The past impacts the present regularly, and understanding Kyosuke’s past is key.

What They Say:
No episode information provided.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Flashback story episodes can be problematic in their presentation since it can upset the flow of events in the present, especially if things are moving at a particular pace in a longer series. With a shorter run series like this, and the nature of the lead character where he’s actually quite a bit older than normal, giving us more clues to his past and how it relates to the present is definitely useful to have. Bringing Kyosuke back to his youth, before the war as he was staying with a Baron and meeting his older daughter, a young woman named Fujiko, there’s a good sense of what kind of young man he really is. He’s suffered a lot in his youth because of his father, so seeing him shift to a place that actually celebrates his abilities since Fujiko is so outgoing with hers, is pretty radical for him.

Part of what we see in the story here is an exploration of the way the two use their powers. Through the view of the adults in the situation, which includes the Baron as well as some of those in the military, the assumption based on experience with the kids is that they feel a guilt over using their powers, which is why Kyosuke avoids using his in general, though Fujiko manages to draw him out a bit. This guilt is something that the military feels they can use as a way of drawing them into the service to help protect the interests of the country, though of course there are those within the organization that have their own goals and desires as we’ve seen before, both here and in the previous series. Kyosuke isn’t exactly a complicated young man here, but he is struggling with different things and part of it comes from dealing with someone like Fujiko, a pretty intense personality.

The introduction of the World War II ESP unit is pretty interesting since it does a lot of the propaganda you’d expect that was done on both sides, but this has the added bonus of the ESP material to it that really ramps up the overall feeling of it and what they’re all doing. While we get some exploration of how the public views the ESPers, we see some time spent in the real world on the streets which goes in an awkward way as Fujiko upsets the status quo a bit by coming across as superior and feeling that it’s rightly earned as she views herself as the evolutionary next step for humanity. What’s worse is that it’s coming from a child in the view of adults who cannot brook such things happening, so it brings in some basic social interactions but also the cultural that makes up how Japan operated at that time, and to a large extent today as well. There’s a lot to like in seeing how this all plays out and getting a very good look at some of Kyosuke’s formative years.

In Summary:
The Unlimited is a show that’s definitely working with a lot of different things with the cast of characters involved, but it’s not focused too much on certain aspects of its lead. That’s dealt with head on here as we go back to the past and see some of his struggles as a young boy dealing with his abilities, parents and others while also being drawn into the military for what’s to come with the war. He’s not the primary focus as there are a few things going on, including some good time spent with just the military towards the end, but it also brings Fujiko into clarity here in a really good way. Seeing the way the two of them interacted with each other and her shift in perception of the world and adults based on her abilities definitely makes for something that you can tell influenced Kyosuke as he grew up.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.