Here we are, episode 2! Robby and Hatchi are off on a day trip to Mars, whose citizens, due to a textbook misunderstanding, have been forced to wear octopus costumes to appease tourists. I’m still not quite sure what I think about this one, to be honest. This episode was fine, good even, but I don’t feel like the show has really hit its stride yet. My main gripes remain the art style and general “derivative” feeling. The style is not unpleasant and I really like the colours, but the art itself is undeniably a bit boring. But the premise, if not particularly original, is something I usually find fun and there are definite flashes of promise in the writing, so there’s enough for me to keep on trucking with it for now.
I’m not completely sold on the villains yet, but they were pretty unobtrusive this episode and I’m kind of hoping things will stay that way. It’s not that I hate them, and in fact they might grow on me, but I don’t think a series like this necessarily needs villains to be chasing the main characters around. That might just be a personal preference, though, since I tend to opt for minimal conflict where possible.
I did think the general plot of the episode was pretty good fun, and a great pastiche of Star Trek-style “Suave Man Saves Planet” weekly format. Robby makes a great Captain Kirk. For me, the Martian Octopus plot is improved by the fact that it doesn’t hold up to even the slightest bit of scrutiny. Like let’s put aside for a moment the obvious logistical question of getting the entire Mars colony to go along with this hare-brained attempt to boost tourism. These guys can’t even breathe in their octopus costumes for more than an hour at a time, they’re constantly sneaking off for air in places they’re bound to be discovered, and you’re telling me nobody has ever called them out on this before? And wouldn’t it have been worth designing more breathable octopus suits if you’re going to 
be de facto forcing your entire planet to wear them all the time? The whole thing is ridiculous and I’m all about it. I definitely wouldn’t hate it if most of the rest of the series followed a similar blueprint, but it could also be fun to see them tackle a different sci-fi cliché every episode.
The scene at the end caught me totally off guard and was hilarious – I’m curious to see what the deal with Hizakuriger is now, and to get more Robby backstory in general. Really, I’d like to know more about both of our MCs; as it stands, I find them likeable and they both have some great lines, but they’re not especially memorable. They could definitely do with some fleshing-out. But there’s plenty of time to get to that yet. Hopefully episode 3 gives me a better idea of how this is going to pan out!