"Fully Charged with better structure?" I don't know about that: to me, it feels like a Kamen Rider series with worse structure. Also, I don't consider emulation "riding the high seas:" in these games' case, be more like Jungle Cruise at Disney Parks.
As you can tell by that opening, going to be one of those times. About a decade ago, I began looking at Mega Man NT Warrior, a loose adaptation of the Battle Network video games. Though not a fan of those games, the anime was a whole other ballpark of crazy.
This brings us to today's subject- Mega Man Star Force. I am not a fan of those games either (I would willingly trade every single Star Force game ever made if it meant getting Legends 3); but this anime has a litany of issues of its own to address.
A word of caution before I get into more detail- some subject matter is not for the faint-hearted; and there will also be spoilers for not only this work; but for the following titles- Mother 3, Persona 5 and Omori. So, let's get to it.
Set in the distant future of the 26th century, the series depicts a world where electromagnetic waves can do almost anything. As enemies from across this plane enter the world; a young man named Geo Stelar forms a reluctant alliance with a being known as "Omega-Sys" to form a new hero to combat these elements under the name Mega Man.
Let's address Geo right away- some people have cited his character as one of the elements that stood out to them; which is a mindset I cannot say I share. This is where the Mother 3 comparison comes in- my guess is they were trying to do something similar to Lucas in that game. However, while Lucas felt genuinely believable in the course of the story as everything crumbled around him; Geo feels incredibly distant and difficult for me to get invested in. He's no Shinji Ikari, or even Simon Giha as characters of his disposition go. In fact, there was so much wangst to him (especially in the early stages of the story) that I kept hoping for someone like Kamina to clock him. I know he lost his father; but apart from that; he's living in in a setting that's one part Jetsons, two parts Cloud City and a dash of Elon Musk (minus the self-aggrandizement and spats over a merger with Twitter). His classmates, mother and father's former co-workers try to cast him as distant for merely wanting to learn online as opposed to a classroom; but writing this during a BA.5 spike; I'd honestly prefer remote learning too. So, you can't exactly cast him as being in the wrong for this when he's making more logical sense.
This brings me to the next issue I have- the tone. I do not consider this to be the Mega Man X of its series; I don't even consider it to be its Misadventures of Tron Bonne. Interestingly, in my research, I found the director of the latter was also involved with the Star Force games. That being the case, someone needs revive Legends 3 with him at the helm.
Honestly, the attempts to make this a more serious story are largely undercut by how there's still more goofiness; even somehow more than NT Warrior in many respects. I also find it odd that people were into this because of how it approaches EM waves; because the way the series approaches them is utterly absurd. People being into this while studying EM waves to me is akin to a medical student playing Surgeon Simulator or a law student playing Ace Attorney. Even factoring in the 26th century setting, EM waves are not the same as particles; and it would take massive amounts of power to even attempt what the series is portraying.
Scientific inaccuracies aside (seriously, FM waves can't possess people), the depiction of how it relates to the world itself is simply straining to suspension of disbelief. This is where the Persona 5 comparisons come in; and I will be addressing the base game; the Royal and Strikers to illustrate this. Even though there are enchanted demons and phantom thieves in Persona 5; the scenarios dealt with are ones that could conceivably happen. Abusive teachers, corruption at nearly every level of infrastructure; and even toxic workplaces. Another reason that is specific to this verse relates to Goro Akechi; hence the spoiler warning. His story arc is the reason why I was unimpressed with Geo's character- losing one parent in a freak accident is one thing; but it's another when both parents are dead, and Akechi himself doesn't survive the events of the main game. He's even offered a chance to make it out alive in the Royal; but he declines, realizing there's no going back after what he's done. His backstory did genuinely feel tragic and his arc is one of the best parts of the game. I'm not saying Star Force had to go that far, but I am stating that a more cohesive attempt at world-building and a clearer arc for Geo would have been better. His progression didn't feel earned to me, it felt forced.
This brings us to the last aspect- how the series handles loss and its impact on a person's well-being. Some have said that the characters in this anime, and Geo in particular are solid representations of individuals with mental illnesses. However, I am not going to say that. In fact, I have a counterargument using Omori as a basis. This game not only features status ailments based on real-world conditions; it goes far deeper than most others do in terms of representation (I only fairly recently realized the title itself is derived from the term "Hikikomori," meaning acute social withdrawal). The player character even takes their own life in the bad ending of the game. Sadly, I found the handling of mental illness even more superficial than its handling of EM waves.
Interestingly, if you were to ask me what I would do differently; my solution to this anime would be the opposite of what I would do for NT Warrior. Whereas I believe that anime would be better as a more grounded and realistic approach to computer programs causing havoc in the world; this one would actually fare better in embracing the insanity of its premise. I'm not saying it would have to be as mad as Bobobo-Bobobobo (an anime that came out around the same time I actually like), but maybe it would be better served if the story and action were fueled by tongue-in-cheek playfulness instead of technobabble and pop psychology you'd find from some influencer on Instagram.
Overall, Star Force is not only indicative of the identity crisis the Mega Man franchise was in at the time of its debut; it's an ideal representation of it. Even if I were to remove its problematic handling of tough subjects from the equation; it's very uneven. In some ways, it's better than NT Warrior; but in many other aspects it stumbles critically. It's a take on the franchise that's simultaneously too self-serious to be fun and too goofy to take seriously.
If you want a version of this premise that strikes a better tonal balance; I'd recommend watching Kamen Rider Ex-Aid instead. Agito and Kuuga are also riders that do a better job at what Star Force attempted. For the aspect of Geo's condition, I especially recommend watching Welcome to the NHK instead of this anime. I will not be formally reviewing this anime; as this method seemed more suitable. That's all for now, take care.
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