Absolutely abysmal. The only thing the series has going for it is the quality of it's animation and Arakawa's character designs, sadly even those designs were wasted because the characters were so poorly fleshed out/written. The theme's should have had potential, but with so many cuts, flash backs/forwards, and poorly explained actions/events the series just failed to deliver. To have even stood a chance it seems it needed a minimum of 36 episodes, and a weekly release schedule so they could leverage the suspense power of cliffhangers instead of cramming suspense in by splicing their episodes in 5 different time zones.
The following is a semi
...
detailed reflection on each episodes failures/flaws:
Episode 1 was actually great, set us up with an interesting premise and a big world event to really set things into motion. Everything goes downhill 1 episode at a time though. Even in EP 2 the bad cuts, time skips, and missing info was already made very apparent. At the end of EP1 Jacob had just escaped on a lifeboat with our crew of characters, he was awake and watched the Bob broadcast; At the start of EP 2 however he becomes the only one recovered from the life raft what seems like days later (No time reference given). None of his friends can be accounted for, but by the end of the EP they are all back with ZERO explanation and a 1 year time skip.
EP3 Seems like it wants to give us some proper world building on the Moon but most of the Ep is just taken up with fancy animation.
EP4, the first big "Hold on, did I click the wrong EP?" Moment. An unnotified, 17 minute flash back to what happened on Earth a year ago, just to feed us Eric's closeness to Jacob and hint to us something ain't right with Rhys being a Major. This was such a poor cut, and really wastes the viewers time when they have to check to make sure they didn't miss something.
EP5 Georg makes up with Zowan but it's never explained why she got upset anyway so it fails to build any character for us. Also 5/6 really introduces the ongoing problem of characters never actually talking with each other to understand events. This happens multiple times throughout the rest of the series and easily becomes over played and frustrating. Let's not do the same thing as the show and forget that Jacob is apparently 50 years old too! Yeah, that never gets explained, In no way does he understand himself to be that old, Phil to be so, no recognition or showing of slowed aging, just hey "Jacob Jefferson Skylum, 50 years old."
EP7, we need new enemies, lets introduce the L-Zone, apparently also a SEED species. Some decent character building for the only 2 people who ever get any to begin with and then a cliffhanger ending. (They do realize cliffhangers only work in weekly release format right?)
EP8, Whiplash ROUND 2!!! First we have another flashback, then we flash forward. Wait, what happened after the end of EP7 though? Mary/Jacob are back with the crew, Mary is regretting saying something to Jacob, more communication problems when the group gets together again, and through all of it, we don't know how much time has passed, or where we even are now. We the audience are introduced to the fact that the General is a mole, but only us, no clue that should tip off our heroes. Oh wait! 17 minutes in and we are flashing back to the ending of EP7... Why now? Okay maybe this shows what Mary said to Jacob, and then we see her get touched by the L-Zone blob and Flash back to reality!
Episode 8 seems to be the dropping point for most people, and it was almost the drop for me but for some reason I chose to see through this trainwreck.
In Episode 9 Inanna and Georg seem to develop a close relationship, they also somehow know there is a Mole even though there has been no inciting event to make them believe so. Excuse my suspension of disbelief, but they literally just left the base and they are trying to weed out a mole that only the audience knows exists.
EP 10, everyone likes Salamandra. Well to be fair she is the only one of our Moon Chains crew that ever gets any hint of motivation, personality or backstory given to her. We never learn anything about the other 4 Wise, Pitter, Windy or Harbinger. In fact you are lead to believe that Wise is a joker that isn't even on their side to begin with.
Episode 11 really brings in Rhys' bullshit, she doesn't want to listen but really wants Jacob's love and attention. Other than that and Mary somehow being linked to L-Zone the whole episode is a nothing burger.
Ep12 is entirely inconsequential.
EP13 Georg is being stupid now too. Jack and Phil are suddenly on friendlier terms, Jacob just decides to trust him and deserts his squad to join Moon Chains. Also the horrible ending scene flash forward to whatever "Mother" is. Seriously Rhys was just down and out crying, now she is calling a big robot Mother?
EP14 begins by showing us Mary and assumedly Jack is with Moon Chains now and immediately follows with an all too long and failed flashback sequence again. Then back to the present... Future. Yeah, we had another 1 year time skip... Zowan and Duan are gone and "On the List" our VC3 squad has 3 new members we will never care about, and we are just supposed to buy into the fact that this war somehow went on for a year with no important changes. Did everyone take a vacation or something!? Earth just lost 3 of its elite squad's member, it's General, Agaram, and L-Zone is still running amok the war should've been over in a month.
EP 15 Lots of late and meaninglessly small character building. You really don't care at this point, the characters are already bland actors doing whatever the scene demands.
Ep 16 Oh so Zowan and Duan deserted for some reason, for a different perspective.. Why we really aren't sure. Followed by A lot of failed attempts from people trying to or more like half trying to talk to Rhys. Also a flashback to how Phil became Bob Skylum, that makes no sense now either, we are put under the assumption for the last 15 episodes that Bob had been dead since their childhood and this was just a persona Phil took on to play the part of rebel leader.
EP 17 Flash forward into the big final battlefield. Zowan shows up to save Rhys but the thanks that her and Duan get is tazer juice for Georg and Rhys whom neither care to ask, understand or be thankful. Afterwards we finally figure out what "Mother" is all the way back from EP 13 (Imagine watching that weekly) and all we really learn is that it's just the core unit for all the robot enemies. Rhys allows Sapentia to hack it and turn the robots onto Moon Chains and the citizens. Now all of a sudden our VC3 heroes are willing to fight alongside Moon Chains when they see them saving civilians. No really talking it over just a complete mood change on the matter. Rhys fires multiple rounds at Mary trying to kill her again and then when she finally has the freedom to do so she just can't pull the trigger anymore. George is completely fine with letting it happen in front of him too. Not to mention the stupidity of Rhys doing all of this out of a fanatical following of Sapientia's orders, thinking that somehow that was supposed to get Jacob to love her. Ultimately she doesn't pull the trigger and instead the AI hacks her engrave to do it.
EP18, now everyone has no time to talk, just trust each other, we have to stop L-Zone! Rhys and Georg pick their engrave weapons up (Yes, the one's that just got hacked in front of them) and attempt to fight. Saved by Salamandra. The next 10 minutes is an utterly boring finale encounter to save Mary and the Moon. Phil goes to Earth to be judged for his crimes with Rhys. Everyone else stays on the moon for whatever reason. Phil kills the Earth council and destroys Sapientia in a suicide mission. (Yeah, i never mentioned the council, we never really learn anything about them so what's to say.) Skip 3 more months, Rhys is still on Earth, Jacob and every1 else still on the Moon, Jacob rallies the Moons citizens with the help of Wise and then when visiting Eric's grave recieves a friend request from our assumed dead Phil. No mention of what happened to Jacob and Rhys' relationship and that's all she wrote.
A massive waste of talent.
Character: Design 9/10 Personality/Story: 2/10
Story: 2/10
Art: 8/10
Overall: Doesn't deserve more than a 2/10. Art and design cannot make up for a failure to tell any story worthy of watching.
All (0)FriendsNo friend yet.
Also Available atRSS Feeds |
Apr 18, 2025
Absolutely abysmal. The only thing the series has going for it is the quality of it's animation and Arakawa's character designs, sadly even those designs were wasted because the characters were so poorly fleshed out/written. The theme's should have had potential, but with so many cuts, flash backs/forwards, and poorly explained actions/events the series just failed to deliver. To have even stood a chance it seems it needed a minimum of 36 episodes, and a weekly release schedule so they could leverage the suspense power of cliffhangers instead of cramming suspense in by splicing their episodes in 5 different time zones.
The following is a semi ... |
