This set of episodes dismally fails to live up to the excitement generated early in the series. Many of the production elements feel rushed, both on the Japanese and American sides.

Following an intriguing beginning in "Gasaraki 1: The Summoning," the main plot drastically slows down in "Gasaraki 2." Lacking elements of mystery and mysticism, the promising epic deteriorates into just another robot story.

Despite a potentially earth-shattering face-to-face meeting between Yushiro and Miharu, characters just seem to mark time through most of the episodes.

Unlike the first few episodes, this set shows signs of corners being cut. Many of the characters lack distinction, and there are sections in which characters cease to move for seconds at a time.

Some of the mysticism and technobabble sounds contrived, though the fault could very well lie with the lackluster acting rather than with the script.

While Yushiro and Miharu have convincing angst and loneliness, the collection of actors assembled to voice the TA squadron does not work well together. The dialogue is forced and doesn't flow at all.

For violence

First we had Belgistan and now we have Armekistan. To create a new post-Soviet Asiatic republic, all one need do is make up a first syllable and attach the suffix "stan".

When robotic combat breaks out between the two rival sights, one of the heroic pilots quips "Who'd have ever thought we'd be fighting other robots so soon?" as though the audience couldn't see it coming back in the first episode.

These episodes are so tightly focused on the combat between robots that it feels like Bill Nye the Science Guy is just waiting to leap in with an observation or two about the robot technology used.

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