Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet / Suisei no Gargantia
Genres: adventure, drama, romance, science fiction Themes: artificial intelligence, cultural adaptation, mecha, real robot, ship civilization, space Objectionable content: Significant Plot Summary: While fighting an intense inter-galactic war, a mecha pilot was accidentally warped into a space-time neither he nor the computer of his mecha could recognize. After waking up from a long-time hibernation, he found himself trapped on a planet, with human residents talking in an unknown form of language, using inferior technologies, and â most shocking to him â naturally breathable air. Number of episodes: 13 Vintage: 2013-04-07 Opening Theme: âKono Sekai wa Bokura o Matte Itaâ by Minori Chihara Ending Theme: âSora to Kimi no Messageâ by ChouCho
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet - Far Beyond The Voyage / Suisei no Gargantia: Meguru KĹro, Haruka (OAV)
Genres: science fiction Plot Summary: Six months after the battle between Chamber and Striker, the Cugel fleet has merged with Gargantia. Ledo is working as a member of Bellowsâ salvage team. On a salvage operation, Ledo discovers more records of the past civilization in a sunken ship with a salvageable hull. He reminisces about life on Gargantia with Chamber to Reema, whose ship had joined the Cugel fleet shortly before Cugel took it over. Later, he learns that the salvaged information includes specifications of a combat caliber similar to Chamber. Meanwhile the warring inhabitants of the continent have made a discovery of their own, one with which they want Ledoâs assistance. Running time: one hour Vintage: 2014-09-27 Opening Theme: âHajimari no Tsubasaâ by TRUE Ending Theme: âTaisetsuna Takaramonoâ (Precious Treasure) by Choucho
Language is a barrier and this standoff could last forever. I like how Ledo is all ready to take over the planet too! Bebel is a smart little kid â he already knows that Ledo came from space and that he is descended from humans, based on the old legends. Iâm glad that Ledo saved Bellows, but now they really donât know what to make of him! But better a friend than an enemy. At least I hope thatâs what theyâre thinking.
So, Ledo saves Bellows from the pirates but is still considered dangerous. I would have thought with such a favor, they would trust him a little more, but by killing the pirates, more will come for revenge, so in the end, Ledo really didnât help at all. Once Bellows explains what he did and the consequences to come, Ledo understands a bit better.
The pirates do come for revenge and live by the rule âan eye for an eyeâ. This could get really bad and so the fleet turns to Ledo for help. But he is under orders not to kill this time. The fleets come together at night and the battle ensues. Chamber calculates that Gargantia will lose, so Ledo decides to help out a bit more while trying not to kill anyone.
Great! The pirates have subs and commence an underwater sneak attack! Enemy Yunboros invade the fleet and Chamber alerts Ledo to their presence aboard Gargantia. The leader of the pirates, Lukkage, boldly bypasses their defenses and goes after Fleet Commander Fairlock in her Yunboroid. Ledo tries to stop her, but she suddenly has backup. Ledo easily overcomes it and orders their surrender.
Lukkage refuses to surrender and Ledo spins her around and tosses her Yunboroid into the ocean. Seeing that, her men retreat. The people on Gargantia cheer Ledo and thank him, but itâs funny that he doesnât quite understand the concept of âthank youâ. It was funny too when he said it for himself the first time to Amy. But now what are they going to do with him?
Still not knowing what to do with Ledo, he is given temporary residence in the fleet, but he has to work off the damage done when he arrived. And itâs good to see that heâs slowly learning the language. But itâs funny that Chamber is given all the work, leaving Ledo with nothing to do. He is still learning how this society works, since it is so very different from his own. Amy takes this opportunity to show him around Gargantia.
Ledo learns the concept of âfamilyâ but thinks itâs inefficient and unnecessary â at least it is where he comes from. Amy wants Ledo to meet her brother and explains that he is sick and canât walk. Ledo tells her that in the Galactic Alliance, the weak are âeliminated and disposed ofâ, which shocks Amy, but Ledo doesnât see her problem. This is how he was raised and knows of no other way. I think they are both suffering from a bit of culture shock here and just another obstacle to overcome.
Since he seeks information, Amy takes Ledo to see Dr. Oldham. Ledo asks him how he may return to the Galactic Alliance, but the good doctor tells him that most of their ancient wisdom was lost and that he has no idea how to get Ledo to where he wants to go. He shows Ledo a book and tells him that is all they know of space, but it wonât help Ledo. So, Ledo has Dr. Oldham explain Gargantia instead. I like how he calls the fleet âinefficientâ since it isnât military ready â again, itâs the only way Ledo knows.
The doctor laughs and tells Ledo that he should meet Bebel and decide things for himself. Amy takes him to Bebel and leaves them to talk. They learn much from one another and realize that they arenât all that different after all. Life here isnât as structured, but Ledo is starting to see the similarities that Bebel pointed out and has much to think about.
Bellows interrupts his musings. Ledo is feeling a bit useless and Bellows tells him to stop thinking in a military manner and to loosen up a bit. As she speaks with him, it begins to rain and this throws Ledo into a panic. Heâs never experienced rain before! But this is also the fleetâs opportunity to gather fresh water, so Chamber is put to work helping to collect it. As Ledo sees everyone pulling together to collect the rainwater, perhaps he thinks that they arenât so inefficient after all. And perhaps the weak serve a purpose too, as Ledo has a flash of memory when he speaks with Bebel again and begins to cry. A memory triggered by Bebel playing a flute. How sad! Did Ledo also have a weak little brother that was put to death? A military life may be the only way of life where he comes from, but it seems to have taken a lot away from him too.
If Ledo is going to be stuck here, then he needs something to do but his skills donât mesh with any of the jobs on Gargantia. Heâs feeling a bit useless at the moment, so he asks Amy to help him find a job. She takes him around with her on her deliveries, but no one seems to need any help. Ledo continues the job hunt on his own, but has no luck. Well, except for the farmer. Ledo could have shoveled manure, but he couldnât stand the smell!
The fleet has a âcalm dayâ and Ledo is invited to a party. Quite the experience for him! He gets to try his hand at swimming â the girls think that he has a nice body â and joins in his first BBQ. However, when the grill wonât turn on, Chamber helps out by incinerating the meat! The result is that Ledo gets his very first job from Pinion â well, he says itâs a job. Iâm not too sure about that!
Things seem to work out ok, but I think Ledo learned much more about certain areas of the fleet than he wanted to! He finally makes it back to the party, out of breath, covered in lipstick kisses and with his shirt in tatters, only to find that once again, Chamber is being put to work â this time as the grill. Looks like there are some gatecrashers at the party too, which doesnât make Pinion happy. And Ledoâs big job was all for a bottle of sauce! In the end, Amy tells a surprised Ledo that the party was for him. Pinion wanted to cheer him up because he couldnât find a job.
The wind picks up again and everyone returns to their jobs. Amy promises to keep helping Ledo find a job -without cows! And they all forgot poor Chamber, the grill and the beach maker, still asking why itâs ânecessaryâ!
Itâs funny to see Ledo struggle with the concept of money now. Amy helps him and tells him that with the upcoming festival, he may even be able to get a job fishing. She introduces him to the guild master and he explains how a fishing spot is formed. Ledo is put into a Yunboro and heâs a little taken aback to find it very different from Chamber, especially when heâs told to use his own eyes to make decisions. However, itâs easy to operate, so hereâs hoping for the best! But things go awry when Ledo realizes that he canât swim.
Later, Amy tells him that he didnât screw up that much and to just take things easy, but being a soldier, that is also a hard concept for Ledo. Amy goes off to change for the festival and Chamber offers to catch the fish for Ledo. Ledo tells him to do what he wants, so Chamber reports for fishing duty! And he makes a real nice dive into the ocean too.
Pinion gets Ledo to hang out with him and says that he will teach him about money. As they talk, Ledo admits to feeling a large gap between him and everyone else. Pinion tells him that they just need to get to know him better, but Ledo doesnât make it easy. Pinion asks him what he wants to do and Ledo says that he wants to return to the battlefront. But Pinion was talking about the ship, not space. Ledo has no idea and Pinion tells him that itâs hard to trust a guy that doesnât know what he wants. Meanwhile, Ledo should take a look at the stage. Amy and her friends are belly dancing!
Pinion says that Ledo can join him in his salvage work. But Ledo doesnât want to work for money. Pinion tells him that money is to be enjoyed and that eventually, Ledo can buy his own boat. Bellows shows up and tells Pinion that she wonât let him steal Ledo away. Where were all these job offers when Ledo really needed them? Sheesh! Unlike Pinion, Bellows promises to actually teach him the salvage business. As both try to entice him to work for them, they end up arguing with one another and Ledo finally notices the girls on the stage.
Just then, the waitress brings out the mealâs main dish and in Ledoâs eyes, itâs Hideauze â his enemy! He jumps up and pulls his gun on the dish â I guess heâs expecting the cooked octopus to attack him. LOL Ledo breaks out into a cold sweat and tells Bellows and Pinion that this is the enemy of the human race. Bellows breaks off a piece and chews on it, wondering what his reaction would be if he ever met a whalesquid. He puts his gun down and now has to deal with the fact that people eat octopus and that itâs âyummyâ. Chamber calls him, requesting support, but Ledo seems to be too entranced by Amyâs dancing to answer.
It seems Chamber has been causing problems with his fishing methods. Ledo enters Chamber to go fishing and ends up taking over the expedition. With the otherâs cooperation, they bring in a huge haul. That night, he is alone with Amy, still in her dance outfit, and when lightning strikes, he thinks itâs an enemy. He grabs Amy to protect her while he has Chamber assess the situation. I think Amy just enjoyed being held by him! Amy tells Ledo that itâs okay and has him look over to a newly formed aurora. I guess he never saw anything like that in space either. Amy tells him that they are âveils of lightâ, formed when a Swirling Galaxy falls apart. He is enchanted, but jumps a bit when he realizes that his hand is still on Amyâs shoulder and she just blushes.
Amy picks up his flute and tells him that he has to practice more and Ledo asks to see her dance again. She agrees and accompanied only by the beautiful night light, Amy dances just for him. From the look on his face, I think Ledo is falling in love. Iâm sure that will be another new emotion for him! After a visit with Amyâs brother, Ledo decides that he wants to do salvage work, but I wonder who he will choose as his boss. And the winner is â Bellows! I think that was a good choice on his part. Ledo wants to learn from Bellows and she did promise to teach him.
As they work together on a sunken ship, Ledo receives an alert. He pushes Bellows back as Chamber informs him that an Interceptor is approaching. It comes nearer and I wonder if this is that whalesquid that was mentioned earlier. But Ledo and Chamber are treating it as their own Hideauze enemy and prepare to annihilate it and save the human race on this planet.
This show isnât perfect, far from it, IMO but it is pretty interesting.
This is what Bodacious Space Piratesshould have been. Iâd wondered what would have happened if the creators of the BSP anime had made it more âaction-ladenâ and had given it more in the way of character and plot development instead of taking it down the moe-pandering, âK-On in space, without instrumentsâ route (aka âthe easy wayâ). Now I know, and I see that it is vastly superior.
If Sentai misses picking this one up, despite having the horribly lackluster BSP in its catalog, I will be disappointed.
The opening space battle in this was very reminiscent of Heroic Age, wouldnât yâall say?
Bellows yells for Ledo to leave the whalesquid alone, but itâs too late. Ledo is in battle mode and keeps attacking. The whalesquid grabs Bellows, but she gets away and Ledo finally kills the beast. Unfortunately, whalesquids are considered sacred, so Ledo did an awful thing. Just when things were getting better for Ledo, it looks like Gargantia is turning against him again. However, Ledo is still convinced that these creatures are Hideauze invaders. He even has Chamber analyze a piece of the dead whalesquid and worries that they may have followed him from space.
Both Bellows and Ledo are reprimanded by Ridget for the killing of the whalesquid. However, Ledo promises to keep killing them. Ledo tries to tell her about the Hideauze, but Ridget sees no reason for it here and now. Again, there is too much of a cultural difference here. Bellows and Ledo are dismissed while Ridget goes to report to the commander.
Amy meets up with Ledo and visiting her brother, asks him about the whalesquids. But Ledo is looking for military information and Bebel tries to explain that although terrifying creatures, they arenât enemies. Ledo insists that they are and need to be wiped out. Amy accuses him of bringing his war to Earth, but Ledo has his own theories and they seem like good ones. Ledo is also worried about how this simple, fragile world will protect itself should the Hideauze finally attack. They canât change his mind and Ledo tells them that he lives only to kill them. Bebel reminds Ledo that he is his own person now, but Ledo leaves.
Pinion has an idea to use Ledo to go treasure hunting in whalesquid territory and Bellows warns him off, but I donât think that will stop him. He also says something about getting revenge for his brother. Meanwhile, Chamber has finished his analysis and confirms that the whalesquid is Hideauze - one that has adapted to this planet - and Ledo canât even get a message to the Alliance. Ledo wonders why these humans canât see that they are in danger and Chamber tells him that their definition of âsurvivalâ is quite different from their own. Chamber offers up the Earth word âco-existenceâ which doesnât even exist in Ledoâs own language.
Itâs soon reported that a huge group of whalesquids have been sighted, heading towards Gargantia and Chamber tells Ledo this as well. Ledo calls for Chamber and Amy begs him not to go. At command, Ridget has never seen this kind of whalesquid activity before and isnât sure how to handle the situation. The fleet residents are warned to take shelter as alarms go off. The Fleet Commander appears and has the alarms turned off. He makes a fleet wide announcement that they will not be in danger as long as they do not provoke the creatures. He orders Gargantia to power down and go completely silent.
But what will Ledo do? He tells Amy to get out of his way and when she refuses, he pushes her aside. Amy grabs Ledo around the waist and begs him not to go. As they argue, Ridget appears with two armed men and orders Ledo to comply and again he refuses. Ridget tells him that if the whalesquid attack them, he can do as he pleases, but until they do, it looks as if she will take him into custody. Just then, there are massive vibrations as the pod swims beneath the fleet. Even Ledo is amazed at their incredible numbers.
Ridget continues to point her gun at Ledo and you can tell he is just itching to battle those creatures. The pod passes and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. All but Ledo, who is too angry that he was unable to carry out his mission to kill the Hideauze. He reminds Ridget that he is a soldier and with tears in her eyes, Amy shakes her heads and tells him ânoâ. Later, Pinion presents his case for treasure hunting and one of the others â Flange â wants to take his hips and go with him. But this might endanger the fleet. The Fleet Commander is about to deny their request when he suffers a heart attack. Panic prevails! I can only imagine what will happen next, but Iâm sure Ledo is going to get his wish to fight.
Commander Fairlock dies, but he passed on command of Gargantia to Ridget. Chamber has found the Galactic Alliance, but itâs too far away to reach right now. And the SOS that was sent wonât reach anyone for another 6500+ years! It looks like Ledo will never be able to go home again and he doesnât take it well. Heâll have to acclimate to this world now, whether he likes it or not.
On the day of the funeral, many feel that Ridget is too young to lead and would like to take their fleets and go with Flange. Ledo tells Pinion that he canât get home and Pinion tells him to accept his fate. He tempts Ledo with killing whalesquid and tells him that he knows where the nest is. He tells Ledo about the treasure hunting and as long as Ledo can fulfill his mission to kill Hideauze, he doesnât even want any money.
Ridget tries to get Flange to change his mind, but heâs determined to leave. He had already made up his mind before Fairlock passed away, but now he believes too that Ridget is too young and will be a target for pirates. With his departure, many will lose friends, including Amy. Melty will have to leave and Amy finds out that Ledo is going as well. Ridget is already feeling the heavy weight of command and Bellows gives her some good advice.
Amy doesnât know how to say goodbye to Ledo and Saaya suggests that she go with Melty, but Amy canât leave her brother. She tries to hide her sadness from Bebel, but he senses it anyway. Amy ends up breaking down. Bebel finds Ledo preparing to leave and asks him not to go. Ledo says that he must go to protect the human race, including Amy, but Bebel tells him that she doesnât want that. Ledo tries to explain his reasons to Bebel in order to make him understand.
All this time, the funeral has been taking place and Ridget had been avoiding it. At the last possible moment she gets to say her farewell. The funeral itself was interesting and once the body was sent into the sea, Ridget addresses the assembled mourners and gives a lovely speech about her new command and asks for everyoneâs help to make her command a success. Her plea is met with silence, but just as Bellows is ready to agree with her, others begin to speak up. In the end Ridget is pleased to accept the cooperation of those remaining behind and thanks everyone.
Ledo visits Amy and Bebel for one last time to say his goodbyes. Ridget finally signs the separation agreement. Amy watches as the fleets separate and Bellows comforts her. She calls them all fools for leaving and Amy just stares after them. Iâm sure she will see Ledo again though.
They end up in the Sea of Mist and here there are stories of people never returning. Pinionâs sonar has detected something and Ledo is sent down to investigate. Itâs a Hideauze colony and I donât think anything would have made Ledo happier. This Earth-type is very weak compared to what heâs used to and Chamber says that they can drive them away. However, Ledo is determined to massacre every last one of them.
Pinion remembers the past, where he and his brother found a building here. Pinion had kept watch while his brother went to take a look inside. He reports that itâs full of heavy machinery. A whalesquid takes a good look at Pinion then follows the other man into the building. Iâm starting to get a bad feeling about these creatures. The building also contains a whalesquid nest! The whalesquid attack and Pinionâs brother is killed. So, I guess Pinion is not only here for treasure, but also to get revenge.
Ledo continues his killing spree and encounters what he calls the âmain forceâ and their numbers are steadily increasing as Ledo gets closer to the building. The whalesquid are also starting to look more organized. Chamber suggests retreat, but I donât think Ledo will give up that easily. Pinion sends down depth charges and that takes care of quite a few of the monsters. The plan continues.
Ledo goes on to the âbaseâ where the whalesquid nest is, killing as he goes. Inside the building, he suddenly encounters a large whalesquid carrying eggs. I thought it looked like white corn on the cob! LOL Anyway, power is low and Chamber once again suggests retreat. But Ledo canât let this chance slip away. Several smaller whalesquid attack and cover Chamber and it looks like the big one is going to swallow him.
Pinion can no longer reach Ledo and his team fears the worst. Ledo finally responds and everyone cheers. Ledo continues on and finds a room of developing Hideauze children. Strangely, they resemble humans and many are killed as Chamber moves forward. In another room, Ledo comes across a data module, primitive by his standards, but he wonders if the data can be salvaged. Chamber is able to extract the data and restore it, as well as translate it for Ledo.
The building they are in turns out to be a research facility, but Chamber will not say anymore as the information is classified by the Galactic Alliance. But Ledo finds a way around that and the information is disclosed. It is the recorded opening of this research facility, shortly before the coming of the fifth ice age. The citadel studied evolution in the area of human genome manipulation and garnered protesters from around the world. At this time, with the Earth cooling down to such a degree, people were looking to space in order to survive. Tensions escalate against the âEvolversâ and the citadel is attacked.
Meanwhile, the immigrants in space search for a viable planet that may take centuries to discover. The human body was made to evolve in order to adapt to space. Whalesquids are shown to be âsymbiontsâ in this process. Atrocious experiments were performed that violated every human law as humans were combined with these symbionts. The war with the Evolvers extended into space. A wormhole drive was created to escape the solar system but the Evolvers intend to seize it and use it for themselves.
I can guess what happened. Ledo is in complete shock. To think his greatest enemy was once human! And that this war with the Evolvers continues to this day in space. I wonder if anything of that wormhole still exists. I know it was supposed to self destruct, but you never know. Perhaps Ledo could get home after all and do something about all of this.
Chamber considers the information to be propaganda since it contradicts Galactic Alliance doctrine, but Ledo isnât so sure. A whalesquid humanoid, similar to one that was recorded in the data, appears before Ledo and looks curious about him. Chamber acts on his own to destroy it, crushing it in his hand before Ledo can stop him. Ledo screams. Pinion wonders what Ledo has been doing all this time. Back on Gargantia, Bebel has learned to play the flute that Ledo had left him and Amy cries when she hears it.
Have you ever started watching a show and seen that the show had potential to be great, but also saw that there was a painfully obvious and lesser route that a show could take, and then had that show take said route? Because I just experienced that with Gargantia and let me tell you it is depressing.
It also would have been appreciated if thereâd been a strong character in the show. The closest we get, until ep 12 (not counting the AIs), and even then it is debatable, to a strong character is the lesbian pirate. BTW, did anyone else notice that she was given a less hideous countenance when she shows up again?
The show itself isnât depressing. What I find depressing about it is that the show could have been, should have been, much better than it was. It was average when it could have been exceptional.
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Except for the quasi-lesbian pirate I still do not see any strong characters. âRidgetâ was a punk, Bellows hasnât had enough development to be called either way (there are only 2 reasons sheâs in the show: to give Ledo a speech and to give us some early background on Pinion :lol: ). Shoot, Pinion was the only male Gargantian to have anything close to backbone and he only got it once the aforementioned pirate evinced it.
Well, Iâll try to provide a bit more detail since you asked me to. :cheer:
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Only the Pirate Queen counts as a strong character unequivocally from that list. Pinion spent the bulk of the series being the loveable screwup that everyone ragged on and no one respected, a âspinelessâ beta male (inherently a weak character type), and it was only once he was faced with something that appalled him and was reminded of his manhood by the aforementioned pirate queen that he began to grow a spine, the first step on the way to being a âstrongâ character
Bellows barely had any screentime to be developed, [details=spoiler]but based on what little weâve seen Iâm going to extrapolate that she was a horribly weak character: she lambasted Ledo for rescuing her from the pirates, telling him that it was preferable to be taken captive and (presumably) raped by the pirates than to kill them. The example you list regarding her interaction with Pinion doesnât really count for much as a feisty glare does not a strong character make and no one took Pinion seriously so his implicit threat of physical violence didnât merit concern from Bellows.
I didnât like how the series waited until that moment you mention, the âconflictâ between Pinion and Bellows, to introduce to us that Pinion is, despite his effervescent nature, bent on revenge and personal redemption regarding an incident in his past. Suddenly ârevengeanceâ has become his primary motivation when weâd heard not a whit about it prior to that point. The way they sprung that on us, and then used it as an integral part of their segue into the next âarcâ of their tale, was pretty poor plot design. I think that these flaws in plotting could have been eliminated if the show had been longer but then I remember that Madoka Magica was the same length and was not so plagued by these problems.
Iâm going to broach the subject of Ridget, and how she is also a weak character. [details=spoiler]No one took her seriously (My theory as to why: her name lol). She was an excellent bureaucrat, but only when she had someone above her in the hierarchy. She did have the ability to lead: she could pull the trigger and hit the target dead center but she needed someone else to call the shots. Thatâs not the mark of a strong character. The dissent of the relatively demure ship captains shown at her ascension to command was telling. Her speech where she tells everyone that she is incompetent and requires their assistance, even bowing to them in screwy supplication, stripped her of any hope of being a strong character and dashed any hopes she had of earning respect. While Pinion took a step forward, she took a few steps back. Itâs not so much that sheâs an incompetent leader that makes her a weak character as much as that, despite her rank, sheâs the one being led and thatâs how she wants it, and literally begged for it, to be
Speaking of poor plotting again, when Ridget was the de facto commander of the fleet no one voiced any problems with her. As soon as she becomes the âleaderâ many ranking officials start ragging on her, suddenly denigrating her for everything from her incompetence down to her age. Why wasnât anyone shown expressing this dissent when she was given command of the fleet earlier on in the show? It feels cheap to rely on the audienceâs acceptance of the cliche of the veterans being largely unhappy that a newbie has been promoted above them in general rather than making a specific case for it by showing the true sentiments of the other officials during the series. Of course, that would have required developing those ranking officials early onâŚ
Ledo was not a strong character. [details=spoiler]I believe the angsty back-and-forth he has with Chamber is a good place to start for corroborating that. That being where Ledo reveals that he canât make up his mind on what to do, that he wonât make the hard choice, and he begs Chamber to make up his mind for him, which he does. I suppose I should also mention that his objection to attacking Gargantia only really arose after he was shown, in an act of ham-fisted plotting by the series, a video of Amy. His âdecisionâ to rebel in ep 10/11 was brought about in no small part by his carnal desires rather than by principle and his âconvictionâ to follow through with that âdecisionâ was given to him by his robot.[/details]
Amy is questionable given your premise as we didnât see that much of her life-[details=spoiler]we saw little of it except for what was shown to Ledo-but even still she did have a surrogate father figure in The Sage and she had her brother as her counterpart. While she had to physically care for him, he was the one who kept her going. Iâd be more inclined to say that the brother was stronger than she as he remained strong in the face of crushing adversity but we didnât get to see that much of him which makes it a tad unclear IMO for, despite being rather precocious, he was still very much the wide-eyed little kid which mandates further examination. On a tangent, his âphilosophicalâ speech on âpurposeâ was utter claptrap and bogus.
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By episode 12 there are no fewer than [details=spoiler]4 âdifferent ways of livingâ on display in the series by my count. I canât say that Iâm a fan of the art, and I canât believe that in 2013 Japanese CG studios are still skipping frames in animation, presumably to save money. The animation shortcuts used in the ep 10/11 showdown were heinous, it was like watching an early Dragonball Z fight, only without the excuse that each frame had to be painstakingly drawn by hand. I adapted to it, but it wouldnât be what Iâd point to if I wanted to showcase a title with consistently great animation.
What I want to know is [details=spoiler]why the Gargantians sanctimoniously declared that killing the whalesquid was âwrongâ. When word makes it back to Gargantia that the whalesquid have been annihilated the Gargantians rain down shame and judgment on Ledo and his associates but no reason for this was given. Originally their reasoning was âdonât kill the whalesquid because theyâll beat the tar out of us if you doâ (which they were shown to have meant when some of them originally called the whalesquid âsacredâ) but that was moot at this point.
Also, why did they insist that they [details=spoiler]couldnât kill the whalesquid when Pinion is shown lobbing WW2-esque depth charges down into the abyss and murdering them by the bushel? The way they suddenly had the depth charges, without explanation, implies that they always had them and that everyone knew of them and their efficacyâŚor that they were a minor Deus Ex Machina.
MOD EDIT: Please use spoiler tags when referring to plot points, others may not have seen these episodes yet.
I guess weâll just have to agree to disagree. Could you add a spoiler to your above reply so as not to give away any plot details to anyone whom hasnât seen the series thus far?
Negative. For me to âagree to disagreeâ with you on this is to accept your premise, paradoxically agreeing with you, which I cannot do as I vehemently oppose it. On a different subject I do not see how, except through sheer intransigence, youâre clinging to your position on certain characters in this show. Perhaps I would if youâd properly further your position in the public debate that you initiated.
So I finished Gargantia. If it were dubbed, Iâd buy it. I have to say that I was expecting more, something on the level of Madoka Magica after the hype. This had no twist, no (intentional) irony and left a lot of questions unanswered, in a bad way. I think that the creators of this put too much focus on their goal of making this an allegory than on telling a profound, coherent story and thatâs a crying shame IMO.
Three questions about the end:
Why did the Gargantians become massive hypocrites?
Why did Ledo change his outlook on âwhalesquidâ?
When did the Gargantians get that âfinal giftâ from Lukkage? I donât remember her being shown giving the Gargantians a special shell for their ridiculous uber-cannon
Ledo is in complete shock and Iâve no idea how he will come to terms with this. Heâs back on Pinionâs ship but he isnât doing well at all. Pinion is getting his treasure and suddenly doesnât want to share. Things are going to his head and he even sends out a warning for all ships to stay away. You just know thatâs going to invite trouble! Flange is even losing his command to Pinion. Ledo reflects on his history and refuses to return to the nest.
Pinionâs broadcast has been heard on Gargantia and is causing a few problems. None are happy about the whalesquid being annihilated. Amy is just missing Ledo. Pirates have begun to go after Pinion, but so far, they arenât much of a threat. However, Pinion is letting some of the captured pirates join him and that may not be a good idea.
Ledo falls deeper into despair and begins to question everything. With Chamberâs help, Pinion is very happy with his new found weaponry. He will think himself a force to be reckoned with and that head of his will never stop swelling. Chamber finds more evidence that the whalesquid are connected to humans and reports his findings to Ledo. Chamber is a machine and has no feelings and yet Ledo takes offense at this fact. He doesnât understand how Chamber can be like this when everything heâs lived for and fought for is a lie. Chamber only tells him that heâs ârecognized an error in his knowledgeâ and that puts Ledo over the edge.
Running to Chamber, Ledo tells him that he canât fight fellow humans; there is no point to fighting them and he can no longer murder them. Chamber disagrees and tells him that even with this new knowledge, there is no reason to stop fighting the Hideauze. After all, they are bent on wiping out the human race. Ledo says that heâs had enough of the âAllianceâs brainwashingâ, but Chamber tells him that he arrived at this conclusion on his own. It is their very differences that make them enemies and civilization plays an important part in this. Chamber tells Ledo that he must realize the importance of existence.
An alert goes off. In the course of their conversation, Chamber has received a Galactic Alliance message. There is an allied mech nearby. Ledo identifies it as Commander Kugel. It seems another group is approaching them and it looks like this one is some kind of whalesquid cult! This should be interesting.
I hope that they get Ocean tondo this dub. Iâm getting weary of the barrage of studiopolis/bangzoom dubs from them. Also anyone that the CA studios have who could do the role of Chamber justice was likely in fate zero and itâll be âtoo soonâ for a recast IMO.
Plus this show deserves better than the dub that K got, if the trailer for that is indicative of the overall quality of that dub. Besides, Iâd rather hear Brad Swaile than Bryce.
Flange puts his fleet on alert as the ships approach. Kugel contacts Ledo and he joins his commander, happy to see that he is alive and well. Pinion fires a shot at the ships and his âgreetingâ is returned, doing some damage to his ship. He sees something like Chamber on one of the ships and contacts Ledo. Ledo informs Pinion that heâs returning to the Galactic Alliance and leaves the ship.
As Ledo lands on the other ship, the people make a strange formation and Ledo wonders if theyâre under military command. Ledo is welcomed and taken to a room to await Kugel. Kugel appears as a hologram and tells Ledo that he has a disease which prevents him from leaving the cockpit. He asks Ledo to follow him again and Ledo never thought there was any question of doing so. However, Chamber contacts Striker requesting information on Kugelâs disease and Striker transmits it.
Pinion is a bit confused as to why Ledo left and he and his crew speculate that the ones on the ships may be after his treasure. Flange orders the crew back to work and also speculates with Pinion. Flange then gets a message that the other ships want to meet with a representative. Flange argues with Pinion over who that should be, but the message also said that they want to meet with Pinion, so that settles it. Flange still doesnât like it, but reluctantly agrees. A boat is sent for him and itâs none other than Lukkage!
Lukkage warns Pinion to watch what he says as she escorts him to the other ships. Pinion sees how badly the residents of the ship are doing and Lukkage tells him that âthe weak serve the strongâ. Meanwhile, Ledo reports to Kugel that the Hideauze are human. But, Kugel already seems to know that fact as he answers that they are âformer humansâ. In fact, all the higher ups in the Alliance knew it. Kugel tells Ledo that the Hideauze are still enemies to be fought and killed. He tells Ledo that heâs brought happiness to this fleet, but when Chamber asks Striker for a definition of this, it isnât what you think happiness would be to anyone else; itâs a very military definition. And Chamber agrees with it! Then again, Chamber is a military machine, but Ledo still seemed a bit surprised at his agreement. Kugel then invites Ledo to âchange the planetâ with him and I donât like the way that sounds.
Pinion is left in an empty room and amuses himself by tinkering with a cube that was on a table. Strikerâs voice suddenly welcomes him and tells him that the cube was a test of his technical proficiency. He passed and he notes that the voice sounds like Chamber. A holographic Striker appears to him. She is willing to offer him the knowledge of machines in order to repair them better. His aptitude may even produce new weapons. Striker tells him that he can become an engineering officer. Pinion says heâs not a soldier and is more concerned with the safety of his fleet. As long as their safety is guaranteed, Pinion offers to âhelp outâ â probably a dumb move on his part.
Striker disappears and Pinion is brought a feast. But before he dines, heâs given a speech to read and his forehead is painted. The speech is broadcasted to Flangeâs fleet and informs them that they are joining their fleet with Kugelâs! I knew he shouldnât have agreed to help Striker! Flange sees it as a surrender and his only choice is to accept it. The fleets are joined and Kugelâs people board Flangeâs ships. This group is just so creepy with their hooded cloaks and painted foreheads. Kugel is informed that his fleet will be split up. Heâs against it, but again, he doesnât have much of a choice, especially when the group pulls out their guns! Flange kneels to the priestess and is called a âservant of Kugelâ, as his forehead is painted.
Lukkage gives Pinion a tour and tells him how things work in this new âfairâ society. As she takes him to his quarters, they pass a strange sight. Lukkage tells him what is happening to his fleet and says he shouldnât try to contact any of his friends for a while. And Chamber scans Ledo for the disease that Kugel has. Chamber has his own theory as to why Kugel stays inside Striker â to impress upon his people a strong leader. Ledo is starting to realize that Kugel is ruling by instilling fear in others. Chamber agrees with this as well. Ledo wonders if he ever should have left his own cockpit. I think heâs learned too much and has had to think for himself for a while now. Heâs gotten new ideas and itâs going to be hard to give all that up.
It seems Lukkage isnât all that happy either and is looking for a way out. It must have been hard for her as well to give up being a leader and I wonder how that happened and how she met Kugel. Ledo awakens inside of Chamber and Kugel tells him that he needs his help with an âawareness programâ for the people of this world. Kugel wants to attack Gargantia! No! No! No! Ledo has to prevent this!
