Episode 05 – “Souls Come Together”

If one was ever curious about the state of this series, all that person would have to do is watch the opening recap. If it doesn’t make sense, that’s probably because it doesn’t make much sense to those who have been keeping up with the series either. What should be one series with one story instead feels like five, and none of the components feel like they mesh with each other in a meaningful way.

From the kidnapping of Felia, to the creepy old men set on restoring Earth to its former prosperity, to Kaon’s disinterest in her apparent fiance, to the fighting mechs, to Sougo’s love for rocks, the only tangible connection that these elements share is the fact that they exist in the same anime. There hasn’t been a throughline, other than Felia herself, that unites these loose ends, and I’m wondering if it’s too late to try to bring everything together. Nine times out of ten, this is my biggest complaint with any anime series that I’m not entirely into, and obviously, it’s possible that things will work themselves out, but whether it will feel natural and well-planned out is still up in the air.

The saving grace of this episode, and I honestly use that term loosely, is the twist at the end with the grown-up Felia, mostly because it brings up a bunch of questions. Namely, it makes us wonder what the significance behind this age change is, what exactly caused it, and whether it has any relation to how her powers. Secondly, this makeover means that Felia is a serious contender for Sougo’s attention, possibly forming a classic love triangle with Kaon. We love love triangles, right? They just add so much to a series, fleshing out our main characters in complex ways and exploring the most universal human emotion.

I am 100% kidding about the love triangle thing, by the way.

“Lima is considered a taboo.”

B.W.