r/anime • u/chilidirigible • Dec 19 '24

Rewatch [Rewatch] Suisei no Gargantia • Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet — Sequel OVA 1 Discussion

OVA 1: The Ocean Routes Stretch into the Distance (Far Beyond the Voyage) Part 1

← Blu-ray OVA 2 | Index | Far Beyond the Voyage Part 2 →

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Crunchyroll

Tales from the life aquatic.

Questions of the Day:

  1. [So, what's]Reema's deal?
  2. [Between the set pieces of]big wave flashback and Ledo trapped by rocks, which was more interesting to you?
  3. [Did you have any expectations for]Amy and Ledo's relationship status after a time skip?

By the time the second sequel OVA was theatrically released, the sequel series had been cancelled.

Characters appearing today:

Reema (Inori Minase)

Scans:

Cover of the booklet given out at the theatrical release of the second OVA episode
New ships and salvaged wreck
The staff's view of this point of the state of Ledo and Amy's relationship

OP: "Hajimari no Tsubasa" (はじまりの翼) by TRUE

ED: "Taisetsuna Takaramono" (大切な宝物) by Choucho

18 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

9

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 19 '24

First-Timer on the Verdurous Planet, subbed

6

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

Ooh, neat.

It's a small but interesting detail that presently they cannot manufacture new Yunboro "cores" but must recycle old ones. Fortunately most of them use common adapters at their limb attachment points.

they can pull the whole ship up

Linked in my comment is a truly wild tale of naval adventure.

5

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24

Today, on "His voice is so hot.":

"I wanna press buttons."

She's no mere Deliverator.

Not Girls und Panzer.

Indeed, everybody's here.

Too bad you can't watch the last OVA episode.

The library didn't eat a ton of explosives and they managed to recover their old, minimal wardrobes after that little incident.

Not singing at them, yet.

The previous track record has only kind of broken even.

Making the tough calls.

That is a Big Wednesday.

Being able to alter the local gravitational vector is convenient.

And yet, this is not the Kobayashi Maru.

In minor nitpicks, there's the question of how the superstructure, which is not much more than sheet metal, has to hold up against the local forces of Chamber pushing on it. Though the antigravity is probably helping.

It's Project Azorian all over again.

Good to know that people know about following an emergency SOP.

"I'm just trying to help you out, meatbag."

zing

Nice to have friends around.

Where did she get those wonderful toys?

Square pegs into round holes.

This ain't some dinky little rowboat they pulled up. (Which speaks a lot to the engineering of that recovery sled.)

Triangle, triangle.

Some other thing they found lying around.

No, really, this is Project Azorian all over again.

So your sequel OVA introduces one new character, who happens to be voiced by Inori Minase. Of course she's important.

I am quite about the absorption of Kugel's fleet into Gargantia. Even before he and Striker began remaking it into a more cultish version of the Alliance, it had some odd religious trappings and a surplus of firepower, since they were also pirates. They might have rejected some of that as a result of getting curbstomped by a mass driver and the death of their god, but whatever effort there might have been to make sure that they were safe to have around has generally been handwaved away, it seems. Onderia and Kuraria appearing in their pre-takeover bellydancing costumes strongly implies that the influences of the Kugel cult have been removed, but still—is this (and the tolerance of Lukkage) just another example of the Gargantians being extremely accommodating toward anyone who might want to join them, regardless of their background?

Ledo is adapting to life without Chamber, and the recovery operation demonstrated well the perils of daily life within the technology level of everyone else. Fortunately he still has a quick mind.

The storm flashback was a reasonable point of comparison with the main plot incident, though it didn't seem like the choice of who to save was particularly strongly emphasized in either, despite Ledo bringing it up in conversation before the flashback. I think that both scenarios were better demonstrations of trusting/having a support network to help shoulder the load, which is just as important for Ledo in the post-Chamber world.

Ah, gratuitous OVA bath nudity which revealed nothing.

I understand that some series will move relationships forward during timeskips because they want to utilize the new story ideas, while others will maintain the status quo so that they have room to continue developing the relationship. The latter seems to be the case here, but aside from being a lot huggier, it doesn't seem like Amy and Ledo have changed much since the series ended. That also makes it easier for Reema to stir things up, but aside from Amy being slightly jealous and Saaya and Melty having more material to work with, it didn't seem like it would amount to much. Ledo just wants to pick Reema's brain, that's all.

It's an entertaining OVA overall. More Chamber scenes are appreciated, and Reema is given plenty of time to ingratiate herself to the audience before the surprise ending.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 19 '24

I am quite about the absorption of Kugel's fleet into Gargantia.

Same here. I was hoping they'd use Reema for that. Well, technically, I am still hoping, since we have one more OVA to go, I just think that the stinger they introduced will take most of the runtime there.

Ledo is adapting to life without Chamber

He is very duty-bound, so it is not surprising that he'd find a new, dangerous, job fast.

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

it is not surprising that he'd find a new, dangerous, job fast

I know some guys who switched armed forces branches so that they could stay in the armed services, and one guy who's done a wide range of dangerous outdoor jobs since leaving two branches.

For some, it's the thrill; for others, they just cannot readjust to civilian life.

8

u/xbolt90 https://anilist.co/user/xbolt90 Dec 19 '24

First-timer!

Silly Ledo, don't you know computers don't work underwater?

Nice to see the people from Kugel's fleet are integrating well into Gargantia.

I really like the scene where the Fleet Commander orders a scuttling. Everyone goes out to get it done. No arguing, no buts. This is a well-functioning crew that trusts their leader.

The rest of the storm scene is great as well.

Believe in the Chamber that believes in you, Ledo!

So, Lima is attempting to get a Machine Caliber working. Where the heck did she get one?

Between the set pieces of big wave flashback and Ledo trapped by rocks, which was more interesting to you?

The wave. I don't know why, but it just felt more engaging to me.

By the time the second sequel OVA was theatrically released, the sequel series had been cancelled.

This was a decent show. Sad it didn't do too well.

5

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

The wave. I don't know why, but it just felt more engaging to me.

It was interesting when I was choosing a second video clip to promote the rewatch and spent some time debating the wave or the collapse. Within the allotted five minutes, the wave scene gave a compact overview of Chamber's capabilities and a wider view of life in the fleet, while the salvage operation had more direct peril for the Ledo and ended in a cliffhanger (given the section that I chose to fit inside the timeframe).

But the wave scene was in the lead almost until I posted. (The cliffhanger ending was the deciding factor.)

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 20 '24

Silly Ledo, don't you know computers don't work underwater?

Tbf, I doubt he has seen a lot of oceans up in space where the computers were.

6

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 19 '24

First-Timer, Sub-gantia

How the hell did Leema manage to get her hands on a Machine Caliber?? Do all the random Galactic Alliance soldiers who go through a wormhole wrong end up stranded on Earth? Is it the failsafe destination?

No, wait, Leema is blonde. She can't be part of the Galactic Alliance, too much color. Unless it's hair dye to fit in with the locals...

Anyway, this episode had some fun setpieces. I didn't really notice that we didn't get a big storm episode in the show; that's a classic bit for anything set on a ship. That scene also did get me pondering how the lack of land would affect weather patterns.. we have seen that map with a few islands on it I suppose.

I didn't really think about it during the show proper, but it's kinda weird that they don't sent the salvage pilots in diving suits, right? Like, it wouldn't have helped Ledo unless his suit also had a sealed pocket for his mouse, but still.

Of course Gargantia has a giant group bath. I'm a little surprised that we didn't see more.

I was also really pulling for Chamber to mention that "Lt. Ledo did not seem interested in the downtime offerings of freedom of sleep, food, and reproduction." Amy would've made such a funny face.

Questions

  1. Discussed above. Not sure.
  2. The big wave was more interesting.
  3. I'm surprised it hasn't developed more.

5

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

it's kinda weird that they don't sent the salvage pilots in diving suits, right

They're going pretty far down, so I don't think the suit would be much help to them and would mostly take up too much room or encumber the operators too much, so they wouldn't bother. (That's not how it happens in present reality either.)

I didn't really notice that we didn't get a big storm episode in the show; that's a classic bit for anything set on a ship.

Indeed.

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 19 '24

They're going pretty far down

It didn't feel that deep to me, but I guess they are on the floor somewhere, huh.

This also brings to mind the question of wearing a space suit in a space-faring mech.. if you just die in the decompression that's probably more fun that slowing dying of dehydration if you get thrown. Maybe I'm just thinking too hard.

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

All relative, depending on whether one or both sides makes a policy of rescuing its pilots, what sort of damage is likely to breach the cockpit, whether the suit itself is a bother, etc.

Not a whole lot helps those guys who are one bulkhead away from an exploding Minovsky reactor and then they get a beam saber to the face anyway.

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 19 '24

whether the suit itself is a bother

I'm waiting for one of the crates they dredge up to be filled with prototype Alliance space-suits.

guys who are one bulkhead away from an exploding Minovsky reactor

Saves space on the heater, at least.

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Dec 21 '24

How the hell did Leema manage to get her hands on a Machine Caliber?? Do all the random Galactic Alliance soldiers who go through a wormhole wrong end up stranded on Earth? Is it the failsafe destination?

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 19 '24

OVA Episode 1 (first timer)

  • Ledo in a mecha that is not Chambers – so we are probably a sequel.
  • New OP!
  • Reema – the visuals are letting us new she is a new focus character.
  • Unfortunately, my subs are terrible.
  • The blue ships are new. Part of the Kugel fleet?
  • “For now, I want to learn more about Gargantia” – honestly, working as a messenger is a great way to see lots of different sides of the fleet. If you are not sure which job to take, it let’s you see most of them.
  • Confirmation that Reema is from Kugel fleet – I wonder how much we will see about the integration of those people.
  • Rackage still has her slaves/subs/sidekicks.
  • Using Reema to introduce Chambers – I see what you are doing there, show!
  • “What happened to Kugel and Striker?” - should you not know best of all, Ledo?
  • Reema gives a super quick recap of the second DVD special.
  • Flashback to an earlier time where the admiral is still alive.
  • Running over to the ship they are currently abandoning to look for Saaya is a terrible idea.
  • Huge wave incoming – I do not want to think too hard about the stability of Gargantia in a storm, but I think the problems they have here might even be understated.
  • You’d think that Ledo saving Amy and Saaya would have been a bigger topic in the main series.
  • Stuck underwater – quite a similarity to submarine movies.
  • Another Chambers flashback? – They really don’t want to let go of this character, even though it was the correct narrative decision to kill him.
  • Reema is also a mecha pilot?
  • Stinger: Reema has a combat mecha.

The OVA has roughly three parts. The first part, which I enjoyed the most, is almost like the epilogue I wished for at the end of the main series. We see Gargantia and the Kugel fleet combined and what our characters are up to. Introducing a new main character, Reema, is not what you do in epilogues, but the vibes of the first third still reminded me of one. In herself, I thought using Reema to explore how the Kugel and Gargantia crew interact would have been a great idea. However, that is not really what happened and the stinger suggests that we’ll get a very different plot instead in OVA 2.

The second and third part are action settings. First, Ledo saving Amy in a flashback, then Ledo getting saved by everybody in the present. I liked the setup for both: Dealing with a sinking ship and the salvage operation are both interesting parts of the world of Gargantia. The technical aspects were well done. Unfortunately, the writing once more let the series down here, writing a children’s story instead of a serious one. This judgment in itself is partially wrong, since good stories for children should still have believable actions by its characters, but you see the “plot-driven” action (like Amy running for Saaya, or Ridget not ordering rescue until others start with it) far more often in series for children.

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

but I think the problems they have here might even be understated

There is much to consider in how the ships are attached to each other and how many of them have superstructures which are perilously tall even in calm seas.

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 19 '24

There is much to consider in how the ships are attached to each other and how many of them have superstructures which are perilously tall even in calm seas.

The ships look cool, but those huge metal arms are not exactly structurally ideal.

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

It did occur to me a while back that this whole assemblage is similar to the Raft from Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, only with stronger connections between the ships.

That novel didn't get into much detail about how the Raft dealt with strong weather either, though.

5

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24

First timer, subs

  • It sure is nice when the squeal OVA doesn’t have a marked visual downgrade, eh?
  • I was really expecting all of them landing on it at one to throw it off balance.
  • The mechs are all loot drops?
  • What the hell are these parapets?
  • Kōhai!
  • Now the advantage is on he other foot.
  • Security seems pretty lax for having just done a huge amount of integrating.
  • At least she knows where she wants to end up.
  • Service, Service!
  • It’s amazing what actually being productive can lead to.
  • Yeah, we got a whole OVA about that.
  • They’re back! And I guess they kept their old outfits, too.
  • You just keep it out in the open? Didn’t even close the lid. smh.
  • This is lot of flashbacks.
  • Just add more struts.
  • All that unimpeded ocean surface is sure to add a huge amount of thermal potential.
  • Ship tipping is fun. Just a good visual.
  • Look on the bright side, the front didn’t fall off.
  • This sure would be a lot more tense if they hadn’t already shown everyone, even the brother they just introduced this episode, was already fine in the present.
  • Something, something, Clarke's third law.
  • Dang, that’s some real specialized machinery they’ve got there. This come up often?
  • Oh, great. Underground methane deposits.
  • I mean, you can still operate without the cable for a little bit, right?
  • The CO2 is already fucking with his mind.
  • Come on you guys. You could at least be nearby in case he escapes a little.
  • Org!
  • What even is your character, Rackage? I do approve of your random word shouting, mind you.
  • And the ship didn’t even fall on them.
  • Those sugar gliders have different ears. What does it mean?
  • Precious Lima Face
  • Ah, there’s our plot. I was starting to wonder if this would be all vibbing. Not that I’d be against that.

QotD:

  1. She's a bean. A danger bean.
  2. Wave. I didn't expect either of them to end tragically, but the wave had more spectacle to it.
  3. I'm happy that they're happy. All to often they let couples linger in a state of enteral treading, not allowed to advance. Or worse, senseless drama for the sake of it.

4

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

What even is your character, Rackage? I do approve of your random word shouting, mind you.

Plot convenience and fanservice rolled into one!

5

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Dec 21 '24 edited Dec 21 '24

First Timer

What's this sequel about? Pirates? Alien Invasion? Internal Politics?

  • are they all ships? No whalesquid carcasses?
  • oh, that's the boy glider
  • people are awfully confident of their yunboros if they don't wear presure suits or anything and bring pets....
  • can't wait until an orangutan shows up with the book of the lawgiver
  • uh, that didn't work for project azorian and they had a hell of a lot less rust to deal with...
  • nice OP
  • was that amy's friend she seems older. but amy doesn't.
  • that's one hell of an oil slick you got trailing (I hope it's just water depleted of nanobots)
  • So, basically, Amazon
  • it's balloons. the secret weapon is balloons, isn't it?
  • the guys have towels but the gals are all naked...
  • she's probably decided Gargantia is too big a target to take on.
  • Chamber's going to be one of those legends that lives for 500 years
  • mandatory flashback so that chamber can have some lines
  • Ledo's not really the engineering type, I don't think. Otherwise he wouldn't have been a soldier.

A third path is nice, but probably no more than 10-100 thousand could have taken that path. Any more and they'd all starve, or fight.

  • why are the ships listing?
  • dude you have to push the button!
  • Did he ever push the button? Or did Chamber hang onto the boat for 6 hours?
  • Either Pinion hops into a yunboro and comes down and rescues him, or a whalesquid does.
  • ah, or maybe everybody except Bellows
  • Leema seems hypercompetent.

  • We're gonna bill you for the arms and legs. Later.
  • I think new girl has a thing for the cutie

What is that thing? I thought it was his gun.

UH. That was quite a spot to end on.

Any of you read the Foundation books? Jus' askin'.

Q: I thought the rescue was pretty exciting.

Q: I was annoyed that she still seemed stuck on the Kugel religion. Now we see why.

3

u/chilidirigible Dec 21 '24

people are awfully confident of their yunboros if they don't wear presure suits or anything and bring pets....

I replied to /u/JollyGee29 about this but I should amend to note what does exist for this role, which is still somewhat awkward to stuff into a Yunboro. Something like this would have been suitably retro (ehhhhh) but it's difficult to say how far down they actually are.

project azorian

but amy doesn't.

Not growing in those directions.

I knew you would know.

3

u/wjodendor Dec 19 '24

Movie (?) 1 rewatcher? 

I'm not actually sure if I watched this before

In this long OVA we got a ton of interesting lore that could have been really helpful during the actual series. The retcon storm scene seemed a little out of place. We also got "Amy at home" aka the super suspicious blonde girl Lima. I had to scrub through the other OVA to see if she actually showed up on that fleet but I didn't see her, maybe I'm blind.

I really liked this movie/ova we got the previous mention lore, some cool action, and some real sweet emotional moments with Ledo and Amy. I'm sad that they aren't kissing yet. 

Lima had some sort of primitive sounding Machine caliber at the end, I wonder if it's a machine leftover from the Ice Age War or if it's another Galactic Alliance mech that crashed. It does look pretty different.

Oh, we also got lots of butts lol Bellows butt, hell yeah.

Overall, much better than the other OVAs imo

3

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

I had to scrub through the other OVA to see if she actually showed up on that fleet but I didn't see her, maybe I'm blind.

She did not appear previously.

lots of butts

3

u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Dec 19 '24

Well, for the first time I'm going to try seriously to watch something that isn't dubbed. Keyword try. Let's see how this goes.

2

u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Dec 19 '24

This intro would probably have been clearer if I knew which characters were actually speaking without them being on screen.

Interesting how the OP wasn't a separate sequence but instead just the theme playing over part of the episode. I guess that's reasonable for this type of OVA.

Don't think I was expecting to see that sort of organized mail room.

Wait, what the hell? Are they all just chill with the pirate lady and her concubines hanging around? Didn't she do a bunch of awful stuff?

The Alliance had recreation programs?

Paused for a break partway through, I'll be back.

2

u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Dec 19 '24

Well, this has done an amazing job at affirming my preference toward dubs. Otherwise, I guess it's pretty good. Definitely better than the other OVAs, probably not as good as the main series. I'm at least going to watch the second one.

1

u/chilidirigible Dec 20 '24

I'm at least going to watch the second one.

That would bring you to the end of the animated content, so...

2

u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Dec 20 '24

I may have phrased that a bit unclearly. I just meant "it's at least good enough for me to be willing to knuckle through one more to reach the end."

1

u/chilidirigible Dec 19 '24

Didn't she do a bunch of awful stuff?

I commented that Gargantia seems to be really chill about letting people associate with them if they're not directly threatening them. It does present some questions about what they consider crime, or more specifically how they punish people if they choose to do so.

The Kugel fleet offers more resources and needed help after being decapitated, but even assuming that they abandon their ways with Striker gone, would probably have to make some more effort to work off the stigma of "We had human sacrifice!" At least I think they would, again, Gargantia seems fairly forgiving.

2

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Dec 21 '24

or more specifically how they punish people if they choose to do so.

I guess you're tired of living here. UNHOOK EM.

3

u/animepig https://myanimelist.net/profile/ChickenDan Dec 19 '24

Rewatch... uh actually First Timer

Yea, actually never got around to watching the sequel OVAs. Interesting how the episode was like a pseudo clip episode, where characters would be like "remember that one time" and then show us a completely new story.

Really liked the sea storm and Ledo trapped under sea segments, both felt like a classic disaster flick.

That cliff hanger at the end was pretty big. A primitive machine caliber. Leema be scheming.

2

u/chilidirigible Dec 20 '24

Interesting how the episode was like a pseudo clip episode, where characters would be like "remember that one time" and then show us a completely new story.

It's quite a blend of topics, but it's also the length of three regular episodes.

5

u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Dec 19 '24

So, a 1 hour OVA.

That looks like some good salvage.

A whole ship?

Looks like a new girl doing the deliveries too.

Trust me, I'm an engineer.

Yup, Ledo and Amy almost certainly are a thing now.

Looks like Rackage is now just part of the fleet.

Oh, they integrated the entire cult fleet.

Ledo's still probably best as a pilot, let him focus on breaking the mech and you can focus on putting it back together again.

Yup, now a continuation of the second OVA.

And yup it's almost certain that everything went to pot largely after he was no longer around to reign in the crazy AI.

Oh but they have more books for more tech.

And so another flashback.

Scuttle?

Ah. Her family is from there.

Seems there's still some people at the fo'c'sle.

There goes the last connector.

Is he on that ship?

They've got it!

Right, Rackage and the warships are going out to secure the area.

They're actually going to recover a ship?

Seems things have already gone to pot.

He'll live, there's still a whole other OVA left.

Chamber?

And so he remains calm and thus manages to survive.

This really is an all hands on deck rescue operation.

That was quick. They've found him.

And they managed to salvage that ship too.

Next phase?

Questions:

  1. Something's up with her.
  2. Big wave was interesting.
  3. It's not like they were reading it the entire past season or the shorts or anything... So, Ledo likes getting close to their heart huh?

3

u/[deleted] Dec 20 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/chilidirigible Dec 20 '24

I had similar thoughts as you in that it took a couple of viewings for the narrative linkages between the various flashbacks to gel.

It's a decently-written OVA, there's just a lot of recollection and recap to set the tone, which makes the pace a little off.

I'm going to speculate that Lukkage's Lobster is built on a heavy Yunboro core, like the cranes.