All your poor saps out there who’re still waiting for the final episode of Zegapain from Megami, I’m here to rescue you. Why watch the show when you can read my horrible synopsis and less-than-articulate views on a series that starts bad, rocks through most of the middle and ends satisfactorily?
Summary, thoughts and screenshots after the jump.
Summary
The Earth is covered by Def-tera Areas, the Oceanus has been taken over, both Lu Shien and Mei Yu has been sacrificed, and it seems like all hope is lost. But there is still hope, with the only functioning Zegapain on the Moon, its pilots Kyo, who has regained his memory and his body, and Shizuno – or Yehl, who is the first artificial Apparition created by Naga to test his plans for immortality. Chris and Mei Yen re-enters the Hræsvelgr and use the Oceanus to detonate the core of G-Phaetus, destroying it and completing phase four of their plan. Sin dies in the Maihama server.
Hajime no Kyo
As the Def-tera Areas on Earth continue to expand, Kyo and Shizuno came up with the plan to destroy the Artic Def-tera by launching the core of the Gards-orm production satelite at the Artic core. While Shizuno is hacking into the control server, she is attacked by its defence system, but Kyo’s friends show up to help. At the same time as the destruction of the Def-tera Areas on Earth, the battle between Kyo and Abyss ends with the destruction of the Couatl.
The resurrection system is installed, and with the power of the Gards-orm all the people of the Maihama server are restored. Shizuno loses her memory, but an upgarded version of the resurrection system would allow her to be resurrected with everyone else. Kyo lives alone on the surface of the real world, waiting for the day when all of mankind can join him in reclaiming their world.
Thoughts
What a ride! Even though Zegapain started dull, I have to admit that the story drew me in once it well and truly stared. Within the greater plot of the struggle for survival of all of mankind, the smaller, seemingly trivia struggles of each individual character touches us on a much more personal scale. The fear of loss, death, seperation – these are things that we can identify with, things that we ourselves would often have to deal with, and despite the setting, all of it works without being overly melo-dramatic or emo. Chris and Arque’s story was particularly touching.
The more philosophical contemplations of the series are presented very well as well. What is the definition of life, and what makes us ‘alive’? Through Kyo’s struggle with, and his subsequent acceptance of reality, the ideas of existentialism and definiton of reality are explored and presented in a clear and understandable manner. It won’t leave you confused and hanging like Ergo Proxy.
What else makes Zegapain so good? Apart from the emotional and intellectual side of things, the action of the Zegapain isn’t bad either. Even though action sequences the first couple of episodes are repetitive, it soon becomes more interesting when more enemies and allies show up to mix things up. The battle before the final moon arc feels suitably epic, and the final battles between the Zegapains and the Anti-Zega are, if nothing else, fun to watch.
The art is of a consistently high level, as expected of Sunrise. The character designs, though not outstanding, are good. Even though the mechs don’t look great at first, you get used to them and they don’t annoy. What deserves special mention are the beautiful back drops, which, although neither as detailed as Kyoani’s offerings nor sublime like those of Mushishi, paints a beautiful world for the Celebrants to fight for, as you can see from these screenshots.
Sunrise has done a really admirable job with Zegapain. It doesn’t nose-dive in the last few episodes like Mai-Otome, nor does it go the way of Destiny. Kyo is a likeable lead, and most of the supporting cast are memorable and do their jobs well. Production value is high, and the story progresses in such a way that hooks you in without leaving you utterly lost and confused. Pieces of the final puzzle are fed to Kyo and the viewer piece by piece, and even when the puzzle is complete the tension never falters. The stories of mankind and the story of the characters are interwoven skillfully to provide a consistent level of entertainment. Although, to be frank, the final reversal of episode 26 seems a bit far-fetched.
Although it starts out slow, Zegapain is an excellent series with a strong story, likeable characters, fun action and respectable food for thought. I strongly recommend it to all of you, whether you’re a fan of mecha, drama or philosophical anime.
Verdict: 4/5 Zegapain pilots would not want to use Vanishment mode after watching this show.
Finally, a few more screenshots. I ♥ Kyo no imouto, shame there’s only 12 seconds of her in the whole series.
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6 Comments
I’m now re-watching the series as the R2 DVDs come out and I’m even more impressed with all the hints and foreshadowing that the writers put into the series. Even the weather in the Maihama server world is an indication of some of what is going on in the real world.
And you got it right the first time – it’s the characters that really make this series. There are scenes with the characters that are so well done that they give me the shivers.
But then, I started to like the series right from the enigmatic prologue, and grew to like it even more as it went along. So Zegapain is a 5/5 and one of the highlights of anime in 2006 for me.
bummer, I stopped watching this series after first 2 episodes because I didn’t like what I saw, now it looks like I have to go back and pick this back up again.
Dave: I didn’t like the first two episodes at all. It revealed too little, and there isn’t really anything to hook you in. But like I mentioned in the article, once the show started in earnest, it was great.
Hao: I did the exact same thing actually. I watched the first two episode and stopped, but I was convinced into picking it up again. It really is a great show, at least after the first 2 or 3 episodes.
Hmm maybe I should pick it up again. I dropped it after the first 5 or 6 episodes.
I fell in love with the series, I enjoyed the character interactions more at the start but they did good jobs with the battles towards the middle and the characters just kept getting better. Unfrtunately I left the series and all the torrent for the XVIDS were dead (I can’t figure out h264) but hopefully I can find the direct downloads and finish this series.
I also have to add that the OP and ED songs are some of the best I’ve ever heard.