There will be spoilers as there is no other way I can do this.
When I first watched Ideon with the series I sat in awe of the marvel of the Ideon itself. A giant sentient being with unlimited power. Still there was always something that didnt feel right from the start. Its the lyrics to the opening. As much as I felt grateful for it saving the cast time and time again something didnt feel right. Something felt eerie or even disturbing about the Ideon. Soon enough its shown that this is a monster and no one from Captain Bess ship wanted it anymore soon after. But they along with the Buff Clan itself were trapped in the Ideons web. In a way it felt as if the Ideon played them all like toys for its amusement. Whether they wanted to or not they would all spiral into madness and fail the Ideons test receiving divine judgement by the end as it destroyed all of them and restarted existence itself.
I experienced levels of horror during this movie that not even Monster can touch. Seeing my beloved cast get their heads melted off guts destroyed shot in the face obliterated by shrapnel incinerated go literally insane and thrown into space was an experience that left me so shaken that even now after the fact I feel I have to write this review as a form of therapy.
No one survived. And yet there is a beauty to this story as powerful as the fear it put into me. The entire cast found peace and resurrected by the end.
Everyone whos watched both knows that Neon Genesis Evangelion screams Ideon. Ideon must be acknowledged and watched for its impact in the 90s era of anime with that series. Anime would be very different if it werent for the hands of the Ideon: that which molded Evangelion.
Of all the Tomino protagonists Ive watched from Amuro to Kamille to Judau I place Cosmo above them all. His life was a nightmare underserving. Having everyone you love die in front of you over the course of 39 episodes and a movie one by one while having to endure it and keep fighting to survive left me feeling a deep respect for his strong will and determination. He doesnt fight with unsurety he fights knowing he will win. Even when he had nothing left to lose he still brilliantly and courageous paved his own destiny until the very end. His iconic moment was when he lost his mother figure and let out a scream so loud that even the Ideon screamed with him. Even Hideaki Anno would harvest this moment with Shinji.
This is a movie that really left me thinking. Besides Cosmo Kasha is the second character that really started to grow on me even more so after watching all this. Her honesty and logic seemed almost flawless and yet caused her more frustration than anything else.
They say they dont make them like they used to. I think its a matter of the time period. Ideon is product of its time. Today it wouldnt be possible as future generations think differently now and the masters of older anime are for the most part no longer here. It doesnt mean that anime has hit a low. Among the ocean of degeneracy that exists there is still wonder to find if you really look for it. There will always be something sincere like Space Runaway Ideon tomorrow. Maybe they wont be widely acclaimed or known in the West that much but theyll be there. Even so I will appreciate the Ideon experience because it invoked emotions out of me that I didnt think were possible.
The Ideon wasnt necessarily instigating. It questioned intelligent life because of humanitys inevitable urge to go to war with itself eternally. To the horror of the Ide the war mongering never ended. It watched as the fighting destroyed planets killed off animals and put fear and terror into the young and innocent. Theres no denying that mankind is a creature that has its own extinction plan built into it as a price to have intelligence. Intelligence as important as it is gives people the realization that they want power and to rule with it and all that corrupts. Regardless the Ideon still gave them a second chance. War will never stop until the last shot that is able to be given is taken. Humans wont ever put an end to war until war itself puts an end to them.
100
/100