Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - The Beyond

I am so happy that Fafner is still continuing. With how many events and characters, I'll definitely need to do a proper re-watch of the entire series.

-Story: For what very little Japanese that I know, I feel like I have the gist of what is going on. If I recall correctly, Soushi has been reborn as the new Mir like Tsubaki was, however he has been taken into the custody of Festum Humans. As for if it's a disguise or if those humans have been Festums all along, I am unsure but I will not state who since I feel like that would be too ... much of a spoiler even though they directly show and tell you. Most of the first episode is the operation to retrieve Soushi. I could be wrong, but I think the time gap between this and Exodus is about five years; I thought I heard something mentioned about that. When Kazuki goes to find Soushi he seems to be in a subconscious, or alternate dimension mirroring the Island and is seemingly living his normal everyday life unaware that he is entrapped by Festum. It's a very nice episode that brings back the feeling from when they were younger and in more innocent times not having to worry about war and people dying or having to kill people. But then there's the twist for him when Kazuki shows up that causes what seems will become a driving force for Soushi's future actions. I know that sounds vague but that is a key part in the story that is worth mentioning within these episodes that will hopefully sound enticing. Hopefully my "story" segment won't be too comparable to an updated synopsis since that's about all I can say without actually spoiling for these first three episodes. The run-time is above average too being 28:28 for episode 01, 29:09 for episode 02, and 26:42 for episode 03. It's kinda hard to fairly rate the story since this is just the first three episodes but I'm sure it'll still be great like the rest. Unless you're able to see these in theaters in Japan, we'll have to wait for months, even a year, to eventually have the whole story but I'm sure the wait will be well worth it. It feels like it's progressing nicely.

-Art+Sound: Holy crap, the production value is insane! This is probably one of the best looking recent anime I've ever seen on Blu-Ray. This literally blows everything out of the water. You can tell they care and have enough time and resources to make this the best it can be and even being priced slightly less than every other comparable anime Blu-Ray volume. It seems like most releases recently are so basic and don't have proper care to ensure quality but that is not the case at all with Fafner. Not only is the art super gorgeous, but everything is super vibrant and clear and there's no visible color banding or other artifacts. I am so happy that they went the extra ten miles (hopefully pioneering for more shows to come) with high resolution audio across the board, main feature and extras. Fafner The Beyond includes 96kHz 24bit Dolby TrueHD with both a stereo and 3.1 for main feature and clean OP/ED. To my knowledge it's an advanced up-sample process but regardless, still insane. Specs aside, it still sounds as great as ever with great sound design and of course the music. I was kinda bummed that they didn't use 'Those who seek the future' (未来を求める者) from the new soundtrack but used the original 'Counterattack' which was the version from Heaven and Earth and Exodus but perhaps in a later episode they will make use of it. This release is the premium that consumers deserve and I hope to see more like it in the future.

-Characters: Still lots of characters and I love that they still have everyone back in the story. I totally need to re-watch the previous ones to re-familiarize myself with everyone. For me the most notable character so far is Maya. She definitely seems a lot more stern and militaristic which is a great natural progression considering what she went though in Exodus. We did see some of that in Exodus but this feels like the full outcome. It's like her character is going opposite of Kanon, where she was that way but gradually opened up and became friendly. Thinking about Kanon still makes me want to cry. Miwa has also grown-up more (obviously since there's a time gap) and is super adorable. She's also a Fafner pilot now. There's some mystery going on with Kazuki but I'll leave it at that for you to discover.

If you're a fan of the series, it should be obvious to continue watching Fafner. If you love the series be sure to support it when possible (as goes for anything you like). It's too bad Fafner doesn't get released with English subtitles. Hopefully someday Funimation will finally licence the rest of the series so it can be available and easier to access for more people. If you're new to the series I highly recommend it if you enjoy military mecha and tragic sad things as well as great action scenes and music.

By all logic this series should not exist, but yet here it is. 15 years later, Fafner still manages to shatter my heart into pieces. With its devastatingly sad continuation off Exodus' ending, it courageously rolls onward on its own pace and owns up to the plot and philosophy it has committed to.

Fafner has nothing to merchandise but its own story. The characters has grown up over the years and have their own life, and The Beyond manages to be as dense in details as all the previous seasons. It's spectacular to know the protagonist age from 14 all the way past this current iteration ... of his 20s. Which, if anyone has noticed the releases of the story in real time, this meant that it never felt as if the characters are stunted or frozen in time at any season. It's as dynamic as the viewer's life, should they have followed the series since it's initial debut.

Am I saying this show is worth the follow and watch? HELL YES. And it's a damn shame this series has fallen into obscurity even in the mecha fandom.

Story wise this is one of the best storytelling in anime I have seen that does not lean on traditional character tropes to tell a story. For The Beyond it still manages to gut me with all the subtle way it tells the viewer of the suffering without outright telling you and is absolutely shameless about it. It's only when you sit down and let it sink in that everything *feels* a certain way. Yet it manages to be hopeful and cheery when it can amidst all of it, so much so that it doesn't feel like torture and instead feels actually good to watch.

While looking at a screencap may not feel anything special, the cinematography and battle scenes of The Beyond is still a treat to look at with its clean, clear show-not-tell presentation. It also has obscenely beautiful scenery shots and has zero qualms about abusing 3d to achieve whatever it wants while still somehow not being immersion breaking. Watching this in 4k is like having my eyes cry crystals, and it's a shame it's not drawing the attention it deserves. Fafner is equally pragmatic and gorgeous in its graphics.

10/10 because thinking about how this show should not be here and is still here, together with us, is just mind blowing to me. If you haven't given Fafner a spin and are looking for a complex and yet enjoyable storytelling, please try worming in through the first season and join me in feels hell.