Review: Ballmastrz: 9009 “Dance Dance Convolution?! Egos Warped by the Hair Gel of Hubris! Atonement, Now!!”

 

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Leptons are a weird mix of personalities, but if there’s any sort of moral center to the group, then it’s definitely the team’s youngest and most impressionable member, Ace Ambling. Ace’s enthusiasm for the game results in the rest of the team’s embarrassment, so when a conniving entertainment star manager embraces Ace’s moves when everyone else turns on him, he finds himself headed in an unexpected direction. Ace undergoes a drastic transformation that wins the hearts of audiences and makes him a bigger hit than he’s ever been, but he becomes alienated from his friends. Ace must decide what’s truly important to him before his manager is able to completely brainwash him and erase his innocence.

 

Our Take:

The most innocent soul on team Lepton faces a real crisis of faith when he has his first real encounter with the dangerous temptations that so often accompany fame. The Leptons have been on a winning streak since the start of this season and this success has manifested in various ways amongst the different members of the team. Ace often seems to have the most genuine love for the sport and the sense of community that it provides him, with the celebrity and fortune merely being a byproduct of it all. However, Ace is only human and so it was just a matter of time before he was swayed by the luring embrace of success.

As a result, “Dance Dance Convolution?!” is a Faustian tale where sweet, pure Ace Ambling is taken advantage of by Milky van Montebag, a slick, fast-talking agent (who’s most definitely not Dr. Mrs. The Monarch from The Venture Bros.) who promises him fame, fortune, and a bankable image that will help give the Lepton “brand” unprecedented success. An optimistic Ace tries to go with the flow and the Leptons soon discover that they’re losing their friend to the artificial commercialization of the entertainment industry.

As has been the trend with the past few episodes of Ballmastrz: 9009, the episode begins with a thrilling highlight reel of the Leptons’ latest act of dominance on the game field. These bursts of chaos always play well, but the stationary team that are the opponents in this episode are easily the most creative and insane bunch of competitors to appear on Ballmastrz in a while. Each of these character designs are brilliant for about a dozen different reasons. When a sentient razor-toothed stapler is the least interesting member on a team you know you’re doing something right. Hopefully this won’t be the last time that these competitors make an appearance on the series. Hell, let’s set Gaz up with that Pen Man.

This match also features a freaking Newton’s Cradle Ballmastr transformation, which is by far the best and most absurd one that the series has come up with so far. It’s amazing to see the show not feel encumbered by anything and turn something that’s already as outlandish as Voltron-like transformations into even more unfathomable ideas. Ace’s innocence is often used as a means to help unite the rest of the Leptons and that’s no different in “Dance Dance Convolution?!” Ace may have a lame name for this new transformation that irks Babyball, but curiously Ace’s dorky enthusiasm becomes a major sticking point for the Leptons.

There’s a good deal of embarrassment over Ace’s victory rituals and it’s a pretty smart storyline since up until recently the Leptons have never had to witness what a victory dance from Ace looks like. It’s another good way for this second season of Ballmastrz: 9009 to find unique angles on “the cost of fame” and how it can provide just as many unexpected hurdles for the Leptons as consistent failure.

Milky van Montebag is your stereotypical sleazy manager, but his invasion into the Leptons’ lives progresses in an unusual way. Ace is instantly put off by Montebag’s money-driven approach and it’s the rest of the Leptons that sing his praises and push for his help. The Leptons are initially eager for Montebag’s help because they’re embarrassed by Ace, but he sees Ace as the Leptons’ crown jewel. Montebag wants to rebrand the Leptons to revolve around Ace and when the team doesn’t bite, Ace finds himself alone and putting his faith into this slimeball moneymaker that he didn’t want to be around in the first place.

Montebag wants to capitalize on Ace’s simple dance moves and use them to turn the ballplayer into a pop superstar. Montebag has already done a lot of the work to break down Ace’s resilience in a way where he’s quite malleable to turn into this star while he plays puppet master. The results are woefully hilarious as Ace becomes a barely recognizable version of himself and the Leptons remain embarrassed, but for different reasons than before.

It’s entertaining to watch Ace Mania sweep the nation and the various ways that it manifests. All of this reaches its breaking point when Ace’s showboating antics overshadow the rest of his team. Gaz is ultimately the one who tries to have a heart-to-heart with Ace and get through to him before things get worse and it’s a very touching moment between the two of them. In a rare act of defenselessness, Gaz reveals her history as Gazmerelda Digzfield, the wealthy, affluent life that she used to have, and how an egotistical attitude led to her destroying many relationships that she’s now grown to miss and regret.

“Dance Dance Convolution?!” turns into a surprisingly deep and emotional episode as Gaz explains how her need to be good at “The Game” started more as an act of independence and rebellion from her family than anything else. It’s by far the most vulnerable Gaz has ever made herself in Ballmastrz and it’s a fantastic nurturing dynamic to what’s so often a rough and blunt character. Natasha Lyonne’s performance during Gaz’s past is also the best work that she’s done in the show and she really gets into the monologue.

Ace is too far gone for Gaz’s story to bring him back to the light, so she corrals the rest of the Leptons together to help expose Milky van Montebag’s nefarious ways with the hopes of disillusioning Ace. Fortunately for the Leptons, Ace is so corrupt that that task is accomplished rather easily when they invade Milky’s torturous sweatshop that produces all of the Ace Mania merchandise. The fight that ensues is a lot of fun and it’s surprising to see such an all-out rumble take place when there are already several lengthy action sequences earlier in the episode. It’s also a clever piece of world building that Milky uses members of Lulu’s species as his slaves. It adds a nice extra layer of empathy to the final battle.

It almost feels redundant to single out any of the animation highlights in an episode of Ballmastrz because every frame is essentially working in overdrive to go above and beyond. The flair that’s utilized during the brief matches against the stationary and circus teams are fantastic and everything that has to do with Ace’s makeover really pops. Montebag’s attempts to accessorize the Leptons around Ace’s new looks also provide some great, quick gags and all of Ace’s performances are dazzling displays. There’s also a pretty mind-blowing reference to “Caramelldansen” by Caramella Girls with Ace’s dance moves, so if there was ever any doubt that these guys were dedicated and true anime fans and nerds, there it is, you guys. Did I mention that this show looks good?

As is the case with most Faustian stories, it’s eventually exposed that not all that glitters is gold and Ace realizes that he was ultimately happier with his old style and humbler status. His ego is still a little more inflated than when things started, but he’s all about putting the team before himself. Even though the conclusion of this episode may be a little pat and predictable, it’s still incredibly entertaining and one of the better Ace-centric stories that the series has done. “Dance Dance Convolution?! Egos Warped by the Hair Gel of Hubris! Atonement, Now!!” is an installment that also features a journey that forces Ace to grow up and become a little less naïve, but not in a way that fundamentally changes his character. It’s a good lesson for him to learn, especially when so much of this season of Ballmastrz has involved the Leptons’ newfound dominance on the field.

In spite of what Ace learns in “Dance Dance Convolution?!”, it wouldn’t be surprising for another member of the Leptons to succumb to the temptations of fame and sell out in the future. Just last week Ballmastrz dabbled in similar territory with Leto Otel’s brush with fame, but the series explores the topic from practically the opposite angle this time with Ace. This journey of self-discovery that’s paired with outrageous performances and still fits in some Ballmastr madness makes for another extremely confident and satisfying episode of the series.

Oh, and Ace Ambling can floss. Update your notes accordingly.