Oh boy, this is going to be one difficult review. I seriously have no idea how to properly criticise this one like I do with other movies, hence the absence of a rating. The thing with this movie is: you’ll either be drawn into its atmosphere, or you’ll be bored to tears; that’s basically it.

Angel’s egg is more of a piece of art than a movie, with its biggest weapons being its eerie music and slow but subtle storytelling. Don’t expect to get any explanation about the questions that are asked through the course of seventy minutes. This movie provides a setting with lots and lots of mystery, and it leaves it to the viewer to add his or her own explanations to them.

On the other side, though: if you’re not interested in the setting, or aren’t affected by the atmosphere, this will be some of the most boring hours that could have been possible, simply because there’s nothing else in there. The plot moves slooooooow, and it really relies on connection with the viewer.

Personally, I liked this movie, though; especially the atmosphere and the subtle character-interactions. I especially liked trying to find out their reasons for acting, even though I still can’t bring the thoughts it provoked into words. Be sure to expect lots of biblical references, put into a different context, and a very lonesome and quiet setting. If you like artsy stuff: go for it. If you expect action: stay far and far away from this and go and watch something like Steamboy or anything similar.

Interesting, it’s quite possible that out of all the shows that will be ending in a few weeks, Ooedo Rocket will have the most unpredictable ending when it comes with a few nice twists this episode. While the final two episodes for both Bokura no, El Cazador and Toward the Terra are promising to be awesome, I do somehow know what to expect (and let’s not talk about Claymore, which will probably end in the most predictable way).

Some of the new twists were hard to follow, though, especially the ones at the end of the episode. Apparently, Mizuno-sama has ordered Torii to order Kagiya and his daughter to construct another rocket. This one, however, isn’t for going into space; it’s artillery. Torii explains a few things, but Norio Wakamoto’s voice is among the most difficult to understand amongst voice-actors, despite his manliness. I assume he wants to fire to the other side of the ocean, but why? Nice cliff-hanger by the way. ^^;

And Akai! Here I thought that he’s been busy with some cunning plan to get revenge on Seikichi, and all he did was sit in a tent and do nothing. I LOVE his new look as well, and it seems that he’s finally getting back into action with the next episode, as we saw him hiding behind Kagiya’s rocket at the end of the episode. That has to mean something!

The rocket also gets an interesting development: the blue monster from the sky comes, right before the official launch and blows the thing up! I loved how Tetsuju was near it, and the question remains: what happened to it? Tetsuju was found near the rubble, but there’s no sign of the Blue monster. Not even a shot of it escaping. What also surprised me: the thing now has the same eye as the guy it took it from. Could it really have merged with Tetsuju with that blast? By the way, does anyone know his voice-actor? I think I spotted another reference to a different anime when he suddenly put glasses on.

I’m really curious about the final two episodes, because they’re actually got so much potential. Heck, I’m not even sure if Sora is going to go into space or not. This episode showed that the rocket design remains buggy, so I wonder whether such a large construction will actually launch. Both Ginjiro and Akai have some kind of unexpected role to play as well. Overall, it’s going to be fun. :)

Ugh… the next episode will be horribly boring: Claire vs Priscilla. I’m looking forward to episode 26, though. That’s the one where Priscila has been defeated and Claire needs to be saved. That one does hold potential, and I’m curious as to how the creators will be planning to end this series (because at this point, I am not expecting a second season for this series).

The current episode also wasn’t that bad: there was no fighting. It’s basically an aftermath, in which nearly every character gets an important bit of development. This aftermath would have been even better if the fights around it weren’t so dull, but I’m glad that at least this episode turned out good enough. Even Raki was enjoyable to watch.

Claire also was okay, when compared to the previous episode. It’s logical for her to suppress her awakening as soon as she saw Priscilla. Priscilla, however, was the only one I didn’t like. Her awakening may be explained, but it felt a bit forced if you ask me.