[ Episode 26: The Final Battle ]

The episode was all I wanted and more though it did fall short in some places. The battles were awesome. Reideen and Junki versus Gadeon and Roxell was great but ended too quickly because of those damn aliens. From there until the end it was a pure power struggle with the aliens having a major advantage having absorbed Gadeon. Fortunately, Junki learned how to use the Flash-Drive of Reideen which is more or less teleportation. I’ve known all along that Akira was apart of Reideen so it came as no surprise when she revealed herself as such to Junki after he was beaten to near-death. God Great was such an awesome technique as well. That’s one HUGE sword and it cleaved those aliens with ease!

Some issues I have with the final episode though is that we’re not shown a trace of Hoshikawa. One would assume that she’s doing just fine since Junki doesn’t mention her being dead or anything. Roxell is in the same position but I’m guessing that the little scene with his cat spinning around him represented him being teleported out of Gadeon before it was too late for him.

[ Final Thoughts ]

This has been quite the half-year journey with Reideen. Being a mecha fan I had simply picked up Reideen at first because of the attractive character designs and obviously because it was a mecha anime. While it doesn’t really do anything new it does all the things that already exist quite well. More could have been done with the plot if there were less “monster-of-the-week” episodes but I don’t have a bad taste in my mouth over them as even those episodes had character development. I also felt that Akira and Junki’s relationship should and could have been explored more thoroughly throughout the series as the opening sequence presented so much potential with them being a close couple though in the end they seemed to have arrived at that level of intimacy. So all in all, I loved Reideen for it’s great cast of characters and the atmosphere it managed to create in every episode that never failed to pull me into its world. It’s worth the watch despite its imperfections in the pacing of the plot.

[Overall series review: 88/100]

[ Episode 25: Recover Reideen ]

Holy crap this episode was awesome. It started off slow but oh man did it end on a high note. However, I have to say a loud WTF at Hoshikawa being able to teleport. That. Is. AWESOME. I mean, I know her powers have evolved a bit but I didn’t know it was that far along. I’m guess though that it probably did mess up her body a bit. And also: OH SHI-! Ando got PWNED! XD I knew he wasn’t going to live for much longer but I didn’t expect him to get skewered out of no where. Also, I called Akira being a medium of sorts to Reideen since the episodes were in the single digits (I made the connections between both this show and its predecessors share with RahXephon). I’d like to know where she disappeared to this time though. It’s obvious that she somehow FADED IN Junki into Reideen but where did she go? I also hope that Hoshikawa was okay but it’s hard to figure out what she could have done. Could she have teleported herself back to Earth or did she teleport somewhere safe on the space ship?

Well, we’ll be finding out all the answers in the next and final episode. I hope that it ends with a bang.

FADE-O IN!

[ Episode 24: Arise Gadeon ]

These final episodes have been among the best of the entire series without question. This one was no different from what was started in the previous episode. There was action all over the place. The Hayate units fighting the monster. Akira and Shiori running away from the aliens. Roxell jacking Reideen’s armlet from Ando and calling upon it. Junki finding Gadeon’s armlet and summoning it into battle. It was all present! The team up between Junki and Roxell was great but I expected something on a larger scale.

I’m also concerned about Akira. She was still on the run from those aliens after Shiori fell. I suppose she either managed to get away or she was captured. Whichever the case it’ll be revealed in the next episode since the finale is almost upon us.

[ Episode 23: Roxell Returns ]

This was one awesome episode. Roxell and his weird-ass cat returns to search for Junki and Reideen. I had a good laugh when he showed up at Junki’s school and the students thought he was a cosplayer lol. It’s interesting to find out that he was once similar to Junki though. The aliens ravaged his planet and took him and Gadeon under the control. Does that mean they want to do the same thing with Junki and Reideen?

And what’s with Ando? Good lord, this guy just doesn’t give up. It’s not like he can use Reideen so what’s his deal? Power-hungry guys like him usually get theirs in the end and maybe that’ll happen in the next episode as it shows Roxell easily defeating his bodyguards and taking Reideen’s bracelet from him. In turn, Junki gets Gadeon’s bracelet! The next episode is going to be quite epic from what the preview lets on. Perhaps we’ll get to see a team-up from Junki and Roxell? Though I wonder if they’ll eventually end up fighting each other in the other’s machine?

Dammit! FADE-O IN!

[ Episode 22: Awaken and Attack ]

This episode was pretty “WTF” if you ask me. I knew the preview for the episode was pretty weird but I wasn’t expecting this. Not at all. This entire episode plays out like a RPG and I personally found it to be quite entertaining (I’m a RPG fan after all). This weirdness occurred because in reality Junki was trapped in some strange alien that invaded his consciousness. I have to say though it was quite an interesting dream world. I have to agree with Junki near the end of the episode with his friends fitting the character’s roles perfectly, especially Akira being the princess.

Next episode looks like it’s going to be awesome. FADE-O IN!

[ Episode 21: The Trap Proceeds ]

Now that was an interesting episode. I had a feeling that Akira would be the major reason Junki healed and regained Reideen in this episode. Her words about not ignoring responsibility when you’re deeply involved in the situation hit home hard. Akira was also acting slightly odd in this episode. It seems like Reideen being trapped within that pillar might have something to do with it but it still isn’t a sure thing. I really hope that her link with Reideen is revealed soon.

I also loved how Maedasaki planted fake data to trick Ando. He must’ve felt pretty bad after realizing that. Terasaki amazes me yet again. This guy is absolutely hardcore! He took down that dangerous alien with almost no problem! And what the hell was with that preview though? That’s one of the oddest things I’ve seen yet. o_O As a result of that I eagerly await the next episode with barely anything to go on for predictions.