The 1999 TV series reaches a rather inconclusive conclusion in these final episodes. When Erts is commissioned as a full-fledged pilot, the familiar group of students find themselves in competition to succeed him as "top candidate." The rivalry between Zero and Hiead threatens to become a murderous duel when a training exercise turns into a space battle with the alien Victims. Hiead"s "Repairer" Ikuni sabotages Zero"s mecha suit in an effort to win over her aloof partner, but the inexplicably cat-eared Azuma covers for her. Much of episode 9 is devoted to an odd dream, in which Zero sees himself and his friends as 19th-century schoolchildren. Neither his dream nor his visions of a mysterious, long-haired woman are ever resolved satisfactorily: Pilot Candidate borrows elements from Evangelion and various Gundam adventures but fails to integrate them into a coherent narrative. Rated 13 Up: Violence, minor profanity, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon