Xenosaga: Was mi�riert

Random stuff!

1. It's possible the simple explanation for Shion being the POV character is that she's the only human in the main cast. Additionally, Shion is a woman who wants to succeed at her job, but also wants to switch careers, and cares deeply for her (robo) daughter. Junior is an ageless, mutant billionaire designed from birth to fight God. Shion is theoretically more relatable. Inevitably, I'll be talking more about this...

2. I won't be covering the trailers, because I feel like XS is annoying enough with its random timeline and "did we already see this" nonsense. I don't want to muddy the waters! I'll be doing that enough shortly.

And there was a third thing... but I seem to have forgotten what it was...

Oh yeah, I was going to talk about Xenosaga fanart!



Ah, that’s some nice fanart. I mean, it’s usually chaos that has the angel motif, but points for…



Wait, what? It’s an animation?



Oh no! It’s THE animation!

Xenosaga the Animation was probably a good idea at the time. Xenosaga Episode 1 is huge and sprawling and, honestly, kind of insane. It also only gets more exclusive as the franchise goes. I’m sure there’s some poor fool out there that bought Xenosaga Episode 2 thinking they’d be able to pick up and play and understand the plot without experiencing the previous, 30-hour game, and I’m sure that hypothetical customer deeply regrets that purchase. A “short” four hour primer on the plot probably could have helped anyone that was willing to jump into the series at a later entry point.

At least, that’s the theory. In practice, Xenosaga The Animation is kind of lousy.



XTA isn’t really all that bad, it’s just kind of… unfocused. It fails at being a worthy briefing of the Xenosaga series proper, because it plays fast and loose with a number of “important” characters, so joining Xenosaga Episode 2 after only having watched XTA would be jarring. It also moves at a breakneck speed, so I’d be surprised if a new viewer could even, say, catch chaos’s name (left alone the finer points of his spelling issues) on an initial viewing. XTA is also bad for anyone that’s already a fan of the series, because, for a series so dedicated to its own mythology, the canon here is crazy dubious at points, so I feel like anyone really into the series would spend half of any given episode ranting like Jeff Albertson. The other half of the script is lifted exactly from Xenosaga Episode 1 proper (complete with weirdo lines like Junior’s “I got a real name, but let’s just leave it at that for now. Good to meet ya.” That no human being would ever just let pass), so the series is entirely superfluous if you already saw the original material.

So, basically, Xenosaga The Animation exists for the exclusive purpose of overzealous LP’ers. Thanks, universe!



First airing on January 5, 2005 in Japan, this series dropped about six months after the release of Xenosaga Episode 2 (in Japan). Presumably as a result of that, a few “retcons” from Episode 2 made their way into the plot. They’re really nothing substantial, and seem to be there to hook into the expected Xenosaga The Animation Season 2 that never came. Note that we didn’t get the English version of this series until 2007, a year after the release of Xenosaga Episode 3, which would coincidentally be a year after anyone ever cared about Xenosaga.



Note that the English dub cast is entirely different from the games, presumably because it was handled by different studios in different geographical regions. You won’t have to hear it here, but I assure you it is exactly as jarring for me as you would expect.

Additionally, I’m not usually one to disparage voice acting (consider that XS1 has like ten hours of spoken dialogue [maybe more?], only the greatest professionals [in any job] could be “on” for that entire time), but there’s a lot of… terrible in this dub. At least one character pronounces Rubedo (Roo-be-do) as Rub-ed-o. Also, everything is a lot less resigned and much more… shout-y. IT’S THE GNOSIS!!!

Episode 1: Awakening



First thing’s first, we start in the encephalon virtual KOS-MOS testing area like the original series, but, in an effort to “hide” KOS-MOS, she’s wearing a gigantic mech suit (but still flipping around like a maniac). I… guess it’s supposed to simulate how the helmet “hid” KOS-MOS from the player during the opening of XS… but what was the point of that, again? I mean, it’s not like she isn’t plastered all over the opening, box, promotional materials…



After the encephalon dive (which ends just fine, and without any issues), Shion’s odyssey across the ship is pretty much the same, except the Realian check-in is saved for later. She still gets to be spooked by little red headed ghost girls, though.



Of all the things to get cut, Cross Face Strickland is still here. He still does exactly nothing. I bet he’s sleeping with the director.



Cherenkov still has his clandestine meeting with Margulis. This will be funny later.



Shion reports to the captain, goes back to her room to rest, and THEN decides to hit the Realian Lab because she can’t sleep. This creates the inconsequential change that, when the gnosis attack, she’s at the lab, and not just waking up.



Incidentally, this anime appears to have been born of that time when everyone was… kinda chunky? Like, I don’t know the word for it. Everyone had really broad shoulders. Anytime I see this animation style, I get nostalgic for old Sci-Fi Channel Saturday Mornings.



So, in addition to the whole auxiliary Realian cast from the game, X:TA introduces a lone 100-Series Realian on the Woglinde. I actually like this, because, unlike the game, it really affirms that MOMO isn’t the only Realian in the universe with emotions and “human” impulses. Most of the Realians in Xenosaga Episode 1 come off as, basically, Star Trek’s data.



Anyway, Shion bonds with #100, and gives her a Bunnie keychain. This (and “#100”) will be important later. And Virgil… is still a dick.



And gnosis. Note that throughout XTA, all gnosis are “basic” gnosis you first encounter during the Woglinde event. No unicorns, no happy Goggle Bob.



Albedo is already skulking around off screen. Yeah, I guess it’s a good idea to introduce your villain early.



So here’s what I would say is the biggest change for XTA: Allen is actually moderately competent. Seriously. The whole gnosis thing kicks off, Shion is missing, and Allen sends the rest of the staff away to escape pods, but stays behind himself to heroically locate “The Chief”. And, yes, the mood of the scene is that Allen is the only man for the job. We’re all doomed.



And KOS-MOS starts to awaken, and Allen, instead of literally quivering like in the game, is kind of cocksure that the “restraints” on KOS-MOS will hold. They don’t, and then he’s afraid, but the very idea of a confident Allen… chills.



KOS-MOS awakens in the same weird mech shell she was wearing in the virtual world.



And she’s out! End of episode!

Episode 2: Imminent Defeat



KOS-MOS is awake, does the Shion locator thing, and blasts through a wall to get there. This is implied in the game, but here we get a more active showcase on KOS-MOS as opposed to “gonna die” Shion.



So at the very end of the last episode, Shion was knocked unconscious by falling debris, and was just barely saved by Realian #100. That thread is resumed here with Albedo swinging into the chaos to ruin everyone’s day.



This Albedo kinda looks like he can take a punch.



Shion is unconscious, and Albedo takes #100 for himself. He also makes the first reference to #100 being a “fake”.



Shion is then rescued by another Realian (who missed Albedo’s exit), and is left to assume that #100 died (and was vaporized by rocks?), and wasn’t abducted by an albino pedophile.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

So far, our heroine has been saved by two separate Realians, and now we have the “Virgil accidently shoots at Shion” scene… but there isn’t the coda of Shion brushing the guns aside and yelling at the twit.



This shot about sums it up. Complete with Shion not ever directly battling (and her completely missing arm thingy), Shion the Animation is practically a deer in the headlights for her entire introduction. Oh my God, Allen and Shion switched personalities…



Shion is rescued in the good ol’ fashioned KOS-MOS way.



KOS-MOS always wins.



Ya know, she’s just off-model enough for me to know something’s wrong, but not enough for me to say exactly how. She’s too white?



So, like the game, the “party” becomes KOS-MOS, Shion, Allen, and Virgil. Unlike the game, Virgil never gets that horrible (for everyone involved) “kamikaze Realian” scene, so, while we’ve established Virgil is a dick to Realians, he’s not a homicidal dick this time.



Speaking of fartknockers, Cherenkov makes it to the Zohar like in the game… and then is randomly killed by a gnosis. That’s it for Cherenkov! Shion and Allen don’t even make it to the Zohar room in time to watch him die; he’s just a bloody smear by then.

So, instead of Cherenkov, Virgil survives and makes it out with the heroes. Again, Virgil survives, and KOS-MOS doesn’t “accidently” kill anybody. Shion still has a minor freak-out by the time they hit the escape ship, though, even though KOS-MOS was a perfect lady.



I guess it was a trying day.



And Allen has his flashback about Shion being upset early, because Allen is a big manly man and has to acknowledge the grief of this poor, emotional woman he’s protecting (seriously, that seems to be the tone of this scene).



So the Woglinde is done inside of forty minutes, and now it’s time for the real ship.



Same basic deal with KOS-MOS floating into the ship like a corpse, and the episode ends with the “threat” of KOS-MOS destroying the Elsa. In the game, it’s like a “cute” scene that lasts a minute, here they’re hanging a cliffhanger on whether or not KOS-MOS will destroy the ship because she’s bored.

Episode 3: Chance Encounter



Going to start this one with Wilhelm and Red Testament having their same cryptic nonsense conversation about KOS-MOS. Testaments, in XTA, look kind of… sad. Aw, it’s okay, bird guy, things are going to get better.



Wilhelm’s position at Vector is kept secret until his conversation with Helmer in XS1, here, it’s literally written on his carpet. Subtle.



Number of changes with this episode. First of all, KOS-MOS distinctly goes out and grabs Shion/Allen/Virgil’s escape pod, and we completely skip that mother vs. daughter scene of Shion “convincing” KOS-MOS to bring them aboard through attempted suicide.



Then, we have Ziggy. Ziggy is apparently already on the ship, and Ziggy volunteers to “take care of” KOS-MOS and her boarding party.



KOS-MOS vs. Ziggy fight! Ziggy starts with a cowardly sneak attack…



And then loses almost immediately. KOS-MOS is ready for the killing blow…



But MOMO jumps in to shield Ziggy.



KOS-MOS doesn’t give a damn, so Shion jumps in too to shield the duo. KOS-MOS stops for Shion. Oh man, would I love to see the version of Xenosaga where KOS-MOS murders an adorable little moppet like 45 minutes in.



Ziggy is concerned over MOMO and her apparently suicidal protectiveness.



D’aww, isn’t she just adorable?



Meanwhile, Albedo and Margulis meet up.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Margulis is annoyed that Albedo didn’t secure the Zohar.



Albedo doesn’t give the tiniest fuck.



Just gonna chill here with my giant robot.



Oh, and he’s menacing #100… who actually turns out to have been wearing a wig and is actually #99. We’ll get into it later.



Allen winds up being the friendliest new member of the Elsa family. Allen is well liked. WHAT IS HAPPENING!?



Oh yeah, chaos has been on the bridge this entire time, so no teleporting. Also, there isn’t a malevolent stowaway, so he never gets to show off that cool trick where he vaporizes a gnosis. The only thing chaos really gets to do is react to Shion’s last name… we’ll get into that later, too.



Tony is still Tony.



Yeah! Show off your monster balls, Allen! You’re the reason all the ladies swoon!



chaos at least gets to be a little mysterious by spouting nonsense at a sleeping KOS-MOS.



I guess since MOMO is already here, she gets to help with the meals. Aw, she has her own little step stool and everything.



Super Advanced Technology… is peeling potatoes.



Virgil winds up fitting in with the Elsa bridge crew well, too. XS1 saved the wrong guy!



Dinner is limited to these guys. Somewhere in here, we learn that Ziggy rescued MOMO, and it is literally the Elsa’s job to ferry ZigMO back to Second Miltia. So, no, Ziggy’s boarding wasn’t an accident in this universe.



Shion and MOMO have no problem getting along.



Oh no, we picked up a tail!



Bum bum buuuuum, U-TIC and Pellegri (who never leaves the command room in XS1) are in pursuit!

Episode 4: Jaws of Death



Now that Ziggy and MOMO have been established, we get a little flashback to Ziggy being conscripted into this mission.



No, I don’t want to hear about your weird marriage. This is even weirder because Dr. Mrs. Mizrahi never shows up again.



Entire dungeon is reduced to, maybe, two minutes.



Yes yes, you can call me Ziggy, moving on.



This whole daring escape from a dude with a fiery sword is reduced to, like, six frames.



This could have been a whole episode! It looks exciting!



And, yes, it’s the Elsa that picks up and “rescues” ZigMO. Guess they were just idling out front during the operation.



So now Pellegri is out in her own battle cruiser and chasing down the Elsa.



Virgil is so much more useful than Cherenkov. While Cherenkov… completely disappeared during the U-TIC invasion, Virgil hops in the Elsa’s gunner rig (?) and fights back.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

U-TIC masks kinda have duckbills? Blathering blatherskite!



Speeding right along, Junior’s Durandal comes to the rescue of the Elsa.



I suppose this will save us that silly Junior introductory dungeon.



Against all odds, Mary’s voice acting/accent is even worse in this version. I think she remembers she’s supposed to be “southern” about half way through her dialogue.



You’re turning violet, Shelly. And, incidentally, the Durandal chases off U-TIC.



With MOMO already on the ship, Tony’s piloting is praised without any qualifiers. At this point in the series (a third of the way in!), if you asked me who I thought was a main character in the game, I’d guess Tony over Shion.



Below deck, KOS-MOS inexplicably…



Punches the wall?



Oh, so she’s deliberately screwing up the Elsa so they encounter the gnosis fleet.



KOS-MOS admits to her “treachery”. Allen is not pleased.



Shion is just passively disappointed.



The Elsa is NOT swallowed by a Cathedral Ship, and the plot skips along to “Elsa & the Durandal vs. the gnosis”. Nothing of value was lost.



Junior attempts to be a big hero, but it’s not working out.



So KOS-MOS, who started this whole mess five minutes ago, hops on the elevator up and out.



XTA really emphasizes the whole “blue eyes” thing. There’s a bunch of shots that may as well be screaming, “LOOK AT THIS!” … And episode break as we’re all wondering what that crazy android is up to.

Episode 5: Heteromorphic



Episode 5 doesn’t want to blow its load immediately, so we start with Junior hopping into his AGWS and attempting to handle this on his own.



KOS-MOS has other ideas, and, with guest director Georgia O'Keeffe, prepares her tummy laser.



Buuuuuuuuuuuuuzz.



Gotta say, I do appreciate that XTA puts much more of an emphasis on the X-Buster’s destructive capability by making its blast last longer than the length of a gif.



And suckin’ em all back in.



Shion is concerned about this… and Allen is kinda like, “Well, whaddya gonna do?”



On the way back to the Durandal, Junior speaks to the Elsa crew… and takes particular notice of MOMO.



This wouldn’t be nearly as creepy if this didn’t seem to imply that Albedo and Junior have the same fetish.



It wouldn’t be Xenosaga if there wasn’t a moment taken to emphasize just how huge this ship happens to be.



Only getting creepier!

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Seriously, the one thing XTA gets absolutely right is having Realians other than MOMO act like “humans”. The 100s treating MOMO as a celebrity is great.



The introduction Junior gives Shion in XS1 is reserved for MOMO here. That’s cool, this series isn’t even pretending Shion is a star anymore.



Let’s try to improve that: here Shion gets to dress down Allen for the whole “mutant prejudice” thing. This is the first Allen-like move seen in XTA.



It also goes over about as well.



Oh, and we get a flashback to Shion yelling at her sad, sad boss about keeping KOS-MOS forever.



This might be the first time that animated Shion shows a backbone, give or take saving ZigMO’s lives.



Let’s meet the Zohars!



And some gnosis!



Betty: still disturbing.



While Allen is pontificating on the meaning of sodium, Shion is told that everyone touched by a gnosis will transform into a gnosis. While this is eventually (eventually!) “solved” in XS proper, in XTA it is never mentioned or even alluded to ever again. I pity the six people that watched this series without playing the game.



Minor change, but MOMO and Shion walk out on this conversation together, presumably to save having to find her later.



Yep, Shion and MOMO and KOS-MOS bonding.



And Junior and Shelly are apparently remotely spying? What the hell, guys!



Is this supposed to be endearing voyeurism?



KOS-MOS is just bored.

Episode 6: Anchorage



Welcome to the Kukai Foundation!



I know everyone here is a space veteran, but if I saw a perfectly perpendicular horizon, I’m pretty sure I’d barf instantly.



Here comes the welcoming committee.



Everything seems to move faster in The Animation, so Shion’s sudden “Oh, I’m being so rude,” seems even more out of place during this scene.



“I want you to know, my brother has a poster of you on his wall, and it’s creepy.”



Junior’s tiny little portrait of a random grassy field inexplicably makes it into the series.



So long and thanks for all the guns (which Junior hasn't had a chance to use in this series).



Helmer looks bored, too.



Beach Episode is actually just as “restrained” as it is in the game proper. Here’s the characters in swimsuits. Happy, audience? Moving on.



Here, we get the same Kevin flashback as during XS1, but here, thanks to XTA breakneck speed, it’s the first old Kevin is actually speaking on camera. He still comes off as a saint.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Allen is somehow coming off as masculine… even when wearing that same ridiculous swimsuit. Cats and dogs living together.



And this still ends with everyone discussing Junior’s genetics and then Junior calling down the wrath of Zeus to scare Shion.



Think this whole bit is exactly the same as the game, too, just without Dr. Strangelove updating everyone on the status of the Zohar.



Guess we’ve got to tour the Kukai Foundation via cutscene now.



You can just see “Bakery SMILE” in there, and, whoops, guess nobody wanted to shell out for the Pac-Man license to make that sign the same as the game.



One other thing XTA does well is emphasize the whole “Kukai Foundation is made of mutants” thing that the game almost ignores entirely. Here’s a cameo from King and a dude that is 90% bot walking alongside him.



Also, Ziggy seems to imply that these are “his people”, which, coupled with the fact that he’s working so closely with the Elsa, implies that Ziggy isn’t a free agent, but a Kukai employee like chaos. There is absolutely nothing like that in the original.



And I guess the implication is that chaos is a mutant of some kind, too? Not that this version of chaos has done anything that needs explaining.



Aw, Junior bought MOMO a doll.



Ugh, stop reminding us of Bunnie’s pseudo-face.



No matter the universe, Allen winds up at the Iron Man bar, drunk off his ass.



The Elsa crew (and Virgil!) are bonding while Allen gets drunk alone.



Virgil is an absolute psychopath in XS1, but here he’s a great drinking buddy.



Whoa, wait a tick, who’s that at the bar with Allen?



Oh my God, it’s Assistant Scott! Allen spilled a drink on Assistant Scott!



Set phasers to ship!



They have so much to talk about!



This scene is legitimately the funniest thing in XS1 or XTA (not that there’s a lot of competition). Basically, Allen is drunkenly complaining about Shion, and Assistant Scott is complaining about Professor, but both keep ending each other’s sentences with completely wrong gibberish about “understanding’. XTA Allen basically reverts to XS1 Allen, and it’s glorious.



Back to reality, it’s time to arrest the Kukai Foundation.



And the episode ends with the news that Kukai is going down.

Episode 7: Encephalon



Yes! This episode is off to a great start!



Oh, bullocks, it’s just a poster.



But we’ve got Professor on the stage, so that’s a good thing!



Assistant Scott also has a bit of a hangover.



Professor isn’t helping!

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Professor describes his dream for a better, more Invincible Giant Robot future.



Assistant Scott is right there with him!



Back to everyone getting their boring asses arrested.



Yep, same ol’. Can we get back to the giant robot people, now?



Like in the game, the charges are a lie based on the Durandal attacking the Woglinde. Unlike in the game, Virgil is here, and he takes the whole thing personally, because his soldier buddies died fighting the gnosis, and now Space Government is ruining their sacrifice with these bogus charges. Nice development for the dead man walking.



Lapis is about 2% more imposing in this universe.



Helmer, Wilhelm, U-DO, etc.



This should seem familiar. Note that Virgil is there, but Ziggy still does the exact same scan, and concludes he’s the only one that can throw a punch. It’s a great scene, but you kinda blew it, XTA.



Allen, a God damn god among men, comes up with a plan to get data from KOS-MOS. Allen is our hero.



Gaignun is here to take a punch instead of unnamed soldier. Aren’t you glad you came by, Gaignun?



And chaos sticks to the sidelines as Ziggy and Virgil take out the remaining guards.



Pellegri, back at U-TIC, gets the word that she’s allowed to us an E.S. and assist in the retrieval of MOMO. This is new.



So Allen’s idea was to swing by Robot Academy and hang out with his old drinking buddy.



Go team!



So here’s the deal: we’re going to bop into KOS-MOS’s mainframe like in the game, but unlike in the game, we’re going to do it remotely, with Professor hacking into the UMN to grant the party access. Honestly, aside from my obvious bias of including the Professor, I like this idea, as it allows for more of a reason for this process to be “dangerous” and “go wrong”, as opposed to in XS1, where the process is literally exactly what you did at the start of the game, but it inexplicably goes haywire immediately.



Professor explains he’s a master hacker, because of course he is.



Shion is doubtful, because she and Allen swapped personalities in this universe.



But Allen assures the hysterical lady everything will be alright.



Professor is also reassuring, dammit!



Allen’s “I’ll be right here if anything happens” sounds a lot more… real in this version.



Shion and Allen’s bond reminds Virgil of Feb right about now. This is the first we see her, and, spoilers, she’s not going to be appearing to explain (“explain”) the plot in this version.



So, naturally, something goes wrong. Shion, Ziggy, MOMO, and Junior all conk out. The rest of the party stays up and alert, though.



chaos acts like it’s no big thing, and then asks if he can go make a phone call. Okay?



Meanwhile!



So everyone is in a weird desert area. Or something?

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Professor explains that, basically, they’re in an approximation of a firewall, and they’re about to be attacked by random angry robots. But it’s like the Matrix, Neo, so use your imaginations!



I didn’t realize it until this episode, but there’s seriously no fighting in this anime. Like, the gnosis are a threat, but no one other than KOS-MOS has really busted out an actual “attack” this whole time. So, time to catch up, and we’ve got basically half an episode dedicated to showing off tech attacks from the game. Junior starts things off with Soul Rhapsody and Mystic Nocturne.



Ziggy does his best meteor kick.



And MOMO…



Magical girl all up this place!



Bunnie death laser summon!



And Shion… gets Queen’s Kiss. Damn weaponized fanservice.



I don’t want to be alive anymore.



But, after the firewall is busted, the team gets virtual separated, and you can guess what Nephilim has in store for everybody next update.

Next time on Xenosaga The Animation: A tall, cold glass of Jin.

Ahahahahaha holy shit you're actually doing The Animation. This is the best.

Yknow, I always took that scene as Ziggy referring to the big dude as being another cyborg and, thus, another victim of the life-recycling act from 100 years ago. Maybe there's a whole clique of cyborgs who signed up for organ donation back then only to discover, whoops!, they actually get endless slavery as a cyborg mercenary! They probably get together and trade notes about the best dangerous jobs to take on to 'accidentally' get killed and complain about still having fleshy bits and hu-mon e-mo-tions.

Oh my god yessssssszzzzssssss

So is Virgil a pseudo-cannibal in the animation or

I went back and rewatched Virgil's introductory scene, and he makes reference to the Realians' "odor" and "they're just tools", but there's no overt reference to his being a DME addict (which is only caused by eating Realians). However, he does still have the DME "scars", and the anime takes a moment to let him scratch said scars, and you can tell it's unnatural, "rocky" flesh. So, I guess it's implied by knowing the source material, but it never distinctly comes up.

And regarding Ziggy: interpreting that scene as Ziggy simply having a kindred in other cyborgs is perfectly valid... but I still think it's a weird betrayal of Xenosaga proper. I always got the impression from XS that Ziggy was a wildly lonely man, and didn't feel comradery with anyone, and that's why MOMO becomes so important to him. Reminder that when the adventure starts, Ziggy's requested reward is being transformed into a completely unfeeling machine... which is not something you do when you're looking forward to the next season of The Venture Bros. (which should be up to season 16 by 4767 AD) with your friends.

Oh, and I added an index to the first post.

Just posting to say this is a terrible reminder of some of the more specifically wasted aspects of my youth and also to vote that Xenosaga 2 and 3 be in the same thread. Threadosaga

Previously on Xenosaga the Animation: This is the story of super handsome Allen Ridgeley, beautiful girls, and their animated adventures of love, lust… and Virgil is still alive.

Episode 8: Encephalon



We open… in Soul Society? What the hell?



Oh, this is Jin’s house. Jin, you may recall, is Shion’s brother. In both XS1 and XTA, Jin is only previously glimpsed briefly at the top of the adventure, when Shion is chastising him for caring about their parent’s memorial service. Now he’s… watching TV?



Actually, chaos snuck off at the end of the last episode to give Jin a call and request backup. … What?



Meanwhile, Shion is in the Virtual World.



This is all very familiar, but chaos and Allen won’t be joining her this time.



Dr. Khaki Dad.



And Nephilim is here to explain the plot. Note that this isn’t an unusual still, she’s actually doing that thing where you stop yourself on the slide, presumably to screw the next kid in line.



Junior, Ziggy, and MOMO are pretty much unchanged in the VR nightmare.



Let the good times roll!



Incidentally, in XS1, this scene has a lot of jump cuts that make it appropriately chaotic, but kind of difficult to see exactly what’s going on. Here, there’s no question, URTVs are gunning down civilians, and Negredo is the only one trying to keep the peace.



“Wanna talk about your past, Shion?” “No.”



But, still, no reason for anyone to lose their head.



Meanwhile, in reality, Kukai Foundation is under attack by a mysterious mech, and, with nothing else to do, Virgil volunteers to get out there and take care of it. He’s so useful, guys!



The threat is Pellegri in the E.S. Issachar, a mech of comparable power to Albedo’s E.S. Simeon. This whole bit is an invention of XTA, but the E.S. Issachar will show up in XS2. Incidentally, in the games, the mech has more of a “one-winged angel” motif, while here, that “wing part” is just a shield.



Pellegri tells the E.S. AI (?) to handle the combat while she remotely dives into the Virtual World to catch up with the main party.



But Virgil in his AGWS is not having this.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

“Wanna watch your parents die? No? Too bad.”



At least the lighting is nice. Reminder: in XS1, the entire party is here for this.



Also, it’s slightly less bloody.



Shion takes it about as well as you’d expect, again.



And Junior gets to have his little flashback with Kiddy Albedo.



Feelin’ fine.



And then everybody reunites… hey, MOMO totally missed watching her dad dive off a tower. … I suppose I’m a sadist if I miss that scene.



Alright, gang, we ready for a glimpse of the future? What’s that? You want some kind of freaky world with a tree and kids playing and someone named Feb? Nah, not happening.



Here, through imagery, the link between the Zohar and U-DO is pretty plainly shown. Not that it explains the link, simply that there is one.



UUUUUUU-DOOOOOOOOO.



In explaining his URTV vs U-DO origins, Junior slides into that same confession that is saved for the absolute end of the game in XS1.



“Yes, I’m a mutant, and yes, it was my fault all my clone bros died. I was afraid! And now I’m having a break through! Your turn, Shion. No?”



KOS-MOS accessorizes with a scythe for her planet reaping here.



And Pellegri is here! I guess she wants to grab virtual MOMO.



Hacking in from all the way on Second Miltia, Jin is here, too!



Pellegri and Jin converse, and appear to have a shared past, but it’s not elaborated upon.



In the real world, Virgil nearly goes full kamikaze to lay the smackdown on E.S. Issachar. Guess its AI isn’t all that great, or Virgil is just that good.



Jin was playing a lot of Chrono Trigger while he was chilling back at home, so he and chaos dual tech up an Ice Sword attack. This is actually the first chaos displays any kind of mystic ability in XTA, and, given it’s a virtual space, you would be forgiven for assuming it’s as “canon” as Ziggy kicking a meteor.



It’s super effective!



“Job well done. Welp, see you in the sequel, chaos.”



Shion and company are never aware that Jin and chaos saved their collective asses, and proceed unabated. Pellegri retreats in both worlds.



Here’s where we get the “coffee scene” flashback of Shion and Kevin discussing what to say to KOS-MOS when she wakes up. In XS1, this scene takes place before she actually wakes up.



In XS1, Shion is really tense about disturbing the bot that she was just told would destroy her home planet, and here she’s just happy to be here. Okay?



Data retrieved, reunions all around.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

And with the investigation closed, Virgil feels like his friends who died on the Woglinde can rest in peace. Happy end!

Episode 9: The Song



Next episode starts with that Kiddy Albedo flashback, but from Albedo’s perspective.



And Albedo apparently feels abandoned by Junior.



“Ugh, dreams are lame.”



“Now what can I do to cheer myself up?”



“Oh yes, choke a helpless Realian. That’s the stuff.”



Back on the Durandal, Junior is concerned about sensing Albedo.



Remember that time he went insane? It wasn’t good.



In XS1, Shion recalls the events of the Virtual World while resting on her bed. Here, we’ve got Shion taking the most chaste shower in anime history. It’s annoying. Not that I want to see our heroine naked, I’m just convinced they made a few frames of Shion in the shower for the previous “next episode preview”, and they never had any intention of panning below her earlobes. Naked pandering is more offensive to me than naked people. Note that this is Episode 9, which would be the start of the final box set…

And, brief aside while we’re on topic: each episode’s preview is biting on Neon Genesis Evangelion so hard, there’s pieces of Gendo in their teeth. Tense music plays, Shion narrates, random scenes flash by, and there’s some implication that the incoming threat du jour will kill everybody forever… even if it’s the second episode. Nothing (said) about fanservce, though, at least.



Allen and chaos get their little heart-to-heart while randomly watching Ziggy and MOMO frolic.



And then The Song of Nephilim (song) cuts in. Note that XTA apparently wasn’t allowed to use any music from the original game, so even The Song is a different kind of droning.



The gnosis are attacking the Kukai Foundation, and evacuation is going… hectically.



Allen would help with the evacuation, but he juuuuuuust missed the elevator. See ya later!



Virgil hops in his AGWS, and is ready to bust some gnosis heads.



Presumably in an effort to simulate the pyrefly effect of dead gnosis in XS1, gnosis kind of “vanish” when defeated in XTA. Unfortunately, this has less of an effect of making them seem unworldly, and more like they’re virtual constructs from, ironically, some kind of video game.



Shion and KOS-MOS have a brief sit down about saving lives and not, ya know, destroying planets.



Here’s a spot where XTA has a leg-up on XS1.



Ziggy can’t protect MOMO because he is literally saving three children at once. That is how you make an excuse for leaving your kidnap victim unguarded.



Very unguarded.



But she’s saved by…



Virgil! Aw, he’s come around on the whole “hates (and sometimes eats) all Realians” thing, and is now saving a Realian.



I think we’ve all learned a valuable lesson about prejudice. It’s what Feb would have wanted.



And then KOS-MOS let’s an X-Buster loose.



And Virgil dies.



Still the last thing on his mind.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Shion is a little upset. Incidentally, this practically makes Virgil’s death an accident: KOS-MOS didn’t wait for the all-clear, and now Virgil is dead as a result. Very different death from XS1’s “he was in my way.” Shion has the same reaction.

Episode 10: The Weapon



MOMO survived the fireworks, though.



But she’s immediately nabbed by Albedo in the Simeon.



Junior attempts to fight back in his AGWS, but he’s outclassed and soundly beaten.



Shion is still in shock, so she has the flashback to KOS-MOS’s disastrous first activation. In XS1, it’s Cherenkov that has this memory.



Bad time for everybody.



Rather than eating lead, XTA has Kevin take a KOS-MOS fist to the chest. Gotta admit, I prefer this method. More visceral.



Let’s have a teachable moment about not butchering our friends while standing in some twisted wreckage.



Alright, danger is past, let’s figure out our next move. Oh, wait, the gnosis are still here? Well, let’s stand around talking anyway.



At the news of MOMO’s kidnapping, one of the #100s decides to point out that MOMO is really important to the family.



And Junior reveals that he knew Sakura, Dr. Mizrahi’s biological, “real” daughter. XS2 shenanigans, again. Please look forward to it!



Ziggy feels bad, chaos is taking a nap.



Dammerung here. Anybody need some gnosis destroyed?



Meanwhile, MOMO meets up with Albedo’s other kidnap victim, #99, who actually has her own running “plot” in this series.



With no sign of ranting madman Mizrahi, these flashbacks make the guy seem more like a kindly grandpa.



“Are you strangling or hugging me?”



Now this is strangling.



Back to the Dammerung, Red Testament tells the “new” Blue Testament, “Welcome aboard!”



Because Miyuki is apparently nonexistent in this universe, Togashi (last seen in the opening episode) is Vector’s friendly representative.



Here’s a big crazy weapon for KOS-MOS, have a nice day!



Incidentally, XS1 Miyuki has that quick scene where she admits she has no idea what the weapon does. Here, Togashi confidently replies that he knows what the ammo does, and doesn’t offer any qualifiers. I don’t know why that bothers me.



Back to the freakshow.



Rather than tearing or slicing his own head off, Albedo just rifles it here. It’s also even more “cut away, imagine your own gore” than the game.



“Anyway, ride’s here, want I should start sucking out your brain now?”

CONTINUED NEXT POST

This posing winds up being a lot less disturbing than in XS1.



Ever helpful, Allen explains exactly what this crazy weapon does while Shion stands around being all womanly.



There’s actually a fair amount of tension regarding giving this crazy power to KOS-MOS… or they may have just had an extra five minutes to fill in this episode. Regardless, we close it with KOS-MOS blasting cloaked space.

Episode 11: Delusion



The Song of Nephilm has been pre-combined with Proto Merkabah for expediency.



Ah, I guess Albedo was doing this so long, he had to sit down.



And #99 just chills and watches.



“Don’t get yourself killed. Get all of us killed.”



“Suicidal assault on an orbiting death station? Whatever you say, boss.”



“Hey, I got your girlfriend, and I’m going to destroy a planet. Ya wanna do something about it?”



Shion doesn’t think that’s cool!



Albedo doesn’t care.



So Shion becomes a combatant for the first time (in the “real” world), and boards an AGWS. chaos and Junior do the same. Ziggy and KOS-MOS will be fighting au natural.



Space battle, woo… moving on.



Don’t worry, #99, Albedo has time for two Realians.



So #99’s deal was that she was disguising herself as a #100 on the Woglinde to fit in and feel important or whatever… but she doesn’t have any of the anti-gnosis skills of a #100, so Albedo claims that she, and her lie, are responsible for the fall of the Woglinde.



She takes the news poorly.



And the heroes arrive, which makes Albedo a lil tiny bit serious.



In one of the weakest displays of a healing factor ever, Junior shoots off Albedo’s shoulder...



And it grows back. Really? Couldn’t take out a real body part?



Junior has his super-powered freak out in his AGWS this time, so it’s kind of unclear if the energy is coming from him or the mech. XTA has a problem with directly stating any of the good guys have weird powers.



“No, Junior, don’t do whatever it is you’re doing!”



And MOMO gets to get up and have her shining moment.



But #99, now totally depressed over Albedo’s assertions, decides to merge with the E.S. Simeon.



chaos is concerned that she’s resonating with the E.S.’s anima or some such thing.



But whatever is happening, something is going on with the Simeon.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Yep, she’s good and stuck in there.



Whoa there.



Now that looks like a final boss fight.



How are they gonna get out of this one!?

Episode 12: KOS-MOS



Now we get a little bit about #99’s past. Guess she was a test subject after Mizrahi died.



But she was rescued by Albedo!



Though “rescued” might be a strong word…



So she escapes and disguises herself as a 100 on the Woglinde… and we know how that turned out.



The world looks on… hey, who’s that dude with Helmer? He’s silent, but looks important.



There’s a couple of quick scenes to establish the “stakes” of Second Miltia, a planet we’ve never seen, getting destroyed by Albedo. Babies will die!



And dudes with hoods!



MOMO wants to save the world, but she also doesn’t want to hurt her sister.



#99 is touched… but still pretty homicidal.



Pew pew pew.



KOS-MOS volunteers the tear the Simeon a new one, but Shion convinces her to hold off a little to save #99.



Then KOS-MOS gets eaten. It’s sad.



Concern!



Hard to get an exact capture, but the team’s AGWS get blown to pieces, literally.



And the Proto Merkabah is just about ready to annihilate a planet.



Shion makes an impassioned plea to #99 about love and friendship and Bunnie.



It’s working!



Albedo is still in the modified Simeon… and it’s barfing on him?



Gross.



Monster Simeon powers up for a big attack…



But a laser beam erupts from its chest.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

It was KOS-MOS’s X-Buster… which didn’t kill any party members this time!



And she’s got #99!



#99 is reunited with Shion. Shion was the only person this whole adventure who showed that Realian kindness, so smiles all around. Let’s ignore the fact that the only other person she interacted with was Albedo…



An amusing side effect of this final battle being AGWS based is that everyone winds up in non-standard outfits for the finale.



Oh no, it’s going to crash!



In this case, #99 volunteers to stay behind and separate the Proto Merkabah. Sorry, KOS-MOS, you’ll have to find another way to contribute.



A convenient explosion means that #99 won’t have to spend all day debating the party.



Woosh, the Elsa flies out of there, and doesn’t give a second thought about waiting for #99.



And #99 successfully plays with the control panel or whatever and passes out and into Realian Heaven.



And our final embrace is between an upset MOMO and Shion. KOS-MOS is off chugging an e-tank.



Ah, here we go…



Crashing to the planet, you know how this goes.



“No, KOS-MOS, you can’t, it’s not emotionally earned!”



HER EYES ARE BLUE, GUYS!



Amusingly, we don’t get chaos’s “decision” here, but we do see him get off the bridge when things start getting dicey. I guess the people making XTA didn’t know if chaos was responsible for these angel wings, either, and hedged their bets by leaving some extra room for interpretation.



It’s a beautiful Second Miltia morning.



A moment of silence for that robot we met a couple hours back.



Whoa, okay, yes, you’re upset.



But KOS-MOS is fine! Just a little singed from reentry.



Hooray!



Jin cameo. Thanks for helping earlier!



Nobody tell the Realians we just sacrificed their older sister!



Yeah yeah, I’ll be back and all that.



Oh, guess the Simeon reverted back to its original form… because Albedo would need it in the sequel.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

One last check-in with the Testaments.



Oh, Black Testament. That’s new. Not that he says or does anything…



Job well done, tiny shorts.



KOS-MOS vision! ... When did everyone change?



Mission complete.



LAST KNOWN PHOTO.

Alright, that’s it, folks. I thought about it some, and it finally occurred to me what was going on here: this is the story of Xenosaga Episode 1… relayed by Allen years after the fact. Think about: it skips all the combat (“I was never much of a fighter”), he gets some of the details wrong (“Was it Virgil or Cherenkov that died on the Woglinde, it has been a while…”), information we don’t learn until later episodes is smooshed in (“I think Jin helped?”), dungeons where he wasn’t present are skipped entirely (“Cathedral Ship what?”), and, naturally, Allen looks a lot more competent (“It was right about then that I suggested we talk to my buddy Assistant Scott about pulling data from KOS-MOS.”), and Shion comes off a lot more… hysterical (“Wow, yeah, she barely went two episodes without crying about something”).

So, congratulations, Xenosaga: The Animation, you’re the best Allen fanfic of an actual adventure I’ve ever seen.

Pretty lousy otherwise, though.

Next time on Xenosaga: Super Stoic Bros. 2.

Oh man.

I wait with bated breath for the jarring change in art style!

As semi-planned, I am taking a full week off, and looking to update Xenosaga Episode 2 proper approximately with the start of April. And then we can all be shocked together!

And, oh yeah...

I've been posting this LP to my site, because, ya know, ya expend 4,000 words a week on something, you want to stick it somewhere with your name on it. Here's the search terms some folks (folk?) used to find my site recently:

xenosaga shion treat allen like shit fanfic, quistis poligonal character, xenosaga poor allen fanfic, xenosaga why didn't virgil recognize shion, xenosaga shion and allen romance fanfic

The internet is a wonderful place.

why is the animated verison so awful whhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Hey, I'm WAY BEHIND on this but I've been reading it dedicatedly pretty much all day.

This is so kickass LPing goggles.

Keep up the awesome work!

At the very least a mutated ES Simeon makes for a more interesting final boss than random-as-hell-Gnosis-fused-with-the-reactor. Though the fact that Albedo gets it back in one piece after it blows up is kind of weird but w/e.

I can't help but wonder how a second season of this would have looked and how XS2's plot would have fared. Maybe we would have seen more of characters like Orgulla who otherwise just kind of show up to die in the actual game.

Anyway, great LPin' Goggle. (though the past two updates were more like Let's Watch?)

STAY OUT OF THIS, MANES

Very excited for the next game in the LP Xenosaga Freaks

Oh God I totally forgot about that.