Anime: Zegapain

Originally written on August 5th 2021

Note: I find it impossible to review the show without some spoilers, but I think there’s nothing here to ruin the experience, I still leave a fair warning here.

Zegapain is one of those series that I’m glad they exist and keep thinking that I should’ve watched sooner, I only found out about it more than a decade after it came out, and only watched it almost 15 years after it aired. But it’s because I never heard about it before that, it didn’t even have the luck to become more known some years after it ran like Shinsekai Yori, I still rarely read or hear someone mentioning it.

It is not hard to see why, the show was clearly a side project in 2006, when Sunrise had their hands full with Code Geass and Gintama at the same time (and perhaps a Gundam project, cause, you know, they never stopped with that one). It’s perfectly clear with just one look at the series, the visuals were ok for its time and are pretty bad by now.

The series begins in a kind of ambiguous or confusing way, combining a typical high school setting with a post-apocalyptic one, you are not sure when you are watching it if what happens on the latter is real or not, since it begins in a mostly typical mecha fashion, where what happens on the other side is disguised as a virtual reality videogame, before revealing its Matrix like setting and premise (but with mechas).

Thus, the visuals are a mixed bag, half the time you are seeing a very well presented mundane setting that still holds up to this day, and the other half you are watching poorly rendered awful CGI in poorly animated battles in a most unimpressive battlefield. The coloring, clearly digital, is ok, darker than what can be seen nowadays, the artwork does not suffer from major quality drops, the character designs are generic but their models are mostly consistent, and they went for semi realistic physical looks, and they never sexualize their characters. The backgrounds are good to the most part, specially in the mundane setting, but since there isn’t much to see in the destroyed world, over there you are mostly watching a void space with CGI clouds. The CGI ends up being what ruins the visuals of the show, the mecha have stupid designs, are done in a very crappy CGI, their attacks and the explosions during battles are even worse, and the movements during battles can’t carry them even if sometimes they try to be slightly tactical, specially when they tend to have repeated footage. The special effects are not great either. Eventually both worlds collide and the visuals become much better during the final episodes, but until then you are watching the same battle choreography against the same enemies throughout most of the duration, and when you are watching a mecha show full of action, that’s a big flaw.

The sound effects are not very good by now, and are a bit generic, buy they are still great for their time, the voice acting is good, there are well known actors and some other that aren’t that famous and all of them made a good job, Kana Hanazawa and Marina Inoue got rather typical roles for them, and you can clearly tell who they are when you hear them, but they were still fine and not as exaggerated and waifu baity as their roles in other series would become later on. The soundtrack is good, sometimes very atmospheric, but not amazing, there are several endings and just one opening, all of which are very calm and melancholic jpop, which fit well with the feel of the show.

But enough of that, eventually what makes the series worth it is its theme exploration and characterization, that are far better than its more famous counterparts (those being the Matrix and Dark City), since Zegapain doesn’t rely on prophecies about chosen ones that contradicts the whole theme of free will nor antgonists of inconsistent capabilities that despite being so powerful are so easily defeatable, nor protagonists that become super powerful from one moment to another with no explanation or a poorly justified one.

The protagonist is Kyo, an imperactive guy, as you would expect from a mecha series, but unlike the usual protagonist, he’s not dumb, he knows his stuff, he more or less understands the terminology used, he’s capable in combat, he notices weird stuff is going on with his crewmates and close friends. Also he’s not an awesome pilot just because, a decent amount of episodes is spent on showing how despite being good at what he does, he always ends up causing problems to others and himself and gets defeated sometimes.

There’s a good focus on his mentality and existential crisis, how he doubts whom he can trust, what is real and what is not, if he can be considered a living being or not, and what’s his relationships with others worth if they are fabricated and will reset from a point on. It’s done in a way that it seems as if he’s prepared for battle but then new concepts and aspects of the situation and show will appear and make him doubt and revaluate everything all over again, get pissed for that, be mean to his friends and love interests and more stuff, but still doing the correct thing at the end. And unlike Shinji from Evangelion, Kyo does not shred a tear about it, so people wouldn’t even be mad at him for that as with that other poor boy.

The only complain I had with him is how was he able to even pilot the robot in the first place, and the series gave me good anwers for that. There’s a VR game in the series in the made up world by the good guys in order to prepare people for the real battle once they awake, something that’s done slowly so they won’t break all at once in an instant. Also the robots are used by two people at the same time, with one piloting and attacking and other managing all the complicated technical stuff, which also serves for faster reaction during battles, better fuel management and to form character dynamics. By the way, unlike Darling in the Franxx, there are no sexual innuendos and fanservice here, despite every female character being good looking and having somewhat tight suits.

Eventually it is revealed that Kyo used to be a pilot in the past, but unlike other series, the amnesia is used here in a thematically relevant way, related to a plot point and it also serves a purpose in fleshing out Kyo even more once his background is revealed, and how his identity crisis and relationships are complicated even further because of that. Heck, it was a way to show even the doubts he has had in the past.

Despite me wording it as if it is something happening to him alone, there are other characters that go through the same thing as well, just not as intense, and not as well done. Zegapain also has a love triangle going on, but is not done in an annoying way, since the girs are good sports, respect each other and even this plot point is related to the themes. If you are in love with someone in a made up reality, is it true love, or something that was programmed by someone else? In this world which sometimes resets and makes you lose your memories, what happens if you had other girlfriend in the past? It was you, or another version of you, with a different conscience and different feelings? Which by the way also serves to flesh out Kyo more and change his way of acting and even fighting later on.

Anyways, Kaminagi is a typical kind girl you’ll find in any other anime but she discovers the truth by herself, not driven by the plot, and since she passed so much time in the simulation program she turns out to be one heck of an almost unpresedented pilot, and even she is not a mary sue that wins all her battles, quite the opposite actually. The problem with her is that at certain point the story finds a somewhat contrived way to make her stay relevant to the plot and even step back her development a little, for at least half the time…I can’t get into details for that but it was a little flaw, even if it served to kick her own identity crisis, for half the time at least. Oh and I won’t spoil this but I want to say that she is voiced by Kana Hanazawa and for once she ends having different luck than her characters usually do, I’ll just leave it at that.

Shizuno is a good character as well, it’s just that she remains rather mysterious for most of the duration, and when her past is revealed and her identity crisis touched upon, there’s almost no time for the show to manage her mini arc in a completely satisfying way, even if her interactions with Kyo and her catharsis were strong.

There are more secondary characters and they get focus and background stories as well, it’s just that since a lot of time is spent on the main trio, their characters arc are done in a much faster way to feel completely organic. Nevertheless it was great to see internal conflicts, positions and doubts within the group, some want to stay in the fabricated reality because they are traumatized for what they have faced in the real world, others want to leave their final moments the best they can, others are running out of time and about to die so they HAVE to defeat their enemies and restore the world as soon as possible, some quention other members of the crew for being so mysterious and try to find out the truth on their own, and so on.

As for the antagonists, they are ok, they are imposing, have their own language and all sorts of powers, yet can be neutralized, they question the humans and learn things along the way, interact with different humans in different ways, they are not onedimensional, and the big boss has a classic sci-fi objective regarding the next step of human evolution and stuff. It’s just that they don’t have nearly as much screentime as the good guys, so you do feel like they could have gotten more focus.

Another good thing is how even the majority of logical gaps I got along the way were answered in a mostly justified and convincing way. I already talked about Kyo but I was also asking myself how do they have the technology for a freaking spaceship and AIs but are limited in what they can do regarding data? Why can’t they just transfer it? What are the rules regarding all the stuff related to that? Why are they fighting against the same two enemies every single time and how do they reappear every single time? What is the explanation of their powers? How can it be that they have a secret base right in front of the enemies base? Is everyone in the crew a teenager? Why aren’t more adults fighting? Do the awakens all come from the same school? Is it just an excuse to have the setting to feel relatable to a young audience or is there an in story reason? Does it affect the character dynamics in some way? And all of that was explained and answered in believable and satisfactory ways, I can’t get into details about any of that sadly.

With that said, there are still things that won’t feel very convincing regarding the data but I consider them minor and easy to miss, at least for me because I honestly don’t know much about all that stuff.

Since the middle episodes take place in the everyday life in the school, some bits of the series will definitely be dull. But since the setting is explained, the dynamics serve to flesh out and develop the main cast, and has an in story excuse regarding the secondary cast, it is all story related and in the service of the narrative, so I can’t complain about that despite not enjoying those bits much myself. So much time is spent at the school during some episodes that forces big events and revelations to happen in a hurry at the end of those episodes, but is not done in a rushed way, the pacing is steady from beginning to end, building up and anticipating what comes next and balancing the major stuff with relaxing moments in a good way.

Eventually there are only two major problems in the show as far as I’m concerned, the mecha battles which as I said, despite having some variety and trying to be tactical, are still simple, repetitive and look ugly as shit, not even the inside of the robots have cool machinery, almost every mecha title have that regardless of its quality! Well I guess it is well excused since most of the functions are activated through advanced holographic technology, damn this series thought about almost everything.

Anyways the issue with this is not only that they are poorly animated and boringly choreographed to the most part, but they also take a lot of needed screentime, which is why the secondary characters and antagonists are not fleshed out in the same level as the main protagonists. Also there are more branches in the series than the main crew but they are hardly present in the show, which is why despite the final battle being epic as hell in terms of scale and stakes, there is very little emotional impact when you see characters dying which you never knew before that point. It also makes you ask yourself if they had the same information as the captain and why you don’t see them fighting against the enemies throughout the show or why you don’t get to know more about them before the final battle.

The other issue is how convenient are the resolutions in the final episodes, lots of stuff happen to give more functions, abilities and power ups to the good guys in the last two or three episodes, and as much as they try to explain and justify it, they will still feel rushed and contrived in order to let them win for a quick happy ending.

Which is why Neon Genesis is still the best mecha anime starring teenagers ever made despite its flaws and not being nearly as philosophical as this one, no ugly CGI, the enemies and battles have lots of variety, and yet the protagonists don’t win all the time, far from it, there’s a reason why the kids are the ones doing the fight and why are they the ones piloting the robots since the very beginning, the action takes place in the same city and there’s a reason why, as well as showing how the whole place is built taking that in count, every secondary character is fleshed out in a basic or major level and contributes to the plot or character dynamics since the very beginning, and there are no forced happy endings, quite the opposite actually. And no preference for badass Kyo Sugurus over depressed Shinji Ikaris will change that.

That doesn’t take away the greatness of Zegapain though, it’s still a great show to the most part, but it prevents it from being even better, which would have been that way if the ugly mecha battles were shorter and more time was spent on the other branches and characters, as well as anticipating the power ups so they don’t feel aspulled at the end. Other than that I consider it a great and seriously underappreciated anime, one of the best that I watched, and much more meaningful and polished than some similar movies that are far more famous.

me encanta esta serie, posee muchas ideas interesantes y a la vez me molesta el poco aprecio que se le tiene, no es que no tenga sus fallos notables, pero de igual forma es una lastima que hasta la gente de gustos niche desconozcan de ella. Sino has visto la serie, vela, que esta review estará llena de spoilers y que mientras menos sepas de Zegapain mejor aun, si no te convence solo toma en cuenta esto, que es un subversión o deconstrucción de tu tipica serie de mechas.

No es como para echarle puros palos a la audiencia, la presentación de la obra tiene mucho que ver. Los mechas, por ejemplo, están hechos en CGI, el cual llega a chocar con los escenarios y los personajes que son de animación tradicional, no posee un estilo visual distintivo entre los demás animes que se hayan hecho en aquellos años o con los que se hacen hoy en día, por eso los diseños de los personajes o mechas se ven genéricos y se mueven de manera robotica y limitada. Las batallas por su lado son decepcionantes, no tanto en lo narrativo sino en las coreografías limitadas, no juegan mucho con ángulos de cámaras que hagan las cosas mas emocionantes, no trabajan la perspectiva, se ven planas y carentes de dinamismo y que hay batallas que no poseen peso en la trama. Sin embargo, no es que la obra esté mal producida, los fondos aunque no destaquen están bien ilustrados al igual que hay algunos que poseen una notable creatividad junto a la vestimenta o la tecnología y la consistencia en el dibujo que si bien se deforma de momentos está bien, no están mal coloreadas las cosas y son preciosos los colores en determinadas circunstancias. La banda sonora es hasta memorable con respecto al opening y el ending que posee un estilo electrónico distinto a otros animes

Otra cosa que a muchos les hecho para atrás sería el ritmo, es una serie que resulta ser muy lenta de momentos, no es a un nivel que arruine la experiencia pero de todos modos a muchos les llegará a aburrir. Otro dato sería que la serie empieza siendo normalona, se introducen las reglas básicas de la serie, acerca de un chico que se pone a pelear en otro mundo, aparentemente virtual, donde hace todo tipo de acciones que lo dejan como un héroe, lo que a primera se oye como una especie de isekai solo que sin lo de ir a otro mundo con tu típico prota idealizado que tiene una chica como mejor amiga que de segura se enamoraran en cierto punto. En este punto la historia cuesta en despegar a pesar de ciertas pistas que va plantando en algunos instantes. Si a ello le sumamos los demás puntos es fácil deducir su carente popularidad.

Bueno que eso no te eche para atrás, recuerdan que les dije que deja ciertas pistas en su inicio?, pues a partir de cierto punto la serie cambia para bien e incluso se pone cada vez mejor conforme avanza. Los giros de tuerca realizados en su progreso son bien anticipados y poseen sentido, e incluso le dan vuelta al panorama completo que la serie que había planteado en un inicio para convertirse en el equivalente animesco de Matrix, aunque solo a un nivel superficial, puesto que el mundo de Zegapain es mas plausible que el de Matrix al no tener alguna profecía en medio y endiosando al protagonista a niveles contradictorios, aquí no hay poderes ni nada por el estilo así que las peleas se hacen a través del ingenio de los protagonistas y las repercusiones que tendrán en ellos y los demás. Es un mundo sin ninguna contradicción y la serie carece de algún tipo de hueco argumental, es muy imaginativo, básicamente las ciudades y la gente son programas simulados a través de un ordenador gigante que mantiene su existencia, que a la vez son atacados por humanos artificiales producidos en masa por los villanos que quieren borrar de la existencia a dichos humanos simulados.

Esto da cabida a cierto tipo de dudas que se van planteando en los personajes conforme descubren mas sobre su naturaleza y van pasando por varios conflictos, que tan diferente es un humano de un programa?, que sería mejor, estar en este mundo virtual o no? como repercute este hecho en dichos programas que están cocientes de ello? No diré que lleva dichas dudas al nivel de GitS, pero están bien manejados y hacen que los personajes pasen por una buena evolución durante la durante del show. Son simples en cuanto a su psique así que no pasan por grandes arcos de desarrollo y no poseen algo que los haga memorables, no obstante la gran mayoría de ellos se les explora sus problemas tanto a un nivel físico como mental y la forma que repercute en todos los demás, que se desarrollen de buena manera, construyendo interesantes relaciones unos con otros y que te lleguen a importar lo que les pase.

Es una serie muy interesante, al fin y al cabo es una subversión de las series de mechas, invirtiendo mucho tiempo en desarrollar al setting y el cast, no es una obra excelente, puesto que aun posee sus fallos notables, y que si buscas un viaje emocionante quedaras mas que decepcionado, tampoco es que sea inmirable o difícil de digerir, es algo entretenida y se puede simpatizar con los personajes por lo que de todos modos se merece su debida recomendación si te gustan cosas que superen tus expectativas.

Zegapain has a very good sci-fi plot that was not given the attention it deserved, thus sharing the same fate as Shinsekai Yori. It was a side project that was given a smaller budget and a less capable director, while most of the attention was placed on making Code Geass, which had a complete pile of shit for a script, but the colors were pretty and the themes were pandering most casual demographics, so why bother with an experimental title that would be thought provoking, but wouldn’t make as much money?

And indeed, Code Geass was so successful, to the point Studio Sunrise changed its focus from creating dark and cerebral shows, to producing the worst possible cringefests ever since. Because that’s what was selling, not Zegapain, the final title of the dark sci-fi era that began a decade earlier with Neon Genesis.

Since the Big Three were the only thing 90% of the community was watching, and Code Geass was labeled the only good mecha at a time when your average otaku had lost his interest in giant robots and was dancing like an idiot by mimicking the ending of Haruhi Suzumiya, Zegapain was forever left in obscurity, and was known only by the very few who would be were curious enough to try something that wasn’t one of the 5 shows everybody was watching, at a time when the industry was producing 40 of them in every season.

As it usually happens, the titles most end up remembering are the flashiest ones, not the well-written ones, and Zegapain happens to belong in the rare well-written category. It’s not one of those shows they make on the fly, and they don’t expect anyone to care by the next season. It’s not some run of the mill moeshit or romcom, it doesn’t feel like something you are watching playing out in the exact same way as half of everything else. It stands out amongst mecha titles, a genre which got really saturated by the same studio that made it. Thank you Sunrise for making people to get sick and tired of seeing the same bullshit in mecha and jumping ship to moeshit. What an improvement.

And I am not implying Zegapain is good just because it’s different. Aka, it’s not a subversion for the sake of being one. It’s actually doing something with what it subverts. And it stands out because not many others did it as such. I mean, we can easily label this a Matrix clone, since the premise is pretty much the same; people living in a computer simulation and the machines have taken over the real world, which is destroyed. But doesn’t handle the premise as a power fantasy, which is pretty much what every anime about videogames does nowadays. Thank you, Sword Art Online, for making people being trapped in videogames a thing, you f-ing piece of shit. And by the way, SAO came out at the same time as Shinsekai Yori, thus repeating history exactly as it happened with Code Geass and Zegapain. And then you wonder why I became a snob.

My point is, it’s a show that deserves far more attention, because it had a great concept, it explored it, and it didn’t ridicule itself with tasteless fan service or off-putting comedy. We live at a time where people watch mecha only for Rikka’s thights, so you might want to see how captivating something can be, when it’s not made just as an excuse to masturbate.

And yes, there are issues with it, so it’s not like I’m trying to sell you a masterpiece nobody has heard of. It was not a good action show even back when it was airing, and after a decade, the CGI makes it look even worse. The robots don’t have a cool design, the characters look generic and behave in a plain manner, the plot is very slow and kinda repetitive when it comes to having fights with mass produced identical enemy droids. You have to dedicate your time on something that looks dull, with the only promise being good theme exploration and legit character development. Which I understand it’s not what the majority of anime fans want today. They just want a power fantasy where the hero goes to a magical videogame world, kicks the crap out of everyone, and grabs boobs.

And basically, if we go by the typical “Zegapain is like the Matrix with giant robots” it is instantly judged unfairly because it lacks cool karate, bullet-time and fancy acrobatics. There are no bankais or nine-tailed demon foxes, or a main tsundere waifubait that gets constantly sexualized, so the audience can spend most of its comments talking about her than anything else in the damn show. At the same time it’s not about man-machine codependency. Really, the machines do not need people in the show, so there goes that comparison. It is otherwise heavy on existentialism and good sci-fi ideas that are not trashed in favor of sexualizing minors. It just doesn’t look cool, and that is all it took to be unfairly forgotten almost immediately.

I started watching Zegapain because of the high ratings. The first two episodes were a major let down with stereotyped characters, typically overblown giant mecha action, and no revelation of any plot. I persisted, believing there must be something good later for it to deserve such high ratings.

The setting itself is very good. It is far more imaginative than the Matrix (which I disliked because it was standard cyberpunk rehashed). It turns around the now-standard idea of humans being enslaved by AI in a simulated reality---I can't say any more without spoilers. The back story is good, but only revealed in the middle of the anime. The scifi concepts it introduces are also interesting, such as wet and dry damage, the quantum servers and their limited capabilities, etc.

The story itself is a major let down. It suffers from every single problem possible. Poor pacing, telling rather than showing, lack of a real plot-changing twist or clear climax. I definitely could do with more focus. The first couple of episodes try to snare you with fancy animation, but tells you nothing about the plot that makes the anime unique. This is usually a sign that there's nothing to say about the story.

Characters suck so bad. Everyone is stereotyped and the lead character is some obnoxious brat who apparently wasn't so obnoxious before. I feel no love or affection for any of the characters. The bad guys are practically one-dimensional and we receive only a little insight into what the evil boss, Naaga is up to.

The sound and animation are good. The music, including OP/ED themes was good and the sound effects included subtle sounds such as footsteps and the rustle of clothes. Voice acting is par for the course, since the characters rarely called for any subtle acting. If anything gets emotional, just yell loudly to let everyone know. Animation was mostly good as is typical for Sunrise, with a small amount of unnecessary fan service thrown in. The visual design is lacking much originality though.

If you love giant mecha anime where each special move must be shouted out (FWIW, I liked Godannar), then you'd probably like Zegapain. If you thought Matrix's cyberpunk world was groundbreaking (it wasn't), Zegapain's will blow your mind. If you hate seeing a promising setting go to waste on crapping writing, don't watch this series. RahXephon is closely related, dealing with the themes of humans trapped in a fake environment and giant mecha and fighting against human-like enemies, but far better in execution.

N.B. I can imagine this series reworked beautifully as a live action scifi movie. Without the giant mecha though.

Wow, simply put, this is one series that most people can watch and appreciate. One may initially be turned away if they see "mecha" in the genre of an anime. But this anime proves the greatness this genre provides for a newer generation.

Animation
Some of the best animation in recent times. It's not overly flashy and it is very easy on the eyes. The mecha designs were some of the best original designs since Brain Powerd and RahXephon.

Sound
If you haven't purchased this Original Soundtrack, you are missing out on a lot. This anime has some of the best electronic music mergers (classical etc). It gives off an aura of nostalgia one can enjoy many times over.
Also, this show had one of the best OP/ED's for a mecha anime.

Story
Simply mind boggling. It crushes initial perceptions and really makes one take deep consideration as to what could possibly be next. In the words of a great playwright, ""For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, /When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, /Must give us pause." That best describes how severe the path the story follows.

Character
Kaminagi, Kaminagi, Kaminagi. One of the cutest characters I have ever laid my eyes on. Her voice actor did a superb job in contrasting her cuteness with her determination in her dreams and what she believes in.
Kyo was an excellent male portrayal. Much like Shishioh Guy of GaoGaiGar, he displays his exhuberance and positive aura very well initially. He overcomes even in the face of adversity. He is the epic portrayal of a realistic hero.
Several of the supporting cast also add the quality. You have your cool, nonchalant types to the fun, to the cold, goal oriented types.

The only flaw is that most of the characters play only supporting roles.

Value
I doubt that you will find many people that have not watched, will watch, or will be told about this anime. This anime will be in many anime collections as the mecha anime that many non-mecha anime fans enjoyed the most. It can never be boring and no one could ever possibly tire of it.

Enjoyment
See my score.

There is no way one can not enjoy this anime once they get so far into it. This is an anime that can redeem itself from a slow start, and have you wishing it continued on.
Many DVD's will be worn out in time from the numerous views one would have with Zegapain.

OK here are my 0.02$

I certainly got more than I was expecting from this anime - it had a stupid name (IMHO) and a yacky Mecha design (teal + pink? has the designer no taste). Thought - here is just another mecha-action anime.
Boy was I IN FOR A SURPRISE.

Animation:
I gave animation the lowest - only 7 - mainly because .. well IMHO mecha design SUX also I find the battle scenes somehow lacking perspective - something is off in the way the zegapain and enemies move in relation to each other - and on tom they reuse lot of scenes - well a lot is releticve since there isnt that much action and that is good since the rest of non-mecha-action animation is great. (well I have soem complaintds about the objects in water but thats nitpicking)

Sound
What can I say Sound is really good - OST fits the mood and is right on the right place. Loved OP and ED, they express the anime style very well. :D liked character voices also - especialy Ryoko's :D

Story
Ahh its probobly because at the moment of writing i was in a middle of SciFi dry-spell, but I found Story one of the best part. Not very original but very solid. While I found the first couple of Ep's very confusing but then the story picks up and andhook till the vary last episode. Well to be honest story is heavily based on characters swithout further ado ..:

Characters (Spoiler ALERT!!!)
Finally the other side of the story - characters. Loved everyone of them. All are well rounded and leave a nice impression. Thank god no 'over the top' whiny or superhero characters.
Well while there are a lot of characters there isn't any diging araound in their past (for a change), the characters dont seem suffer from it. While I did find Lu Shengs behavior a bit strange at the end - Considering Kyo has lost his memories :D it would be inconstent hust simply to reveal it.

Value/Enjoyment
This anime draws a very fasinating sci-fi world of reality and illusions, Science that is close to Magic (Arthur Clark). The anime call's us to examine what it means to be human what can be called human, abd to explore new forms of life and consciousness. If you're into SciFi and like Philosophical chalanges tis anime is for you - if you are only looking for anime action it isn't that great but if you would like a more serious anime it's worth to check out.
It, like the OP and ED, leaves a sort of nice melancholicaly optimistic feeling.