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Welcome once more to our little corner of the internet! I am Frost of the Demented Ferrets, and
It’s time once again for another anime review. Now, while there has been more than a little debate about whether this actually counts as anime or not, it still ticks all the right boxes for me. Interesting characters that undergo personal growth, a world that makes you want to know more about it, and a different take on Mecha all had me intrigued from the beginning. So, let’s dive into Rooster Teeth’s Gen: Lock Season 1.
Now, I will not be including Season 2 in this review because, honestly, it departed so far from the first season that it honestly did not really feel connected at all anymore.
Gen:Lock (or GL) is an interesting and deep work, with memorable characters (Val and Cammy are two of my favorites, hands down) a good backdrop for the action (a war between two dynamically opposing societies, the Polity and the Union) and an interesting look at a possible future on both a scientific and societal level. From a perspective on the immoral and flagrant use of advanced nanotechnology in war, and in society, to gender norms, acceptance, and transhumanism this series has so much going on under the hood.
Honestly, it’s a very deep show, as long as you can make it past the first episode or two. I loved seeing the characters grow and develop throughout the series. Cammie learning about dealing with trauma and personal growth was so rewarding! Chase also had so much growth and change throughout the series, it was an amazing performance by Michael B. Jordan, one that I will always consider one of my favorites.
The rest of the cast is also amazing, and more than a little insane. The talent that was gathered for this show is mind boggling, from anime dub staples to people that you would never think of associating with an anime, this show never disappointed me.
Now, it wasn’t all roses, of course. There were more than a few awkward moments, or scenes that broke the intensity of the narrative, but I do think that they were necessary to keep the show from getting too dark and intense, and losing the heart of the show in an overly heavy deluge of emotion and angst.
I am also a huge fan of the mechanical design in this series, from the VTOL support craft, to the variable configuration fighter that Chase flies at the beginning of the series, it all showed a clear image that they sought to pass along. The ground Mecha that both sides used were different enough while still sharing enough design concepts to make them believable as outgrowths of concurrent design philosophies.
Then we come to the Holons of Gen:Lock. They are a good example of civilian technology being converted to military use. The frames under the armor and weapons show their original purpose, while the external modifications clearly were made to weaponize them.
The redesigns that were done later in the season to the Holons are some of my favorite visuals in the entire series, especially Cammie’s redesign of her Holon, and her reaction to them asking her about it.
I cried, it was so fitting! I had to rewatch that scene over again because I loved it so much.
Even the ending of season one was pretty close to perfect. It closed off a major plot point, while opening a massive one and showed incredible growth and development in the characters. Acceptance, hope, pushing ever onward while striving to move past the scars that hold you back, it had it all.
It made the train wreck that was season two even more insulting, I have to say.
Check out the adventures of GL 1, and let me know what you thought!
Let the good times roll!
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