© TriF/ “Mecha-Ude” Production Committee
With its final episode, the consistently fun Mecha-Ude culminates in its most extended
battle sequence yet, as Alma and Fist finally fight out their ideological differences, brother-
to-brother. During a brief flashback, we learn Fist was originally derized to Tsukihito, who
sacrificed himself after the Ordela-caused explosion by donating Fist to his injured brother
Yakumo, saving his life. The loss of Tsukihito, especially once he learned the explosion
was caused by human interference, led to Fist’s general hatred of humanity – a hate borne
from love, a contradiction at the heart of Fist’s Mecha-Ude supremacist ideology. Fist’s
traumatic loss led him to mind-control Yakumo’s body and steer both the Kagami Group
and ARMS towards his agenda. At this moment, the only two who can stand in his way are
his own brother Alma and his partner Hikaru.
Alma has processed his grief at losing Yakumo in a far healthier way, making friends, and
forming a new, equal partnership with Hikaru. In contrast, Fist has moved on from
Yakumo’s disintegrating corpse and forced Jun Kagami to be his new host, against his will.
Alma and Fist’s treatment of their human partners couldn’t be more diametrically opposed.
So what happens with competing ideologies in anime-land? Massive showy fights! For
some reason, Hikaru fights bare-chested, as he and Jun both sprout glowing wings,
allowing their conflict to move into the sky.
Studio TriF goes all out with the fight scene here – it takes up the majority of this episode’s
runtime, which doesn’t leave much room left for plot or relationship resolution. I’ll repeat
myself again – Mecha-Ude is a great show, but would have been even better at twice the
length. Important plot points flash by in the blink of an eye, leaving barely enough time to
digest their significance before it’s on to the next thing, the next fight sequence.
Although the frame rate is kept consistently quite low, Mecha-Ude‘s sheer style and verve
keep the action moving at a breakneck clip, with expertly-staged composition and fight
choreography. The camera is always in motion as we skip quickly from one creative angle
to the next, but without sacrificing coherence. That’s a big deal for such a fast-moving
show, it’s testament to its animators’ skill that the viewer is never confused about what’s
happening, or where. I felt a little worn-down by the length of the final fight, but that’s just
me; my mind tends to wander with overly-elaborate fight scenes, it’s not a flaw of the
material. After all, the action animation is one of Mecha-Ude‘s primary attractions.
Once Hikaru and Alma are ultimately triumphant and the world is saved, we quickly skip
through some brief concluding scenes, as the central pair make a heartfelt farewell. For
some reason, Mecha-Ude decides to throw in a random new story arc about a new group
of Mech-Ude users who look like they’re utilizing left-over bits of Amaryllis, the Mecha-Ude
That Is Unable To Die. I’m not sure why time is wasted on this when it feels like the
primary plot’s events are wrapped up too quickly, even if we do get a lovely montage
during the closing credits that hints where our characters go next. Hiroyuki Sawano‘s
slightly modified ending song for this episode, “Arma,” with its altered lyrics, made my eyes
a little moist. I’ll miss this daft, rapidly-paced, overstuffed, but ridiculously fun show. It’s a
miracle that its YouTube short Kickstarter was successful enough to spawn an entire 12-
episode season. I wonder what it would take for Pony Canyon to fund another?
Rating:
Mechanical Musings (discussion of potential sequel details from closing credits montage):
• Human-shaped homeworld Mecha-Ude look kind of scary, as does the enormous
King Mecha-Ude.
• Aki and Hikaru go on a fairground date! Aki stuffs her face! Meru stalks them in the
background, because of course she does!
• Hikaru and Alma reunite at some point!
• There’s a Mecha-Ude-users’ rock band? Could this be a tease for a music-based
spinoff??
• Looks like a reformed Fist gets repaired and derizes with Jun, because Jun’s got
blue hair again, and he’s using a Fist/Alma-like Mecha-Ude.
• That shot of Jun, Hikaru, and Aki standing ready to fight as the King Mecha-Ude
casts his shadow over them is super-cool. We absolutely need a second season to
show us what happens next.
Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.
