After accidentally forming the legendary mecha “Aquarion,” Amata finds himself at a pilot-training academy where the flirty girls love to get a rise out of him, and the boys seem more interested in exploring mysterious holes and big bangs than harnessing their Elemental superpowers. It’s all awkward dates, hijinks, and threesomes until otherworldly beings start abducting powerful female students. As a mysterious megalomaniac plots interplanetary disaster, the fate of the galaxy depends on whether or not the hormone-fueled academy coeds can come together to fight evil.
Set 12,000 years after the events of Aquarion, this series from the studio behind Fairy Tail and Macross builds on the mythos of the original while introducing a new group of lovers and fighters all heading toward one epic climax.
When it comes to classic Mecha anime, the original Aquarion was right up there for me. Along with Evangelion, it was one of the first few anime I watched when I first got into it. The original plot read like this: When the Shadow Angels invade after 12,000 years of slumber, humanity is held captive by fear and sheer alien dominance. Eleven years after the Great Catastrophe decimated the world, most of those left alive are scavengers, dirty and starving in the streets. Powered by three souls intertwined, a rare breed of pilot takes the controls. Known as Elements, one among them must rise if mankind is to survive. Prophecy is being fulfilled as the end of the world approaches… Through a swirling cloud of love, betrayal, loss and destiny, the last hope for the new century arrives and takes flight!
Aquarion Evol is the sequel to this classic series but not at its purest. This continuation of the series relayed heavily on fan service. While the original series had its share of it, Evol has it laid on much thicker than its predecessor. The girls want to get a rise out of the new quiet boy. The boys just want to explore ‘holes’ and ‘big bangs’. I think you get the picture.
The main character Amata is your typical annoyingly clueless protagonist who eventually figures it out with the help of his alter ego Kagura. Kagura is literally the feral half of Amata’s psyche split in half when his mother was pulled away to another world.
Still at its core, its a mecha anime with religious folklore mixed into the story. So the core elements of the original make a return, along with some former enemies. While not nearly as dark as Evangelion which, towards the end, bordered on complete madness, this series balances the dark story with some levity at the right moment.
The animation quality and sound track are both highly redeeming qualities of this extension to the Aquarion series. Funimation just released a S.A.V.E. version of the series which sadly means it wasn’t a great seller. That being said, if you love mecha anime, a little bit of fan service or you were a fan of the original Aquarion series, you should check this out. Get the score too, because you could listen to it for hours. You can pick up your copy over on Amazon.com now for $24.79
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