Opinions (A-):

Leave it to Comet Lucifer to significantly up its game in the two weeks that I avoided it and fell behind. I’m almost at a loss for words, questioning why exactly I didn’t struggle forward and manage the time to cover this series in the past two weeks. Comet Lucifer still isn’t amazing, its still not a series that I’d say is one of the best we’ve gotten this season but… BUT! The thing is, its exceeding my expectations. In its last few episodes, the show is really upping the ante and going for the unpredictable.

There’s a decent inclination as to where the story’s going, but I honestly have no idea how it’ll end. Comet Lucifer has thrown enough wrinkles into the tried and true formula that its gotten exciting again. A big reason for that success is clearly Do Mon. I’ve mentioned for a while that the series has had its stand out moments whenever Do Mon’s been involved, so much so that I kinda wonder if the story would’ve been better served focusing more on him rather than Sogo.

That’s just my wishful thinking though, because the series has done such a fine job of developing Do Mon, making him a likable and sympathetic character, and then… Then it killed him off. Do Mon’s death is huge for the series, it injects some serious emotion, pain and anguish. Episode 9 is probably what I’d call the most successful episode of the series by far, and its all thanks to the care that the series took to build up to that moment.

Do Mon was a kind guy, he took Sogo on, he took Felia in, he never got angry. He cared for all the kids, and then tried to save them. His only fight with Sogo happened as a result of his intense love and worry for Sogo. More so than that, Do Mon’s death was heart breaking because moments earlier, the guy was crying because he wondered if his adopted son hated him now.

He was also proud though, and those tears, the painful reminiscing as Do Mon inched ever closer to death, it was painful to watch. It was heartbreaking, but it was heartbreaking in a good way. It felt earned, and it felt like the series had really painted Do Mon was a likable but tragic figure. It also worked because Do Mon’s death was a sharp enough contrast to the idea of the show, that I didn’t see it coming.

From the sort of happy go lucky attitude of the show, I never really thought any character could die. I assumed that in the end, everyone would get together and save the day through the power of friendship and love. That could very well still happen, but its less certain now, because of Do Mon’s death. If Do Mon can die, there’s a chance that the show might not go for the predictable, happy ending either. That makes things fun again.

And I liked how the show handled the fallout from Do Mon’s death. Sure Do Mon died at the end of episode 09, but Sogo and the rest only found out about it near the end of episode 10. The impact and timing of the big reveal, was intense. It really did jolt me out of whatever happy go lucky dream Comet Lucifer had built up until that point.

That moment was a combination of that sudden death, and the tried and true though. See, Sogo failing as a new enemy appears, Felia protecting him and telling not to follow? That was a confidence shattering moment. Its the classic end of the second act in a three act story structure. The times are tough, the heroes are at a loss, and things are just absolutely dreadful. Sogo is unable to protect Felia, and while he’s questioning himself, THAT is when the big Do Mon news drops.

Now… Normally, this is the kind of test, the kind of trial that defines a character. Faced with impossible odds, what does Sogo do? How does he react? The whole scenario is exceedingly interesting. Unfortunately, however, Sogo himself doesn’t exactly rise to the challenge or do anything too unique.

He mopes, and whines for a few minutes, before Kaon knocks some sense into him. Now again, that moment is a mix of awesome, and kind of generic. Kaon, knocking some sense into him is a powerful moment, because Kaon’s earned that moment. Like Do Mon, Kaon’s gone through a lot in this story, and its all related to Sogo.

She’s lost Sogo, to the girl that’s closest to her, like a little sister to her, and she’s taken it like a champ. Her slapping him and knocking him into his senses is fine, it makes sense given her character arc and what not. The problem is, it happens too soon. Sogo gets one slap from Kaon, she shouts a few nice words at him, and he snaps out of it.

It happens too fast, and it ruins any kind of narrative arc that Sogo could’ve had. The moment where he realizes that Do Mon might’ve been right, that he’s been a naive idiot, is a pretty true one. The fact of the matter is, quite frankly, that Sogo has messed up in recent memory. He fought with Do Mon, and IS indirectly responsible for his death. He also left his friends behind, only to be saved by them later. And then at the decisive moment, he more or less failed to fight against the new Anti-Moura.

Everything about Sogo feels a bit rushed and frankly, unearned. In the 9th episode, he FINALLY starts to pilot Moura, and he then just… defeats Gus in one shot? It feels jarring and out of place. There’s no build up to Sogo piloting Moura, it just kind of happens because the plot calls for it. And Gus? Well he’s about as forgettable as always.

Gus and frankly all the baddies in this story are pretty cookie cutter and forgettable. That aspect of the show, sadly, hasn’t changed and remains its biggest weakness. I’d say the show doesn’t have any worthy antagonists, except that there is that woman that seems to be helping Zoneboyle.

I’m willing to bet good money that the woman, the woman who stabbed Do Mon while disguised as Sogo’s Mother, is the new Black Moura. It would explain her powers and what not, and it finally gives the series something that its lacked since day one, a decent antagonist. I also liked how the show hinted that Zoneboyle is almost being manipulated by the woman in question, because its she who kills Do Mon and prevents him from meeting Zone.

What is her end game? That’s one of the remaining good questions that the series has up its sleeve. So we’ve got a good villain, we’ve got a beloved character that we’ve lost, and a sort of okay main character.

There’s one more thing worth talking about, and that’s Sogo and Felia. There’s a romance that’s blossoming between the two, and I’m almost impressed by how vague it is, given what the series has seemingly been angling for. Felia is head over heels into Sogo, that both we the audience and every character in the cast is acutely aware of… Except for Sogo. Sogo seems about as oblivious to Felia’s very obvious signs of affection as he does Kaon’s, so at the very least he’s consistent.

But, for what its worth, the show is still going for the Felia x Sogo route. Sogo may not realize it, but he DOES care for Felia. Its just nice to see Felia kind of struggle with those feelings, and try to express them to Sogo. And then there’s Kaon. Kaon’s plays interestingly into this, in that she still seemingly plans to let Sogo know how she feels.

I think she’s well aware of how that’s going to go, but I like that Kaon refuses to run away from what. On top of that, there’s Roman. Roman is also taking all of this like a pretty mature adult, despite what you’d expect from him. He properly ends the engagement with Kaon, because he’s actually fallen for her too. Its not about duty or anything like that, he likes her, and he wants her to fight for what she wants. He’ll fight for her fair and square, and win her over through being a nice guy, rather than the forceful attitude he’s had thus far.

Its a nice little character arc for Roman, who’s kind of oscillating between weird/creepy and generally admirable. He’s firmly in the admirable category now, and with that, I think the show has actually fixed one of my major issues with it. I almost think that Kaon deserves being with someone like Roman, who genuinely cares for HER, rather than Sogo, who clearly only has eyes for Felia. The show is selling me on the idea of a Kaon x Roman ending, coupled with the Sogo x Felia pairing that its pushing so hard.

Oh and there’s one more thing to say (I lied). I really have to give a shout out to how impress the show has been from a production standpoint too. There have been so many breathtaking landscapes and scenes, that I actually struggled a bit to find a suitable featured image for this post. Generally there’s one or two stand out shots, that just speak volumes about the episode, but in these two episodes, I found a dozen of those.

And the Battles? I have to admit, I was impressed by how much those got better, particularly in the second episode when Sogo+Moura were taking on Anti-Moura. That whole battle actually had me kind of impressed, and its rare that I actually gawk at animation these days, especially with One Punch Man airing in the same season. But I’ll give it to Comet Lucifer, its art direction is second to none this season, and the animation is slowly playing some catch up.

And of course, the music continues to be a real highlight. I actually even dug the new ED theme, and it seems like the production staff actually found a creative way to use all those 3D Models that they created (and a nice use of ambient occlusion, a fairly basic way to render 3D models for those 3D animation buffs in the crowd). All in all, I’d say that from a production stand point, Comet Lucifer is pretty competent at most parts, and exceeds the norm in a few key parts as well.

In closing, I’d say that Comet Lucifer has exceeded my expectations. I didn’t expect Comet Lucifer to have the guts to kill off Do Mon, and I didn’t expect it to develop a few characters so beautifully. In the end, I think its the fact that this show is only 12 episodes long that is clearly hurting it. The story definitely feels a bit rushed and underdeveloped in some parts, which results in a mixed bag kind of appeal to this show. Its got some good bits, its got some bad bits, but I think the improvements it continues to make, make it a pretty enjoyable watch.

We’ve got two more episodes for this series to wrap up its story. I’m curious as to where it goes from here, something that I didn’t quite expect to be two weeks ago. If nothing else, that, in my mind, is quite the achievement for this show. Its right where it needs to be as it heads into its last two episodes, with some interesting questions and excitement and investment at an all time high.

Preview:

The Fallen angel Huh? Seems like we’ll be jumping into whatever Black Moura is all about.