Aldnoah.Zero – “The Children’s Echelon” Review

The invasion has begun and Earth is on the defensive. Inaho and the other escapees find themselves chased down by one of Mars’ Knights subordinates, Trilliam. They manage to escape via tunnel, but how long can they last? Spoilers Ahead!

Inaho and the others barricade themselves inside the school build after successfully escaping from Trilliam. Resolving to fight, Inaho begins making preparations for battle despite his sisters protests. With only one thing standing between them and escape, Inaho enacts his bold plan and takes the fight to Trilliam; but can the children hope to survive?

Aldnoah.Zero is really becoming one of my favorites this season. With it’s fluid animation and well thought out pace, it clearly has destination in mind and it’s taking it’s time getting there.

The main conflict of the episode is the same as the last, geting away from Trilliam and his Kataphrakt (the mechs used in the show) Nilokeras, but this time around Inaho and the others go on the offensive. The scenes proceeding the attack are more thought out than most mech anime which usually have the protagonist run out in his super powered suit, guns blazing. Aldnoah.Zero’s approach is more military minded, having it’s characters thinking of options and strategizing their way out of their predicament.

One way this is accomplished is by figuring out how Trilliam’s Kataphrakt works. It has a barrier surrounding it, blocking out all manners of wavelengths, along with weapons, and objects. The drawback is that the pilot can see nothing in the cockpit without the aid of external cameras flowing in the air. By exploiting the weakness in the armor (the recievers for the cameras), Inaho, Inko, and Calm are able to defeat Trilliam and destroy his mech in what was a pretty well thought out attack. Even though Inaho devised the plan and struck the final blow, everyone played a vital part in the plan.

Things start to come to light in this episode as well, we learn that Trilliam was working along with Count Saazbaum (one of the Mars Knight) and that the girl that Inaho found in the previous was revealed to be the princess in a very flashy fashion (very colorful). Although it was obvious to the audience who she was, it will be intriguing to see how Inaho, Slaine (who was not very happy with Trilliam’s betrayal) and the others deal with this revelation. Will it change the outcome of the war?

“The Children’s Echelon” is another good entry in this series. The children step up, secrets are revealed, and things begin to look up for the Earth forces, even if it’s only a small deal.