Star Driver 5-13

So, I meant to go to bed early tonight because I've been terrible at waking up lately, but I had laundry in, so I figured I'd watch a couple more episodes of Star Driver.

And I have to say by Episode 13, I'm thoroughly torn on the subject.  So, up until the past couple of episodes, the entire series very much felt like a rehash of the same overall plot of Revolutionary Girl Utena and Melody of Oblivion:  A young, naive hero is gifted with fighting skill which they use to rescue a special girl from an arcane conspiracy, and then become part of a world of challengers facing them down, who defeat themselves through their own weakness rather than particularly through the hero's strength.  It will be surrounded by themes of repetition, western imagery used both properly and improperly with strong themes of growing up, corruption and sex.  When the Puppet Master finally reveals themselves, they will be very much like the hero and their ultimate defeat will be pyrrhic or inconclusive.

Now, I don't think that this is a bad formula, in particular, it's one that allows for a lot of characterization to be put into your villains and other challengers, but as of around episode 12 or 13 of Star Driver, I'm starting to think they may be mixing it up on me.  Any further would be spoiling, but let me just say that I'm at the halfway point and things (predictably) are starting to turn around.

Also, one of the guys at work (the one who recommended Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which I adore, to me, but whose opinions remain otherwise unknown) gave Star Driver a pretty tepid review, so I was prepared for it to go downhill, but it doesn't seem to have done so.  He may not have seen the two series that form the concept, and it's possible that my primary appreciation for the series is rooted more in the trio of series (Utena, Melody and Star Driver) than in Star Driver itself.

If the story continues in the vector that 12 and 13 left me in, I'm very interested to see what becomes of it.  If it goes in a different direction, we'll see...

Current Rating:  Tentative A.