Concrete Revolutio Episode 5 Notes

November 1st, 2015.

Protesting the Peace:

Post-Episode Write-up:

This episode requires some historical background. I may be wrong since I’m relying on relatively cursory google searches, but there are some historical events of note here. The first is that in Showa Era 42, or 1967, there had been violent protests by Japanese students against the US-Japan Security Treaty, which escalated after riot police killed a student that year. Sounds relevant? They also spoke of “giving Okinawa back”, where the USA had a military base, that was known it’d be cleared since 1970 (the “in two years”), but was cleared in 1972.

So, the US kaiju are Japan’s anti-Kaiju weapon, but Japan has to come up with its own anti-Kaiju measures until the US pulls out. Hence, the plan to seed kaiju in order to have the superhumans get accepted.

The real question is about the “Anti-Establishment” groups, which are egged on by media personnel, are they truly Kaiju sympathizers who resent what the government does to them? I doubt it, I think that they, just like the Superhuman Bureau, are making use of them. They want to get at the government, both for their media control with regards to the superhumans, they want to pay them back for their deceit with the kaiju up to now, and drawing on historical reasons, want to raise the Japanese nationalistic flag, and kick out the Americans, which they do by getting rid of the reason to have them, which is the anti-Kaiju sentiments.

Speaking about how everyone’s using the Kaiju sympathizers, payback certainly factored in this episode, with how the Superhuman Bureau created Kaiju so they could defeat them, as to appear heroic. So what do the Kaiju-lovers do? They turn the Superhuman Bureau into villains, so the Kaiju would be able to defeat them, and so they would appear as the heroes in turn, while also vilifying their once oppressors. On the same topic, what will Emi’s payback be for lying to Jiro? Or perhaps the burns she wields for containing him are what she sees as her just payment.

And then we come to the main theme/attitude of this episode, and that has to be the story of Frankenstein, or Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jiro’s “adoptive father” uses his blood to experiment, and it’s probably the very blood, mixed with Mini-GaGon’s, that created all those Kaiju that Jiro was so determined to exterminate. And yet, we know it doesn’t have to be the case, there are those alien Kaijus, from Mars, that operate alongside humans, as did Mini-GaGon, and some of those “unleashed Kaijus”. No, what Jiro is fighting against is himself, and his own desire to see this world ended.

Jiro is fighting against his own darker side. We all have them, this is why stories of werewolves are so common, stories to explain away when reason leaves us and we lash against everything around us. Emi says she’s willing to get burnt by this inner fire to quell the demon of desire, whereas Kikko tries to contain it with the power of love and understanding.

The other Kaiju don’t necessarily harm people, but what Jiro is truly fighting against is the fear they engender, the fear he might engender. He’s not fighting for justice as much as he’s fighting for peace and quiet. The bureau waged a war of fear, and Jiro is its first victim.

Return to the Concrete Revolutio Episodic Notes page.

Updated Timeline:

Note: Shinka Calendar seems to correspond to the Showa Calendar. Year 1 = 1925, final year = 1989, year 19 = 1944, or World War 2.

October 14 – Jiro’s father meets GaGon in the Pacific Isles, loses “Maria”, a native shapeshifter? A month after World War 2 broke out. Episode 4.
August 17 – GaGon faces off against American Superhumans in the Pacific Ocean. 9 months after Pearl Harbor.
Year 19 – A war of some sort (World War 2’s equivalent). Referenced in episode 3.
November 29 – Invisible Kaiju appears, Emi chooses to appear as an adult, Jiro’s father finds him naked and unconscious. Episode 4.
January 34 – Flashback sequence. Giganto Gon breaks Jiro out of the laboratory where he’s held. Jiro wants Giganto Gon to destroy everything. Episode 5.robot-GiGantor defeated, baby GaGon meets his adoptive brother. Episode 4.
January 41 – 6 months before Kikko joins. Grosse Augen first appears as a Kaiju vanquisher. Call for “more magic” instead of science within the Bureau is made. Episode 4.
July 41 – Kikko joins the organization, Jirou goes against orders and saves Grosse Augen. Episode 1.
Between July and August 41 – A month after Kikko joins, just before Fuurota joins. More Kaijus appear, various superhumans fight them off. We meet Earth-Chan and Kaiju-using robbers. Grosse-Augen “replacement” takes up the burden. Episode 4.
August 41 – Fuurota joins the organization, kills the bug species. Kikko with the organization for one month.Episode 2.
November 41 – 3 months after Fuurota joins, humans confirmed as creating Kaijus. Mini-GaGon and Kaiju-lovers introduced as Fuurota’s friends. Episode 4.
February 42 – Bombing incident with android detective. Episode 3.
June/July 42 – Master Ultima returns from Mars, Bureau leaders revealed non-humans, expose their own Kaiju-creating ring. Jiro unleashes his arm. Episode 4.
July 42 – USA throw away a Space Kaiju’s remains near Okinawa. Kaiju-sympathizers grab remains and begin agitating against the establishment and the Superhuman Bureau. Episode 5.
August 42 – Protests by students begin, Jiro forced to become a Kaiju, faces off against Mega GaGon. Mega GaGon killed. Episode 5.
~Year 44 – Kaiju wave of attacks dies down. Episode 5 reference.
April 46 – Jiro is an enemy, ex-Grosse Augen helps him, Kikko declares love. Episode 1.
February 47 – Male android returns. Android detective now fugitive. Episode 3.
August 48 – Bug lady comes back for Fuurota, he learns what he’s done, gets saved and comforted by Jirou.Episode 2.