originally Posted by bakaouji

Here's the problem: His conviction is entirely based on something so vague that he can barely put it in words. Sure, maybe its a strong drive that he simply cannot ignore or resist but I can't relate to that especially when I can easily see that the show's intention is to quickly throw him into the middle of the mess by skipping the first act where he's gotta overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed by everything

If you're saying that you'd rather have a reason other than a strong impulse for him fighting the aliens, as of now, he does: He witnessed the being he combatted destroy several human - manned ships, confirming that even if he doesn't know their intentions, they are at least somewhat dangerous, and a fact that there would be a governmental agency dedicated to preventing them would only solidify that impression. If this is not enough for you, then if it helps, he could easily progress to attempting to be like his father: He obviously respects him, even idolises him, perhaps, and arguably turns to him for encouragement when near his death. Now knowing that his father participated within the defence of Earth this organisation partook in, it wouldn't be surprising if his he decided to attempt to become somebody similar to him by assisting within this defence himself. In fact, he arguably could be said to be doing this already: During the first episode, when Westbridge asks him as to whether he is a "Captain", his immediate thought is a flashback to his uncle telling him at this father's grave that his father was a "great captain". As well as his fear of the alien, Daichi, in that, could perhaps see getting to the mech and defending the planet from what he saw to be his opportunity to become a great person: The person he always saw his father as.

Even the scene where Daichi tries to overcome the influence of the control band and blows away the freaking signal tower to free his friends feels very abrupt. Why did his uncle even allow that scumbag to leash his nephew in the first place? How did Daichi know that blowing away that tower would free his friends?

The official representing Salty Dog has already indicated that he has a significant amount more authority than Daichi's uncle, especially considering the fact that the latter's attempts to remove the lead gears from Hana and Teppei had obviously not been successful ("Salty Dog does not only inspect Globe. We are also it's internal police force." "You're exceeding your authority!" In an emergency, I am authorised to take any steps I deem necessary."). Daichi's uncle probably didn't have much choice within the placement of the gear on him. Also, as towards the tower, the official said during the conversation Daichi had with him and the rest of the staff that it's both what senses the breach of the area in which the gear will not harm it's possessor and distributes the command to inflict pain if it does.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Esclair

I hope that Salty Dog molester dies a painful painful death.

I get the feeling that the attackers come from an alternate dimension Earth and there's some kind of setup where only one Earth will survive.

Hints are now that they are all on Earth, and that the facility in Uranus is only for generating the light giants. This means we will have Earth based battles soon, which justifies the smaller Earth Engine.

[Traece]

Originally Posted by Esclair

I hope that Salty Dog molester dies a painful painful death.

That guy sort of ruined this episode for me. I thought a lot of this exposition was done well, but there was no need for a creepy pedophile. Frankly, I've grown tired of seeing creepy pedophiles in anime.

The action sequences were interesting, and we have a cool hacker girl to impress us here in the future! I'm liking Captain Earth more and more.

Also, somehow I appreciate that Bones was so proud of their transformation sequence that they felt the need to replay it. I also want to point out the stupidity of having the Earth Driver return to Earth, because sending shit into space is incredibly expensive. Just keep the kid and the mech on the station.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Sending the kid into Space and keep him there is expensive. And they have most of the Orgone research facilities on Earth.

[Master_Yoma]

Must say Daichi strong that glasses jerk cant keep him down but must say Hana pet just cute

[Flower]

Well, did not think ep 2 was so bad. This series is kinda forming into a definite watch, but whether now or later on is another question....

The ED was nice, though. ^^

[Wild Goose]

Daichi continues to be non-useless. I approve.

Also Hina is god-tier waifu material, and so I can understand why glasses pedo is so into her. Honestly, I can't say I wouldn't be the same, were I in glasses pedo's shoes.

Also stop calling him Salty Dog. Salty Dog is the watchdog/secret police/oversight/THOSE MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLES FROM HQ. And they give dogs a bad name. -_-

[TheSix]

Originally Posted by Traece

That guy sort of ruined this episode for me. I thought a lot of this exposition was done well, but there was no need for a creepy pedophile. Frankly, I've grown tired of seeing creepy pedophiles in anime.

Well, there's little indication that he's actually attracted to Hana: Just the fact that he's abusive towards her within some way. The lines he speaks to her within her room could indeed be taken as a way of oppressing her and maintaining the control he has been shown to have had. Although he does seem somewhat possessive of her, so the reading of him being sexually attracted to her may be proven as correct.

[kukuru]

I think people are all forgetting its spiritual forefather Star Driver.

It really...a lit of reskinning in terms of stereotypes. So anyone who remembers that can more or less expect what kind of show this is.

On another note I still like the fish song better then...what do you call this one...star song?

[Rosalena]

I got a weird feeling from the blue-haired Kiltgang guy in the second episode. Of course, his interest in Daichi is perfectly natural at this point (and is to be expected), but I really, really hope this show have him ultimately obsessing over him. Having an antagonist become obsessed with a protagonist (I'm thinking about your Mister Bushido) is fairly common in mecha series, but it's one trope that I strongly dislike.

Other than that minor concern I'm really enjoying the series so far. I never made it past the third season of Star Driver because it was just too fabulous for me, but I'm thinking about revisiting it seeing how many times it has been mentioned in this thread.

[Frontier]

I wonder... was the blue-haired girl that Daichi met a personification of the Livlaster? If I remember correctly, he got his vision about the Kill-T-Gang's attack and the Livlaster after meeting her...

I thought the Earth Engines first real fight against Moco was nice, not incredibly spectacular but a good enough fight amped up Bones Animation. I am kinda shocked at how big the Machine Goodfellows are compared to the Earth Engine .

Can't say Daichi did a great job in his first piloting outing, since he really didn't pilot so much as willed the Earth Engine to move and punch Moco's Machine Goodfellow, while Akari activated one of its weapons to finish the job. I wonder if he's actually going to get any piloting training in the future or if he'll just need to shoot the Livlaster to make the Earth Engine attack?

I kinda feel bad for Moco. She looked like she cared a lot more about that kiss than Amara evidently did. Considering the fact that their seiyuu's are married, I can't wait to see how the relationship between these two progresses .

So if I'm understanding everything correctly... Kobe is in charge of a company on Earth, is involved with the Ark Faction, and is in league with the Kill-T-Gang to attack the Earth in order to drive humanity to leave the planet, wherein he will personally get to decide who are worthy enough to board the Ark and leave. Or something like that. He also has an A.I. partner helping in his plans who also gives him advice on his love life. I definitely agree with Puck though, he totally should've asked the secretary out .

While I doubt Kobe will ultimately end up as the Big Bad, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it's Puck. Then again, we still have more Kill-T-Gang members yet to appear, and I could see the creative team saving up the true final boss appearance for the second-cour .

Daichi's seems to have the same childlike innocence and mentality he had when he was a kid, at least when he's interacting with Hana and Teppei. He's still obviously has some maturity from his fathers death and growing up, but maintains at least some qualities from his youth such as his optimism, innocence, and idealism. I actually find that quite endearing .

I thought the ending was nice, and I admit I quite liked all the Daichi/Hana moments in it .

[Death Usagi]

Originally Posted by Esclair

I hope that Salty Dog molester dies a painful painful death.

I get the feeling that the attackers come from an alternate dimension Earth and there's some kind of setup where only one Earth will survive.

Yeah hope he dies like ARRRRRRGH when he dies =w=

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by Esclair

I get the feeling that the attackers come from an alternate dimension Earth and there's some kind of setup where only one Earth will survive.

That's a really nice idea. Even if it wasn't the case here, I'd love to see a show based on that setup - a multiversal battle-royale . Kinda reminds me of the game Anachronox, where

Spoiler for Anachronox spoilers, duh:

you fight against beings from a PAST UNIVERSE who are trying to extend its life by erasing the Big Crunch that lead to the successive Big Bang from which YOUR universe was born.

By the way, we need to gather somewhere exclusively to make pervy jokes on this show. We can make up a Twitter hashtag or something . The double-entendre is strong with this one.

[Enternal]

Wow, I came in here to read the pages that I missed and I see a lot of "boomerangs" and "boomerang holdings"

Anyway, that molester really is ticking me off for several reasons. First, he's oppressive and abusive towards Hana and Teppei. It's also very clear he's very dirty. Also, the primary thing was the PV that said that he did something to the Earth Engine for his revenge or something. So... we have aliens attacking Earth and his focus is on his revenge against Daichi because Daichi got into his perverse mindset towards Hana? Way to go. Priorities. BUT that's still not clear yet since I'm just making an assumption and will have to wait till next week to fully know since it could have simply been that he's a member of the evil organization (lol). But still, if it really was for the reason I stated, I don't think it's far off from his character.

[DragoonKain3]

Grrr, I hate that guy who wants those people with the lead headgear or whatever.

Apart from that, I liked the episode a great deal more than the first one. While the first one had the snazzy gattai clips, this one had the actual battle. Watching the Earth Engine defend, move, and OHKO the enemy was awesome IMO.

Oh yeah, can't forget about the Seele-like meetings in the background. Looks like this is trying to be more like NGE than Star Driver, which of itself is not a bad thing.

Originally Posted by Key Board

so they're not childhood friends
they just had a childhood promise

Same difference really. Love Hina for example has the story only ever explored that the main couple only ever made a childhood promise to go to Tokyo U, and they're pretty much treated by the whole community as childhood friends.