Fafner: Exodus

The place to discuss anything relating to anime or manga.
Post Reply
User avatar
Areku
Posts: 1216
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:00 am

Re: Fafner: Exodus

LightningCount wrote:There was a scene in either Ep.21 or 22, and I can't seem to find it a third time to check, but it appeared like a Fafner with the same look and weapon as Johnathan's was flying all over the place, shooting things, and then it gets destroyed by, as I recall, a red Festum. Was that just a random enemy Human Army machine, or was that some kind of error? It confused me.
Based on your subtitle comments, I'm assuming you're talking about Crunchyroll, where the subtitles have had some bizarre errors. Like in Ep. 01, where the subtitle says it's the year 2050... despite the raw caption that it's covering reading 2150! Anyway, I think you're talking about Ep. 22, 00:24-00:29. It's the same type and color as Mitsuhiro's, and that would be the simplest explanation... except that when Mitsuhiro rams Maya at 06:00, he clearly has two Kunai Rifles (do those things have a real name?) on his back, while the one at 00:29 clearly only has one Kunai Rifle. Both mechs are holding the red & white energy rifle in their right hand; the first gets shot on the right shoulder, while Mitsuhiro's machine has no damage to the right shoulder. While it would make sense that Mitsuhiro's machine was shot down and fell into the water, where he encountered Maya and then rammed and pinned her, it would appear that there are either a few animation errors or that those are two different machines. Maybe there's a Diablo off-screen? Or Mitsuhiro has the same abilities as both Sui and Rina?
LightningCount wrote:Also, anyone find it curious how D Island's Core talks about how it's not the same as the old one, yet it wants to behave like it's Soushi's sister now? And this after being "friends"with Seri. For all the talk about how it's different, it sure seems like it wants to relive the old Core's life.
Personally, I've always had the impression that she's essentially the same Tsubaki from the first series, but that she's operating under the assumption that Tsubaki died and that she's her "daughter" because she's determined to learn more about life and death. In her mind, her purpose is to learn about life and death, so surely what happened to Tsubaki was actually death, which would mean she can't be Tsubaki... right? So she tries to be behave differently from Tsubaki while insisting she's an entirely new entity, but that self-denial quickly fades when she sees Seri struggling to cope with quarantine or Soushi returning from a long and extremely dangerous campaign. Remember that we learn that Tsubaki was also putting on a tough act for much of series 1, so this self-denial would be consistent for her.
User avatar
LightningCount
Posts: 918
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:02 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Areku wrote:
LightningCount wrote:There was a scene in either Ep.21 or 22, and I can't seem to find it a third time to check, but it appeared like a Fafner with the same look and weapon as Johnathan's was flying all over the place, shooting things, and then it gets destroyed by, as I recall, a red Festum. Was that just a random enemy Human Army machine, or was that some kind of error? It confused me.
Based on your subtitle comments, I'm assuming you're talking about Crunchyroll, where the subtitles have had some bizarre errors. Like in Ep. 01, where the subtitle says it's the year 2050... despite the raw caption that it's covering reading 2150! Anyway, I think you're talking about Ep. 22, 00:24-00:29. It's the same type and color as Mitsuhiro's, and that would be the simplest explanation... except that when Mitsuhiro rams Maya at 06:00, he clearly has two Kunai Rifles (do those things have a real name?) on his back, while the one at 00:29 clearly only has one Kunai Rifle. Both mechs are holding the red & white energy rifle in their right hand; the first gets shot on the right shoulder, while Mitsuhiro's machine has no damage to the right shoulder. While it would make sense that Mitsuhiro's machine was shot down and fell into the water, where he encountered Maya and then rammed and pinned her, it would appear that there are either a few animation errors or that those are two different machines. Maybe there's a Diablo off-screen? Or Mitsuhiro has the same abilities as both Sui and Rina?
LightningCount wrote:Also, anyone find it curious how D Island's Core talks about how it's not the same as the old one, yet it wants to behave like it's Soushi's sister now? And this after being "friends"with Seri. For all the talk about how it's different, it sure seems like it wants to relive the old Core's life.
Personally, I've always had the impression that she's essentially the same Tsubaki from the first series, but that she's operating under the assumption that Tsubaki died and that she's her "daughter" because she's determined to learn more about life and death. In her mind, her purpose is to learn about life and death, so surely what happened to Tsubaki was actually death, which would mean she can't be Tsubaki... right? So she tries to be behave differently from Tsubaki while insisting she's an entirely new entity, but that self-denial quickly fades when she sees Seri struggling to cope with quarantine or Soushi returning from a long and extremely dangerous campaign. Remember that we learn that Tsubaki was also putting on a tough act for much of series 1, so this self-denial would be consistent for her.
[/size]

First, thanks to Destiny_Gundam for clearing up the subtitle thing. (And yeah, it's from Crunchyroll. No big deal; these things happen. I was just wondering about Ai's fate.)

Areku, that IS the scene I was talking about! I assumed it was in the middle of an episode; that's why I couldn't find it. Anyway, you point out some good things there. I think it was just another Human Army Fafner now--though, whoever the pilot was, they were really good. It pretty clearly looks like it gets destroyed there, and it did have different equipment. That being said, I think what confused me was the level of skill combined with the fact that it was one of the few (if only) "blue" units shown to be on the "enemy's" side in that stretch. Most of them are either green or brown. The fact that it attacks both gold Festum and blue Fafners tells me it most likely had to be a no-name Human Army pilot loyal to Gallop. Because if it was just J.Mitsuhiro being controlled by Festum, it would have only attacked human targets (and I'm not entirely sure if the red Festum would have taken aim at it, either). Seeing the scene a third time cleared that up.

What you say about Tsubaki makes a lot of sense, too.

Now, I just have to wait and see what the deal is with the third Alvis, and if it's Idun again. (And, as an aside, I hope that Koyo and Soushi get a scene to talk.)

Oh, I forgot to mention it earlier, but the ice-powered Festum was really cool. However, Fafner seemed to be taking a page from RahXephon's ice-powered Dolem (and Rebuild of EVA 2's ice-walking Angel). But that's fine, because it's interesting to see the Festum adapt, especially when they're made up of elements to begin with.
My Mecha/Scifi Novels: https://www.goodreads.com/series/168677 ... -war-arm-x
"May you rest in peace, the betrayed and outraged Milliardo Peacecraft."
Most-Wanted Gundam Anime: Episode Zero, Blue Destiny, Rise from the Ashes, Crossbone
User avatar
Amion
Posts: 2166
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:43 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

I confess I disagree a lot about Orihime being essentially the same as Tsubaki. Her overall demeanor is very different, but with enough similarities to show she's inherited traits from her "mother". We know she's technically still the Minashiro girl, but she is still a different personality.

I don't see her behavior as wanting to be sisterly with Soushi because she's consciously Tsubaki. She just wants a relationship with her only blood relative. She didn't get the difference when Soushi and her just met, for instance. That could be evidence in favor of her still being Tsubaki, admittedly. I guess I just see her acting like my own niece, who behaves for all intents and purposes like a little sister.

This episode highlights something interesting: the little Vagrant core ghost...thing... mentions "lets go get our fragment". I think Vagrant is the Azazel that retained Polaris' personality and purpose. The others are but puppets, extensions of its will that spread out to the world for the purpose of exacting vengeance. It plays perfectly with the whole human marionette theme. Only the Azazels are the Festum version of Matsuhiro. They only thought they were independent...

And yes, it seems the original series was in fact right: there were and we presume are still Arcadian islands out there. We know that the third Alvis, I presume it's Island C, was destroyed, along with B Island, which appears to have been struck down by Festum. That means there could still be an A Island, the First Alvis, out there somewhere. We know Tatsumiyajima is D Island, so it should never have been surprise to know it was not the first and only ship built under the project. It's just like Fumihiko said "we were never told much about the other islands". Everything's connecting. The ED has visuals of what appears to be different templates with "Alvis" written on them. I think we're going to at least get one last bit of backstory or reveal about the project that's been the key to this whole, epic story.

On a last note: I don't like Mark Raison. I just can't bring myself to appreciate its color scheme. Originally I didn't care for Mark Sein either, but it really, really has grown on me until now it's my favorite, despite my love for Nicht. Perhaps its after I went through my comparison and really pegged down the dynamics between the two primary Salvatores:

Nicht is a demon from the first glance. It's not sleek, but spiky. Unlike Sein, it shines the best when it stands perfectly still or is just finishing its worm sphere teleportation, where it unfurls its hacking anchors and claws. It has that brooding, predatory grace in that pose, like a dragon shifting its weight in preparation to destroy. When it moves much of the grace starts to vanish. Its the threat of it moving that causes the thrill of fear to run up the viewer's spine.

Sein's never going to win a mecha coolness show standing still. It's when it suddenly launches into action like a thunderbolt that its true beauty really shows. It's sleek, predatory, light as a feather but stings like a nuke kind of deal. It transforms into something monstrous, too, despite being outwardly analogous with the word "Salvatore". Until it does so, it's all white night in shining armor instead of wicked monstrosity like it's brother model. Where Nicht promises to do awesome things, Sein actually does them, and does them better.

Raison...it really does feel like a big tank. I loved the Gobain (don't know the real name, haha) shield generator things. Blades, shields, and guns all in one cool package. somehow it doesn't look right on Raison, which in a way I guess resembles Nicht from the original series. Only time will tell if it will get a makeover like Nicht. I hope it has its own dynamics to put into the new trinity of "god machines". So far it resembles a very unclassy, bulky Nicht clone.
They don't know the power of a balanced vision.
User avatar
Areku
Posts: 1216
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:00 am

Re: Fafner: Exodus

LightningCount wrote:Oh, I forgot to mention it earlier, but the ice-powered Festum was really cool. However, Fafner seemed to be taking a page from RahXephon's ice-powered Dolem (and Rebuild of EVA 2's ice-walking Angel). But that's fine, because it's interesting to see the Festum adapt, especially when they're made up of elements to begin with.
:shock: Jeeze, put that pun in spoiler tags!

Also, something I don't think I've ever seen mentioned is that the ice Festum's name is apparently Clowier, which as best as I can find, seems to loosely translate from French to "coat-rack." I guess that fits both its ability and its appearance. I get that name from Ep. 21, 00:50. It seems Kurusu's home was named Floater. Also, holy cow are Earth's landmasses messed up. That's not just flooding, unless anyone thinks the Rocky Mountains would disappear beneath the ocean before New Orleans.

Funny you should mention both Eva and RahXephon. For a while now, I've thought there was a strong inspiration -> successor relationship chain that goes Eva -> RahXephon -> Fafner -> Bokurano -> Madoka Magica, often with overt references to the earlier works in the chain (such as the empty chairs that appear in Madoka's bedroom being a clear reference to Bokurano). And before anyone mentions that Madoka Magica isn't mecha, remember:
Spoiler
the magical girls have their souls converted to gems which they then use to reanimate, empower and control (pilot) their own corpses. All brought to you by advanced alien technology.
That's kind of like mecha, right? Or is that just me?

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that I noticed an interesting correlation between the island pilots' new-found powers and the magical girls' abilities. To quote Exodus on the nature of their abilities, Seri regenerates, Rina exhibits massive energy surges, Mimika produces advanced energy barriers, L/Reo space-jumps by shifting the zero-dimension, and Sui summons distant objects to himself. Each of these roughly correspond to the magical girls' abilities:
Spoiler
Sayaka regenerates, Madoka's power effectively grows exponentially, Kyoko always creates barriers around the battlefield, Homura relocates herself by manipulating a non-spatial dimension, and Mami endlessly summons weapons in battle and quickly disposes of them.
I could be overthinking it, but I think it's a pretty strong resemblance for sheer coincidence. I find it interesting that with Exodus, my interpretation of inspiration/succession now loops back onto itself.
User avatar
LightningCount
Posts: 918
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:02 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Areku wrote:
LightningCount wrote:Oh, I forgot to mention it earlier, but the ice-powered Festum was really cool. However, Fafner seemed to be taking a page from RahXephon's ice-powered Dolem (and Rebuild of EVA 2's ice-walking Angel). But that's fine, because it's interesting to see the Festum adapt, especially when they're made up of elements to begin with.
:shock: Jeeze, put that pun in spoiler tags!

Also, something I don't think I've ever seen mentioned is that the ice Festum's name is apparently Clowier, which as best as I can find, seems to loosely translate from French to "coat-rack." I guess that fits both its ability and its appearance. I get that name from Ep. 21, 00:50. It seems Kurusu's home was named Floater. Also, holy cow are Earth's landmasses messed up. That's not just flooding, unless anyone thinks the Rocky Mountains would disappear beneath the ocean before New Orleans.

Funny you should mention both Eva and RahXephon. For a while now, I've thought there was a strong inspiration -> successor relationship chain that goes Eva -> RahXephon -> Fafner -> Bokurano -> Madoka Magica, often with overt references to the earlier works in the chain ...
[/size]

Ha! I didn't even notice the pun! :lol: (Do I still need to tag it?) I just genuinely found the ice Festum a nice visual twist and a good challenge for Soushi. It came out of nowhere! The Festum have come a long way from the Sphinx-types that seemed so prevalent in the original series to me.

I have not seen Bokurano or Madoka Magica yet, but there is definitely a respectable lineage with EVA and RahXephon in Fafner. They're all still their own things, though.
My Mecha/Scifi Novels: https://www.goodreads.com/series/168677 ... -war-arm-x
"May you rest in peace, the betrayed and outraged Milliardo Peacecraft."
Most-Wanted Gundam Anime: Episode Zero, Blue Destiny, Rise from the Ashes, Crossbone
User avatar
LightningCount
Posts: 918
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:02 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Ep.23 completed...
Spoiler
I thought this episode did a lot of things really well and covered a good amount of ground while doing so. I finally got that up-close-and-personal UN Fafner vs. D Island Fafner fight...It got the job done, but it was a little lackluster with all the wire tricks. The heavy use of close-up shots made it a little hard to follow for me. It wasn't the most dramatic way Dustin could have gone out, either. That said, Keith is still alive, and it sets things up for a more interesting final confrontation. Especially with a confused Billy in the mix.

The twists with Hester, Burns, and company caught me by surprise. Also, I felt like they humanized Hester Gallop with this episode--as good as one can at this late in the game. It will be interesting to see how Maya's actions affect her aims.

Was that a Festum-ized Ai that Mitsuhiro was shown? Makes me wonder about her status even more...

I liked the little interlude between the Cores, Soushi, and Koyo.

I'm with Amion on Mark Raison. I'm not a big fan of its colors or design right now...but then, I guess it was sort of field-built, mixing technologies. Its powers are interesting. But, I'm confused how Hiroto's Fafner can be powered up into this monster.

I thought the ice Festum was killed...but this must be another or an assimilated clone in this episode, I guess.

Really my only lasting hang-ups with this episode were how the latter portion of Maya's fight was choreographed, and how Mitsuhiro has been transformed into a seemingly fairly simple, catch-all enemy plot device. It seemed earlier on like there would be a bit more to him, and that we lost out on some extra development time for him once we got past the first episode or so of Season 2. He was more balanced in the plot before then, I think. Just my impression, anyway.
My Mecha/Scifi Novels: https://www.goodreads.com/series/168677 ... -war-arm-x
"May you rest in peace, the betrayed and outraged Milliardo Peacecraft."
Most-Wanted Gundam Anime: Episode Zero, Blue Destiny, Rise from the Ashes, Crossbone
User avatar
Dark Duel
Posts: 4833
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:39 pm
Location: A blue City in a red State

Re: Fafner: Exodus

LightningCount wrote:
Spoiler
But, I'm confused how Hiroto's Fafner can be powered up into this monster.
Well,
Spoiler
I doubt Hiroto's Fafner is "powered up" into Mark Raison per se. If you recall, the original Salvatore Models, Mark Sein and Mark Nicht, used the cores of the Mark Elf and Mark Vier respectively - the former having been captured with its pilot, the latter having been salvaged by Mitsuhiro's forces.The Salvatore models' bodies themselves were constructed separately.
I think the same thing applies here, and the Mark Raison was built by the old hag, and Hiroto's Fafner's core was used in it. The other thing to bear in mind is that Mark Raison's pilot isn't human - he's basically a Festum-controlled puppet from what I understood of it. So that is probably the biggest contributing factor to what we've seen the thing do.
// ART THREAD // NOT ACCEPTING REQUESTS

"You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tells you she's hurting before she keens. Makes her a home."
User avatar
Amion
Posts: 2166
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:43 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Well. This week's episode very nearly gave me a heart attack.

I admit I'm actually not as pleased with episode 24, though, despite the usual excitement. Primarily, how the heck does that light-based assimilation work? Some things about it seem a bit...off. Or at least unexplained, and with only one or two episodes left I doubt it will be to my satisfaction.
They don't know the power of a balanced vision.
User avatar
Dark Duel
Posts: 4833
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:39 pm
Location: A blue City in a red State

Re: Fafner: Exodus

In an interesting callback to the original series's finale, the title of the next episode, "Sōkyū Sakusen" is, IIRC, the same operational name as Alvis's last operation in the first series. As for the episode itself...
Not much I have to say.
Spoiler
I'm a tad irritated at Misao piloting the MkXIII, but I suppose it makes sense.
The Mark Drei and unmanned Troopers being turned on the Island's Fafners was a twist, but I do think it was resolved a little too quickly. Not that I'm complaining, mind you - the odds are pretty heavily stacked against Alvis as it is. Mimika, at first glance, appears to be back to normal, but I fully expect casualties among the others
Finally, the last mystery Fafner from the OP appears, and it's
Spoiler
revealed to be, near as I can tell, an upgraded Fafner Zero using Einherjar-model technology. Piloted, of course, by the siblings.

But after their first attack got reflected back at them, Kaburagi's Susanoo reusing the same trick to re-reflect the second blast back at their target was AWESOME.
Gonna be interesting to see what happens in the last couple of episodes, that's for sure.
// ART THREAD // NOT ACCEPTING REQUESTS

"You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tells you she's hurting before she keens. Makes her a home."
User avatar
Amion
Posts: 2166
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:43 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

And so, the finale.
Poor Clowier. It always gets the short end of the stick. I admit I am very displeased with how the Azazels got nerfed at the end. They were the ones with the most build up, getting more frightening as time went on. Its sad to see that at the very last its just another Salvator beating up on other Salvators. We already did that in the original. Worse, Mitsuhiro is too likable a character for me to actually get into the idea of him as a villain. Instead of "how tragic!" it smells more like "ham-fisted!" :(

On the bright side, this episode once again rocked. Lots of great moments, though fast paced, and we are well on the way to an epic final battle.

And yes, in the end I came to love Dead or Alive more than the original OP. It just sets the mood, and goes brilliantly with the ending theme.

By Gallop's bloody bones! This episode had some awesome moments. A nice technical effect there with the clinking gears of the Zero. I never realized it was so big...

One part just made me go wow: That
Spoiler
Whine glass! Gallop makes a perhaps final appearance to undo what she helped create. If ever there was a way to redeem her character, it was have her do this, even though she doesn't really change anything and to attack Vagrant was only logically the next step for her. Even so, Gallop now feels like less of a nasty woman than Burns. In fact, at the end of the day he's been more of a an antagonist to D Island than she has been.
They don't know the power of a balanced vision.
User avatar
Dark Duel
Posts: 4833
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:39 pm
Location: A blue City in a red State

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Amion wrote:Mitsuhiro is too likable a character for me to actually get into the idea of him as a villain. Instead of "how tragic!" it smells more like "ham-fisted!"
See, I actually never really liked Mitsuhiro all that much, for starters. And second, his reaction to seeing the Mark Sein in action back in Ep11-ish or so, to me, made it so that apart from the random bit with the creepy shota-Festum(which doesn't seem to have changed much), I actually expected him to end up exactly where he's ended up now.
So there's no surprise there for me. I still hate the Mark Raison, which I think looks utterly stupid, but that's another conversation entirely.

As for the Azazel Types...yeah, they are not posing as much of a threat as they were. But is it that they're getting nerfed? Maybe, maybe not.
First, against the Salvatore Models, the Azazel Types were nowhere nearly as much of a threat as against the Nothung Models - the one time, pre-introduction of the Einherjar models, that an Azazel Type went up against Nicht and Sein, they beat it down pretty handily with only a relatively little difficulty.
Second, the Azazel Types are not going up against the same Nothung Models they were facing previously: They're going up against the Einherjar Models, which are substantially more powerful than the original Nothung Models - though not on par with the Salvatore Models, to be sure.
So I think it's not as much the Azazels getting nerfed - though there is a little of that going on - but that the Azazel Types simply aren't as much of a threat to the Einherjar as they were to the Nothung models.
Or at least that's how I see it.
Last edited by Dark Duel on Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
// ART THREAD // NOT ACCEPTING REQUESTS

"You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tells you she's hurting before she keens. Makes her a home."
User avatar
Areku
Posts: 1216
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:00 am

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Regarding Ep. 25, uh, did I miss something, or is
Spoiler
Mk. Neun going into battle without a pilot? I ask this because of Mizoguchi's display at 14:26. Neun is Rina's Fafner, and she's very clearly piloting the Zero along with Sui, and Sui's Amaterasu is correctly absent from the list. Additionally, we see Neun's status shift to "Standby" along with every other Fafner going into battle. Did I miss dialogue explaining this? Has Neun been indoctrinated into the Sleipnir system? Is this just an error?
User avatar
Amion
Posts: 2166
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:43 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Who knows, Areku. Could be the Sleipnir system is the right assumption for now.

On the topic of nerfed Azazels: I disagree, Duel. There was never a scenario where any of the Einherjar actually go up against an Azazel and managed to win. It took several of them to defeat Walker, and only because Sui used his ability. Even Kazuki and Soushi faced incredible odds against the Azazels. Sure, they were going to win, but the fighting brought them quickly to their limits. Even Vagrant just recently killed off a character by consequence of its actions.

It's just that now they're more like throwaways to me. If they get destroyed, Vagrant will just revive them. Don't know, you're probably more right than me. I guess I just am still uncomfortable with Mitsuhiro as the big bad. Maybe if the Raison wasn't such a bad design I would be more hyped.

Speaking of Raison, I admit to actually liking its head design more than Nicht or Sein. Too bad it doesn't go with the rest of it.
They don't know the power of a balanced vision.
User avatar
Areku
Posts: 1216
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:00 am

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Amion wrote:It's just that now they're more like throwaways to me. If they get destroyed, Vagrant will just revive them.
There's no reason to believe that. If you're thinking about what happened to Clowier/Crawler in Ep. 23 and Walker in the beginning of Ep.24, remember that was specifically stated by Soushi to be "assimilation with light." They were never destroyed, just assimilated and subjugated by Vagrant.
Spoiler
In combat with the Fafners over the past two Eps, their cores are physically destroyed, not assimilated. There's no reason to think they'll be coming back.
User avatar
Amion
Posts: 2166
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:43 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

I guess not. You're right, Areku. I guess it just seems odd that the last few eps have shown Clowier shattering randomly even though its core clearly escaped. It's been inconsistent compared to the other Azazels and it was throwing me.

Now that I think back, though, an ice festum might "shatter" like ice crystal rather than teleport like others. Hmm...
They don't know the power of a balanced vision.
User avatar
LightningCount
Posts: 918
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:02 pm

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Amion wrote:And so, the finale.
Wait, isn't there an Episode 26? Pretty sure each season was listed for 13 episodes...

That said, I only just finished Episode 24. On the whole, I liked it...but not as much as some of the other climatic moments this series has had.
Spoiler
Some of the explanations of the other islands and such felt a bit thin and rushed. Also, I wonder where Soushi/Maya were this whole episode. D-Island shouldn't have gotten that far ahead of him. I did think that the Zero Fafner would come back at some point, and here it is. I'm going to need the next episode to clear things up for me, because I'm confused about who's alive and who's not now. I have to say that Misao as a hero is surprisingly very enjoyable, though.

Also, while I haven't seen Ep.25, I am not too excited about Mitsuhiro being the ultimate villain. Or rather, I think I could have been more okay with it had we been given more time with him in this second season. In the first season, he came off as an interesting (even likable) character who was both selfless--charging in to protect people--and yet ambitious--wishing for power. The fact that he was Maya's "brother" is something of a dropped ball, in my opinion. It didn't carry through after a while, because he wasn't given any scenes with her of note, and she didn't really mention him in her thought processes. I'm disappointed about that lost dynamic, which would have made this turn to the "dark side" more compelling. But it can still be okay; it'll just be hard for it to come off as amazing, I think. I could be wrong, though. Oh, and General Burns seemingly becoming a big bad guy again is not too attractive, either. I thought he was going to be a reformer.
My Mecha/Scifi Novels: https://www.goodreads.com/series/168677 ... -war-arm-x
"May you rest in peace, the betrayed and outraged Milliardo Peacecraft."
Most-Wanted Gundam Anime: Episode Zero, Blue Destiny, Rise from the Ashes, Crossbone
User avatar
Areku
Posts: 1216
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:00 am

Re: Fafner: Exodus

LightningCount wrote:
Spoiler
Also, I wonder where Soushi was this whole episode. D-Island shouldn't have gotten that far ahead of him.
Episodes 23 & 24 most likely occurred mostly simultaneously. We know that Maya was captured on November 11th, as that date was mentioned in Maya and Kazuki's conversation immediately before battle, and that the battle of Ep. 24 took place on November 17th, courtesy of Dreizehn's SDP as Misao joined the fight. Six days would be an awfully short time to plan Maya's rescue, travel there, conduct what we see in Ep. 23, then get back in time to prepare for the landing operation in Ep. 24.

Also, minor spoilers, but Ep. 25 opens with Maya, Soushi and co. stepping off the transport plane, returning to the island from the events of Ep. 23. So whether or not episodes 23 & 24 were simultaneous, that's where they were.
User avatar
Dark Duel
Posts: 4833
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:39 pm
Location: A blue City in a red State

Re: Fafner: Exodus

One thing from a little further up I'd like to briefly address...
Amion wrote:somehow it doesn't look right on Raison, which in a way I guess resembles Nicht from the original series.
It really doesn't, at least not aesthetically or in terms of design/appearance.

Nicht in the original series(bottom) was exactly identical to Sein's original form(top), except it was black instead of white. It wasn't as sleek as Sein's "enhanced" form or as ominously badass as Nicht's current form(first seen in H&E - if anything it looked like a Nothung Model with a souped-up backpack.

Now, when I compare them to Mark Raison, there's a faint resemblance in the shape of the forearms and maybe the upper legs - but that's it. The main body looks totally different, with that wide torso, massive backpack, and ginormous, boxy legs. It's an even more drastic aesthetic departure than the Neo-UN production models we saw previously...and that itty bitty little head on that massive body just makes it look even more goofy IMO.
// ART THREAD // NOT ACCEPTING REQUESTS

"You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tells you she's hurting before she keens. Makes her a home."
User avatar
Destiny_Gundam
Posts: 4914
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:36 pm
Location: Canada, eh.
Contact:

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Spoiler
Ending felt a little... Hollow (not to mentioned rushed). Left a lot open and unanswered. Apparently there's some event tomorrow so here's hoping for a sequel announcement.
As is the show was excellent but as it went on it kind of buckled a bit from the weight of that excellence. It's still good compared to other shows, but compared to the rest of itself the decreased quality is more noticeable.
"In the end, the world doesn't really need a Superman... Just a brave one."
User avatar
Areku
Posts: 1216
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:00 am

Re: Fafner: Exodus

Spoiler
Not sure how I feel about the ending. The story is very much unfinished, but that may be addressed tomorrow. The second half of Exodus has been rushed in general, and that goes double for the final episode, yet even when this show is rushed, that pacing doesn't feel as detrimental as it would in almost any other show I can think of. I feel like we're still getting a thorough, well thought out and consistently interesting story, but on fast forward.

I liked a lot of what I saw in this final episode, but it really did feel like there should be more of it, not to mention the fact that there's no sense of finality. I love this franchise, but it's reaching the point where it needs to start wrapping things up, not put it off until another time-skip/sequel.
Post Reply