Real Drive 08 & 09: Ghosts and Random Characters

If that doesn't catch your attention, then I don't know what will.

Real Drive 08: No Friend Ideal
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In Minamo's school, everyone is talking about a ghost that's been haunting the students. During swimming class, Sayaka sees the ghost in the water and nearly drowns in fright. Meanwhile, Souta roams Hanamachi St., looking for porn some kind of new metal program that the EISF is interested in. His search leads him to Minamo's middle school where he finds Minamo, who apparently has to wear a ridiculous helmet in class, and her friends. The ghost shows up again and gives Minamo's friends the scariest half-minute of their lives before Souta appears to, uh, save the day and stuff.

Real Drive 09: Employment I/O
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This episode starts with a man we have never ever seen before, suddenly introduced as Souta and Minamo's father. WTF?! But Souta is HAWT in an apron so we don't really care. Apparently, Aoi Mamoru is a high-ranking employee, responsible for the maintenance and operations of Meta Real. However, when a problem of unknown origin occurs deep in the Metal, Mamoru is forced to make a judgment call that could very well cost him his job.

COMMENTS:

Real Drive is definitely taking on a slice of life theme. I don't really mind. But I felt some pain, watching the previous episode, and I don't mean that in a good way. Yes, dogs are adorable. I, myself, have a dog and I love it to distraction. But that episode was ri.di.cu.lous. I don't know. Maybe, some dog lovers are really like that. I can't imagine myself going that far though.

So, by contrast, Episode 08 was so much better. Ghosts, I don't mind. Fat girls wearing swimsuits even. I have no real issue against fat girls, and I think Minamo's friends are likable enough (although I do keep forgetting that other girl's name). The ghost was a nice touch, showing that no matter how far technology may go people are still prone to add supernatural context to the simplest occurrence.

An interesting point to note in this episode is how the Metal is developing even further. Episode 08 is still light by every regard but one can't help but feel that this is only the beginning and there will really come a time when these experiments with the Metal will truly become dangerous in a very real sense.

Now Episode 09. I really was surprised by the sudden introduction of Aoi Mamoru. None of the previous episodes even hinted at the fact that Souta and Minamo have a father. I mean, I always assumed that they were orphans, with Souta taking on the role of both parents for Minamo. But, this episode was a revelation.

That said, it was touching how Souta showed his affection for his father through onigiri. I don't know about other people, but for Asians like me, rice is comfort food (no, I won't go on about the worldwide rice shortage), so that was a nice symbolism and one I could readily understand.

But...Souta and that woman. Ack! There goes my fantasies of Souta and Holon. Talk about S&M, those two! Sad. But I kind of expected it though. I think there was an earlier episode that strongly hinted at Souta and that woman's relationship.

I wonder how long this series is. I think the concept of the Metal is only beginning to reveal itself.