Concrete Revolutio

Episode 5

We're coming close to the halfway point of Concrete Revolutio, and this episode marks a curious place in the overall story. It seems designed to make sense of everything that's happened previously, but it could just confuse viewers further. Certainly, the "message" of this episode is more difficult to parse out than previous ones. There are several different parties involved here: the Superhuman Bureau, Beastly Radio Wave, the student protesters they manipulate, and even the kaiju themselves. For the most part, the episode doesn't treat any of them very kindly. So who are you supposed to believe in?

This could be especially confusing for non-Japanese viewers, since this episode follows the previous one by being steeped in the cultural resonance of kaiju. American cultural critics often simplify them as nuclear metaphors—like the Japanese equivalent of The Thing and other 1950s American monster movies. They certainly have that aspect; if Western countries were terrified of atomic destruction, certainly the one country with firsthand experience of it would be even more so, and that would be reflected in its popular culture. (It's certainly not absent from this show's portrayal; the American military keeps finding/creating these kaiju and then secretly doing away with them somewhere remote. Their destructive ability is also amplified through scientific experimentation.) Still, kaiju vary in their appearance and origin stories, and they've endured in Japanese pop culture even as real-world political conflicts and fears have shifted. Heck, for many anime fans of my generation, the fully transformed kaiju in this episode probably most resembles a Mega-level Digimon, which isn't exactly a political show. Kaiju are used to represent lots of different things in anime, tokusatsu, and other parts of Japanese pop culture.

It's also important that Emi characterizes these phenomena as "beasts," not "monsters" like herself, and notes that humans all have "beasts" inside them. (Sure, these are Funimation's approximations of kaiju and yokai, but even the english-language distinction makes sense in this context, especially when comparing Jiro's passion with Emi's inhuman removal.) Kaiju are also metaphors for modern society's complicated relationship with the environment, which seems like where this episode is taking their significance. Concrete Revolutio has gone here before (episode 2), and kaiju are repeatedly compared to wild animals more than anything else. They can't be controlled—but that doesn't necessarily mean they're malicious, either. This one was a child's pet and substitute family member, after all.

Every side tries to manipulate this animal for its own ends. The Superhuman Bureau and the Beastly Radio Wave use him as a pawn in their battle for public opinion. The protesters side with the latter because they believe kaiju are innocent creatures, weaponized by the American and Japanese governments—but don't realize how they're doing the same thing by wrapping them up in their own cause. Kaiju can't be "conscientious objectors" because they're completely outside of human political concerns. They're neither good nor bad guys, beyond being able to bond with and protect individual humans. That's why they'll only ever be a passing craze for the public, as they move on to the next would-be "natural" hero who will inevitably disappoint them.

On a meta level, this episode is also a statement on those many different meanings for kaiju themselves. Perhaps the most important line is Jiro's remark to GaGon at the end of the episode, which references the most common cultural meanings assigned to kaiju: "Are you nature's envoy, an ancient deity, or a victim of mankind?" Kaiju are all of these and none of them, depending on the story. He finishes with "Or are you just a manifestation of our wishes?"—the real-world answer. Ultimately, kaiju are just animals—so they're not that different from the impulsive and emotional human animals trying to use them.

This episode marks the culmination of Jiro's identity crisis, though I'm sure we haven't seen the last of his transformation. After healing from the last battle, Jiro sticks to his belief that kaiju are lesser beings, more beastly than people, and he resents the kaiju part of himself. When Kikko repeats Emi's idea that humans have a kaiju nature inside them, Jiro soundly rejects this. He insists that only he is broken in that way. Only Emi understands, since she is "inhuman" in her own way as a yokai. (There are some interesting reveals about her abilities too; she can summon birds and shapeshift. She's apparently used the latter ability to play for both sides.) Jiro insists that kaiju want to destroy the world—in direct opposition to what the episode suggests to viewers, which is that they just don't have much agency at all and mostly end up being used by humans for destructive purposes.

Still, when Jiro met the previous GaGon as a child, he rooted for the kaiju at first. He said that seeing the beast set him free, so he could resolve to escape his life growing up in a lab. Even Jiro once had positive associations with kaiju. In the battle at the end of the episode, it looks like Jiro's resolve cracks a bit. In asking questions now, he shows doubt over what he used to believe about kaiju. Considering the Superhuman Bureau's staunch anti-kaiju stance—to the point of attempting to kill one just because it threatens public opinion of their group—I think this marks another step toward Jiro's departure from the group. Even if the episode (and series as a whole) portrays the individual members sympathetically, the Superhuman Bureau looks pretty selfish here. Even aside from what they do with GaGon, they treat Jiro like he's a ticking time bomb whose kaiju powers are to be feared and avoided. Maybe he's starting to understand why that's not right. His refusal to put up with this standard could force him out of the group.

Of course, GaGon still goes on a rampage at the end of the episode, ruining his peaceful image. He can't deal with the bright lights that the protesters and Beast Radio Wave shine on him. The group's leader asserts that kaiju are interesting because they aren't something humans can understand and control. They're another species of animal, with their own concerns. Society can't put them in a box—and by extension, maybe the same is true for the superhumans fighting them.

While the Kaiju Arc has its own self-contained message, it also marks an important point for Concrete Revolutio. It's filling in more and more of the gaps in its erratic timeline, giving us a better picture of the whole while fleshing out its complicated themes.

Rating: A-

Concrete Revolutio is currently streaming on Funimation.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn.