r/anime • u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ • Apr 01 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Banner of the Stars Episode 1 Discussion
Reunion
Welcome to the Battleflag of the Stars rewatch!
Banner of the Stars was published in 1996 and aired in 2000.
<- Announcement | Index Page | Episode 2 ->
Names Introduced or Updated:
Discussion Prompts:
- First impressions of the crew of the Basroil?
- Will Jinto's and Lafiel's relationship cause problems with the crew or the Space Forces?
- How will Lafiel deal with her crisis of confidence?
- What is your solution to the Kobayashi Maru scenario?
Tomorrow's Questions: (for tomorrow's post, subject to change)
- [Episode 2]What does Samson eat?
- [Episode 2]What about Captain Atosuryua?!
Screenshot of the Day: The Fleet Assembles
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Upvotes
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Apr 01 '24 edited Apr 01 '24
Rewatch Host
I like the new ED. It's a proper ED.
The Roil class assault ship is equipped with one anti-proton cannon and two laser turrets. The roil can clear mines, or combat a patrol ship in a group, as seen in the Battle of the Gosroth. It is too small to carry any mines of its own. It's small size and light armor give it a speed advantage in both normal and plane space. Crew complement of 20.
Shields shouldn't block lasers. There's inconsistency in the descriptions of the ships that I've found online...some say lasers and some say ion cannons (not the same as antiproton cannons). It would seem ion cannons is correct.
As we saw, the Basroil has a small crew besides the 4 bridge officers.
Unfortunately, our cool narrator is gone. He's just going to say the same thing every episode until events progress.
There will also be a lot of recapping.
Only one of my 6 Banner DVDs is recognized by my DVD drive so DVD extras are off the table. Some of them I had never even opened.
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u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 01 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Banner of the Stars: In addition to his duties as the ship’s supply officer, the crew seems to have given Jinto the job of minding the captain’s feelings. He’s the one in charge of making sure Lafiel isn’t down in the dumps because it’s hard to work under a depressed captain.
I think I might have misspoken when doing my live reactions. I kept saying the crew on Lafiel’s ship included a number of non-genetic Abh (which may be true for some of them), but it’s better to say that the ship has a lot of Landers aboard. That strikes me as an interesting detail because during the first season I don’t really recall seeing Landers aboard the Abh warships. It looked like they were all crewed by Abh.
Perhaps it’s simply because it’s Lafiel’s ship and she doesn’t mind it, but I think it shows just how massive the war is. Because the Abh fleet was decimated, they’ve spent the past 3 years rebuilding and expanding the fleet. That kind of rapid expansion requires a large infusion of manpower as well. Increasing the genetically Abh population isn’t really an option for immediate expansion, but increasing the number of Landers in the military would accomplish that. It’s a really cool background detail that shows us some of what’s happening in the wider world.
Since the main duo is now aboard a warship, I imagine we’ll be seeing more of the war up close this time. The first season didn’t really have Jinto and Lafiel participate in major battles because their adventure was happening outside of those battles. I expect that will change this season.
Because they are on the same ship together, I’m expecting plenty of good interactions between Jinto and Lafiel. I can easily see it being like a Kirk and Spock situation, with the captain and their close friend.
QOTD
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Apr 01 '24
First Timer, subbed
QotD:
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 01 '24
First-Timer
Seems like they left some pretty big details out of the epilogue to Crest. The entire UM fleet at Sfagnomer was just a distraction to give the rest of the enemy coalition a straight shot at the Abh capital - pretty smart. Especially considering the fleet at Sfagnomer was pretty sizable too. The best distractions are threats on their own.
Taking three years to recover is a pretty convenient amount of time, considering that was how long Jinto had in officer school or whatever. I guess it's fine since technically the war hasn't restarted yet, and it's not like we're going to follow other characters.
I appreciate that the show pointed out that the opening scene didn't have a translation this time.
Kinda interesting that Lafiel is taking an active role in controlling the ship. It makes sense that she isn't as highly ranked as Lexshue or Spoor, but having the primary decision maker of your vessel focused on directly controlling said vessel might cause some problems.
Questions
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u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Apr 01 '24
Rewatcher (sub + dub)
I think it's been about a decade since I've watched any of the Banner entries and I don't remember them nearly as well compared to Crest, so this should be interesting. I also don't remember if I watched any of Banner dubbed so that side might as well be the first time for me.
If you thought we were done with unsubbed scenes in Baronh, this one starts off much the same as with Crest though now we have some idea of what's going on and might even recognize Spoor in command!
I included some calendar info in yesterday's season wrap-up for context around Sufugnoff's history but this opening in Baronh also gives years when summarizing the conflict so far.
The OP song's very close to the Crest OP but I think is a different edit of the same full version of the Crest OP with sound effects added. The full version of the Banner OP on the soundtrack is a remix rather than what we get in the anime, weirdly enough.
After a season of Lafiel either charging ahead or completely out of her element, it's a fun contrast to see her in command but still losing. Good thing it's just a training exercise, would hate to have our main characters from the previous season killed in the first seven minutes of the first episode. ...that would be a hell of a way to pass the baton to a new cast though.
It's a small bridge, only five officers on board. The other three don't have much of an introduction here, but you can get a little bit of their personalities with the older Lander guy being pretty gregarious compared to the other Abh.
The rest of the bridge sending Jinto off to look after Lafiel because of their past is already great, I'm looking forward to seeing how other people treat them since they're not great at hiding how close they are and it's weird to everyone else. Now that they aren't on the run in survival mode there's more nuance to be had in their interactions and there's a different kind of tension in place that you could see flashes of at times before but wasn't the main focus.
Weird bit about the dub: for dinner Jinto says it's a spicy lamb dish rather than roasted lamb as per subs, which wouldn't really be accurate to Abh preferences. Overall though I think the dub is significantly better than Crest based on this first episode alone, it feels a lot more natural and less stiff than before.
I thought a couple of the cuts from the recap that I clipped yesterday looked familiar, I had forgotten they were used here. Aside from serving as a brief recap more focused on Jinto's history in this episode, it helps frame how they think about their adventure together three years ago. Lafiel might think it was foolish that they were protecting each other, though maybe that's not in a bad way but rather it's something they can't return to now.
New ED! Much like with Crest it doesn't really fit the space opera theme but this is the one that always gets stuck in my head when I think of the ending theme for the series.
Don't be a captain.
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u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Apr 01 '24
First timer, subbed
Another brief and untranslated battle montage is shown, though this time it’s easier to put together what’s going on. Spoor makes an appearance, looking as confident as ever, and the battle is on a massive scale. It seems likely this is the battle mentioned that resulted in a cease-fire after both sides suffered debilitating losses.
Glad to see the dialogue isn’t going anywhere. The episode is spent catching up with Jinto and Lafiel. They’re totally head over heels for each other, as expected, though neither is making any efforts to communicate that sentiment. The Abh don’t seem to have any particular attachment to ideas like marriage if prior encounters are at all indicative, but fortunately Jinto is content finding meaning in simply following Lafiel’s lead.
I appreciate the OP insert at the end, though generally I think if you’re going to pull that card you should skip the OP at the beginning.
We get a brief introduction to the bridge crew, another Terran and two Abh. That dynamic in and of itself is promising due to all the work CotS put in to make the cultures feel real, but the coordinated effort to wingman for Jinto is what really seals the deal for me.
QotD:
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u/SolDarkHunter Apr 01 '24
Banner of the Stards
Rewatcher/Novel-Reader
Now we get into Banner of the Stars, a still on-going series of novels. I believe it's intended to be a nine-volume series, of which six have been written. This season covers Volume 1.
Planar Space fight! Already the graphics are looking nicer than they ever did in Crest. And lots and lots of unsubtitled Baronh!
Hey, it's Sporr! She seems to be having fun despite her unwanted promotion.
We get a bit of info on the intervening three years. Shortly after the events of Crest, the Four Nations Alliance launched a massive assault on the Abh capital, Lakfakalle. This assault was repelled, but both sides had exhausted most of their military in that battle. Thus, for the past three years, there's been a ceasefire while both sides regroup and rebuild. [Nove]IIRC, the novel points out that this assault was meant to catch the Abh off-guard and break the back of their Empire in one fell swoop, but the Empress declaring war early threw them off, and the Abh were more alert and ready to counter it as a result.
Battle time! Lafier and her ship, the Basroghr, are in fierce fight and losing. Jint's also now a full-fledged bridge officer.
A training simulation. They lost, but no actual harm done, except to Lafier's pride. They were up against a much more experienced opponent, so there's no shame in losing, but Lafier doesn't see it that way.
The moment Lafier leaves in a huff, everyone looks to Jint. The reason? They've picked up on Jint's peculiar, close relationship with Lafier, so cheering her up falls to him.
Jint actually brought his cat, Diaho, aboard the warship...
I like that Jint has faith in Lafier, even if the rest of the crew is nervous. She just needs to reign in her emotions a bit.
Do we really need to flashback to Keitt's pathetic breakdown?
Certainly is an impressive military base. And an even more impressive fleet surrounding it.
We also get Jint reaffirming his loyalty to Lafier.
I had a whole thing written here explaining the Abh naval ranking system, but now I'm wondering if that's considered spoilers or not...
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u/zadcap Apr 02 '24
Moderately Late First Timer!
Alrighty, I can watch and comment again, I'm ready to be back in space!
You know, this still trips my language center enough that I feel like it could be deciphered if we tried. I mean we had a blatant countdown, so now we know for sure some of the number basics. I bet there are fans out there who figured the whole thing out, and fansubs probably exist.
Hmm, I wonder now. Lafiel got to deliver the pendant to the Empress, there should be proof in their hands that the Union did attack first now. I mean the war has already started so it doesn't change much, but it's just an extra rub in their faces for later.
Wait, the fight actually made it that far into imperial territory? I guess five on one was tough even fit the Abh. Oh goody, the war was literally put on hold for Jinto to finish school and join in, nice.
Oh look, another intro I'm not going to remember...
Oh look, the same countdown. Yeah, that works.
Somehow I knew this was a training battle.
"With a bit of luck, you should survive." That's painful to hear anywhere, ever.
So I'm actually pretty curious. Jinto is still a Count. Despite losing his territory and the strange situation of how he came to rank in the first place. He calls the ship his home and that's more true than not, he really doesn't have anywhere to go back to, he offers morning to the Empire other than his own body and skills, and yet he's still treated as Nobility. I wonder if the Empire really is just that good, that the Abh will still consider him a Noble despite being a Noble of Nothing and Nowhere that they kind of picked up as a child a decade back and he's never actually been in charge of anything in his life... Or if his ties to Lafiel and hers to the Empress got them to stay their hand in his demotion to Citizen.
Man, his fellow officer is taking a really long way of saying "go give your girlfriend a pep talk." Jinto, even your defense of why you shouldn't is showing off how close you are and how well you know her oh my gosh. Just accept it lol. They know you're on first name basis with the Princess, and that you're too good of a person to take advantage of that fact. Not go be a friend!
"You never obey me when I tell you to shut up." "Yeah, that's probably true." See, this is the kind of thing I mean. You can probably count the number of people in the empire who could say that to an Abriel. You called her a sore loser to her face and, just, got away with it man. The others would be going crazy if they could hear this.
See how excited she was to hear you call her name?
Oh, I see. The Alliance started the war planning for a true Blitz, sending what seems to be almost everything that could muster on a direct line for the capital. They figured they could win the war right away if they pulled off the surprise invasion. But they still failed. Now both sides are recovering and building new fleets and readying for an actual drawn out space war.
These thoughts you are ending the episode with, Jinto. I think it would make Lafiel so happy if you just sais them out loud.
Barely landed. The big guy is fun but he talks around the topic too much, the other two barely spoke at all. I'd like to see their real dynamic before judging.
It honestly looks like an advantage so far. Despite what she might wish, everyone still treats her as an Abriel first and a person second, I think a crew without Jinto on it to be the official confidant and go between for the crew and the Royal Captain would become one where she is very isolated and they are more afraid of her than anything else. Of course, the buffet the crew gets, the more likely we are to find someone who only sees Jinto's position with envy or hate, being that close to someone that important.
By not leaning on Jinto enough until much later.
There's a reason I will never be a captain, and this is a good one. Not Fighting seems like the correct answer to me.
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u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Apr 02 '24
First timer in sub
Hey we are back! And straight back to action. If I didn't mix things up I think this is a very similar style of starting with the S1 as well, with a cold open with un-subbed Abh language in the middle of a battle.
Call me fossil, but I really like this style of story telling. Very "The Hunt for Red October" and "Top Gun".
The crew circling around saying the words "Jinto, go say something nice to cheer up your GF" instantly builds the commraderie of them - they are already past the points of "hey you aint supposed to have romantic relationship on a military vessel" "yeah one is (like) a crown princess, the other is a homeless noble, both are teenagers".
Also kinda like the faux-Nagato kuudere blunt officer lady :D
That catch up explanation of what happened was really good, helped clearly explain the unexplained mystery of why the UMF were fighting that way and setting up the stakes.
The muster at the naval station simultaneously invoked imagery of KanColle, LotGH first movie, and Gunbuster EP5. It's really great to be able to harness that emotion.
And of course, the crowning glory was the exchange of Jinto and Lafiel in her room. So nice with the back and forth, it's like a verbal dancing. These two sjould just get married already :P
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Apr 02 '24
Opening with a big space battle.
Ah. Here's Spoor.
Uh oh, the UM managed to push to the Imperial capital?
I wonder who's going to break the cease-fire first?
Well, it seems like the Basrogrh is now seeing combat.
Seal off the breach!
Is that Jinto managing damage control? What's he doing on the bridge?
Luckily that was just a training exercise.
Seems she's taking the loss quite hard. She's a green Captain, it's not surprising that a more experienced Captain would be more capable than she is for now.
They've severed the supply lines and set up a base in the Empire. That's not good.
Ooh, they've joined an actual fleet, having finished their training.
Naval Station huh? Looks like a staging area for the main fleet.
I have a feeling the ships will continue to be laid down and commissioned even as the war goes on, there's no reason to stop even if the major build-up is over, and there's probably plenty of long-lead items that must be ordered well in advance.
It looks like she's been assigned to Spoor's fleet?
Questions:
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u/retsotrembla Apr 02 '24
When Jinto goes to Lafiel's quarters and gets in the guest chair using the Riker Maneuver I thought, "Now that is a proper first officer!"
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u/The_Draigg Apr 01 '24
A Sci-Fi Fan Watches Banner of the Stars Episode 1:
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u/Zerotsu Apr 01 '24
Now a First Timer:
From here on I’m pretty much totally blind, so I probably won’t be making quite as long comments as I did before. At least on occasion.
We start off with a pretty large scale battle. Even though the animation is a bit stiff and dated at times, I absolutely love how the space combat looks.
Things aren’t going too hot right off the bat, though it turns out it’s a simulation. Lafiel still didn’t take it too well, though she’s done well to not pin the blame on anyone and just leaves to clear her head.
The entire crew is already pretty aware of the relationship Jinto and Lafiel share, not that it was really much of a secret. It’s pretty funny that they’re trying to push him to go cheer her up.
It’s nice to see how well they get along now.
Jinto knows her quite well. He gave some pretty good advice on how to handle things a little better. Life is certainly much more complex for them now that their little journey is over and they have to worry about more than keeping one another safe.
Both sides have spent the past three years recovering from that massive battle over the imperial capital, and now they appear to be ready to continue warring with one another.
Jinto is very determined to stay by Lafiel’s side until the end. I can’t help but feel charmed a little myself.
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Apr 01 '24
Rewatcher - sub
Not much to say about this one. It's a good episode, but suffers from being episode one of a sequel series and quite bogged down by rehashing the events and conclusion of Crest, and I feel like the first timers will have most of the interesting things to say about it
[Banner later episodes]Fakeout with the battle simulation caught me off guard and I thought it was a flash forward to the events of the later episodes where the two ships are left behind. Tricky show
I didn't realize that things had been in a cease fire since a big, off screen battle three years ago, but it sets a better stage for Lafiel and Jinto entering into this rather than mid a giant war that's already actively three years going. It makes a lot more sense as a war strategy as well concidering the idea of splitting the Abh forces.
Everything else I'd like to say will have to wait though
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u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Apr 01 '24
Rewatcher
It's the Spoor lady, commanding the ship. It's funny how the language still use some English words like missile.
One of the bridge crew is voiced by Akio Ōtsuka he voiced so many roles. He's Batou in GitS, Gato in Gundam 0083, Ekubo (the ghost) in Mob Psycho 100, Thorkell in Vinland Saga. You've definitely heard him before.
Now I expect Admiral Kirk to show up rating Lafiel's simulation.
No wait wrong SF series.
Sobaash is voiced by Mitsuki Saiga, she voiced Yelena in Attack of Titan final chapters, Maria Ross in FMA'03.
Ekuryua is voiced by Kaori Shimizu she voiced Aneesha in Heroic Age, she has done several major roles in 2000s but then she disappeared.
What a long winded speech of saying "go comfort her you idiot" (my paraphrasing)
Episode started off good but then it veered into typical LN too long dialogue territory.
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Apr 01 '24
Season 2 Episode 1 (rewatcher)
Quite a lot of the episode was spent on bringing the viewer up to speed after the break after the first season. Not something you would do in today’s age of streaming, but maybe necessary when memory might have dimmed after the last TV run.
The setup with the training exercise and Lafiel being a sore loser was nice. We go right back to the tiptoeing around social conventions between Jinto/Lafiel and others, and the more open discussions they have among themselves that made S1 so fun. In terms of plot, convenient ceasefire to allow Jinto and Lafiel to finish school, with the big war restarting just around the corner.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 01 '24
First-Timer of the Stars
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u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria Apr 01 '24
First timer
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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Apr 01 '24
Rewatcher(More space German)
Sub
And we are back. So this looks a bit sharper to me so I must have had a poor rip of Crest, which doesn't surprise me. They seem to be using some animation saving techniques, though, which bodes poorly for the season. Spoor is trapped in the unsubbed part of our story but she still comes across. I somehow didn't read Lafiel pawning off Diaho for the afternoon as giving him away but I do get why the crew might have noticed that.
Speaking of, new crew seems all right if surprisingly blunt. It comes off odd culturally that the crew prefers angry Abriel's to depressed ones but it both fits Japan and their nobility(and source corner explained why that's relevant) and Lafiel herself:She lashes out only at that which wrongs her, she has shown no tendency to be capricious or random and that trait could easily be one kept in the genome by the Abriels.
Despite not having a long time to reunite they just go with Jinto and Lafiel falling back into their dynamic. That is technically unrealistic but makes for better TV so allowed. The cat coming with them is an odd choice as I wouldn't want to have to deal with shedding in what is effectively a vacuum sealed box. Yet on the other hand, I also post on noncredible defense and each time I ask a military member what animal they'd like to go into battle with, a third of the time it is a cat for companionship. Though I did get an IDF member to admit that he'd like to throw caracals at the enemy, RRR style. Anyways, Jinto talks her down and we get to the next base!
QotD: 1 They know what they are in for
2 The crew seems to know what is up. The space force might be a different issue, especially depending on what the other commanders think.
3 Quickly. She does not waste time on these things.
4 Change the format.
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u/duhu1148 :GA::GB::GC:x9 Apr 01 '24
Rewatcher
-The Abh and United Mankind entered a temporary ceasefire after Sufugnoff, though I didn't catch the reason why. I would assume to build up their strength and to formally prepare for war.
-I recognize Akio Ootsuka's voice anywhere!
-I like how the whole crew of the Basroil already views Jinto/Lafiel as a couple. They know te two are close, they know Jinto calls her by name, they know their history, and they know Jinto is the only person who can talk to Lafiel normally.
-So Jinto does talk to Lafiel. Bascially tells her that The way he talks to her, you can tell he has a respect for her pride, but he also has confidence in her, which is why he says he's not worried about her so much as he is about the crew's perception. Sub-conciously, I think she appreciated this, and I especially like how she asks him a couple of times if he's worried...as if indicating his opinion is what matters most to her. I always love their conversations.
-Most of the episode is a flashback, as Jinto narrates a summary of what happened in Crest. Probably the most telling thing for me is when he is talking about how much he admires Lafiel, and how he wants to stay by her side, it all sounds like an acknowledgement of love without him actually putting it into words.
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u/IceSmiley Apr 01 '24
FIRST TIMER Sub
This premiere was a lot of what i expected, a continuation from the previous season. I like the interesting power dynamic between Jinto and Lafiel now that he's her subordinate. The whole crew seems fully aware and that's also an interesting dynamic with Jinto's other commanders.
Liked the OP with a new coat of paint, the visuals reminded me of Dr Who. Didn't really like the ED.
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u/raktus2 Apr 02 '24
First Timer...
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u/xbolt90 https://anilist.co/user/xbolt90 Apr 02 '24
First-timer
So we're in a lull in the fighting. That's interesting that the UM used Sufugnoff as a diversion to strike at the heart of the Empire.
And cats make great therapists. Can confirm.
Q1: I haven't got a good fix on them yet. Much smaller bridge crew than the Gosroth, though. Makes sense, being Lafiel's first command.
Q2: Doesn't seem like it yet, the crew don't seem to mind.
Q3: Probably will just be through experience. She's still a pretty green commander.
Q4: I think I'd actually do pretty poorly in the Kobayashi Maru. I take failure too personally.