backerman | Narutaru 7

I like that the JSDF isn't the anime-standard can't-find-their-asses-with-two-hands-and-an-instruction-manual organization, but I was intrigued by the BDUs used by the army unit showing up near the end. Not even so much as a name patch on them—except for these interesting rank insignia. Is this a 1LT?

On the gripping hand, we have a field operation led by someone who knows absolutely nothing about the situation, yet it's made clear that the government is quite aware of the dragonets, and even has a private company patrolling the skies in (unarmed) F-104s. Hell, they probably even have a full DNA workup. One also suspects that dragonets are powered by skyhook, and if that works for them, why can't the good guys figure it out? So we have seriously disturbed high school students trying to take over the world, and yet they're unmolested. They're not being mindraped through the links to their dragonets, said dragonets aren't dropping like flies from an ingenious genetically engineered diesase, and JSDF units that are sent to engage them aren't equipped with very impressive weaponry. (For example, the nova-bomb-analogue that the JGSDF would have used in an IMNSHO more interesting (but shorter) Digimon series to take care of «insert digital baddie here» counts as impressive.)

Yeah, I may be overanalyzing. But it gets better... apply this reasoning to Figure 17. So DD enters Japan with a bang, leaving a superheated trail of atmosphere behind him. (And what would Immigration think about his failure to get in touch with a port of entry?) Eventually, he leaves the planet, and thinks he's mindwiped everyone in his path. But at an air force base in northern Japan, someone thinks differently as he leafs through reverse-engineered blueprints of the alien spacecraft and weapons...