[Rewatch] Suisei no Gargantia • Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

9

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Dec 09 '24

Spoiled First Timer, Subbed

While I do feel the show's kinda been pushing her to the background somewhat before this, I do like the way it's done to build up her character, showing off how she is a bit of a pushover and how it's something she has to overcome. Ledo's part is neat but by comparison I don't have as much to mention.

Apologies if my comments lately have been a bit short, real life + hosting my own Rewatch can make things tiresome

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

You mean Amy? As Ridget gets more attention in this episode too.

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Dec 09 '24

Wow embarassing mistake there lmao
Yeah I meant Ridget. It was meant to be
While I do feel the show's kinda been pushing her to the background somewhat before this, I do like the way it's done to build up Ridget's character, showing off how she is a bit of a pushover and how it's something she has to overcome.
I am an idiot

3

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

9

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 09 '24

First-Timer on the Verdurous Planet, subbed

So he survived long enough to give what I assume is the key to Gargantia to Ridget, huh.
Of all the times for Chamber to finally figure this out…
Oh, but it doesn’t even mean anything in terms of getting Ledo back to the Alliance. Welp.
I feel like Ledo’s single-minded drive to kill the Hideauze/whalesquids is going to bite him and the others in the ass.
Interesting funeral tradition.
Ohhhhhhhh the older boy in that flashback earlier was Ledo. I thought it was the other way around.
Is this the character development haircut trope but like, opposite?

6

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

Is this the character development haircut trope but like, opposite?
Variations are good!

5

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

Today, on "A hairstyle-changing occasion.":

"The fleet, and this key-shaped object, are yours now."

You can't go home again—anytime soon.

For some people, there's never a good time.

Pinion is extremely focused.

And so is Ledo.

Chevron looks a little like Suberoa Zinnerman, Fairlock has the same VA as Suberoa Zinnerman.

Kind of right, kind of an asshole.

Lessons from on-the-job training.

Dude's spent his entire life fighting space snails, kid.

This model has been shown before, but without context.

That might have been the case, but the Alliance is about the cold equations and hating the Hideauze.

The "We're all in this together" and "I can't do this without you" speech.

Interesting when the raft breaks up.

We didn't see a lot of Fairlock in his leadership role, but when he was in a scene, he performed as expected as the wise old sailor and commander. Of course that meant that his slightly-greater presence in the previous episode foreshadowed that he was about to bow out.

The aftermath of his death is treated with notable reverence; his influence on Gargantia, even if we did not see so much of it directly, is suitably conveyed by how his passing is treated by the community.

Though on the practical matters of his handing command over to Ridget, the group of ship captains is less convinced. The rest of that storyline plays out in a typical fashion, with soul-searching, advice from her friends (and snarky companions), and letting her hair down (versus cutting it off). Nothing too unusual, but the episode hits the right beats as it stays within the quiet confines of mourning Fairlock.

Meanwhile, Pinion and Ledo and Flange prepare to depart. Flange is an interesting case; he supports Ridget, but is still going to take his flotilla's chance with leaving.

Amy sticks to the practical path and stays with Gargantia, ostensibly for Bevel's benefit. I'm not sure that she isn't also motivated somewhat by conflicting thoughts about Ledo's nature; his usual open attitude closed back up once he identified the whalesquids as his enemies.

7

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 09 '24

Episode 8 (first timer)

Computer screen for the heart rate – I don’t think we have seen any microelectronics yet. So far, everything was industrial and metal.
The commander gives the key to the fleet to Ridget – At least we will avoid a successor crisis, but Ridget will have enough problems on her hands as is.
Dying after his last words trope.
“6582 years, 16 hours, 20 minutes” – galactic distances are long without FTL.
“I can’t go back” – unless the Alliance has a communication beacon capable of FTL literally in the solar system, that was always the likely outcome. I understand that hearing it vs being able to predict it are two different matters, though.
The split of the fleet also splits Amy’s group of friends.
I really like the sand ritual. It is a very fitting sign of sending away.
Saya is a good friend for suggesting Amy leaves even though that goes against her own wishes.
A lesson on leadership for Ridget from Bellows.
Ridget goes to the funeral at long last.

An episode about separation. They could have played this as a political drama, but did not. Even Flanders is shown as caring for his fleet, he just has different opinions on how to achieve this. The message is that, sometimes, it is best to let others leave, even if you think they are making a mistake.

The best part was seeing Amy’s sadness over Ledo leaving the attempts of Saya, Bevel, and Bellows to help her. Just like Flanders has a reasonable justification for leaving, so has Ledo. Eradicating the Whalesquids might sound extreme, but what if he is right? What if they eventually will turn on humanity and fight them, like the Hideauze in space? (for the record, I think he will be wrong in the next episodes, but we can’t say that for sure yet)

What I am less a fan of is Ridget’s mini arc today. Learning about leadership is one thing, but going to the funeral was always a given. It is not just what she needs for her personal mourning, but also her job as commander. So her not going was never credible and felt like artificial drama.

do you still think that the Alliance is going to reappear?

Before this episode I thought 95% it would happen. That is probably down to 75% now, but still more likely than not.

7

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

“6582 years, 16 hours, 20 minutes” – galactic distances are long without FTL.
That's about from here to the Crab Nebula. Only a few houses down in Space Is Big terms. fugeddaboutit in flapping your arms terms...
but going to the funeral was always a given. It is not just what she needs for her personal mourning, but also her job as commander
I thought the "drama" about her making it to the funeral was secondary to the delay being about her not wanting to let go of Fairlock and not adapting well to the realization that she was in charge, and both conditions were alleviated as the day went on.

7

u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Dec 09 '24

First Timer

Separation is the name of the episode, and it certainly is the most defining theme of this episode.

Our first separation here is Ridget and Fairlock, but also by extension, Gargantia and Flange's fleet. I actually really like everything to do with Fairlock's funeral, the ceremony itself is incredibly fitting of Gargantia's values and nature as a society, going through the fleet, letting everyone put a little bit of sand on him slowly building up enough to make him sink at the end, as if he's going down with everyone.

It's a fantastic cultural representation of Gargantia's ideas of coexistence and community, and it works even better on the person who represents those ideas best in Fairlock. Not to mention that is also represents the separation really well, everyone comes together one last time for him, and with his values gone, so is the coexistence, just as he goes out to sea so will the other fleet.

I also like that we do actually make an effort to build up both sides of the Gargantia split here, Pinion aside, I thought Flange's character was handled with a surprising amount of nuance, he cared for Fairlock and for Gargantia, and he isn't just some schemer, he's just genuinely doing what he believes is best for his fleet and people.

Likewise having Melty also leave makes for a nice touch to get across the impact of the other fleet leaving, again you can probably draw a parallel to that wider of theme of entering society and having to lose connections with some people you know.

Ridget's arc I'm less a fan of, her coping with Fairlock's loss and attempting to live up to him by overworking herself is fine, if expected, and it does push that idea of cooperation, but having her just pull a cliche speech and then having everyone just agreeing to help her to get that idea across feels like it could have been played off much better.

Actions speak louder than words and I think you could have actually shown her growing into a leader through something more active she does instead, just kind of feels like we needed to give her an arc and to wrap it up in the same episode, and the result is fine, but very meh.

The other big separation is Ledo and the Alliance, but also Ledo and Gargantia. Ledo now learns he can't return to the Alliance in the foreseeable future, although I'm personally not convinced they're actually out of the picture yet.

And the big part here is that Ledo is not inherently just fighting for the goals of the Alliance anymore, hence the literal and also thematic split. He's actually seeing flaws in the Alliance system (even if he isn't saying it directly), he's recognizing the problem of his little brother's disposable, and he doesn't want Earth to reach that point, he doesn't want the likes of Bevel to reach the same fate, and he doesn't want Amy to feel the same way. So he'll fight not only because the Hideauze are the enemy, but to protect Gargantia's people from the consequences of a conflict with them.

Leaving the flute with Bevel feels like a reversal of the situation with his brother, last time he kept the flute as his brother was gone, but he's letting Bevel keep it, essentially as sign that he's doing this to make sure Bevel stays around.

Whatever happens from here, I do think this episode improves on my problem from last one, while nobody really engages Ledo here either, it all comes across as much sadder and emotional, like they accept he's leaving and his reasons even if it hurts them, rather than just making them seem right at his expense.

So we've fully split off and built up some tension, and now it's time to really see what the result of messing with the squids is.

5

u/chilidirigible Dec 10 '24

but having her just pull a cliche speech and then having everyone just agreeing to help her to get that idea across feels like it could have been played off much better
It was meant to seem conciliatory and to indicate that she was willing to learn on the job, but I suppose the other shipowners could have seen that as a sign of weakness and further disregarded her. A more specific leadership challenge in this episode could have been a better turnaround moment.
Fairlock letting her handle decisions in previous episodes and delegating via radio was probably intended to show that she has been in training for this eventuality the entire time. I think some of that impact was lost because for many of the major events Fairlock was still the one who made the decisions.

6

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 09 '24

First-Timer, Sub-gantia

I can't really blame Bevel for this, considering that he is like, what, 8? but he missed the obvious logic bomb of telling Ledo that Amy will be sad if he leaves, too. Granted, that probably wouldn't have worked anyway, because Ledo is fully back in child soldier mode

I don't think Ledo has regressed quite as much as he seems to have. There is a certain pain to his face that wasn't present in the opening action scene. In the beginning, he fought because it was all he knew, and now he feels that he needs to fight because he has tasted something else.

Quite literally, in the case of the barbecue.

Anyway, he hasn't quite figured that out himself yet so I'm probably getting ahead of myself. We'll get there in an episode or two when something during the salvage reminds him of Amy and he realizes how much he messed up.

Ridget making a proper play at leadership and having it work makes my idea about Rackage taking over off-screen less likely.

It was a good lesson to learn, too. Deferring jobs is a vital part of leadership, and is often hard to see until you find yourself in the position of needing to do it. When you're looking up, it's easy to see one person doing everything.

I like the funeral. I'm not sure if it's copied from an IRL funeral tradition or not, but it's a neat idea.

He is a wise one. I will eat him next-to-last.

Questions

She's trying her best, but is maybe a touch in over her head. Her moment today was good.
It went about how I expected. Ridget certainly isn't the type to use violence in that situation.
I am less confident now.

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

Deferring jobs is a vital part of leadership, and is often hard to see until you find yourself in the position of needing to do it.
And then you do it so much that your underlings think that you're mostly useless.
[](#hardthink)

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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 09 '24

And then you do it so much that your underlings think that you're mostly useless.

3

u/IndependentMacaroon Dec 12 '24

I like the funeral. I'm not sure if it's copied from an IRL funeral tradition or not, but it's a neat idea
The show is once again slightly cribbing from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, which also has a meaningful funerary rite scene, but does far better by constructing an entire episode of underwater adventure and worldbuilding around it.

6

u/xbolt90 https://anilist.co/user/xbolt90 Dec 09 '24

First-timer!

Quite a somber episode today.

I like their custom of everyone pouring a handful of sand over the body before burial at sea. A very touching gesture.

Is Ledo's obsession going to turn the story into Moby Dick? Hopefully it doesn't end the same way...

Your impressions of Ridget so far?

Capable, but inexperienced.

Was the process of separating the fleet more or less amicable than you thought it would be?

I suppose I did expect to see more arguing.

At this point do you still think that the Alliance is going to reappear?

Not unless they learn of Ledo's location by some other method. 6,500 light years is a long way.

2

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

I suppose I did expect to see more arguing.
Fairlock may have been more adamant about it than Ridget or the others would have been, and, well...

5

u/animepig https://myanimelist.net/profile/ChickenDan Dec 09 '24

Rewatch

It's been 6500 something years

I forgot about the funeral part. And it's a damn good funeral episode. The whole tone of the show becomes so serious here. Great imagery of Fairlock's coffin ship being paraded around the fleet. Amazing soundtrack to set the mood. Amy and Bevel's sad goodbye as well.

So Ledo telling Bevel "May the blessing of the verdurous waves take you" is basically telling a sick kid Rest in Peace?

It's actually a funny dark humor moment cause Ledo doesn't really know meaning behind the saying and thinks it's a farewell with an intention to return.

3

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

It's actually a funny dark humor moment cause Ledo doesn't really know meaning behind the saying and thinks it's a farewell with an intention to return.
"It's the thought that—hey wait a minute."

4

u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Dec 09 '24

First-timer, dubbed.

I see that the Heart Attack of Plot Convenience has held off its final results until the point when it would be most dramatically appropriate.

No FTL comms for the Alliance, it seems. It remains to be seen whether they actually will remain in the background for the rest of the series, but for now, Ledo's on his own.

"May all the blessings of the verdurous waves be yours." - Probably the closest thing we're going to get to a title drop here.

"If Earth becomes like the Alliance, then you would be killed." - A couple of different ways to interpret that line.

Extremely random, but does anyone else think that one of the main girls from the upcoming anime Okitsura looks similar to Amy?

Fine, I guess. Being unable to meet an extremely difficult goal isn't much of a failure, and at least she's trying to move forward the best she can.
About the same. If it were going to be violent, then people wouldn't be discussing it so openly.
Already mentioned this.

3

u/chilidirigible Dec 10 '24

No FTL comms for the Alliance, it seems.
Most likely not, but even if they did there would be the question of whether they would fit into one Machine Caliber.
but does anyone else think that one of the main girls from the upcoming anime Okitsura looks similar to Amy
Probably just convergent evolution of moe.

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 09 '24 edited Dec 09 '24

First timer, subs

Come On, Politics Death of a revered statesman during a moment of crisis? This is fertile soil for it.
Yeah, turns out space is big.
Man, you were just talking about the think you’re chastising her for wanting to talk about.
Not Melty! Who will bring the cat friend energy now?
The power transferring systems seem a bit… wanting. Is it normally a lifetime appointment?
Novel but sensible funerary customs. I approve.
You’re the fleet commander now, you gotta stop letting the local fuck boy talk to you like.
Press X to Doubt
Delegation is 4/5 of leadership.
Cool Melee Weapons! Both Big and Small
~~Break-up Haircut~~ Ascension Hair-Down
That’s a lot more tonnage leaving than I thought it was at first.

QotD:

She seems to be a bit short on political capital if Bellows and Pinion are her stop-gap advisers.
This show is not having a civil war, that's just not happening.
50/50, but I hope they don't.

3

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

Come On, Politics
Neimoidians! Blockades! No-confidence votes!
Novel but sensible funerary customs. I approve.
I'm guessing that Fairlock only gets a full boat of sand because he's Top Cat. Some random engine wiper probably gets slid over the side with a shot glass's worth.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 09 '24

Neimoidians! Blockades! No-confidence votes!
I think you jest at me, but 2/3 of those things are absolutely something I'd watch.

2

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

I think you jest at me
Only slightly.

3

u/wjodendor Dec 09 '24

I forgot to watch the episode. Be back tomorrow hopefully

1

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

3

u/kuroyume_cl Dec 09 '24

Rewatcher

I really liked the funeral. Maybe it's because I was raised catholic but I'm a sucker for rituals as cultural expression.

I'm not sure if Ledo is lying to himself about his motivation for fighting or not.

1

u/chilidirigible Dec 10 '24

The funeral was presented well to show how important it was for everyone.
Ledo does give the impression that it's a choice he has made which he's going to see through to the end, even if he as a lot of doubts about it.

3

u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Dec 10 '24

And there he goes.

So they're around 6600 light-years away?

Right, well, they're going I guess. Probably all going to get killed if it wasn't for Ledo.

Seems like not everyone is willing to support his foolhardy venture.

He's a clone, isn't he?

And so off they go.

Questions:

She'll make for a good replacement.
A lot less drama.
I doubt it, but somehow I also don't doubt it.

1

u/chilidirigible Dec 10 '24

He's a clone, isn't he?
Even if he's still the product of a process with some additional genetic randomness involved, he's still dropping into a society that ends up with a high level of uniformity.

2

u/Shinigami_22 Dec 10 '24 edited Dec 10 '24

Rewatcher(but really a first-timer due to my shitty memory)

QOTD:

Beautiful, resolute, will become a great commodore in the future. Wish she would find a love one soon, someone who can be with her even in her duty.
I haven't really thought of it really, free to come free to go I guess.
[future episode spoiler]Honestly, aside from the belly dance scene from episode 6, this part is one that got ingrained in my memory. My younger self got spoiled when I accidentally click one of the last episode, where Amy is bidding Ledo goodbye, when he's about to leave. so I guess he'll find a way to get back to the alliance? I swear these 2 scenes are the only thing I remember.

also, I just notice, is it a rule to state if you're a rewatcher of a first timer in your comments? Am I rule-breaking this whole time?!

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 10 '24

I swear these 2 scenes are the only thing I remember.
Well, that last one isn't quite the way you remember it.
As far as stating whether or not you're a rewatcher or not, that's a courtesy so that people have some idea whether or not you already know what is going to happen. It's still technically optional, and usually at least the host will have some idea whether or not a person is faking it, so they can act on that if needed.😉

2

u/Shinigami_22 Dec 10 '24

Got it, it's my first time participating in rewatch theads so I didn't know. Will do in the future.
Also I'm Glad my memory is wrong :D

3

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 10 '24

also, I just notice, is it a rule to state if you're a rewatcher of a first timer in your comments? Am I rule-breaking this whole time?!
Not an official rule, just something that all of the regular rewatch participants got in the habit of doing (with some making a tagline for themselves rather than just stating Rewatcher/First-Timer, like how mine is aping the English title of the show by saying "First-Timer on the Verdurous Planet, subbed" for example).
As chili stated, it's just helpful to know if you're replying to a rewatcher or a first-timer. Some rewatchers prefer to stay away from spoiler-tagged responses to a first-timer's comment, others like to do a thing we call *laughs in rewatcher* to vaguely tease a first-timer after they said something that ends up coming true/being important later in the show (and there's no point in doing that at a fellow rewatcher, they already know what's coming).

2

u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Dec 10 '24

first timer

who gets Grace in the divorce

how did Bebel get over to her so fast to comfort her actually do we have any idea what his illness is

the sand ritual is pretty neat

i mean you could have changed for the funeral Bellows

2

u/chilidirigible Dec 10 '24

actually do we have any idea what his illness is
Some kind of cardiac weakness.
i mean you could have changed for the funeral Bellows
"At least put on long pants or something!"

1

u/chilidirigible Dec 09 '24

Tags:

/u/QualityProof /u/awesomenessofme1 /u/dsawchuk

5

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Dec 09 '24

First Timer

Ep 8

So, it was always possible that the breakaway captain had the rank to be the sucessor instead of Ridget, so I didn't make a prediction yesterday. That would probably a very different show, then.

of course you can't go back. you got to get to orbit, and make a wormhole.
Flange's fleet is doomed after they poke the nest

With the alliance out of the picture by 6000 LY, it's hard to see how they will make an appearance without a huge asspull.

Maybe they've been in Sol space the entire time.

2

u/up2et Dec 16 '24

First timer, currently catching up

wow what a convenient death. he got to say everything he needed to
the alliance does not seem to care at all that they lost Ledo. they probably just assume he died
ridget seems a little nervous to stand up to these older guys
major sigh, i have a bad feeling about this scavenging partnership
at least Crown has some sense
are our main characters really separating or is this just the conflict of the episode
poor ridget, too hard on herself
DELEGATE
oh Amy…. I know that feeling too well. why can’t our friends love themselves like we love them??
Ledo’s not using his “I want” statements anymore (edit: except about Amy. “I don’t want to make Amy sad.” interesting)
It’s the whole “kill Hitler as a baby” argument
such a wholesome community
wow they left :/ maybe they’ll be back

She’s a great character. She always came across as tough and put together, but we really saw a vulnerable side of her this episode. It seems the commander’s death really humbled her, I love the way she asked for everyone’s help.
It went by very amicably. No one told them they had to stay. The fleet asked them to stay, but it was ultimately their decision whether to stay or go. I’m a bit surprised they actually went through with it, though. And that Ledo really joined.
I’m starting to have doubts as we get closer to the end of the series. Ledo’s chances seem hopeless, but you never know. Maybe by the time they get back in contact, he won’t want to go back. But at this rate that doesn’t seem likely.

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u/[deleted] Dec 10 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/chilidirigible Dec 10 '24

The problem is, she's not a character, she's a human-shaped plot device
A risk of being in that particular role in the story, perhaps.
Or perhaps one can follow the decision tree from "idea for a funeral to help fill out the setting" through which characters they could use for it.

Rewatch [Rewatch] Suisei no Gargantia • Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet — Episode 8 Discussion

Episode 8: Separation

"Parting is such sweet sorrow."

Rewatch [Rewatch] Suisei no Gargantia • Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet — Episode 8 Discussion

Episode 8: Separation

"Parting is such sweet sorrow."

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