UlasanAnime.com – The phrase “jumping the shark” only truly holds meaning when we carefully traverse a suspension bridge of belief. The question arises: should this term be applied to Star Driver? And does it even matter if Fonzie jumped the shark, or if Takuto consistently pulls out a new trick in every battle?
The answer to both, of course, is that it does. However, in Star Driver‘s case, sharks are a recurring element of the setting. Perhaps this is simply the norm on the planet of Fish.
In reality, the series’ narrative has experienced its ups and downs, resembling a roller coaster ride over the past 22 episodes, ever since the protagonist first landed on a particular southern island. For each, uh, shark that we, along with Takuto and the others, have leaped over, some viewers have fallen off the bandwagon. The series’ excessively theatrical nature certainly does not help matters.
You might also be interested in : The End of an Era: Mind the Gap
And Star Driver is, if anything, pure theater. Should we be bothered when Mizuno, for instance, “jumped the bus”? Or when Sakana-chan performed weekly one-person plays? I’m not entirely sure, but a tiny, almost imperceptible sliver of my belief in the show evaporated with each Kiraboshi salute or every instance Professor Green’s underboob was visible on screen. It’s not that I disliked any of it; it simply became something that was theatrical for its own sake. I no longer understand why it is theatrical.
I mean, at least Glee provided me with a song and dance routine every now and then.
Perhaps Star Driver simply needed more dancing; Utena had the right idea with that, at least. Although, I too appreciate moments when giant robots tango under a prismatic starry sky. Perhaps all that’s truly needed is a bed of roses and an ax. Instead, Star Driver presented us with an Inception-esque school play (a play within a play?) serving as both an allegory for viewers and an alternative communication method between characters, all within an already exceedingly theatrical construct at its core. Was there anything unusual in this latest installment besides overly subtitled dialogue and an artful display of restraint in prop usage (to signify that this is meant to take place on a stage)? In other words, isn’t a dream within a dream still just a dream? Why subject us to this? It’s simply too much.
In conclusion, a stage play for Star Driver is a must. Or even better, Star Driver: The Musical. Someone, please make this happen!
