Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to storm back into Star Driver, which most recently commenced its third act with the introduction of Ko and Madoka, alongside a power grab by Head that has left him as the undisputed leader of the Kiraboshi council. Between Head’s clear hostility and the growing misgivings of Kiraboshi leaders like Kanako and Benio, I’m guessing the time for plotting in dimly lit council chambers is coming to a close, as we lead into Star Driver’s tumultuous finale.
Where is all this chaotic striving headed, you ask? Well, while I’m not sure the precise narrative destination of Kiraboshi’s variable machinations, it’s easy enough to see how things are culminating in a thematic sense. Just like he did with Revolutionary Girl Utena, Enokido has constructed a cage of adolescence overseen by adults who wish to harness the power of youth, wherein the barriers of propriety and insecurity form invisible but nonetheless implacable bars.
Sex is at the center of this universe, yet it is framed as unreachable, the uncertainty of our protagonists recast as the lock and key to oblivion in the form of the shrine maiden system. The yonic gate of Wako’s shrine, the phallic weapon that is the King’s Pillar – all roads lead towards consummation, and yet the act itself is framed as the end of the world, thereby echoing in worldbuilding the war between natural instincts and conservative social mores the whole cast is struggling with. To overcome this system, Takuto will undoubtedly have to reach out his hand as Utena once did, and forge a bond that denies and shatters the staid ethics of Southern Cross Isle. Let’s get to it!
Episode 18
“Kate’s Morning and Night.” With the sisters gone, Kate remains the most ambiguous link between Kiraboshi and our party of heroes. There’s a jealousy in her that can often verge on malice, but she is most fundamentally driven by her love for Sugata
We open on Kate herself, singing from the school roof to welcome the morning
Over at the dorms, Benio is hosting an end-of-summer barbecue party, but almost no one is back from their summer break
God, Joji is such a Saionji, even down to the green hair. He’s traded out a kendo sword for a modern workout room, but his brief rise and eternal plummet are just the same
The drama club shows up at Takuto’s invitation, providing Benio the opportunity to make more delightful faces of rage and adoration. The animators clearly play favorites, and I am all in support. No point in an Igarashi production without lots of excellent faces!
The group engage in a game of firework confessions, wherein they pass a lit firework around while confessing secrets to the group. A funny scene in its own right, and also an excellent way to reaffirm the personalities and interpersonal relationships among the student body. After all these episodes of high-octane scifi drama, it’s a smart call to begin act three with material that grounds these characters and makes them seem relatable again (as sequences like the baseball contest accomplished for act two)
Wonderfully sleazy face for Benio urging Takuto to take his pants off
Ko and Madoka crash the party, and Benio attempts to scare them away with fireworks. God I love her
And in no time at all, Takuto’s room is set on fire. One more perfect expression of resignation from Benio to lead us out of this delightfully chaotic scene
Sugata offers to let Takuto stay at his house. A natural segue from the general to the specific; having caught up with the overall group dynamic, it’s time to hone in on this story’s most ambiguous core relationship
Takuto pointedly mentions how his pocket watch survived the fire. That pocket watch feels like the fulcrum of this whole narrative – an icon of his ambiguous past, an echo of Head’s paintings, and a symbol of the “stopped time” of adolescence all in one
This turn also gives us the opportunity to dig into Sugata’s history via exploring his childhood room, which is full of surprisingly mundane children’s toys
Interesting contrast of expressions as Wako reflects on childhood days spent with Sugata. Wako clearly remembers them quite fondly, but it seems like Takuto’s feelings have developed to the point where he regards these recollections with a touch of jealousy
Takuto is surprised to see Kate in all of Sugata’s childhood photos, emphasizing again how close they were and how far they’ve strayed. Considering both Kate and Wako are shrine maidens, I’m all the more curious to learn how the revealing of their destinies presumably shattered this friendship. Either way, the onset of puberty complicating childhood friendships is a common-enough phenomenon that matches neatly with this show’s themes. On Southern Cross Isle in particular, a specific performance of gender is clearly expected of those integrated into the shrine maiden system
Back at school for second semester, and Wako’s friend Ruri is already attracting suitors
Kanako checks in with Takuto regarding the fire. Nice to see these two having developed something resembling an earnest friendship
Takuto inquires with Kate about her childhood photos, to which she replies “that was ten years ago, and yet Wako is still going on about her desire to be a singer. How ridiculous is that?” Kate has clearly survived by suppressing and denying her own desires (both for Sugata and for freedom), and thereby contorting herself into the shape desired by this island’s secret orders. I imagine she feels both resentment towards Wako for still believing in her destiny, and also a yearning to be like Wako herself
And indeed, we immediately see how paper-thin Kate’s new values are, as we cut to a gorgeously animated sequence of her doing a full idol performance at karaoke. From her practiced movements, it’s clear that this is a frequent release for Kate
Dear lord this sequence! Kate’s dance is the most impressive piece of extended character acting in the show so far, and at least as dazzling as any of its fight sequences
Apparently this sequence was animated by Takahiro Shikama, whose credits range from the opening of Chihaya’s climactic performance in Idolmaster to basically all the good bits of the original Sword Art Online
It’s a beautiful scene in its own right, and also a perfect example of animation as characterization – through the fluidity and intricacy of this animation, we are visually informed of how tightly Kate still holds onto her childhood dreams
Her song ends with Takuto arriving with drinks, resulting in an excellent expression of shock and despair
A woman who’s presumably Kate’s mother reveals that Kate does this basically every day
The incredible animated fluidity of that scene is swiftly paid back with one long, slow pan over Kiraboshi discussing technical nonsense. The give-and-take of TV anime production is practically an inherent aesthetic element of the medium – knowing when to scrap and when to splurge is essential for any production team
It appears the school nurse is developing some misgivings about this whole “rampage over reality with unstoppable robots” plan
Back at school, the student body fawns over the Drama Club as they do their stretches. Ko and Madoka look on with predatory jealousy, while Kate watches with a clear look of longing, wishing to join them in companionship and self-expression
Sequential cuts emphasize the clear contrast in imagery of Wako’s yonic shrine versus Sugata’s phallic sword as we join them after school
Madoka activates her 1st Phase, which seems to shroud Takuto in a veil of darkness
As she explains, in this plane her victims see all others as herself, making it impossible to differentiate allies from enemies. Fortunately, Sugata just doesn’t give a shit, and immediately King’s Pillars everybody
We end on one last shocking reveal, as we learn it’s actually liaisons with Kate that have been saving Sugata from his pillar-induced comas
And Done
Hot damn, no brakes on this train! Well, I suppose a slight brake during that first segment there, but touching in with both the general group and our main trio seemed essential for maintaining this narrative’s personal touch. Plot is details and themes alone are simply an intellectual argument; for this story’s thoughts about adolescence, society, and gender to ring true, we need the elaboration of painful personal stories like Kate’s, who through her rigid public behavior and ill-concealed longing demonstrates the human cost of stratified societies and conservative gender ideology. Kate’s connection with both sides of this conflict make her one of Star Driver’s most tragic and compelling characters, and I’m eager to see how her story ends.
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