| Episode 26: The End...and the Beginning |
| Team Satomi are going to have think of something big to defeat something big-The Snowman. |
| The Snowman is by far the biggest, and toughest enemy seen yet. |
| The race ends just as nighttime draws, and the lights turn on. |
| Additional Pictures |
| USA original air date: August 26th, 2006 |
| Japan original air date: None-on DVD |
| Original Japanese Title: The End...and the Beginning |
| Review The final episode of the series has dawned upon us, and our friends Team Satomi are stuck in the middle of the final race of this season. As the episode opens, we get a real glimpse of the Snowman; “a giant metal monstrosity”. Team White Snow and Team Satomi are both ready for each other. Takeshi goes in to collect data, and is almost knocked off the track by claws and arms. As they close in on the machine, the team can’t seem to get past the obstacle. Since Team White Snow is in the lead, they have to. Meanwhile, there are bystanders like Team Velshtein. Cunningham seems enthralled by this puzzle, while Johnny Lipkin and Yuri Jin are cheering from the stands. They are actually standing right next to each other and meet up. As the race progresses, Andrei reveals a weak point-their speed isn’t so great. This is their chance to attack, and Team White Snow quickly figures out that they have to slow them down. Then, as they retract their arms that were attacking, Max takes over her team’s side of the race. They condense their control system to Max, who then unleashes very sharp claws, which are uniformly spread. She claims she works better on her own. I remember this point as I watch Team Satomi get brutally attacked in all directions. Liz is the target of many of them. As they elude them, Max gets confused as to how her plan isn’t working. Team White Snow starts to doubt her abilities, which is also something to remember-why would Zanak doubt someone who is lower than his position as forward? Max’s true motives on the team are starting to be revealed. Team Satomi use the spiral to make a leap on top of each other. Liz stays on the bottom, with Takeshi in the middle and Amy on top. They jump at each other, and we are treated to an anime experience like no other. All the pilots take human like forms and assume fighting positions. As Takeshi makes an attack from above, the team slides under the Snowman and race toward the finish line. All the mechs are in speed mode, and we all watch and see who will cross the line first. Takeshi maintains speed and wins for the team. Celebrations ensue as the commercial break comes on. After that, Team Satomi is down in what looks like a garage near the track. The mechanics celebrate with Takeshi, as Team White Snow approaches and ask how they won. Zanak appears ready to lunge at Takeshi, but Max stops him. Max commends Takeshi for his leadership. Then Team White Snow reveals their secret-Max is the forward and leader of the team. They only proceeded to the IG-1 with her hacking skills. Max even felt her plans were flawless. Takeshi says it’s about teamwork. Max then literally sheds a tear. She only reveals what I’ve noticed about her all season, she is sensitive. Remember back in Episode 17 when she had no comment about what happened that day (Amy getting hurt). I think she really cared about her. While I was expecting just a little more oomph in the character development, I am so glad that she did cry here, even if nobody else liked it. The best line ever comes up here…or at least humorous…when Takeshi comments that he’ ll never understand girls, Liz replies, “That’s cause you’re an idiot”. Great stuff. The writers have really nailed some great parts of this series in this episode. But the episode isn’t over. Something will happen that will drastically change the mood. For now, Takeshi and the gang are confronted by Cunningham. Cunningham does all the talking. He was very impressed. Because they’ve gotten to this point in the series, it’s really cool to see Cunningham like this. He can’t wait until next year, and then excitedly runs away from them. By the animation, we feel a sort of giddiness by the way he leaves. Liz suggests that he should get a hobby. Perhaps. Maybe he just really loves the IGPX. We then see the course at night, which is always a cool sight. The last time we saw this was last year’s final race. It has turned from sunset to night in the city, and it looks great. Takeshi is at home, where he finally breaks apart the puzzle he’s been working on for a few months, and this time in front of her so she sees it. She then says that Liz gave it to her to give it to him, and Liz wanted it to be a secret. Takeshi then gets thinking about Liz, at night, of course. We see a montage of Liz. Takeshi is thinking about many of the things she’s done to him, and how those things indicate something about Liz’s feelings. It’s a really cool idea because Takeshi falls asleep thinking about Liz, and we move on to the next scene thinking about his next move. This is about the only time, by the way, that recycled animation is okay in a series. Fortunately, that’s the only thing recycled here. Everything starts to wrap up. First we see Miss Satomi with a positive phone call with a sponsor, and Jesse winks as she gives her some coffee (must have some chocolate in it…or maybe brandy…). The mechanics are happy to continue working on the mechs, as Andrei reminds Mark that everyone else basically has time off. Takeshi and Liz…wait, they’re alone? And here is the changing moment of the series. Liz approaches Takeshi and yells at him to spit out what he wants to say, and he asks Liz out on a date. No response. Takeshi yells his statement of trying to ask her out again, and Liz yells back that she’s thinking. Then she quotes Confucius, and then kisses Takeshi. Takeshi is very happy, and then there’s a party. The whole team is there, even Ichi. Takeshi enters holding Liz’s hand and reveals that they are dating, and Takeshi is kind of madly in love with her. She just throws him on his back, and everyone laughs. A little awkward… The scene segues to the next year, where Team Velshtein and Team Satomi are on the track about to start a new race. Johnny is in training, and is invited to the room where Miss Satomi, Andrei, Mark and Jesse have watched the races. This is obviously to set up the inevitable future of the now-dead series. We now can all hear Luca, instead of just Amy, as one additional new thing. The series actually ends basically how it started, with a camera panning away from The Big Eye. Takeshi is ready for the future, and we are greeted with a final saying, “We Will Never Stop”. As to the critical analysis, you should have caught on that I mostly enjoyed this episode. It really does wrap up the series the way it should, and I am very satisfied with this episode. Did we get superb character development? Unfortunately, not superb. Rather, I think this episode simply wraps up the superb character development that we’ve seen since the beginning of the series. So the episode is far from perfect, and it goes without saying that Liz dating Takeshi is a bit awkward. Still, fans of the series will not be disappointed with this final episode, and it sure does leave me hungry for more. |
| Summary Team Satomi and Team White Snow are still fighting for the finals. But Team Satomi is about to face something nobody expected to see-a mech composed of all three White Snow mechs, called The Snowman. But this is the finals, and Team Satomi isn't about to slow down, now. Will they give it their all and pull off a win for the second year in a row? This episode features the first time an episode has ended without the words "To Be Continued". Instead, the now famous "WE WILL NEVER STOP" appears. |
| OVERALL SCORE: 8 out of 10 |
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| Additional Information |
| Toonami Version Differences -No changes/cuts were made. |