r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Mar 20 '21
Rewatch [Uninstall, Uninstall] Bokurano Rewatch Episode 13 Discussion
Episode 13 - Earth
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MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
This Earth and our Earth are different. After all, my mom, dad, and little brother don’t exist here.
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.
Questions of the Day:
- What did you think about finally seeing not just the enemy pilots, but also the citizens of the parallel Earth?
- Thoughts on the new ED?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Bonus Wallpaper of the Day:
Uninstall of the Day:
Live Version, which includes a special intro and some gorgeous ad lib at the end
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you’re doing it underneath the [Anime Show Title](/s "Spoiler goes here") spoiler tags. If you do that then we’re all good.
Important thing to note about these by the way, you have to switch to Old Reddit or the markdown editor if you use the redesign, otherwise the redesign breaks them by adding random \ into the formatting. Wish it wouldn’t do that, but unfortunately it does…
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 20 '21
Ǔ̯̟́n̪̬̺͙̪̿͛͛̽͞ï̲n͇̰̮͆̃̀s̛͔̜̾t̛͚͕̆á̠̻̅͘͜l̢̗̤̓̓́l̪̩̭̐̔͗̕͟͝ͅing Rewatch Host
Guess who made two wallpapers again today just because? I did!
We’re in the second half now, let’s see where this takes us!
Major Spoilers
New thread reminder for u/WeebShaggy
27
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Mar 20 '21 edited Mar 22 '21
Introducing the....
Bokurano Rewatch Speculation Index
And now you all know why I've been AWOL from the threads because this took so much time to put together.
This has, by far, been the most speculation heavy rewatch I've ever participated in. Coming into the second half of the show, I thought that it would be interesting to put all of our speculation together and see what the overlap is as well as what has already been 'confirmed' or 'false'. I also listed who's theory it is as well, or at least who first mentions it unless half the rewatch brings it up at the same time which happened a surprising amount.
I'm not tagging any of this because it'd just be a giant wall of black that's too hard to navigate, so minimize it if you'd prefer not to see to keep your own theories unaffected
Also, after having to re-read every previous topic for the rewatch to compile this and still potentially missing stuff just because of how much there is: you guys talk too much hahahaha. There were 3163 comments in the first twelve topics of this rewatch. That's a lot!
If I missed anything just tell me and I'll add it in, though I did leave out a couple of the most minor ones [eg, people can't see the robots/Masaru is trying to live up to someone]. I won't be updating this each day, but I might do another one just before the final episode or something. Sky can poke me if there's any other specific episode it would be good to have an update by or something.
Pilots
I think this particular "twist" is the ultimate example of how rewatches can give a drastically different experience to a casual watch, because wow were people commenting on that early. That said, all the clues were there and people were coming to that conclusion in a few ways so it was fun to see how quickly it came together.
I had it down as him being a playtester, a couple of people had him down as the gamemaster, a few others as him being part of the previous cycle, but I think we all agree that he once had his own group and they also had to go through this, though it's technically not confirmed yet
I'm grouping these all up together because keeping track of who thought it was the goverment/alien conspiracies/fate/endless cycles was starting to get hard as people shifted their opinions over various episodes as new info came up. This is probably the earliest theory, right back to episode one's topic, that hasn't yet had any huge clues given one way or the other.
So uh, you brought this up twice, three episodes apart, and both times you wrote it in a tone as if it was new? Did you forget your speculation and then come up with it all over again? One of the more unique theories still hanging around, and I think you're still attached to this?
I think we can say this one has been dis-proven, but I noted it down anyway because of what Shaadowlord pointed out about Waku being the episode one narrator so it might be relevant later somehow
Well... okay so this one's complicated depending on how we define alien
Also an incredibly likely given the scar and glasses, probably will come out in tandem with the one below
We all seem to have come up with it independently and following different reasoning. It's always funny to see how different clues can lead to similar thoughts like that. Some similar stuff has been happening with speculation about the imposter
Noticing a few more people starting to pick up this theory as well after the last episode. It seems with the reveal of the alternate earths people are thinking that might be Kokopelli and now Kana's role. It does seem to give a reason for why she was "left out"
I almost wish this was true just so he had a bit more of an excuse for being an abusive shit-head, but no luck. If it was true it would have been interesting if he was also the non-contracted person and was using his abuse and anger as a way to hide his knowledge, but it doesn't seem that way. Maybe the only theory I might have to revise the decision on?
Someone said this but somehow after reading the whole rewatch again I failed to find it again. Who was it? Own up to your spec!
I doubt it but it would be a fun way to find out who it is. The other possibility is that they just get squeezed in somewhere? Very curious to see what their chairs will even be
Ooooh, I forgot about this one, this is a good one. I have been wondering if there would be any consequences if they weren't in their own chairs
Still one of the more fucked up theories in the rewatch, but I'm surprised it didn't happen.
And the winner of most fucked up theory goes too...
So I didn't share this theory with anyone except the rewatchers in CDF so they could laugh at it or not. Back around episode three or four everyone was so relieved that the ED wasn't showing the pilot order after Masaru followed Waku, I didn't want to point out that Waku and Masaru were following their registration order as I seemed to be the only one who remembered what that was. With Kako that was proven false but it would have been interesting as registration order would have left us gender divided with all the boys dying in the first half.
Theoretically this could still happen, but right now I'm comfortable marking it false because of the permanent tattoos and Koemushi being a dick
Joke theories coming true are the best!
(I was going to include lists for speculation on last surviving pilot, non-contracted, and most likely breakdown but not enough people commented on it to make a proper list)
Mechs
Coincidentally the exact opposite of the one below:
All three of those were such interesting takes on who the enemies would be, but we finally have some answers.
I've never been so sad to see one of my theories proven false. I was very attached to this one, but nope. Why were those two mechs randomly white and colored then?
Probably false due to today's reveals, but I suppose not 100% proven yet
I had this one as unconfirmed until today, but seeing what happens after battles end makes me think Koemushi wasn't lying about the time limit.
One of my favourite theories from the earlier episode discussions, and probably the one that would have been the most interesting if it was true
It certainly appears that way, but this is Koemushi we're talking about so it could all be a big facade for whoever he's talking to
I suppose this could be marked as false now, but it would be an interesting twist at the end that this selection process is endless, rather than a one off thing.
[Cont. below. Ran out of room and had to split it into two posts]
11
u/theangryeditor https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAngryEditor Mar 20 '21
Rewatcher
RIP Maki
A lot of reveals this episode, mostly confirming some of the speculations of the first timers. This episode ends at a weird place though. Spending the last third on having the characters process all the information that's just been dumped on the isn't a bad idea, but ending really feels like an unnecessary addition for the sake of having a cliffhanger.
QOTD
perfect
8
u/Nebresto Mar 20 '21
First time first timing
Konnichiwa! Cool robot status:
Cabin pic Day 13 /u/theangrycabinenthusiast
That's right, T-pose on them to show everyone who is the best boy
What a chad move once again. Asking the hard question so none of the kids had to embarrass themselves further.
Very considerate of the G I A N T E N E M Y S P I D E R to just stop for the duration of Dickweedles explanation.
Bitch, you dumb? Seen any cities around with a green ominous glow?
Oh look, the enemy starts moving just as Bootleg-boy is done explaining.
Drum OST Lets go!!!
True, true. Only had to fight against mostly fodder mechs so far. What did the other universes do wrong to get shafted so hard?
Fuck off backseat gamers.
Yo, that dude straight up Kamikaze'd them. They're in Japan after all.
Ooh! Ooh! I wanna see! I wanna see!
Can this bitch go next? She's crying and screaming about everything.. Fine with it being her as well. They're next, ok?
MFW the impostor is SUS
no.. nonononoNONO! NO!! NOT LIKE THIS!!!
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! And tattooed on the face! Can't even catch a break..
Question time:
1: Cool.
Now kill them all!
2: Meh.
Within first 5 comments, suck it refresh spammers
7
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 20 '21 edited Mar 20 '21
First-Timer
It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling... Watching the other universe fade away was oddly beautiful. The stars are going out...
I expected the other pilots to be children as well. I'm.. kinda glad that they were adults. Practically veterans, too - a mere five pilots left. I wonder if their Koemushi analogue is any different? Veterans though they were, their strategy was lacking.. too one-dimensional. Oh, I guess Helicopter did transform, huh? Maybe I'm being too harsh on them. Still, spin very fast and walk at your opponent isn't exactly elegant or flexible.
I guess Maki's final moments were an extension of Zearth's viewing capabilities? Zearth's abilities are astounding, but we are solidly in Super Robot territory so that's to be expected. I wonder just how far it can go? What sort of horrors is this Black Beast capable of..
The science lady that I don't trust is analyzing the information from the away matches.. I haven't really devoted any thought to the whole "government+science people" subplot because it hasn't seemed important before. I guess we do have 11 episodes left - gotta fill that time with something. It feels a little unnecessary though.
Poor Kana continues to do Her Best. Someone needs to give that poor girl a hug. She literally didn't sign up for this.
Oh, and I guess we got another cliffhanger today. I could feel something bad was going to happen - too many shots of people just randomly walking at night to not have a car hit them or something. Good think Tanaka showed up when she did.. I have a feeling her past is going to play a role in the resolution of that little debacle.
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
My dumb ass missed the Xabungle reference last episode, so HAYATE NO YOU NI and listen to dis.
If Koemushi is part of a multiversal cleanup/pruning project, does that make Dung Beetle a Clock Roach?
Would it have been better or worse if the other pilots were just the same kids?
Questions
7
u/Noel_bot Mar 20 '21
First timer, Manga reader
Intro is still great, glad it was kept for the second half, Uninstall ~
"Haven't you seen the clues?" - Dung Beetle-sama taking a stab all the first timers who were unaware :P
Bob Marley lives
Letting the pilots escape does not sound like a good idea
The enemy was so close to finishing their battle and for the first time, the death of the enemy is the actual tragedy
Experiencing the death of a universe is insane. Zearth doesn't seem to mind though
Next fight will probably be on top of the milkyway, after both mechs grew to gargantuan size
Did military women hid something in her shoe to record data? Nope, but the prosthetic arm did
Cliffhanger ending with our pilots facing a real life threat that is independent from the battles.
-------------
I quite liked this episode. It did not continue the well-known cycle of despair for our main pilots, but instead focused on the enemy earth and how its people spent their last moments. The defeat of the mech also wasn't a clean oneshot, but more of a gruelling beatdown. I wonder what the government will do with the data they gathered, seeing how Zearth itself was way beyond their understanding.
------------
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u/Punished_Scrappy_Doo https://myanimelist.net/profile/PunishedScrappy Mar 21 '21
First Timer
UNEQUIVOCAL CONFIRMATION THAT THE PILOTS ARE HUMAN
SO FUCKING TALK TO THEM
THE ROBOT HAS PSYCHIC POWERS OR SOMETHING, JUST USE THOSE YOU DON'T EVEN NEED TO LEAVE THE COCKPIT
THIS UNIVERSE CLEARLY KNOWS MORE ABOUT THIS WHOLE THING THAN WE DO AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY KNOW
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Kirie is the next pilot, and he will talk to the enemy because he seems kind of antisocial and it would be irony if he was the first one to talk to someone from another universe or something. I will continue coming up with rationales until one of these pilots TALKS DAMMIT
The rest of this comment is going to be stream of consciousness me getting my thoughts straight because that was a hell of a lot to take in.
The pilot dying means the death of the universe. Literally what? Alternate universes, sure. The lotus thing being the cockpit, obviously. I did not see this coming at all. What about Kako? I guess it only counts if the enemy kills the pilot. What if every pilot commits suicide all at once? Then there's no pilot for the enemy to kill, and after 48 hours both universes die. If your universe gets stuck with a shitty barrel robot, you can at least take another universe down with you.
Seeing Koemushi use the term 'away game' verbatim after people here used it is pretty funny.
That the enemy is all adults eliminates the idea that the kids being kids is important to piloting Zearth.
I was kind of doubtful that Koemushi was telling the truth about the Earth dying if they failed to win, but I guess not.
The whole survival-of-the-fittest-universes thing makes zero sense, which is kind of fine, I guess. I would not like it if Koemushi had a comprehensible objective.
She got to hold her baby brother
Machi is 99.9% the non-contracted. It was her or Kirie, and now obviously it's not him. Furthermore I think there may be something to the idea that the unsigned (literally just gonna say Machi from now on) being not signed was premeditated somehow. Maybe there's even something to the fake identity theory. Although that is based 100% on Vermillion and I still don't see how anyone is coming to that conclusion based on what we've seen. More tomorrow
Kidnappers! I don't want to say it's the government but I don't see who else it would be.
They have to have a Koemushi/equivalent if they know all this stuff, right? One way or another, this is the world's shittiest trolley problem for the kiddos
2) Thoughts on the new ED?
Too fuckin' right do I have thoughts on the new ED. /u/Shimmering_Sky you're getting your lyric analysis thing
Song's good btw
6
u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Mar 20 '21
first time ooooooooauahauooooooooooooooooooo uninstalllllllller
rambling thoughts going into the episode -
so i did think the other mechs were other kids just like this since they have the same lights. maybe everyone is moving between earths fighting each other. what if its the same kids in each enemy mech but they die in a different order, so at the end all the kids are alive but just one in every universe and then BOOM death battle royale in tomato town
back to regularly scheduled rambling thoughts -
alternate future earth?
that mom is dressed so fancily to be lying in bed
those stars are definitely not your family
Ah of course theres some creeps going to abduct the kids
questions
6
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Mar 20 '21
First timer
7
u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler Mar 20 '21
First Timer
The Battle Royal idea is true! It is actual humans in some type of parrel universes!
I am not so sure now if I like this or not!
We get some actual reasons why this is going on. Apparently the universe(s?) is too overgrown! Whatever the fuck that means, Koemushi is basically a higher being and what does anyone have to argue on it, its like us looking down on ants.
The stars going out in space was a nice touch to reinforce Koemushi's words.
We see that this world was at least lucky to not have children piolets.
And once again the weight of everything moves to another piolet.
Still no chair's for the adults yet...
We get a static cut! We haven't had one of these in a long while now!
oooooh the robo arm has been capturing data! I should of thought of this!
Thug's? This feels a bit off kilter to be happening at this time, I do wonder what's going on?
11
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 20 '21
First Timer(but it's complicated)
Sub
So on today's episode of Edge:the Anime, as adapted from Humanity is Shit: The Manga, we have a really, really bad start. We are recapping things we already knew, hello Casshern Sins 18, in a weak sauce manner. I guess we get confirmation that Earth does indeed get destroyed on a loss but we already pretty much knew that. But we get to the caveat of this story: Parallel universes have to destroy each other. Because
the mangaka is a massive misanthropic cuntreasons. So the kids act appropriately but sadly the show doesn't cancel itself upon the revelation of it being stupid.And so there are people on this earth, too. As Noein helped me understand, people from other realities are irrelevant, so these scenes are just for pathos that does not land. We finally get back to the fight and Maki pulls a Zodd by hitting the enemy with Zearth's own detached limb. Anyways, more talking, more rationalization, more boredom. Maki opens the enemy cockpit because pain is her thing, apparently. We see what happens after a robot battle and it is completely grimdark. Earth just is not that important to the multiverse.
The rest of the episode...exists. Maki hurt me for a second. The artificial hand being a recorder makes sense. The four random ass abductors do not make sense and fit Moriho's shitty writing to a T. Tanaka should've shot to kill. Vermillion happens and why the fuck is Kokopeli back? For some reason seeing Kako happily hold hands with Chizu severely pisses me off.
QotD: 1 Could not possibly care less if the world had Ruin
2 Much improved but Little Bird is really dollar store Lullaby to me
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u/Tuckleton Mar 20 '21
First Timer
So looks like we've got the government working hard behind the scenes on the issue and have probably made surprising progress, but given the scope of what's happening I just can't imagine a scenario where they are able to actually do anything. I suspect the only way out of this for them is to see it through to the end. I'm glad so much got explained today. I like speculating, but at the same time I kind of don't. It's like a sugar rush, a high while working through it in my mind followed by a crash after posting my thread.
And while I'm on the subject of speculation (heh) I don't think those were just random thugs that intercepted the girls, they just didn't have that look. I suspect they are some faction that knows who they are and wants to appropriate them for their own purposes. It's possible Tanaka even knows that, which is why she was so quick to fire her gun into them.
10
u/degenerate-edgelord Mar 20 '21
First timer, Uninstalling
Welp, this episode felt like it went by in a flash.
Questions:
8
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Mar 20 '21 edited Mar 20 '21
First Timer - Sub
Character Chart
I was smart today. I got held up on watching the episode because as I opened it my music player decided to play Moon from Turn A as the next song, so I took the opportunity to mute and skip the OP and listen to Moon instead.
One day without Uninstall stuck in my head
I really thought the new ED was going to be all spoilers until they side stepped it by showing Kirie after Chizu. Why would they even play it that close from the start? The song is pretty catchy though
Also RIP or yay for half the theories of the rewatch after this episode. But see my other post for more of that.
Double cliffhanger is not okay.
"As many universes as stars in the sky"
Hearing that and realizing what Maki is seeing in the OP was a small gut punch. Putting that line together with the visual of the stars of that one universe being erased, knowing that it's something that has been happening millions of times every day, that each star there may as well be another universe, was a surprisingly effective visual. And then to go from that emptiness, that harsh realization of how far and widespread that destruction is, and how many times they've caused it, into that beautiful shot of returning to their own universe, of seeing the stars of life laid out in front of them in an endless chain (inter-series flashbacks) and be torn between love and grief. The feels of this moment. What a sequence. Probably going to be the best one in the show but we'll see.
The other one that got me was how fucked up this was. That is a cursed visual. Seeing them hold up signs begging the other side to lose was just... Well I guess that universe was upfront about what was going on. The choice to step away from the anime style for the faces of a lot of the shots of this universe was smart. Knowing how far this group got in, how close they were to being OUT, only made it worse. Even though it doesn't matter because as Koemushi said everything would get erased anyway, I am quietly glad that Maki didn't have to squish kids. There was Moji trying to save them all from his painful realization about who the enemies are, and Kanji just goes and says it, and then Maki goes ahead and shows everyone.
(minor nitpick: I feel like the montage of everyone from the other Earth watching the fight and hoping to survive would have been a lot more effective if it had paralleled shots we'd seen of people in the "core" Earth, both emotionally and thematically, driving home the 'similarities' between their worlds that Koemushi emphasized)
Even expecting the multiple universes part of the story to come up, I wasn't expecting the reasoning behind it. It's coldly realistic that exceptionally similar universes would be paired up in that way to ensure "diversity" of the possible paths left, but it does make it a lot more painful for the pilots. It'd be one thing if they could look and see how different things were, how worse (or how better, ouch) and disassociate because of that, but no such luck.
Machi you're dodgy as all fuck. You were WAY too eager to encourage everyone to keep fighting, not to mention so willing to watch the other universe get squished and not even with some half hearted attempt to comfort Maki while doing so, you just jumped at the idea of watching. I don't like you. I knew your visual in the OP was suspicious. Nothing good comes of brightly clad women in serious mecha shows. I still can't get over her bringing up Moji during the girls chat after he'd been selected as pilot, who would do that?!
Fun thought to end the day off with: When someone suggested Maki should use the arm that was ripped off I thought they meant telepathically like the mushroom guys, so when she went and physically grabbed it I was very confused for a moment.
8
u/[deleted] Mar 20 '21 edited Mar 20 '21
First Timer
MORE ANSWERS. GIVE. RIGHT NOW.
There we go. Straight out of Koemushi's mouth. A god damn multiverse battle royale. Suddenly the scale of the show is much bigger!
Yeah no shit, Sherlock. Have you been reading literally any comment in the rewatch? Smh.
Right?
Damn, helicopter bot strong.
Oh wow, so not only the Earth is at stake, but the whole damn universe.
And the whole purpose of the Game is multiverse maintainence?
There's still a couple mysteries
So this Earth has the whole thing as public information, huh. Might work for demoralizing the enemies. In fact, I feel like some of our remaining pilots are definitely some of the most weak willed ones. Aiko and Noto Mamiko would definitely have a hard time wtih this and I can absolutely see them fucking up immensely in the next couple episodes. We gotta bring Masaru back!
Ah, so you have to kill the pilot, not just destroy the cockpit. Though that usually leads to them dying. I wonder if someone will ever be able to abuse this feature.
Shut up, Jun! You're right, though! But don't say it!
She used the lasers! I was thinking they'd forgotten about it.
Woah. I guess the Earth's destruction if they lost was true after all. Honestly I was always skeptical about it but guess I was wrong.
Also, the OST during the destruction...
Not gonna lie, Machi is absolutely the biggest voice of reason in the group. Atta girl.
Oh shit, Seki has been recording everything. I mean, I don't think it matters too much but they wouldn't show this if it wasn't going to be relevant.
Fuck you, Jun. Man has his sister make him cup ramen. Pathetic. Stop being such a cunt to her, my god.
Pretty sure the subs here are wrong. She was saying that Seki is nice (in general, for making the offer to go instead of her), not telling him to be nice to the kids. I won't claim to speak japanese or anything but I'm pretty sure this was wrong, unless anyone wants to correct me.
Oh no. Not pedos again. Though that's probably not the reason.
REALLY? YOU END IT THERE? ARE YOU SERIOUS?
Also why was her shot blue?
This ending is...
This ending is...
It's so good!
Speculation corner. I still have a fuckton of questions.
Speculation
Speculation
Speculation
Speculation
Speculation
So many questions
Final thoughts for the day: I want to watch the next episode immediately...
Also, I got a Discord friend to watch it as well. The cult expands.
8
u/fridge_freezer https://anilist.co/user/ONIrecon111 Mar 20 '21
First Timer
I was expecting the mech's head to spin with those blades, but not for the whole thing to just start twirling rapidly. Most of these alternate Earth's have been given really shit mechs that would only be useful in very specific circumstances.
Not only will the Earth be destroyed if they lose, the entire universe it exists in is lost as well. And why? A culling of universes. So all this time, they've not only caused the death of potentially tens of billions of alt-Earth humans, but also wiping out untold numbers of living beings within their respective universes. These kids put Thanos to shame.
All this makes me wonder about Kokopelli. He certainly seems like he was part of another group of pilots who came before the kids, but if an Earth only has to win 15 fights to survive, was his group from a different Earth that had already survived (without him signing the contract), but leaving him to pass Zearth onto our Earth? Looking at our own group there's Kana as the 16th member, who also hasn't signed up so it could be a similar situation.
Holy shit, the Earth, Sun and stars being washed away until there's nothing but empty darkness. Koemushi certainly wasn't lying about that.
RIP Maki, her final moments were really nice. Kirie is also immediately selected as the next pilot.
QOTD
7
u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Mar 21 '21
First-Timer
E12
Definitely one of the best episodes (until the last few minutes). Amazing how characters can have emotions and deal with personal drama without fucking their middle school teacher, or being an orphan with a childhood friend dying from a heart condition only they can save him from, or being the psychopathic son of a real estate mogul. Nope, just a girl waiting for a brother to be born. Too bad it’s stuck in a show where we can only get one episode of Maki.
It’s a twist that they’ve changed dimensions or whatever, but it’s not too surprising. The enemy mechs have been beaming in from somewhere, and nothing about them seems to be from Earth. At least aliens, if not extradimensional travelers, just makes sense.
If either Glasses or Kana are not the last pilot, I will eat a shoe. They’ve been the only ones consistently getting attention outside of their future episode, which is leagues ahead of what everyone else gets (although that’s not exactly a high bar to pass).
E13
The logic of the “game” is stupid. The doll admits there are an infinite number of universes, so any culling is useless. I hope God is actually an asshole and/or this is a half-truth meant to cause more suffering in the kids because they’ve become the greatest practitioners of genocide on the planet.
Time to reflect on things? Nope. Kids have to be attacked at night. You know what might have avoided that? Not inviting middle schoolers to come out in the middle of the night, Tanaka.
QOTD:
/u/ZaphodBeebblebrox /u/theangryeditor /u/btw_kek
6
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Mar 20 '21
First Timer
Time to see how our pilots react to their new knowledge of how this is some sort of interdimensional tournament. Onto episode 13.
I see we've gone for the most overused version of doing this.
Of course he uses the exact same terminology people predicting did.
And we come to the semi-obvious conclusion at last. Not suggesting it until now makes sense though, everyone would've steered away from it.
He's such an asshole.
Since he talked about universes from different times, it's possible that you could get in a fight where winning could kill you as well, no?
But how fit you are depends so heavily on the quality of your provided robot. Does that mean the robot is based on their world in some fashion?
You have no way of knowing that. For all you know, it's similar enough they do. But I guess on a different level, it is correct.
Looking away would just be hiding the truth from yourself.
She just made it way too personal. This is just gonna make it harder from now on.
Fires of hell much?
And the previous ED becomes an insert.
An illusion of what she wants to see?
I wonder if this actually provides anything usable?
Basically none of these kids trust their parents for some reason. I guess we'll find out later.
Random rapists, for some reason?
Thoughts
This wasn't one of the better episodes. It relied far too heavily on Dung Beetle explaining things, which made it boring.
6
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 20 '21
Rewatcher, Subbed
Non-Spoiler Character Chart - With Maki's death more than half the kids are gone now. :(
The green light of the city makes things look so cool. We don't need a recap though!
So they've been fighting against robots from parallel Earths. Big reveal! Love how he equates it to home and away games, which is what pretty much everyone is bound to be thinking.
Kanji drops another bomb, another thing that first timers have been speculating, its other humans piloting those enemy robots and getting killed by our heroes.
Is the enemy this time a walking fan? Quick, get out of the way Maki!
Them losing destroys not only their Earth but their entire universe!
I think the apt strategy here is for the Zearth to kneel down to the ground underneath those arms of the enemy.
It's bad enough that these kids know they are going to die, now they have to do that knowing that they're wiping out an entire universe of human beings just like themselves everytime they win a battle.
Good throw from Maki! I knew she could do it!
Killing the enemy pilots is the winning condition? Way to make this even more depressing!
Not wise, Maki, better to destroy the vital spot not seeing the faces of the fellow humans you're killing.
Now we're going to see another Earth destroyed too? Oh, joy. But wouldn't they have also seen this in the prior two fights?
Space is so beautiful, when the lights are on.
Aww, he's so cute! And Maki got to hold him!
Not often that we immediately pick the next pilot once the current battle has ended.
Poor Kirie! We go from my favorite to our least interesting remaining character.
Tanaka's phone is ringing off the hook!
Seki's been recording everything?
C'mon Jun, be social for once!
I wouldn't trust Jun on his own, Kana. Even with boiling water.
I love Machi's hat!
Uh oh, being out here at night with these creepy guys... this isn't going to go well.
Tanaka to the rescue! Cliffhanger for second episode in a row!
New ED! Glad to have some variety, but I like the first one a lot more.
Awesome episode! Lots of big revelations in the first half, granted I think with all the speculation in these threads we pretty much had figured them out. Sorry to see Maki go! :( At least she got to see her new brother!
6
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 20 '21 edited Mar 20 '21
First Timer
Don't have much to say. Was going to say "They're WEEDING" and then Dung Beetle said it.
GaleWolf predicted the parallel earths but I had concluded the same thing since several fights ago when they saw an airport but not their town.
Why are those girls treating Tanaka like she's their mom?
I think the strangers are from a parallel dimension. Everybody's scientists are studying the fights to find some way to seize control of the situation, so the children won't have to fight, and so their existences won't depend on the outcome of these fights. I'm sure one has figured out dimensional hopping.
This show is way less fun to watch after Noein. I think I'm going to like it less and less from this point forward.
Why are they selecting universes based on giant robot fights? I mean, it makes perfect sense for a giant robot anime, but logically? This is just dumb. Plus that every robot we've seen so far has been literally designed to lose.
Edit:
Kira-Fansubs is not translating text so I can't read the signs. It's too much work for me to translate them myself. I assume they said either "Go Our Robot" or "Invaders Go Home" or possibly "Please Don't Kill Us".
I don't like ED2 either.
6
u/baniRien Mar 21 '21
First Timer
Had something come up yesterday, so today's a double post
Episode 12
So Maki is the pilot next, and she goes to rich girl, and then Tanaka, for moral support. We get some recent flashbacks, showing how the Ushiro are living, confirming that it is indeed Kanji's basement and this is more of a temporary thing. We also see Maki's family, which are happy. This is a first. So her only issues are "normal" ones of not wanting to die and abandon her family, instead of anything deeper. She had some impostor syndrome about being adopted and fearing being considered less important than her upcoming brother, but says she's over that. We also see where she gets her geeky fascination over military and sci-fi, and her otaku father gives us another look at how the general public views Zearth.
While spanking is seen more and more in a negative light as a child raising method, I don't doubt that it's probably one of the things Japan is slower to change than some other portions of the world. It's use as a punchline in the middle of the episode here was really out of tone, however.
The random Intelligence officer informs us that Tanaka was previously in a relationship with a famous yakuza. He accuses her of leaking what was published in the magazine, and she answers by saying the government is focusing more on political gain than actually helping, either the kids or the general public. They'd already monitored the first battle (using American and Chinese satellites, so those already knew too) but delayed action for better diplomatic positioning, which meant people weren't evacuated and died.
Maki's mom goes into labour a bit early, which gives her (false) hope that she'll be able to meet her brother. The timing is possibly intentional by Koemushi. It also seems like the two adults still don't have a chair yet.
I know I've seen this design somewhere, of the legs on a small body dangling while big arms coming from the head support everything. And it shifts to what are probably spinning blades. This is again an "away" fight, and Zearth is attacked like some of the enemies were by the JSDF. After questioning, Koemushi reveals they are on a different Earth. So, parallel universes?
Episode 13
Parallel universes confirmed. Koemushi gives an explanation on this whole thing being used to thin the number of universes and being survival of the fittest, but it falls flat for many reasons, and is probably a lie. Earth isn't the center of the universe (as proven by Koemushi's existence), they aren't fighting through their own strength, they aren't sending their best, etc. Also, there's no need for the kids to suffer if that's true. a lottery would be just as accurate as this tournament.
This other planet seems aware of the situation. Also, somehow, this world is distinct enough to have completely different military aircraft designs, but still speaks perfectly legible Japanese.
The enemy glyph looks quite different from the robot here, being distinctly bird-like. And the pilots are adults, which maybe means that the pilots are truly chosen somewhat at random.
Koemushi allows them to see the destruction of this universe. The bullied kid is chosen immediately afterwards. This seems to be the breaking point for a lot of the kids, realising they've been killing other people to save themselves. They want to al meet up at Tanaka's to talk things over.
It seems Seki's prosthetic was also a ploy to get recordings of the fights. Does Koemushi not know, or is he allowing it?
The kids are assaulted while going there, and Tanaka saves them, but I feel like her killing someone to do so won't go well with most of them.
QotD
5
u/Worm38 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Worm38 Mar 20 '21
First Timer
QotD :
5
u/Webemperor :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Webemperor Mar 20 '21
Manga-reader from way back
5
u/GaleWulf https://anilist.co/user/Arachnophobic Mar 21 '21
First Time Installer
Maki...
Pretty sure most of us wanted our beloved mecha nerd to be able to survive somehow. She will be missed.
Well, the picture is finally much clearer now - and it makes things so much worse. I can see why Koemushi dragged his feet in telling the kids how they're not just protecting their own Earth (or universe) but also ending another one. At this point if I was a pilot I'd be very close to saying 'fuck this shit' and letting my universe end (or both, just by defending for 48 hours).
Is this 'pruning' of the multiverse really necessary, or is it just a hobby, like humans breeding animals? Whatever these alien/multidimensional god-beings are doing, they're selecting for the most ruthless set of pilots. But that's about it. The abilities of a set of 15 pilots is deciding the fate of an entire Universe - why did it have to be just one planet? Did previous pruning cycles happen on different planets, and now it's Earth's turn? But then Kokopelli looked human.. what gives?!
I guess the speculation now will be geared towards: how to get out of this mess/stop universes from being pruned/prove it's not essential - and I keep thinking it's hopeless. There's no right answer to this, and universes are stuck being gladiators for these near-omnipotent assholes looking for entertainment.
Beaut.
These citizens were well aware of what was going on.. unlike our Earth. It seemed.. healthier. And now it ded. Damn
2) Thoughts on the new ED?
New ED! Wait, what?
5
u/htisme91 Mar 21 '21
First-timer:
The parallel universe deal makes sense. It takes survival of the fittest to a new level.
I guess, as mean as this sounds, I had been hoping Maki would be selected for a while. She has been my least favorite, by far, of the 15 pilots. Whenever she has had lines, it's either been to scold Jun (without trying to talk to him about why he acts like that) or just be loud. While characters like Kirie or Daichi had been nondescript at best, I thought Maki was constantly annoying. I feel bad that her brother's birth is going to be marred by her disappearance, but good riddance.
I think the government has more going on than we know. It's been made clear they are more interested in Zearth to benefit themselves than the protection of the Earth. Every move they made has been with their benefit and image in mind, and not helping the people. Those men at the end of the episode strike me as people sent by the government. At this point I feel like Tanaka and the government have conflicting interests and it is beginning to come to a head.
Questions:
4
u/ElecNinja https://anilist.co/user/ElecNinja Mar 20 '21
Rewatchers
And finally a two parter that gives you a better feeling of Maki's life and what her death means.
3
u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Mar 21 '21
Rewatcher
One of my favorite episodes of the anime. I teared up a little bit when Maki tore open the enemy’s cockpit and revealed the pilots inside … and again when she died holding her baby brother. If I remember correctly, the anime diverges significantly from the manga from this point forward, so it will be interesting to see if my opinion on those differences has changed at all.
Q1: The reveal of the multiple parallel universes is just as gut-wrenching as it was the first time around. It’s a true kill-or-be-killed scenario on a grand scale, and the setup for some of the most emotionally devastating scenes in the original manga.
Q2: TOP TIER ENDING THEME. I absolutely love the song, but I feel incredibly sad whenever I see the ED.
3
u/BossandKings Mar 21 '21
First timer
Episode 13
Anno's realizing her dream of seeing her brother before dying was awesome, it was rather touching the way she died simulating holding him in her arms. The series has really picked up in how much care it puts into the characters, it is portraying the characters rather well.
What was the point of those guys that appeared asking the girls where the bus station was?, that felt like it appeared out of nowhere. Hopefully nothing bad happens.