Browsing through Youtube as I often do, I came across a video that was extolling the virtues of a game called Megaton Musashi, a sort of Gundam Breaker game that allowed you to customise your mecha and then rage across the battlefield. When the host announced there was an anime of the same name, I jumped onto Crunchyroll and found it - a 13 episode series with some sharp designs and lovely stomping mecha. So of course I had to find out if it was any good.
Things begin with our spikey-haired, almost Sonic the Hedgehog styled protagonist behind bars, having gotten into a scuffle with another street tough and being given time to chill out in the cooler. His name is Yamato Ichidaiji and he's released early thanks to a mysterious young man named Teru, who invites him, along with his rival, the tall tan blonde with mad eyes Ryugo Hijikata, to a rendezvous. This turns out to be both a trap and a test of the their fighting ability, which they ace handily and are subsequently recruited - they're about to leave the Matrix...
I look like what the hedgehog?
I'm genuinely impressed at how much plot the first episode is able to lay out without being cluttered or fussy. It's incredibly tight, taking our two new protagonists out of their simulated ordinary world and into the war against an overwhelming alien force with minimal effort. It probably helps that the idea isn't so new any more, but the way in which they bring our hero up to speed, re-implant his memories and get him fighting is so smooth it's almost criminal.
All this and it lines up all the major players too - we meet an alien princess from the invading Draktors who can possess humans to do her bidding, the United World Government and their mecha forming humanity's last line of defence called the Rogues, establish the relationships between all the main players and get everyone in position to fight for the future in 20-odd minutes. It's quite the feat of storytelling honestly, it had me jump into the next episode eagerly, then I remembered I'm supposed be judging episode one by its own merits and had to put it down to write this.
So it's good.
There's a lot to really like here, though I find myself a little reluctant knowing that the entire series is engineered to be a multimedia onslaught as cynical and calculating as the Draktors themselves. The characters are all distinct and easy to recognise by silhouette, which makes them perfect for marketing, and the mecha itself is appealing as heck - it even has wide-eyes. I know I'm being manipulated almost by mathematical formula, but to be honest I was having a great time so I don't care.
Big, bold and badass - the Megaton Musashi!
It's sharp, it has great designs, the music pounds away to provide an emotive pull, and we even watch Yamato's tragic past unfold so we feel his thirst for vengeance. It's not particularly innovative, but it hits like a great Hollywood movie from the 80's, all fists and fury with a number of beats even early on that get you on the side of the rebel without a cause who'll take the fight to the enemy. It even has the show's name in the opening lyrics like a football chant - go team!
This is classic mecha cheesecake. It's funny, self aware and not the least bit ashamed at capturing your interest with bright colours and tropes that would make Michael Bay blush, but dammit it's a fantastic time and a wicked opening episode that really makes you want to jump into episode two. So yes, I'll be posting a full review over on the UK Anime Network once I get through the whole series, but for now I'm very much up for taking it to the dam Draktors and avenging humanity!
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