Dropped:Star Driver Episode 7

“Distant World”

Summary: Sugata awakens!

Mimi: Great follow-up episode. Takuto is beginning to doubt the strength of his friendship with Wako and Sugata, but a drama club member encourages him that they really are a trio, and that he brings a smile to everyone’s face. In the meantime, Wako is praying like crazy for Sugata to wake up again, and she certainly gets her wish soon. Takuto ends up fighting against the girl who created the mermaidolls in the last episode, and miraculously, Sugata awakens in zero space.

I think that the Glittering Crux Brigade is actually the happiest party over Sugata’s return. It appears that he has lost his will, and he looks completely mindless, so they make a quick move to manipulate him. Benio gives him one of her charming kisses, so her power is probably working inside of him now ever so slowly. Takuto still has to slap Sugata to make him come out of his trance, and he’s relieved that he’s physically unharmed, but Sugata just isn’t the same now. He’s unfriendly and annoyed, and I would think that Takuto and the others would be able to catch on quickly. But what can they do for now? Just go after Benio?

Well, this is a nice little plot-twist. I like how everything has been built up to get to this point. It will be interesting to see Takuto and the Glittering Crux Brigade engage in a tug-of-war game with Sugata. I feel so sorry for Wako though. She’s going to have a pretty tough time with Sugata’s new personality here..if he’s even going to stick around them.

Anyway…like Bakuman, I just don’t have time to blog this on a Sunday, and it’s pretty overblogged anyway.

Dropped:Star Driver Episode 6

“Pillar of the King”

Summary: Sugata becomes insanely awesome.

Mimi: Hey, an episode all about Sugata! I’m glad that we get to see his power this early in the series. I thought he’d be a mystery forever.

The first half of this episode is rather quiet, featuring Takuto and Wako who spend their time talking about Sugata. It is actually his birthday, but he doesn’t celebrate it anymore because he learned about cybodies and his fate on this very day a few years ago. Wako explains that he actually possesses the most powerful cybody called “King Cybody,” but lately it cannot move, and whoever pilots it falls into a coma.

In the meantime, a girl from has been spying on them, and she eventually releases something called a “mermaidoll,” a small cybody that can move in real time I guess. It attacks Takuto and Wako and goes out of control, and I was surprised to see Takuto using his special attacks without his cybody…he isn’t doing half bad against the mermaidoll until it goes berserk and creates hundreds of clones. Sugata ultimately has to step in and apprivoise; the first phase is so powerful that it wipes out all of the mermaidolls. However, he falls into a coma right afterward, and Wako is worried sick. I hope he doesn’t plan on sleeping for too many episodes! This is really starting to quite good now.

Dropped:Star Driver Episode 5

“The Meaning of Mandrake”

Summary: Galactic Pretty Boy fanservice!

Mimi: I apologize for my late posts this week, for I’ve had to delay watching everything due to having so much homework. Now I’ll be playing catch-up and updating my monthly summary~ ^.^!

So…this episode..is about male fanservice. The school nurse goes crazy over youngins; she has posters of hot guys up in her office, as well as a secret little album of cute students. Out of her own interests, she takes a potion that makes her younger and attracts most guys to her. Every time she does this however, there is a strange earthquake, and she has the tendency to disappear. Takuto figures her out very easily, and she becomes the next opponent.

The most amusing part is when they actually face off. The girl has a special mode in her cybody that enables her to move faster than Takuto, so Takuto appears to move in slow motion.. And her second special mode displays Takuto naked on her screen. So just imagine a naked Takuto moving around in slow motion.. Yep, she’s done for, defeated by her own fangirl obsession. But hey, at least she gets that poor student at the end!

I really like it when Takuto’s opponents get more characterization, and I mean the ones who actually fight him. Before this episode, his opponents were typically random students picked off by members of the Crux Brigade who received little attention. So I hope that they keep this up, though we certainly don’t need any more sexed-up female characters who just attract guys around the school (we’ve had 3 so far?).

Dropped:Star Driver Episode 4

“Wako’s Singing Voice”

Mimi: There’s no flashy action in this episode, but the concept around the cybodies is getting more interesting! Basically, the Glittering Crux Brigade use a cybody to throw Takuto and Wako into zero space, but the space takes on the appearance of their memories and desires. It looks just like the island that they live on except that there are no other people around, and a totem pole that only exists in Wako’s memories is suddenly back on the beach. At first they don’t realize that they’re in zero space, and they talk casually about themselves. Wako even sings her own song for him. Most of the episode is quiet in this way, but it really works great at giving their relationship more development.

Eventually, they realize that the island isn’t real, and an enemy cybody appears. The person controlling the cybody is just an innocent female student being manipulated by the Glittering Crux Brigade. Takuto has had some difficulty in summoning his cybody because it was ‘hidden’, but he manages to find it and prepares to fight. However, the girl can’t fight in her cybody and just disappears before anything happens. Takuto and Wako simply return to the real world and go about their normal school lives once more…though I think Sugata catches on that they’re a bit closer.

It’s neat to see the cybodies being used for something other than fighting in. I wonder what else they’re capable of. And it’s interesting to note how this episode deviated away from the usual formula. I don’t mind the formula, but this episode shows that Star Driver won’t be so linear all the time. =)

Dropped:Star Driver Episode 3

“Adult Bank”

Mimi: The married girl who likes to “kiss through the glass” chooses the next opponent for the Galactic Pretty Boy. And we get to know a bit more..uh..about her. She’s married to a 65-year old rich man who’s the head of the Gran Tonnerre Foundation, and she lives on a gigantic ship. She offers Takuto a part-time job there to clean the pool area (mind her pet alligator), and pretty much everyone decides to tag along for the fun. Later on, Takuto and one of her servants have a fencing match, and it’s not a very impressive one on Takuto’s part. Her servant didn’t even give it his all because he thought Takuto wasn’t worth it. They fight each other again when Takuto becomes the Galactic Pretty Boy, and everyone’s surprised that he is actually a duel wielder. He kicks some serious butt with those two swords. x3

Contrary to how I first felt, I’m starting to like this formula in each episode. It’s not boring at all, considering how varied and colorful each fight is. I just hope to see Takuto do something more interesting with his school life. Well, this episode did break away from his usual routine, so I hope they keep that up. Looking forward to the next fight~

Dropped:Star Driver Episode 2

“The Challenge of the Holy Order of Glittering Stars”

Mimi: So The Glittering Crux Brigade declares war against The Galactic Pretty Boy. Why? Because cybodies only move in zero space, and they want to use them in real time, and they eventually need to break the seal of the maiden, but the Galactic Pretty Boy is an obstacle to their plans. Dun dun duuuun. Uhhh, I think.

Well, that’s a pretty neat concept and I’m liking it, though this episode is quite like the last one. They take the maiden girl, and an enemy fights the pretty boy in that odd dimension, and the pretty boy wins. Then it’s all over and the girl is starving.

The character sex appeal is getting stronger—we see more of them dressed in the sexiest costumes, and there’s a lot of kissing (with strange powers attached) going around. I can’t say that I’m into all of that, but the show is still overall entertaining and bursting with eye-candy as ever. I’m curious to know how the rich kid will get involved with everything—he just seems like a spectator at the moment. What are his abilities? And how can these guys take a strong offensive side against the enemy?