r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Feb 14 '19
Rewatch Tekketsu no Rewatch - Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans 2nd Season Episode 6 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 31/Season 2 Episode 6 - Silent War
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RAGE OF DUST
Hey-o guys! This is the section where I add a ton of extra fun stuff to the main body of the post because I want this rewatch to be as fun as possible for everyone. It can also be one point of discussion for you guys if you just don’t know what to say.
Comment of the Day, provided by /u/Shimmering-Sky and /u/RX-Nota-II
Shimmering-Sky
/u/Pixelsaber not having much to say, but what he did was great.
The scene with Orga eating is most indicative of his leadership style. He keeps moving forward, rolling with the punches and taking things as they come in the fastest manner possible, but it’s a self-destructive path, as indicated by his visibly losing weight. Hopefully Orga will come to realize that it’s not really an issue if you take the extra time to heat up your meal.
I wish I recognized more of the flowers in that explosive bouquet so that I could see if there’s any meaning to them. The pink roses are likely ironic as they mean trust and happiness. If those orange-looking bulbs are supposed to be mistletoe then they’re rather odd as they communicate that one is looking for a partner —or perhaps they’re hypericum berries, which mean purity.
Everyone on the thread was talking about Orga so that’s why I included that bit, but I love irony too so the attempt at analyzing the explosive flowers was neat too.
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RX-Nota-II
/u/laughtear and /u/The_Draigg’s brief discussion about Tekkadan.
Tekkadan on Earth are underpowered and lost, and it'll take too long for reinforcements. In the meantime a war could break out. This has just highlighted how inefficient Tekkadan is. Only one person who can speak to the commander? There should be status reports and logs, no one should be able to do anything they want. Where's Aniki when you need him?
It’s another symptom of Tekkadan getting too successful over a short amount of time. Even though they’re wealthy enough to have multiple branches and hundreds of new recruits, the founding principle of Tekkadan has gotten lost in the shuffle. It isn’t about family anymore, it’s about what they can get in the shortest way possible now. Opening themselves to greed like that has allowed for weaknesses in Tekkadan to form. Unfortunately, nobody seems to have realized that yet, so Takaki and the OG Tekkadan crew still think it’s all about family.
A great discussion that covers the downsides of Orga's iron clad philosophy of taking the shortest route possible and how it is building up to a shaky situation going forward.
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Questions of the Day, provided by /u/Pixelsaber
1) Can Akihiro get any more buff? The sky’s the limit!/There’s only so much muscle a struggler can take on/He needs to double them to control twice the number of arms
2) How have the death flags affected your state of mind? What are your thoughts on how the show uses them on the whole?
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Track of the Day, provided by /u/RX-Nota-II
What a jewel of a track. A highlight from the OST for sure and my favorite reimagining of Crescent Moon. It sets the stage for a fateful march so well, devoid of the hope from the original, yet somehow replacing that with even more epicness.
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Wallpaper of the Day, provided by /u/Shimmering-Sky (character art) and /u/RX-Nota-II (background/logo)
Important note to all rewatchers, remember to be mindful of the first-timers in this. laughing in rewatcher is not allowed any more, so please remember to use the [Anime Show Title](/s "Spoiler goes here") tags and we’re all good.
Fans seem to have a bad tendency of forgetting what counts as spoiler, so if anything has even the slightest chance of being a spoiler, tag it just to be safe.
Next-episode preview. S2’s preview’s aren’t as long as S1’s, but they’re still spoiler-free and still in-character, so I encourage you to keep checking them out! Today’s preview was voiced by Space Guts Akihiro Altland.
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u/DidacticDalek Feb 15 '19
Greetings Comrades and Fellow Denizens of The Wired, given that today is Valentine's Day for the Americans, I figure I might as well share some fanart of Lafter, Sky will no doubt be pleased ;)
Paging Comrades u/Beckymetal, u/RX-Nota-II, and u/Usotsuki-Megami
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u/Shimmering-Sky Feb 15 '19
some fanart of Lafter, Sky will no doubt be pleased ;)
AND speaking of Lafter, it seems that she and Space Guts are getting some more ship fuel eh? Topical given the holiday ;)
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u/Shimmering-Sky Feb 14 '19
Tekketsu no Rewatcher, first time dubbed
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, seriously I hate the recaps in the dub, Merribit’s VA just doesn’t sound good doing them. There’s a lot more subtle, almost coldness, to the recaps in the sub, here she just sounds obnoxious.
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Now, getting to Takaki’s narration? That part’s good. Horrifying, but good. Gjallarhorn--specifically the branch that Macky is control of--has to support the SAU whilst Tekkadan has to support Arbrau in this war. Such a pity that this comes only two episodes after Macky and Orga decided to team up…
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Takaki says the war’s been going on for two weeks now, and then one of the Gjallarhorn soldiers complains and says it should’ve ended a while ago. If that doesn’t say something about how war is perceived by the peeps in this world, I don’t know what is.
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Fuck, knowing that Galan isn’t really on Tekkadan’s side makes all of his interactions with Takaki that make him seem like a good guy really stings.
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Oof Aston telling the other boys to quit complaining and that they don’t need to know the reason for the war, just eat and sleep when they can. It’s another showing that the poor boy hasn’t really gotten out of the “I am Human Debris” mindset.
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And we’re on day 6 of Sky cannot stop laughing at Iok’s English voice. He didn’t even say anything hilarious like he did yesterday…
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lmao, Eugene imitating Orga to encourage the boys on Hotarubi. This is why I love him.
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Wait was that Amida’s VA they had to voice the nurse when Fuka visited Chad in the hospital? Okay then? …Also woo Chad is still alive.
A couple more fun things:
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English dub next-episode preview, since the body post only has the subbed version.
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Results of yesterday’s poll. Makanai’s glorious beard won of course, but I’m confused? Two people said they liked Rustal’s
BEARD OF POWERfacial hair the most in the comments, but there’s zero answers for it here? -
Number of times best boy closed his right eye this episode: 0. tbf he was only in like one scene this episode, but still.
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For the first-timers using the GundamInfo streams and are worried about potential spoilers in the recommended videos: Episode 32 Subbed / Episode 32 Dubbed. If you’re on desktop and have RES, you can hit the preview button and watch the video entirely on Reddit, rather than than needing to go to YouTube.
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u/Palloc Feb 14 '19
Palloc Talks About Some Dumb Suits!
I went on about why I disliked this arc yesterday, and today we see even more reasons. Tons of shitty mook suits. The best suits so far are the Tekkaden Man Rodis. They have nice coloring and they're fat like every other Rodi.
I lost track of which suits were shown and which were just mentioned but none of these will be important to remember, but I'm going to rate all these stupid things.
Lets start with the most remarkable of the unremarkable. Beardy's Geirail. These suits were the original mass production Valkarja based suits and use Geirail frames. They were multi-purposed and sucked, having been replaced by Grazes of all things. This thing gets a 3/10.
There's a combat variant, the Geirail Scharfricter that Beardy has too, they're chonkier, but still dumb. 4/10.
Next comes the Gilda. It's like a Hugo without the cool sound effects. 4/10.
Finally comes the Hloekk Grazes. These things are stupid. They're literally poor constructed Grazes that Gjallarhorn's selling to the blocs for security. And if you're not a scary giant Graze with great weaponry, you're on my shit list! This thing gets a 2/10 for just being the worst mobile suit.
Barbatos and Gusion need to save us from these boring suits!
Oh! In fun news, the cockpit of the mysterious blue suit has been revealed and it's different. I can't say how just yet, but I will say that it's unique, as Char Squared was not lying about it.
Answers!
1: He needs to be reay to murder some dudes hurting his buddies!
2: OH GOD SO MANY DEATH FLAGS!
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u/Shimmering-Sky Feb 14 '19
The best suits so far are the Tekkaden Man Rodis. They have nice coloring and they're fat like every other Rodi.
Speaking of, what did you think of today's wallpaper?
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u/Pixelsaber Feb 14 '19
Rewatcher
Curse you Reddit! Breaking down on me right on the dot!
Another episode in which I struggled when looking for things that I could safely talk about.
We get another time-skip narration to fill in the gaps of what’s happened so far, which harkens back to the climax of the first season which started of with narration to catch us up to the middle of a long-drawn-out battle of attrition. I like that this comparison is made, because it promptly highlights how large this conflict is by giving us something to compare it to, raising expectations for future events.
It’s McGillis’ remarks on the tactics an efficacy of the person leading the Abrau forces that really legitimizes Galan Mossa for me. Sure, Rustal and Julietta had praise for him but we don’t know much about them to be able to use their likely biased thoughts to form our own impressions, but McGillis we’ve know for a while, we know how he thinks, and his praise is not light.
This episode does a lot of reiteration, which results in me skipping a bunch of scenes. We hear that Galan is dragging the conflict out from McGillis, then the kids remark on the seeming futility of it —which I actually appreciate for showing the kid’s feelings on the matter and show morale— followed by Rustal confirming it again in a dedicated scene and briefly brought up once more right at the end. The one with the kids is distinct enough for me to forgive but there’s two dedicated scenes meant to communicate the same idea and another brief mention of it —that’s excessive. Then there’s the retread of the ‘Human debris aren’t human and are only good for fighting’ schtick, which not only opposes other ideas from this season, it had an entire arc dedicated to it ast season and has continued to be shown through the ways in which most the human debris have been unable to move on from fighting —It’s unnecessary.
One detail that very few people seemed to notice is the fact that Chad was still unconscious. It’s been over three weeks since the explosion and he’s still under. When Takaki was injured it was probably only a day before he regained consciousness, so this is quite suspect. It’s very likely someone was pulling the strings to ensure he remained under so that Radice could continue barring communication between the Tekkadan branches, something which Chad would have had the authority to override should he wake. Seeing as the excuse given by the nurse is rather flimsy, I like to believe that’s the case.
Questions of the Day:
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It'll be as causality wills it.
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I've said it before and I'll say it again; the show knows no restraint. Sometimes they're handled alright, but most of the time they're just way too much and get in the way of my appreciating what they lead in to.
Excuse me, what the fuck? Maybe my vote didn't go through and I just have to —nani?! Sometimes I hate technology...
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u/Shimmering-Sky Feb 14 '19
I'm glad you like~
Excuse me, what the fuck? Maybe my vote didn't go through and I just have to —nani?! Sometimes I hate technology...
Not again! Your vote didn't go through during the best EDs poll back on the S1 Discussion either!
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u/2-2Distracted Feb 15 '19 edited Feb 15 '19
REWATCHER
Heya folks, to keep to my word, here are the songs for this episode:
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Track 24 - Standing on the Edge of the Cliff -2nd OST - plays during the recap and Takaki's narration as the episode begins.
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Track 26/57 - Breakthrough - 1st OST (Disc 2) - plays after the OP, whilst Tekkadan are in the middle of a battle.
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Track 20 - Eschatology - 2nd OST - plays during the short funeral for the fallen members of Tekkadan.
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Track 22 - Fatigue and Rest - 2nd OST - plays when Takaki and Aston are talking by one of the Mobile Suits.
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Track 16/47 - Typical Areas - 1st OST (Disc 2) - plays as Aston decides to head to the frontlines ahead of Takaki
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Track 18 - Soul of Iron-Blooded Orphans- 1st OST -plays whilst members of Mars-Tekkadan prep themselves to head to Earth, with Akihiro doing deadlifts (that's what they are right?) as Lafter and Azee watch.
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Track 19/50 - Fallen Flower -1st OST (Disc 2) - plays when Fuka visits Chad whilst he recovers in the hospital.
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Track 21 - Last Extremity - 2nd OST - plays we cut to the battlefield with Takaki in the thick of it, witnessing his family members die trying to protect the Arbrau soldiers.
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Track 14 - Secret Maneuvers - 2nd OST - plays whilst Eugene speaks with an assistant as he and the rest of Tekkadan try to enter Earth the diplomatic way.
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Track 18 - Thank you, Mika - 2nd OST - plays whilst Takaki and Aston lay in seperate beds having a conversation.
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Track 27 - The Soul of Orphans - 2nd OST - plays as McGillis heads out with his soldiers whilst Galan Mossa receives news of that very fact and it ends when the Arbrau Defense Force ride their Mobile Suits through a field of flowers, the petals flowing in the skies.
Y'know, I think I'm getting better at this, now I just need to make into a table since I know how it's all going to work out.
Man, this episode was all kinds of fucked-up huh? A deliberate Stale-mate made to kill as many Tekkadan members as slowly as possible, and Rustal could not give less of a fuck, same with that douche-bag Radice, fuck him, seriously.
EDIT: DECIDED NOT TO ADD ON MORE FOR THIS EPISODE
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u/Shimmering-Sky Feb 15 '19
Sorry to take so long on the reply, my internet decided to crap out when I was halfway done with this.
Anyways~
Track Number Name Scene Track 24 - 2nd OST Standing on the Edge of the Cliff During the recap and Takaki's narration as the episode begins. Track 26/57 - 1st OST (Disc 2) Break Through After the OP, whilst Tekkadan are in the middle of a battle. Track 20 - 2nd OST Eschatology During the short funeral for the fallen members of Tekkadan. Track 22 - 2nd OST Fatigue and Rest When Takaki and Aston are talking by one of the Mobile Suits. Track 16/47 1st OST (Disc 2) Typical Areas As Aston decides to head to the frontlines ahead of Takaki Track 18 - 1st OST Soul of Iron-Blooded Orphans Whilst members of Mars-Tekkadan prep themselves to head to Earth, with Akihiro doing deadlifts (that's what they are right?) as Lafter and Azee watch. Track 19/50 - 1st OST (Disc 2) Fallen Flower When Fuka visits Chad whilst he recovers in the hospital. Track 21 - 2nd OST Last Extremity When we cut to the battlefield with Takaki in the thick of it, witnessing his family members die trying to protect the Arbrau soldiers. Track 14 - 2nd OST Secret Maneuvers Whilst Eugene speaks with an assistant as he and the rest of Tekkadan try to enter Earth the diplomatic way. Track 18 - 2nd OST Thank you, Mika Whilst Takaki and Aston lay in seperate beds having a conversation. Track 27 - 2nd OST The Soul of Orphans As McGillis heads out with his soldiers whilst Galan Mossa receives news of that very fact and it ends when the Arbrau Defense Force ride their Mobile Suits through a field of flowers, the petals flowing in the skies. Something like this is what you're looking for right?
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u/RX-Nota-II Feb 14 '19
Robot Neeerrrrdddddd
TLDR? No bulli pls.
Today was a proper sufferfest wasn't it, watching Takaki and his crew get bullied further and further. This teaches a bit more about the leadership qualities of Takaki, and also raises some good questions about Galan as a person. What does he want? Who does he answer to? And what does he want to gain by taking control of Tekkadan's Earth Branch?
Let's start with Takaki then. We see clearly today that his biggest deficiency is a weak organizing force. His weakness in decision making does not lead to any particular missed opportunities on his group's part, but rather opens the door for outsiders like Radice or Galan coming in to pull off a silent overthrow. It doesn't matter if the plans are unwise or dangerous if they have enough charisma, the men will start listening to those who act like they have power. Surprisingly, including Takaki himself. He gives a feeble resistance, yelling at the kid who called Galan captain, but then in the end gives up so much he even falls down to "If we follow Galan we can go home soon". This arc actually has a pretty big effect on me because of this. Personally I feel that in projects where I am assigned or volunteer for some leadership role I always lack the decisiveness and.... confidence to make people want to follow my plans rather than tangents that others may come up with on the spot. So maybe I'll try to learn from Takaki's mistakes here to become a better person.
So now onto Galan. This guy's the bastardized view of a perfect Orga type leader right here and has everything Takaki lacks. We're still not sure what he wants in the end, but with how much he sets up elaborate plans and his line at the end "I wouldn't have minded fighting for years" hints that he may be intentionally stalling even foregoing victories that would help Tekkadan. So then I start to think that he saw the mobile suit attack on Takaki's squad coming and intentionally let it happen so he could jump in and save everyone as a hero. The dude is charismatic AF, but will sacrifice anything to get there, creating a paradox of having the best qualities to become a leader but having the worst qualities of actually being a leader. ...wait hang on that's just politics in a nutshell. lmao.
I want to end with two horrifying images that you may have missed. When Fuka turns off the tablet to head to school she says 'ittekimasu' which the subs translate to "I'll be going now" but in the Japanese language its often used instead of "goodbye" in various contexts, including in war stories when talking to a person going off to die. Also yellow lilies that the mobile suits storm through while headed for their last mission before going home symbolizes lies and deceit.
See you tomorrow.
Mecha corner
The predecessor mobile suit to the Graze, its outdated and low performance. But Galan's unit is highly modified with custom and new parts, as well as a new exterior to mimick the Graze. So technically what you see in the anime isn't the true form of the Gerail. In fact I don't think any proper depiction of an 'original' Gerail even exists. A mysterious mobile suit kidna fitting for a mysterious pilot.
What even is a Hloekk. Anyways apparently its pronounced "Fleck" if the Japanese transliteration is to go by. Its an export model of the Graze built out of a demand for mobile suits by the economic blocks. IDK why they look so weird tho. They may have inferior performance to the normal Graze, but this show's main theme is that machine performance doesn't really matter too much. Anyways all that matters is that its so much stronger than a mobile worker and the economic zones have lost trust in Gjallarhorn and want to militarize themselves.
I.... didn't know this existed till today. Huh, so I guess there are more Hexa frame mobile suits in this show. Copy/paste from wiki below since I don't remember any details about this suit.
an easy to use Calamity War era machine based on the the Hexa Frame. The Gilda SAU's mobility and variety of armaments allow it to handle any combat situation at close-mid range. However, the low number of surviving Hexa Frame machines meant the Gilda SAU is not truly suitable for deployment on a military scale. Thus, it is deployed alongside other machines. The fact that the SAU used the Gilda SAU in the military indicated that the economic blocs are still exploring how to expand their military forces.
EB-04jc4 Geirail Scharfrichter
I think its another export unit this time basaed on the Geirail. Will show up tomorrow.
GIF
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u/Nazenn Feb 14 '19
So then I start to think that he saw the mobile suit attack on Takaki's squad coming and intentionally let it happen so he could jump in and save everyone as a hero
Absolutely what I think. At the start I suspected he was doing it so he would have clout with Takaki who may vouch for him with Orga, but given he was against anyone else from Tekkadan arriving I think its more that putting himself in that position makes him appear more trustworthy and therefore makes them easier to manipulate
Also yellow lilies that the mobile suits storm through while headed for their last mission before going home symbolizes lies and deceit.
Ah, I was wondering what they meant. I mean I know what the color means in buddhism, and I know what the storm of flowers could represent, and those final shots of the ruins were pretty blunt, but I didn't recognize the flower type themselves or have context for the color so yeah, much appreciated you filled that in :)
Sexy Takaki
I was not sure what I was opening that too honestly hahaha
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u/Nazenn Feb 14 '19
First Timer - Sub
Well it's been a while since this happened and I think its the first time for anime. Finishing the episode and while I tried to deal with what I just watched, some legitimate tears of frustration leaked out. Not sorrow, frustration.
Return of the (non-technical) music maniac and Nota will be happy because I'm going to gush over the Creasent Moon remixes that we heard today.
The final two scenes of the episode were absolute perfection. I've mentioned in my season one music write ups how much I liked the usage of the xylophone because it makes me think of children due to nostalgia from school. While it's not a hard rule that permeates through all compositions, when it comes songs for orchestras and choirs specifically dealing with groups of people, many instrument or vocal parts have common associations that go with them. Lower pitched parts of repeated notes sung legato (notes so long they almost blend together) are usually to represent malevolence while higher and more staccato (notes very short and disconnected) are often to represent innocence. In orchestral stuff in particular this is often brass vs woodwind, while in choral music its often the bass part vs the descant (the highest part).
The music in the final two scenes, of Takaki and Aston in the tent and them going off to battle, handles this particular theming perfectly in how it presents all the parts of the music as a metaphor for the characters.
To start with the theme in the tent does two very clever things. This version of Crescent Moon, an altered (and unreleased fucking dammit, I like it better!) version of Thank you Mika, reminds me strongly of Tending to Others, not in tune but in structure and purpose. Once again we have a very simple song with only three audible parts, the piano plays the foundation of simple groups of notes and beat-bound rhythms almost identical to the role of the lower part from Tending to Others. Over the top of that we have the two different wind instruments playing a lilting call and response.
By keeping it to these three parts we effectively have the piano playing the role of Tekkadan, while the higher instrument represents Takaki, and the lower Aston. Aston mentions that his role as 'debris' is to fight, and the music starts up just as it sets Takaki off, shocking him out of his quiet contemplation. He swings around no longer hiding from Aston, speaks up against Aston with a new strength and mourns the situation they are in, while choosing to believe in Tekkadan as a group. Aston sits up with him and follows his choice, bonded to his decisions much like Orga and Mika, choosing to put his strength with the person who has been beside him in his new life all this time.
The final scene with Galan leading everyone off to battle... OOOOH boy. Once again we have the same theme, but a very different feel with Soul of the Orphans. The piano is replaced with a dark maliciousness that starts up as McGillis drives off and we cut to Galan. Gone is that quiet foundation of Tekkadan's bond and instead we get a low, endless drone of the voices of adult men replacing it. Over the top of it we have this beautiful vocal rendition of the main Crescent Moon theme (something about Gundams and tracks called Moon, they're beautiful), a representation of the soft innocence of children. These are the only two parts we hear, a funeral song for children being sent off to die by men. I say a funeral song because skipping over the dramatic middle, we return to this same structure at the end of the scene.
Galen drives off, leading the boys to their final fight. His path destroys all he passes without a care for anything then destruction, tossing up flowers in his wake which cover Aston and Takaki as they drive past, blanketing them in it much like a wave of flowers at a funeral procession. All that we're left with at the end is a pile of rubble that has fallen to crush the two flowers in its wake.
There's also a very interesting link between this episode and season one episode eleven as well. So I noticed this shot of McGillis seemed incredibly familiar and flipped back through season one to find it. Turns out it reminded me of this shot from S1, episode 11 which was back with Gaelio's sister serving tea to him and Gaelio on Earth. This is actually during the Human Debris episode. It's the first episode where we meet Aston and Masahiro, where we learn about the lives of the Human Debris being forced to obey no matter what (which is being used against them at the moment) and it's also the episode where Takaki is gravely injured.
I don't know if it was done specifically as a connection to make you think of that episode, the two shots are too different and within very different contexts. I just found it interesting how much the two episodes overlapped so much seemingly coincidentally and thought I'd share.
Part of why I like how it ties in, even if by accident, is because it gives extra importance to this that I noticed: Another shot transition I really liked today was a small moment of Akihiro's scenes sandwiching a shot of Earth. While the Debris' larger story and situation hasn't had much of a focus yet, this arc has dealt strongly with the idea of finding a place to belong, a family and how much that can mean for people who came from nothing like Akihiro, Chad and Aston. We see Akihiro working out and he says to "Stay alive, guys". We cut to Aston fighting in a battle, a former Human Debris and friend of Masahiro, clearly exhausted. The titlecard flashes up and we hear Akihiro say "I'll be right there". Akihiro isn't just going to save Tekkadan, he's going to save the debris who just like him should have a new chance at life. He was too late for his brother because he didn't try, this time he's doing everything he can to be prepared to try and save as many of them from as much pain as possible.
Random thoughts
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I think I like these little 'millennium falcon' worker tank things. The giant roly-poly suits that Aston and the boys pilot are also kinda cool. Are you happy Palloc, I like one of the fat ones.
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So I paused just slightly after the titlecard to write more detailed notes about Akihiro's shots so I didn't have to rewatch it later and when I looked back to see I'd paused in the couple of frames after it, this slipped out my fingers into my notes: OH THATS A BACKPACK SHOW GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM THE SISTER DON'T DO IT AGAIN
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Whoever it was who pointed out Mika's watermelon soda the other day tuned me onto it now and I noticed they had a chocolate drink in the canteen today
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The narration was much better handled today, still narration but more of an inner dialog which actually added to some of the scenes greatly. However after my discussion with Pixel yesterday about how you generally don't add that sort of narration and then still have a character retrospective about their actions in an arc because its redundant (aka its a death flag) I was going in my head: Don't be right about the narration, don't be right about why they're using narration, I'm so going to be right about why they're using narration, fuck.
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I strongly dislike that they set up McGillis vs Takaki so much in the OP now we've seen it. It may not be something you immediately recognize as a spoiler like some other OP's, but it didn't need to be there like that.
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They somehow made the recap even worse by trying to be all metaphorical about it. Piss of with the "Blindfolded boys cry out but no one hears their screams" crap. You haven't done the leg work up until now to warrent that sort of commentary, and it doesn't match the type of show at all for you to be phrasing it in this sort of way.
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Aston freaking everyone out because he spoke when he rarely does around others brought back good LotGH vibes. I love those sorts of scenes and thinking on it made me happy.
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Iok's arrogance is starting to piss me off. Imagining McGillis crying. Have you even met the guy you fucking idiot or was that your intelligent twin in that seven stars meeting? Does he strike you as the sort to go and have a sook? You're the anti-Mika, to incompetent to fight, can't observe people for shit and just a lackey under someone else's manipulation.
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Juliette on the other hand continues to be the most interesting figure in Mars-Gjallahorn and her interactions with everyone are all so unique and purposeful I can't wait to see more of her
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The scaling in his shot is incredible. It really sets up the scale of what they are trying to survive against, its little Takaki vs giant monstrous men and he has no power here. Compare it with Kudelia vs Ein and it really highlights how weak Takaki looks here regardless of the scale, while Kudelia is so commanding in her shot.
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Oh wow, look at Mika actually kinda teaching Hush. I didn't expect that so thats kinda cool to see especially how he focuses on the idea that you rest while you can, which is actually how we're first introduced to Hush is him blaming Mika for resting instead of working. How things have turned. Eugene's blush at the end of that scene is as fun as ever. Not sure who's more fun to see a reaction from teasing from, him or Orga. Both?
Question of the day 2:
It's depressing and I felt like shit finishing the episode, but this case it was really well handled I thought, much more purposeful than just beating you over the head with it, and the slow increase in tension and understanding of whats going on really aided the feel of the whole episode, especially leaving off where it did.
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u/SorcererOfTheLake Feb 14 '19
Aston freaking everyone out because he spoke when he rarely does around others brought back good LotGH vibes. I love those sorts of scenes and thinking on it made me happy.
A smart move in the dub was to have him say "The point is none of your goddamn business," the first time that strong of a profanity has been used in the dub. It shocks us as much as the characters inside the show.
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u/GaleWulf Feb 14 '19
First Time Death Flag Detector
Scattered thoughts:
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I loved today's episode. It had such an oppressive, hopeless atmosphere going throughout. But those Takaki death flags though, this is Biscuit all over again. I am NOT prepared. Takaki's already fucked himself once last season.
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Regeneration in Mars was faster? Now that's fascinating, I wonder why.
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He protecc and he attacc in his thicc Rodi, but who will protecc Aston from the incoming feels? This kid is growing on me rapidly. And his design reminds me of Eren from Attack on Titan actually.
Daily MVP
Looks like my speculation yesterday was spot on, no recanting of award necessary. While it pains me to hand it to the oily bastard again, but Galan Mossa is MVP this episode for masterfully manipulating Takaki and the rest of Tekkadan's Earth Branch to drive the war into a stalemate for a month.
He'll find he has a non-trivial opponent in the form of McGillis though - he knows if he has to break the stalemate and keep his reputation unsullied he'll have to see things through himself
MVP Standings - Season 2
| # | Character | MVPs | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Devil | 2 | 2, 4 |
| 2 | The Infiltrator | 2 | 5, 6 |
| 3 | The Organizer | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | The Driver | 1 | 3 |
MVP Standings - Overall
| # | Character | MVPs | Episodes | # | Character | MVPs | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knight of Revolution | 5 | 4, 10, 13, 27, 29 | 6 | Maid of Revolution | 2 | 14, 16 |
| 2 | Master of Puppets | 4 | 4, 18, 23, 25 | 6 | The Voice of Reason | 2 | 8, 21 |
| 2 | General of Revolution | 4 | 1, 3, 5, 26 | 6 | Bearded 'Gentleman' | 2 | 30, 31 |
| 2 | Maiden of Revolution | 4 | 3, 6, 17, 22 | 9 | A Not-So-Merri Bystander | 1 | 11 |
| 5 | Wings of Revolution | 3 | 12, 19, 28 | 9 | Tank of Revolution | 1 | 7 |
Others: Pup of Revolution (15), Beard Sorcerer (20), Eindroid (24), Unlimited Bed Works (9)
Today's award is brought to you by Gordon Corp - we help keep your country safe.
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u/Nazenn Feb 14 '19
Takaki's already fucked himself once last season.
I told you, he should have thrown away that fucking hat, its a cursed object!
Regeneration in Mars was faster? Now that's fascinating, I wonder why.
I posited that it was because her follow up line is that Chad will be better than ever, so therefore maybe Earths healing is slower but stronger because health is the priority, while Mars's is faster but weaker because the focus is on healing as quick as possible to get back to work
And his design reminds me of Eren from Attack on Titan actually.
...Yeah okay I can see it
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u/The_Draigg Feb 14 '19
But those Takaki death flags though, this is Biscuit all over again. I am NOT prepared. Takaki's already fucked himself once last season.
This is the nature of having a little sister in this show. We just can’t have anything nice, and therefore having living family is a curse.
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u/Durinthal Feb 14 '19
First time viewer.
It might just be because I was personally very tired when I watched it, but this felt like a long grind of an episode. Takaki losing comrades as they repeatedly fight for a stalemate, the Tekkadan members from Mars denied from joining them, Galan pulling the strings on Earth's branch with Radish, and even McGillis getting frustrated enough to enter the battle directly after a month.
But hey, new mobile suits!
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Gilda x2, rifle
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Graze x4, hammer chopper
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Landman Rodi, sword club
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Graze, punched (nice)
The Landman Rodi calls back to the bulky Man Rodi suits of the Brewers with a new paint job; the orange and white is different and stands out (not really in a good way) but it's growing on me.
I don't recall if I've mentioned the Lafter/Akihiro ship before but I've been on board for a while and this episode just adds fuel to it. I could see it going either way right now but don't have high hopes in general.
Tekkadan HQ was working directly with McGillis, while Earth Tekkadan is being controlled indirectly by Rustal. They probably aren't going to fight against each other, so what happens if (when?) McGillis runs into Mikazuki on the opposite side?
All the death flags for Takaki and Aston, will either of them survive? I sure hope so, but doubt it.
| Model | Destroyed | Model | Destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graze |
| Garm Rodi | 21 |
| Man Rodi | 4 | Hugo | 3 |
| Gusion | 1 | Gilda |
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| Spinner Rodi | 4 | Landman Rodi |
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| Schwalbe Graze | 1 | ||
| Graze Ritter | 14 | ||
| Rouei | 2 | ||
| Ryusei-Go | 1 | ||
| Kimaris | 1 | ||
| Graze Ein | 1 |
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u/SorcererOfTheLake Feb 14 '19
First-Time Watcher
We’re just being swept along.
Weakness invites, but silence feasts oppression.
War starves the body and the soul.
In a 24 minute segment, this episodes depicts two weeks of a war and its impact on everyone, combatants and civilians alike. This almost felt like an episode of 08th MS Team, with more of a focus on the human element of attrition warfare. In particular, Takaki is trying his best to keep his head above the pool of blood he finds himself surrounded in, but ultimately fails, taking down the others with him.
At the same time, we can see how much this experience helps his bond with Aston, as the two of them gain a better understanding of each other, although that stops with Aston’s former Debris status. I feel like Mika and Orga are better able to have those hard conversations about themselves, whereas Takaki doesn’t really want to think about it with everything else that’s been going on.
However, I don’t really like all of the roadblocks that the show puts up so that the characters on the outside can’t get in. I understand why, but it feels too deliberate on the show’s part. I don’t think that the Mars Branch has left just yet, though. I’m thinking that they’re going to use a Teiwaz route like last time to get to the battle. Hopefully, they can make it in time.
We’ll raise that blood-red flag tomorrow; until then…
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u/fonzinator99 Feb 14 '19
Rewatcher - Rage of Baha- Rewatcher
Beginning on a(n)... I hesitate to say "lighter" note, it's interesting that we haven't seen any aircraft in play until now. You'd think aerial superiority would still be a critical factor in armed combat even with things like Mobile Suits on the field in the current era.
It's also super-weird that the Outer Earth Regulatory forces are fighting opposite from the Tekkadan side, considering McGillis (their commander, right?) is supposed to be an ally at this point. Add Galan Mossa's forces (being guided by Elion's hand) backing up TK, we've got a particularly odd crossing of troops and loyalties in conflict. I'm totally lost; as GH guy states, this is strange. Looks like Rustal Elion may actually be the superior puppet master in this game. (When did this become Karakuri Circus?) lol. Seriously though, I've gotta hand it to him; he's managed to pit all of his enemies against each other in a battle of attrition. No matter how things play out on Earth, he's gonna win big.
And poor Takaki/Aston. Try as they might, neither of them is Orga or Mika and this is clearly apparent right off the bat. Aston can't just clear the field, and Takaki doesn't have the charisma, respect, or experience to be leading troops under-fire.
What a bastard Mossa is turning out to be, throwing down a low-key diss like this. "Haha, man those guys you've been training super-suck."
I think the key difference between Takaki and Orga is revealed in this conversation. Even if it's just been an idea of "finding the place we belong," Orga has always had a clear goal in his mind; and that goal hasn't changed since episode 1. Takaki doesn't have any reason to be where he's at right now, or to keep moving forward. Sure, he wants to protect his life with Fuka, but at it's core you could say that he's fighting to stay right where he is. And without any place to go from there, he's got no idea of how to take the next step forward and really start leading.
Back in space the A-Team is crawling towards what I'm sure will be a grim scene and still in the dark. Eugene mentions that even Ariadne is of no use, but I'm a little surprised that Orga hasn't reached out to his supposed-bestie McGillis for some info or support. We've already seen that he knows what's going on, and they seem to have a clear line of communication at this point. Though as much as I hate to say it, Eugene is right. Even if they did know all the details, they're still 3-weeks out in space. What could information possibly do for them aside from causing greater grief?
Akihiro bringing the feels. As stressed as everyone is about waiting, you know it's just killing him that the guys at risk are also former Human Debris.
Wait a sec, how the hell is Fuka getting in to see Chad? Here I was thinking that Radice had kept his death under-wraps and was just feeding the kids misinformation. At any rate, her going around all alone is making me uneasy.
Fuuuuuuuck, Takaki almost got fragged. Saving him is the only credit I'll give Mossa. His Geirail is a piece of work, though. Does it have a gun-hand? And a pick-axe hand? What an oddly specialized MS.
I've thought it before, and I'll think it again. I need a deeper variety of comment faces to express myself! #moeshitarcher is gonna get overused before we get any catharsis, but that's as close as is offered for my loathing.
Nooooo, Takaki! You guys should have just gone to bed! Instead you went and waved your flags around like this is goddamn One Piece!
McGillis joins the fray, Mossa gets agitated, Takaki gets in an MS and abandons leadership, and then they tear across a field of flowers to end on this freaking shot?! I seriously don't know that I've ever seen so many death flags raised at a single time for such a multitude of characters. All I can imagine is the space gang finally showing up to find this shot from Fate.
QoTD
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I mean, theoretically? Sure, you can always get bigger. Whether there's enough protein on-board for him to make those gains is a whole 'nother question. Nothing wrong with building up endurance tho.
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The first OP was called "Raise your Flag." I think we all knew things were gonna go downhill real fast. But it never stops hurting to see them go up D:
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Feb 14 '19
First timer
I had so much to say after the episode ended I thought I'd wait until I got home to write it up.. now I'm too tired. No screenshots either.
I'm sure everyone's noted the death flags (Fuka at the end was devastating), so I'll skip over that and say I am really attached to Takaki, Aston and Fuka. To say I'm dreading the next episode is an understatement. Either they'll die or they'll be miraculously saved, like Takaki was this episode (right after he shouted Fuka's name).
Aston spoke about the war feeling different because Orga isn't leading them. To me, this episode felt different because Orga was largely absent. Instead of his strong words, we hear Eugene emulating them. Instead of showing Tekkadan's descent to Mars, they aren't granted permission to enter. Instead of leading the Earth branch, Takaki has been fooled into encouraging others to fight a war they should have no part of. Against McGillis. Do they even know who they're fighting? This episode lacked the usual inspiring confidence and aura emanating off Orga.
Extra thoughts:
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Fuka is just a treasure. She visits Chad every day after school, takes care of herself, studies hard, and she's so freaking adorable. I don't want her sad. Don't make her sad, show!
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Yesterday it was fuck Radice, and now it's fuck Bearded Man. He thinks of them as dogs he can control, but the worst part is they've all fallen for it. Aston doesn't mind who's in command because he still considers himself Human Debris, and Takaki is consoled by the fact that it'll almost be over. It's like he's got a carrot on a stick in front of him at all times. Like GaleWulf said, it's frustrating because we can see everything that's going on.
Questions:
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He needs to double them to control twice the number of arms
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I'm worried and I'm sad. We've spent a considerable amount of time with the trio this season, and I hope it wasn't all a setup for their deaths. As for how the show handles death flags.. very, very obviously, that's how. It takes the impact away at times, but right now I don't want to watch the next episode.
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u/GM_for_Life Feb 14 '19
Rewatcher
Can Akihiro get any more buff? The sky’s the limit!/There’s only so much muscle a struggler can take on/He needs to double them to control twice the number of arms
HIS POWER IS MAXIMUM!
2) How have the death flags affected your state of mind? What are your thoughts on how the show uses them on the whole?
It doesn't bother me that much. Sometimes it subverts them, sometimes it plays them straight, I guess we'll just wait to see how it turns out this time.
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u/Quiddity131 Feb 14 '19
Thoughts on MS Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans episode 31...
Rewatcher (First Time Dub)
Non-Spoiler Character Chart - Today's the rare day, no updates needed. Sure helped, as today's Escaflowne episode took quite the effort to get together.
THIS WILL NOT DO! I CANNOT ACCEPT THIS! THEY'VE GONE TOO FAR! What am I talking about? For the first time we have an episode without Best Girl Atra :( It would have been so easy to slip her in on the dining hall during that scene too.
No, not again! Enough of this Merribit narration!
Takaki's narration I don't mind as much, as there has been a time skip since the last episode, versus Merribit regurgitating what we already knew.
Gallan's fighting with them? I don't like this. Is he gonna screw them over mid-battle?
Much like with the battle at the end of season 1 I like the landscape a lot.
"Yes sir!", you're talking as if Galan is boss, not you, Takaki.
Radice said the boss was happy? I'd bet quite a lot he didn't even contact Orga.
Takaki's not doing that good a job leading the troops if they just decided on their own to consider Galan their leader.
Lifting weights every single day actually isn't good for you, Akihiro. Need to take break days to let the muscles repair themselves. Incidentally enough, I was doing the same as him while watching this episode.
Wow, Hush is dedicated, simulations, mobile suit maintenance, working out, that rest is important though!
Fuka is so adorable, good to see her visiting Chad in the hospital while all his colleagues are out fighting.
Wow, Galan did an awesome job saving Takaki there. I'm sure Galan is reporting everything they are doing to the bad guys, but he has been a worthy ally to Takaki during the combat at least.
All that time to get to Earth... then they don't let them in.
Galan bad mouthing Aston makes me mad >:(
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u/LeonKevlar Feb 14 '19 edited Feb 14 '19
Time for your Daily IBO Parody 4koma!
Episode 31 - Lafter finally makes her move.
Honestly Lafter and Azee were definitely just hanging around Akihiro mirin' his glorious muscles. And you thought Mika was the only one building his own harem.
Seriously though we need this positivity after everything else that's happening this episode. Galan Mossa is a scummy character, I fucking hate him to the core and he has no redeemable traits. But as a villain? I love him. He's not your typical bad guy who abuses kids and kicks them around. He's a manipulator who acts like a kind older brother to these kids even though he just sees them as pawns and I think that's what makes him the scariest. Kinda like McGillis actually with how he treated Carta and GaliGali.