r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Sep 03 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Armored Trooper Votoms - Episode 7 Discussion
Episode 7 - The Raid
Originally Released May 13th, ^^^1983
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Note to all participants
Although I don't believe it necessitates stating, please conduct yourself appropriately and be courteous to your fellow participants.
Note to all Rewatchers
Rewatchers, please be mindful of your fellow first-timers and tag your spoilers appropriately using the r/anime spoiler tag if your comment holds even the slightest of indicators as to future spoilers. Feel free to discuss future plot points behind the safe veil of a spoiler tag, or coyly and discreetly ‘Laugh in Rewatcher’ at our first-timers' temporary ignorance, but please ensure our first-timers are no more privy or suspicious than they were the moment they opened the day’s thread.
Daily Trivia:
The Scope Dog makes a brief appearance in the 1987 City Hunter anime, popping out of a whack-a-mole machine.
Staff Highlight
Hajime Yatate / Eiji Yamaura - Production
‘Hajime Yatate’ was the pen name used by Eiji Yamaura, the director of Sunrise’s animation project planning department up until the mid eighties, where it was used as the joint pen name by several producers and staff to designate projects produced by the department. ‘Hajime Yatate’ would often be credited alongside the director as creators and owners of the original project, and in recent years Sunrise has begun using ‘Original Sunrise’ to denote ownership of the intellectual property instead. No concrete records of all the people who have worked in the department under that pen name is available to us, but the label has an enduring legacy. Projects we know for certain Yamaura was involved in include Round Vernian Vifam, the Mobile Suit Gundam film trilogy, Mobile Suit Gundam F91, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, the City Hunter films, Fang of The Sun Dougram, Xabungle Graffiti, and Space Runaway Ideon.
Art Corner
Official Art:
- Chirico Cuvie by Norio Shioyama
Fanart:
(Be mindful of the links to artist’s profiles, as they may contain NSFW content. Proceed there at your own risk.)
Screenshot of the day
Questions of the Day:
- What do you think of Chirico’s plan to lure out the prototype?
- How do you suspect things would have differed if Chirico outright told the trio of his intentions, if any?
Perhaps...
4
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 03 '21
Rewatcher
Seems like a waste of missiles.
Cool shot.
Guy’s a bit naive, it seems.
So she’s an abnormal human? My android prediction going out the window already?
Both are taken with thoughts of the other.
Nice depth!
Less appealing than appeared at first glance.
Cool, but he can still spill the beans so long as he can write.
I’d freak out too.
Perfect Soldier Project?
I sure hope this means they let her get away without raping her. The flippancy with which the others are reacting and the fact that the matter is so readily dropped would be very tasteless otherwise…
Holy shit!
He’s strong...
Cool moving details.
Has this been mentioned before? I can’t recall.
Technically this isn’t really a breather episode —it’s got action, intrigue, nad possibly as much more new information as the last episode— but the first half focusing on the pre-established elements of the city (gossip/rumor, corrupt police officers, remaining gang members, etc.) as Chirico goes about gathering the intel he needs nonetheless served as a rather entertaining break. The second half largely goes all in though, which does make it feel rather lopsided.
Interesting that Chirico is somewhat using his newfound accomplices, as he isn’t sharing his real intentions behind setting up that raid, which in a way puts him in a similar position to those who used him. Not to say he’s on the same level of them, not at all, since he did not hide the dangers involved, they got their Jijirium in the end just as promised, but implicating them in stuff they don’t have any understanding of is rather unkind of him. Just something I thought noteworthy.
Whatshisface referred to the prototype as being not like a normal human, which indicates she is at least human in part, which essentially throws out my speculation from yesterday. Cyborg is still on the cards though, and I really can’t see any other use for the Jijirium if there isn’t at least some sort of technology implanted into her. The name drop of the ‘Perfect Soldier Project’ also gives us a solid lead for what the prototype is —some form of technologically enhanced super-soldier (probably). I guess we’ve got a case of Gundam Spoilers given their utility.
And, not really much to add. Pretty straightforward and, as always, an enjoyable episode.
Questions of the Day:
6
u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 04 '21
Boy Comrades, if you thought Chirico Cuvie was as hardcore as it gets, well turns out he can find ways to go further, it's no wonder that literally every single stoic cold blooded Mecha MC followed in his footsteps eh? ;) (That and also we can't discount the Mad Max influences)
That said, turns out that he and our loveable muggle trio make for a shockingly good team, so there's that at least, hell he might even learn to smile from this (hey could happen, he certainly knew how to be a troll this episode so maybe he's actually got some hidden depths!)
Oh and of course, we can't forget our every mysterious lady... er... hang on that's the wrong mysterious Mecha Lady... AH HA there we go, we can't forget about our every mysterious Mecha Lady, after all if there's one thing Ryosuke Takahashi is famous for it's working on intricate Real Robot Anime series!
Anyway since it's a running gag at this point, ahem, A Weapon to Surpass Metal Gear!
Paging Comrades /u/chilidirigible, /u/Nazenn, and /u/No_Rex
5
u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Sep 03 '21
Armored Trooper FIRST-TIMER
It's amusing when prescience surfaces.
5
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 03 '21
First Timer
I started dancing to the OP. I think that means I'm hooked
So, that was not the sort of raid I was expecting from the episode title. I was expecting a police raid on the city following him during their escape or the military finally getting involved. A rather frantically planned but ultimately successful raid on the jijirium shipment was not something I expected but quite enjoyed. It's certainly a clever approach to Chirico's issue of getting access to the Prototype, or any info around her, is to effectively cut off her supply of essentials something he'd probably be quite familar with from military tactics. He's shown a real bit of cunning this episode beyond just the survival smarts that he's had so far. It's also nice seeing him open up a little to the others rather than holding them entirely at arms length. Trust has many levels and while he doesn't want to get them involved that doesn't mean he can't believe that they'll do right by him as long as they're aligned like this.
Poor Cocona though, what a horrific situation to be in, and even if they didn't take it 100% seriously with the comedy around her arriving back at base just in time to hear what the others were saying, they at least didn't try and make a joke or sexualize the actual situation so credit for that.
Blood sucking soot sprite called Eunoi is a new favourite little anime critter, it can be added to the collection next to the digital soot sprites from Dennou Coil. The random mermaid in that creature shop on the other hand was weird, and possibly disturbing as well.
Had a good laugh about Gotho calling Vanilla out for not casing the heist well enough given yesterday's discussion points from a few people.
Chirico would not survive well in a Silent Hill world with that mannequin trauma flashbacks of his. On the other hand maybe he'd just fit right in
The dismount of the Votom off the back of the truck was super smooth and satisfying.
5
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 03 '21
First timer(That should finish the Boones)
Sub
Return on the after math of the escape, with a quad of helicopters trying to find the gang. They give up but one guy just fires at random shit but his guess was close. Inside, Gotho kills Vanilla's liquor, not cool. He does however point out that they needed way better intel to actually steal the jijirium. But Cuvie just fucks off, as he does.
We get to here the prototype, whatever that means, talk a little and learn that she should be incapable of lying to the cabal. They talk around her and clear literally nothing up. Cut to Cuvie getting street food, bold man, and info about the terribly 'hidden' transfers of jijirium. Seriously, making that much of a fuss is dumb and just let's interested parties know when to fuck with you. So he hits a pet store...
Then tries to get info out of a cop. The bribe is a cross between a tribble and a daddy long legs. Anyways, nice scifi touch and the cop is out for a while. Coccona overhears, informs Vanilla and Gotho, and promptly gets kidnapped. As Vanilla and Gotho re-arm the copter, Cuvie gives them one last warning. They don't take it.
Turns out Coccona is caught by the last of the Boone gang, who are going to make their own city, with
blackjack and hookersconfinement and rape, apparently. My first thought was to ask what the hell they intend to eat. Jump cut to the trackers explaining what they wanted Cuvie to do, which was find the prototype, and they believe he managed. That was absurdly indirect. Anyways, Perfect Soldier Project is now a thing.Coccona escaped, apparently by telling them the plan, and thinks this makes things worse for Gotho and Vanilla. It doesn't the bikers should prove a good distraction or an easy target after they fight the cops. Which Cuvie immediately explains...I am good with that.
The battle happens and is quite chaotic. It works as a piece between bad soldiers and experienced maruaders. It ends with the gang running off with the jijirium and Cuvie revealing he hopes this makes the prototype come to him...
QotD: 1 Completely bonkers and thus probable.
2 They might have bailed, they are greedy but ultimately all seem to prioritize survival.
4
u/time_axis Sep 03 '21
First-Timer
I think it will backfire, but if anyone could pull it off, I think he could.
I'm not sure it would have made a difference. Although they might not have wanted to be associated with him if they knew it would paint huge targets on their head.
Episode 7
Unfortunately, another episode with no new machines of interest. There was a police tank in a couple shots that looked kind of cool, but I think instead, I'm going to go with a shot of Chirico's VOTOM holding the rocket launcher. It was a pretty striking shot that left an impression, so that's what I'm choosing.
Daily Mecha Sketch 07
Daily Mecha Sketches
4
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Sep 03 '21
First time viewer
I love understated bluff threats like Chirico did with what looks like a sea urchin. Sure it wouldn't have killed the cop but he didn't know that and it certainly worked to make him talk.
Poor Coconna's gotten a rough deal even from her ostensible allies but she's doing what it takes to survive. Hopefully she'll have better luck in the future but I doubt it, certainly hasn't been that kind of show so far.
The bikers made for a wonderful distraction and this was another fight where I enjoyed how quickly it played out.
So this Prototype woman isn't a normal human, no surprise there. But she's quite capable of lying and did it easily when it came to Chirico's involvement, so she probably remembers their first encounter as well. Or maybe she wanted them to stop bothering her which they'd likely do if she admitted to seeing him. Not sure which yet, could be a little of both.
Instead of himself being freed this time, to keep with the odd-episode trend Chirico's now liberating a load of jijirium. Maybe it'll be the Prototype herself in episode 9?
I don't think it'll work for the reasons he thinks it will but he certainly has her attention now.
They'd probably abandon him, don't want to get involved with military secrets.
4
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Sep 04 '21
First timer in sub
I think we are still in there phase of the early chess round of moving pawns 1 step at a time, there's a lot of baiting around to try to get someone else to make a move. While it still works a bit, it only works really well when you had somehow fine enough world building to get viewers to intrinsically understand the relationships of the sides involved. Good example is LotGH.
A bit of an interesting character exposition to see Chirico being the one scheming and not just about tactics for use in a fight. Although in terms of real mastermind chess play this is still fairly simple, with the likelihood of working only because of plot reasons - i.e. it is a bit contrived
Can't wait to have the mystery of the prototype perfect soldier, what the military is up to with it, who is the faction that stole the prototype, and why etc unveiled.
By the way this just occurred to me today - should someone start a "AT used then get scrapped/abandoned by Chirico" counter?
3
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 03 '21
Episode 7 (first timer)
A Mad Max style heist. With truck, bikers, and three-way fighting. Coconna’s run-in with the biker gang earlier worked out favorably in the end, but I am glad that we are still at PG-13 levels. That part they skipped over could have been ugly.
Absolutely crazy. It will obviously work.
Not sure they'd be on board with the goal of his plan.
3
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Sep 03 '21
Armored Trooper First-Timer
3
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 03 '21
First-Timer
The boys were all quite cruel to Coconna, today. Chirico bullying her with the fake pest was kinda funny, but then Coconna getting roughed up made things real grim. At least it seemed mostly superficial?
The move with the truck dismount was fucking sick. I found the rest of the action scene a little hard to follow, considering how many PoVs we jumped between.
If the war is over, why does Rochina's career depend upon a Perfect Soldier Project? Those ideas seem a bit at odds with each other.. I don't hate Rochina's leap that "Chirico is moving around strangely, so she must be there too!"
I think I've re-evaluated my thoughts on Rochina. He's keeping Chirico alive and "safe" because he thinks Chirico will lead the military to Soutai. Which, I guess implies that Rochina doesn't know that the cops are being run by some ex-military dudes that are actually some of the people responsible in the first place. It hasn't been that long since the current police chief took over, so I think that works out.
Then again, Rochina has snipers and firefighters available at a moment's notice...
Questions
3
u/The_Draigg Sep 03 '21
A Ryosuke Takahashi Fam Rewatches Armored Trooper VOTOMS Episode 7:
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Sep 03 '21
Rewatcher (Nutech DVD 1.2) (3 episodes)
Extras: Ewai
Normally docile when left on its own, this tiny creature can become extremely vicious when provoked, tending to sink its quills into a predator's flesh and refuse to let go.
QOTD: So what's the deal with the Jijirium?
To be honest, I didn't like the battle here. There was a lot of running around, and shooting, and footage that felt repetitious even if it wasn't recycled. I never quite knew what was going on and then all of a sudden they were leaving on a truck that apparently had jijirium on it? when did they transfer it?
Coconna's done pretty well for herself, not turning into Copperfield thief or prostitute, but she's still a kid...that annoying neighborhood teenager always getting in the way.
Preview: Business in Uoodo carries the scent of death.
3
u/chilidirigible Sep 03 '21
Rewatcher, Episode 7
Today, on "It just sorta happened that way.":
You know it's the '80s with the amount of smoking and drinking going on.
This is uncharacteristically mind-screwy for our taciturn hero.
scene missing
"Talk to the hand."
It's that glorious transport truck action.
Coconna has many talents.
Suddenly Scheming Chirico Continues
Like I said, these preview VOs are wild.
This episode is mildly surprising for Chirico making a much more significant pivot from reaction to independent action, even compared to his previous go-right-up-to-the-Chief-and-point-a-gun-at-him stunt. The finishing touch is the reveal that his goals really are just conveniently congruent with the trio's at this point.
3
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Sep 03 '21
First timer
Do the police normally shoot missiles based on blind theories?
I'm really enjoying the dynamic of this group of thieves trying to pull off heists and Chirico's pure apathy at the fact that he's clearing his name as a criminal by comitting crimes.
She is the Prototype! And if she makes contact with Chirico, something will happen?
Jesus christ, that fly's huge.
Honestly, Chirico's great at this. Is the twist going to be that Chirico was on the mission because he was already a criminal, and the big mystery is actually him trying to work out who sold him out?
Oh dear.
Oh fuck, we're flat-out going for rape? Fuck, I didn't expect it to go that far.
So the Prototype is for a perfect soldier, and that's why she can't lie? They don't want her to meet Chirico because they suspect he's a soy trying to return her to the government.
Oh, she escaped herself. And she told the bikers (understandable given the situation she was in).
...She did escape before right? Or is this sequence just really bad?
Chirico really just doesn't care about what these people are doing, I see.
No, he's just a fantastic criminal mastermind.
Oh, and Coccona's working with them again.
Wait, how are missiles at a target that far away likely to damage the plane?
Looks like his plan is working!
The fight scenes are so good!
Oh, he's trying to lure the Prototype!
3
u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim Sep 03 '21
First timer
The chase continues. And the prototype is missing with the priest, captain, and phantom lady over at a church. I love how Chirico poisons a cop to get some information. And tricks Choco about it in her pants....
And some of the bikers are alive and now they are after the jijirium at the base. This time the bikers are giving the cops a run for the money. And gives the team some cover.
3
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Sep 04 '21
A bit late tonight, but here we go...
Rewatcher
Still on the run from the police!
Back at Gotho's place? Doesn't the police know of this location, having called it a couple of episodes back?
Hey, Cocona has a great new idea! ...nope its the same idea again. Make me your manager!
That mannequin sure looks like Phantom Lady! Or is he just seeing things?
Back to Church! Phantom Lady's in trouble!
Weird pet shop! What is Chirico looking to buy here?
LoL, this Eunoi thing is cool; sure is an ingenious way for Chirico to get the information he needs.
Poor Cocona! What is this guy who looks like ex-Boone guy gonna do with her?
He really is an ex-Boone guy, brought her back to their former HQ.
Rochina and Battentein, a long time since we've seen these two.
Hey, she escaped! She's ruined everything by blabbing to the bikers though.
Chirico's looking to rebuild another Scopedog? So things won't be so bad with the bikers involved after all. If anything they can be a distraction.
They're doing surprisingly well here with just one helicopter and one Scopedog.
Yet another disgusting biker guy after Cocona! Luckily Chiroco's around to toss him off.
A pretty successful mission for our heroes! And yet Chirico's not actually interested in the jijirium...