Speaking of which, I wonder if the fact that apparently only women can be D-Pilots will be explained... There is indeed a paradox between the show's light and refreshing tone and the actually not-so-great situation these girls are in.
Regarding the episode itself, one can infer from its events that Iiboshi might be an idiot. His masteplan to prevent the girls from falling in love is exactly what led Hisone to fall in love in the end… or at least much earlier than she would have otherwise. And that leads me to wonder why Masotan "accepted" Nao even though she was already in love with the suits guy. Is her love too "superficial" to count?
They averted the trope about pilots having to be children, but indeed they apparently have to be women.
Also they are all grownups, but all in this young age when it is hard to tell if they are adults, or if they still need help from their parents when in trouble; and they all seem to be virgins.
Also it seems dumb to select single female pilots because they would click with dragons; then to be surprised when they fall in love and it messes up things. Because young people having feelings is a thing.
edited 10th Jun '18 12:59:29 PM by gropcbf
Took me a while to catch up with this episode.
I'll just say that I find Hisone's reaction to understanding what she's feeling the most hilarious thing in the show as of yet. The scenes after that were the direct opposite.
On the D-Pilots needing to be women, I figured it was just an extension fo the whole Miko idea. Traditionally, they have to be pure, young women, don't they? I understood the whole idea of the D-Pilots as just an extension of that.
Also, I think Nao's thing is more physical attraction than straight-up love, which is why it doesn't count.
Oh, and a round of applause for the minister, who managed to cause the exact thing he wanted to avoid by enacting a plan to avoid it that included almost causing the thing he wanted to avoid, therefore risking the thing actually happening before he could avoid it. I mean, talk about unnecessarily complicated...
edited 15th Jun '18 8:21:06 PM by TheLovecraftian
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It's kinda following that anime-fanservice tactic of "we'll openly acknowledge that this character is creepy and perverted to distract from the fact that, in reality, the writers and/or producers decided to include this somewhat demeaning fetishy content." Same deal as in Rebuild of Evangelion when Asuka says something like "what perv designed this plugsuit?"... well, the character/costume designer did, but it's written to make you feel like some fictional character is to blame. I really don't know what to make of this showing up in a show with such a wholesome-storybook art style, though.
There's a lot of confusing back-and-forth, so far, on how this show treats women. Female young-adult protagonist, with sort of a quirky non-cliche personality, does have a love interest but it's not even close to the sole focus of her life, that's all good. But then there's creepy plugsuit guy. The other D-Pilots are sort of a mixed bag, some more Standard Anime Girl than others—after all that time spent demonstrating that Hoshino's "love interest" is an obnoxious pickup artist, suddenly a U-turn happens and now he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and she's a regular old tsundere. And the story seems to have that classic catch-22 viewpoint where women who don't have a man are abnormal, but if they do have a man, they've lost their Virgin Power... they've also been dropping hints that some sort of virgin sacrifice is imminent.
And yet... Mari Okada is writing this? That's the main thing still giving me hope that this will all work out in the end.
And RIP the VA's vocal chords. That was some incredible shriek.
I've already said that I found this series' voice acting pretty unconventional, but this scene just cemented how much I love that.
Yeah, Hoshino's turn-about was quite sudden. I can buy that Zaitou's feelings have become more genuine as he got to know her a little more, but her falling for him with just a fitness contest and an Accidental Kiss is a bit too easy.
Yeah, it got released on mine this morning.
So, new episode. Nao and Okonogi all get prizes here. The guy Hoshino can get one too, if only for sacrifice, although their relationship is still a bit too rushed.
And Hisone decides to drop from the Air Force... interesting. Given next episode seems to be the Old Lady's backstory, I presume we'll get some insight into something that'll allow Hisone to jump back in. Either way, I like the episode.
Hmm… so Iiboshi's plan did work in the end − for one of them at least. Sada sure says some horrible things with such a gentle motherly tone.
So I presume that girl in the flashback and the next episode preview was her lover or crush at the time?
I did not expect Hisone to quit altogether. I was rather expecting some kind of Loophole Abuse to circumvent the problem… I doubt it will stick either way. But yeah, Nao was a peach this episode.
In a way, the fact that it is so rushed might be the reason the whole "breakup" plan worked with her. She fell in love just enough to cause anastomosis, but not long or deeply enough to want to cling to those feelings.
edited 18th Jun '18 12:06:20 PM by Lyendith
I still expect a Loophole Abuse, to be honest. I just think they'll hold onto it for the end. And yeah, the idea seems to be that the former Miko was Sada's crush. It's weird how Sada has almost started to sound like a villain in this episode.
Nao is one of the best characters right now.
Episode 11: …Well that took a dark turn. >.> The Miko's role is apparently not just to sing a lullaby to Mitatsu-sama, but also to be "eaten" by it… something they apparently don't tell them in advance.
Lots of awesome and heartwarming scenes this episode… Didn't expect Kakiyasu to be the MVP.
Nor did I expect her reaction to be so vehement. Nice job, Kugimin.
Also, it seems like decades old crushes can still cause anastomosis. That's a bummer.
edited 23rd Jun '18 2:31:22 AM by Lyendith
Nothing like watching two episodes in a row because your streaming service missed one. Not that they managed to bring it out. I had to watch them in different services. Oh well.
I'll be honest, the final episode felt a bit messy and rushed to me. I don't know, it just didn't click right.
Plus, as with every story where the big thing is "determination to find a new solution", I feel compelled to ask: Did no one else ever love someone else enough to try and find a different way to do things? I know Hisone technically failed to find a different way, since she ends up performing the sacrifice either way, but still. Did Sada not think of a way? Or any of the other D-Pilots throughout the history of the ritual? I alwyas have this problem with that kind of thing. It cheapens things, in my opinion.
Still, the comedy was top notch the entire time, so I'm fine. And for what it's worth, it's been a fun ride.
And of course, we finish by looking at the face of the most important character. Nao's Head.
Edited by TheLovecraftian on Jul 1st 2018 at 12:50:22 PM
There was some heavy symbolism in this show regarding how women (particularly Japanese women) are expected to sacrifice everything for their careers and their relationships. This was the first generation that felt confident enough to tell a literal abusive, sexist dinosaur to fuck off and go to sleep without his blankie, and it still took them a fair amount of time and effort to shake themselves out of the mindset that saw relationships as sacrifices rather than empowerment.
What's precedent ever done for us?…Crap, I didn't think it would be the final episode already.
Yeah, it felt a bit rushed… sometimes literally. Like, what's with Iiboshi's Motor Mouth at the start of the episode? I seriously thought the video was on ×1.5 speed for a second…
This was an enjoyable ride overall, but this is yet another example of the low number of episodes doing more harm than good. The hectic pace, hilarious comedy, unconventional voice acting and artstyle, and even most of the emotional moments were all a treat, but in the end half of the "main characters" (Lilikos, Hitomin and Nao) felt painfully underdevelopped and underused. Just a couple more episodes to flesh things out would have made the ending more satisfying I feel.
So like Megalo Box, it was a great series with a slightly underwhelming ending… It's weird that so far the series with the most satisfying ending this season was… Caligula (among those I watched). Although that series had other kinds of problems. Also, Hinamatsuri but it's not really an "ending" per se.
That's… an interesting way to see it. I hadn't considered it that way.
Edited by Lyendith on Jul 3rd 2018 at 8:56:24 PM
For the record, that whole thing about relationships as empowerment is also explicitly why they didn’t dwell on how our main pair escaped Mitatsu. As soon as Masotan went back for Hisone, it could basically just be assumed that they’d get out somehow, because there’s nothing that can stand up to a dragon with Super-Strength and his incredibly stubborn pilot, and the entire cast knew it.
Probably best not to ask what Hisone was eating during all that time, though...
What's precedent ever done for us?…Speaking of "you do not want to know", how much time before fanarts and fanfics shipping (or worse) Masotan and Hisone start to pop up?
I'd like to think even the Internet wouldn't go that far but… it's the Internet.
Edited by Lyendith on Jul 3rd 2018 at 9:03:05 PM
Remember the ending that was a cover of a song by France Gall, who happened to have died that year? I was wondering how popular in Japan she was.
Lately I heard that Poupee de cire, poupee de son had a Japanese version that she performed in the 1960s (example on youtube
). In fact the original French
sounded very similar to some anime openings from the 1970s or 1980s and I have no idea how accidental that is.
Edited by gropcbf on Jul 17th 2021 at 2:55:42 PM

The whole thing is kind of interesting, as the show does have that feel good wibe, but at the same time that kind of stuff happens and then there's also the undercurrent of the show where the organization, if not the individuals in it, seem to treat the pilots as tools. Which they, granted, kind of are, especially when it's a military setting. I still dislike the inappropriate touching bit, but it does kind of feed into that and sort of "work".
I'm hoping the show will properly address that duality before it ends. If and how they go about it will greatly effect how highly I think of the show after it's over.
edited 10th Jun '18 10:02:36 AM by GabrieltheThird