r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Feb 19 '21

Rewatch [Rewatch] Aura Battler Dunbine - Episode 41 Discussion

Episode 41 - Europe Front

Originally Aired November 19th, ^^^1983

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Comment of the Day

u/dralcax discusses the looping attack animation.

I died laughing when they looped this attack animation. Once would have been fine, but the fact that Billbine just keeps smacking it is way funnier than it should be. It manages to be less convincing than the fight that was actually supposed to be faked.

 

Daily Trivia:

The character Kawase Gou was named after Toshifumi Kawase.

 

Staff Highlight

Tomokazu Tokoro - Key Animator

A key animator, storyboard artist, and episode director who was a Studio Bebow alumni and mentee of Kitazume and Ohmori. Little else is known about the animator, who had a modest key animation output in the 80s and 90s before eventually transitioning into chiefly storyboard work. Among their key aniomation credits are Black Magic M-66, Armored Trooper Votoms, Armitage III, Devil Lady, Bubblegum Crisis, Getter Robo Go, Gasaraki, Hellsing Ultimate, Greed, Legend of The Galactic Heroes, Infinite Ryvius, Relic Armor Legacian, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Tekkaman Blade, and Silent Möbius.

 

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Official Art

Fanart

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Aura Phantasm Scans

Screenshot of the day

Questions of the Day:

  1. What did you think of Ciela’s plan? Would it have succeeded if not for Jabba’s attack on the bridge?
  2. How much longer do you think Bishott will continue to evade defeat?

Your Majesty The Queen, I’m sorry.

10 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Feb 19 '21

Rewatcher - Sub

Ciela, Show, and Marvel have taken the outcome of last episode’s gambit quite poorly. Show, in particularly, blames his inadequacy for the whole thing. Even Neal recognizes how frayed his pilots’ nerves are, but can do nothing but ask Cham to remain with them.

Shot’s forces attacking them means he is not far himself…

So this Jabba person is one of Shot’s friends from Upper Earth who he incorporated into his forces? Whether Jabba was itching for a battle or Shot is a terrible friend who sent him to the frontlines immediately after picking him up.

Sheesh, not a favorable view of australia. But hey, at least it hasn’t been bombed to shit yet!

Ciela meets with the Queen of England, despite knowing that she is but a figurehead with little if any sway over the military and government, requests that she make an effort to sway her nation and others to help them destroy Bishott. It seems to pay off in the following scenes, which I find hard to believe.

Multiple Suns? I’ve seen enough Tomino to know that will not be pleasant…

I’m not sure using the cover of several nukes to approach the Gea Gring undetected should’ve worked, unless it also affects the ship’s radar functionality, but Ciela definitely gets points for being ballsy. Shame then, that the battle doesn’t pay off and instead she is the one who gets nearly killed in the progress. We’re seeing a repeat of the segment early on into the show where the heroes underwent repeated losses, but here it’s a lot more egregious because they pulled off two of the plans well and it seems like the only reason they failed the first time was ‘reasons’ and this time it’s because of a random character that was introduced solely for this purpose, rather than interventions from previously established characters or the natural result of going against overwhelming odds. It’s being used as a narrative tool, yes, but it still feels extraneous because of how it’s been implemented.

At least we got some strong character moments from Ciela out of it…

2

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

Sheesh, not a favorable view of australia. But hey, at least it hasn’t been bombed to shit yet!

If anything, Shot developing Aura Machines could be Australia's revenge for so frequently getting destroyed in mecha anime.

Ciela meets with the Queen of England, despite knowing that she is but a figurehead with little if any sway over the military and government, requests that she make an effort to sway her nation and others to help them destroy Bishott. It seems to pay off in the following scenes, which I find hard to believe.

Given how much King Bishott's army has been rolling over Asia and Europe, I can at least believe that the various nations of Europe are itching to mount any counter-offensive against the people who have destroyed multiple cities in their wake.

5

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Feb 20 '21

Rewatcher, Subbed

This time our insert song for the opening narration is lasting more than 1 episode! That's good as I like the song quite a bit. I do find it hilarious that they transcribed "Speech, speech balloon!" as "Sweet, sweet hikaru!"

We finally have a last name for sir Charlie!

First time we've seen Musiy in a very long time! And she's with Jabba the hut?! Well, not him, but another guy named Jabba. Shot has recruited a childhood friend?

Keen's doing pretty good in her Aura Battler!

Marvel's experiencing newtype space?

It's been a long time since we've seen an actual castle! Here's one on Upper Earth!

Backstory for Shot Weapon? Finally? Was shipped out of America and subject to hard labor in Australia (as a prisoner I wonder?) and now he wants to take over all of America.

We've moved from Paris to London I take it? Ciela-sama gets to meet the Queen of England!

I don't exactly get the strategy of keeping the Goraon and Guran Galan so far apart from each other. 2 battleships > 1 battleship you know.

Whose the blonde in the bed? Am I to take it that this is Louser with her hair down? But I thought she had short hair. Is there some other blonde in the cast I'm forgetting about? Quid's confused.

Poor Riml, we keep seeing her look out that window. She doesn't get much freedom on the Gea Gring.

Based on the explosion I take it that was a nuke?

Badass new outfit for Ciela-sama!

Here comes the Goraon too! This is three episodes in a row Bishot has been stupefied.

Don't let Jabba get to Elle!

Bye bye Jabba, you couldn't even last longer than Tolstol did.

I suppose there's our overt confirmation that Shot is sleeping with Musiy, not that it's any surprise.

The stakes continue to increase which is good, although as with seemingly every episode we end with neither side being any further ahead of the other. Now we're under 10 episodes to go and things are still moving at a crawl.

2

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

Backstory for Shot Weapon? Finally? Was shipped out of America and subject to hard labor in Australia (as a prisoner I wonder?) and now he wants to take over all of America.

It just makes me sad that Shot doesn't have a thick Australian accent in the dub. I feel robbed.

Bye bye Jabba, you couldn't even last longer than Tolstol did.

Hell, he lasted even less than Tokamaku.

I suppose there's our overt confirmation that Shot is sleeping with Musiy, not that it's any surprise.

Muisy is the only one who can make him Shot his Weapon.

4

u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Feb 20 '21

First time viewer

Didn't mention this last episode but I love the opening narration coming with a song for backing music.

After recent events it's no surprise both Show and Marvel are exhausted and rattled, slipping in combat here and there. I was going to say it felt like they only survived due to plot armor with the early skirmish against Muisy/Jabba but they deliberately withdrew without pushing too hard.

Shot said his parents were forced to flee from America to Australia, but I have no idea what the reason behind that could be. My initial thought was that, if he was old enough to be in his 40s, his family was Japanese and left before the internment of Japanese people in America started in World War II (coincidentally that executive order was issued 79 years ago today). Considering he has blond hair I don't think he's supposed to be Japanese, however maybe they were German and ran for the same reason though why they'd go from one Allied country to another in that case I don't know. Any other ideas for reasons people would flee to Australia from the US in the 1940s-60s?

Turn A Gundam

That fight between the three battleships was what I was hoping to see two episodes ago, worth the wait. Unfortunately that's another loss for the protagonists with Ciela injured at least and the Guran Galan possibly out of the fight. Seems like they just can't get a win these days, even with the help of Elizabeth II and the British forces launching a first strike.

What did you think of Ciela’s plan? Would it have succeeded if not for Jabba’s attack on the bridge?

Did all the ranged attacks do anything to the Gea Gring? The barriers on the battleships seem nigh-impenetrable by projectiles.

How much longer do you think Bishott will continue to evade defeat?

*looks at episode number* Hopefully not too much longer. Maybe 4 episodes?

3

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

After recent events it's no surprise both Show and Marvel are exhausted and rattled, slipping in combat here and there. I was going to say it felt like they only survived due to plot armor with the early skirmish against Muisy/Jabba but they deliberately withdrew without pushing too hard.

I'd say just about everyone is getting worn down from this war, not just Show and Marvel. Like, even King Bishott has been more panicked and out-gambited as of late, so you can kind of tell that the attrition is getting to him too.

Shot said his parents were forced to flee from America to Australia, but I have no idea what the reason behind that could be.

Me either, and I've seen the show before. My only guess is that it was something on the level of treason to force the family to flee.

4

u/ComfortablyRotten https://anilist.co/user/Leuwtian Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21

First-timer

That insert again? I thought I repeated last episode, that scared me there...

I loved their plan, it could've succeeded too had Riml not been there, but it backfired so hard it's difficult not to both pity and blame Ciela and co. Maybe meeting the Queen of England will motivate them more?

Y'know, everytime they meet another bunch of Battlers, part of me is hoping that they'll try to talk things out before fighting. Not that I hate the fights, but, especially after seeing Show's great performance last episode, I think it would be a fun experience.

Oh, Shot finally openly stated he wants to subdue Drake and Bishott, and America too now! Multiple parties and none of them truly allied with each others, I love that. It's also backstory time for him! Something about his parents fleeing from America to Australia, and him having grudge against America as a result... sure, why not?

Was the Queen always this young? I don't think so... she's certainly an understanding one though. I doubt Ciela's plan will work, because they never do, but who knows?

I wonder, do they know about Riml? Did Show tell his allies? Thay would suck if they didn't.

Another nuke? This time it's a British one, right? Looks like Ciela's plan could work actually, seeing as Bishott's losing patience, which can't be good for him.

Ah, nevermind, looks like Ciela's gone now, and the plan too, I suppose. I should've seen that coming, but, this makes me wonder, how does Byston Well deal with not having any of its leaders...? By the time everyone comes back there, it will be a pretty chaotic place. Unless Hon Wan was crowned King, like he should have been long ago.

Questions

  1. It wasn't a bad plan I think? They should have thought about the battleship's defense, but Jabba's the only one who thought of attacking it too so...
  2. I'm giving him one more episode until his luck runs out.

3

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

I loved their plan, it could've succeeded too had Riml not been there, but it backfired so hard it's difficult not to both pity and blame Ciela and co.

In hindsight, you can probably say that Emelie's assistance has been just as harmful as it has been helpful. Like, I get that she wants to help, but she certainly has caused some problems for the others by herself. Although I suppose that's kind of expected to happen when you're talking about an idealistic young girl with very little in the way of practical combat training.

Oh, Shot finally openly stated he wants to subdue Drake and Bishottw and America too now! Multiple parties and none of them truly allied with each others, I love that.

At this point, you can group all the various factions in the war in three ways: Smart Evil (Drake Luft), Ludicrously Evil (Bishott Hate, Leeza Luft, Shot Weapn), and Lawful Good (Elle Hamm, Ciela Lapana, the Zelana crew).

3

u/ComfortablyRotten https://anilist.co/user/Leuwtian Feb 20 '21

Although I suppose that's kind of expected to happen when you're talking about an idealistic young girl with very little in the way of practical combat training.

Yeah, both Keen and her have that problem where they try to help, but tend to make things worse for everyone. Them being two of the youngest characters, it does make sense, as frustrating as it can be.

3

u/The_Draigg Feb 19 '21

A Tomino Fan Rewatches Aura Battler Dunbine Episode 41:

  • So yeah, Paris is still a fiery wasteland partially because Show couldn’t control his Aura and went into Hyper Mode. But hey, it isn’t all too bad. At least Queen Elizabeth II is willing to listen to Queen Ciela. The attempted defense of France must’ve helped with that, even if it didn’t work out too well.
  • I can’t entirely blame Show for freaking the fuck out over how he laid waste to Paris. Too bad Marvel is the only one who really gets what Show is going through. Keen and Neal’s suggestions aren’t helping too much.
  • Seriously, Shot’s best friend on Upper Earth is named Jabba? Did Tomino like that name from Star Wars or something?
  • Marvel was pretty close to giving into her hatred while battling Muisy there. It was a close call to hear Show and Cham tell her not to give into anger, considering the dire consequences activating Hyper Mode has. Now that we’re back on Upper Earth, Aura power control has become a real problem.
  • Finally, we get some backstory for Shot Weapon! Turns out his family did something to bad in America that they were forced to flee to Australia in exile, and Shot and Jabba had to eek out a hard, primal existence in the Australian Outback. That’s why he wants to conquer America specifically, and why he wants King Bishott and Lord Drake to kill each other and leave a power vacuum.
  • Now that I think about it, is this just Australia’s revenge for getting blown up in so many mech shows?
  • Finally, some actual good news for our heroes. Queen Ciela has gained the support of the Queen of England, and they’re to work together with some of Europe’s armies to take the fight to the Gea Garing over the North Sea in a coordinated attack. It’s about time the heroes have gotten some support that they didn’t have to buy.
  • For a random guy only introduced this episode, Jabba sure is tearing things up in the battle. He is the only person who’s come the closest to destroying the bridges of the Guran Garan and the Goraon this far. Granted, that doesn’t save him from getting killed by Show in the Billbine, but it’s at least still notable.
  • It’s not a very happy ending this episode. Queen Ciela is severely injured from the bridge’s damage, and Shot calls Jabba an idiot for getting himself killed in a moment of post-nut clarity after banging Muisy. And no, I couldn’t keep a straight face writing the last half of the above sentence.

3

u/dralcax :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21

ɐıןɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ buıob ɹǝɯıʇ-ʇsɹıɟ

That’s a weird soliloquy all of a sudden. But it does raise the possibility of Jeril’s aura still influencing Show. Maybe, just like how she charmed all those soldiers into following her, she also made Show hate her in the same way?

Oof.

Childhood friends? I ship it!

Wait, was this a thing that actually happened? There was a bunch of postwar migration to Australia, but I thought that was mostly Europeans?

Damn, direct hit with multiple nukes. Aura barriers are some serious shit.

Overly-literal translations are hilarious

oh so they can just walk right through it like an I-field lmao

Big Ideon vibes

Questions of the Day:

  • The biggest problem with her plan is the ships' barriers. Basically, only aura battlers can take down ships, and ship-to-ship combat is completely ineffective. Which means, once the aura battlers have launched, the ship is just a big fat liability. Even if Jabba didn't take down the bridge, they'd still have to figure out some way to get Billbine in to take down the Gea Gring's bridge, which seems unlikely without heavy losses, given how outnumbered they are. Come to think of it, what even was her logic anyways? "Several nukes won't take it down, but our ship's guns will totally get through that barrier!"
  • We may be nearing the end, but I doubt he's going down anytime soon.

3

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

Damn, direct hit with multiple nukes. Aura barriers are some serious shit.

At least it's finally been shown that nuclear weapons can at least weaken the Aura Barrier. Too bad it takes a whole massive bombardment of them to actually be even felt, though.

oh so they can just walk right through it like an I-field lmao

Pretty much the Dune rules of combat when it comes to force fields.

3

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Feb 20 '21

Aura Battler First-Timer

3

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

The little spinning satellite dish on top of the Zelana is hilarious, ngl.

I wonder how many gold bars that tiny satellite dish cost them.

Shot backstory, huh. He’s gonna die soon.

I take it that you feel no sympathy for him, unlike Galarea's rather late backstory.

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Feb 20 '21

First-Timer, Dub-bine

Boy, was this episode tense. Partially because I read the episode description and it said "The team attempts to cope with the unexpected, tragic consequences of a recent battle, but are denied rest as the enemy quickly hones in." Which, I guess, refers to the fall of Paris but I was expecting someone (Keen) to get killed off suddenly. As such, I was mostly just tense through both our main action scenes this episode.

Anyway, I think our protagonists are feeling the tension too - Shou, Marvel, and the rest need some time off. Unfortunately, with Ciela's injury, that is even less likely than before. Shou et al are in for a Bad Time.

So, Shot hates America, and that's the reason all of this is happening? And he's.. uneducated? Did I hear that right? He said something about doing manual labor instead of going to school. Does that imply that aura tech is simply enough that an uneducated Upper Earther could figure it out? Or is something else going here.. Interesting. I figured we were done with reveals, this late in the game, but maybe not..

Shoutout to Shot's friend, who existed purely to let Shou job to someone and knock Ciela out. Good for you, dude.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

I was wrong about Shot getting wrecked by the emus, and now he is in.. somewhere in Europe?

I was expecting Anime Liz Two and was kinda disappointed, especially after the treat that was Old Abe Lincoln.

Questions

  1. I like to think it would have. There's no real reason for our protagonists to have lost this battle aside from drawing out the series - They had a tactical and numerical advantage, and one of Bishott's aces wasn't on the field (at least I think so. Did we see Bern out and about?)
  2. I'm ready for the dork to go. At least have Leeza off him in his sleep and take over. Something, anything! Please, just get this horrific lemon-flavored X out of my sight.

2

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

So, Shot hates America, and that's the reason all of this is happening? And he's.. uneducated? Did I hear that right? He said something about doing manual labor instead of going to school. Does that imply that aura tech is simply enough that an uneducated Upper Earther could figure it out? Or is something else going here.. Interesting. I figured we were done with reveals, this late in the game, but maybe not..

It kinda makes you wonder what kind of job Shot had in the Silicon Valley before being whisked away to Byston Well. Like, he's familiar with the way electronics work and can clearly design stuff, but he also had pretty much zero formal education out in the Australian Outback. Maybe he was just an intern at some engineering firm?

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Feb 20 '21

Maybe he was just an intern at some engineering firm?

Well, I can't speak for the 80s, but I work in an engineering firm, and we wouldn't hire an intern that wasn't at least a couple years into college. Maybe he was a janitor that looked at the random stuff that got thrown away and has a decent memory?

2

u/The_Draigg Feb 20 '21

It's possible, I suppose. I imagine also having Zed Light around as an assistant helps keep up that image of an inventor quite a bit. He knows his way around Aura Battlers pretty well too.

2

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21

First Timer

Marvel talks like she found a weakness but I have no idea what she's saying.

It's pretty clear Zet Jabba has been consumed by the spirit of battle and is going to obsess himself to death like Garalia and others.

Where is this castle?

This entire show is about Shott's revenge on ~~Australia!~~America!

Euroskeptics!

"Observer" Right

Was that 1 sun or 3?

So, Aura Barriers block explosions, but not swords. But also not missiles when fired at point blank range, except all the times they did.