Coppelion - Episode 4

Trained in combat or not, most people would leave an escaping stealth bomber well alone - not so Ibara and company, who are keen to give chase against the mysterious individuals who landed said bomber in the middle of the city.

Then again, when you have a guided rocket launcher to hand, maybe chasing after the bomber in a jeep isn't such a crazy idea - cue the obligatory (but really rather awesome) chase sequence as hunter becomes hunted thanks to the aircraft's maneuverability, before a little tactical thinking on Ibara's part gives her the opportunity she needs to hit the bomber squarely where it hurts with a rocket.

Rather than crash down in flames however, the aircraft still has enough speed, altitude and control to head for a nearby stretch of water in the middle of a particularly contaminated zone - ditching the professor for his own safety, the girls give chase but fail to reach the bomber before its occupants have abandoned it and fled.  What they do discover, however, is that this speedboat lake has become a massive dumping ground for chemical waste, seemingly left there illegally by the Japanese firm tasked with safely disposing of such waste.  This knowledge seems to be the tipping point for the professor, who goes away and removes his mask to die; a decision that the girls simply won't accept, leaving them with a race against time to get him to help before it's too late.

Although I know that Coppelion has bigger fish to fry than lots of high-octane action, I'm starting to wish it would service that side of its possibilities a little more often, as it's jeep chase sequence was incredibly satisfying to watch and rather slickly executed.  Once that was over, we returned to the harsh realities of predictable story development and reasonably ideas executed in a sub-par fashion - never mind the logic of giving someone exactly ten minutes to live, at least make full use of the tension created by that situation instead of cutting your pivotal scene at its climax in a way which drains a lot of that tension disappointingly.  Then again, I am still enjoying the show's environments and the general disposition and reactions of its female cast, so it isn't all bad - it just isn't the kind of fascinating series that something of this ilk should be at the moment.