Episode 5: Fool on the Planet
My favorite episode of season 2…You can tell that all of the stops were pulled with art and animation and with music as we open on a charcoal dream sequence that looks visually appealing even though not much happens. And we also get
(1)Fool on the Planet (Fool on Cool)- Instrumental
We also got another throwback to season 1 where the instrumental of “Fool on the Planet” begins to play through a radio that appears in Hidomi’s dream sequence before returning to the normal method of play. Once the chorus of the instrumental booms, we are taken to the title card where the song abruptly ends. That is also not the only time we will see this song in the episode, but the next time it will be a lot better.
(2) I Think I Can (Fool on Cool)
I don’t really know what they were going for here, but I kinda like it. The intro to “I Think I Can” has a sort of spaghetti western type of roll to it, and in this version you get that same feeling with a harsher guitar intro as the song is cued by Ide challenging Raharu with Jinyu’s guitar.
Even though the scene is really weird, I find it kind of funny just because of Raharu’s voice acting and the amplified art and animation for this entire episode making for a more enjoyable visual experience. It carries the same purpose in season 1 since this song played when Naota challenged Haruko, now in season 2 it plays when Ide challenges Raharu, and I’ll leave it at that.
After the first chorus the song defers back to its instrumental before abruptly ending right before the action of the scene directs a narrative change as Hidomi enters the scene in order to set up the best use for the previous song.
(3) Fool on the Planet (Fool on Cool)
All I can say is “wow” for this one. While it doesn’t compare to the use of “Thank You, My Twilight,” the use of this song reaches its maximum capacity as the song is cued by the shower starting and carries itself through the half-baked manga scene.
While this season’s attempt at a manga scene was awful in comparison the season 1, the visual of Hidomi under the water’s spray while Sawao Yamanaka wails and Harmonizes is such a great combo of sound and sight.
While the emotional weight behind this scene isn’t carried out in the best way through the voice acting of the manga scene, the song picks up the slack at the end of the scene while you are treated to the best visuals of the season. In terms of lyrics this is what I can give you:
At the bottom of my grief, something glowing and gentle
Always came to wrap me in its light
You, weren't you gentle like that
That glow spreading over a peaceful landscape
I've surely walked there in a dream
You were there too
The first verse is what you hear playing in the background of the manga scene, and as the first verse leads into the chorus it actually transitions into the final chorus of the song before rushing the instrumental to a close not long after this:
Even if this era hopes
I won't wash it away with my song
Even if everything changes
I won't change
My Song is Your Song (x2)
(lyrics taken off of lyrics.fandom.wiki since internet is inconsistent)
I love the song and its use here. The lyrics sort of carry a subtle explanation of Hidomi’s inner feelings. But you gotta make way for “Last Dinosaur.”
(4) Last Dinosaur (Fool on Cool)
I’m glad that they let this full song go and did the whole thing justice by not rushing it at all. It starts on the formation of the giant Amusement Park Mecha as Masurao says “they’ve started already.”
There is so much season 1 in this scene that I’m glad they used “Last Dinosaur” for this scene. I won’t go over the lyrics again, but it is the best high-stakes action theme as the Amusement Park Mecha blasts at the Medical Mechanica iron while Hidomi tracks down Raharu and lashes out at her.
There’s also the in-between scene where the Ide-shaped balloon flies into the immigration control satellite and gets eaten by the head of Canti, but I believe this was used to pad out the full time of the song so it would end perfectly as Raharu gasps “It’s Atomsk,” the final line of the episode.
Like I said earlier, there is so much season 1 hype in this scene. What I like about it is how the song underscores so much narrative carry-over. It was in this episode where we get to see N.O be weaponized by the Immigration Control Center and you also get to see Hidomi wield some of her own N.O against Haruko for a brief moment. Even if the animation isn’t so great for the latter part, I do like how all of these concepts, the Medical Mechanica iron-shaped building, the Amusement Park Mecha, Hidomi’s N.O, etc all combine to the beat of one of the most iconic songs from season 1 to subtly connect what the audience knows about season 1 to the evolved form of these concepts in season 2.
