"The New Glitch Techs" continues season 2's trend of tackling very simple episode concepts through the series' general charm. Five oversteps his bounds to capture a rare, valuable glitch, he tries to keep it on the down-low, but guilt comes to him as the techs of neighboring town Dabney interfere with the Bailley team to get back at the robbery, which of course increasingly escalates until he finally comes clean. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rolling my eyes when this story showed itself as I was first watching this episode, but there were enough new ideas and fun twists for me to enjoy the ride in the end anyway.
The main hook of this episode is getting to know another Glitch Techs division in the Dabney team. It's a strong bit of world-building for sure, especially after following the same handful of techs for 16 episodes, and one that makes Hinobi's operations feel much wider in scope than the series has previously presented. I can't say the techs themselves leave too strong an impression though. As a group, they certainly prove highly competent and advanced in their abilities, as well as much more strict and vindictive than the Bailley team. But rarely any time is spent seeing the characters themselves shine as individuals. Nameless stands out the most, but mainly from the unusual name and his mysterious, robotic appearance. That said, I will say it is really cool to see Simi be properly introduced into the show after her original role in "Age of Hinobi" was switched over to Zahra as well as all the cameos she had. They even acknowledge the fact she used to work at their division, which is certainly appreciated.
Probably the most interesting thing about this episode story-wise is how it turns from a basic story of honesty to one about overly bitter rivalries. The Dabney techs are certainly in the right at first for getting on Five and company's case, since it's because of him they missed out on a valuable 20,000 XP, but it doesn't take long for it to reach downright petty levels and not letting them get any progress done despite there being enough fish to fry on both ends. Then it later gets revealed that the rule preventing them from crossing the border in the first place comes from Phil also stealing a glitch from them years ago. While he was obviously wrong to do this, the fact Dabney manager Joan Fishback remained bitter all this time crosses a different line by itself. It's pretty refreshing to see a conflict where both sides have their own strengths and weaknesses in how they handle it; enough to come together, take down a powerful foe, and agree to stick together going forward.
To list some more positives, the more familiar characters are all written about as well as you've come to expect by this point, with each of them getting at least a few memorable moments and having the same witty, intimate exchanges that proved strong in "BUDS" and "Find the Glitch". It's also a good example at how much the team has developed by now, with Mitch's selfishness being toned down and him actively working with Five and Miko rather than against them, as well as Miko being much more competent and serious in her job compared to how overeager she'd get in the beginning. Even Top Draw has really come into their own by this point, with a lot of the focus being put into the expression work while still leaving plenty of room for energetic, flexible action, particularly near the end.
All this makes "The Real Glitch Techs" about as middle of the road as these episodes come. But don't you worry, the next one is... something else.
Right off the bat, you'll probably notice Mitch has upgraded his look, changing his hairstyle to a more loose, bang-heavy look, as well as having a completely different vest heavy on the silver. This is due to this originally being written as the first episode of the second production season, and it taking place after a certain episode we'll get to a little later.
These kitties are probably one of the most convincing art shifts across the entire show. Their pixelized appearance looks extremely authentic, their natural movements are fittingly limited, and they stand out just well enough against the three-dimensional characters and environment. They even look paper-flat when one turns on its side. Just... great work overall.
Not only does Mitch pop inside a little bubble to talk to Five in this shot, but he's somehow able to physically poke him here. That's an interesting, albeit confusing, gag.
What is up with this shot? Is it supposed to be semi-chibi or something?
Mitch's relationship in keeping up the lie is pretty interesting. At first it looks like he's going to guilt Five in how he poached across the border, but he strangely seems to revel in it. "Hmm... maybe you aren't the hopeless goody-two-shoes I always thought you were."
Here's a weird joke: Phil talks overdramatically, making us think he's talking to his staff... only to show him making a fast food order. I don't get it. Him being dumbfounded at others knowing about a 'secret sauce' is pretty humorous though.
So apparently the memory wipe also works through touch communication? We saw something like this in "Age of Hinobi, Part 1" with Miko's TV, but this is much more overt about the actual function.
Speaking of different memory-wipe methods, this entire park of kids is all wiped at once using this little detonator.
Top Draw's strengths in their facial animation especially elevate this moment where Miko and Five fire off lame puns, much to Mitch's chagrin.
The Dabney techs's introduction is certainly flashy, and the rock music is pretty cool, but most of the poses are nothing to write home about. I like how they dab here though... and I only realized the pun as I was typing this. Dammit.
The Dabney team's vengeful nature first shows itself when it actively lets the residue from the blue smooze creature rain on them. This bullet hell shot is brief, but full of very dynamic and confident timing.
Just in case the fact the title is referring to the Real Ghostbusters wasn't obvious enough already.
I feel like Simi has become the unsung hero of this blog, as I never realized how much she cameo'd at the Bailley store (and even a tiny speaking role on one occasion) before re-watching the show. And sure enough, here she is with a voice, name drop, and everything. I wonder what gave them the idea to repurpose her character for this.
Look at that overly wide, nervous grin on Five and tell me you're not chuckling right now.
The Hinobi Bee was an early attempt at a company mascot that didn't seem to last past the pilot, and yet here it is on a billboard.
This racing sequence where the two teams attempt to trip each other up is a lot of fun. Most of the traps obviously bring to mind Mario Kart, the storyboard artists again sneak their names on the buildings, the mallet in the first image brings to mind King Dedede, and that second cap with Miko trying to chew Nameless's head is so wonderfully demented.
Another "Epic Entrance" text screen. I liked the example in "The New Recruit" better, but the 'Extra Mitch' is still good for a laugh.
A rare look at Mitch being genuinely caught off-guard. Pretty satisfying that by this point Miko is actually able to one-up him from time to time.
Five is about to tell Nameless the truth, but Mitch actively stops him from doing so and elevates the conflict further for the sake of making his team look superior. Certainly an interesting direction to take the story, and very in-character for him, especially in a story where he's a lot less cocky than usual.
Mitch counters Dabney's "Assemble and roll out" battle cry with "Let's transform and cowabunga!" To quote Miko, "Pick one battle cry to rip off, dude..."
Ray's body shape really lends itself well to some truly angular poses like this example. I wish we got more stuff like this.
Zahra gets yet another moment to be awesome, releasing the glitches from Dabney's gauntlets with some hacks of her own and relishing the moment. The energy in Zehra's performance is so perfect.
Eugh, that just looks so wrong.
The scene of Five finally spilling the beans is mostly pretty standard, but Zahra gets a funny jab in all the same. "So you stole it from Mitch after he stole it?" Plus the action resumes before this trope can overstay its welcome.
The final fight takes the opportunity to pair each Bailley tech with a Dabney one. Miko and Wes show potential (that we sadly won't get to see...) with their enthusiasm on sword fighting, Zahra and Simi's downbeat personalities make them as natural a duo as you can get, but Mitch with Ray and Five with Nameless just don't click as well with me. I don't know, I feel they should probably have been switched.
Hard not to like how Five discovers Nameless has the same preferences and interest in kitty-collection games as him though.
Probably the biggest moment of visual flair in the episode, where their gauntlet blasts are all pulled tight like a rope to make the giant smooze explode. The way it's shot and directed makes for such an exciting and badass display.
I like the back-and-forth between Phil and Joan, with him trying to make himself remain credible-looking while she chews him out. Also the creature that Phil reveals is the exact same design as the critter that messed up Hinobi's system in "Find the Glitch", and he seems genuinely upset when Joan snatches the thing back. There's definitely an interesting story there.
It'd be wrong if I didn't end on this iconic shot. Beautiful.