Cross Ange Episode 2 [ someone call the awkward police ]

This episode is good, don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to sit here and say, man this episode was shit. Because it isn’t. It wasn’t. But I’m warning you right now this show is suffering from setting up it’s own premise. Angelise is having to become Ange and that is making it incredibly difficult both to watch and enjoy the show, because hot damn I WANT TO SLAP THIS GIRL.

The episode is focused on the introduction of Ange into what is probably the most dangerous squad. Of course the leader of the squad, Zola, is a depraved lesbian who seems to value objectifying her girl more than actually training them. We see right away Ange isn’t just an average norma, all that love she got from her followers in the kingdom was well earned after all. Add on that her Iaria training was great practice for piloting her new gear, and you’ve got a winner.

A lot of girls can’t stand Ange and the way she acts. You know what? I do not fucking blame them. By all accounts the Ange we see in the second half of episode one and all of episode 2 is a spoiled entitled bitch who needs to get a grip. But you know what? That’s what this show is fucking TRYING to do. And if Ange, as a misguided and obsessive prodigy, is the best the kingdom had to offer? I don’t have high hopes for evil Clovis and the wheelchair ridden Sylvia. By all accounts NONE OF THESE CHILDREN WERE RAISED CORRECTLY. They gave Ange everything she ever wanted, as well as her two siblings, and basically forgot to talk to her about important self identity shit.

This show has SUCH GOOD POTENTIAL! And don’t get me wrong, I am really excited to see the rest of this show. I want to see the plot, how the dragons will come into who they are as people, the importance of Ange’s growth, and HOW THE FUCK SHE IS GOING TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY?! How in the motherfuck is she going to meet the guy I’m assuming is her love interest and maybe exact revenge on her brother? I HAVE NO CLUE.

Unfortunately for now? What we’ve got is a show focused on breaking Ange to build her back in. Poor fucking Coco. The show gave us Coco, a girl who admires and looks up to Ange and treats her like a friend. I pretty much knew that this meant poor fucking Coco would die. Why? This show is TRANSPARENT in most of it’s actions. I don’t feel offended at all by it because I feel like most of it is A MECHANISM INTENDED TO OFFEND ME. I don’t think they’re seriously trying to get me hard in these episodes, they’re trying to objectify and belittle the women to show what being a norma is. It’s not even that simple. You will be raped by your superiors, belittled if you do well, given no sympathy, and worst yet? If you die, it’s simply too bad. you died. Oh well. The trash is taken out.

I don’t think I can take naysaying of this show as sexist quite seriously, because every moment of humiliation feels genuinely done to make us MAD. If you get off to it? You’ve got a stronger libido than mine. I feel BAD for everyone. I feel BAD for even the sexual abusers. This is their life. This is all they’ve ever known and will EVER know. A life where they are garbage. They save the world and what do they get? Maybe shopping money. But never respect. Never appreciation. Even Ange’s amazing performance only warrants her “good…for a norma.”

So what is this show? It’s. . .it’s got some issues. And all of them are because they’re trying to make Ange into something very specific. Hating her is against the shows theme but they forgot that when they showed her so blatantly behaving like a bitch. And when it comes time to fight? She tries to escape. And rather than be caught and punished before the end, her selfish actions cost Coco her life. The sight of the dragons she’ll have to fight horrifies her. This entire existence offends her, and she rejects it. Like they all should. Like I believe Ange will lead them to. Ange knows what it’s like to be loved and she’s fighting for that right now, but she’ll have to learn how to find that in what her life is right NOW and not what it once was.

Also seriously can I get some consensual nudity up in here because these girls are really attractive and I’m sad seeing them only be sad. There was that one scene but hdfjghdfjkgd  uhm okay.

It was…sure a scene. Anyway let’s hope next week begins the evolution of real Ange and some REALLY COOL DRAGON FIGHTS YEAAAAAAH!!!!!

Oki

 

Hideki’s Review

 

Well..um….stuff sure did happen in this episode… and um… some not very good stuff. I guess I should throw my opinion in here too.

I have to say, Ange’s whole “I’m the princess, I shouldn’t be here!” Whining of this episode really did begin to annoy me. It’s like “Okay, we get it. You don’t want to be here. Shut up.” Hopefully after the death of this random chick who showed up and then died (aka coco) she’ll actually get over her face and become a better person.

The other thing that kind of irked me was Coco. Sunrise has this amazing ability to bring in characters, you get to meet them for all of 15 seconds, and then they die. Do you want to know what I know about Coco?

She likes princesses and pudding. That is literally I know about her. Because then she died.

Seriously. I actually felt worse when Ange threw out the pudding then when coco died. It’s like….Sunrise is on its Gundam kick when you should feel bad someone died even though you’ve known them for exactly fifteen seconds. i swear, I think I’ve seen Ange’s naked boobs in this show more than I’ve seen Coco. And at least i know THOSE aren’t going to die at least until the end of the series!

While i’m on the topic of Ange’s boobs. I kind of agree with Oki here. I am actually not turned on by this show. I mean… I SHOULD. there’s like..half naked chicks everywhere but….it’s like not sexual. It just kind of feels like  they’re trying to say something else. They don’t even do the physics of boobs right. Normally in a show that’s ecchi such as High School DXD, the animation on the fanservice is done in a very sensual way. Here it fees like they have bricks under their bras. I don’t know, the whole thing seems…unattractive.

But all in all, I do enjoy this show. It makes me laugh. especially when random people die because they’re there.

No! my 15 second love!

Still though, definitely want to see where this show is going. Maybe other people will die who have been established for MORE than 15 seconds. But that’s wishful thinking.

All in all… a 5/10 episode. Maybe next time there won’t be so much awkwardness…. well a guy can hope can’t he?

-Hideki