Shinkalion Change the World Ep 13 Review: Counterpoint
Evolution! After the last episode where Akane and Ryota turned back to Taisei, but he turned his sister away instead, we get an episode full of determination and action! And perhaps, we get another glimpse into ERDA as an organization – and Ina’s words don’t seem that out of reach after all.
The ERDA director seems weirdly obsessed with striking down Ina and anyone who might threaten the peace. We see that kind of high executives many times in all kinds of anime, but for Shinka, it’s a first. The Shinkalion Institutes’ director have been very supportive and amicable to the young Drivers in every series…except this one. While Kadomichi-sensei is trying his best to protect the Driver’s innocence and ideals, Director Kaiji is dead-set on making the teens commit literal murder. He even hinted at coercing Taisei and his family to keep ERDA a secret, or even a more sinister means.
That takes us back to Ina’s statement in the last episode. She was mentioning the zoo but it seems like ERDA’s treatment to her (or someone she knew) is also involved as well. The fact that ERDA’s top brass went straight to getting rid of Taisei and silencing him either suggest they’re cold-blooded as hell, or there is a precedence. Ina might have been a Shinkalion driver, and she was discarded when her suitability number went down. It could also mean that someone important to her was.
That takes us back to Ina’s statement in the last episode. She was mentioning the zoo but it seems like ERDA’s treatment to her (or someone she knew) is also involved as well. The fact that ERDA’s top brass went straight to getting rid of Taisei and silencing him either suggest they’re cold-blooded as hell, or there is a precedence. Ina might have been a Shinkalion driver, and she was discarded when her suitability number went down. It could also mean that someone important to her was.
Even so, Taisei still retains his ideal that Ina originally shared with him. “To always protect”. And the reason is pretty cool as well: to be “cool”. Well it doesn’t get much cooler than that. But we know that means Taisei understands what Ina meant. No matter what it is, it is cool to protect something. Even if ERDA was corrupt somewhere, it isn’t right to just destroy everything.
Despite Ina’s extremely intimidating and seemingly insane zoom call, Taisei doesn’t back down and is resolved to stop her himself. Chief Kaiji is being extra douche by pressuring the young teenage brother to take down/kill his sister whom he lost when he was young. “For the greater good” aside, it just seems insensitive and cruel. I think the show is trying to make us doubt ERDA’s prime leader and his methods.
Despite Ina’s extremely intimidating and seemingly insane zoom call, Taisei doesn’t back down and is resolved to stop her himself. Chief Kaiji is being extra douche by pressuring the young teenage brother to take down/kill his sister whom he lost when he was young. “For the greater good” aside, it just seems insensitive and cruel. I think the show is trying to make us doubt ERDA’s prime leader and his methods.
No matter, since Taisei is determined to stop his sister’s assault. And I didn’t expect to get a Dekamaster situation here with 100 Unknowns at the same time. Too bad our protagonist isn’t a badass space cop boss, which makes it all the more fortunate when Akane and Ryota came to his rescue. The action this episode is pretty good. One thing I wish happened is a bit of teamwork combo but eh.
The Phantom Shinkalion’s equipment looks pretty cool. The fact that it hasn’t pulled out its Vehicle Gattai yet means there’s more room for upgrades. I really like the fact that the Gran Cross is a forbidden weapon that can negatively affect the Driver’s health physically. In previous series, the Gran Cross is just a cool attack that uses up the Shinkalion’s energy. The cannon’s output is pretty high and the after-effect is great.
The Phantom Shinkalion’s equipment looks pretty cool. The fact that it hasn’t pulled out its Vehicle Gattai yet means there’s more room for upgrades. I really like the fact that the Gran Cross is a forbidden weapon that can negatively affect the Driver’s health physically. In previous series, the Gran Cross is just a cool attack that uses up the Shinkalion’s energy. The cannon’s output is pretty high and the after-effect is great.
What’s surprising is that it seems Ina has snapped out of her trance – without any memories of when she gone full psycho on ERDA. It *seems* like things are resolved now but we were also introduced to a new antagonist. This guy looks a bit edgy. Definitely not as cool as Byakko, more like a slightly older Seiryuu from the original series. The new challenges that were presented is: what happened to Ina? And what is going to happen to Taisei now that he collapsed?
Aaron
Aaron
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