Black Bullet

Are you the kind of guy craving for action and fights? But at the same time do you have a thing for lolis? Yes. It might seem contradicting or just freaking weird that an action crazy macho guy teaming up with a loli to fight and save humanity from alien bugs. What kind of a sick perverted story is this?! Well, don’t hold your breath now because it really did happen. At least in Black Bullet. Hah. You thought I was going to mention about some perverted lolicon series, are you? Well, this series isn’t some ecchi loli show but filled with action and sci-fi elements that would make most of us prefer to go back to our safer loli genres of seeing them do cute things and go “Awwww…” and cuddle them every time that happens. Otherwise, prepare to face the grim dystopian future whereby a certain group of lolis are hated and discriminated by the public in general but ironically are the ones who hold the key to save humanity from invading alien bugs. Yeah. Why didn’t the bugs just wipe out humanity in the first place and save us all this loli discriminating trouble. The world can go to hell and burn in it for all we care if you hate lolis that much!

Episode 1
When Rentarou Satomi was young, he had a close encounter with a Gastrea when it attacked the refugee camp. He heard a voice telling him to survive if he doesn’t want to die. Well, duh! Ten years later, he is now a Civil Security officer heading to an apartment believed to have confirmed Gastrea. Apparently some army guys didn’t want him to hog the glory so they went in first and paid the price. However their massacre wasn’t due to Gastrea but this masked man, Kagetane Hiruko. They fight but Rentarou is no match. He leaves after getting a call but tells Rentarou that he will be the one to destroy this world. Rentarou’s loli partner, Enju Aihara (also self proclaimed future fiancée) is furious that she fell off his bicycle and he didn’t have the decency to pick her up. Along the way she meets a guy infected with Gastrea seeking for help. She can only look with pity because it is already at an advanced stage beyond help. A stage one spider model Gastrea bursts out from its host’s body. Rentarou arrives in time to fire his special bullets made out of Varanium, the only material that could defeat those beings and prevent their regeneration. As explained, Enju is an Initiator, those born to fight Gastrea while Rentarou is a Promoter, those in charge of keeping Initiators under control. The duo leave the messy clean up to the detectives since they need to rush for some time limited cheap sale. Thanks to that, their agency boss, Kisara Tendou is furious that because of that, they lost their reward and compensation from the police. Uhm, maybe she just felt left out that she wanted to join in the sale too. Business is slow because their office is located in a shady area. Can’t complain if the rent is cheap, right? When Kisara brings up the subject if he still thinks about his parents, he becomes upset. He is still sensitive all these years when people talk about it because they died in that war.

Rentarou goes to see Sumire Muroto who is a Gastrea researcher. And a quirky person. Are scientists all like that? She chides him for being lazy because he left the Varanium bullet shells he shot at the scene. She hints if he doesn’t buck up, Kisara won’t look his way. On to serious business, they discuss about the source of infection. Since there are no reports, there will be more victims at this rate. Sumire also explains how the Gastrea virus rewrites DNA in an irregular way. That’s why it can become strong and faster in a short time. Back home, Enju is probably trying to train herself to become his future wife. It’s not play time yet as Rentarou injects her daily shot. After meal, it must be a tired day so he instantly goes to bed. Active loli not happy… Get the hint! She won’t let him sleep yet… Even when morning comes, Enju can still talk dirty trying to corrupt his mind or something. At least they can still laugh and be happy. All Rentarou want is for Enju to lead a normal life. He gives her a lift to school. Then he explains to us Gastrea virus normally spread among humans through bodily fluids. But there are rare cases they enter the mouth of a pregnant woman and infecting their child. They become Cursed Children. All of them are born girls and have red eyes. Although the virus is inside their body, some inhibiting factor makes its corrosion at a slower rate. However there are many who refuse to recognize such children as human. Ten years ago when a parasitic life form from space called Gastrea infected humanity and nearly caused extinction, humans surround themselves within giant monoliths made out of Varanium and they managed to survive staying within it. Now humanity is gradually arming themselves to fight back against Gastrea. At the core of it are Enju and the Cursed Children, the Initiators. Peace is maintained thanks to those girls inheriting Gastrea’s regeneration and physical abilities. They might be hated and a curse Gastrea put upon humanity. However they are mankind’s last hope against them. In an abandoned section of Tokyo, a large group of Cursed Children watches longingly.

Episode 2
All the Promoters and Initiators are called to an important meeting. This hulk Promoter, Shougen Ikuma doesn’t like the young punk Rentarou is and they almost fight if not for Shougen’s boss, Mikajima telling him to stop or else. The meeting is initiated when Seitenshi, the ruler of Tokyo appears on the screen. Beside her is Kikunojo Tendou, Kisara’s grandpa and Rentarou’s adoptive father after his parents died. Seitenshi has 2 missions for everyone. Find the source of the Gastrea infection and bring back a case. As a matter of privacy, she will not mention its contents. Kisara is of course suspicious. Why call all the top pairs to hunt down for such a case. It must contain something very dangerous, right? Suddenly Kagetane is heard giving his opinion. How did he sneak inside? He introduces his daughter, Kohina who is also his Initiator. He makes known his intention that he is joining the race to retrieve the case which has Inheritance of the Seven Stars. He makes a bet with them. If he gets it first, they will all pay with their lives. Everyone attacks him but their bullets cannot penetrate his barrier. Everyone starts panicking when Kagetane reveals himself to be from the 787th Mechanization Special Unit of SDF eastern division, an Anti-Gastrea unit and New Humanity Creation Plan survivor. He returns the bullets to everyone, killing many of them. After he leaves, Seitenshi adds another condition that they must retrieve the case before Kagetane for its contents can destroy the monoliths. It is something meant to be sealed away. While Rentarou and Enju are walking through the shopping district, they see a Cursed Child being chased and beaten for stealing. Enju wanted to help but Rentarou stops her. She becomes upset he didn’t save her and calls him a liar that despite he claims to be a champion of justice, he cannot do anything. Of course this invokes his inner conscience so he goes off to save that child. But to his horror, he sees the authorities shooting and killing her at some deserted building. Luckily she is still breathing so he sends her to the doctor and assures he will pay her bill. Living expenses are going to be tight this month.

On his way back, he encounters Kagetane and Kohina. Father orders daughter to chop off his arm. Luckily Enju is here to aid him but Kagetane will not allow bloodthirsty Kohina to kill her. Kagetane offers Rentarou to join forces with him by explaining the discrimination and double standards of this area. He has seen it with his own eyes. Humanity should just face extinction and greater beings like them shall become the next rulers. Rentarou rejects his proposal. Kagetane warns he will face reality soon enough. Visit Enju’s school tomorrow and he shall see. When he does, it seems rumours that Enju is a Cursed Child has spread. Everyone is keeping away from her so much so Enju ran away. Of course he is upset with everything but there is nothing much he can do but go find her. He makes his way to the sewers of the underground district. The Cursed Children may not know her but they think the elder who takes care of them may know. Matsuzaki believes in teaching these girls how to control their emotions so their red eyes won’t show so they can live in society. As for Enju, he hasn’t seen her. The thinks his Initiator ran out on him and would be better to get a replacement. Just contact IISO and make a new contract with a new Initiator. Because to many Promoters, Initiators are just tools for fighting. Oh. He might just said the taboo word. Rentarou raises his voice that his relationship with Enju has nothing to do with Initiator or Promoter. He remembers her heart was closed when they first met. But once the ice was broken, they became like how you see they were. They’re always together. He leaves to continue his search. Matsuzaki hints to hidden Enju nearby that she is lucky to have a nice man like him. Sure you want to let him go?

Episode 3
Sumire must have fallen asleep while listening to Rentarou’s ‘boring’ complaints about the discrimination. She talks about some believing Gastrea is like God’s Messengers trying to clean up humanity responsible for the world’s resources deterioration and destruction. Rentarou is adamant Enju is human but is told if she knows it herself as Cursed Children are abandoned children who never knew their parents. The world views them as scorn. Who are going to teach and guide them? At least they are a family. Rentarou receives a call from the teacher that Enju showed up at school. All the kids are trying to keep her away. Rentarou will have her change school but she is not willing as she has made so many friends. Well, these aren’t her friends anymore. Rentarou and Enju are called for another mission. This time the source of the infection. In the midst of the dense jungle, there is a spider model Gastrea. Enju quickly fights and defeats it as proof she protected her school friends. As they hug, Rentarou assures he will always be by her side even if the entire world doesn’t accept her. Before they could retrieve the case, Kagetane and Kohina attack them. Rentarou gets a taste of his special crushing move. He forces Enju to run away although she promises to come back with help. Kohina stabs Rentarou before Kagetane shoots him. Luckily our hero can’t die. He is alive in hospital with Kisara by his side. Enju sleeping by his side. Better thank her for bringing him here. Kisara reports Kagetane has taken the case which contains materials to summon stage five Gastrea. When Gastrea reaches that stage, not even Varanium could stop them and it will be the end of humanity. Kagetane has escaped to outside the barrier and believed to be trying to summon it.

Seitenshi personally calls Rentarou to inform him that she would like him to participate in a mission to hunt down Kagetane. Sumire drops lots of weapon gifts for him. He mentions about that dream he had while unconscious. Sumire operated on him 10 years ago and gave him a choice. Sumire doesn’t expect to be forgiven but Rentarou says he never once thought of resenting her. Rentarou and Enju are dropped into the thick jungle and barely escape from a rampaging Gastrea. They see a hut nearby but find Kayo Senju alone. She is Shougen’s Initiator. Noticing her hand is wounded, he bandages it. Why is Enju jealous? Things can get complicated when another woman is involved. Enough said. Kayo explains her team is supposed to be on the vanguard but because Shougen is the action type, he went ahead first. They encountered a Gastrea and without thinking she set off explosives and that’s when they got separated. Although she got injected by Gastrea’s fluid, it is a very small amount and no need to worry or any corrosion. Kayo is touched Rentarou is worried about her and feels envious of Enju. She adds that she was made to kill when Shougen ordered her to do so to another pair because he won’t let any other pair have the reward for killing Kagetane. She was scared. Rentarou tells her that nothing is scarier about getting used to killing. When you kill someone and won’t be punished, that’s when people forget all about punishment. Kayo notes his mysterious eyes. Kind but yet scary. However she wants to believe in his words although she can think of many ways to counter it. Shougen calls Kayo to meet up because he has found Kagetane. As they make their way, they see the Stairway to Heaven, a weapon of mass destruction and symbol of the Stolen Generation’s hatred. She thinks what is going on right now is an attempt to revive it.

Episode 4
Kayo fights the dozens of Gastrea in the forest for the duo to advance. When they arrive, they see slaughtered Civil Servants. Shougen seems to be panicking without his sword. Oh, it’s right there. In his back. Thank Kagetane and Kohina for the massacre. Meanwhile Seitenshi has called Kisara for her help. She believes Rentarou will win. For sure. How can she? 10 years ago when Gastrea killed her parents, Rentarou protected her and cost him his right arm, right leg and left eye. On the verge of death, he was taken to Sumire who operated on him. Those artificial limbs are made from Varanium. He is able to get a little edge over Kagetane with this and reintroduces himself. Looks like Rentarou is another survivor of the New Humanity Creation Plan. As they fight, Kagetane offers him to join him once more. Another rejection. In that case, die. Rentarou is bleeding like mad and remembers the AGV experimental drugs created from Gastrea virus that Sumire gave him. It gives human regenerative abilities but there is a 20% chance he will turn into Gastrea. He stabs all the syringes into his gut!!! Don’t care all about that when he can’t stand to see Enju crying, can’t he? He regenerates and powers up so badass that he pounds Kagetane like no tomorrow. He even lands his finishing drop kick blow, cracking his mask and plunging him into the depths of the ocean. Victory! Kohina has become in shock state that she is no longer a threat. However Kisara calls as there is now a bigger problem. A stage five Gastrea has appeared. The only way to defeat it is to use Stairway to Heaven. Approved by Seitenshi. And Rentarou is going to do it. I’m not sure about that technical mumbo-jumbo about this railgun module shooting some Varanium that not even stage 5 Gastrea can survive. But heck, what choice do they have left?

And you think it is easy just activating it? Here comes the load of problems. It always happens at such crucial moments. There are no Varanium bullets in the chamber, some coolant is leaked and the magnetic fields mean it cannot be remotely controlled. Just great. Rentarou sacrifices his right arm to load as the bullet. Now he has to fire the damn thing accurately. He is reluctant for fear he might miss and hit the city but Enju tells him you won’t know if you don’t try. Who else is going to save the world? If words of a loli can’t motivate you, I don’t know what can. He aims. He fires. He hits! Victory! Well, who could miss it because that Gastrea was freaking huge, right? Later Rentarou goes back down to the forest to see Gastrea bodies around. Kayo defeated them but her corrosion rate is above 50%. She has not much time left. She didn’t run away because she didn’t want him to die for he was the one who acknowledged her existence. She is very grateful and wants to die as a human. Knowing he has not many friends, she’ll be one. Hope you’ll save the world. Reluctantly, he pulls the trigger. Back in Tokyo, he confronts Kikunojo. He knows information was leaked by some minister who just hanged himself in his cell. That minister is Kikunojo’s subordinate. Rentarou accuses him of trying to promote discrimination when Seitenshi is trying to pass an equality law for Cursed Children. Heck, he summoned a stage 5 Gastrea to stop the passing of this law! Kikunojo could not forget how Gastrea took his wife’s life. He views them as destroyer of mankind. Rentarou views them as humans. He won’t kill him as gratitude for saving his life 10 years ago. Later he confronts Seitenshi. He has peaked into the case and saw parts of a tricycle inside. How can this bring world destruction? What is Gastrea anyway? She cannot say. She hints that if the hierarchy were to improve, Civil Security pairs would be given special rights like top secret information. She wants them to rise through the ranks and when they do, he’ll find out the reason he was born and who he truly is. Enju is happy to hear that her corrosion rate remains at 24%. But you know how good poker face and liar he is. It has dramatically increased to 42%.

Episode 5
Kisara says there is a bodyguard job for Rentarou. Seitenshi picked him herself for the job since Kikunojo is temporarily overseas. Seitenshi explains the details of the job. She would like him to station himself beside him for the rest of the informal meeting. But she already has bodyguards, so why hire him? I think I know… Anyway he is introduced to them and the head, Takuto Yasuwaki. Rentarou isn’t on friendly terms and won’t shake his hands. Because he is only here to listen to the job details and hasn’t agreed to do it. Later Yasuwaki and his men corner him in the toilet. He wants him to not take the job as the spot next to Seitenshi belongs to him. Rentarou doesn’t take orders from him. Yasuwaki orders his men to break his limbs but he fights back. They have to flee when the guard heard gunshots. Yasuwaki is so mad probably because Rentarou’s bullet scratched his pretty face. He’ll kill him. And like the rebellious person he is, Rentarou agrees to take on the job. On his way out, he sees several men trying to bully a loli! WTF?! Can’t let a girl whose bicycle run over your toes go? They flee when Rentarou flashes his Civil Security badge. Tina Sprout is impressed. He is her superhero. Oh no. I have a bad feeling about this… He notices her taking caffeine as it is hard for her to stay awake in the day. She trolls with him about the things she did this morning and he knows she is lying. Her best reply: Why, he knows her better than herself! More trolling when she calls his number he gave her just to confirm he isn’t lying and that she actually knows where she lives. Later Tina gets a call from her master and her mission is to assassinate Seitenshi. That night she puts on her best dress and getting stuffs ready. The policeman doesn’t think a young girl should be out alone by herself. Tina’s master tells her to kill him. Well, the very wrecked police car says it all…

Back home, Miori Shiba collapses in front of Rentarou’s door due to her cold. This is followed by Kisara who is hungry. Rentarou knows this is trouble because both these girls hate each other! I can see what this is coming to. Miori is the daughter of a large scale weapons company president who supplies Varanium bullets. Miori begins her sarcasm as Kisara tries to ignore. But when Miori starts getting flirty and that Rentarou belongs to her, time to settle this sh*t. Because tonight’s dinner lacks some delicious seasoning: Miori’s blood. And so the catfight begins as Rentarou moves his table aside so as not to waste food. Good move. But goodbye his rental deposit. Rentarou escorts Seitenshi to see President Sougen Saitake. He is the area’s head and among the 5 area heads who united their respective areas after the Gastrea war, Saitake is the most dangerous of them all. In the meeting, Saitake blames Rentarou for destroying the railgun module as he planned to send it up to the moon. Seems his target isn’t just Gastrea. He has this vision that after Gastrea is eliminated, a new leader of the new world is needed. His goal is that and will get all the power he wants and eliminate those in the way. He believes his will is Japan’s and that Japan’s will is his. Well, he didn’t say he was God, right? Seitenshi is of course depressed but praises Rentarou for not yielding to him. Because Japan produces the most Varanium thanks to its archipelago of volcanic islands, he believes Saitake is supplying that person with Varanium to get money and weapons. She wants Rentarou to continuously be her bodyguard as this area is not safe and can foresee high ranking assassinations. She wants to be the embodiment of peace and show that she is not just talk. When Enju wakes up, she has a bad feeling. True enough, Rentarou protects Seitenshi from a sniper’s fire. Enju deflects another shot as the bodyguards escort her into a building. Rentarou can sense the enemy is gone and wonder who that person is. Because we all know she is Tina. She reports her failure to her master but will get the job done. Since it was too far, she couldn’t see the skilled bodyguard’s face that protected Seitenshi. I’m sure she’ll do soon.

Episode 6
I don’t know if Rentarou has got a new loli pet because he is giving her food. And because she is so clumsy, he couldn’t stand her spilling anymore food and feeds her. Yup. She loves it. Enough to make her say she loves him because nobody has been this kind to her ever since her parents died. A call ends their meeting. Her master has a mission for her: Kill Kisara. If you’re wondering why Kisara is armed to her teeth, she’s not going to fight Gastrea. She’s going to neutralize Miori! She won’t get her chance since Miori takes Rentarou into her place and warns any damages will be billed to her company. Miori has analyzed the sniping incident but still cannot identify the sniper. He pleads for her help to research on Saitake. And this is where the flirting begins… I guess Kisara couldn’t take it anymore. Bill or no bill, she’s going to kill that woman. But she is left speechless when Miori put words into Rentarou’s mouth that he would join her company if she offered herself to him. Sumire had a good laugh hearing this. Why on earth did he tell her this in the first place? Sumire talks about the other prodigies in charge of the New Humanity Creation Plan. Aside from her, there is one from Australia, America and Germany. The plan is to create mechanized soldiers to fight Gastrea but after realizing the high extent of Cursed Children’s fighting abilities, the project was scraped. Many of the mechanized soldiers were relieved of their duties and became Promoters. Rentarou already defeated a mechanized soldier under the German prodigy: Kagetane.

Tina barges into Kisara’s office and starts making Swiss cheese out of the place. Kisara fights back but loses. She notices Tina’s hands shaking. Is she afraid to kill? As Tina strangles her, Kisara is calling out Rentarou’s name to save her. And like a true hero, here he is. Imagine their shock and disappointment when they realize each other’s identity. Big irony, isn’t it? The standoff ends with Tina escaping. Kisara is treated at the hospital. And all that talk about vengeance and pain suddenly turns into something flirty. She ‘learnt’ something by ‘observing’ Miori and wants Rentarou to hold her hand. This is what she learnt? But she’s already so embarrassed that she could die. It isn’t that Rentarou turned into a pervert and starts groping her boobs. It’s Enju. Rentarou continues his bodyguard job on Seitenshi. He is very sure Saitake is behind this attack. Even so, there is no possible reason for Seitenshi to just cancel this meeting. Rentarou is mad. He didn’t take up this job to die for her. He’ll protect her. Definitely. As she gets out of the car, Yasuwaki is b*tching about the low end car she has to travel. They had to switch for diversion. Can’t you at least understand that? Suddenly Rentarou hears a familiar sound. It’s going to be a sniper attack. Get down! After a few shots, Rentarou gets hit in the arm protecting her. Enju goes off alone, confident she can catch Tina and take her down. But after she leaves, Seitenshi realizes the enemy’s name and does her research to reveal Tina is one of the mechanized soldiers and a high ranking one. In short, if Enju fights her alone, she will be killed. Call her back now! I hope the phone is working. It is. Hello? Hello? No answer. It could only mean one thing… Tina picked up that call. More devastation for Rentarou…

Episode 7
Enju is in ICU and won’t awake at least for any 2 days. Worse, Seitenshi is scheduled to meet Saitake for another meeting tomorrow. Rentarou can’t take it anymore and collapses. Lucky for him, Kisara is there to catch him. Is this how she would like to catch her guy? If things aren’t getting bad enough, here comes Yasuwaki rubbing into Rentarou’s face about his new protection plan that doesn’t involve him. Rentarou doesn’t give a damn and threatens him to come up with a false plan and leak it because he will still be protecting Seitenshi whether he likes it or not. Rentarou does his simulated training and thanks to some Varanium implant in his eye, he sees worldly movements slower than they should and thus his lightning speed reflex. Although his power level is at 2200%, it is a far cry from Enju’s 8600% which is way below than Tina’s 12900%! Holy sh*t! What kind of power level is that?! Tina’s non-killing action weighs heavily on Rentarou’s mind. He thinks she is trying to avoid killing as much as possible since she could have easily killed her targets. Tina receives info about the security plan from her master, Ayn Rand who is the American prodigy for the New Humanity Creation Plan. Tina senses something wrong in the plan because there is a spot in the route as though it was intentional for a perfect shot. Rand tells her Rentarou and Enju are still alive and warns if she fails her mission, she will commit suicide. Tina even gives Rentarou a courtesy call to end this. You won’t know if you don’t try.

Rentarou enters the building and fights off floating ‘eyeballs’ that serve as eyes for Tina to remotely control various heavy machine guns situated at certain points of the building. Eventually it comes down to man versus loli. Unfortunately Rentarou lost. But his luck changes when Enju’s face flashes before his mind. His misfired flash grenade activates and this temporarily blinds Tina (since she has night visions, it is very blinding). Now it is Rentarou’s turn for some loli abuse as he hammers her down the floors. She wants him to finish her as she doesn’t want her body which is filled with technology to be taken alive. However he won’t kill her. Because she saved Enju. So thank you. As he carries her out and will try to plead for a lenient sentence, Tina thinks she has lost her reason of existence (she only exists to fight). She wants him to take responsibility. It all comes down to this, huh? Maybe Rentarou doesn’t have to because Tina is shot in the heart! By Yasuwaki! After guiding Seitenshi safely to her place, he is here on his own to take care of things. He is going to find out how many ordinary lead bullets will take to kill a Cursed Child and see Rentarou’s distressed face. Suddenly here comes Seitenshi. Wasn’t she supposed to be at the meeting? Well, after hearing Yasuwaki acting on his own, she stepped out of the meeting early. As she is indebted to Rentarou, she asks him what he wants. Power. The power to protect. She raises his rank to 300. Now he can have access to top rank classified information and ranks hire than Yasuwaki. Now this guy is scared. He should be. Because Rentarou shoots off a finger of his! And warns never to come near Tina again. Ever. A week later, Saitake went home upset after feeling abandoned at the meeting. Rentarou couldn’t find any connection with Saitake and Rand. Tina is under Seitenshi’s care and under interrogation. But he’ll get a pleasant surprise when he returns to office. Tina is working as an office assistant! Kisara found her too cute to resist and hired her. Hey, even Enju loves her. Ironically, they almost got killed by this loli. Rentarou’s headache just turned up a notch and he doesn’t want to take responsibility for this. Aha! What did he say about responsibility over Tina?!

Episode 8
Rentarou agrees to be the teacher for Matsuzaki’s lolis. Boy, they are an enthusiastic bunch asking lots of questions. Nothing to do with the syllabus, though. They’re asking about Rentarou’s marriage to Enju, Kisara’s big boobs, if she is dating Rentarou, etc. Since she denies everything, it is a big boost for Enju. Oh yeah. But Seitenshi has urgent news. A stage four Gastrea called Aldebaran has destroyed a monolith. Another one is found to be injected with some Varanium corroding fluid and will be destroyed in 6 days. Construction of the monolith has begun but it will take 9 days. According to their analysis, 2000 Gastrea outside will flood and destroy Tokyo by then. This information is withheld from the public to prevent panic. She wants Rentarou to form an adjuvant, a squad system with a team of Civil Security agents working with JASDF. During the time the monolith is destroyed and the new one created, there will be a big battle. They must fight to prevent every Gastrea from coming in. This fight will decide the fate of Tokyo. That night when Tina can’t sleep, she talks to Rentarou and knows about the monoliths. She also mentions the old her as died in a battle with him. With this new life, it is all his to do whatever he wants. He explains he formed an agency with Kisara a year ago because of his hatred for Gastrea. But when he first saw Enju’s eyes, it was the eyes of those being betrayed by humans so many times that it was so much colder than theirs. So he changed. Enju changed. Then Kisara changed. Next morning when Kisara is here to pick Tina up, that loli crawls out from his lower half. With her ambiguous words that ‘last night was fun’ and ‘she learnt new things’, Kisara cannot resist calling the cops and Enju is devastated she beat her to it. And what the hell is this Tina night version?! All a big misunderstanding, don’t you agree?

News that the leader of the movement who wants to expel Cursed Children is killed. This will make the new Gastrea law impossible to pass now. Rentarou takes Tina out to the city and she treats it like a date. Gotta have fun, right? They see a blind Cursed Child begging for money. Rentarou is curious that she shouldn’t have any illness but it seems she pour lead into her eyes because her mom hates those red eyes. Rentarou doesn’t want her to come around here for a few days (because anti-Cursed Children protest is gaining momentum) and gives her some cold hard cash. Rentarou then begins his adjuvant recruiting spree. He goes to see Tamaki Katagiri but his Initiator, Yuzuki doesn’t like this pervert and starts insulting him. Anyway Rentarou reveals the top secret info and brings shock to Katagiri. It is not the money anymore. So won’t he fight for Rentarou’s sake? Since he won’t work for those weaker than he is, the only way is to fight. Needless to say when Rentarou gets serious, he wins. Yuzuki might be moving around like a fly as opposed to Tina just standing there. After her analysis, a single move is just what she needs to defeat her. Yuzuki is frustrated but with Tina humble in victory, Yuzuki starts loving her and wants to marry her! With that, Katagiri joins Rentarou.

Episode 9
Rentarou brings Tina to see Sumire. Tina mentions that a handful of people will come after her and she doesn’t want to inconvenience them. Rentarou tells her that they are not so weak that she needs to worry about it. Sumire’s translation: She is vital in his loli harem programme. For real?! Later Rentarou and Sumire discuss their different approach in changing the world. A world where people don’t have to wake up in fear of Gastrea. Sumire then shows him some data that he got with his level. It is believed that the records of Gastrea are supposed to be destroyed but here they are. It means somebody is trying to conceal them. Kisara interrupts to tell him to watch the news. Since the weakening of the monolith is all over the news, Seitenshi is holding an emergency press conference to quell the panic but the press grill her about knowing such information beforehand. Rentarou and Enju go around searching for more members for their adjuvant. Either they are very unsuitable or have joined other teams. They see a dead Civil Servant by the tracks and nearby a fight is about to erupt. Rentarou recognizes Shouma Nagisawa and his Initiator, Midori Fuse. Shouma easily defeats the rowdy challenger. Shouma hasn’t forgotten about Rentarou. In fact, Shouma was Rentarou’s senior back at the Tendou dojo but one day suddenly left for no reason. The answer is simple. He felt he was not up to it. Shouma has heard of Rentarou’s achievements recently and is more than happy to join his team. Although 3 pairs is the minimum required for a team, Rentarou feels he wants 5 pairs to cover all blind spots and the maximum he can direct. Well, they don’t need to start looking because Kisara is going to join them with Tina as her Initiator. Although Tina’s rank was revoked, Kisara personally pleaded to Seitenshi to have it reinstated. It took a while for Kisara to realize Shouma is here but Rentarou takes her away because he doesn’t want her to risk her health fighting. Everyone is called to assemble by the commander, Nagamasa Gado. He revs up everyone about protecting this area. But Rentarou throws him a question during Q&A. Their distance between camp and the battle is quite far. As they won’t act till they only get a call from the army, how sure is he that they will be called? Shouldn’t they move closer to the action and respond faster to the military’s call? I don’t think it got answered but Rentarou and Kisara have another round talking to each other, sorting out their feelings. Kisara wants him to abandon her if she ever gets in the way. Of course you know he can’t do that. And what seems to look like a confession scene from Rentarou, it is unceremoniously interrupted by the rest who were watching…

Episode 10
Even in busy times, Rentarou can still conduct classes. He has them write what they want to be in the future. I should have seen this coming. Enju’s answer… To marry Rentarou and kiss him. Gee, Tina’s answer is pretty much to same too. Rentarou is kind enough to have a field trip for the girls. They feel sad they won’t be around for the next festival so he assures them that they will be fighting and protecting them. The girls are pleased and pass him. They even admit some want to marry him! Oh God. The rivalry just went up a few notches. That night, Kisara brings Rentarou to the monolith. It is so brittle that touching it is enough to break. They wonder why this monolith is particularly targeted by Aldebaran. Maybe it is weak and needs rest after injecting such corrosive fluid. Still, Kisara will do some investigation on it. With a romantic moment to spare, Kisara has Rentarou lie next to her. He didn’t have the guts to hold her hand till she mentions about her fear that her happiness now will end one day. He assures he will protect her and they are not going anywhere. Next day, Rentarou sees the blind girl being harassed by the public. He uses his authority to chase them away. When results of Kisara’s investigation return, she is not pleased and burns it. Rentarou picks up what is left and reads this monolith was built at the end of the Gastrea war on orders by Kazumitsu, Kisara’s brother. As Rentarou and Enju leave for yet another class, they are surprised to see police barricading the place. The area has been bombed (believed to be by people who have a grudge against Cursed Children). Rentarou identifies all the dead bodies of his students at the morgue. Enju remains stubborn to go see them but is left screaming and crying. Rentarou becomes depressed. Disillusioned. Angry. A call from Kisara to wake him up. She tells him they are Civil Servants and must serve justice. If they manage to save Tokyo, it might help change hatred and people’s thinking even if it is little. They are fighting for that change and even if this job stinks, it is worth fighting for. Just then, the monolith collapses. A day early, huh? Well, nobody took into account the wind conditions. Rentarou picks up Enju. She is totally like a zombie but has to pick herself up to go fight.

Episode 11
The JASDF seems to be winning. Or are they? Big explosions. Tanks being thrown and the swarm of invading Gastrea. Not good. Rentarou realizes certain Gastrea creatures are going to flank them and they will be annihilated this way. Even if it means disobeying direct orders, they head to destroy that deployment. When they return, they see teams being slaughtered by what it is called a Spear of Light. Then there’s Aldebaran. However it seems to command the other Gastrea to retreat. The casualties are high. It is even worse to think that those killed by Gastrea will turn into one of them and they’ll be fighting them again. After doing what they can to nurse the wounded, Rentarou’s adjuvant discuss about the effects of those who survived the Spear of Light. There are hints of mercury in it. Tina’s floating eyeballs detected a very huge Gastrea shooting that light kilometres away. Rentarou is summoned by Gado who lost a leg during the fight (he claims he let them have it). Rentarou deduces that some sort of pheromones is making the Gastrea strong. The JASDF were winning and then suddenly they lost. Gastrea formed a wall trying to protect Aldebaran when it was hurt. So if they destroy Aldebaran, they destroy the Gastrea pack. Gado lets him know something. There is no way to kill Aldebaran. It is immortal. He was there, very sure his Varanium blade sliced into its core and heart but he saw it regenerate. Also, the Spear of Light Gastrea as they nickname it Pleiades is also a great threat like Aldebaran. They must destroy it too. Which brings him to this ‘difficult’ decision. Because Rentarou’s team disobeyed direct orders, his adjuvant is disbanded and he will face capital punishment. His mission is to infiltrate enemy territory and destroy Pleiades alone. His team will be spared then. It’s like a suicide mission, no? No choice, Rentarou leaves that night and Kisara knows something is wrong. He isn’t just going to the toilet with all that baggage. She wants them to run away but where else can they run? If they don’t stop this now, they’ll die no matter where they run. And so Rentarou is in enemy territory and being attacked by Gastrea dogs. He thought he is done for but is saved by an unlikely source. Guess who is back? Kagetane and Kohina are still alive. Rentarou remains sceptical despite they treat him. He wonders why he is always wearing a mask but is asked back does he really want to see his face? No. Wise choice. He’ll regret it if he does. Kagetane wants him to join his side but Rentarou again will not. Kagetane is very sure he will come to his side. Next day as Rentarou gets a move on, Kagetane mentions he has encountered Pleiades last night and points its direction. Why is he helping? Because he likes him. Yeah. Like him so much that he is following him too, eh?

Episode 12
Pleiades is found and originally Rentarou wanted to blast it with its explosives but his backpack fell into the river during the Gastrea attack. The only way is for Rentarou and Kagetane to combine their powers and destroy it. Though successful, it awakens Aldebaran and the other Gastrea hordes as they make their move. Rentarou contacts Seitenshi that Pleiades has been defeated and requests for fire support. The JASDF starts bombing and scatter the Gastrea swarm. Rentarou witnesses that Aldebaran still moves despite being mutilated. Is it really immortal? When Rentarou is reunited with his group, he is being told Gado died in battle and the rules state the next highest officer will take charge. That person is no other than Rentarou. Kagetane and Kohina return to the camp and the other teams are not happy to see them (they are the ones who killed a Civil Servant by the tracks because he wanted to start a fight). Kohina just wants to cut Enju and everybody… Rentarou tells everyone to back down since they shouldn’t be arguing among themselves and find a way to fight Gastrea. Kagetane will be watching his move as the next commander. More crisis hit Rentarou at it is learnt that Midori has been infected with Gastrea virus while she was trying to save an Initiator. Her corrosion rate is already at a dangerous level. Kagetane wants him to kill her because he once fought him to maintain world order and since this is the world he wished for, he must make amends. Rentarou goes talk to Midori in bed. She thinks Kisara has a dark side but believes as long as Rentarou is their leader, she’ll be okay. Then she goes off to toilet and it took a while for Rentarou to realize something is wrong. When he goes looking for her, he finds her dead smiling corpse by the tree. Shouma is sad that they were very similar. They were lonely and contracted each other to remedy each other’s loneliness. He reveals he did not leave the dojo but was excommunicated because of some move he modified that was not allowed by the master. It is the reason why he joined the Civil Servant. He regrets not killing her sooner since he was her partner. Rentarou is about to get emotional but Shouma tells him to avenge her death by killing Aldebaran.

Rentarou becomes the next commander but some of the teams want to run away. Instantly he takes Kisara’s sword and stabs his arm! Others try to kill him but Kagetane protects him. His actions might have gone too far but as he explains, everyone is fearing Gastrea at this rate that they will not be able to fight. He is willing to be the sole object of hatred and fear so that they will not fear Gastrea. He doesn’t need anyone right now but of course Kisara will always be by his side even if the world turns against him. Gado’s Initiator, Asaka Mibu does not have confidence in Rentarou being their leader but Rentarou points out their loss twice under Gado because of his wrong tactics. She is going to kill him for mocking him but Shouma stops her. He proposes they temporarily team up till Aldebaran is defeated. I know Kisara is on Rentarou’s side on almost anything but this has got to be it when he hires Miori as his tactician! No time to b*tch about it. She has created a super power EP bomb that will destroy Aldebaran for sure. However there is a catch. They need to blast a hole in its super hard shell and detonate inside its body. Where the hell in this world there is such a super piercing weapon that can do that? There is one: Rentarou. Okay. It is calculated that Aldebaran will arrive at the Flames of Revolution location. This is where the final battle will commence. Everyone makes the final preparations but Enju is having this sad feeling. This was one of the places they had their field trip with the Cursed Children (and where some proposed to him). Rentarou’s words of encouragement make her feel better. With Kagetane and Kohina joining his adjuvant, Rentarou is confident he has all the cards he needs to win this battle. But another problem is cropping up. Yasuwaki has his men have throw batteries into the sea as he plans Rentarou’s downfall. This guy should just die.

Episode 13
Gastrea is going to be here any minute and the batteries aren’t here. They’re screwed if it doesn’t. Suddenly festival lanterns are seen floating in the sky. As Seitenshi explains, they are lighted by the people, their prayers and will to live. Tokyo’s future rests in their hands. With the much needed motivation, the Civil Servants begin their assault on the Gastrea onslaught. Rentarou’s adjuvant provides support to him to reach Aldebaran whereby he uses his Varanium limbs to make a big hole in it and plant the EP bomb. Once in, everyone run and hide. However… There is an error and the bomb won’t go off. F*ck this sh*t! There is only one way. From the way he says goodbye to Enju and knocks her out, Rentarou are you trying to be a hero?! He is going to use shock to restart it but he needs to be at touching distance for that to happen. But before he could get close, the Varanium corroding liquid from Aldebaran takes his leg. Shouma is going to complete his mission since his ability is suitable to destroy the enemy from the inside. Oh, so now he wants to be a hero? Just like Aldebaran, Shouma believes his rogue techniques should be buried with it. And so Shouma becomes a martyr. There is nothing Rentarou can do about it. The explosion was huge enough that it looked like an atomic bomb. Enju is relieved to see Rentarou alive. She explains after Aldebaran is killed, the remaining Gastrea started acting strangely and scattered. They were easily disposed off. Now the bunch of JSDF helicopters arrive with the batteries. What’s the use now? So many have died. In the aftermath, Seitenshi makes her public announcement of their victory as the monolith’s construction is close to complete.

Kazumitsu sees Kisara and they are not happy to see each other. She throws him some evidence book as promised and he is unhappy that he thought he had gotten rid of them all. Kisara’s research shows that this monolith was ordered by him but at the same time there were other ingredients mixed into the Varanium, thus weakening it. With inferior materials used, he pocketed the rest of the money and bought his way to the minister post he is holding now. Kazumitsu admits it even to a point that a villain like him will not perish! So I guess it’s time to fight to the death. It’s inevitable. Kazumitsu wants to shut her mouth and erase evidence while Kisara wants revenge over her parents’ death. She uses a move she created to slice off his left leg! She makes this chicken spill the beans. He reveals there were 5 involved. Him, his 3 other brothers and Kikunojo. There were very similar of such incidents in the past. That is how Tendou obtained its current status. When their father has had it and threatened to expose the darkness of the Tendou family, that Gastrea attack in the heart of Tokyo 10 years ago was planned to rid of them all. It seems like Kisara spared his life and the way he thanks her for it is so freaking annoying. But little did he know that Kisara struck a deadly second strike that splits his face in half!!! OMFG!!! Why the delay?! Was it made to activate after he tells the truth?! Kisara is like so happy that she exacted revenge and justice for her parents but not Rentarou. That was just execution. This makes Kisara telling him his justice will never win. He failed to slay Kikunojo unlike her who could slay Kazumitsu. She can do it because she is evil. His fist of justice can never touch her evil and it is this evil that will overpower evil. Kisara is so freaking scary that Rentarou is just afraid. He fears she will become his enemy. Rentarou and Enju are on their way to Seitenshi’s conferment ceremony. She makes him promise that he mustn’t fight alone, they must do things together and never to knock her out. When she wonders the deaths of the Cursed Children and Shouma was painful and if there was anything they could do, Rentarou breaks down uncontrollably and hugs her. No, it isn’t because he missed his loli. He fears he might become unaffected by the deaths of others. He wants Enju to always stay by his side. Of course. No 2 ways about it.

Biting The Bullet
As always. Every anime that ends like this always has potential but you know, that depends on a lot of factors. Monetary factors. Ah yes. Reality is pretty much the same. But as far as this season is concerned, I guess as always. My typical answer of okay. It has its fair share of action-cum-bloody violence, fair share of funny moments, hinting moments of romance and loli harem (say what?) and of course the dark side and politics of humans. Lots of things unresolved, several question marks, some potential development in the plot especially about the big and mysterious Tendou family who may be the biggest crook and devil that humanity ever have in their midst. It’s like they are playing God and both the angel and the devil together.

It makes you wonder if the real threats are actually Gastrea or humans themselves. Although both are a serious threat to the survival of humanity, something deep in our guts tells us that humans are the biggest danger instead of Gastrea. Because as you have seen the political manoeuvres and underhanded tactics that politicians and influential people at the top employ for whatever selfish desires they have. Some going as far as to reveal and admit themselves as a big villain. Don’t look at those top people. Look at the public at how they scorn the Cursed Children when it is believed that they are the key to help defeat Gastrea. Even in times of crisis, they need to find a scapegoat and somebody to discriminate. So even if humanity is saved from Gastrea, is it worth the effort? Is there hope? Well, if looking at the big picture scares you and gives you the ultimate creeps, then look at it at a smaller scale. Because for people like Rentarou and Enju, there are little things that are worth fighting for and that is what counts.

Character wise, Rentarou and Enju are the main stars of the series although I expected to see them bonding (not the S&M type, mind you) and interact with each other a lot, towards the end of the series, somehow I just don’t feel that they have bonded closer. What I mean is that they have always been close together. They do things together and stay by each other’s side. So much so you don’t feel any sort of further development between the duo. For Rentarou, you can see he is a very conflicted guy. He is in lots of stress and very much in a dilemma. He has so much anger that if it all bursts out, it could be equivalent to the EP bomb. No, seriously, angst and frustration is how you best describe Rentarou’s behaviour. He wants to do the best he can but circumstances and his hands are tied meaning he has very limited options to go about. He is torn between the ideals and justice he believes in as well as the expectations and results in reality. What is justice? Can such fairytale justice be done in the real world? So can you not blame him for looking weary and sounding tired? Like he is hard bitten by the weather. There are sides that you don’t even see or rarely see of him like how he breaks down and cries. At least this proves that he still has a human heart and is rational enough to think that killing other humans is still bad no matter the reason and that it should never be something one should get used to. All the bitter experience as we see serve only to make him stronger and hopefully a happy ending awaits. Hopefully. Enju may look like a happy loli most of the time but there are unseen pain and trauma that we don’t know. All Rentarou wants is for her to lead a normal happy life but will society allow it? Therefore Rentarou and Enju both make a great pair as they support and change each other for the better. At least we know they’ll always be together. But I wonder how long that will last because if you remember, Enju’s corrosion rate is at a dangerous level. Forgot about that, did we?

Other characters are okay too but with the short duration of the series, most of them are not fleshed out well as they don’t really leave any emotional impact (because we get most of them from Rentarou). Some are surprising like in Kisara’s case, we see how much she changed or at least her true colours shown. The fight against Gastrea must have taken a toll on her that she has crossed over to the dark side to get things done. Is she no better than the crooks on the other side? While her rational is to fight fire with fire (thus evil with evil), but the way I see it she is just losing herself deeper into the spiral of madness that it will be impossible for her or even Rentarou to pull her out. I feel Tina has toned down after her arc and became Kisara’s Initiator. Before that she was pretty ruthless and initially a great troller to Rentarou in her ditzy form. Funny girl. Then there is Shouma whom I thought his late introduction was somewhat rushed. Then they killed him off. Felt like very rushed too. Is that the role of his character? I mean, Midori died, his temporarily alliance with Asaka felt like nothing (it’s as good as if he didn’t team up with anyone at all), what is there left for this sad guy? Since Rentarou is the main hero, I guess poor Shouma have to take his sacrificing spot. Katagiri and Yuzuki are also a formidable pair but the lack of their screen time don’t do them any justice. Same case for Sumire and Miori. Is that scientist just someone to listen and laugh at Rentarou’s stories while maintaining his routine checkups and the daughter of Varanium supplying weapons company just to give some catfight tension and a reason we can have an explosive finale?

Kagetane and Kohina are the biggest puzzle and question mark. I felt that it wasn’t the end of him when he ‘died’ since how can such a mysterious just get killed off like that? Well, it happens to some characters but not this guy. Then true enough, he is back. It is uncertain if they have joined the fight against Gastrea or something just temporarily as they seek something entertaining while observing Rentarou. You can’t tell what is on their mind and definitely you can’t tell whether they are friend or foe. Perhaps he is doing it all for Rentarou in hopes that one day he would join his side. Otherwise, always look over your shoulders when this guy is around. He hides something more hideous than the mask that covers his face. Kohina is cute and deadly as she just wants to cut things up. If she wasn’t a Cursed Child, she would have turned into an excellent serial killer.

The character that everybody would love to hate is Yasuwaki. First this guy is obsessed about Seitenshi and then when Rentarou got into the picture, he becomes obsessed in taking him out. So what happened to his fate? I guess nobody caught him for that act of betrayal. I hope this guy just gets killed in some Gastrea war. Or a simple road accident would suffice. People like him are giving humanity a bad name. It’s ironic that bozos like him live longer. Last but not least, Seitenshi seems to be putting up a pretty good expressionless poker face because I feel deep down inside she is just hurting like hell. I suppose this is the price to pay for being a public figure. So much so I thought she is stuck with that emotionless face or too much Gastrea and deaths caused her face muscles to harden. She is one of those few people who trusts and wants to help Rentarou but she is not the highest ranking person so her hands are tied too.

One of the biggest things that boggle me is the creation of the monolith. No, not the process or how it is made. I couldn’t care less about it. It makes me wonder why they don’t make more of those monoliths. I mean, make it a continuous process. Slowly and gradually, place the newly made monoliths and spread them out further to reclaim more land. Simple. So I don’t understand why they have to wait for the last minute to make one and they even know they don’t even have time to make the deadline. I know it’s for action’s sake but that’s a different story. Maybe there are greed, political restrictions and insufficient material. Humanity’s fate is hanging on a thin thread and humans can still bicker about politics and the likes? It’s a wonder they’re still alive this far. As for limited resources, perhaps this is more feasible reason. You don’t see Civil Servants wasting precious Varanium bullets or the army even using them and just sparingly. Which brings me to this question: Where the heck do they mine those Varanium bullets? Are they created in the lab or something if they are not natural minerals?

Of course there are other very technical stuffs that I never understood like the rankings and all. I don’t know how high that number can reach and because I do not comprehend it all, it is like the number doesn’t have an impact on me. In other words, I do not feel the awe or worry every time they mention about this ranking thing. Is a higher number good or bad? I don’t know. It sounds so confusing. Even more mind boggling is the power percentage that exceeds 100% and going into five digits and possibly more. What the heck is the use of percentage that we learnt in school then?! Then there are those sci-fi terms (including those in battles) and the convoluted politics and history that I feel if you are a fan of the series, you would understand and appreciate it better and in depth. For me, my mind has already automatically shut itself off and stopped thinking about it. Really. Too much information not only in the sci-fi aspects but the plot as well that never develops or go anywhere so it makes you wonder why the need to mention and bring them up in the first place.

The romance factor feels like a near miss. I don’t know if there should be one in this series seeing everything is so bleak that people aren’t in the mood for romance. Life has to go on. But it feels like a distraction and something fleeting about Rentarou and Kisara’s case because there are a handful of moments that may hint and indicate something about their feelings for each other. This is just highly speculation and those scenes may want to make us think so. Because usually they get interrupted and we never see and hear the rest of the full story of it. But with the turn of events of their different definitions of justice at the end of the series, looks like love doesn’t seem like the closest thing that you would imagine Rentarou and Kisara to be with. However we can safely assume that Kisara does have a thing for Rentarou because of the catfight clash with Miori. I thought this was the amusing part of the series and hoped to see more. Too bad. I’m such a sadist. Unless in extreme case scenario that they don’t really like Rentarou and are just using him to spite each other. Because as we can see, they get really worked up if the other gets flirty with him. Or simply they just like him.

Then there is the loli harem that one might worry that Rentarou might be amassing. Uh huh. When those Cursed Children under him started liking him, there are hints that Rentarou would have more lolis to add to his list. But they got bombed and killed off. And here I thought there was this curse that lolis who get close to Rentarou will receive some death fate because Kayo started the ball rolling and Tina would have continued this streak had not Rentarou gave her another lease of life. And then that group of Cursed Children and finally Midori (although she isn’t directly connected to Rentarou but he is part of the adjuvant, which makes her more or less the same). I suppose Yuzuki is the only exception since she loves her brother more. Unless she’s a tsundere…

The action is also rather okay and should satisfy action junkies although I won’t go so far as to say they are hardcore. But satisfying enough if you want to watch Rentarou and Enju (or some other lolis Cursed Children) kick ass. It is nice to see that some of the Cursed Children having a unique ability of their own depending the type of animal they are modelled to like Enju has great jumping abilities like a rabbit and Kohina a mantis type model since she likes slicing stuffs. The other mind boggling thing for me is Rentarou’s martial arts and combat skill. I know he learns those super punching and kicking moves from his Tendou dojo but the names of his special moves he unleashes feel funny. Sometimes it sounds grand but most of the time it feels like he is pulling out some super moves that you’d see only in Dragonball. So okay, he himself can be considered a superhero considering his artificial and enhanced limbs. But anyway, honestly I thought the names of his moves just sounds one kind. The same case with Kisara’s sword style. But be warned that there are scenes which may be too graphic as they have gory blood spill. Well, at least better than all the action and killing but lacking blood. Where’s the realism in that?

Drawing and art style feels pretty standard and conventional. Except the fact that the Cursed Children have this very loli look. I mean, when you first look at them (and all of them), you would think that they have this look of a toddler. Smooth baby face, if I should say. So how can people hate those lolis especially their own mothers? Red eyes are one thing but doesn’t the cuteness of them overwhelm everything else? I guess when you have to live in fear of alien bugs, nothing is cute anymore. In addition to the usual 2D hand drawn animation, CGI effects are also used but this is particularly on certain Gastrea creatures like Aldebaran and Pleiades. Speaking of Gastrea, some of their designs look creepy. This is basically part of me who is adverse to bugs so seeing their monstrous design is scary but thankfully not enough to give me nightmares. Hmm… Now come to think of it, these bugs may seem worthy of appearing in Starship Troopers… At first I thought certain character designs like Kisara reminded me of the anime Unbreakable Machine Doll. However this anime is animated by Kinema Citrus and not Lerche. They did series such as Barakamon, Code: Breaker, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 and Yuyushiki.

Voice acting is rather okay with familiar voices such as Yuuki Kaji as Rentarou, Yui Horie as Kisara, Rikiya Koyama as Kagetane, Aoi Yuuki as Kohina and Shinichiro Miki as Shouma. Some need a little time for me to identify like Aki Toyosaki as Seitenshi, Ami Koshimizu as Miori and Yuko Kaida as Sumire. As for the rest, they include Rina Hidaka as Enju (Airi in Ro-Kyu-Bu), Tomoyo Kurosawa as Tina (Sylphy in Amagi Brilliant Park), Yoshimasa Hosoya as Katagiri (Shichika in Katanagatari), Rumi Ookubo as Yuzuki (Hibachi in Mushibugyou), Inori Minase as Asaka (Suzu in Love Lab), Tesshou Genda as Gado (Optimus Prime in Transformers), Yui Ogura as Midori (Komurasaki in Unbreakable Machine Doll), Subaru Kimura as Yasuwaki (Kanba in Mawaru Penguindrum), Unshou Ishizuka as Saitake (Dr Gel in Space Dandy) and Megumi Han as Kayo (titular character in Mushibugyou).

If the opening theme which is the same name of this anime title sounds very familiar, then perhaps you might have watched To Aru Kagaku No Railgun before. That’s right. Fripside sings the opening theme and the rock techno beat has that familiar feel to all the openings that they have sung in that latter anime. The ending theme, Tokohana by Nagi Yanagi although is rock based, its opener has that eerie feel seeing the eerie hymn-like voices. But once the rock music gets going, you’ll forget that it is ever a creepy song. A slower ballad gives a different overall feel although Wasurenai Tame Ni For Lotus by Nagi Yanagi is only for the final episode.

Overall, this series may do well in its action parts but other than that has lots of missed opportunities and several unintentional ‘funny’ stuffs may have turned it into something substandard and cheap instead of something you should be taking seriously. Funny stuffs as in Rentarou’s nearly loli harem, the nearly catfight between Kisara and Miori and the best part is that Rentarou cannot be bothered to stop them because he knows he can’t, the nearly suggestive hentai moments when you see Gastrea spider squirt out white sticky things on lolis and of course the absolutely most absurd and unbelievable of them all, a certain politician and big brother’s head splitting in half after spilling enough hints. And he doesn’t even realize it till it starts to have that exploding feeling. Geez… I don’t know if you should cringe or laugh because certainly some of those funny stuffs are meant to be serious. Really. Seriously. Yeah well, this kind of black humour may be the new black and in a way gave this series a black eye. A black day for comedy and humanity? Well, the devil is not so black as he is painted. There is always hope if you give it a chance.