After a handful of early cameos and a brief role in "Age of Hinobi", it is here in "Alpha Leader" where we get a proper introduction to two more of the Bailley Glitch Techs, Haneesh and Zahra, in a strong story that knows how to keep the focus on the character dynamics and how they interact off each other while still being packed to the brim with action and a wide variety of set pieces. The idea of doing a group mission at an abandoned amusement park lends itself to a lot of creative possibilities, and while I sadly can't say they take full advantage of that, they get a lot of mileage of making the antagonists more stupid-looking and always giving the audience something new to look at. It's not quite as varied in colors or motif as Castlestein, but there's still a nice mix nonetheless.
However, also unlike "Castle Crawlers", the focus is never really on the environments so much as the character arc of Five being determined to keep up the standards established by Mitch, only to screw up the mission. It does get heavy-handed and obvious at times, the most egregious instance being Haneesh continually trying to warn Five of the glitchs' respawning ability only to always get cut off, but they make up for that with all the fun dialogue and lighthearted moments, as well as a few greatly satsifying twists and turns, like the reveal that Haneesh and Zahra hate Mitch's attitude as much as Miko and Five do. Plus, as much of a jerk as Five gets sometimes, it's very easy to see where he's coming from with just the fact he's expected to lead more experienced techs and the big-shot putting all this pressure on him.
The visuals, again from Studio 100, are probably the series' most action-packed yet. Not every movement flows well, and the environments and backgrounds aren't particularly memorable (especially after the super immersive "Castle Crawlers") but any shortcomings are easily made up for with the many action scenes, the majority of which are simply amazing to look at. Even the camera and cinematography are a few notches more ambitious than usual, with virtually every possible angle getting covered in each set piece the characters encounter while still consistently keeping the focal point on the right characters. There is still a bit of an inconsistency problem with the character animation, with some moments clearly focusing on being smooth and fluid while others are more brisk and snappy, but the style they go with at a given time generally fits the tone of the scene anyway.
"Alpha Leader" may not be the most memorable or satisfying of the series' outings, but it's still a solid introduction to Haneesh and Zahra to the regular cast, and a fun Five story in general.
This first glitch is one of the more creative throwaway designs, thanks to how creatively its animated. And it makes for a good opening battle scene, with this shot in particular being full of that zippy follow-through, especially with Miko rushing by on Ally.
Just another adorable Miko showing affection toward Ally. So cute.
Haneesh releases a speed boost for Zahra, who then jumps on it and rushes to the main glitch. This did not need to all be one shot to convey the action, but they did it anyway and the camera work is far more active than it needed to be to convey the action, looking simply incredible.
Which is only rivaled by the shot immediately after, where Zahra avoids a couple attacks before rushing up the monster's tail and back. Amazing.
You just have to love how BITT shoves this device in Mitch's nose while keeping that default expression. Simple, but is good for a big laugh.
This is BITT's funniest scene thus far. Responding to Mitch's concern that he's dying from his contamination, the robot happily pushes him remarking "Technically, ALL humans are!"
Miko gets a lot of great expressions and even better in-between work with this shot in particular, another example of them spicing up the visual appeal in a very dialogue-heavy scene.
Mitch doesn't appear too much in this episode despite him playing a very key role in the plot, but I'll say this stereotypically sinister expression is truly memorable.
Five's channeling of Mitch's style gets a fun introduction. That color gradient with all of Mitch's locker stuff sells it in my opinion.
And here are the four glitch characters from left to right: Argyle, Mecha, Tank, and Zed. This group is easily among the show's most comedic antagonists, at least as far as the ones in highlight roles, with all this incredibly naive dialogue and Tank saying all these juvenile-sounding names. And the designs are quite varied and distinct on top of that.
Miko flying on Ally is *always* a great time, as proven by these jaw-dropping shots. Special attention to the third and fourth caps; at one point, Miko jumps off Ally as the pet disintegrates, before immediately respawning her and hopping back on. This action is very easy to miss, but it's the level of detail that I can never not admire.
We don't get too many scenes of these antagonists just kind of breathing, but this one is pretty great as Tank dubs the water slide "a torture device".
The robotic movements of the hologram copies are another one of those visual quirks that elevates its humor value.
Especially fluid stuff here, with the breeze blowing in their hair and Zed winding up her own attack.
Yet another one of those "zest shots", as I'm now going to call them, with so much dynamic posing, action, and camera work packed into one complicated, ambitious shot.
The scene that follows the team's breakup isn't as successful, but anything would look like a downgrade from the previous scenes anyway.
Solid long shot, vividly emphasizing the scope of the situation.
Rare emotion out of Ally. Indignant Ally is best Ally.
The episode is smart to take a break from the action before the climax for Five to resolve his arc with the rest of the team, allowing for this humorous scene where Miko playfully teases him while Zahra and Haneesh have a chuckle.
Haneesh's face transitions from serious to eager as he mentions hacking the mainframe of the glitchs' spawn points, with himself and Zahra stating that "he loves hacking". I do wish they were able to introduce this without being this on-the-nose, but still, it's a good character quirk that was pretty cutely introduced.
Probably the best profile shot of the villainous foursome, the poses perfectly conveying each of their personalities.
The climatic fight scene isn't the most memorable, possibly because we know from the context it only exists for Five to buy the rest of the group time. Still, there's some really good use of motion blur and well-done pose work, so it's all good.
The split-screen isn't anything special for the show at this point, but the fact each of them are in very different locations makes this example all the more necessary. This makes for a creative solution in making sure the audience can see the entire action without relying on awkward cuts.
Nothing here except an amazing drawing of Five and Miko sharing a wholesome friendship moment that honestly ought to be passed around more online.
Miko really sells that "Mitch-pire" look, and Mitch's response "That is NOT what I sound like!" makes the episode end on a big laugh.
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