Fuzors, Summaries: Episode 8 - Blue Lightning
Screenshot Gallery - My ThoughtsA voiceover, presumably a newscaster, recaps the previous episode as we pan across Blue City at night. There's few people outside, and what people there are don't look too cheery...no doubt because the invisible Zoid is "has been on the attack outside Blue City, keeping most citizens on edge". They don't know who's piloting the thing, and even the PKB are faring poorly. Gummie was uncharacteristically quiet when reached for comment, and the Zoid the PKB sent into battle—RD's Zero—proved "no match for the more powerful invisible Zoid". This sends RD flashing back to his battle with Holokitty, and as past-Keith cackles over his invincibility, RD crushes his soda can, growling angrily.
"I'll find him no matter what."
The title screen spells the episode "Blue Lightening". Sigh.
Next morning, RD and Dan are walking down the street, RD describing his scheme to find the mysterious pilot. They can't see the Zoid, so they should try searching for the pilot. He can't be invisible too—wouldn't that make sense? Dan is both confused and skeptical of RD's finding-fu, claiming he was supposed to help Doc Pierce at the lab, but RD drags him off anyway, saying he'll buy him lunch.
Meanwhile, Amy sits in her apartment, midday sun pouring through the windows for appropriately soft lighting. She's got flashbacks of her own, and they're much more plot-critical. An invisible Zoid. I wonder what Kieth is trying to prove...she thinks, and we're in the past. She and Kieth are drinking tea and discussing their battle the next day: they're getting the chance to battle the city's reigning champion. Amy's optimistic about their possible future fame, but Kieth's not sure they're even ready. All they have for a Zoid is one König Wolf (he calls it a "Coning" Wolf, Amy says "Conning"). She thinks they can since they've made it this far, but Keith says this is different. He has to win this battle, and if they lose, they'll be nobody to blame but himself.
I guess I should have paid more attention to what Keith was saying, Amy thinks, the scene changing to their Wolf trashed in an arena. When they lost the battle, she remembers, Keith lost all confidence in himself, and was never the same again. She's interrupted by the phone, and by way of plot-coincidence, it's Kieth. "It's been a while, Amy," he says. "...we need to talk. Meet me at Max's at three, okay? I'll be waiting." Why she doesn't call the PKB, I don't know, but perhaps she has something to prove herself...and it wouldn't be much fun if she did.
Guess who else has decided to hang out at Max's? Yeah, it's RD and Dan. The place is a restaurant/bar hangout, /Zero style, chock full of Zoid pilots. None of them look to be mister stealthy, though, and Dan dubs it a bust, whining to RD that he wants to go back to researching the Zaber Fang Holotech with Doc Pierce. RD says if the stealth Zoid pilot shows up in here, they'll be thanking him. And he's got to show up at Max's, because it's the number one hangout for Zi Fighters and thus gossip central. Now he gets it, Dan says: someone so wrapped up in himself will come by Max's just to see what people are saying about him. It's a sound plan, to say the least (and shows surprising insight for someone as oblivious as RD), but you know it's gonna backfire.
Just on cue, a man walks into the bar, looking shifty. RD thinks it could be the Holokitty pilot, and goes to say hello. He sits down across from shifty-man, who's singing (badly, about "driving his big V-12"), and challenges him:
"So you've come out in the open...at last."
"At last? Hey, pal, just who are you?"
"We've fought! Don't play dumb with me!"
"Well...if you want a match, I'm ready."
The man stands up, combing back his hair Elvis-style, whipping out sunglasses, and posing to reveal a white suit to match his hairdo. It's our friend from before with all the blind dates, and he tells RD it's time to choose his weapon...as he holds up two sets of darts. RD realizes he's screwed. He takes two terrible shots at the dartboard to match the man's two bullseyes, then misses the third as the other guy shows off, throwing another perfectly aimed shot and knocking off RD's darts with the impact. "You're so cool, Mikey," Julia-not-Jamie chirps as the crowd cheers.
"Just doing what comes natural, babe," he replies, teeth glinting.
Having lost at a duel of darts, RD is apparently honor-bound to pay for mister Mikey's lunch. Just the visible part of the bill reads "G. Shake 5630, M Pota 12350, Taco 3970, Pa-Saw 1250, Z! 839560.00". Ouch.
We cut very briefly to a peaceful park scene (complete with people walking a dog!). Haldo approaches a sulking Sigma and asks him what's up. Just as Sigma says hello, it's back to the bar:
"Way to go, RD," Dan says. "Now you're broke, all because you wanted to play detective!" Sulky!RD protests—how was he supposed to know the guy was a dart champion? But he agrees to leave the profiling to the professionals and concentrate on finding the Zoid...well, until also-mysterious Keith walks in. Dan stops him before he can get too excited. Maybe he's a pie-eating champion, or the world's greatest hot dog eater, looking for someone like RD to challenge him! He doesn't want RD doing anything embarrassing again.
Amy shows up, interrupting Dan's scolding. RD figures the new guy is a friend of hers and gives up on him being the Holokitty pilot, and Dan is suddenly interested again. So that's the kind of guy Amy goes for, he says, making a note on something that looks like the bastard child of an Eee PC and a bumpy DS Lite. "Hey, I thought you wanted to get out of here!" RD says.
"Not any more I don't," Dan replies slylike, and RD sighs, knowing now he's going to get stuck tailing Amy.
Another brief cut: Haldo's invited mopey Sigma back to his apartment, trying to cheer him up with some of the mysterious pink soda. He identifies it as strawberry...and yes, it's actually strawberry soda, not recolored censor-alcohol. Haldo guesses Sigma is still depressed about the Boldguard, and Sigma denies it, but any fool could see right through him, much less a wise older character type like Haldo. "Gimme a break. I'd say it looks like you lost your best friend". Sigma looks surprised, then sad again. He says he's finished—he and his Zoid will never go into battle again.
Stalker!Dan and reluctant RD creep along behind Amy and Keith, hiding behind trees and being about as subtle as a brick. RD thinks it's kinda creepy—what Amy does in her downtime is her own business. Dan argues the best way to truly understand what it means to be in love is to study it from afar. And if that guy's not going out with Amy, it means he still has a chance! Unimpressed, RD says they can't afford to waste time, but he remains hidden.
Keith, meanwhile, asks Amy why she's so quiet. Isn't she going to congratulate him on having the strongest Zoid in the city? Amy scoffs, Kieth gets angry, Amy glares. "Come on, don't be like that!" he says, going on about how his Zaber Fang Holotech can't be beat. He reaches for her, no doubt thinking his Zoid beating people up makes him sexy, but Amy steps aside.
Dan freaks out from the trees: "He's trying to put the moves on Amy!". RD doesn't care, pointing out Dan would try to do the same thing.
"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Amy continues, seeing right through Keith's bragging. She tells him someday he'll have to grow up: he's still so afraid of losing he can't even think straight any more. "You're just a scared little boy!"
She's wrong, Keith says. He isn't the same person that piloted the Coning König Wolf. With the strength of the Holokitty, everything's different, including him, and he doesn't run away from anything or anyone. Fine, Angry!Amy replies. If he's so sure of his newfound strength, then why doesn't he fight her? She'll take him on in the very König Wolf he gave up on, with the condition he'll turn himself in when she beats him.
Keith laughs, saying she's not such a shy girl any more, and that he'll accept the challenge and send the König Wolf to the scrapyard. He'll be waiting for her at...something that sounds like "Gaia's Head"...at five.
Once he's out of earshot, Amy calls Dan and RD into the open: "you two talk too loud". If you're going to trail someone, she chuckles, be a little quieter next time. Dan makes a note on his bastardPC, which seems to have voice recording. Being the more sensible one her, RD asks Amy if she's really going to fight that guy, and what's up between the two of them? All she'll say is that they were once very good friends...let's just leave it at that. RD, not giving up, offers to help or get Doc Pierce to rig something up so she'll at least have a chance. Amy politely refuses, saying she says she has a plan of her own. Everything will work out, he'll see.
"Her...very...own...plan," Dan mumbles, still taking notes as the scene fades out.
Longer cut this time. Haldo's talking on the phone, asking someone if they're "good to go" and getting an affirmative before hanging up. He notices Sigma staring at a display case full of what seems to be Zoid bits, and answers his unspoken question. They're the control levers of all the Gustavs he's piloted in the past, he says, talking about all the good times he had and regretting past recklessness that led him to trash a few. He takes out the stick from his first Gustav, thinking back: "I don't want to get all emotional, but when he finally gave up the ghost, I broke down." (Random note: young!Haldo has black hair in the brief shot of him and the Gustav.)
"You?" Sigma says, unable to believe it.
It's still a bit tough when he and a Zoid part ways, Haldo continues, but there's always another one waiting in the wings. Still, nothing can replace all the memories..."you know what I mean?" Sigma does, and he's starting to see the point of Haldo's fatherly talk. He told himself he wouldn't cry about it, he says, and pauses before asking Haldo if he'll ever get revenge for what happened to Boldguard. "If that's what you really want, son," Haldo replies, and Sigma nods.
They head out to the hangar, where Sigma looks up, seeing mini Bloxcat. He wasn't expecting Haldo to lend him a Leoblaze, and Haldo teasingly asks if that's not good enough for him. Sigma says it's not that, it's more that Mach Storm already has one, and it's hardly a match for the stealth Zoid. The cat Zoid in question is covered by a cloth, though, and looking suspiciously not quite Leoblaze with those weapons on its face. Blox fans will know what's coming.
"Oh yeah? Look!" Haldo says, pulling off the cloth with a surprisingly strong flourish. Enemy of Life kicks in as we get a view of something far more pointy and far more blue and lavender, complete with jagged tailblade: Leostriker! Not only that, but it's a Leostriker customized to Haldo's specifications, complete with special ammo to bring down the stealth Zoid. "A secret weapon?" Sigma says, and Haldo confirms. He'll explain it later...and if all goes well, he might even give Sigma the Leostriker.
"Haldo, you're the best!" Sigma says, and the music fades before we cut to Amy's battle.
Wind whistles through the desert, a rocky open plain marking the spot of the Wolf-and-Kitty showdown. The Zoids stare each other down, and the Liger Zero waits on the sidelines.
"Oh, I see. You brought a little help in case you can't handle me on your own!" Keith says, but Amy insists the Zero is just there as a spectator. It makes no difference to him, Keith says, as either way Amy's about to get a long and painful lesson! Holokitty cloaks and roars, body-slamming the Wolf to punctuate the sentence. The Wolf tries to get up and Holokitty keeps ramming it around, not even letting it back onto its feet.
"You're makin' this too easy!" Keith chortles, as RD watches in dismay. He's also remembering what Amy told him before: The way to defeat Keith is to focus on his biggest weakness...his ego. If he gets angry, he'll make mistakes.
The Wolf is still being battered around, but Amy's not giving up. Keep telling yourself you're strong, she says to Keith, but "you are and you've always been a coward. That's why you have to hide from me—you're weak." Keith gets pissed off and Holokitty uncloaks, charging the Wolf with a cougar mrowl!
"You're gonna pay, kid. So long, Amy!"
"Just like I planned," Amy smirks, the Wolf leaping into the air and coming down on Keith's Tiger with zappy fangs bared. "I've got you now!"
The Wolf bites empty air.
The Holokitty, Kieth brags, doesn't just do a vanishing act: it can project its own image. It reappears behind Amy, bringing down claws on the Wolf. The König goes down, obviously out for the count, and Amy tumbles from the cockpit (Zoids presumably losing all seatbelt control when they freeze). Keith moves in, laughing, aiming to blast the downed Wolf to bits to prove his point.
The Zero blocks the way, RD saying he's won—there's no point in destroying Amy's Zoid. Keith will have none of it, telling RD it's the perfect ending to what they once had, and if he doesn't move, he'll just "blow his worthless Zoid to pieces" too. He locks weapons, but his Liger-smiting is halted as a cannon blast strikes his leg, throwing off his aim. Keith and camera turn in surprise, panning up a cliff to reveal the Leostriker.
"It's a great day for a little target practice, isn't it?" Sigma comments, getting everyone's attention. RD wonders where Sigma got his Zoid from, but Sigma isn't in the mood to explain. He's got revenge on his mind.
Keith just laughs some more, the Holokitty cloaking. "Catch me if you can!"
No sweat, says Sigma, and fires his "secret weapon". The Leostriker launches a couple shells that explode above the battlefield, doing little but rain sparkly stuff. Keith isn't impressed, and leaps up the cliff with intent to squish.
"A fireworks display? Nice try. Wooooo~!"
The Leostriker fires with perfect timing, nailing the Holokitty dead in the chest and doing things to its momentum that make even mecha physics cry. It hits the ground hard and its stealth shorts out for a second, Keith thinking it was a lucky shot. He cloaks again and runs, the Leostriker tracking him with shots all the way as his stealth flickers and his Zoid is sent tumbling a second time.
Sigma then explains his secret weapon for the benefit of Keith and the audience: that pretty stuff was really a special luminous coating. If the Holokitty goes into stealth mode, Sigma just has to press a button and viola—it lights up like a Christmas tree. In other words, some dude with a paintball gun would have fared better than all the Zoids Holokitty ate.
"I've been waiting for this," Sigma finishes as the Leostriker growls, "and here's what you get for destroying my Boldguard!" The Leostriker's tailblade glows bright pink, getting a lot longer and sporkier before it leaps off the cliff. "You're MINE now!"
His stealth gone, Keith panics and tries to run. The Liger Zero blocks his way, and the Leostriker stalks in from behind. Keith opts to take on the smaller pointed cat, the Holokitty rushing Sigma as the Leostriker roars a battle cry. "No chance!" Sigma yells, the Leostriker whipping its tail to one side and slashing through the Holokitty's legs from three separate camera angles. "STRIKE SWORD!"
Ouch. That's one spork for each of the yellow Tigers of old. Down goes the Holokitty, its limbs in lots of pieces. Keith climbs from its battered head, Amy there to meet him. He begs her to take him back...he'll be good! "Let's start again, okay?" Amy's response is to smile...and slug Keith in the face, decking him.
"That's the end of the lesson," she says, echoing him. "Just because you pilot a strong Zoid doesn't make you a strong person, Keith. You have got a lot to learn." She walks off to join RD and Sigma, leaving Keith in the dirt.
Fanboys (and fangirls!) could learn a lot from her, though not from her grammar.
Next day, we're back at Mach Storm's base. Dan congratulates RD and Sigma on their letter of commendation from the PKB, and asks them how they got the Holokitty. "It was me and my new Zoid," Sigma says, waving his hand around like a tailblade, "Blue lightning, the Leostriker. Together we brought that stealth Zoid down." Dan think it's amazing Sigma did that all by himself, and RD points out it was Amy that delivered the final blow.
"Yeah, and she sure has one mean right hook," Sigma jokes, and the guys have a friendly chuckle over Amy's stalker-punching skills. Sweet tells them to stop sitting around, and Amy walks in on cue, asking if the guys are talking about her: "Did I just hear my name?"
Of course not, RD says, and tries to walk away whistling innocently. Amy doesn't buy it. "Hey Sweet, were these guys talking about me?"
"I guess they're still a little punchy, that's all," Sweet replies. "Isn't that right, RD?"
"Is this about what happened between me and Keith?" Amy continues.
RD flails, finishing the bad joke and hoping Amy won't kill him. "Well, I was just telling the guys what a knockout you are."
My Thoughts
This episode is one I really prefer in English. Keith sounds like an arrogant dick, as he should, and Amy's voice is less squeaky and more...her. Considering they both get a lot of screentime, their VAs make the episode moar awesome. My only gripe is that nobody can get "König" right. The Japanese actors have more excuse, considering it's a hella awkward word to make with their language's sounds.
Amy and Sigma each get brief moments in the spotlight here, and as much as I like the Leostriker breaking Holokitty's stealth wankery with paint, it's Amy's that's more worthwhile character-wise. (Sigma's main bit of character development is a couple episodes later.) Not only does she not put up with her old boyfriend going creepy on her, she tells him off and punches him in the face. RD and Sigma may have finished Keith's Zoid and stolen the glory, but she still gets her victory.
The only people who really lose here—well, besides Keith—are the rabid König Wolf fans and those who consider a character a wuss if they aren't a Kickass Awesome Pilot. Tough for them, and I say this as a Wolf fan ;p.
Previously: The Unseen Enemy
Next: Good Work, Peace Keeping Bureau
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