19 December 2016: Bubuki Buranki is best if you've seen it already
Also, the faces are top-rate.
The first time I watched the first season Bubuki Buranki, I didn't think it was very good. It wasn't until after Epizo's introduction that the show really clicked for me, although I enjoyed the fight between Kinoa and her ex-boyfriend during which his attacks consisted entirely of literal flashbacks to their Meet Cute and early relationship. Upon re-watching the first season, though, I loved the show and its absurd excuses to feature giant robots punching things at the whim of angry teenagers making faces. Perhaps I was just late in appreciating the motivations and relationships among the various factions.
What, did Asuka move in?
Season two of Bubuki Buranki picked up where the first season left off, and is generally about as good, albeit without some of the same highs. I did enjoy Kaoruko's addition to the show, even though I was often afraid I wouldn't. Notably, she works for me as a character because most of her scenes are absurd rather than emotional. I was afraid BBK/BRNK: Hoshi no Kyojin would belabor too much on how much it hurt her to be abandoned and not enough on how much it hurt to have her tits burned off. (Don't worry, they grew back.)
"Ode to Joy."
I do have a complaint about the second season, though: Not enough Reoko. The first season didn't have enough Reoko either, but at least she had a lot of scenes taunting opponents while ripping them apart or carrying on bombastically with her face covered in blood. Season-one Reoko is an adult's fantasy; she embodied a way of life where giving a fuck is subordinate to getting shit done. Season-two Reoko, on the other hand, is an adolescent's fantasy; she personified a goal and embodied the object of other people's ideology. I guess that's fair, given the intended audience of anime in general, no matter how much I'd like a third season of Bubuki Buranki to adopt adult characters as its leads, even if they happen to be worthless adults with uncertain futures.
