Pilot Candidate - Training (Vol. 2)
Instruction in how to pilot the gargantuan humanoid robot-suits called Ingrids begins in earnest, as each of the five male students is paired with a female "repairer" trainee who maintains the equipment. Zero draws Azuma, who, inexplicably, has cat's ears. Although their partnership begins with quarrels, they're well matched: Zero must overcome his fear of zero gravity, Azuma her self-consciousness. The rivalry between the good-natured if thick-witted Zero and the icy Hiead grows more intense, with Clay occasionally acting as mediator. The hints that Zero shares a mystic bond with the Ingrids clearly foreshadow upcoming developments. Director Shin-Ichi Yamaoka fails to blend the flashy 3-D CG animation of the Ingrids with the flat characters, producing some odd visual discontinuities. Rated 13 Up: Violence, minor profanity and risqué humor, tobacco use.--Charles Solomon