Grendizer U ep.10 Review: Return of Mazinger Zzz
“We are in the endgame now” – Dr. Hikaru Strange
We finally reach the double digits, moving closer to the series conclusion. The war is being fought on two fronts, with Duke and Terona and Cassado on one side, and the Photon Lab vs. Vega Army on the other. Despite the title “Mazinger X,” episode 10 focuses on both fronts, rather than just Kouji’s side.
Despite being hyped up in almost every episode, the return of Mazinger Z in its new form was a real disappointment. The situation leading up to the introduction of Mazinger X, its design, and the fight scene, all of them did not make me feel anything. Although there were many similarities with the introduction of Shin Great Mazinger in the Mazinkaiser OVA, the introduction of Mazinger X was far inferior, because the return of Great Mazinger was quite unexpected, and Tetsuya’s solo-ing the Kikaiju army was very cool (even though it was only offscreen). The detail of Kouji crying would have been great, if his inferiority complex towards Fleedians was explored more deeply, but in reality it was only addressed briefly in 1-2 episodes or so.
On the other front, the interactions between Duke and Terona are quite good in my opinion. The relationship between these two is probably the best and the most smoothly built in the series, especially since the best episode of Grendizer U is about them. In this episode, Terona’s hidden feelings are shown through many images as well as good dialogue, and she finally accepts her love for Duke and reconciles with him. The process leading to that reconciliation is very smooth, partly because it was built from the previous episodes.
Cassado, oh Cassado, the way the series treats my boy is disappointing. They keep him alive for so many episodes, reveal the reason for his hatred in a very perfunctory way, and then kill him off as if nothing happened. The way Cassado’s character is handled in this episode makes me wonder: “So what’s the point of keeping him alive and building him up as a candidate for something something??”. Damn, the way the anime revealed the reason for his hatred for Duke in the previous episode was a sign. Grendizer U has shown many problems with its plot, and this is the first major consequence of those problems: trying to cram too much into too little time leads to forcing some things to be cut short to focus on the important stuff.
Overall, episode 10 has two digits and also two disappointments, which are Mazinger X and Cassado’s fate, in return we have quite good development between Terona and Duke. There are only two episodes left until the end, only the secret about Hikaru and King Vega waiting to be revealed. With this pace of the plot, I don’t have high hope for a fiery ending like some other Dynamic Robo OVAs.
//Getter Andy//
//Getter Andy//
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