Ranked #687

Zegapain

Zegapain is yet another mecha anime done by Sunrise. It, in no way, looks like any Gundam show though. Zegapain is not only a show full of plentiful mecha action, it has a romance side and a philosophical side to it as well.

Story: The story starts off a normal day for Sogoru Kyo but it quickly escalates as he is placed in the cockpit of a mecha called Zegapain Altair. The story progresses at a fairly decent pace and has several twists in the plot that'd question what you know from before. As said before, aside from the mecha action, you'll be witnessing a romance story between several of the characters. The romance isn't too heavy but it is nicely done in flow with the plot.

Art: The art of the anime is one of its highlights. The designs are well done and the CG scenes are smooth but there are certain episodes which seemed to have several QUALITY scenes. The CG and 2D mixes in smoothly together. The mecha and enemies all look unique and are original from other mecha like Gundams. The opening and ending are both beautiful pieces of animation even though it seems like it stands out from an action anime like Zegapain.

Sound: The music is well done and well placed throughout the show. The OP and ED however, are the highlights of soundtrack. Combined with the animation, it'll leave you with a certain sense of peace and at times it'll put you at edge when battle starts.

Characters: The characters are not your typical cliched types bar a few of them. They range from the ever cool and arrogant ones to the loud and clueless protagonist. Kyo is caught in a love triangle with two of his female companions and the romance ensues between a few other characters as well.

Enjoyment/Overall: I enjoyed the show since I am a mecha fan but it's not the best show out there. It's unique in its own way. The sci-fi is well done and delivers a very apocalyptic setting as you watch the show. read more

I’ll admit I was quite biased when I heard that Sunrise was going to make yet another mecha anime. One day I said “why not?” and watched the first episode afterwards I knew this was something quite different than your usual mecha fare. One of the major things that struck me was the OP (disguised as the ED in the first ep), “Kimi e Mukau Hikari” sung by Akino Arai. This was not a fast paced song with intense mecha action in the background. Instead the OP featured a slow, beautifully sung ballad predominantly featuring the characters of the series, not the giant robots. This really sets the tone for the entire series.

Many people say that the beginning of Zegapain starts off very slow and doesn’t really start till a few episodes in. However, for me I was quite intrigued by the many subtle hints found in the first few eps. What is Shizuno’s relationship with Kyo? What was the deal with that scene? What is really going on? The story effectively builds upon itself and builds several layers of complexity. Each episode flowed quite well with each other, thus making many cliffhangers. Although, if I had to complain about the pacing it does somewhat falter a little in the midteens. In addition, the story features several classic philosophical ideal from Descartes to Berkeley (?). However, unlike other anime titles Zegapain doesn’t bog the viewer down with its ideas.

Animation-wise there really isn’t anything to complain about, it seems Sunrise put a decent about of money into producing this anime. CG for the fight scenes at least in the beginning was kind of weak however, they managed to fix that mid series.

In terms of sound, I really like the OST and it really accents many of scenes while not being too forward and in your face. However, it’s the OP and EDs which really stick out for me and are constantly appearing in my playlist.

In general there is an overarching sense of sadness throughout the series and quite a bit of drama. However, not so much as to make the viewer go numb. Do not watch Zegapain for the action, watch it for the story and characters. While the action scenes are nicely done there are far better shows out there if that’s what you are looking for.
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