 Just in time for the end of the series, Geneshaft attempts to actually explain itself, instead of just relying on the eyecandy...
11 - Rite of Passage
The Bilkis crew are having to come to terms with Mario's death. It's
particularly hard on Tiki, who's blaming Mika for what happened, and
unusually for a Register, it's having an unexpected effect on Beatrice
too. With Amagawa still in a coma, they're without a captain, giving
Mir a chance to take out the Shaft - heading for Ganymede and a
showdown with Sergei. Meanwhile, Beatrice is left to carry out the
captain's duties when a Ring appears...
12 - The Gentle Man of Ganymede
Amagawa's finally come out of his coma, and has figured out where
Oberus is - Europa. He's determined to destroy Oberus, but first he has
to get around his crewing problems - most of the Shaft operators are
dead, and Beatrice has decided she's had enough of life as a Register.
Meanwhile, Mir gets some explanations from Sergei...
13 - Childhood's Beginning
Sergei's plan for the annihilation of humanity is coming to fruition -
the Sun has been surrounded by Rings, cutting off the heat and light
that Earth needs to survive. Down on Europa, Sergei comes face to face
with Amagawa, while about the surface Mika faces Mir, who is now
equipped with a Shaft of her own. Time for the final showdown that will
decide the fate of humanity...
So it all comes down to being the fault of a self-important,
delusional clone. Of such things have many conflicts been made (well,
maybe not the clone part), so I probably shouldn't be surprised - but
the buildup the the Giants / Oberus side of the story left me a bit
disappointed when it turned out it was just a machine following its
program. It wasn't a cop-out ending, but close.
For all that Geneshaft made very little sense for most of its
run, though these episodes manage to pull most of the 'plot' together
and give it an ending that quite satisfying, even if there are still a
few plot thread left unresolved. An unusually high body-count for
anime, too, and none of the usual hystrionics or drawn-out death
scenes, either. Just to prove the show doesn't entirely stick to the
stereotypes..!
I've always enjoyed Geneshaft, even though for most of the
series it's just about the eyecandy & classic SF references.
Pulling it together to make the story actually work at the end
of the series was just a very welcome bonus. There will always be
people claiming it's a shallow show, with bad science &
2-dimensional characters, but I say give it a chance and you'll find
out there's more to it than that. Well worth it. |
