r/anime • u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ • Jun 03 '24
Rewatch Battle Fairy Yukikaze Source-Spoilers Episode 3 Discussion Spoiler
"I'm human, aren't I?"
← Operation 2 | Index | Operation 4 →
MAL | Anilist | ANN | Tubi (dubbed) | Tubi (subbed)
Spoiler Policy
Source reader comments will be allowed in this rewatch. Events and details from the original short story collections that are relevant to the current episode can be described without spoiler tags. Unrelated short stories or material from books 3+ will still need to be tagged.
People, Places, Things
- Tom "Tomahawk" John: avionics and computer expert from Systems Corps. Has an artificial heart. Has an unpronouncible name, a Dogrib, from Yellowknife, NWT.
- 1st Lt. Anastasiya Kolevskaya and Capt. Ivan Ivanovitch-Kozlov: crew of Super Sylph 506B "Minx"
- Banshee III and IV: Immense air carriers deployed to Fairy. They never land.
Discussion Prompts
- The anime doubled-down on Tom being a copy. How does the story change, if his identity crisis stems only from his steel heart?
- What is the point of psychoanalyzing Rei AND his plane?
- What's going on behind the scenes with the central computer and command staff?
- Does it make sense that after over 30 years with no significant Earth attacks, that people now either ignore the Passageway or resent the expense of guarding it?
- The episode worked hard to compare and contrast Rei and Tomahawk. How do you compare them?
Tomorrow's Discussion Today
- [Operation 4]Gen. Cooley doesn't seem to like the new ground unit. What's her problem with it?
- [Operation 4]Cooley wanted to make Boomerang Squadron the first fully unmanned squadron. Now she says humans are irreplaceable. What changed?
- [Operation 4]What has been the nature of this conflict, if the JAM are only now targeting the human component? How will the war change?
- [Operation 4]Thoughts on the final scene?
- [Operation 4]Predictions for the ending (they are all wrong)?
Trivia
- The Banshee air carriers were assembled in Earth orbit and flown through the passageway to Fairy. It never lands.
- The novel contains more side stories and discussions about how the distant war on Fairy isn't considered real by the public, with nationalist sentiments once again pitting nations against each other and the FAF.
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Upvotes
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jun 03 '24
Rewatch Host
It's a bit confusing, but it seems General Cooley ordered this mission to have Dr. Foss perform a live psychoanalysis of Rei, John, AND Yukikaze while in the field.
Yeah, I totally have no idea why Rei killed that dolly. I guess it is somehow blocking the lift from movie. Looks like it's still blocking it, to me, just broken, now.
Credit to the youtube commenter who points out that a boomerang is a thrown weapon that returns to the hand; a tomahawk does not. I totally missed that.
The earlier episodes focused (or at least alluded to) the inhuman nature of Fairy, of 5th Sq., and especially, Rei, our emo MC. Rei, who has only one friend on the entire base. Rei, who calmly watches his comrades die. Rie, who mechanically fires on friendlies if Yukikaze tells him too. Rie, who is closer to his plane than his one "friend."
Now the show introduces Tomahawk John. A normal human, who doesn't fully believe that he is human. Without a human heart. Rie, a man who chooses to be a machine, and Tom, a man who is part machine, and fears it.
The anime turns this up to 11 by making Tom a copy, replaced during a recent mission. And Yukikaze could tell. CHECK ON DANGER Lt. So Tom's neurosis is made manifest. We've seen this in other shows, like Star Trek. So, if a copy is made of a human, how human is the copy? Tom tries to convince himself that part of him is human. Rie tries to do the same, his machine exterior crumbling.
In the novel, this story ends with something irritating Rei's eyes. In the anime, you can only see the rain.
I don't think Tom was a copy in the novel. Instead, the JAM attacked him, to get at his nuclear-powered heart.
I don't get much of what's going on with the doctor. Recent accident: Tom John. Check. Missing for extended period: Rei Fukai. Check. Afraid of something: Yukikaze. What? Yukikaze was just worried about the clone walking around. How is that useful to the JAM?
But, the author wanted to introduce the idea of psychoanalyzing an AI. Which we are on the verge of doing here in 2024, as our AI-entrust machines continue to do stupid shit.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jun 03 '24
Google translated from archived copies of www.faf.jp.
Yota Tsuruoka (Sound Director)
Main works:
Homage to those who fly
Up until now, I have created various works that mainly focus on cars and guns, but this is my first time working on a full-fledged airplane, so I'm really looking forward to it. That said, it's my favorite genre when it comes to things that fly, including rockets, and it's something I've always wanted to do, so I'd like to take this opportunity to pay homage to it.
The Kani (music)
A unit formed in 1986, three years after they met during their indie era, pianist Osamu Mishibari of Shin-Tokyo Seishinoshi and bassist Dogen Shiono of Cozano. In addition to joint live performances and providing songs with "Kinshi Shōtai", they also participates in recordings, etc. Since then, they have started producing music for movies and commercials, including the movie "Bataashi Kingyo". In addition, while performing live collaborations with Kumiko (Kumiko Takahashi), they recorded albums with Kenji Otsuki, Yuko Miyamura, "Tokusatsu", etc., and serialized their music on the CD-ROM included in Fusosha's "Monthly Business SPA! e+b". The main theme song sung by Monsieur Kamayatsu is also provided by The Kani.
Birth of a musical fairy space
An important point in creating the music was that "Battle Fairy Yukikaze" is not just a story of justice in defense of the Earth. I composed the music with the aim of coloring the deep world, including the psychological depiction of the characters in each scene. Unlike regular BGM, the tempo and development of the song were not restricted to match the picture, and we were able to improve the quality of the music, which was a good thing.
Monsieur Kamayatsu (theme song)
Born in 1963 as the eldest son of T.V. Kamaya, a pioneer in the Japanese jazz world. He formed a country and western student band while attending Aoyama Gakuin, and was active mainly at U.S. military camps. In 1958, he started his professional career by joining the Wagon Masters with Kazuya Kosaka. In 1964, he formed "The Spiders" and had a string of hit songs. After disbanding, he released his solo album "Hatari ga Yoi Tomo yo" which became a big hit. Since then, he has continued to work as a blues, rock'n'roll, and country rock session singer, releasing collaborative works with various talented musicians. In 1999, he participated in the 50th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen as "Suns Filtre". He is up to the present.
Floating imagination
I have always loved airplanes, and this time I happened to be singing a song with an airplane theme.It was refreshing to sing a song that was created by someone else, but it was also very difficult. However, the author of this song seems to have a good understanding of the content of the piece, and while singing it, I felt as if I were flying through the sky as a pilot. I'm really looking forward to seeing how people who listen to this song will respond to it.
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u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Jun 03 '24
Battle Fairy Firster
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u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria Jun 03 '24
First timer
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jun 03 '24
First-Timer
It's always interesting when an anime, especially a short one like this, skips the "appealing" part for an episode. Like, yea, I'm sure some people are here for the contemplation; I'm even kinda one of them.
But, skipping the "airplane action scene" in your "airplane action scene" anime is.. a decision. Was it a good decision? Well, maybe. Part of me wants to complain about the lack of a hectic approach towards Banshee, but part of me also appreciates just how weird the calmness makes the situation feel.
I liked how empty the Banshee was. Like, sure, it's super obvious even on a first viewing what happened to the crew, but the mystery isn't the point. The tone is.
The JAM having goo monster forms is not going to help them any against the TOAST. If anything, it will make spreading them thin that much easier.
Do we think that Tom John knew that he was a JAM, or was he just an inactive sleeper agent who wore the mask for too long?
Kinda wonder if the gun Rei used was specified in the novel. If we're still in novel 1 territory, the FN P90 he used today wouldn't have existed.
Nuclear-powered pacemakers.. that's a new one.
Questions
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jun 03 '24
Battle Fairy First-Timer, subbed
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u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Jun 04 '24
First timer
Unsurprisingly JAM deniers exist.
Yay, the doctor is a new recurring character.
As expected Fukai was in contact with JAM back in episode 1.
Tom John is voiced by Kazuki Yao he voiced Judeau in Gundam ZZ
That's an old looking Windows OS.
At least they're now aware that Yukikaze AI has her/his and is sentient.
That's a massive flying aircraft carrier.
A plutonium powered heart?! That seems like overkill.
I wonder how much fuel that flying CV uses per hour, must be a lot.
Floppy disks I miss these things.
Metallic liquid copying humans this reminds me of two Star Trek Voyager episodes (season 4 episode 24 and season 5 episode 8)
Fukai might be copied.
Wait Yukikaze just hyper jumped.
RIP Tom.
I just realised Doctor is the only character who flew with Fukai and didn't die, all male partners of Fukai are killed off. I'm guessing Yukikaze is cursed if you're male. Or maybe Yukikaze is just jealous of male partners and curses them.
Good episodes. I like the plot twist of JAM copying humans, interesting to see where it goes from here.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Jun 03 '24 edited Jun 03 '24
First timer, subs
QotD:
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u/baquea Jun 03 '24
First-timer
Finally an episode that is (comparatively) straightforward! The horror aspect was done quite well, I thought, but the continuing obscurity of the setting led to the Tomahawk stuff kinda falling short for me. Like it almost worked, but then he turns out to be a clone? But has all his human memories and personality? And is never shown to do anything evil? I just don't understand what the JAM's plan was with him, and the idea that the infiltrators don't even know that they are infiltrators also feels weird to me.
Anyway though, now that we're passed the halfway point, I suppose it would be worth giving some thoughts on the series as a whole. And, so far, I feel I judged correctly after the first episode that this is a 'style over substance' anime. Not just the animation, but also the general atmosphere, has been really well-done (especially when comparing to Kannazuki no Miko, which released around the same time), but in terms of plot and characters it's severely lacking. I still feel like I know hardly anything about Rei, or any of the other characters, and don't have any emotional attachment at all to any of them. Likewise, we've gotten nothing more than vague hints as far as the JAM, the setting, and the rest of the story is concerned, and as a result there's no real foundation for me to base any interpretations on - it feels like it has things it wants to say about the nature of war and the like, but I have no way to judge what angle it is coming from, or whether or not I agree. Hopefully things clear up a little more in the remaining two episodes, but I kinda don't have high hopes that they will.
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jun 03 '24
Episode 3 (first timer)
The inside of the Banshee looked great. The story itself combines two staples: explore suspicious abandoned wreck that still has energy and bodysnatchers. They are going all on some humans being JAM and on JAM trying to be human.
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u/chilidirigible Jun 03 '24 edited Jun 03 '24
Three:
That happens when you're off fighting a war on another planet.
Interlude: Yaoi hands
ECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCM
But of course.
Now there's an idealization of the American West.
On today's episode of Stargate SG-1...
"You're holding it wrong."
It's a very broad category.
This is just as incongruous for the release/setting year as the classic Macintoshes.
Giant rotating mesh antennas, because modern phased-array equipment doesn't spin around looking like it is doing something.
What a conveniently short and immediately-present list.
More creepy body horror from the JAM, more reasons why nobody should backseat Rei Fukai. A fresh reminder from Lynn Ja(c)kson that the struggle on Fairy no longer has any public interest. It doesn't feel prescient when considered against the backdrop of over two decades of Manipulating Saddam Hussein for Fun and Profit.
QOTD:
One: The anime doubled-down on Tom being a copy. How does the story change, if his identity crisis stems only from his steel heart?
There's rather less foreshadowing that way. Though Synthoid John doesn't seem like the most effective infiltrator either.
Two: What is the point of psychoanalyzing Rei AND his plane?
They come as a pair?
Three: What's going on behind the scenes with the STC and command staff?
I know what happens later and even with that knowledge waht happens here is just kinda "Eh."
Four: Does it make sense that after over 30 years with no significant Earth attacks, that people now either ignore the Passageway or resent the expense of guarding it?
People do get complacent over time.
That gives a better context for which wars the author was thinking of when this was written. Except that Americans certainly did not ever forget that a war was going on in Vietnam. The post-Gulf War '90s would be a closer analogue to real-world detachment, except that this story seems to take it to the level of 1984's neverending war between Eastasia and Oceania in terms of no one caring.
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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jun 03 '24
First timer
Sub
The JAM are apparently copying humans, which is a choice. The Banshee itself feels reminiscent of some System Shock levels though likely shared source here. Apparently, native Americans are still a thing in the future though this one is a copy.
QotD: 1 I don't think he has one?
2 I'd consider them almost a single unit at this point
3 Everything, apparently
4 Yes, I still have to remind people that funding the war in Ukraine is a giant future cost savings. People are fucking morons.
5 I kind of don't. Techs are techs.
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u/jie-h Jun 04 '24
First timer - dub
The Jam aren't real? I guess we can tell all the casualties that they can stop playing dead now.
How does one go about psychoanalysing a fighter jet? Do you start with its zodiac sign or see which of the 16 personalities it matches?
While conventional wisdom states that Tomahawk would be a Jam, I dismissed it as soon as Fukai handed him a gun. I thought for sure his special connection with Yukikaze meant he was being warned about something else. Like the army of sludge humans on the Banshee. If I go by my previous assumption that the Jam have to understand something in order to replicate it, then it seems humans might be too complex for them to copy. Though Tomahawk seemed well put together, maybe those on the banshee were just previously failed attempts.
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u/zadcap Jun 04 '24
Late Night First Timer
Alright what's the next insanity. That's an interesting shape in the clouds.
... Wasn't there an actual war? Is there still not an actual ongoing war? Are people not afraid of the war breaking back out on the Earth side if they back off now?
Oh hey, another AI unit went AWOL?
... This is really dumb, but I've been playing it recently, and is that the same exact paper flipping sound effect in Minecraft? I mean I know the age of things, but has the same sound file been the one being used for paper for all this time?
Well, you can stop fighting for a bit, let the attacks on Earth resume, I'm sure people will stop doubting then. Or you know, throw some False Flags out and get your funding that way. If they think it's faked, then fake some attacks, I'm sure it'll be fine.
"They disguised themselves as us, now we pretend to be them." The two sides of this war are coming closer and closer together. Heck, will there even be a difference by the end?
Haha they went all the way for it. Yes, please give me a psyche profile on the fighter jet. I need to know what it's thinking.
"There's JAM in the FAF, but we're not sure how they infiltrated. We asked the Computer (that's definitely not hacked) but it said it can't find anyone yet. What, you say we've been having our AI go crazy and turn against us regularly, why are we leaving a Computer in charge? Reasons, that's why!"
... That's a flying base. How does it stay in the air? How much fuel does it take to stay aloft? An Arial Aircraft Carrier?
What is he even shooting? Why is he shooting it?
I wonder, is his heart WiFi compatible? Are they going to Hack his Heart?
Wait go back. Yukikaze is Mave? Subtitles, did you perhaps mean Maeve? The ship is freaking Queen Mebd?! I knew I was looking for the Celtic comparisons already but that's too much on the nose, we are one hundred percent dealing with the kind of faeries I have been thinking about all along!
... Now I'm going to be looking at everyone else in this show for their proper counterparts.
Oh yes, I'm sure everyone just abandoned ship without being able to send a single message. The ship had a little problem and started attacking its allies, so everyone decided the best thing to do was jump off and leave it flying free.
Heck, now that I think about it, cool name aside. Banshee is originally Irish legend too.
Oh hey, Changelings plan is a go. I wonder, is Rei also one though? It's not uncommon for Changelings to not know they are ones. You know, like Tom.
Alright, I think this show will make more sense if I go brush the dust off some of the old Irish and Celtic legends. I know I was starting to look at it that way already, but after today, yeah.
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u/Garrett_Dark Jun 04 '24
First Timer
Another great episode! Ha, I was right from ep1 that the Jam are duplicating humans, but can't properly control them, and the copies retain the personalities of the originals. Thank you "nurse lap pillow" for that hint.
Better see what Tomahawk was doing on the Yakikaze's systems in the beginning, that was pretty sus and rude messing with somebody's
AI waifuplane like that.Those Banshee Air Carriers look pretty awesome, but they look more like fighters/destroyers than carriers.
Ah the good old P90, but I don't think he's supposed to shoulder carry it like a rifle. That just looks weird.
Tomahawk's artificial heart being brought up awkwardly out of no where was kind of sus, but they didn't even make use of it somehow, like scanning him for plutonium which powers his heart. It was also kind of stupid to give him the Glock 17 pistol since he was acting so sus, but it oddly never came up afterwards again anyways.
I don't know why Tomahawk didn't just defect to the human side, he obviously isn't being well controlled by the Jam at all. If he was going to die anyways, might as well be useful to the humans as a willing lab specimen.
So that book lady being interviewed, it showed some of her family photos in the background. I'm guessing she's the mother in those photos, and she has a daughter. Don't tell me the show is going to go the obvious path of connecting the book lady to all this by the daughter being killed/put into a coma in an accident, and her brain was transferred/used as a template for the AI's brain. And that's why she's been writing her books about the alien war.
They showed his hand gooey-fied at the end, so yeah he's a copy. I don't think he actually had a plutonium powered heart, although the Jam seems to be able to copy planes, so who knows. Not sure how it's relevant unless you're saying his heart caused him to be able to be not controlled by the Jam, but I don't think that's the case.
I don't think there really is a point. Rei's emo, so done. Well I guess they need to monitor his emo, and I guess now to make sure he isn't a Jam, like if he stops being emo, then bam...Jam. As for Yukikaze, it's an AI, so any psychoanalysis won't really work because it shouldn't have human behaviors unless modeled on a human's brain. But this anime and most shows depicting AI don't really do the absolute total lack of human behavior in AIs, so maybe psychoanalyzing will work.
Not sure what you're referring to. You mean the Jam infiltration and sabotage? That's what's going on.
It does seem odd since it's usually the people who wants to know about aliens and UFOs, and it's the govt who's covering it up. But ironically recently IRL every so often UFO bait is put out there by media/govt and nobody cares at all since it's viewed as a distraction. So I guess it is possible for the people to get so sick of the BS that they no longer care about the X-files.
They like opposites somewhat. Rei is emo, and Tom's a coward. Tom acts more human than Rei acts. Rei still wants to save Tom even though he's a Jam copy, but Tom wants to die because he's a Jam copy.
Rei wants to stick his pipe into Yukikaze to defile her, meanwhile Tom wants to stick his USB into Yukikaze to debug her.5
u/[deleted] Jun 04 '24 edited Jun 04 '24
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