DunbineReviews

Dunbine Ep. 19: Battler Shou

0
Summary

The Dunbine runs through the woods, under pursuit by multiple attack helicopters. Shou is reluctant to fight back and attack people on Upper Earth. His feelings become so strong that the Dunbine blasts through the Aura Road and returns to Byston Well. Elle and Pat Hood run through the woods pursued by a giant bird like monster while a mysterious looking woman watches them. The Dunbine suddenly appears in front of them. Shou awakens, finding the bird monster attacking him. He gets up and has little trouble chasing it away. Shou gets out of the Dunbine and talks to Elle and Pat Hood. Shou thinks Elle’s desire for help is what summoned him back to Byston Well. The mysterious woman watching them returns to her cabin, where Todd lies unconscious. Shou walks through a small town in Ah, finding Drake’s soldiers everywhere. he asks Chum to head to Elf Castle and find out where the Zelana is. At Elf Castle Mizeru orders Allen, Feui and Jerryl to head out on Virunvees and Zuron Wing Caliburs to find the Zelana. He says if they perform well one of them might replace Bern as commanding officer. The three of them head out. Shou heads back to the woods and asks if Elle and Pat Hood would like to come with him to Taatara Castle. They refuse; Elle because she wants to train her spiritual powers in the woods and Pat Hood because of her relationship with her father. Shou heads to Taatara Castle and meets with King Foizon. Lao’s knights welcome Shou to their ranks after Foizon tells them how he went to Upper Earth and came back. Foizon tells Shou that the Zelana is in the Crystal Forest and he heads outside with a renewed sense of vigor. Allen, Feui and Jerryl approach the Crystal Forest looking for the Zelana and eventually find it. The Zelana heads near the ground to avoid them but is still attacked.

Keen wants to head out on the Fou but Nie says it would better for them to hide and preserve their ammunition. The three Upper Earthlings lose them, but blanket bomb the forest in order to hit them. Both Keen and Marvel head out against Nie’s orders. Allen’s Wing Calibur is damaged, forcing him to head off on his own. Jerryl has a hard time attacking with the reflections of the crystals. Nie still refuses to attack, fearing it’ll give away the Zelana‘s position. When the Zelana is damaged however, the smoke quickly gives away their position. Jerryl charges them but her Virunvee’s head is blown off by the Dunbine, which arrives just in time to save the Zelana. Her Virunvee destroyed, Jerryl retreats into her Wing Calibur. Shou destroys Feui’s Wing Calibur, forcing him to retreat as well. Shou meets up with Keen then engages in a battle with Feui on the ground. Shou cuts off the Virunvee’s arm with ease. Marvel meanwhile has trouble in her battle with Allen but is able to use the reflections of the crystals to her advantage and heavily damages his Virunvee. The Upper Earthlings all retreat. Keen tells Marvel that Shou has returned to Byston Well. Chum heads out to see Keen and Marvel. The Dunbine and Bozune meet in midair and Marvel jumps into the Dunbine’s cockpit to hug Shou. On Upper Earth, Shou’s Mother is upset over what happened, primarily concerning her status in society, which upsets Shou’s father. Shou tells Marvel how when he went to Upper Earth he only saw bad things. Shou worries about what could happen if Drake finds out how to get to Upper Earth. Nie arrives and formally thanks Shou for returning.

Commentary

After a few episodes on Upper Earth Shou returns to Byston Well on his own, attracted by Elle’s desire for help. Dunbine seems like a major inspiration for a later Sunrise mecha show, Escaflowne. Both feature a medieval setting, and the ability to transfer between worlds through one’s desire alone that we see in this episode is another striking similarity. The main villains are all pretty much absent for this episode, giving us a chance to know Jerryl, Allen and Feui a little better. All three appear pleased with the situation they’re in, just like Todd did. Speaking of Todd, we get to see in this episode that he is indeed still alive, being tended to by the strange woman who found him in the forest. We get one final look at Shou’s parents and Shou’s mother is as hatable as ever, caring only about her status in society, not Shou.

Overall Rating
4/5

Dunbine Info

Director:
Yoshiyuki Tomino

Writer(s):
Minoru Yokitani
Yoshiji Watanabe

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kazutaka Miyatake
Yutaka Izubuchi
Tomonori Kogawa
Hidetoshi Ohmori

Character Designer:
Tomonori Kogawa

Musical Composer:
Katsuhiro Tsubonou

Format:
49 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 02.05.1983 – 01.21.1984

Comments

Comments are closed.