Active Raid is over! The show ended about as well as it could have – that is, it’s a mediocre show that will be forgotten in a week or two, but it tied its threads together and concluded with relative grace. The ultimate reveal of Mythos’ motivation was as underwhelming as you’d expect, but Mythos has always been the show’s weakest element, so what are you gonna do. I liked the banter between the Unit 8 leads, having that friggin’ Clippy app actually be evil was perfect, and the last fight was pretty okay. Not much point in yelling at a show for not being a very different one.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!
“For Whom Does Order Exist?”
All of the systems have been taken over and the politicians are still squabbling about blame
Oh my god, the stupid Liko web app took over the world
What a hilarious idea
Liko has shifted into Benu, a system for computer control
“For us adult to uphold common decency, we need to discipline naughty children!”
Mythos is in the attic of the bath house
Apparently there’s something related to his parents
A US carrier is on the way
Lots of civilian unrest, and the opposition party is using the chance
Mythos: “It used to be so fun…”
The USDF has been ordered to kill Mythos
“That Mythos is a minor will be buried.” “If that’s the law and there’s a directive…”
Hinata’s laptop has some extra message on it
Bird and Mythos talking about what will be “fun”
Mythos is adjusting the plan
This episode is moving pretty quickly through fairly interesting information
Unit 8 finds Mythos
Bird sold Mythos out? Or he’s bluffing
They jam the area they pinned him down in
“After being expelled from the system known as Japan, I’m isolated now?” People who can’t exist within the system, like the show’s been following all along
Their control is very limited
The “Fruit of Tragedy” incident
A cult committed mass suicide
“The cult’s leader was a boy of only five, whose parents instigated the tragedy”
Some nice CG animation for the fights here
The whole team working together
He deleted his family info
“He had a little sister”
“I’m just trying to rule the country that expelled me.”
“This isn’t a dictatorship.”
His sister moved overseas, apparently. But he’s been trapped in Japan
“You wanted someone to talk to. Am I wrong?”
The USDF arrives
“If we just stand by and watch him die, we can’t call ourselves cops”
Bird abandons him
They tell him his sister is probably alive
“If a reunion is possible, we recommend not throwing your life away”
And he breaks down
Psst… you do know that the show is not over, right? It’s a split cour series, to be continued in the summer.
Yeah, I know.
Sure, but it reached a fairly conclusive ending…and I get the feeling the show might not even be picked up by ANN for the summer season coverage, given the lack of interest in this one, yet I think that reduced profile will be kind of a blessing in disguise since it’ll hopefully limit the backlash too.
Besides, the staff has stated they are going to retool a few things for the rest of the show. Nothing too specific, but if they address a few of the criticisms or make it more mainstream, that might be easier to digest even if the public at large stays away. I doubt the core will radically change though, and in any case it is too early to tell how that’ll turn out.