Viper's Creed - Episode 12 (Completed)

By the end of the penultimate episode of Viper's Creed, we were left with virtually everyone except Saiki seemingly dead, giving us what looked to be an epic, episode-long battle between himself and Ulla. Except Ulla wipes the floor with Saiki within two minutes of the start of this episode, with the latter saved only by Sakurako's rather excellent use of a rocket launcher against Ulla. Yes, it was implausible, but somehow seeing her kick ass in this fashion was most satisfying, and trust me, you had to take ever meagre drop of satisfaction you could find in this episode.

So, Saiki and Sakurako (not forgetting Ageha of course) live to fight another day, but with Saiki badly injured and blinded how can they possibly fight on any further? By Saiki using Sakurako as his eyes, of course, tying neatly into the question he asked her in the opening episode.


Now, this is all well and good, but how does a blind man continue to move their vehicle with the extreme precision that Saiki does? How does he manage to at least somewhat hold his own against Ulla's powerful mecha? Most importantly of all, how the fuck does Saiki know that his Maneuver-Roid's main camera has been disabled, and more so why the fuck does he switch to a backup camera when he can't see anything?! Sakurako doesn't tell him the camera has failed, there's no audible alarm for this, and yet not only does he know he switches to another camera that he can't use! This isn't just a plot hole, this is an inter-planetary rift in space sized plot hole - In short, the whole "Saiki is blind" plot point was a farce of the highest degree.

If that wasn't enough to make my eyebrows raise clean up above my head, we then find that after Saiki is defeated, the video files he was attempting to take to the broadcasting company are already there anyway. Why did you even bother Saiki?! "It was a decoy" won't fly with me either, which gives us ridiculous plot point number two.

Finally, the ending simply left me shouting, astonished, at the screen; "What?! What?!?!?!". Because, yes, that's right boys and girls, Haruki is still alive. Yet nobody thought to tell us over the past few episodes while everyone was boo-hooing over him? Whoever wrote this script is not just an utter bastard, but an utterly incompetent one to boot. What were you thinking??

It's a shame really, after pulling itself away from those pretty horrible filler episodes, Viper's Creed looked set to finish up as at least an average yet action packed series that could boast a certain mindless entertainment factor. But, that was before the abomination which it is final episode was served up onto my plate, which (as you can probably tell from the above) has reduced me to a gibbering, ranting wreck of a 'Blogger. Viper's Creed isn't the worst series of all time by a long shot, but this has to be right up there as one of the worst anime endings I've ever seen - It's the kind of thing that should be studied by future generations to prevent such atrocities from ever occuring in the name of Japanese animation ever again.

Viper's Creed - Episode 11

After those rather interminable filler episodes earlier in the series, the build-up to and arrival of the main story arc of Viper's Creed has been a most welcome one, bringing back much of the action so sorely lacking since that great opening episode and well and truly playing to the series strengths. This continues into episode eleven, although it has to be said that the plot takes a one-way trip to clichéville in the process.

For starters, more about the real villain of the piece, the female inspector who has clearly "looked a bit evil" from the start, is revealed, as we learn that she planned the entire thing from start to finish, BugMechs and all. Her only motivation appears to be getting the army back in control of things, something she's willing to do at any cost, letting the army run riot as they use terrorism as an excuse for their presence and care not for civilian casualties.


Meanwhile, Unit Viper are still fighting and sneaking their way to the TV station to broadcast the evidence behind this conspiracy (as well as proof of their own innocence), using the tried and trusted technique of sacrificing members of the team one by one. After Norma bought the farm at the end of episode ten, two more comrades fall this time around, hugely predictably leaving only Saiki and Sakurako (oh, and Ageha too of course) standing for the series final showdown. Ooh, I wonder what will happen in that episode...

Really, it's this obvious plot progression that is the downfall of this episode - While it works quite well from a purely action-oriented point of view, it feels like something that you've seen countless times before over the years, and the reintroduction of the shady underground character from that God-awful cooking episode has given me flashbacks to that terrible instalment didn't really help matters. As long as you're not expecting something innovative it works well enough, but from my personal point of view this episode felt rather tired and long in the tooth - Compare and contrast to my anticipation of Rideback's final episode, and you can soon see which series succeeded where the other failed.

Viper's Creed - Episode 10

As its major storyline has ramped up, so Viper Squad were put well and truly on the back foot by the conspiracy unveiling around them - Accused not only of murdering members of Hound, but also their own comrade Haruki. This leaves them on the run from the military, and on the brink of capture and, most likely, death.

However, the players in this coup appear to have reckoned without one thing - Ageha, the young girl who is a hacker extraordinaire and former close friend of Haruki. While Ulla seems to think that, whatever she's doing, she's still working for Hound and himself, the reality appears to be rather different, as her hacking talents help the Viper team to escape from their tight spot and regroup, while Ageha is even on-hand to provide the evidence that they were framed, and who by.


This knowledge then puts them back on the attack, storming the Arqon building to steal their own vehicles to that they can attempt to broadcast this evidence on TV rather than using the Internet as a broadcast medium lest the military delete the information (Have they not heard of Wikileaks?). However, their escape with these vehicles comes at a high cost....

It's this high cost which is actually the weak link of this episode as far as I'm concerned - Overall, this was a very tight, fast-paced and action-packed instalment which brought everything to the table that you can and probably should expect of Viper's Creed's premise, and it does so pretty solidly to boot. However, the death of Norma and the reason for the injury which led to her suicide mission felt hugely contrived, seemingly popping up out of nowhere with a little bit of lazy scripting that left me feeling most unsatisfied. Still, this major story arc of the series has at last brought the show back on track, albeit belatedly, and this was almost certainly the best episode so far since that rip-roaring opener - Indeed, I dare say it was probably slightly better, all things considered.

Viper's Creed - Episode 9

Haruki's surprising death at the hands of (relatively) unknown forces may have proved to be a surprise last episode, but it probably goes without saying that the fallout from this action proves to be immense in this next instalment of Viper's Creed.

For starters (and perhaps rather bizarrely) Haruki's murder sees his father abandon his prior plans for the transformation of the city, which seems rather short-sighted, but the problems are far greater for the remaining members of Unit Viper. After being sent on a mission to capture Hound's members, the military take over, but before they know it Viper's members are being attacked in the dead of night, and accused on national television of attacking and killing innocent civilians. A conspiracy is clearly afoot, but who is responsible?


While Ulla tells the "truth" about Unit Viper to the press, and Arqon go on the hunt of their defective mercenaries, someone is clearly pulling the strings, but how deep does this rabbit hole go? At the moment we really dont know, but things are certainly getting interesting as far as this series goes - A far cry from the cooking episode we were forced to sit through not so long ago. Sure, this whole "conspiracy" arc is a little cliched, but it is at least more interesting and holds some promise, even if it isn't the most action-packed of storylines. If nothing else, this was the kind of plot we were expecting from Viper's Creed, so its introduction is most welcome on that front alone.

Viper's Creed - Episode 8

After that God-awful cooking episode, Viper's Creed at least redeemed itself with a seventh instalment that wasn't completely stupid, and thankfully this episode continues that story directly to keep things moving in the right directly.

In essence, episode eight is all about father versus son, as Haruki's relationship with Hound coming to light just as a new bombing in their name occurs, and Haruki's father is torn between caring for his son and his Presidency of the company. Of course, the blademen of Viper squad aren't too happy about having a possible informant in their midst, especially as Hound have cited them as the cause of these terrorist atrocities, a link that the populace have mindlessly lapped up.


As the episode progresses, so the lines between terrorist and "good guy" becomes blurred, as Hound's leader Ulla is seen plotting with a member of Arqon, Haruki's father's true plans come to light, and Haruki himself meets an untimely demise. We also get a foreshadowing what is shaping up to be quite a reunion between Saiki and Ulla as the series progresses.

All in all then, this is a major improvement over those earlier episodes which can now only be described as filler. I'd be the first to admit that aspects of the plot and story of this series still feel decidedly clunky (with the use of dream sequences and delusions bordering on the cringe-worthy), but at least its now offering us a cogent, coherent plot which threatens to actually go somewhere, which is enough to get me watching for reasons other than looking for excuses to pole fun at it. Real progress indeed.

Viper's Creed - Episode 7

After somehow squeezing a cooking episode into its narrative last episode, Viper's Creed has firmly planted itself in the "Well, it can't get any worse" pile. The trouble is, series that land on that pile tend to... well, get worse.

Thankfully however, episode seven of Viper's Creed is a considerable improvement upon recent episodes, brining us back towards the gritty reality of the world it presents us with. The whole thing starts out with a terrorist attack on a shopping centre (yes, I know, Rideback did it first) which causes vast numbers of casualties, an atrocity which is claimed by a group calling themselves Hound (I can only assume they're Transformers fans). This chain of events causes disturbances and riots as people pick sides - Some support Hound's attempts to rid Davia City of rich, foreign companies while others want to maintain the current status quo.


This breakdown in civil obedience seems to bother Haruki more than most, while he also continues to deny that Hound had anything to do with the terrorist bombing (even though he was injured by it himself). Just what is going on? As the episode progresses, so his allegiances get tested to the limit.

While this was indeed a far better episode of Viper's Creed as I just mentioned, it still didn't really hit all the right notes - The dialogue felt extremely stilted to the point of being a bit daft at times, while the general progress of the episode was mapped out so clearly the second half felt entirely inevitable rather than even vaguely surprising. Still, it manages to sprinkle in some action and a far stronger storyline, so all in all this was a far more compelling, albeit imperfect, instalment.

Viper's Creed - Episode 6

Viper's Creed continues its tradition (or lazy plot creation, if you're feeling mean) of covering the background of a different character from the squad every episode, and this time around it's man mountain Gharib's turn under the spotlight.

What starts with a flashback to a military training exercise gone horribly wrong that was overseen by Gharib somehow turns into a kind of anime equivalent of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. No, really, I'm not kidding - After visiting a once popular restaurant to find that the food stinks, we learn that the establishment is now being run by the restaurant owner's daughter while her Dad is hospitalised (due to an incident caused by another team of Bladmen, naturally). So, Gordon... sorry, Gharib... ends up stepping in to teach her how to cook the ethnic food required of the restaurant, which also by pure coincidence (or even more lazy plot progression if you're feeling honest) causes him to meet an old pair of hands from his army days (with every pun intended).

It's hard to know what to say about this episode in all honesty, apart from pointing out that this is a series about futuristic bikes that can turn into robots, and yet despite this we're getting episodes about cooking spicy food and cookie stalls. Sometimes I begin to worry that I am in fact insane and that episodes like this are entirely the figment of my imagination - I mean, who would genuinely come up with this stuff and decide it makes for an entertaining episode of anime?...


...Hmm, nope, I've just checked and this episode is still stored away, it's very much real I'm afraid. Tune in next week, when Saiki decides to become an optician, while also moonlighting as a Patrick Moore impersonator on the weekends.

Viper's Creed - Episode 5

After a couple of pretty weak instalments of Viper's Creed, we do at least know where the series is going now, focusing on the history and oddities of a different major character each episode. I wish it wouldn't tread such a clichéd path, but what can you do?

This time it's the "Grim Reaper" of the crew, Rudra, who gets the spotlight, in a story involving a rogue sniper who manages to assassinate the president before turning their attentions to the head of Arqon Global Security (the company that they all work for). Inevitably, it turns out that the sniper in question served with Rudra in the military in the past, leaving us with a face off between the two in which one of them simply has to die.


Unfortunately, it's made patently clear very early on who was going to be doing the dying, thus removing any kind of dramatic tension... but isn't the whole point of making the episode about snipers to heighten tension? Indeed, everything about this episode fits into the "seen it all before" category, either already in this series or elsewhere, from the major plot points through to the action sequences, and in both the characters and their reactions to the situations with which they were presented.

So yes, this episode is very much old hat, although despite that it does somehow manage to be an improvement over the past couple of episodes in terms of not feeling embarassingly trite and forced, and if nothing else having snipers roaming around (with exploding bullets, it seems) has a certain cool factor while also facilitating a few half-decent chunks of action. It still isn't enough to live up to that rip-roaring first episode which I keep harping on and on about though.

Viper's Creed - Episode 4

It would probably be a little harsh to say that episode four of Viper's Creed continues the series' downward spiral after that rip-roaring opening, and this episode was a little better than its third instalment. Barely.

While the Blademen are fighting their usual enemies down on the highways, a whole new scenario is being played out on a passing metro train, as a nine year-old girl gets kidnapped on a school trip (how anyone can manage to get a kid into a suitcase is beyond me, but that's exactly what happens here. No, I don't know how she managed to breathe either).


Upon returning to base after their mission, the gang learn that the enemy (who we still seem to know so little about - Perhaps it's better if I just don't care?) has deployed some "sticky" bombs during the fight, designed to detonate hours later after a vehicle has returned to base. Rather than attaching to any of the Blademen's vehicles, these bombs have instead attached to other passing cars, leaving them with a race against time to find and disarm the three explosives that are unaccounted for. Surprisingly, and despite the promise of a reward, Norma shows no interest in taking past in the mission...

Surprising, that is, until we discover that Marie, the kidnapped girl, is Norma's daughter, as is revealed after her attempt to have her returned in exchange for a hefty sum of money is ruined by a passing Haruki. So, the rest of the episode turns into a "hunt for the bomb/missing girl before it blows up" story, from which point on the rest probably writes itself.

The word "generic" probably doesn't even begin to sum up this kind of storyline, and that coupled with some gaping plot holes (how did these not particularly mobile bombs attach to cars nowhere near the action for starters?) made for a suitably average episode, while the attempt to pull at the viewer's emotional heartstrings with a story of war, adoption and Norma wanting the best for her child was pretty laughable - Either that or I'm a cold-hearted bastard, I'm not sure which. Either way, that early adrenaline rush that accompanied the opening episode of Viper's Creed has now well and truly disappeared, and in the cold light of day this is shaping up to be an irritatingly average series.

Viper's Creed - Episode 3

After treating us to plenty of rip-roaring action in episode one, and then slightly less so in episode two, this third instalment of Viper's Creed looked set to bring us right back into the thick of things, with yet another event involving chasing robot-things across the highways. However, this doesn't last too long, as we move seamlessly into "the one where Saiki ruins everything for everybody".

After blowing up a highway in episode one, the construction of further roads has been sped up despite protests (we're helpfully told that air and sea travel is no longer possible... something to do with syrup. Don't ask), and it's these protesters that get the short end of a mixture of Saiki's trigger finger the exploding mechas, causing a number of deaths. From here, a night out at a restaurant with Saiki also gets ruined, as he ends up in an altercation with one of these protesters which leads to his murder outside. Saiki's fingerprints are on the gun, but surely he wasn't the culprit? So begins a rather stilted murder-mystery episode which would make Agatha Christie spin in her grave at supersonic speeds.


For starters, I don't really get how Saiki somehow ended this episode as a relative hero, the poor guy whose heart has been torn apart by former war atrocities and deaths by his hand - It was his fault that protesters died in the first place, and without that none of this would have happened. Sakurako's investigation into who the real murderer is was also embarrasingly easy, involving little more than visiting the guy who sold him the weapon who is easily coaxed into playing Guess Who? to reveal who it is ("Does he have a beard?" "No, but he's a blademan who used to fight in a war that I believe he mentioned to you earlier in this episode. I'll never tell you who he is though!"). Once that's settled, everyone shoots at each other a bit and then they all live happily ever after. The end.

Really, Viper's Creed should stick to cool motorbike mechas and blowing seven shades of Hell out of things that aren't human, for that is what this series does best. Trying to introduce suspense, mystery or depth of character to this show is like trying to make pornography better by giving it an over-arching and dialogue-ridden plot - It doesn't work, it's distracting from the good bits, and 99% of the time it just looks and sounds plain stupid.

Viper's Creed - Episode 2

The first episode of Viper's Creed grabbed my attention on account of it seemingly caring little for the plot, preferring to just to invoke big motorbike mechas and even bigger explosions to sell itself. Sometimes that kind of simplicity is just what my half-fried brain needs at the end of the day, so in my book it was all the better for it.

This second episode of the series tries to build things up more in the sense of characterisation and storyline, although the entire reason for all of those aforementioned bikes and explosions is given such short shrift at the beginning of this episode that it backs up my feeling that it's secondary to "the cool bits" - In essence, it was summed up as "war is over, civil wars still being fought, terrorists blah blah blah".


The main focus of this episode is to introduce a new member to the Viper unit, thus fulfilling their positive discrimination requirements for the series, as clearly all squad-based action series must have an idealistic young man who is rebelling against his father to avoid falling foul of international law. So, we're introduced to Haruki, who happens to be (you guessed it) an idealistic young man rebelling against his father, who is in fact the President of the company they all work for. Cue Haruki making a beginner's error which leads to a successful terrorist attack, before demanding to carry on with a subsequent mission even though they have been commanded to return to base, and similarly cue the ever-sullen Saiki helping him out when nobody else was interested.

As per the first episode, the action is really where it's at with Viper's Creed, proving to be fast-paced and compelling in the kind of mindless way that somehow reminded me of playing Unreal Tournament, perhaps mainly because of this episode's choice of tight, claustrophobic tunnels for these scenes. Sadly, there's nowhere near as much of this action as we saw in the first instalment, which makes it far less interesting... Let's face it, this show isn't going to win any awards for deep emotions or characterisation. Hopefully it doesn't forget its roots of blowing things up in spectacular fashion, otherwise it might all start to get a little dull.

Viper's Creed - Episode 1

2009 may be the Chinese year of the ox, but it appears that it's also the anime year of the motorbike. First we had Rideback and its story of bikes with arms, and now here we have Viper's Creed, another series which makes heavy use of motorbikes.

If you're looking for a show that takes time to slowly set out its stall and introduce the major storyline first, then you can forget Viper's Creed, for it cares not for such trifling concerns. Instead, this opening episode is pure, masculine, blood pumping action. We don't really get regaled much as to the why or the where or the what (it's something to do with a private company fighting... stuff), all we really know is that a bunch of mercenary types are chasing an unmanned robot around a city's freeways, using motorbikes that look rather Akira-esque on the surface but also have the ever-handy ability to turn into mechas as well. Oh, and they have a ridiculous arsenal to hand too, from chainsaws to rocket launchers. Between these guys and a Rideback, the latter wouldn't last five seconds.


If there's one thing that becomes an immediately fun game while watching this series, it's playing "spot the anime rip-off". The design of the runaway machine could easily have come from Ghost in the Shell, the half-underwater city reminded me of Kurokami (amongst other things), and the limited battery life of the mechas once they're off the road has obvious Evangelion comparisons. Throw in some good old-fashioned bullet time, and you have a shopping list of things to make the average anime action fan go "oooh".

Arguably the one interesting aspect of the series is the way that (in this episode at least) it focuses quite largely on the task in hand through the eyes of each rider's operator, a female assigned to a particular driver, from their control room. Our introduction to the series is via a new operator, assigned to Saiki, probably the most kick-ass rider of the lot (albeit a man of few words). It probably speaks volumes as to how little this series cares about anything other than the action though, as I don't even remember hearing this female protagonist's name (it's Sakurako, by the way) until almost twenty minutes into the episode.

If you haven't guessed by now, this first episode of Viper's Creed has one modus operandi, and one alone - To woo you with its prettiness, its explosions and its action set to a pounding soundtrack. And you know what? It worked. This is probably the dumbest anime I've watched so far this season, but I really don't care, there's a lot to be said for watching motorbikes that can turn into robots blowing things up, however cliched it may be. I may well get bored of it as the series progresses (and episode two looks like it's going to be flashback-tastic - Who cares, just blow more stuff to smithereens!), but from this opener the action loving side of me is sold.