Star Driver - Episode 7

Just as Star Driver was threatening to become a little too predictable for its own good, up popped episode six to give it a shot in the arm and shake things up a bit by revealing some all-important information about Sugata and then throwing the poor guy into a coma from which his predecessors have never recovered.

Needless to say, the reverberations of this development are felt heavily throughout this episode, with Wako distraught and the normally out-going Takuto pondering his own responsibility in goings-on and his true place in the lives of both Wako and Sugata.  Even the Glittering Crux members are unsettled at what has happened, eventually deciding that the only way to proceed is to ensure that Sugata is killed to make sure him and his King's Pillar are no longer a threat to them.

Than in turn means that this weeks Zero Time battle takes place earlier in the episode than usual, as the girl who was responsible for last week's attack steps up to the plate in an attempt to do the job properly.  In the midst of this battle against Takuto and Tauburn, Sugata begins to come around, spurring Takuto to ends things quickly before racing off with Wako to see Sugata back in the real world.  All is still not well for this all-important part of the trio however, as we see the King's Pillar activated once again before the Glittering Crux members manage to get to a missing Sugata before Takuto, seemingly planting a seed that is going to cause Takuto and Wako yet more trouble in the near future.

Although this episode didn't provide quite the high drama and change of pace I was hoping for, bringing Sugata well and truly into the fray rather than leaving him as "that nice bloke no-one worries about too much" has certainly helped to move Star Driver along a little, and this progress only looks set to continue given how this particular instalment came to a close.  While its giant robot action continues to impress, it still feels as though there's something missing from this series that I can't entirely put a finger on - at the end of the day, it's still yet to really make me care about the fate of any of its characters (no matter which side they're fighting for), and without that all of the impressive and pretty action scenes in the world can't draw me entirely into this show.  Things are certainly getting better, but Star Driver has a way to go yet.