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Description:
After falling by the wayside for several episodes, Algernon, the mysterious monster Keita, Hinoki, Sakura, and the rest of the cast who set out to fight, returns. Revelations pile up as the filmmakers attempt to explain what's going on: Keita had a partial brain transplant as a child, which enables him to synchronize with the "neuronoid" robots so well; Hinoki is Lamia's sister (which explains the matching rainbow hair); etc. The visuals range from CG images of brains to the Aztec Calendar Stone (erroneously described as Peruvian), while the dialogue runs to pseudo-biological jargon, quasi-mystical references, and shameless borrowings from Evangelion. The ultimate monster that Lamia battles (without help from the main characters, Keita and Hinoki) is a rubbery-limbed, two-dimensional golliwog that commands neither power nor menace. The story simply falls apart, and the characters aren't interesting enough to put it together again. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon
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