Shinkalion Change the World Ep 38 & 39: Has the World Changed?
Ep 38 and 39 of Shinkalion: CTW concluded the anime series, making it the shortest Shinkalion anime out of all 3, which is a shame since it has one of the best over-arching storylines in the entire franchise. However, it ran out of steam (pun intended) right at the end, where the final conflict felt forced and unnecessary. Despite having a very hype fight and great animation, Change The World failed to capture the magic that the original Shinkalion had, and thus, failed to really “Change the World”. However, it was not without its merits.
After the investigation with Ina, Taisei had to confront Vina for real – now has become a giant amalgamation of a lost data monster. She looks like if Darkrai had a baby with the dude from Mato Seihei no Slave. Of course, being the final battle, we absolutely cannot miss the “All Shinkalions roll-call” where every Shinkalions and their Drivers join the fight to help Taisei. However, that’s pretty much all they do. They showed up, hit a few mooks, and that’s it. They didn’t really contribute any damage towards Vina herself, and just faded into being background actors for most of the time – which is a shame because I think many of them have unique abilities that can really help in this situation. But alas, the spotlight is reserved for Taisei’s closest friends: Ryota and Akane. But even so, most of what they did is emotional support since Taisei still did most of the heavy lifting.
They did play the opening during the arrival of the other Shinkalions, and it is a pretty nice touch. However, playing during the Shinkalion montage means we won’t get it during the final “final” moment of the fight. But even so, the OST during the finale of the series more than make up for it – with an exceptional emotional and atmospheric BGM that is massively different compared to previous Shinkas. The BGM changed from upbeat heroic to somber piano really drive home to emotion during that scene. While the plot’s execution might be less than desired, the animation and acting was top-notch. They really managed to deliver an impactful episode for the finale.
They did play the opening during the arrival of the other Shinkalions, and it is a pretty nice touch. However, playing during the Shinkalion montage means we won’t get it during the final “final” moment of the fight. But even so, the OST during the finale of the series more than make up for it – with an exceptional emotional and atmospheric BGM that is massively different compared to previous Shinkas. The BGM changed from upbeat heroic to somber piano really drive home to emotion during that scene. While the plot’s execution might be less than desired, the animation and acting was top-notch. They really managed to deliver an impactful episode for the finale.
One thing I didn’t expect is Reiji coming back in the Hades. Well, I did expect him to do something in the Zero Shinkalion, but I guess that one is too outdated and might not even be sufficiently powered. The Hades is much more powerful and the franchise has a tendency to have Dark Shinkas converting to the MC’s side later, so this makes perfect sense. But the Zero Shinkalion isn’t completely lost, as the Hades also got the twin swords from the Zero. And Reiji did unleash the Zero’s special attacks. And Reiji – in true Yuki Kaji fashion – gave Taisei the decisive pep talk to get him to stand up on his own. It was a pretty intense one.
And one more thing I didn’t expect, is that they actually killed off Vina. Talk about being the darkest in the franchise! We expected them to figure out a way to save both Vina as well as the forgotten data, but it seems we really need a casualty in the series. We can’t actually kill off a real human, so they decided to kill an AI with human emotions instead. It would be much better if the entire premise for this conflict wasn’t so…forced and have a more thoughtful setup to it. But alas, there is simply no time. But in the end, Taisei’s delivery for the scene was great.
And one more thing I didn’t expect, is that they actually killed off Vina. Talk about being the darkest in the franchise! We expected them to figure out a way to save both Vina as well as the forgotten data, but it seems we really need a casualty in the series. We can’t actually kill off a real human, so they decided to kill an AI with human emotions instead. It would be much better if the entire premise for this conflict wasn’t so…forced and have a more thoughtful setup to it. But alas, there is simply no time. But in the end, Taisei’s delivery for the scene was great.
In the end, with Vina and the “hostile” abandoned data destroyed, peace has returned…for now. ERDA will continue to exist due to the possible threat of abandoned data in the future. I guess they are trying to be META with how much data we have now on the net. Everyone has gotten their happy ending, except Vina I guess. Reiji really did score with Ina and now they are basically the office oblivious lovebirds that makes everyone jealous. Taisei and the team is back to doing their things as well as being Shinkalion drivers. I guess the message of the series is quite simple, but along the way, there are some pretty great development and characterizations. The production value really ramp up in the end. The ending arc is a dip, but the production value went up quite a bit. Well, the review will come later, but if you want more Shinkalion goodness, I recommend checking out the original series!
=Aaron=
=Aaron=
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