Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to get back to Star Driver, where we most recently watched Kanako attempt to defeat Takuto with the power of horny, and then send her servant Takashi into battle with him. That battle’s outcome will likely damage Kanako’s standing within the Order, but interestingly, Takashi himself didn’t seem bothered. In fact, judging by his final conversation with the Order’s president, Takashi doesn’t even need a bier to activate his robot – he has an emblem of his own, and can graduate to his “second phase” with the same ease as Takuto.

All that plot and mystery stuff is well and good, but you know me; I’m more interested in Star Driver’s thematic and psychological content, and much of that remains obscure. Kanako’s entire personality seems to undermine any possibility of the Order being defined by its conservatism; in fact, between her and Benio’s behavior, the Order seems more willing to embrace thoughtless or transactional sexual agency than their opponents. And yet, their rituals are steeped in the language of traditional gender roles, speaking often of “caged birds” and shrine maidens as symbols of purity. I’d love to dig into their philosophy further, but in the immediate sense, I’m mostly hoping for more texture and history from our hero Takuto. Either way, I’m sure Star Driver will find new ways to delight and impress, so let’s dive right into the fourth episode!

Episode 4

This episode is called “Wako’s Song,” and appropriately opens on Wako singing. This is already leaning into the general framing of the shrine maidens as caged songbirds, who maintain the beauty of their voice only through the austerity of their existence

She’s with Takuto on the beach. “Right now, in the world, there’s no one but us”

We jump back to the previous day

The drama club is having snacks after school, and the headmaster enters the room. Apparently he’s their club advisor, another hint that the members of this group are uniquely important, and that the drama club is more than it seems

This also seems to place the school’s own administration on the side of those battling against the Order, an interesting choice. When the headmaster says “you’re the new arrival we’ve been waiting for,” his words carry the weight of destiny

There’s a lot of friction in their simultaneous identities as high schoolers and aristocrats of this world. Wako and Sugata’s formal titles complicate their relationships with their classmates

Wako’s apparently a bit of a BL enthusiast. More excellent Igarashi faces as she emerges from a steamy Takuto/Sugata fantasy

Apparently Wako dreamed of being a singer once, but she says that was a “childhood dream,” which her current role as a maiden and betrothed presumably doesn’t have room for

Some lovely dramatic storyboarding as Tiger has an encounter in the hall. The dutch angled compositions create a sense of disorientation, something that fuses naturally with the sense of entrapment provided by the late-afternoon shadows. The hallway is distorted into a series of discordantly angled boxes of light and shadow, creating a sense of a visual labyrinth or prison as she is confronted by Keito

Keito is using familiar smells to trigger nostalgia and childhood memories, creating a thematic tether between this scene and last scene’s focus on Wako’s childhood dreams. The scientific instruments fringing the composition once again create a sense of entrapment around Tiger, with Keito’s opaque glasses emphasizing her threat as an unreadable, inhuman figure. The eyes are the window to the soul, and the clearest way of establishing our common humanity; obscure the eyes, and distrust naturally follows

Tiger’s happy memory appears to be of Sugata reading a book to her. So presumably she’s jealous of Wako’s position

Keito offers her hope: if Wako hooks up with Takuto, Sugata is free

Meanwhile, the boy Sam from the caged girl’s story is working on his squid-piercing skills, in order to defeat the Squid Emperor

Sam and his love are living together already. “The Fish Planet’s pretty progressive, huh?”

The next day, overcast skies make for a uniquely desaturated view of the island, as Wako finds herself alone. Rich colors evoke the vibrancy of youth, while this moment of isolation is conveyed through cooler tones

Even just this montage of Wako exploring the empty town is composed of unusually dynamic layouts. This is a very generous production

She at last finds Takuto on the beach

A great perspective shot after the pair run from the rain, as we stare from Wako’s eyes down at her bare feet. Perspective shots tend to create a greater sense of intimacy, aligning us with the character’s perspective, and thus fostering the vulnerability of sharing their actual position. With this shot aimed down at her feet, we can feel Wakaba’s sense of uncertainty in how events are progressing, and nervousness at Takuto seeing her unguarded self

“We’re soaked, so let’s get changed.” A classic anime trick for creating unprompted intimacy: trap two characters with rain, forcing them to bunker down and change clothes. Haruhi Suzumiya used this trick to fantastic effect

I appreciate that we get as much focus on Takuto’s shoulder muscles as Wako’s body. Complaints about fanservice are not complaints about the base existence of sexuality in media (or at least, they shouldn’t be, worrying recent trends aside) – it’s all about authorial perspective, and what a particular sequence of shots tells us about a character or the show’s own viewpoint. I’m actually all in favor of more shows that engage frankly with the messy realities of sexuality, but most fanservice vehicles are not that. And if your approach to sexuality is just going to be “let’s leer over these characters in a way that seems utterly against their characterization or the show’s overt drama,” I’d rather you just not include it at all

“Unless her seal’s been nullified, a shrine maiden can never leave the island.” Wako’s cage is made explicit, as well as how the conditions of that entrapment depend on her purity as a shrine maiden

“But if my seal is broken, their Cybodies will be released as well, and I can’t let that happen.” Feminine corruption as a vehicle for masculine ascension, a very conservative view of marriage

“My grandma was supposed to teach me when I joined junior high. But when I was still in grammar school, I apprivoised on my own.” The mechanics of this island framed in terms that clearly reflect the process of puberty, down to the shock of your first period

“That was when I realized that going to Tokyo to become a singer was an impossible dream”

In the context of Japanese society, “conservative” versus “liberal” can also map to “duty” versus “freedom,” as Wako’s abandoned dreams demonstrate

They come across a totem pole, one that Wako claims was buried years ago

Nice silent comedy beat of Wako just staring as Takuto attempts his glowing chest transformation

“Even at a time like this, you’re still full of life.” Takuto’s energetic personality seems to be framed as the opposite of the stasis of zero-time

“Before I got this scar on my chest, I was more reserved”

“There’s a Cybody that can create imagined landscapes.” I like that all the Cybodies come with wildly distinct powers, allowing the show to almost shift genres depending on the abilities of a given opponent. Much more interesting than just some new attacks

Tiger appears to be trapped in a bier, the first time we’ve seen these powers used unwillingly

“My grandpa used to say, ‘the most important thing can be invisible to the eye.’” This grandpa is seeming more suspicious by the moment. This scene also affirms that Takuto’s link with Tauburn is based on his feelings – if he believes Tauburn can hear him, he will succeed

The ball joints make for such distinctive, graceful mech designs

But ultimately, the enemy mech halts its attack and disappears

A brief, ambiguous cut of Wako looking in on a gray-haired person in the room next to her bedroom

And our caged bird explicitly links her couple to Takuto and Wako, stating that their “shared secrets will strengthen their bond”

And Done

At last, the episode I was hoping for! Frankly, we got a little less information from Takuto than I was hoping, but it’s very like Enokido to keep such secrets close to the vest. On the other hand, we got far more than I expected out of Wako, and can already see how she is caught between the obligations of duty and dreams of youth. This episode convincingly fostered some solid chemistry between them, and its closing line essentially positions Takuto’s quest as a gift for Wako: if he can destroy all the enemy Cybodies, she can finally embrace her dream. All that plus its generally exceptionally storyboarding made for an altogether excellent episode!

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