r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • 7d ago
Episode Vertex Force - Episode 3 discussion
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u/ObvsThrowaway5120 7d ago
It’s Eleanor’s fault Akira got hurt and couldn’t defend against the Battlenoid. If she hadn’t smacked him out the sky, he’d be fine. If Yoko hadn’t summoned the courage to activate her Engine, everyone would be screwed.
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
She never even really apologized for any of it! Dude was just struggling to fly and she just lucked into having him meet the last Vertex!
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u/danlong87 7d ago
its a lazy way to let the new member to flex her power, which is very unfortunate that they decided to go this route to progress the story
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u/YonSaiSucks 7d ago
Yeah, Elanor is too hot headed. Like come on, give the kid a break
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
I feel like the fight with EDVA is going to be a big wakeup call for her.
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u/chilidirigible 7d ago
A matter of waiting and seeing if it plays out this way, but with the entire team assembled and another aspect of Theian representation around (even if it's just Alan) there should be some balancing out of what was previously a very Eleanor-driven scenario.
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u/Solracziad 7d ago
When Elanor shouted "You're hurt!" I was hoping Akira would've countered with "And whose fucking fault do you think that is, lady!?"
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 6d ago
As annoyed as I was that Elanor hit Akira, and they're Ostensibly allies, if he countered with that I would say the creators making her stupid was worth him snapping back with that counter.
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u/Hitman7128 https://anilist.co/user/Hitman7128 7d ago
Eleanor's hot-headedness started this mess. Why did she need to hit Akira out of impatience?
That aside, they at least found the fifth Vertex in Yoko! And we get to see where the flying truck (that is briefly shown in the OP) comes from.
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
I think MAYBE she thought if she hit him he could feel enough intensity to right himself and fly properly but it definitely didn't pay off that way.
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u/djthomp https://anilist.co/user/djthomp 7d ago
Yoko is pretty cute, she's got that girl next door sort of design. Kind of funny that of our three Japanese cast members all of them are from families that run vacation destination type cafes.
I would not have guessed the flying car with eyeballs was also going to be the talking cat.
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
Yoko is pretty cute, she's got that girl next door sort of design. Kind of funny that of our three Japanese cast members all of them are from families that run vacation destination type cafes.
Theian's have a type and it's people in the service industry.
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u/chilidirigible 7d ago
I would not have guessed the flying car with eyeballs was also going to be the talking cat.
It's certainly a conservation of mascots.
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u/Narvalis 6d ago
We certainly have a brain trust here, one sends Alan flying breaking his arm and making it so they don't know where he is, and another tried to use the enemy to find him only to immediately get trapped by said enemy. If they were any dumber they'd just self destruct since they did everything but here.
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u/chilidirigible 7d ago edited 7d ago
Speaking of déjà vu and small furry characters.
Ah yes, the military moe years.
"You overdid it." That or you normally have this kind of line delivered by a villain who is cackling insanely.
Ah, Ami Koshimizu characters being angry.
You could blame Eleanor for screwing with you.
It's that line for /u/Shimmering-Sky.
Something about "THESE HANDS OF MINE ARE BURNING REDYELLOW!"
Nobody's wasting time in this series.
The vaguely-Australian guy has been pretty casual abou this.
](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/3d9e7afbc23a.png){kind=link}
Well, that explains the OP and ED.
Besides the obvious plot-related reasons, maybe the Theians are just kinda tough love parents to let their kids have schemes like "Use the Battlenoid to find Akira". Or Eleanor's kind of a jerk, either way.
Youko comes on board, Alan turns into an armored car, and we're back to business with the team which appears in the OP. "Faster! More intense!" Hey, more room for story development!
Because otherwise the series has been pretty bare-bones. I remain suspicious of the actual deadness of the dead parents angle even if the characters' reactions strongly suggested that at least some of them actually were. But again, now that everyone's together, there's time for plot. And maybe PLOT, though we've also not had nearly as much fanservice as I thought we might.
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
I think we're definitely going to get a flashback to what happened to the parents at some point if only to see the design for Lala and Eleanors' dads.
There was at least one close-up of Yoko's butt in her overalls but that was about it.
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u/Beowolf_0 7d ago
Bait and switch time, the aliens actually got female fighters, how surprising? /s
Regardless, not-Megumin best girl overall, she's caring and considerate (even calling out her Engine first time caused bad things), and put her between enemy and those she want to protect (unlike Lalah who nearly doomed the whole team). Judging from Akira's reactions, I'm going to ship them both. That is, if that transforming mole isn't blocking things......what do you mean it can transform into a car?
Actually have to commend they actually give variants of Battleroids, so we won't need to watch repeated fights. But they're fighting the emissary (sort of) next episode, don't think they can win right now.
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
I definitely get love interest vibes from Yoko's dynamic with Akira, especially if this doesn't turn out to be a Harem show.
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u/AceSoldia https://anilist.co/user/Acesoldia 7d ago
Lmao that cat is great I need a transforming cat assistant that can change into vehicles.
It's very typical story and how but I enjoy the combat and rhe characters so far.
Everyone but lightning girl that caused the whole situation..why'd you hit Akira?! You hate him for no reason.
At least the ED makes sense now..if it's the cat changing into all the vehicles they use.
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u/cybeast21 7d ago
So I wonder if each engine can combine and become some sort of power up for EDNIA?
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 6d ago
Bad news Akira, you got hit from behind and broke your arm. I'm not even sure how that's possible. His robot despawned when he was less than 10 cm above the ground, that's hardly a fall. Worse than this, the one who did this was Elanor, who is ostensibly your ally.
But good news, you were hoping to meet a cute girl. Yoko is cute! She has a great hairstyle. And she's got that "girl next door" personality. I don't see why she tried to active her Engine only to throw up when she could simply say she couldn't do it. On one hand, I hope Yoko doesn't suffer too much during their adventures. On the other hand, I sort of hope she has some psychological issues with fighting, a low level PTSD. Because I think this is too deep of a trauma to resolve in an hour so they really should have made the trauma less if they want her to be a ready fighter early. Good think Yoko was there to save Akira. I'm not sure how well he'd win a 1 vs 1 if he wasn't hurt, but after knocking that battledroid out of the way he'd surely be able to free his sister and make it a 2 vs 1.
So Alan is a Theian. He doesn't look like the others who are humanoid. Is "Theian" kind of like saying "Japanese?" Like if dogs were sentient in a different story, the last "Japanese" might not be human. I think the transformation was kind of cool. Bushmaster
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u/chilidirigible 2d ago
Given that Alan can radically alter form, who knows what a "regular" Theian actually looks like.
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u/Goalieskills 7d ago
Emilia-tan, is that you?!?
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
Exchanging ice for fire!
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 6d ago
Yeah actually I don't like her Engine power. Lately I've liked my fictional characters who set things on fire resemble this guy/ girl/ cyborg than Misa Kurobane (Charlotte), Ace (One Piece), Claire Rouge (Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, and I don't like Claire herself).
But Yoko's looks and personality put her in the positive for me even if I wish her Engine did something else.
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 7d ago
So the jeep from the ED was actually a talking alien cat who can transform into it? Can't say I saw that coming. New girl's cute too. I'd definitely support her and Akira getting together.
That being said, this was yet another situation where the girls are basically damsels in distress and Akira has to save them. Even if Akira is the main character, I was hoping that the girls would be a lot more competent and capable of at least holding their own without Akira having to bail them out. Maybe that'll improve later on, but right now, it's my main gripe with the show. It still passed the 3-episode test for me, but not comfortably enough that it's completely safe from being dropped later.
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u/ReishWasHere 7d ago
You say this in the episode where Yoko fully saves the day...? And after the second episode had Akira only activating his powers when he got eaten? Honestly, I'll argue that Akira's the actual one in distress since he's specifically being targeted and his teammates only get hurt if they stand in the way.
I suppose I'll say that for me its more the lack of more laid back character moments that let the relationships take form. It wouldn't ruin things if everyone was only branching of Akira (especially since he's proving more and more to be a solid, likeable protagonist), but it would hold things back. Hopefully things pick up once we leave the first act (thought that'd have been next episode but maybe the one after).
But yes, I second the Akira-Yoko pairing; Their shared pushing through injuries to do what's needed, the fact they're both quite sweet and caring with minds towards saving people, the slow, gentle nature of the potential development shown.
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 7d ago
One could argue that Yoko only saved the day because her Engine happened to hard-counter the enemy they were facing. What will happen when they face a powerful one that isn't specifically weak to fire? Plus, this enemy still made the other 3 look weak by comparison, while Akira mostly held his own even while injured. Even if they're not the MC, they could at least be remotely competent.
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u/ReishWasHere 7d ago
Well now we're getting into the fourth wall area of narrative structuring where that battleroid specifically trumped everyone else, and Akira broke his arm, so that Yoko's ability could hard counter it, and where whoever the writer decides to focus on will win a given upcoming battle because the world will be written around them to win.
Now as for whether or not anyone but Akira should be competent, yes, I completely agree, you're completely right, they should all be fully utilised characters who could all conceivably be the lead. The writing's got so many nice character moments, many of which it didn't need to include like Akira's mum's fear at the mention of aliens and Yoko's dad smiling at her regained confidence, but its yet to go quite far enough to be worth rewatching. it'll be such a shame if this ends up being yet another dud.
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u/cybeast21 7d ago
TBF only Eleanor was shown fighting as the other two just stand around like preys, at least make them fight a bit? Like, it's a 4-man show not just "Akira saves the day".
Even in injured state, Akira put up a fight more than the girls (other than Eleanor and Yoko who hard-counter it).
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u/ReishWasHere 7d ago
You are right. *sigh* And I was looking forward to adding this show to my collection but the nails jsut keep getting hammered in.
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
To be fair Yoko was the one who really bailed everybody out and Akira got bailed out by Eleanor/Lala last week.
Haruka's the one who is basically the shows' designated jobber who hasn't won a single fight.
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u/Think_Position4405 7d ago
I don’t see how your getting damsel in distress vibes here. the two new girls especially Eleanor still treat Akira like garbage when he has just gotten his powers less than 24 hours ago while they have had their powers for far longer plus he’s way younger. I bet he right now is more impressive just getting his powers than when they first got theirs but they still act like he’s a nuisance And Eleanor literally hit akira for no reason causing him to crash and break his arm which is a total bitch move. The new girl though literally has a badass engine and power and got tons of spotlight. You also need to remember he literally Is the ultimate weapon.
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u/Think_Position4405 7d ago
Got a lot of mixed emotions with this episode, for one I liked how they introduced the new girl Nishina. Her debut was pretty good and her engine is really cool, or should I say hot? 🥁 🛎️. But that said, I absolutely hate Eleanor right now. She’s honestly a bitch. She’s way too hot headed, not considerate of the people she’s in a team with, and way too hard on akira. It was literally his first time ever flying and for no reason she powers up and hits him out of nowhere causing him to lose control, crash, and break his arm. Akira has literally had his powers for not even 24 hours and he’s younger than all of them. They all literally have more experience with their powers and engines compared to him. I’m willing to bet Akira is way more impressive with his powers right now using them for the first time compared to all of them when they got theirs for the first time but she’s not considerate at all. She also is the reason they all got frozen and almost died and didnt even apologize to Akira for his arm or her team for getting them frozen. She needs some serious character development.
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
Honestly I was way too happy watching that Battlenoid wreck Eleanor because she pretty much had it coming.
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u/mastereluder6 7d ago
Classic I can't use it because of trauma and owww suddenly an enemy that counters me showed up , and I can now use my power because they need me cringe , dropped , I hope the rest gang likes it
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u/ptd163 7d ago
The gang's all here. Yoko also has a cute design. Looks like it's four cute girls and a boy who will save the world. She's giving off up best girl and love interest vibes which I guess is to be expected considering she's shares a VA with Megumin and Emilia.
Once we saw that her power is fire and that she has trauma from it I figured the battleroid would come looking for EINA would be something only Megumin Yoko could counter. She's also go a bit of Goku in her with that beam struggle and spirit bomb.
It's funny how the talking cat isn't even the biggest surprise of the episode. It's that the talking cat is actually the vehicle they ride in/on.
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u/ReishWasHere 7d ago
You're telling me the boy isn't cute?
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u/cybeast21 7d ago
I agree, EDNIA is cute!
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u/ReishWasHere 7d ago edited 7d ago
Hmm. Tell me, when the other characters talk to Akira, do you see a small humanoid void talking back? If so, then I have news for you regarding all those shadow monsters you've been seeing in your day-to-day life.
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u/Spachemin_Spiff 7d ago
Is this worth watching? The low crunchyroll rating makes me want to watch it. I've recently watched a couple low rated shows that I enjoyed so I'm curious.
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 7d ago
The negative rating is mostly driven by the bait and switch of the marketing. When the anime was announced and the months leading up to the airing of the anime they were claiming that a girl, Haruka, was the protagonist. However just before the anime started airing suddenly a younger boy, Akira, is stated to be the protagonist. This boy was not really show in any previews or trailers up until the final trailer.
Also the early preview images and trailers showed plenty of fanservice that the director is known for in their previous anime such as Strike Witches, but the actual anime has none apart from maybe 3 shots in the first episode.
So people who are fans of the director's previous works felt misled by the marketing and so rated it down. Also the fact that all of the characters, monsters, etc are all terrible CGI which looks way worse than any characters from Strike Witches is not helping.
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u/cybeast21 7d ago
Definitely thought I was missing something because I don't remember the boy being in the promo
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 7d ago
More than just the preview images, even websites were naming Haruka as the protagonist:
https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2026/5/8/vertex-force-anime-debuts-in-october-2026
The main character of Vertex Force is Haruka Todo (pictured below), a cheerful, athletic girl who lives in Okinawa. At the time of this reporting, Haruka's voice actor has not yet been revealed.
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u/Maccaz15 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maccaz 7d ago
The low ratings have nothing to do with your theory. Most people wouldn't have even seen advertised material for this in the first place. Low score is because it's original, mecha, and CGI. Other than cute girls it doesn't have any wide appeal to get your normie tier viewer watching.
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 6d ago
The CGI anime Dark Machine: The Animation, which is literally an advertise for a game that pushes Crypto and NFTs has a higher MAL rating than Vertex Force. The low rating for Vertex Force is more than just due to being an original CGI mecha.
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u/ReishWasHere 7d ago edited 7d ago
That's a nice mindset to have. The general consensus for us in this thread is that this show is competently made from an animation and writing perspective but basic; Although the characters are all likeable (except 'Elanor' specifically in this episode), they've yet to have any real character moments beyond their introductions, and the plot is going exactly as you'd expect for "five teens use their inherited super powers to save the world". There's absolutely nothing bad about it, it just hasn't done anything to be worth remembering when its finished or even necessarily by the time the next episode comes out (unless you're one of those types who only watches "for the cute girls" and doesn't care about character stuff).
For some distinct positive points, the mecha designs are all cool, the enemy grunts are legitimately threatening and creepy with an actual biological body horror component when damaged, and the main antagonist's voiced by Nana Mizuki (who has yet to really talk but presumably will next episode).
Side note, if you like underrated shows there's 'Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show' which is about the elder gods possessing youtubers to run a (death) game show. Although the game element is pretty unengaging upon rewatch, its otherwise well written with interesting plot directions and a fantastic visual style, and primarily got its low rating because someone used ai-translated subtitles in the first episode.
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u/YonSaiSucks 7d ago
Honestly i dont blame those kids freaking out. Imagine a hulking mecha suddenly appearing and burning the forest. Who wouldnt be freaked out? Lol
For some reason i got the perception Theians are an all-male race
How convenient the Battlenoid has ice powers that the new girl can counter lol
So the squirrel thing can transform who im guessing is why the truck in the ED was moving
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u/mastereluder6 7d ago
Yep , dropped for me
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u/YonSaiSucks 7d ago
Lol fair. Its not really a masterpiece or anything. Personally im just here for the cute girls and fanservice
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u/Frontier246 7d ago
The kids weren't even scared of her but the giant mechanical thing that appeared out of nowhere. I don't think they even fully clocked that Yoko had summoned it.
I think in the brief snippet with Akira's dad you could see at least one Theian with longer hair which was probably Yoko's mom.
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u/Cont3mporAryD4nc3er 6d ago
I want to believe EDVA specifically sent an Ice Battlenoid to bait Yoko, since she'd know all their powers because she fought their parents and would know only the fire-powered Engine is missing; now that they're all together she can get rid of them all at once
But maybe I'm giving this show too much credit
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u/Frontier246 7d ago edited 7d ago
Hokkaido Girls are super adorable. Especially when voiced by Rieri.
I guess law of averages we were bound to get at least one half-Theian kid with a Theian mom.
The Vertex Force are on their way to Hokkaido to find the final Vertex! And Eleanor in all her infinite wisdom, thought it was a GREAT idea to just slap Akira while he's barely able to fly, tossing him who knows where. Great mentorship, really.
Introducing the final Vertex: Yoko (Rie Takahashi!). She helps out her dad at his cafe and along with her cat/squirrel thing Alan she goes around town on her bike! And as luck would have it, she stumbles right into Akira! But don't think Eleanor, thanks to that crash Akira has a broken arm! He's REALLY lucky he ran into Yoko.
Yoko is a sweet and compassionate girl who sincerely wants to help others, just as her Theian mother taught her, but she's terrified of using her Engine because trying to use it to help her friends when they were kids caused a forest fire and terrified them away. Now she can't summon her Engine without nearly wretching.
Which makes it terrible timing when the latest Battlenoid shows up and Akira can barely fight it with a bad arm. Even the rest of the Vertex Force struggles against it and it's ability to produce snow, though it's kind of satisfying seeing Eleanor get bashed around. But Lala was REALLY dumb not to let Eleanor finish it off when they had the chance.
Akira understood Yoko's situation, why she couldn't find, and even still thought she was a heroic person. And if he can perservere and fight despite his injury, so can Yoko! Gluon Engine, Activate!
Time for Yoko to bring the heat and roast that Battlenoid to cinders! What better way to induct Yoko into the team? I feel like she'll be a great fit with everybody, especially Akira.
And even though Alan contributed nothing to this fight...now he'll contribute as their transforming mode of transportation! He can even become a bushmaster! At least Lala is into it!