Planet With Episode 5 Review: Paladin Break 1

Twist after twist, Planet With is not even trying to take itself seriously and there’s nothing wrong with that. Its plot turns are fun, the characters keep us entertained, and the mechas, well… the mechas are ridiculous. What else do we want from a 24-minute anime pastime?

Japanese Title: パラディンブレイク・1

Plot

This episode had a couple of misdirecting jokes that actually revealed a lot of plot points. For starters, and despite ojii-chan’s attempts to cover his story, Director Takashi is probably an alien. His cradleship probably crashed on Earth when Takezou and his wife Aiko were very young. They took him in and raised him as their own. That explains his almost otherworldly presence and, maybe, his world domination plans. He doesn’t look like a Sirian, though. Soya, who originates from Sirius, had a brother for whom we learn almost nothing. He was only used as a means for Nozomi to make Soya tell his own story to her and admit everything, from his involvement with the aliens to his own alien heritage. Even though he tries to dismiss it as a joke, Soya is not as successful as Takezou. Nozomi takes the hint and pretends that she’s in on the joke, but makes it pretty clear that she believes him. When the next battle takes place, she even identifies the cat mecha as Soya.

We have also learned what happens to the people that are ‘sealed’ by the Sealing Faction. As Ginko said, there is no danger of people dying in this war, but there are more than one ways to ‘die’. One of them is for someone to ‘kill’ your spark. To take out that will to live. Nezuya turned from that crazy dude to a regular boring youth. You know what kind of youth I mean. We encounter them every day of our lives. They are walking right beside us. They frequent the same restaurants and coffee shops that we do. They are the people who have given up on their dreams and their ambitions and have a false sense of fulfilment, one that is constantly fed by consumerism. Soya would rather eat meat (I mean, when he finally learns why he can’t eat meat) than let the world be turned into mindless salarymen, zombiefied by everyday life.

Unllike Nezuya, Takezou ojii-san is not giving in to his desires. He enters the flying object (which is as surreal as ever) and indulges in his fantasies for food and girls, just enough to have a good time. He then stands up and puts on his Photon Armor, just for the aliens to pit his wife against him. Well, not even that was enough to stop the old samurai from doing his job. He then charged to Soya for their customary one on one. He even admits that it’s something that needs to be done. I mean, the anime needs to stick to its routine.

The episode ended with yet another twist. Takashi’s secretary is actually working for the Sealing Faction and is to the Dog Generalissimo what Ginko is to Sensei! Or maybe she is more like Soya, since she was devoured by the dog alien and turned into a cool-looking dog mecha! Or at least, I think it was a dog mecha.

Episode Highlights

Great Mountain Kitty: Sometimes, the simplest names are the best.

Quote: It was unexpected, but it seems that the screen quotes are actually projected to the people inside the spaceships. Takezou just called the aliens off for having the nerve to throw advice to his face.

Ninja: Ehm…Kogane is a ninja? Well, she does have a cool ninja outfit, to be honest. I’m not sure I got Takashi’s humor about her clothes, however.

Fight!

This is the first time I’m really eager to see the next episode. This double battle should last for the duration of Episode 6 and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

Did you like Episode 5 of anime Planet With? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check the rest of our reviews for Summer 2018!

NEXT TIME: Paladin Break 2 (パラディンブレイク・2)