“But… justice is still gonna win for sure. Our club president said so.” – Kai
Summary:
And Gunvarrel saves the day. /o/
Impression:
The end! The last episode! After all those emotions, this series ended in quite a blast. Not your typical mecha anime out there but one which is inspirational and touching at the same time. Dude, I don’t even know what to say for this episode except, IT ENDED AWESOMELY BUT THEY JUST FORGET ABOUT FRAU’S MOTHER?!
Okay, as you may have seen it, the ending was rather satisfying in a way where Misa and Kimijima Kou are concerned. It ended well since no one was hurt and you get to see another side of the SUMERAGI as well but… what happened to Frau’s mother – if she’s still alive or not – was not even mentioned. Or if it was mentioned, they didn’t even give a thought about it. This is the main reason why I would demand a special episode or OVA for this series – definitely. I don’t want her mother to be dead, you know. I, at least, was expecting to see her, being reunited with her mom in the end but nothing like that happened. /sob Well, since the anime followed a different ending from the VN, I guess it was expected to have some holes but even so! They should at least could have gave some hints or open ending concerning about Frau’s mom in a way that would satisfy Frau’s fans.
So again, in the end, it was Kai vs. Misa. Should I feel sorry for Kimijima on taking over Misa’s body which her movements in combat is what Kai actually knows best? I guess I should. LoL And dude!!! WASN’T THAT A DIGITALIZED KAGEBUNSHIN TECHNIQUE OVER THAR? LOL But that was actually pretty cool. Even the PokeCom have some weaknesses you can use against it if ever there’s a Kimijima Kou incident to happen. Although I still can’t believe that Misa – which I might have to imagine as a carefree girl from the past – was able to be controlled by Kimijima Kou. At least, characters like that have some greater psychological defense or something. I do know that Aki has some greater amount of those. I should also mention how cliché that shouting during the battle is. You know, Aki shouting at her sister in order to wake her inner self to stop Kimijima’s control. LOL But that added a little drama effect so I guess I was cool with it.
But, seriously? No more romance after? And I was like… “Wow the whole episode is full of ‘Misa’ in it.” If it weren’t for Kai’s confession on the previous episode, this series could have hinted more on Kai x Misa’s side rather than with Aki. So Kai’s sudden confession was still a win.
DAMN CHILLS. THEY DON’T STOP. I could have sworn I was holding my every squeal while watching the whole episode. Not to mention I burst out laughing when SUMERAGI’s second form was introduced in the scene and I was like… “WTH?! Why a spider in the first place when you can be a sexy model that can move fast as fuck?!”. Dude, I tell you, Kimijima Kou is sooooo not a fashionable guy… AT ALL. Even Misa’s suit was… terrible… not so cool like his fashion sense is from the past. He’s blonde and has long hair and what he wears is someone from the country-side who’d go plant some rice on a hectare of plantation while being burned under the sun. AND HE IS A SCIENTIST TO BEGIN WITH. Why can’t he be just like HOUIN KYOMA (Okabe Rintarou from Steins; Gate) and wear a fucking labcoat? He could have looked better and can be called MAD SCIENTIST more than Okabe was.
Most of the final scenes were expected and I got a little teary and tearier as I saw Gunvarrel’s model at the end while a shuttle was being launched which contained three suited men with a Gunvarrel logo on the right upper arm. That’s gotta be Aki, Kai and Misa there and that Gunvarrel model could have been just a statue like the Gundam one in Japan. Still, that ending was satisfying enough for the series, except, yeah – FRAU’S MOM. I heard that the Frau ending was more complete than the Aki ending on the VN. (BTW, is it possible to have a Subaru ending? HAHA /thinkinglikeFrau)
By the way, Good job there, Sawada. Although I pity you a little bit since you weren’t even given a single second of screen time on the final episode. I mean, you were obviously suspected as the bad guy in the first few episodes, dude. This series is so cruel.
Overall Review
Among all mecha anime hat I have watched, this series actually brought another unique equation to me. I wasn’t a big fan of mecha and I never did like super mecha anime. I do like Gundam Seed (forget Destiny, I never liked it), Gundam 00, Daimos and Code Geass though. I also did try on Star Driver as well but… well, it was too over to the top that made me stop at episode 13. Can I also mention Full Metal Alchemist and Full Metal Panic too? XD Their comedy was exceptional. But in the end, one genre that lured me to Robotics; Notes was “sci-fi”. Actually, after watching Chaos; Head and Steins; Gate, you might do get a small idea that you might enjoy this series as well. It’s not that of a must-watch but it is one of those anime series that you might regret not watching.
Story/Plot: 7.5/10
Even if no matter how original the plot is, there is still the fact that it left a big hole to its viewers. I might also say that left a very big impression to its viewers as well. But I can say that they maintained the level of sci-fi on the series and even added a little naturalistic touch to the GunPro-1 Model at the final episode (which it is actually slower than the actual one because it was built by high school students and was rushed and all). I like how they added a bit of reality on their level of sci-fi as well. Not to mention, they maintained good physics on most of the episodes and explained well about how the main characters’ robot/s were created, in a way. They manage to create a good twist as well, making Kimijima Kou the good guy at first. But I still can’t recover from the confession episode, to be honest.
Character/Character Development: 8/10
I could say that the character development was actually pretty much well driven and delivered. Well, yeah since the first episodes were like… dragging the actual point of the series just to introduce what kind of characteristics each of the character has. Not to mention they had to cut all of their dreams just to make each of them developed and make one who loves robots become a fisherman. LOL I wonder if Aki had some character development though. Out of all the characters, she’s one odd ball that I couldn’t even say if her character developed or changed throughout the series. XD Optimistic as ever she is. I still feel bad about Sawada – he helped a lot on defeating Kimijima, you know and he gets 0 screen time in the end.
Also, each of the characters actually have their own distinct characteristics which made all of them useful on their robot projects and in a way influenced each character’s development as well. Especially the fisherman guy (yes, I can’t get over it).
Animation: 7.5/10
Colors were great and robot depiction is actually good. The animation is about a little above average but I must say that the application of CG animation on Kill-Ballad was really creative. Sure, the game IS in 3D, to begin with. XD The fighting scene at the final episode was pure 2D, if I can recall – my eyes are just playing tricks on me – but to be honest, I am actually a fan of this series’ animation. It suits my taste, imo. But nothing more than that. I still question its consistency.
Voice Acting: 9/10
Well done. Especially on Aki’s character than you might even go like “Gunvarrel Ankh Striker!” and join them. Oh! Frau’s voice actor is also fantastic!!! But I don’t think a typical geek would sound like that still, she had a good voice provider there. And I bet a lot of R;N viewers would apply the “Die you normalfags!” line everywhere on the net now. XDD And well…
“Lightning Speed Genki Power Punch! Gunvarrel! Yay!” – Aki
Sound/OST: 8/10
Nothing in particular that I find amusing – except for the awesome scoring on the soundtrack there and the timing. But I’m no genius at this field either but definitely, the soundtrack offered much help in making this series good as it is. The sound effects were actually delivered well too. I could always recall how I have those sudden goosebumps just by hearing some thumping of metals to metals.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Not a must-watch but a total entertaining sci-fi series you can find. I actually like this level of Sci-Fi and not some super mega mecha out there. Plus, the humor is actually well driven and the voice acting is also good. I came to love this anime as well and it had a more interesting delivery than S;G too or was it because S;G had a little mature characters (age, buddy, age).
Robotics; Notes is not boring, it’s interesting and it was a good watch for a good show. And it is a recommended series for everyone no matter the age.
Recommended? Totally.
Again,
“Let’s aim high again.” – Yashio Kaito
Work on your dreams, everyone!
Well, I’m rather satisfied with the ending. The series is rather slooooooowwwwwwwwww (lol) in the beginning, but I guess it’s all worth it in the end.
Phew, since the series is over we can discuss on some spoilers.
I did a little check into the game version. There’s no Subaru ending (too bad, but since I’m a guy I’m not into the BL stuff), but there is a Nae ending….. (wait, someone said “Nae” ending…???)
Btw, any saw “DaSH” and “KuriGohan and Kamehameha” on the Robotic Notes @Channels? (can’t tell since those scenes moves sky fast in the anime) I guess its much more easier to spot these in game since the game is a visual novel….
Well, too bad Daru never made a personal appearance (I wonder how he looks now, he must have became more fit by now) considering his involvement.
On a side note. It seems like they released a novel talking about what really happened during Misa’s high school years (as in greater detail, and some hidden facts I think). Too bad I haven’t gotten a translation of it (so many ‘too bad’s in this post…)
It is truee. It was so sloooowwww like S;G. LOL But still, it was a nice watch. But how I wish they could have covered more on the ROBO-ONE and the Tokyo Expo stories too and yes – Misa’s past.
Now, I really wanna play that VN someday. Was it released in English already? XD I heard it is only for xbox or something (true?).
I did saw Kamehameha once since it was the only familiar word for me to notice. XD
PS3 and Xbox360….. Yeah, so it’s basically a no play for PC gamers… (or the majority of NA gamers….)
After a little search using “Robotic Notes @Channel” I did find the scene with KuriGohan and Kamehameha XD. Nice to see they added that cameo in there for “Christina”.
No one found Daru on the @channel? Considering that he did program the software that killed Kimijima Kou… you would think he gets a bit of screen time (even in alias mode at @channel)…
I do feel bad about Sawada as well though and since even if he did helped them in the end he… didn’t even show a shadow. LOL
I was kind of put-off by the ending. After such a drawn-out delivery (it bordered on glacial pacing until the very last few episodes), I would have liked to have seen at least one more episode to really do things the right way. Finding out about Frau’s mother, the fate of the world at large, the relationship between Aki and Kai, etc. all deserved resolution. That said, I did come to enjoy this show when taken on the whole, I just wish we, the viewers, got a little more emotional payoff in the form of finding out what happened to the characters that, in some cases, I became fairly attached to. Thanks for the good reviews all around.
It is true that they do lack some character screen time and in some cases, one would think that 22 episodes is not enough for this series. I wonder why did they only stopped at episode 22 too. They could have gone to 25 or 26 at least.
Hmmm…. is it me or that Psycho Pass also ended on Ep22……
Yes, and I believe it could have been longer!!! OTL