#yamada jun

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Welcome back, folks! You knew I was gonna be back to cover the second season, right? Last season ended on both a downbeat and a cliffhanger and I, like you, have been waiting for season 2 all spring and into the summer. And even though the new series wasn’t what many people expected or asked for, I’m looking forward to following it with you to the end. Maybe we can generate enough buzz over it to get a season 3!

We start out with a flashback with poor Lil’ Gai and the poor Lil’ Braves (at least five of them) abused and endangered by Ramaga. We always got the impression that the Braves weren’t inherently evil, even if they eagerly followed Ramaga’s orders, and depicting them as scared little kids confirms it. We see Ramaga used to have a human body… what happened to it? Apparently Ramaga’s evil degrades any human vessel it touches so he has to keep body-hopping, which explains why he possessed Ryo and tried to possess Gai.

Also, there only five of these Bravelets that we can see... where'd the other five come from?

The stones that the DST rejected have become the cornerstones of the agency and the ruling party. The guys even have their own set of questionable merch that won’t make any of them one yen personally. At least the full-coverage armor means they can walk around in public without being mobbed by adoring fans… to the likely regret of Yamato, who wishes he could show everyone he’s better looking than the promo art would suggest.

~~~

Animators: “So what imagery were you considering for the new OP? Maybe a boy-band vs. heavy metal contrast? Or do we wanna go the chibi route? Maybe some angsty psychological horror shots? Or some fun cosplay? Then again, maybe we should just stick to some good clean sword-fighting since that’s what the series—”

Production Team: “Yes.”

Animators: “Okay, but which—”

Production Team: “YES.”

Animators: …

“Awright, fuck it. It’s all billable hours anyway.”

~~~

Nasuti would have been fired if she hadn’t quit, and she knows it. Her possession by the Jewel is probably the only thing that saved her from a charge of high treason. Narumi, as she first appears, has an impeccable sense of duty, taking neither shit nor prisoners… even if she does melt like Yotsuba Hokkaido butter the moment Coach Sanada walks in the room. (Don’t we all, honey.) 

It’s already been spoiled for us that Ryusei comes back—sorta--so why doesn’t Mirei come back with everyone else? As hypothesized by Hojo (of all people), people turned into Puppets could be revived but not people turned into monsters. Sadly, that means Yoshie Utsugi is also gone for good.

Everyone’s reaction to the weird membrane swirling across the Tokyo skyline…

Too bad about White Blaze being carted off by Animal Control. At least Jun’s getting back to his roots… and even walking off some of the weight, it looks like. He can send them back to the Demon World, but what can they do when they get there? Can they summon the Supreme Emperor, or at least a halfway viable facsimile thereof, with just four fighters?

That deli-mustard-and-salt-flakes sky was omnipresent in any Demon World scene in the OS, suggesting that all those battles we thought were in the heart of the enemy realm were just on the edge of it. It might explain the origins of the other warlords that showed up while Arago was dormant (Saranbo, Lord Saber-Stryke, etc.). There was (and is) an entire realm, worlds within worlds, that the OS Troopers never explored. They never even to visit the farmer’s market.

I’m not still not sure what a Zabiru is, but Musashi, you are it, and he is you.

Naturally, Gai is just as much a stubborn-ass in “death” as he was in life.

The scene in the market further confirms that the two sides in the Human vs. Demon World conflict may be relative… and there may be a day when they aren’t enemies at all. Of course, we have reason to suspect a third party is setting the two up to fight. But apparently both sides have limited familiarity with the Divine World and its starkly black-and-white morality.

Anyway, here’s that cool samurai action we’ve been waiting for. Shion’s upgrades to the armor pay off immediate dividends, and it’s awesome to watch. Too bad the divine energy Inmei imbues the tin cans with immediately cancels out all Shion’s hard work!

Can it be? Yes! He’s back! With his pecs out and cool tats and a bitchin’ hairdo and… shit. Shit. That’s Ramaga in there. Bastard got what he wanted after all.

Yamada Jun, Minister of Foreign Affairs

This Minister is the top representative on behalf of the Emperor of Japan for the Japanese delegation. Yamada has access to classified Japanese information regarding military and scientific industry within the country prior to the Revolution. This includes schematics on proprietary Japanese technology that was never implemented given the rise of the Tsukumogami. The Minister believes that the primary concern of UNETSL is the reclamation of Japanese territory. As the Tsukumogami are Japanese creations, the Minister’s office is conflicted as to the fate of robot kind. They have opted for a “let the chips fall as they may” approach to the survival of the revolutionaries.

Hayashi Ren, Minister of Defense

The Minister of Defense has control of the few operational military bases in the south and is willing to put forth whatever military resources Japan has in the ongoing struggle. Having worked as a high-level military official on the mainland prior to the coup, this Minister has closely-guarded military intelligence regarding the mainland’s defense vulnerabilities. They possess knowledge of key geographical locations within Japan that may prove useful to hit the Tsukumogami where they might be vulnerable. Hayashi, however, has an unusual affinity for the military skill of the Tsukumogami. Despite of their ability to conduct well-targeted operations against the mainland, the Minister is far more interested in finding a way to turn the Tsukumogami back into tools for Human Japan’s future military ambitions. “Why let the elegant technology of man’s best killing machine go to waste?”

Sato Kohaku, Chairman of the Advanced Telecommunications Research (ATR)