Zegapain

Zegapain is a not so well-known sci-fi mecha show that is sci-fi first and mecha second. So if you're looking for some bombastic action-oriented anime and just want to see cool looking robots blowing each other up then steer clear, Zegapain isn't for you. However, if you're looking for a heavy sci-fi show strong in thought-provoking themes and a complex story and narrative then continue reading and maybe I can convince you to watch this. Jumping into the first episode Zegapain seems like a generic Mecha show with high-school flavor but that's exactly what the show wants you to think as everything isn't as it seems.Our protagonist, Kyo, is living his normal life and starts noticing some weird occurrences and through a course of events finds himself piloting a robot and in an alternate game-seeming reality that after uncovering some truths will shake his very world and perception to its core. Existentialist themes such as Cartesian dualism, reality, identity, and some other minor themes such as natural vs. artificial are juggled without ever seeming pretentious, preachy, shoehorned, or unexplored; Zegapain is great at handling its themes to the fullest. A typical problem a lot of similar shows have is collapsing under the weight of its complex story and setting because of plotholes, infodumps (or the opposite, lack of exposition), and plot contrivances, none of which are problems here. Zegapain manages to maintain a complex fully-explored setting and plot advancements without any of those, the show is really maturely handled, always evolving with its characters and plot developments, always rewarding, and never breaking its rules. I would talk more about the setting but it's a bit hard to delve into without spoiling things, just keep in mind that it's never as simple as it seems and there's always another twist to rattle it up. We may have some pacing problems here and there but it's nothing too bad, it's never painfully dull or too fast, it can just be a little erratic sometimes due to the frequency that plot-twists are thrown and dealt with, it's never unsatisfying or impedes with dealing with its themes though. I mention that the show has lots of twists but it isn't one of those shows that throws twists at you for the sake of twists, they're very pivotal to the setting and narrative and are all excused and heavily, subtly, and intricately foreshadowed. To top it all off we arrive at an extremely well-polished and powerful conclusion that leaves no loose ends and compliments its themes nicely. Zegapain also delivers with its characters about as much as with its plot, no archetypes or one-dimensional characters here. Everyone is well fleshed out and receives a ton of backstory, that isn't to say the show goes overboard with its flashbacks but rather that backdrops fit extremely well into its narrative and always makes use of them. The characters evolve alongside the plot and revelations as they are forced to confront reality and their beliefs in a way that can totally rock their perception of life and their situations, aside from adding to the dynamics of their character it really makes for some thought provoking ideas and intriguing angles of growth. All the characters have a purpose and definitely add something to the show but some of the side characters can lack some presence once in a while and are rather forgettable despite being well fleshed-out and having solid development and backdrop. Something that can also throw a lot of shows off the deep end is a shoehorned romance or love triangle that just isn't well handled in general, Zegapain deals with its romance very well. There is sort of a love triangle in the show but it's perfectly excused by former and current relationships between the characters and plot advancements without ever seeming forced, melodramatic, or used for a reason that doesn't aid in developing it's plot or characters, infact it's very important to them. One area where Zegapain doesn't deliver however, is the art and animation section. The characters all look really bland and the animation isn't the greatest (though it's definitely not bad), sure the show has some neat visual effects but it definitely doesn't excuse this sections biggest downfall for the show; the CGI. The mechs are designed fairly uniquely (albeit look and move a bit clunky) but it's put to shame by some poor CGI. It's definitely not close to the worst case of CGI i've seen but it really does stand out. Despite being a mecha show, and done by Sunrise for that matter, the action scenes atleast for the first half are very dull and unengaing. It's partly due to the early action scenes lacking context and exposition as we don't know what we're fighting, what our main characters are fighting for, and what the stakes are, just that they're fighting some ugly CGI grunt robots that all look the same. That isn't to say that they shouldn't be there, they are definitely important scenes, just a little taxing. Zegapain definitely delivers in a lot of areas but this is not one of them, good thing the show is more plot and character focused anyway. However the sound section is another area that the show delivers for. It's certainly not one of the strongest soundtracks i've heard but the pieces range from average to incredible, there's certainly a lot of great tracks used that really add to the emotion and feeling of the scenes as well as just sounding great in general, especially a lot of the music in the latter half. I myself wasn't too fond of the opening but I didn't dislike it, the main ending theme however im really a fan of and it seems to fit the show perfectly. The voice acting in the sub is stellar and has lots of impact, I definitely recommend it over the dub which ranges from average to bad and lazily done. --- I was really surprised by the high level of writing this show presented, it's a great sci-fi mecha show that really pushes the boundaries of what the genres are capable of. It's a pretty heavy show and not easily digestible but it really stands out in the crowd and is one of the stronger hidden gems i've seen, definitely an underrated work that needs more appreciation. This really feels like one of the greater sci-fi show's of the medium and you should really check this out if it seems like your cup of tea and you can get past some bad CGI. Story: 8/10 Characters: 8/10 Art/Animation: 4/10 Sound: 7/10 Enjoyment: 8.5/10 Overall: 7.5~8/10

Zegapain is yet another mecha anime done by Sunrise. It, in no way, looks like any Gundam show though. Zegapain is not only a show full of plentiful mecha action, it has a romance side and a philosophical side to it as well. Story: The story starts off a normal day for Sogoru Kyo but it quickly escalates as he is placed in the cockpit of a mecha called Zegapain Altair. The story progresses at a fairly decent pace and has several twists in the plot that'd question what you know from before. As said before, aside from the mecha action, you'll be witnessing a romancestory between several of the characters. The romance isn't too heavy but it is nicely done in flow with the plot. Art: The art of the anime is one of its highlights. The designs are well done and the CG scenes are smooth but there are certain episodes which seemed to have several QUALITY scenes. The CG and 2D mixes in smoothly together. The mecha and enemies all look unique and are original from other mecha like Gundams. The opening and ending are both beautiful pieces of animation even though it seems like it stands out from an action anime like Zegapain. Sound: The music is well done and well placed throughout the show. The OP and ED however, are the highlights of soundtrack. Combined with the animation, it'll leave you with a certain sense of peace and at times it'll put you at edge when battle starts. Characters: The characters are not your typical cliched types bar a few of them. They range from the ever cool and arrogant ones to the loud and clueless protagonist. Kyo is caught in a love triangle with two of his female companions and the romance ensues between a few other characters as well. Enjoyment/Overall: I enjoyed the show since I am a mecha fan but it's not the best show out there. It's unique in its own way. The sci-fi is well done and delivers a very apocalyptic setting as you watch the show.

Zegapain is a show that contains all the elements of a show that should have met massive critical and commercial success both inside and outside of Japan. The latter is true, but the former isn't, which comes as a surprise of sorts if someone has actually finished the show. The show is complex, philosophical, very tightly written and has an amazing setting which is fleshed out in a spectacular amount of detail and has a lot of depth. And yet, this show stands as one of the most underrated anime series of all time. This is in part to the show's seemingly weak beginning where alot of elements that the show has are foreshadowed but never directly told to the audience, which leaves viewers with the misleading impression that it's just another generic mech anime and that the characters are simplistic and bland. Neither impression is correct, as anyone who has actually finished the show would tell you. In fact, this show's biggest problem is that it doesn't show its true nature until most viewers have dropped the show and walked out with the worst first impression possible. Zegapain is also well-known for the story and setting in itself being a massive spoiler for the entire show. It is recommended by most people to at least reach episode 7 before making a decision to drop the show, since the show doesn't show its true colors until that point. The story is very tightly written and well-explained, and the setting is even better fleshed out than one would expect. Presentation of the story is top notch and exposition scenes never insult the viewer's intelligence by bringing up things that the viewer already knows but apparently needs the show to explain. The setting is very distinct by anime standards, and while many people will be quick to compare the setting with the Matrix, I found the similarities superficial at best and outright wrong at worse. The setting is incredibly crapsack by nature, so heads up for anyone looking for something easygoing and happy-go-lucky; you won't find it here. The themes are very interesting and captivating from beginning to the end, well-explored and fully fleshed out. Mentioning the themes is a spoiler as well, so I will only say that even that shows its true colors after episode 7, though very carefully foreshadowed at the beginning. The characters are simplistic, but are very dynamic and work extremely well and develop very well over the course of the show. No character is left undeveloped or unexplored, though the villains aren't as developed as well as they could have been. The soundtrack is of a high quality, fitting the mood of the show and some tracks having hearing value outside of the show. The ending song in particular fits the show very well, and is easily among my favorite ending songs of all time. Artwork looks alright, but I couldn't help but feel that with better animation quality this show's presentation would've been a lot better and it would have been nice to see where the creators could have experimented with it. The animation is consistent throughout the show, and there are no real quality drops, but even then the show was too good to have animation that barely gets an average score. Overall, Zegapain is an exceptional show which doesn't play its cards properly instantly and saves the best after a certain point in the show. The story is amazing, the setting detailed and the characters constantly move forward from episode to episode. Patience will be rewarded while watching this show, and it certainly is a case where ratings don't tell the full story.

Zegapain is one of those animes that lets you, the viewer decide what you think is truth. That kind of story basis is throughout quite alot of the episodes. It follows the main character Kyo throughout his appectance/denial of the evidence that reality to him isn't atall what its made out to be. This along with clues that the writers threw in made this a very interesting anime to watch. Personally I found the main background story very compelling series and a slight urgency to see the next episode. There was a big drama side to zegain more of following kyo and his decissions and howhe devlops as a person. They have provided alot of cliff hangers in the series which could be described as moments where you think "did that really just happen?" , "wth is going to happen next!!". As for the action in the series, you wont be disapointed the action is very gripping and well co-ordinated. The final parts of the anime is where the action excels tho. As you would expect of anime meca anime you would expect big overpowered meca with different battle abilties, it forfils these qualities in the fullest. As all good anime's do they throw in a couple of rivals that shows up later that are as equally skilled. The animation is main CG work however they do incorprate the drawings to CG very well, The mec & ship designs looked orginal rather than a certain well known meca anime that every man and their dog seem to rip off. Sound: The OST music throughout the series was perfect well suited to the situations given. The opening and ending themes were very good also. Overall i can say i really enjoyed zega it did exactley what it set out to do tell a story while looking good doing it! I was impressed throughout and recommend to anyone. + there is a 360 game of zega id like to play :)

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