QuickNavigation - FF Odyssey Final Fantasy Unlimited Episode 5 (Last updated on 11/14/2007)

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By: Kenji Masaki

Warning: This writeup contains spoilers, view at your own risk!

Episode 5 - Cid: The Underground Waterway

Twelve years ago, a pillar of darkness connected the Inner and Outer World... that day, the Day of Succession, two monsters appeared, one a giant Neo Bahamut-like beast as if ripped from FFVII, a man of the dark wind... the other, a silver Leviathan-like creature, a man of white mist... in a duel to decide the sole victor, both destroyed each other and put themselves into a  sleep to last an eternity...
They say that the Outer World is ruled by someone known as the Count, a god and controller of chaos. But what is chaos...?
And Lisa Pacifist... at a loss of all contact with her world while on a search for her boyfriend, Ai and Yu Hayakawa are all that she has left... and so she must protect them... something will begin, she says. Perhaps... it's already begun...
As Lisa, Ai, and Yu recover from their injuries in the last episode and slow down for some chow, Nav, leader of the Comodin rebellion, instructs that the remaining soldiers still alive must move all the stuff that wasn't destroyed by Kaze and White Cloud to another base down the underground waterway. Cid, our purple-haired inventing one from the last episode, decides that the group must hurry if they are to make it to the subway's next stop, which is accessible from the waterway as well. In the waterway docks, we meet up with Cid's most skilled invention yet, Catherine, the waterway transport vehicle!! Equipped with two elenium condensers, powered by the Soil system, and at the peak of its development, this baby can go. And it shows that Cid can get a little... oh, what's the word I'm looking for... obsessive? Ah yes, that sounds about right...
As Cid starts up Catherine, we find that Nav has come to say farewell and that his female assistant (name?) has given them as a farewell gift enough boxes of instant food to feed Idaho for a month... until Pochepoke sees it (eyes, anyone? I don't see them either...), and eats nearly the whole thing!!! That ticks off Ai enough to shut Pochepoke's mouth with masking tape, which oughta keep him quiet for the time being...
And so the group says farewell to Nav and the Comodin as Catherine starts her journey down the canal (I have a feeling that we'll be seeing them again soon enough), but not before Fango get's a hold of Yu's bag and decides to eat that too (I have more than a feeling we'll be seeing him again as well)! As they speed away, Crux is right behind them, tracking their every move...
Back at the Count's palace, Oscar has reported that Kaze is indeed dead. Helba says that White Cloud is just too strong for him, but I'd like to see a rematch (and I have another feeling we'll be seeing that too). As for Hungus, he's back to regular size (again...), and is back on the job trying to exterminate the last of the Comodin resistance.
We return once again to our heroes aboard Catherine, where Yu wonders where Kaze has gone. Lisa says that he has gone to search for his own path, and that they must search for their own ideal goals...
I know nothing of ideals. No matter the cost to the world, no matter how much blood is shed, I don't care!
As Lisa replays the last words said by Kaze in her mind, what should crash infront of them but another crystal bomb containing the poison lizard Viking, and upon him, the Gaudium deathlord Hungus! *Battle music begins* Forced to change his route to the subway to protect the Comodin, he speeds off into one of the tunnels, and Hungus gives chase...
... meanwhile, we find in an unknown channel of the waterway Kaze, still alive and with his Demon Gun intact. "Why..." he asks his gun-arm. "Why didn't it move?"
Further down the canal, Catherine is still in hot persuit by Viking and Hungus. But Catherine is not ill prepared for such attacks, and Cid launches the Elenium Wire Net, filled with high voltage from the energy in the water, and for a moment, Hungus seems to be defeated... but Viking is not the usual petty mushroom monster, as he easily breaks through. Worse is the problem that lies ahead- no canal! It's a waterfall, and Catherine's never going to make it! Or is it? Cid pulls out another wild card on us, the Hyper Wings to help it glide through air- and with a little help from the chocobo, Hungus never has a chance getting across it- and the Hyper Hooks to get it into the opposite waterway. For once, it seems that it's smooth sailing from here on out, and that Cid, although far from the course he originally planned, would be able to pull it out in time to arrive before the subway leaves.
But persistance is an annoying thing, ne? Viking, suprisingly, survives (with Hungus, I might add) and fires his dissolve liquid right onto Catherine, shorting it out. As Catherine crashes into the side of the canal, Cid unleashes a rage never seen before... (which is by far the funniest thing I've seen in the series)
"Damaging my Catherine... it seems that you don't want to live anymore!
Prepare for Master Cid's furious yet heavenly punishment!!
Feel my wrath!! ULTIMATE HAMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!"
note: If you're like me, you're probably wetting your pants right now with laughter...
With a single blow, the Ultimate Hammer flattens Hungus to a pancake, sending him and Viking to the depths below. Cid returns to the group, returning to his jovial state. Can you say scary, people?
Cid brings around the wounded Catherine to a spiral staircase, leading to the subway. As Yu, Ai, the chocobo, and Lisa get off, Cid decides to stay back to help repair the water transport vehicle, even if it means not getting on the subway. The group almost reaches the top, begins to hear the bells of the subway toll its departure...
When who should appear but Viking and Hungus from the rocks above. This time, they would not be so lucky, as Kaze has come to put an end to this insanity by blowing the entire area into pieces...
"I have chosen Soil for the likes of you!
The deep sleep that envelops death, Steel Gray!
The rising of boiling blood, Heat Crimson!
And the brilliance that pierces the darkness, Lightning Yellow!
Cry! Summoned Creature! Ixion!"
With a shimmering lightning blast from the armored pegasus, Hungus and Viking are engulfed in a blast of flames, destroying the stairway, the waterway below, and unfortunately, Catherine, whom Cid had to abandon to save himself. And as always, Hungus somehow escapes as the little puffy ball, flying into the sky...
Fortunately for our heroes, they have made it on the train with not a second to spare. Lisa and Yu, still worried about the fate of Cid and Kaze, are left to pray for their survival as the subway moves onto the next Outer World...

... To Be Continued...

Good points: Although this episode didn't go too far in terms of plot, it was a fantastic one for comic relief. To see Cid pull out his Ultimate Hammer and scream like a madman as he squished Hungus to a pulp just flat-out made my day. And the Pochepoke thing in the beginning of the episode wasn't that bad, either. As for the plot, we did learn just a little bit more of Lisa, Cid, and tidbits of Kaze, but it's still slow... for Kaze, all we get are a few flashbacks of White Cloud beating the dickens out of him, and that's pretty much it. Translation was nice, although Hungus saying "bastard" so many times in one episode... for god sakes, kids watch it too!

Bad points: Slow plot. Lack of CG. Returning to the formula. Refer to my other episode reviews if you haven't heard the spiel enough.
Despite the still slow plot and character development this episode was plagued by, the humor made up for. And come on, bad guys don't die, they just look that way! You have to get a laugh at every time he comes back, still cursing from the last time...

Kenji's Score: 7/10