Written by Justin Peniston
Story by “Man of Action”
Directed by Gino Nichele
Rating: Good
Bert Wily is preparing for track and field day at school, but he wants to compete with the robots, not the humans, so he creates a pair of skull-themed techno trousers. (Ex-NASA! Fantastic for walkies!) Alas, he doesn’t even get started because Chemistry Man kidnaps the students en-mass so he can force them to listen to his lectures.
Good Points
– As usual, pretty much everything involving Bert Wily is great. It’s neat to see him talk about being able to beat every robot in school in a scenario where Mega Man comes across as the villain. Even the Wily Stage 1 remix is beautiful; for once a classic track in this show feels like more than empty fanservice.
– Chemistry Man is easily the best villain on this show so far. A boring teacher who was fired, rediscovered on the street by Sgt. Night, and then modified for combat? He’s a perfect foil for Aki the bratty half-pint. Even the pixel art cutscenes that detail his backstory are fun to watch.
– Overall this is the sort of episode you’d expect a cartoon like this to produce all the time. It’s genuinely funny with a kid’s bent that doesn’t feel forced at all.
Stupid Points
– This episode’s title is a total fake-out. In fact, most episodes seem to be named based on what random pun popped into the writers’ heads.
– Mega Mini actually seems TOO competent in this episode, being able to see things behind Mega Man and somehow determine what chemicals Chemistry Man is using without taking even half-a-breath to study them. It’s somewhat dismissable as standard kid’s show silliness though, especially in the context of everything else going right for once.
– Apart from that, the only real thing to nitpick about is Chemistry Man’s name, as Mega Man tends to approach naming with more flourish. Super strong robot? Not Muscle Man, but Guts Man. Locomotive robot? Not Train Man, but Charge Man. Chemical specialization robot? Not Chemical Man, but Acid Man. Aquatic torpedo-firing robot? Not Submarine Man, but Dive Man, and so on. How about Gel Man or Atom Man or something? How about Neutron Man because he also has a boring personality? I don’t think I could even be upset if he was called Burst Man, given his bubble shape and use of chemical bubbles. I suppose it’s fair to argue that Chemistry Man is the most suitable name a boring person like Mr. NRT would give himself, but it’s still hard to justify after how many middling and outright bad episodes this show has had so far. It would be better for Mr. NRT to name himself not after chemistry in general, but rather his favorite kind of chemical.
