天下制覇

Even you couldn’t ruin this, Gonzo.

Impressions:

Well, let’s get the bad out of the way. Gonzo had a strong hand in animating this episode as well, and the entire style was off for most of the episode. The art was just horrific in parts, with half drawn faces, misshapen bodies, and the camera flailing around like a sorority girl on Mardi Gras with five pounds of beads and a fifth of scotch. I will admit that they did do a rather good job on the action. Bullet/Black Phantom was sufficiently crazy and evil to make an even more menacing villain than Kyosuke/PANDRA. If Kyosuke is ZKC’s Magneto, then Black Phantom is essentially Mr Sinister, a shadowy figure that brainwashes and seizes control of other espers. By augmenting Bullet with his own powers, Bullet became almost a match for Kyosuke. I am a little worried that we’re getting a few too many super powerful espers running around since we’re now up to three (four if you count Kaoru). I prefer the weaker ones who are more creative with their powers overcoming the brute force jerks.

Overall though, it was a pretty awesome episode. I don’t like massive stylistic changes at any point, so your mileage may vary as to how much the Gonzoness annoys you. At least half the episode was action and espers going haywire on each other with plenty of badassery from Kyosuke and Bullet though; absolutely everything the last month or so of this show had been lacking. It does look like we’re slowing right back down next episode with another Hayate cameo and a dream manipulator letting Minamoto experience a teenage Kaoru, but… hey… there are worse ways to end the year than teenage Kaoru.

Bullet vs Kyosuke and the Children

Brief Summary:

The Conmericans attempt to apprehend an assassin, but all of them are easily defeated. Ken calls BABEL to warn them that the assassin is on his way to Japan now and is related to Black Phantom, an esper/group bent on controlling the world. The Children are deployed to protect the target, but Kyosuke grabs Minamoto off the street and tells him to keep the Children away from it. Momotaro and Kuro attack some military jets to create a distraction and before Minamoto can regain consciousness and tell them what’s up, the Children teleport away to respond.

The royal forces are suddenly gunned down by a sniper. The bullet rises and attacks other members of the guard. The target is killed… but then the people start getting up. PANDRA substituted themselves and now Kyosuke’s got a bead on the assassin. He teleports in and tries to mindcrush Bullet. Black Phantom takes over Bullet’s mind and shoots Kyosuke. He then uses Bullet’s TK over the bullets in Kyosuke’s body to further damage him, but Kyosuke tears the bullets out of his body.

Kaoru senses an esper crying out for help and convinces the others to teleport away. They’re stopped by Kuro, who warns them to stay out of it. Shiho catches Momotaro and easily gets her to spill the beans about Black Phantom. Kuro’s still not about to let them pass, but Minamoto arrives in BABEL-1 and gives Kaoru a chance to escape with Momo leading her to Kyosuke. Shiho uses the distraction to tase Kuro.

Kaoru busts in and joins the fight between Kyosuke and Bullet. Kyosuke tells her to stay back and then manages to overcome Bullet, but Kaoru blasts him away when he tries to kill the controlled kid. Kaoru refuses to give up on him. Bullet attacks her and she’s forced back. Shiho teleports in and reads his mind about his past where he was attacked by mobs. Aoi also teleports in and drops a wrench into Bullet’s gun, preventing him from using it anymore. Bullet just TK grabs the already shot shells and begins the attack again. The Children close in, but Bullet clocks them with debris and forces them back on the defensive. His bullets pierce Kaoru’s shield, but Minamoto uses the ESP Booster on their limiters, letting Kaoru use a psychic Voice of Absolution to destroy Black Phantom’s grip on Bullet. She and Bullet collapse afterward, and Kyosuke taunts Minamoto that this is what will create the conflict among espers.

Preview:

Dream weaver, I believe you can get me through the ni~ight!