(L+CR) Captain Earth (Bones)

[Traece]

You know, normally I would give them flak for having such a pointless and overdone transformation sequence, but it was pretty damn hype so I give them a pass for it.

I actually really liked this first episode of Captain Earth. In a semi-typical Bones fashion they avoided unnecessary exposition and actually made me want to watch the next episode. Even Daichi's circumstances, while being completely out of the blue, were somehow more palatable than most teenage mecha pilots before him. Somehow they made me not care that he suddenly found himself piloting a giant mech, and that's enough for me.

Actually I know what it was: It was that Daichi's father is a badass.

At any rate, I was very pleased with the first episode and I'm looking forward to the follow-up. Hopefully they wont forget how to write good fiction and suddenly inundate us with exposition over every little unknown detail in these next two episodes. Considering the nature of this show, whether or not they decide to do that will really determine whether or not Captain Earth is worth 25 episodes.

[cyth]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Because Star Driver wasn't partly about daddy issues?

I didn't really catch that. At least not in protagonists (perhaps Sakana-chan ).

[Anh_Minh]

You missed the bit where

Spoiler for star driver:

the big bad is the protagonist's father?

[Triple_R]

I found the first episode very engrossing. It was like a strange mix between the dreamy sci-fi hopefulness of Space Bros. and the fabulousness of Star Driver. So in some ways it feels very true-to-life (the way rockets take off is like straight out of NASA) but in other ways it feels larger-than-life (that final transformation scene and a lot of the more alien elements). It's a pretty unusual blend. It's like watching the world transition from normal real world to something close to Gundam. Pretty cool!

I get how the more mysterious elements could bother some viewers, but for me it was a feature, not a bug. It really gets my imagination going because I'm left guessing at so much, and so my mind tries to fill in the blanks and wonder just where this is all going.

Now, I do hope that the 2nd episode will bring some structure into play, and will give us a better sense of the key players and what they think of each other. But I do like the air of mystery we have in this first episode, as I think it's a good way to create interest and wonderment on the part of many viewers.

[germanturkey]

wow. this series hooked me more in 6 minutes than the whole ep of Mahouka. it seems like a cross between something with really bright colors (Eureka Seven?) and something darker, like Evangelion.

plus that transformation sequence. the words "oh wow" came out of my mouth more than once.

few things of note:
Something similar to Myung's theme at 6 minutes in? yay!!
an Ed-ish looking character? yay!

i'll be sure to follow this one up.

[Enternal]

The only thing I know right now is I need to get that insert song.

[whitecloud]

just finished watching the first episode...the transformation sequence is great, remind me of voltron...really, while the whole marine, sky, earth engine is of captain planet (daichi is the heart then) so we can say modern robotic captain planet then?...hahaha

anyway...the bad guy using libido engine, i wonder how much time they need to gather that much, since they said it themself its can only last a few minutes, and its not much...is the girl helping , with the production? hehehe

[Iron Maw]

Guess that means he's quick cannon huh?

[Moeterum]

Too many characters!

And is it just me or did anyone else sense a strong BL vibe from those flashbacks

[frubam]

Man, I hate watching mech anime with a rookie pilot. It's painful, esp when they start off looking like they know what they're doing, but some kind of Char-level mech/pilot comes along, and MC gets his ass handed to him =0\. It's always inevitable on first battle.

I didn't find this first ep exceptional, but I'll stick with it for now to see how well the mech battles play out. Hopefully it'll be something like Xenosaga. I thought the gattai sequence was a bit over-the-top, but had a realistic flair to it. As long as they don't use it again and again, it's all good.

[apotheosis]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

wow. this series hooked me more in 6 minutes than the whole ep of Mahouka. it seems like a cross between something with really bright colors (Eureka Seven?) and something darker, like Evangelion.

It has some influences from an older series Bones did, RahXephon, which was pretty dark and was itself compared quite a bit to Evangalion. RahXephon had a bunch parent (both mom and dad) issues to resolve too.

Still seems more like E7 or Star Driver though overall .. but it's hard to say just one ep in.

[Chosen_Hero]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

Guess that means he's quick cannon huh?

Well, with how hard he slammed the container I wouldn't be surprised.

[kk2extreme]

I am staying for dark skin heroine

[whitecloud]

after the mission....

Blue hair guy : AFTER ALL that libido that i give you, you still lose!!! come... you gonna help me with "production", after all the real thing is better than fake..hehehe

pink hair girl : ....

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Libido-powered magic is old news, but are libido-powered mechs the new "in" thing?

It is an alternate energy source. Back then they use machismo, courage, or whatever. It was all about giving the pilot a more direct means to contribute to the battle when it is really hard to show "skill" onscreen. Libido-power has the benefit that it makes sense to use teenagers as pilots, as that's the population with the most of it.

[DragoonKain3]

Welp, that gattai sequence really impressed me. No idea why the two antagonists are piloting a mech out in outer space that's trying to invade earth, from earth itself. Or did I miss something here?

Otherwise, so far it's the second most impressive pilot episode I've seen.

Originally Posted by Moeterum

And is it just me or did anyone else sense a strong BL vibe from those flashbacks

Nope, just good ol' hetero osananajimi couple vibes.

Truth be told, I got Jintan vibes from Daichi (genki boy turned class failure, almost a hikki when older?) and I have always wanted a story where Menma is alive. Maybe some part in me hopes this it.

[Eclipze]

I get the unfortunate feeling that the name "Captain Earth" is turning a lot of people away from even watching the first episode. Doesn't help that the main robot kind of resembles Heroman without close inspection.

[Jazzrat]

It doesn't seem like my sorta mecha show after episode 1 as the mechs are robot toy design and there's a somewhat serious tone to the show but with very little grounding to reality. Eventhough kids jump into robot is a well trodden trope, there isn't much appeal in the show for me personally to want to continue watching.

[jeroz]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

anyway...the bad guy using libido engine, i wonder how much time they need to gather that much, since they said it themself its can only last a few minutes, and its not much...is the girl helping , with the production? hehehe

more Hi-ERO Particles the better.

[Arya]

Quite interesting. I was a bit surprised by the humanoid form of the enemies, but all in all I liked this mix of everything, counting the MC transformation starting from shuttle rocket engines progressing into a more futuristic (and so plausible in-universe) transformation, that somehow reminded me of the old anime of my childhood; and the final mecha was not bad. In the end I liked the transformation sequence quite a bit.

Now my sole problem is that this is a Bones show and the last time I got involved in it was at the time of AO. The first 3 episodes had been excellent, then a sudden disaster. So I guess I have to double the three episodes' rule here.

So, as usual the weak side of these kind of setting is the pilot being less than a rookie, as already said. But since we can't do without it I'm sort of accustomed to it, sort of. I'm expecting that his childhood friend will take over at a certain point to give him aid (and transferring his knowledge to him, with an ending line that sounds like I know kung-fu! )

Looking forward to the dark skin heroine!!