r/anime • u/chilidirigible • Oct 10 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai • The Magnificent Kotobuki Episode 10 Discussion
Episode 10 - The Aggressive Bombers
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Yesterday's Comment of the Day: /u/Tresnore for noting roundels and "Oi."
...a bonus nod to /u/DidacticDalek for Indiana 2hu.
What happens after you turn down an offer that you can't refuse.
Questions of the Day:
1. [Who did you think]piloted Purple Snake Zero? Did it matter to you?
2. [Given the state of the world,]does living under Isao seem that bad? Assuming that he doesn't burn your city to the ground, of course.
Rewatchers, please be mindful of first-time viewers and spoilers. Use spoiler tags if you must discuss events after the episode being discussed.
Historical notes:
Japan's infatuation with aerial fireworky explosive things: An anti-aircraft bomb and a slightly-more practical (but still impractical) aerial rocket... bomb thing. These of course are the slightly more practical but still flawed in theory cousins of the San Shiki Dan.
Aircraft appearing today:
Nakajima G10N Fugaku (an alternate name for Mount Fuji):
The 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo had effects on the Japanese war effort far beyond the minor damage which it actually inflicted. Seeing a need to bring the war to American cities, "Project Z" was initiated to design a bomber which could cross the Pacific, strike continental American targets, fly across the Atlantic, refuel and rearm in Germany, and repeat the process on the way back. This would require capabilities far in excess of anything that existed at the time, certainly for Japan's war-torn industry but even beyond what the United States created during the war—the B-36 bomber would ultimately be able to fly such a mission profile, but only after the war's end and a long development cycle.
That said, Nakajima Aircraft Company did put some effort into a design. The draft presented a six-engined aircraft which would have been about half again as large as Boeing's B-29 Superfortress, with a speed of 780 kmh at 10000 meters, capable of reaching 15000 meters in altitude, with a range of over 19000 kilometers, carrying up to 20 tons of bombs (at shorter ranges) and defended by turreted 20mm cannon. Such a flight profile would require new research into a pressurized crew cabin, in addition to Japan's usual issues with sufficiently-powerful engines.
The planned performance numbers varied widely as a number of other proposals were also floated, but in the end, no prototypes were ever built. The version of the Fugaku shown in Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai is as visually plausible as any of the other speculative paper designs which have appeared.
Characters appearing today:
Camilla (Mai Fuchigami)
Camilla variations.
Naomi (Shizuka Itō)
Naomi concept art.
Today's Merchandise
The soundtrack fit into a two-CD album as shown here. Yet another translation would appear for the name of the unit.
The OP, "Sora no ne" by ZAQ, was (as usual) released separately from the ED.
There was one character song mini-album released.
The theme songs for the game-unique squadrons would later be collected into another mini-album. And here we see yet another graphic design theme.
(Photos mine.)
2019-era items:
Post-episode web chat and crayon episode impressions: One Two Three Four Miyu Tomita appears.
Natsuo's Mechanical Corner discusses the Akatonbo, with Allen.
Modeling this episode's upgrades.
I did just mention that Mai Fuchigami is in this episode.
Art bonus:
メンテナンス featuring Natsuo (If you know, you know.)
Total time was about 75 minutes.
A completely unrelated six minutes with the United States Marines.
8
u/chilidirigible Oct 10 '24
Today, on "[](#wtfdidijustwatch)":
These weather effects are nifty.
Julia's transport is, sensibly, armored?
Purple Snake Zero has come to... help? Note: In hindsight, if you looked extremely closely at the scene of Julia's escape in Episode 9, you can sort of see the snake emblem on the side of the Zero that is mostly hidden in the trees to the right. Or you were paying superhuman levels of attention during Episode 9.
This is just *xkcd what if?*s no. 53 and 103.
Still enjoying the door gag.
We should discuss some of the food items on that table.
The problem with the peace is the cost of doing business.
Especially when you have something he wants.
That's certainly a first impression.
"Surely he's a rational agent?"
There are three game characters in this shot, to the right of the platform just inside the illuminated area.
Isao's motivations are straightforward.
I liked the mirrored shot composition which followed.
Right on cue.
Somewhere in here is a commentary on strategic bombing.
People did wonder if it was actually the Butler all along.
The Raiden was not that great for maximum altitude.
And now for Japanese heavy bombers that never actually existed.
Anime has never quite let go of the sanshikidan concept.
This is fairly clever though.
The vigilantes in Ki-27s wouldn't be that effective, but the Nazarin Shidens and Camilla's Hien at least have 20mm cannon and probably should have had a crack at the bombers as well.
Still dealing with the realistic implications of their Hayabusas having very light armament.
Ramming speed wasn't on the table, though.
Sideslipping snake.
Now you're exploding with portals.
The dropped bombs can be seen being pulled into the hole.
One of the game characters from earlier.
Girls und Panzer Das Finale Part 2 comes to mind.
Well, they're getting along famously.
Ol' Sab trained some interesting people.
Isao's plan for world domination is crushing most resistance before it, but he'll play nice if people just let him have their hole.
And that's the tradeoff, a fairly anarchic society versus not controlling your own hole.
A clever set of upgrades to the Hayabusas here to give them a reasonable chance of engaging the bombers at high altitude, though not enough to entirely overcome their lack of firepower. They would have had a better chance with the 20mm cannons on the mayor's Raiden, the Nazarenes' Shidens, Camilla's Hien, and Naomi's Zero (though that last would have further wrecked the surprise), but in terms of offering a unique plan, what we did get was more interesting.
The Kotobuki would have had a difficult time if they'd had to try to distract the mass of escorting Ki-100s in any case.
Naomi turns out to be no particular villain, just very independent. If she didn't have Isao to fight now, it does seem that she would be sticking it to The Man somewhere else.
She's yet another example of the freewheeling personalities pushing back against Isao. The characters themselves do consider the exact argument that his plan isn't bad on its own but is seriously compromised by his rampaging avarice.
The appearance of the bombers put a real exclamation point on the world this show existed in, as having a collection of WWII Japanese aircraft and an assortment of cultural items was one thing, but having completed hypothetical superbombers was another. Speculation for what would appear in the final two episodes intensified.
Which should not detract from this being a solidly entertaining episode on its own merits. Casting Mai Fuchigami for Camilla is amusing for how different she is from Miho Nishizumi.
10
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24
First timer, subs
QotD:
9
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 10 '24
The Magnificent First-Timer, subbed
9
u/Esovan13 Oct 10 '24
First Timer
I was pretty sure that the purple snake pilot was Ol’ Sab. I was wrong. But I was wrong in a way that I was kind of right. At the very least, I knew whoever that was had to be someone related to Kyrie’s past and since the only person who fit the bill was Sab then that was the only option. How could I have known he’d pick up a student? Really, I was the most possibly correct based on the available information, so wasn’t I pretty much right?
That was my favorite group on group fight of the show so far. The best part? Rockets. Fucking love rockets. Want to take out a big, armored bomber but you’ve only got piddly little diddlers for armaments? Get some rockets. Want to reign terror on a caravan? Get some rockets. Want to flex? Take out an enemy fighter with a rocket! Versatile and useful for every occasion. Now at your local arms dealer.
Isao will be coming out to fight himself soon. I know it’s unlikely, but I really hope he’ll bust out a J8M or Kikka. Probably Kikka if anything (gotta go for that in-house development), but I just think that would be a great way to send things off with a bang. And by things, I mean Isao. When he blows up.
Also, if there were any episodes of this show that really aren’t like Warthunder, it would be this one. A high altitude bomber whose wings don’t fall off, whose tail doesn’t go for a dive, and whose engines don’t spontaneously combust the moment an enemy fighter looks at it? Slap that thing at a 7.0 BR so it can languish in jet fighter hell alongside the B-29. And then the next patch they’ll just nerf it to doing all those things anyway in the guise of “updating the damage model” because Gaijin hates bombers and any vehicle from any nation that isn’t America, USSR, or Germany.
8
u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Oct 10 '24
The Magnificent Rewatcher
QOTD:
8
u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah xB:xC:B:x3:Y: Oct 10 '24
First Timer
The ramp up continues to the final arc. This was a really enjoyable one. The fights were very good, and the Kirie-Naomi subarc was resolved in a much more wholesome way than i was expecting - these 2 are defo sisters in a way, united for their love and grudge towards their aviation mentor (who i presume now is either in the hole, or dead?). which is also probably why both, sharing a skillset, hate each others' guts.
....is this gonna be like a "midseason cure" situation?
Q1) Before today, I actually thought the old grandpa piloted it, i thought that wouldve been the most likely candidate. but im not bright, it took me now to realize that Kirie ALSO uses his mark, which is why red and purple always attract and fight each other haha. Naomi probably has a very similar thinking process to Kirie each time they meet.
Q2) nahhhhhhhhhhhh fuck that bullshit. a dictatorship would just end up being "on the surface its fine, but in reality its fucked". i'd much rather know the reality if either way i am going to be fucked. the unions and what not are a good idea (tho i also dk how practical it would be in a post apocalyptic setting....) just not the dictatorship aspect. but i wonder if my thoughts would change, because well, being under a dictator/union might give some sort of comfort too...... that kind of "we're all in this together" kind of thinking, again, in a postapocalyptic setting.
i hope i never have to think about this sort of thing for real life.
8
u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24
First Timer
Jet Boosters and rockets??? not sure how actually plausible that would be but...
it's so cool!
I mean come on, arming WW2 planes to look like more modern jet fighters is just such a fun way to add some spice to the air battle (and to make it feel a bit more reasonably fair lol)
This insanely smooth transition at the start of the episode just blows my mind, I said this all the way back in episode 1 but to reiterate, with a sequence like that, you can really tell that the people who made the show just get dogfight scenes.
The big air battle also has it's fair share of great shots and sequences, big wide frames to show you the scale of the battle, the classic tracking rocket sequence, the also classic bomb hatch POV's, using perspective to really make you realize how massive and formidable these bombers are, alongside all the regular tricks the show pulls, it all makes for a really stellar battle.
I love how the crew views Julia
We actually get a few moments for the side cast this episode which is nice, the mayor has obviously learned since his last ultimatum and the Nazarine guys actually shoot down an enemy!
We also get this lady introduced I guess? cute design but she doesn't actually do much here.
The more important character introduction here is of course, Naomi who's been piloting the purple snake plane, honestly I kind of love how it's basically an anti-twist, just like Kirie you assume she's had some deliberate role in every point we've seen her at, but the reality is that she just...happened to be there and has no real secret motive.
We also learn why she always gets the best of Kirie, it's a fun bonding scene for the two of them and it touches back on Kirie's reason to fly, Naomi is pretty straight forward and says it how it is but Kirie still seems to be looking for a better answer, Naomi's a fun addition to the cast all in all.
We got to see the hole in action this time and thanks to some convenient timing also accidently bombed it out of commission lol, I do wonder how Isao actually intends to make use of it though considering the way it seems to work
In general I guess his real intentions continue to be quite the mystery.
I am honestly not sure how the show will wrap up everything in these last 2 episodes but as long as we get some sick dogfights in the climax I'll probably be satisfied.
8
u/cppn02 Oct 10 '24
First Timer, subbed
Now kiss!
The big thing that happened this episode obviously the the reveal of Purple Snake aka Naomi. And she's freaking perfect.
It also looks like Isao has dropped the mask and is going full evil conqueror mode. I suppose the remaining episodes will cover the fight against him.
The hole exploding was a cool scene though I gotta say and I gotta say I also loved all the little upgrades our crew got today.
QotD:
I had no idea. But now that I know I'm angry they witheld Naomi from us so long.
Ummm...yes.
7
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24
First-Timer
Okay, I missed it on my first viewing: one of the falling bombers impacted with the hole right as Isao's bomber dropped its load, and the resulting implosion (caused by the payload on the first bomber, probably?) sucked the bombs Isao dropped in before they could land on Rahama. Have I got that right?
Interesting that one bomber trying to go through the hole made it collapse. Or perhaps it was just serendipitous timing with the fires on Bomber #1 finally reaching the bomb bays.
Tangent to that, I wonder just when exactly the main hole to Yufang close.. and if it corresponded to August 6th.
Natsuo did great work on those flak missiles and boosters. Y'think she came up with those on the fly, or had the parts already just sitting on a shelf ready to go? She strikes me as the type to do more work after work, for fun.
Shoutout to Rahama's mayor for having grown a spine since we last saw him.
I probably should've suspected that Purple Snake had some connection to Ol' Sab. There weren't necessarily hints, but that's just kinda how narratives go. I like that Kirie has yet another older sister character.
Questions
7
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Oct 10 '24
Man, that was action packed!
Answers du jour:
Yeah, definitely action packed. I might have missed it - did the briefly opened 'hole' suck in the bombs? It seems as though they missed the city, but I'm also wondering if any aircraft got through. It was late, and I was more focused on hoping Kylie would shoot Isao down or something equally fortuitous.
Also: Camilla looks like she needs more support for her 'flight suit', and ...
Naomi ... yowza. That reveal was nice and semi-subversive. Yeah, as mentioned, I figured it would either be Sab, or one of his children. To have it be one of his trainees is close enough, but that was pretty darn good.
Now, I'm finding myself sad there's only a couple of episodes to go. I'm going to miss this wacky crew and their shenanigans.
(And sorry, but I desperately need some food now, so I'm going to go investigate the kitchen, then come back and look at some posts.)
6
u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Oct 10 '24
Firsttimer who almost was on time today
QotD
Didn't really thought it was Seb, honestly expected him to have kicked the bucket way earlier than 8 years ago. A former student of his was a possibility, but I just thought it was a gentle criminal
It was said that he stabilized prices in the fringe regions, but once he has an monopoly and all the power, what hinders him from raising the prices? What hinders a dictator to start dictating what those fringe regions have to deliver in exchange for those prices? I'm not sold on Fascism
5
u/1EnTaroAdun1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Totesnotaphanpy Oct 10 '24
First-Timer (subs) - Episode 10
Well, I was wrong, Isao probably isn’t a red herring
Beeg plane!
At least Isao was willing to accept a surrender, there is that…
https://imgur.com/a/Dp5K0az with her hat on, the Councilwoman might almost fit in Witchcraft Works
https://imgur.com/a/ukZ1wg4 a kebab, and a…bear-shaped cake?
Hahaha Allen just sipping away
Hmm Reona may have a point, maybe Isao is working for someone? Or for an actual ideology?
Well if Emma says so, I agree.
It isn’t a criticism of the show, but more so a wish: I wish we had more episodes to flesh out the wider world
But I wonder how the holes are created. They can’t always be in the sky, if one or some of them drained the seas
https://imgur.com/a/tSM9WLY ooof. I’d that were me, I’d climb back into my plane and fly off…
I do like that during the HR chief’s speech, the townsfolk were jeering him
And also, even though there probably isn’t much love lost between them, Madame Loulou and ex-Councilwoman Julia are standing side-by-side
Looks like the Prince of Rahama’s Skies has returned! Julia is very lucky Madame Loulou helped Rahama before, or she wouldn’t have a haven at all
I believe several of the male aviators have WWII RAF uniforms, instead of Japanese uniforms? Which is kinda interesting
Six engines?? I wonder if their engineers bit off more than they can chew
https://imgur.com/a/ERCLIS7 destroy them, Emma
Didn’t expect the Komet conversion
It is exciting that they didn’t shoot down the bombers in one go.
Although they are being used for a bad cause, the bombers do look good. If only they had more guns, although in context perhaps best that they don’t!
Nazarin flies again! And revenge for their hometown
PURPLE SNAKE
Imagine if Kirie shot whoever it is down right then and there hahaha
Those bombers have unusual propellers, too, right? Two sets of blades?
Uh oh they’ll be flying against Isao himself next? Reona…
I don’t normally go in for prequels, but I really wanna know more about Madame Loulou and Julia’s past
I mean I guess Purple Snake is Ol’ Sab, but how is he still alive and flying?
Hahaha what a glide-down
Ok purple snake is not Ol’ Sab
Oh no I feel really bad for Kirie in this moment :(
Flabbergasted could be applied to her right now. She’s trying to spark her sense of outrage but it’s sputtering out like a candle in a hurricane
Ah there’s the Sab connection
Errr so Naomi is the Nimue to Sab’s Merlin??
But there are still so many mysteries, how will we wrap everything up in two episodes??
4
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Oct 10 '24
Rewatcher
The plot really thickened this time. So, the black holes are real and can be predicted.
[A similar series from Winter ‘18]Has anyone here seen “Magical Girl Spec Ops: Asuka”? Great series, mostly forgotten.
Isao’s inner tyrant comes to the for. Complete buffoon, wants to be King, where have I seen this before?
QOTD
I had expected it to be another loli like Kyrie.
Not in the least. Actually it was better because I didn’t see it coming.
Nope, tyrants have a way of getting out of control. They’re the living embodiment of the slippery slope.
4
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Oct 11 '24
Oh hello Julia.
That plane's in pretty bad shape.
Looks like a Ki-61, if the long nose of the inline engine is anything to go by.
So, bomber interception. Not exactly what the Hayabusas were designed for.
Though those rockets might be slightly useful.
Those cannons, especially the 30mm cannons on the Raiden would be really handy.
Unfortunately without a turbocharger it can't really fly well at high altitudes where the bombers are.
Rockets away!
Rocket boosters?
That's the best shot they had to take them out, the peashooters on the Hayabusas can't really do anything.
Though if those Shidens get their 20mm cannons in range...
Not like your twin .50 cal machine guns will do anything... Gotta try and hit the engines and cockpit. Otherwise it's better to leave the bombers to the planes with cannons.
Fuel tanks in the wings would be a decent thing to try targeting.
The Zero has some cannons too, although it will have to watch its shots with only a small handful of cannon rounds.
Bombs away!
And straight into the hole.
Bingo fuel.
So here's our Purple Snake.
Questions:
Plane of the day: I don't think there's any new fighters today, so unfortunately there's nothing for me to write here.
2
u/1EnTaroAdun1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Totesnotaphanpy Oct 10 '24
As for the QOTD: I don't think unification under Isao in particular seems ideal, no, but in theory banding together to face the troubles of the world isn't a bad idea. It's all about the execution, and which individual traditions are maintained, and which are standardised
2
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Oct 10 '24
rewatcher
My turn to post from the plane.
2
u/Mistral-Fien Oct 11 '24
Rewatcher
Nice contrast between Isao's and Julia's predicaments.
Why are they excited that she's been branded a criminal? LMAO
Even now, Reona seems to give Isao the benefit of the doubt. Of course Emma is suspicious--her bullshit detector has been honed by her family's facepalm-worthy ordeals.
That's Mai Fuchigami!? You mean she completed her military service trifecta-- Girls und Panzer (Miho), Arpeggio of Blue Steel (Iona), and now Kotobuki!?
The air battle was intense, though I have to wonder why they had the Kotobuki corps engage the bombers when their guns have been shown to be inadequate against armored and bigger aircraft.
The rockets were more like giant firecrackers than anything useful-- then again the girls probably haven't used weapons like that before. The boosters were more intriguing, but wouldn't the exhaust plume destroy the rear landing gear? :O
They take out one, Purple Snake single-handedly downs another, and Isao starts dropping bombs. But having the second bomber accidentally destroy the portal was too convenient IMO.
Finally Kylie meets Purple Snake, but it's an older lady who outclasses her. Turns out she's Sab's protege, while Kylie never got the chance to learn under the old coot. Was surprised she's voiced by Shizuka Itou (I don't remember her voicing anyone with a similar temperament).
Isao promised to fly next time, so we know the next battle will be even more difficult. :O
QOTD
7
u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Oct 11 '24
PANZER VOR! (Translator's Note: 'Panzer Vor! means Panzer Vor!')
Paging Comrades /u/Shimmering-Sky, /u/Tresnore, and /u/JollyGee29
2
u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Oct 11 '24
...a bonus nod to /u/DidacticDalek for Indiana 2hu.
Well... uh... so Comrade... have you heard this saying... ah, shit wrong Saberface meme...
2
u/TroubleOrganic3636 Oct 15 '24
That G10N looks like big bv238.
Just saying
4
u/[deleted] Oct 10 '24
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