Shinkalion Change the World Ep 21 Review: Skip, Hop and Jump

This episode serve as our new Driver’s – Tsukumo – character development arc. Well, it’s mostly just him overcoming an arbitrary problem presented by the Unknown to show that he’s capable of evolving. After this episode, we learn that aside from sharing Ryota’s energy, Tsukumo also shared Taisei’s tenacity and determination to get better.

Well, the ending scene from last episode where Tsukumo’s little bro and sister were crying turns out to be a big deal. I thought it would just going to be a gag and that they’d make up instantly after some snacks and stuff, but it seems like it’s a big deal. Well, Tsukumo is obvously a loving brother (which is another point he got in common with Taisei), but he also needs to keep his Shinkalion thing a secret, so he couldn’t explain everything. Funnily enough, the entire team along with Tsukumo’s siblings encounter an Unknown smack dab in the sea but they just brush it aside and return like normal. It’s quite strange that the Unknown didn’t attempt any destruction or attack, and Ina theorized that it might be just “testing the waters” (pun intended). Either way, Tsukumo conveniently return to short and get on the Shinkalion. And his siblings didn’t even question why he just ran off and didn’t say anything to them lol. But I guess Taisei’s talk with them kinda hint at it anyway.

Then we get the conventional one-two assault. The first time, against an enemy with unknown ability, the Driver will undoubtedly struggle, especially since the Kamome won in such a spectacular fashion last episode. They need to immediately be taken down a notch for them to grow and fight back. I feel that doing this immediately after the deut episode is kinda too rushed. But because due to the nature of the series featuring spread out Drivers around Japan, they can’t afford to go back to this region after a few episodes. They have to keep the train going and make some development for Tsukumo asap.

Either way, after a brief training session, Tsukumo showed he’s a fast learner and is quite determined. The 2nd time he face against the Unknown, he got a very impressive W. He still uses the same finisher but it’s just so cool that I don’t mind seeing it for a 2nd time back-to-back. The water effect in this episode isn’t bad as well.

Furthermore, I think they are pushing the “train fanboy” thing with Taisei a bit too much. We understand that Taisei’s love for train is what she inherits from Ina. But they are really trying too hard to make him like Hayato. The overly enthusiasm for trains and stuff is obviously a way to push kids to like Shinkansen and stuff as well as tying into the theme of the series, it’s just there can be another approach to this that doesn’t feel so…forced. The way they do it in Z is pretty nice.

After this episode, it’s highly likely we won’t be seeing Tsukumo for a while, and we might return to some starting member like Ten and Shion.

Aaron

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