Comet Lucifer

Episode 6

Poor Kaon. I guess no one ever told her that you don't want to be the only responsible character in a coming-of-age adventure. No matter how rational and levelheaded your advice may be, there's a good chance that the story will just shove you off the stage and pair the hero up with the wide-eyed newcomer. Frankly, I'm impressed that it took Sogo this long to start really falling for Felia. At least Kaon can take some comfort in the fact that she gets to steal Roman's car in this episode. Who needs love when you've got the best ride in town?

Sogo, Kaon, and Felia hit the road this week in search of a way to bring Felia's powers under control. Since Sogo's hover scooter isn't big enough to carry everyone, they tie Roman up and “borrow” his fancy flying car. Everything goes smoothly until Kaon accidentally runs a wedding procession off the road and injures the flower boy. Sogo is recruited to take over the role, and Felia is eager to help him out. Their budding romance proves to be more than Kaon can handle, but the arrival of government troops puts a hold on any relationship-related arguments. Moura is able to fend the enemies off with some timely assistance from Roman, but this attack raises the question of who might be keeping track of our heroes' movements.

The road trip benefits Comet Lucifer in two ways. First is the immediately apparent change of scenery. Like the urban landscape that dominated those early episodes, the open road and desert town showcase some strong background art. The new location gives the series some visual variety, keeping the experience a little fresher for the audience. Getting the characters out of the house is also a good thing because it forces the story to keep moving along. The protagonists finally have a long-term goal to pursue, and having Gus and his crew in constant pursuit provides a built-in source of episodic conflict. All of this puts Comet Lucifer's plot in a good position for the next few weeks.

Between Felia, Sogo, Kaon, and Roman, there's plenty of potential romance and unrequited love to go around. The web of relationships isn't particularly unique or compelling at the moment, but at least it's tolerable. As an added benefit, all this impending teenage heartbreak gives the series a convenient outlet for character development. As everyone starts to figure out how they feel about one another, the audience gets a chance to see them as more than just stock characters filling obvious roles. Kaon's self-imposed rivalry with Felia helps break her out of that voice of reason role within the group, and we're starting to see hints that Roman might not be a completely insensitive jerk. The weakest link in the chain is quickly becoming Sogo, who remains blissfully ignorant of everyone else's emotional turmoil. He's no worse than any other generic teenage male lead, but that's not exactly high praise.

Comet Lucifer's steady supply of action scenes is a welcome source of entertainment, but the animation quality occasionally slacks off when nothing's blowing up. Character movements look awkward at a few points in this episode, which may be a sign that the series will have to choose between ambition and consistency as the season wears on. The various vehicles and giant robots still look alright in motion though, and Roman's flashy mech easily steals the show in this episode's latter half. Its colorful paint scheme is a good match for Roman's personality, and his clumsy attacks are fun to watch. It's nice to see that this show can add some humor to its action scenes from time to time.

Over the last couple of weeks, Comet Lucifer has managed to find an approach that works. It seems to be playing to a slightly younger and less jaded crowd that hasn't necessarily seen this all a thousand times before, and that simple sense of adventure should also help it appeal to older veterans of the genre. The whole series just seems happy and eager to tell its coming-of-age story. As long as that contagious enthusiasm holds up, I'm content to watch it follow the usual formula for a while.

Rating: B

Comet Lucifer is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.