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HIKARU THE FIGHTER (EPISODES 40-45)
EPISODE 40
Finally, Hikaru has accomplished her goal: she is a member of Grendizer Team. As soon as she joins the team, though, a big strategic issue arises for earthlings: Zuril discovers the weakest point of Grendizer (it uses a double amount of energy when it is fighting under the sea) and, without a proper countermove, Duke Fleed would be for sure defeated very soon. So, Umon creates the Marine Spacer. And he decides to appoint Hikaru as its specific driver1.
  
  
This is a real surprising story plot. And a great matrioska in reality. Face it. Marine Spacer is now – and will be forever – the ONLY spacer which is NEEDED absolutely by Grendizer to succeed in fights.  Double Spacer is a good device for sure, but Grendizer could fly without problems even by itself: the issue of the 7 seconds is not a big deal like the use of a double amount of energy. Drill Spacer will be a good idea too, but Grendizer has no problem at all in drilling the ground (in no ep we are shown an issue on the topic). Instead, the only spacer which is a vital device for Grendizer is Marine Spacer. Without it, there is no way Duke Fleed could survive to the next battle.
But why appointing Hikaru as its driver? It’s a strange choice from a narrative perspective. If Ufo Robot Grendizer is really the “third chapter of Mazinger saga”, the logic choice for scriptwriters would be to select Koji Kabuto as the driver of such a strategic device. For more, he is a larger experience as a fighter, while Hikaru, after all has, flown up to that moment only a couple of times alone against the enemy. So at first sight, Umon’s choice could seem a total nonsense, and we could expect Daisuke to disagree at loud voice on the matter. Instead, nothing similar happens. How to explain it? Well, once again we should open the matrioska to understand what happens in the story. hikaru is a better choice, because she has more ability than Koji as a driver of such a complicated device. Marine Spacer has a particular structure and a different way to interconnect itself to Grendizer, which requires more technical ability than Double Spacer.
In fact, Hikaru had no major difficulties in ep38 for the interconnection, even without a previous test (see the difference with koji and his training in ep36), while she requires a special training anyway for the same operation with Marine Spacer in ep41. But that’s not enough. She is physically stronger than Koji, and she can sustain better a fight under the sea, where anyway the Marine Spacer could suffer high pressures and could need more strength during maneuvers. But these are only Procton’s considerations. Actarus has another one to add to the list, and it’s called “trust”.
Without Marine Spacer, Daisuke is destined to a sure defeat: so, basically, he is going to rely his own life to Marine Spacer’s driver. Yes, he already “trained” himself with Koji driving Double Spacer while connected to Grendizer, but, in that case, the implications were not so important like a fight under the sea, where he is for sure weaker than the enemy. So he needs as Marine Spacer’s driver someone to trust completely, someone with such a rational and strong personality to allow him to rely completely his life without a second thought in such critical situations as fighting under the sea. That’s why Daisuke agrees on the choice of Hikaru as Marine Spacer’s driver: Koji is too much impulsive, while Hikaru has already proven more than once to be able to keep a rational approach to problems even in difficult situations2.
By the way, this is the most clear prove that there were no misogynist issue from Daisuke’s side when he tried to keep away Hikaru from the Team, and he has instead a deep respect for her, a profound knowledge of her personality, the highest consideration for her as a person, and the level of trust which is described here in the anime let me think once again to a relationship which is something more than a “deep friendship”. Well, as a matter of fact it seems to me that after all it’s not Hikaru to be a “glue” to Daisuke (here I'm referring to discussions on the French forum), but the opposite instead...
Unfortunately, something is happening in the meantime, in the backstage, which will change the storyline of Ufo Robot Grendizer forever. And Hikaru Makiba is going to discover soon that her worst enemy is not called King Vega.
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1 Here, Daisuke is visibly satisfied with this: yes, it is another element that makes sense of Daisuke's estimate of Hikaru (Joe7's note)
2 (Joe7's note) An example has also been seen in this episode: at a certain time while Grendizer takes away the explosive tank of superuranium, Daisuke says he fears the Veghians will come. Koji does not comment (he almost does not understand why they should come), but Hikaru immediately understands:
Hikaru: Sure, they are interested in superuranium and they will come to take it!
Edited by joe 7 - 25/11/2019, 17:19
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