Star Driver - Episode 21

After laying a revelation about Takuto (or rather, his parentage) our way last week, you might have thought that Star Driver would want to build on that intriguing turn of events in episode twenty-one.  However, you might then remember that this is Star Driver we're talking about, and assume that it'll be back to business as usual as per the rest of the series.  And you know what?  You'd be absolutely right.

The big news this time around is that the Glittering Crux Brigade are finally ready to début their "Overphase" system for Cybodies - a technology which won't allow them to reach that much-vaunted fourth phase (they still need a maiden for that), but will allow them to boost their powers above that of a standard third phase encounter.  Of course, the use of this untested technology will be potentially dangerous, but Madoka Kei (aka Window Cleaner... sorry, Window Star) is up for having another crack at Takuto and Tauburn.

So, with the Overphase technology put to use, we find ourselves faced with an intriguing new threat for Takuto to handle - a literal mix of Cybody and Madoka so that we can't tell where one begins as the other begins, or to put it more bluntly Takuto is going to have to wrestle with a giant, horny Madoka Kei.  No surprise then that Takuto struggles to fight against an opponent it appears he'll have to actually kill to win against, and no surprise either than this entire state of affairs pisses off Wako something chronic... so much so that it's her turn to pull a special ability out of her ass this week, unveiling the power to "downphase" a Cybody and reducing Window Star to her usual third phase state so that Takuto can beat her, which he duly does.  Still, it looks as though Wako has chosen her man at last; let's face it, anything must be better than that stuffy old Sugata.

Not for the first time with this series, Star Driver hits upon something interesting only to render it utterly dull and useless with its staunch refusal to add any kind of peril to proceedings.  In this case, we were finally faced with a conflict where someone absolutely had to die, no questions ask or no chance to sidestep this brutal truth... until the episode pulls out a deus ex machina so it can all end without anyone getting hurt.  What. The. Fuck. Star. Driver.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is why everyone is raving about Puella Magi Madoka Magica and the world it's woven where everything has serious and realistic consequences; this is also why nobody gives two flying monkeys about Star Driver any more.  The sooner this show finishes and puts us all out of its abjectly mediocre misery the better.