May 31, 2023
Layzner is a very mixed show depending on how you look at it.
It is a slow paced show with incredible animation, a strong emphasis on character development and dynamics, and a situation that feels utterly hopeless. The characters almost never feel safe, and yet are allowed brief moments of brevity that develop them from a group of victims into a family. While the main character Eiji is kept at a distance at first, as the show goes on he experiences peaks and valleys of being part of that "family", and being viewed as a potential aggressor. Even
...
when the characters make it to Earth and feel like they'll finally be free, the show throws us through twists and turns about the character of Eiji and the aliens who have served as the show's antagonist, as well as the true nature of the titular Layzner itself. The show itself ends with a cliffhanger, Eiji rushing off to potentially sacrifice himself for the sake of humanity, and we are left in the dark about whether or not he succeeds, leaving the audience with a 10/10 masterpiece of mid 80's animation.
Is what I wish I could say. Everything I just told you was about the first 24 episodes of the show. If you want to experience Layzner as a near perfect piece of anime, then watch the everything until the end of episode 24 and pretend that every episode you see after that is actually a result of a really bad joint you smoked prior to starting the show, a mere mirage.
If you wish to ignore my warning and continue watching past that point, then Layzner will become drastically worse as a whole. The last 14 episodes are not wholly bad. Existing in a timeskip off of the cliffhanger from ep. 24, Earth has been conquered by the enemy aliens, and is currently under occupation. Bits of humanity still exist in a resistance movement, but their situation seems dire, as they don't have any weaponry that can compete with Gradosian SPTs. Despite how this synopsis sounds, the slow pacing and utterly oppressive atmosphere of part 1 is entirely lost, feeling less like Layzner and more like Fist of the North Star with badass robots. The only character to genuinely be interesting in this second part is the new main antagonist, Lu Cain, who is a fun and over the top villain that goes through legitimate development after learning about the nature of humanity and Gradosian relations (which were revealed to us back in part 1). Tragically, by the time they actually start making him an interesting character, its the end of the show.
The actual end of the show is an OVA expansion of the final episode, turning the incredibly rushed finale into a 40 minute or so short film. In spite of all this new time, the ending still feels incredibly rushed. In spite of how rushed said ending was, the episode spends a lot of time focusing on the twist revealed to the audience back in part 1, treating it as new information. Layzner also gets an upgrade that looks and acts the exact same as regular Layzner, and also does not make sense, considering that humanity still can't make SPTs comparable to the Gradosian ones.
If I were to rate the first and second halves of the show as their own separate programs, part 1 would be looking at a ridiculously strong 10/10, while the second part would be a nearly as strong 5/10. And so, sadly, by watching Part 2, it inevitably brings down the quality of the show itself. As said earlier in the review, if you want to watch SPT Layzner, finish episode 24 and pretend that's the end.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
2
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
2