Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be embarking on a new journey, as I at last dig into one of the few modern anime remaining on my must-watch list. It’s time at last for Star Driver, that variably beloved collaboration between writer Yoji Enokido and director Takuya Igarashi.

This pair have spent the last decade mostly slumming it on the mediocre action/comedy Bungo Stray Dogs, but there was a time when they were each key contributors to some of the greatest anime of all time. Yoji Enokido wrote scripts for Revolutionary Girl Utena and Evangelion, along with spearheading the writing of stunning GAINAX projects like FLCL and Diebuster. And Igarashi has been a legend since the ‘90s, shifting from Sailor Moon to Ojamajo Doremi and Ashita no Nadja, while more recently finding time to direct cult favorites like Ouran High School Host Club.

Enokido and Igarashi’s talents are beyond question, but I have almost no experience with Star Driver – I basically just know “it’s a giant robot show where teen hormones power the robots,” and also “it’s far less acclaimed than you’d expect given its key creators.” Conjecture is cheap, so let’s waste no more time pondering what Star Driver might be, and get right into the business of what it actually is. Onward!

Episode 1

We open on a lovely pan down from the stars to our presumed island setting, then hone in on two figures walking on a beach

Already, there’s a lot of personality in these characters’ movements – even without seeing her face, there’s a sense of irreverence or resignation in the way this girl lounges one leg against the other

Also interesting costume work – their clothes hang loosely off their lanky body design, further emphasizing their status as adolescents who haven’t grown into their own skin

And a stunning fisheye shot from below, presenting the starry sky as a vast and distant landscape

Just crazy generous character acting in general, as all the characters really lean into the momentum of their awkward movements. There’s almost no production that can keep this up for a full seasonal run, but I appreciate it as a first episode treat!

The girl Waco gives a boy who washed up on shore CPR. “The breath of life” may have more significance in a show like this

This boy’s sequence of waking up feels compositionally and tonally reminiscent of Evangelion’s “unfamiliar ceiling” sequence, which, given Enokido actually scripted Unfamiliar Ceiling/THE BEAST, seems like it could very well be intentional. Like Eureka Seven, this show is far enough back to exist in the era where lots of mecha series were in active conversation with Evangelion

The two we first met are Sugata and Wako, and this is Sugata’s luxurious home

Our first reminder of Igarashi’s sense of humor comes with a stomach grumble – Wako’s wave of apology directly to the camera could have easily come from Doremi, or Ouran Host Club

Sugata has maids in full maid outfits with bunny ears. Huh

Apparently our red-headed lead missed the ferry and actually swam to the island, in order to avoid being late for class. So he is certainly a red-headed anime protagonist

His name is Takuto Tsunashi

Takuto came here to “do great things,” and enjoy a quintessential youth experience

Takuto’s grandpa recommended this school, so presumably Takuto has some sort of legacy connection to its soon-to-be-revealed secrets

“Have you experienced your first kiss yet,” while the camera explicitly focuses on Wako’s lips. Yeah, they’re not letting that CPR thing go

“Miss Wako is the young master’s betrothed.” You don’t say

Haha, Wako’s friend also embodies Igarashi-ism, in her goofy swaying as she asks about Takuto. I’ve watched far too much Doremi to not recognize Igarashi’s preferred styles of physical comedy and self-expression

This girl is Ruri Makina, and boy has she got the hots for Takuto

I love these two stern-looking dudes in the back, each showing off their passion with a handy prop (motorcycle, boxing glove)

Of course, Igarashi isn’t just known for comedy. Adore this composition as we shift to the late afternoon, with the reddish light of the sun contrasted against this mysterious, evocative painting of a lady on the shore. This feels more Utena than Doremi, and hey, we’ve got Enokido here too

Takuto’s father painted the image, and is “probably” somewhere on the island. Giant robot dramas can be many things, but their most common model is that of a coming-of-age story for a young man, with the giant robot serving as a metaphor for their adult responsibilities. In these stories, the protagonist’s fathers are frequently dead or otherwise unavailable, having left their sons the responsibility to pilot the mecha they created. When your genre’s survival is based on selling robots to young boys, that genre’s thematic ambitions all tend to group around the same base models

Wako is doing a purification ritual as one of the island’s shrine maidens

We then meet Benio Shimada, Takuto’s dorm director

Motorcycle boy’s name is Tetsuya

Wonderful superdeformed contortions of Benio as she rages at Tetsuya. It’s nice to be back in Igarashi’s hands

And the boxer is Joji

“The abandoned gold mine behind the school is dangerous.” Found where they keep the giant robots

Three people who are clearly Testuya, Joji, and Benio already seem to be involved in the island’s secret business

And here’s the OP. Love the pop art color contrast here, as well as the fact that we’re still early enough in the ‘00s to receive a pop-punk opening

“Apprivoiser.” Seems to be an activation phrase

Ooh, I love all these ball-jointed homunculi in this activation chamber. It seems like more a combination of theater and witchcraft than science

The supervisors are wearing carnival masks and underwear, like this is some kind of ancient saturnalia festival. I really like this angle – the coming-of-age narratives endemic to giant robots fuse naturally with the sexual awakening angle this show seems to be pursuing, and thus the secret background cabal can naturally be fitted to a kind of “ancient order of revelry” template

“Our Star Sword has broken the Northern Shrine Maiden’s seal.” It would be clear they’re talking about sex even if they hadn’t already conveyed that action with the most sexual possible imagery

Interesting how they’re phrasing sexual dynamics in the classic form of “male invasion of the feminine” here. Presumably that’s setting up a contrast with the more free and mutually supportive dynamics our heroes will eventually present

“It’s all part of being a guy to want to go somewhere when you’re told not to.” Extremely loaded explanation of his actions by Takuto, given what we just saw. Is invasion inherent to male identity?

Takuto ends up running into our masked men, who are carrying an unconscious Wako to the mine

The masked folks plan to use their “Cybodies” to go “outside,” which involves breaking a seal with each of the four shrine maidens. Really closely tying to adolescence to virginity here, huh

The previous shrine maiden is now literally a singing bird in a cage, asked to sing for this operation’s presumed mastermind. So it does seem like we’ll be contrasting old-fashioned philosophies of men “claiming ownership” of women through sex with a more democratic philosophy championed by our young heroes

Joji receives quite the suit activation sequence. Given he also directed Captain Earth, it’s clear Igarashi just really, really loves elaborate mech activations

Igarashi’s storyboards are really dynamic in terms of his camera angles – he loves low-angle shots, fisheye shots, and any other sort of composition that creates a sense of forward momentum or imposing scale

Takuto freezes in place, and the others are taken to a dazzling dimension of multicolored star clouds

But Takuto breaks through, because he is the “Ginga Bishonen,” and has inherited his grandfather’s legacy

Love his elegant musketeer mech. Its name is Tauburn

Gorgeous cuts for Takuto’s victory here

And Done

Well shit, that was one hell of a premiere! You can generally expect that level of bedazzlement from an Igarashi production, but it’s been quite some time since I watched one of his shows, and I’m happy to be surprised anew by his excellence. Meanwhile, the story so far seems heavily reminiscent of Enokido’s prior work in a variety of ways; the early storytelling and focus on male identity seemed to reflect Evangelion, while the bombastic enemies and theatrical finale were Utena all over. Star Driver is already building towards a clear thematic argument regarding adolescence, agency, gender, and sexuality, and I’m eager to see where our reliable hosts steer us next. Three cheers for a top notch premiere!

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.