(L) Back Arrow

[shmaster]

Shu? Dead? Hahaha.
Has no one noticed he didn't bring his fan with him?
I am pretty sure it only takes Bit to go back and hit the button on the fan then WHALA!

[Kanon]

We Gurren Lagann now? That was all sorts of awesome. I told you Bit's time had come!

[serenade_beta]

Bloody good!
The old man, meh, whatever. But it was clear that Bit was being written up to this moment. VA also did a good job, with the voice cracking a bit during the screaming (if on purpose)

[akumaten]

Originally Posted by Kanon

We Gurren Lagann now? That was all sorts of awesome. I told you Bit's time had come!

I knew he would pull a Simon. I'm proud of him.
Zetsu is so awesome, he's like an active Lord Genome.

[shmaster]

Ahhhh! This is it! This is it! This is what I want out of a mech show! A hot blooded battle like this!
Zetsu!!! Biiiit!!! I need my next episode!!!

But I think I can already guess what happens.
Bit will sunk Rudolf's dreadnought and we'll finally have Zetsu and Rudolf's one on one.

[Chosen_Hero]

Honestly, not impressed by Bit in this episode, maybe they should have spent more time developing him to this outcome and made him likeable instead of just an idiot because this (imo) just feel like an asspull, some on here are comparing him to Simon but that's just an insult to Gurren Lagan and it's character development.

I am definitely underwhelmed by this, the "let's fight god" trope got tired for me long ago (Japan seriously needs new ideas), the Emperor becoming young out of nowhere just makes no sense (I know it's because of the particles, still makes no effing sense) and Arrow is barely a main character in his own show and has been relegated to just suffering, crying and overly relying on others to fix things for him these past episodes (I really dislike this kind of MC). The more I see the more I lose interest in this show and it's ridiculously nonsensical plot, sadly it's not even the fun kind of ridiculous nonsense, it's just an amalgamation of scenes that have been done better by other series.

At least the old man and the villagers didn't show themselves this episode, now THAT would really put me in a bad mood.

[Kusaja]

I've decided to come back in order to show some support for this series, which has been quite entertaining for me on a personal level. I'm an old-school mecha fan and Back Arrow is definitely made with certain sensibilities in mind that I personally happen to share.

In particular, I think that they've done a good job in terms of Bit's character development. Yes, he was quite annoying at first, near the beginning of the story, but the relationship between him and Shu was a nice way to give him an outlet for development in small doses.

Which culminated in the actions he took during this week's episode, fulfilling Shu's will. I'll call that good writing. Obviously he is not Simon, who was the central protagonist of a different series, but it's still a perfectly valid route for Bit's character to take.

Regarding Back Arrow himself...he's been more of an element of chaos that upset the balance of the world than a protagonist in the most typical sense. However, I think his current predicament has given him some dramatic weight, but a lot will depend on how exactly they resolve it.

I don't have any issues with the concept of "fighting god". In fact, I think it's still quite relevant even in the year 2021, because we see religious fanatics on all sides of the political spectrum of different nations, societies and communities.

Like any other story idea, it all depends on what you do with the concept. If you're cynical enough, there's absolutely no work of fiction in the modern world that isn't re-using an old idea. Therefore, making accusations of unoriginality in that field is a purely theoretical preference, because in practice it's almost impossible to avoid finding instances of precedent and repetition everywhere you choose to look.

I would call this an unrealistic series, quite clearly inspired by Super Robot approaches rather than Real Robot structures, but I think they've done a decent job in terms of foreshadowing and justifying quite a few of the turns the plot has taken. Conviction particles may be a crutch, but it's one they have already explained and shown to us multiple times. That, quite simply, is far from "non-sensical". Rather, it's one of the established rules of this fictional world. Since that's one of the rules of the game, so to speak, I'm glad they are going ahead with taking advantage of it.

[Alchemist007]

Originally Posted by Kusaja

I don't have any issues with the concept of "fighting god". In fact, I think it's still quite relevant even in the year 2021, because we see religious fanatics on all sides of the political spectrum of different nations, societies and communities.

Like any other story idea, it all depends on what you do with the concept. If you're cynical enough, there's absolutely no work of fiction in the modern world that isn't re-using an old idea. Therefore, making accusations of unoriginality in that field is a purely theoretical preference, because in practice it's almost impossible to avoid finding instances of precedent and repetition everywhere you choose to look.

I'd say it depends on how often and recently concepts are reused. It can get pretty boring to replay video games where Russia is the bad guy every time, even if it's the reality of the world. Though I suspect certain ideas are more easily accessible by masses so they're used more often. How often do you see anime like Texhnolyze or Wolf's Rain? But every single season without doubt you will in fact see CGDCT and harem.

[foxbox360]

I get a feeling this whole world is the matrix and given the show called Back Arrow is a Hugh clue. I gonna to expect a Deus Ex Macina to bring everyone back to life.

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by foxbox360

I get a feeling this whole world is the matrix and given the show called Back Arrow is a Hugh clue. I gonna to expect a Deus Ex Macina to bring everyone back to life.

If that doesn't happen I'll actually be surprised.

[Forever]

Marathon the anime until I caught up. The show reminds me a bit like Mai-hime.

Anyway, I bet that "god" is just harvesting people who die by conviction particles. Basically, strong conviction gives some souls for god to suck and feed. The moment they can weak enough to be taken over, the bind warper teleports them to edgar mountain and plugs them in to be harvested.

[Kanon]

I have no words for this week's episode. It was just fantastic. It really takes me back to the days of Gurren Lagann, there hasn't been such an over the top mecha show since.

Also, BIG SHU BI!

[Magewolf]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Also, BIG SHU BI!

With shiny hair.

[FlareKnight]

Haha, what the heck was that !? That was amazing. Giant Shu with glowing hair! I knew he wasn't going to stay gone, but good job show. I didn't see that one coming.

My condolences Zetsu and Bit. Their respective moments were great, but that just stole the whole episode .

[shmaster]

I know Shu is not dead... but... but not like this.
The flow and the mood of the episode really had a 180 the moment he showed up.

[Anh_Minh]

We all expected Shu to come back. But I don't think any of us expected that. Though with an immortal giant robot illusionist around, maybe don't let your guard down just yet.

[Chosen_Hero]

Yeah, I'm dropping this show, the meh style with next to no substance to what it's showing killed it for me. I am not in the mood to just sit and watch a poor man's Gurren Lagan that doesn't understand why the craziness and randomness worked in that show.

I gave it more than a fair chance (I dare anyone to tell me that I didn't) but these last few episodes definitely tested my patience, it has too much that I dislike for me to go on, especially the characters. I don't care what twist it has left to show, it's just gotten too annoying for me.

[Alchemist007]

I don't blame you, I had higher hopes narratively but alas, it is what it is. I'll still finish it after coming this far.

[Kusaja]

I've gone back to read a few posts and...I will never understand how some folks could accumulate so much dislike for this series or the characters, especially not after the last few episodes, but I guess that's why we are all different individuals.

I don't feel anything remotely resembling annoyance upon watching this anime. On the contrary, I think the show has recently managed to bring together a lot of elements in ways that work quite well for me and while the structure is not identical to Gurren Lagann (why would it need to be, I wonder?), that's not the only possible way of organizing a story. In fact, I find that implication ("why is it not more like TTGL?") more problematic than any issues I could have with the material itself. Why? Because it ignores that a lot of other shows, such as G Gundam and Getter Robo, had similar ideas first. Therefore, mecha anime history doesn't begin and end with TTGL.

That said, I'm old enough to accept that my tastes are not the same as those of others (and vice versa). It's unfortunate that we can't all be on the same page, but that's life. I won't make any judgments on the narrative front because it's not completed yet, although I can also draw several lines in my head connecting recent events to what was going on at the start of the story, which in my opinion is a good outcome.

[Kanon]

I should have known Shu was too smart to be caught off guard. Everything was part of the plan. Some might argue that they could have told Arrow about it instead of letting him get wrecked by guilt, but since he was monitored by Rudolf, it was too risky to do so.

Everything about the world was explained, Arrow regained his resolve, and everyone forged an alliance.

One thing I found odd is how Elsha suddenly started to act like she's in love with Arrow (which she is) when the show had avoided love triangles until now. But it actually looks like Atlee is willing to share...