Recap: Aki and Kai have finally made it to the Japan Expo. Unfortunately, despite the apparent popularity of KILL-BALLAD, everyone seems to hate Gunvarrel. Kinda comes out of nowhere.

This episode actually starts out pretty sweet, showing Kai and Aki in a bit more of an intimate moment, and showing that Kai really was bothered by Mizu’s death, and is having guilt over not having the power to save her. Too bad the rest of the episode seems to ruin that good mood for inexplicable hatred.

Look, we know that there was this whole mass murder thing surrounding Gunvarrel, but why does that somehow taint the legacy of the actual series? How is it that, despite this being the 18th episode of the entire goddamn show, we are just hearing about Gunvarrel hatred being the norm as opposed to a vocal minority? Since when is almost maiming a girl by knocking her off a fifteen foot ladder acceptable behavior anywhere? I am just so frustrated by this series. I know it’s unfair to grade it next to such a great show as Steins;Gate, but I thought if they could at least capture half of its charm and wit they’d make something good, but that just isn’t true.

With Misa finally found, we’re probably looking into the home stretch as conspiracy and giant robot building come together as plot elements. I have to wonder what the power suit she was wearing implies, and what Exoskeleton plans on doing with a giant spider. I feel like causing massive distrust in your machinery isn’t the best plan for world domination, but what do I know. I’d almost find a strange catharsis in the final showdown being GUN-BUILD2 versus the Expo robots going crazy. Whatever happens, I’ll stick with R;N to the finish, even if I’ve lost all enjoyment.