English Dub Review: Getter Robo Arc “Overlapping Time”

Overview:

Takuma, Baku, and Kamui saw the same future, but they all choose to walk different paths.

Our Take:

I know time travel can be a really hard plot point to do well but this is a bit ridiculous. The worst part is that the time travel isn’t even the part that makes the least amount of sense. It feels like a lot of stuff was jammed into the ending cause they ran out of time or something. Maybe with twenty-four episodes, they could have made sense of this mess of a plot but as it stands now it’s just too sloppy.

There’s only one episode left and I don’t think it’s going to solve any of these issues. Maybe it’s just because this is my first interaction with the Getter series. I know that is part of why I’m not as invested in the characters and political groups but there should still be a plot to follow and I really can’t gather what’s going on. If fans of Getter know and it makes sense then definitely let me know but I’ve gone through a deep dive on the wiki and I am totally lost.

The characters are one-note and their motivations aren’t really complicated or even make sense in some cases. Kamui’s betrayal made sense until he also betrayed the person who was supposed to help him. I thought that person was going to make Kamui the emperor but for some reason, there is a coup happening? I’m telling you it just doesn’t make much sense what’s happening and normally I would feel bad for spoilers but it ruins the show so much I feel it needs to be mentioned.

I really wanted to like Getter Robo Arc. I love mech shows, and I love older-style animation. It also has some more adult “charm” with the dialogue but I just can’t. Maybe now that I am older I need more than just giant robots fighting to enjoy a mech show. I need good characters and a plot that makes at least a little bit of sense. This just doesn’t have that and maybe the last episode will solve that but I am very doubtful.