|
Now in Japan
|
|
Thursday, 29 March 2007 00:00 |
 Question: why go to the bother of introducing three new characters, if they're not going to be used? Stratos4 Advance commits that pointless deed, spending most of its time dealing with Mikaze and friends while new girls Kiriko & co get pushed to the sidelines. Maybe some conspiracies are just too big for the newbies to deal with..?
3 - Angle of Attack
When the girls see Rin-san arriving at the base, they automatically assume something's up - especially when no-one will tell them the reason for her visit. Mikaze tries a little eavesdropping to find out what's happening, and finds that two former Comet Blasters, Chris Carmen and Betty Boothman, who have been reassigned to Shimoji as part of their return to duty. After past events, Ayamo's not at all happy at their presence, but both girls certainly seem normal - if anything, more reserved then before, and definitely lacking in confidence. Sako tries to get some information out of them about Miharu - they don't know much, but are able to tell him that she's been transferred to a research base at Tsukuba, and that's enough to set him off on a search for more details. Meanwhile, in an attempt to make Chris and Betty feel more at ease, the girls arrange a little welcome party for the base's newest recruits, but being on the receiving end of some idol-worship by Kiriko & co doesn't help...
4 - Clear Air Turbulence
Betty and Chris return to orbit after their layoff, and are met on the station by Annette & Shizuru - although it doesn't appear to be the happiest of reunions. Back down at Shimoji, the girls have been acting strangely - Ayano appears depressed, and Mikaze and the others have been skipping training sessions to try and find out what's been bothering her (much to the annoyance of Kirika & co, who are beginning to fear they'll never make it through their training). As ever, the girls turn to the idea of a party to try and cheer her up. Meanwhile, research into what happened to Betty and the others isn't over yet - a young girl named Rei seems to be showing some of the symptoms of what's been called "Savant Syndrome", and has become the subject of intense observation - but it seems at least one group thinks research into the subject isn't going quickly enough...
5 - Dash One
Sako's taking his time getting the new interceptor model ready for flight, and it's beginning to annoy Mikaze and co - they just want to get their new toy in the air, especially as the boys over at the test centre are due to take their first test flights. Up at Orbital Station 8, Betty and Chris still haven't completely settled in, so Shizuru and Annette hit on an idea to let the other pair get a little bit of time in space: using the CB ships for a high-orbit comet intercept mission.
5 episodes down, and still the new girls are serving no useful purpose, other than being the vehicles for the occasional panty-flash - and that's nothing Mikaze and friends can't do themselves, with equally fanservicey effect. That leaves me completely lost as to what Kiriko and friends are doing. I suppose there's always the possibility that they'll come into their own as the series progresses (there are at least 3 episodes still to go), but the writers are leaving it awfully late.
The emphasis of the story now is what CEMA is up to, with both the continuing investigation into what happened in orbit (the next stage of human evolution, or something else?) and their provision of incorrect information to the Meteor Sweeper pilots making you wonder just what's going on. Details are being revealed slowly, however, with most of the time in these episodes being given over to light relief and a string of parties, with only the odd detour into the serious side to pad episodes out to their full running length. I can't help but think that's the wrong way around.
Stratos4 Advance is still perfectly enjoyable, though. It's very easy on the eye and doesn't require too much effort to follow what's going on, while still having a reasonable sense of conspiracy and mystery running underneath the fluffy surface. The way it's done won't be to everyone's taste - sometimes a little depth is good, but you won't find it here - but if you followed the TV series you'll know what to expect. For my money, it's worth a look. |
Reviews Archive 
