They made such a big deal with Plasmagica’s new song and we didn’t even get to hear it?
This episode felt really weird to me. Other than the fact that the animation looked pretty bad this episode, the story this episode surrounding Ailane just felt random. I was looking forward to the battle of the bands but I was left a little disappointed.
The sudden shift from “WE R EVILLLL” to “Um wait guys I don’t think this is right” was strange. Maybe it would have been more believable and touching if the show gave more screentime to BUD VIRGIN LOGIC and maybe if we actually got the backstory to how they met and just how different Ailane was before. Because according to Peipain and Hundreko (who I guess is an android), Ailane used to be so much different than how she is now and she loved music. The Ailane now hates music and she wants to envelope the world in darkness. One part could be because she’s being brainwashed by Dagger, but there was probably another reason too. Rosia calls Ailane the Queen of Darkness but that secret is with ARC’s manager, and Ailane is probably the Princess of Darkness, so it was most likely her mother. But this Ailane, who loved music and didn’t think about crushing the world and taking it over? Who’s that? Just hearing Peipain and Hundreko wasn’t enough for me. In fact, it didn’t do anything for me because this is the first we heard of it. Maybe that scene and the one in the end would have been more powerful if we had gotten a flashback of them before, being happy and cute. But I just didn’t understand what Peipain and Hundreko were talking about, so I wasn’t moved.
It just felt like a huge personality shift, too. I understand that Peipain is just a maid and she has to obey her master, the same goes for Hundreko. We did get a little scene before, with them talking on top of the building like this, that they noticed a shift in Ailane’s attitude and their wariness of Dagger. But they didn’t get too deep into it. I just feel like we didn’t get enough, and that’s why the whole plot surrounding them just didn’t work for me.
I want to understand them more, but they aren’t fleshed out! Is it too late to expect something more later? We might get a little something in another episode and I just sure hope we do, because BUD VIRGIN LOGIC is just going to end up as these lackluster villains. We still haven’t gotten anything out of the Queen of Darkness since her appearance in the first episode so I’d like the reveal next week. Seeing as how ARCAREAFACT was in the preview for next episode (Yay!), we just might.
As for the battle of the bands itself, again it was lacking. BVL’s new song was great to listen to, I just love their music. Things didn’t go the way they wanted though because Peipain and Hundreko didn’t play “dark” enough. And then we get to Plasmagica, and I was so pumped to hear their new song. You know, the new song that would be different from all the songs they’ve ever sang, the same song that took two episodes to show us just how difficult it was to write because of the sheer pressure of facing a band like this? That song? The three seconds we heard of it was promising, but then it was drowned out from the scene with BVL and then it just was fazed out entirely. So we honestly didn’t get to hear it. This was such a huge moment for them, for all of the characters. Even Rosia was so worried for them because she didn’t think they didn’t stand a chance. They made this battle of the bands seem so intense, but in the end it was a flop.
Of course in the end Dagger appears and just…consumes BVL and we actually get one of those scenes we haven’t gotten in awhile. I can imagine Queen Darudayu is going to come to save the day again like last time, but Cyan could play hero too.
I’m just looking forward to seeing ARCAREAFACT again. 🙂
Personally, I do kinda think that the directors of the show knew that the Plasmagica-song was kinda underwhelming, which is why they didn’t even let the battle of the bands announcer officially declare victory to Plasmagica and had Dagger say that “who cares about the results?”
After all, as the protagonists, Plasmagica have to win anyway.
Now, it might be that the second Plasmagica-song would be a lot better if I actually understood the lyrics, but I don’t feel like they put too much effort into the CGI-animation of Plasmagica either.
Kinda a shame, honestly.