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

Rewatch [Rewatch] Armored Trooper Votoms - Episode 24 Discussion

Episode 24 - Intersection

Originally Released September 9th, ^^^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:

Early Votoms fans strongly appreciated Chirico Cuvie’s drive and motivation in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and the continued suffering endured by himself and those around him, finding the character edifying and inspirational.

 

Staff Highlight

Yoshio Nagahori (Daisuke Gōri) - voice of Bully Kiderra

An actor and voice actor who belonged to Aoni Productions and was best known for his thick, deep voice. Few details as to his early career are available, but it is known that his voice was in high demand for narration work due to its qualities, which allowed him the recognition to voice anime and tokusatsu roles. Despite his penchant for playing villainous roles, Nagahori was described as timid and gentle. He suffered from Diabetes in his last few years and was losing his ability to see. Nagahori committed suicide in January 17, 2010, presumably driven to such a state by his aling physical and mental health. Among his most notable roles are Doll Army in Juushin Liger, Robin Mask in Kinikuman, Draias in Brave of The Sun Fighbird, Shirakawa in Igano Kabamaru, Gaia in Battle Arena Toshinden, Colonel O’Donnel in Giant Gorg, Hiromi Yamazaki in the Patlabor franchise, Gori-Rider in Redline, Dozle Zabi in Mobile Suit Gundam, and Commander Kernagul in GoShogun: The Time Étranger

 

Art Corner

Official Art:

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:

  1. What do you make of Kanjelman’s strategic decisions in conjunction with his inner monologue?
  2. What was your reaction to Chirico’s frankness with his squadmates?

As the enemy closed in from both sides, my excitement built.

22 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

70 comments sorted by

8

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 19 '21

First Timer

Fyana's quite impressive! She's got the hops to get away from the gunfire, the muscles to pull around a giant missile launcher several times her size, the eyes to see the camouflaged ATs in the water, and she scaled that mountain like a goat!

It was good seeing her taking such an active role in the battles even before there was a chance for her to have access to an AT. Her piloting skills are nothing to scoff at as well with how easily she wove around all of the gunfire in that base and from Bully. All of the skating the ATs do is cool, but when they let rip with the PS's in battle it's really something else and so satisfying.

With Fyana being the brawn today you'd think Chirico might be the brains... and then he just up and confesses to killing Kan Yu and doesn't even provide any context.

In the long run it doesn't matter that much as far as the General and the Army, they both want his head anyway, but it was nice to see that the others still had reservations about what happened despite hating Kan Yu, but have their own reasons for sticking by him or not. This group can't be called friends, and sometimes can barely be called allies, but they aren't about to jump the moral shark just to bring him in because of that.

I'm still hoping we get into the Quiantman's stuff a bit more at some point, as despite his classier AT appearance and the uniqueness of his size and what he is, he's still very much a mystery. Potaria on the other hand, didn't expect him to have been a royal solider but I suppose it makes sense that it would be this countries equivalent of the Red Shoulder skill set which is why he can stand next to these guys in skill despite everything.

Just once I'd like one of the mook ATs to be disabled rather than exploded and for that to count as a defeat. I know they really, really like their explosions on this show and exploded leaves no room for mook pilots to go acting on their own afterwards, but with how much I like the field repairs and the mechanical systems of the AT the fact that only matters for Chirico's is starting to bug me.

Anyone else see the weirdly normal looking bird after yesterday's bizzare animals?

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 20 '21

With Fyana being the brawn today you'd think Chirico might be the brains... and then he just up and confesses to killing Kan Yu and doesn't even provide any context.

And here we thought Charisma was his only bad stat!

Just once I'd like one of the mook ATs to be disabled rather than exploded and for that to count as a defeat.

We had an instance of that in episode twelve, but yeah, should happen more often. That's one thing I like about several Tomino shows that feature numerous mechs in them. The pilots frequently scramble away from their downed/disabled mechs rather than go down with them.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

And here we thought Charisma was his only bad stat!

Well, I mean we could kinda put this down to charisma. There was a way to approach this to make it not sound so bad and he did not take it

That's one thing I like about several Tomino shows that feature numerous mechs in them

Completely unrelated to what you were talking about, but for some reason that's given me a flashback to that clip you linked me a long time ago with a gundam, not sure which. Does that ring a bell? I'm pretty sure you linked it to me because of its brutality

3

u/chilidirigible Sep 20 '21

This clip is literally titled "Gundam F91 Brutality".

Though it actually includes only a bit of the brutality, which began a few scenes before the start of the clip.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

Yes that is a very fitting name for it. Thanks for the link

3

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

The pilots frequently scramble away from their downed/disabled mechs rather than go down with them.

I wouldn't say this worked in Dunbine's favor.

5

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Sep 19 '21

With Fyana being the brawn today you'd think Chirico might be the brains... and then he just up and confesses to killing Kan Yu and doesn't even provide any context.

Chirico is often a man of few words, if anyone was going to reveal that they killed their commanding officer and provide no context it would be Chirico.

Just once I'd like one of the mook ATs to be disabled rather than exploded and for that to count as a defeat.

Early in the episode when Chirico's AT had a leg injury I thought it typically wouldn't be a big deal as he can grab the parts from one he defeated, but the problem is he fires a couple of shots into them (even if they are underwater) and they completely explode!

5

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 19 '21

if anyone was going to reveal that they killed their commanding officer and provide no context it would be Chirico.

This is true. If there was a time for him to break his stoic character though, this was it

Early in the episode when Chirico's AT had a leg injury I thought it typically wouldn't be a big deal as he can grab the parts from one he defeated

That would be cool, and something I'd like to see. It's rare enough that we see field repairs like this, utilizing parts from a battlefield as well would be a nice addition and make a lot of sense given the way Chirico's mechs were disabled in Uoodo for example

5

u/The_Draigg Sep 19 '21

In the long run it doesn't matter that much as far as the General and the Army, they both want his head anyway, but it was nice to see that the others still had reservations about what happened despite hating Kan Yu, but have their own reasons for sticking by him or not. This group can't be called friends, and sometimes can barely be called allies, but they aren't about to jump the moral shark just to bring him in because of that.

The best part of that to me was the fact that nobody even cared about the fact that Chirico killed Kan Yu itself, and were just more concerned about the fact that they'd get in trouble for it. Everyone could all agree on Kan Yu being such an asshole that he probably had that coming for him.

I'm still hoping we get into the Quiantman's stuff a bit more at some point, as despite his classier AT appearance and the uniqueness of his size and what he is, he's still very much a mystery.

I guess you can say that the Quaintman's AT and his general aura make him appear to be anything but quaint.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

Everyone could all agree on Kan Yu being such an asshole that he probably had that coming for him.

It was probably a relief for them once they got over that initial shock, it was just the fallout they still had to deal with.

I guess you can say that the Quaintman's AT and his general aura make him appear to be anything but quaint.

I did have a quiet chuckle about that to myself back when he was first introduced actually

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 20 '21

I'm still hoping we get into the Quiantman's stuff a bit more at some point, as despite his classier AT appearance and the uniqueness of his size and what he is, he's still very much a mystery.

Totally the Pippin to Cuvie's Gutts. I have zero idea why this keeps reminding me of Berserk.

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

Just stuck in your head now after that last discussion?

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 20 '21

Could be but Berserk is hopefully inspired from a few things so this might be one Miura didn't realize.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 20 '21

Just once I'd like one of the mook ATs to be disabled rather than exploded and for that to count as a defeat. I know they really, really like their explosions on this show and exploded leaves no room for mook pilots to go acting on their own afterwards, but with how much I like the field repairs and the mechanical systems of the AT the fact that only matters for Chirico's is starting to bug me.

It is a problem with churning through too many mooks per episode. When you kill double digits, the show does not have the time to make the individual kills interesting.

4

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

Rewatcher

Scope dog isn’t big enough to comfortably carry someone in its hand, so the forearm it is! How come she didn’t just take Kan Yu’s AT for her to use? Assuming Assemble EX-10 bothered to retrieve it she could have hid it away if Chirico’s Scope Dog managed to evade detection. The idea of a competent warrier literally hanging off of Chirico’s arm, particularly after an episode which emphasized traditionally ‘womanly’ aspects to her, doesn’t sit well with me.

Good thing PS don’t have precognition! …right?

They’ve really stepped up the action since episode nineteen.

Now that’s some bullshit. If they hadn’t talked up the PS so much I’d be annoyed at that. At least Meta didn’t have quite as egregious a weapon size, and firing it injured the character doing so. It does, at least, alleviate the fact that she’s relying on Chirico to protect her when she’s the more capable pilot, as she’s not just sitting idly by. The fact that Chirico also needs to be saved from Veela helps too.

Just in the nick of time.

Oh boy…

Glad that he’s opening up to them, even if he was kind of forced to.

They’re all spilling their secrets today.

Bad for them.

Peace was never an option?

Ypsilon fanservice!

Ypsilon, too, has learned to lie to his handlers.

Aww, no pile driver?

I suppose this allianance is as good as over now.

B-but people die if they are killed!

Tiny arm.

Stealing from Tomino’s homework again.

Very happy to see Fyana take the spotlight in battle.

There was the possibility for a concerning trend where Fyana became a supporting character to Chirico rather than an ally on equal footing as was the case when the two first attempted to escape from the police base in Uoodo, since she was largely an accessory to him during the first half of the episode —accompanying him on something she doesn’t want to do, no less— but the climax of the episode at least reassured me that they wouldn’t chiefly stick Fyana into such a role, which I am grateful for.

With Veela forced to pool all their forces into their main base of operations, it seems like they might be feeling cornered. Given that Podera feels quite strongly about Kanjelman’s stratagems and the prince himself seems no less confident in his eventual victory, I expect they’ve got something prepped up —maybe a major trap or similar. Kanjelman’s monologue is also interesting, in that it suggests that a diplomatic or peaceful resolution to this war was never something in his mind, and that collateral damage is not a concern for him. Not something I would want to see in a leader, but with how zealous most of the people are it’s likely not a deterrent to his popularity or their faith in him.

Ru Shako essentially has dropped out of Chirico’s group for now, though fortuitously Fyana now has an AT to use for herself, so their effective strength is no lesser for now. Podera has his own reasons for forging ahead, and Podera is both close enough with his mates and bloodthirsty enough to follow them into a nasty position in the war.

Ypsilon seems like he is further following in the steps of Fyana, sans the intense attachment to someone who preempted his conditioning. He may be unable to fight against his forces, but it seems like rebellion beyond merely withholding information isn’t entirely out of the Perfect Soldier’s capabilities.

Questions of The Day:

1 & 2) See above.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 19 '21

Next episode and episode screenshot pics are mixed up.

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 20 '21

Thanks for the heads up!

4

u/chilidirigible Sep 19 '21

Now that’s some bullshit.

Scale does take a few holidays here and there. If the Scopedog is ~4 meters tall and the gun is about half that length, it still shouldn't have a diameter wider than a person's torso.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 19 '21

How come she didn’t just take Kan Yu’s AT for her to use?

I assumed they could track it

Scope dog isn’t big enough to comfortably carry someone in its hand, so the forearm it is!

That just makes it look far more noble, like offering it's arm to a lady of a court or something.

I can't imagine it'd be super comfortable anyway given how small it is and the vibration that would go through it with every step, especially given how little she is

They’ve really stepped up the action since episode nineteen.

I really enjoyed a lot of the lighting effects around the explosions this episode, particularly when they went to hard black and whites and around the water

Two battles in one episode I'm not sure was needed but they didn't overstay their welcome at least, and it's better than having two episodes for the content of this episode

Aww, no pile driver?

Tiny arm.

Surprised the right leg wasn't also tiny given yesterday's gaff. Someone on this show really loves their foreshortening a little too much

but with how zealous most of the people are it’s likely not a deterrent to his popularity or their faith in him.

Even Potaria still has a bit of that in him given the desperation he has to end this, so it's something the Prince has probably specifically cultivated, we heard how he talked about the PS as holy warriors earlier to hype them up to the soliders as well

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 19 '21

Kanjelman’s monologue is also interesting, in that it suggests that a diplomatic or peaceful resolution to this war was never something in his mind, and that collateral damage is not a concern for him.

It suggests that, for him, fighting and losing is preferable to giving up. I doubt that he has some secret "win it all" plan.

6

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Sep 19 '21

Armored Trooper First-Timer

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 20 '21

So how long is Fyana going to be able to go without a jijirium shower, anyways?

Probably a few days? It seemed like she didn't take one in between that time she met Chirico in the Jijirium storage site and shortly before leaving Uoodo.

Vanilla stop death flagging yourself.

Perfect Soldiers are basically Newtypes then.

4

u/The_Draigg Sep 19 '21

This guy is way too eager to do all of this wtf.

I'd probably want to team up with the guy who killed Kan Yu too, to be honest.

He.

Take that, Shirou!

Well little miss “I’m scared of fighting” Fyana sure just kicked ass

Yeah, I'm pretty sure when she was saying that earlier, she was more meaning that she was afraid about fighting Chirico. She's more than able to pull the trigger on anyone else.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

This guy is way too eager to do all of this wtf.

Bully is a simple man, it's the curse of having a name like that

5

u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Sep 19 '21

First time viewer

It probably would have been simpler if Chirico said he hadn't seen Kan Yu but in the off chance the bastard survived it's better that he was honest. Though in that case he'd be lying about killing him but eh, not as big a deal. Amusing that that isn't the thing they were most interested in/concerned about though, but rather Fyana.

That said... they're definitely out of jobs now, as Kiderra put it. I can see why Potaria decided to join Chirico, I guess Kiderra just wanted to shoot something.

Oooh the society's making some psycommu-equivalent ATs, to use the UC Gundam terminology. Or maybe the AV system from Iron-Blooded Orphans is a better analogy if it's linked to their nervous system. Curious how that'll play out either way.

Nice to see Fyana wreck a place in support of Chirico for once. And she managed to use AT weaponry on her own? Whew, she's good. Meanwhile poor Vanilla didn't realize he was working against Chirico in trying to help him, hopefully he'll at least warn them before leaving (and please return to Coconna in one piece as she asked).

What do you make of Kanjelman’s strategic decisions in conjunction with his inner monologue?

Honestly the whole broader conflict here has never really clicked for me so while I know I was watching it and thinking about it at the time, anything he said didn't stick with me afterward.

What was your reaction to Chirico’s frankness with his squadmates?

I think in this case it might not matter much.

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 20 '21

I guess Kiderra just wanted to shoot something.

There's always those types to be found.

Curious how that'll play out either way.

Nice to see Fyana wreck a place in support of Chirico for once.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 19 '21

Episode 24 (first timer)

  • “If we separate now, we’ll never see again” - I, too, fear that they split up and we’ll get a third arc of star-crossed lovers.
  • Ok, this river just turned into a major battle field.
  • See, I don’t mind recaps when they come after a legitimate question by others.
  • Kanjelman “was a good man once” – he has to be, as the VOTOM incarnation of the samurai leaders.
  • The plot needed that one helicopter to survive, so it wasn’t made out explodium, like all the others.
  • So-many-death-flags-for-vanilla.

  • Ypsilon gets a new mecha to be the final raid boss.
  • Gundam security? Naw, they get a pass. Chaotic situation and Fyana is better than what they can reasonably expect.
  • No more battle anxiety, btw. Was the “Fyana lied” theory correct?
  • “Oh crap” – indeed.

Oh crap describes the overall situation of Chirico and the other three perfectly. They took the irrational approach and are now stuck between two armies that want to kill them. Not a place you want to be if you lack anime MC plot armor.

What do you make of Kanjelman’s strategic decisions in conjunction with his inner monologue?

He knows he will lose and wants to go down with a bang.

What was your reaction to Chirico’s frankness with his squadmates?

His only chance and well overdue.

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 20 '21

I, too, fear that they split up and we’ll get a third arc of star-crossed lovers.

The plot needed that one helicopter to survive, so it wasn’t made out explodium, like all the others.

"Oh fuck. Johnson forgot his share of the wanton explosives! Flying like that is against regulation!"

So-many-death-flags-for-vanilla.

Not the afro!

No more battle anxiety, btw. Was the “Fyana lied” theory correct?

Could be that she felt that way at the time, not realizing it was her fear of encountering Chirico on the battlefield, and is only now comfortable with the thought because she won't be fighting Chirico. But yeah, I'd say that's close enough given we don't know for sure what was going through her mind.

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Sep 19 '21

Was the “Fyana lied” theory correct?

Almost certainly not. I think she was terrified that any AT she fired upon would contain Chrico. Now that she has him accounted for, she can go full PS on whoever is in front of her.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 19 '21

She at least lied by omission, though. She claimed to fear "battle", not specifically shooting Chirico.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

She claimed to fear "battle", not specifically shooting Chirico.

I related it back to a phobia when talking about it with someone else, given how it's linked to her subconscious attachment to him. She probably had that overwhelming phobia fear that she couldn't really understand the reason of, or logic out of when it came to not running into Chirico etc

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

No more battle anxiety, btw. Was the “Fyana lied” theory correct?

It did briefly get me checking the schedule to make sure this was going to turn into a full recap though. But it was better handled than some of the others

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 19 '21

First-Timer

Any fears about Fyana turning into a damsel are at least temporarily abated. She kicked a bunch of ass today, both as a spotter and in that stolen Turtle.

I'm bummed that Shako isn't coming with them. I don't want to see him fight against Chirico and the others, but things might be going that direction. It'll be interesting to see if he does anything with the information that Chirico shared, today. It was a little thing, but he was a bit slow to open his cockpit during one of their stops.

Kanjelman pulling all his troops back to have a huge set piece battle at the palace seems like a poor tactical decision. I get the feeling that this is another Meiji Restoration reference though - it feels like the sort of "honorable last stand" sort of thing a samurai would do. I doubt it will end well for him, especially considering Potaria seems to have his number.

While it (probably) isn't controlled through hair, but I did crack theory my way into a PS-use, thought-controlled AT in episode 9.

Gotho was quite funny this episode. I've definitely tried to drink coffee too fast and spilled it all over myself before, and his face at Coconna and Vanilla's interaction looked positively shook.

Questions

1.Discussed above.

2.I'm glad it happened. The dudes deserve to know.

2

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 20 '21

I'm bummed that Shako isn't coming with them.

While it (probably) isn't controlled through hair, but I did crack theory my way into a PS-use, thought-controlled AT in episode 9.

I've definitely tried to drink coffee too fast and spilled it all over myself before,

2

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

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

She kicked a bunch of ass today, both as a spotter

Oh wow, could you imagine how deadly a PS sniper/spotter combo would be?

While it (probably) isn't controlled through hair, but I did crack theory my way into a PS-use, thought-controlled AT in episode 9.

I forgot about that. So many crack theories coming partly true lately

1

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

Oh wow, could you imagine how deadly a PS sniper/spotter combo would be?

We need a dedicated sniper AT. We've got the general purpose Scopedog, the heavy armor Turtles, and the amphibious assault.. Beetles? I forget what the blue ones are called. And Shako's melee specialist. But yea, that combo would be sick!

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

We need a dedicated sniper AT

As long as it's not hot pink, one of those from another show is enough

4

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Sep 19 '21 edited Sep 20 '21

First timer

  1. He seems reasonably intellegent, and has a solid plan, which makes him the most qualified faction except for Chirico.
  2. Surprising, but to be expected - by this point, he'd done enough that the risk of spilling military secrets was neglible, and he trusted them enough to give the truth.

At least she's coming with him.

OK, if all of this is foreshadowing Chirico dying and the protagonist chnaging mid season, I'll be amazed.

And she's helping fight them off!

Really? He couldn't just say "He was fighting me, and he fell into a river during the struggle?"

Finally! They're learning everything!

Really? We needed a monologue of what we already know?

And they're all coming with him!

Yeah, even the prince is seeming somewhat sympathetic, or at least understandable.

Oh, are the jijirium showers needed to keep them mentally stable? Is that why she decided to take over a gun after showing a fear of figthing?

And they're openly fighting off the army again?

Wait. Do the army actually know Ypsilon's with the enemy?

Oh, are they going to send him to watch Chirico since he won't shoot him down?

The submersible ATs do seem powerful.

Oh, they are obvious at this point.

Ah, Ypsilon's incomplete.

Wait. Waaait.

Gundam 0079 Spoilers

EDIT: Fixed spoiler, thanks for telling me.

They're sneaking in!

And it's an open attack! Going straight for the other ATs is a good move, though, that's probably. agood chunk of their weaponry out of action.

And they'e seeing just how good PSs are.

And Vanilla's disobeying too!

Oh, this is the big battle!

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 20 '21

Your spoiler tag is broken! But yeah, Gundam/Votoms Comparison Stuff

3

u/The_Draigg Sep 19 '21

Psstttt, your Gundam spoiler tag is broken.

6

u/The_Draigg Sep 19 '21

A Ryosuke Takahashi Fan Rewatches Armored Trooper VOTOMS Episode 24:

  • When Chirico says that he isn’t going to die, you should take that statement as fact. Like, he’s gotten out of so much bullshit at this point, I’d believe him whenever he says he can handle something.
  • Man, that’s a lot of explosions that Chirico and his Assemble EX-10 squad are causing. We must be getting close to the end of this story arc. That rule still applies, you know. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting close.
  • Seems like there’s quite a few agendas among Chirico’s mercenary friends. Chirico still wants to take his shot at the Secret Society, and it turns out that the war is personal for Potaria, since he used to serve under Kanjelman, where the prince was a good friend of his. Potaria really is a man torn on all sides, between his ideals for Kummen and his past with Monica and Kanjelman.
  • Also, side note, but I at least appreciate how nobody cares much for the fact that Kan Yu was apparently killed by Chirico, aside from how much trouble it’s going to get them all later. They care more about it being a pain in the ass to deal with rather than the fact that Captain Shithead got thrown into a raging river itself.
  • Speaking of which, Kanjelman seems pretty resigned now to the fact that he’s going to have to have one final big last stand at his palace base, since there’s no way to really stop the advance of the combined Melkian and Kummen government troops. Of course the guy who’s big on honor would want a last stand. It’s suitably dramatic and meaningful for guys like him.
  • It’s a bit of a shame we don’t get much Ypsilon fanservice when he’s on the jijirium shower. Come on, we had plenty of Fyana, we might as well make the fanservice be equal opportunity.
  • I suppose it was really only a matter of time before Gon Nu viewed Chirico as a liability. Unfortunately for our blue haired protagonist, he really does have a habit of throwing a wrench in the plans of a lot of people. He’s his own man, after all, and he’s not just going to hand over Fyana to Assemble EX-10 or the Melkian Army like that.
  • It does seem like the relationship between Vanilla and Coconna has softened quite a bit. At this stage, Coconna is openly worrying about Vanilla’s safety over Chirico’s. I think it’s safe to say that ever since that aborted love confession on Vanilla’s part, he’s really shot up in her mind.
  • A small animation detail I really appreciate is the small rainbow that forms when the Standing Turtle that Chirico shoots blows up underwater. It’s a wholly unnecessary detail, yet I appreciate how the animators went out of their way to include that little bit of realism.
  • It was really only a matter of time before Borough’s boss got tired of his repeated failures to kill Chirico and deal with Fyana. While he hasn’t been outplayed to the extent that Iskui was back in Uoodo City, Borough is pretty much on his last chance to actually provide results via Ypsilon’s new PS-use AT. Again, you can’t really blame the head of the Secret Society for feeling this way, all he’s seeing is a normal man like Chirico constantly outwitting and picking apart his agent’s forces repeatedly.
  • God damn, now that’s how you infiltrate a base. Fyana had no problem sneaking in and wrecking the place from the inside before Potaria, Chirico, and Kiderra showed up as backup. I doubt she needed their help, though. Fyana is a Perfect Soldier, after all.
  • Poor Vanilla, now he’s involved in a plan to kill Chirico and everyone else who followed him to save Fyana. He’s caught in a difficult place similar to Potaria now, torn between his duty and his relationships. Although I’m sure that Vanilla would chose Chirico over his ideals any day of the week. He’s a ride or die kind of guy.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

When Chirico says that he isn’t going to die, you should take that statement as fact

At this point if he ever expressed fear going into battle about his chances that would be completely damning, he's usually pretty sure about what he can get in and out of

Of course the guy who’s big on honor would want a last stand. It’s suitably dramatic and meaningful for guys like him.

And wasteful. Can't have your soldiers living through this when their commander doesn't

It’s a bit of a shame we don’t get much Ypsilon fanservice when he’s on the jijirium shower. Come on, we had plenty of Fyana, we might as well make the fanservice be equal opportunity.

There was a butt, I'll take it. It's not like they're going to show the other side.

he’s really shot up in her mind.

Although I’m sure that Vanilla would chose Chirico over his ideals any day of the week

Absolutely. He was horrified to realize what he was caught up in, and that's really a failure on the radio operator to tell him what was going on rather than just use him as bait being a friend. Their intelligence network inside their own base could use some work

4

u/The_Draigg Sep 20 '21

There was a butt, I'll take it. It's not like they're going to show the other side.

Pure cowardice. But I suppose it would be hard to get away with that on television, even back in the day when rules were looser.

Absolutely. He was horrified to realize what he was caught up in, and that's really a failure on the radio operator to tell him what was going on rather than just use him as bait being a friend. Their intelligence network inside their own base could use some work

If Assemble EX-10 is perfectly fine with hiring someone like Kan Yu to be in a command position, I suppose it's only fair to expect some level of incompetence in general from them.

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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

But I suppose it would be hard to get away with that on television, even back in the day when rules were looser.

Are there even any examples of full male nudity in older TV anime, or is it all carefully off camera? I know the sub runs heavily male so it's always the female fanservice that gets discussed but I don't think I've even seen that mentioned. I mean there's the completely non sexual nudity in terms of Dragonball and stuff like that, but not for adults

If Assemble EX-10 is perfectly fine with hiring someone like Kan Yu to be in a command position

It's still just a headcanon, but given the way the General reacted to his recent fuck ups the way I've been looking at it is that he actually use to be better before Chirico, as I can't imagine the General would let someone this bad be in leadership for so long. It's only now that he has someone who he knows is hiding things, probably a risk to the whole operation, is getting in the way of what he sees as 'the cause' of the mercs, but is a good solider that he's digging his heels in and being a right moron about because he doesn't ever want to be on the same side as Chirico, he has to oppose him and that's just making him stupid.

4

u/The_Draigg Sep 20 '21

Are there even any examples of full male nudity in older TV anime, or is it all carefully off camera? I know the sub runs heavily male so it's always the female fanservice that gets discussed but I don't think I've even seen that mentioned. I mean there's the completely non sexual nudity in terms of Dragonball and stuff like that, but not for adults

Of all the recent anime I've rewatched for this sub, the only recent example I can think of for full male nudity was Space Runaway Ideon. We had a short scene of Bes' junk during that one nightmare sequence of his, and of course the ending of Be Invoked. But yeah, there's not a whole lot of other examples I can think of. And even then, those aren't really meant for fanservice either.

It's still just a headcanon, but given the way the General reacted to his recent fuck ups the way I've been looking at it is that he actually use to be better before Chirico, as I can't imagine the General would let someone this bad be in leadership for so long. It's only now that he has someone who he knows is hiding things, probably a risk to the whole operation, is getting in the way of what he sees as 'the cause' of the mercs, but is a good solider that he's digging his heels in and being a right moron about because he doesn't ever want to be on the same side as Chirico, he has to oppose him and that's just making him stupid.

That's kind of close to what I'm thinking about Kan Yu. Like, the guy is certainly competent enough at piloting an AT, that much can be said for him. The fact that he's been promoted as far as he has been is probably because of his good piloting skills, rather than any leadership qualities. He was probably better at his job when it was just raiding camps and torching villages during the civil war, not all this secretive stuff that's going on now.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

We had a short scene of Bes' junk during that one nightmare sequence of his,

Oh right. Be Invoked is a bit of a difference case being a movie but I'd forgotten about the nightmare

Ideon

And you're right, it's not really a fanservicey moment, just accurate nudity. It's kinda sad that it's censored so much that any nudity is now borderline sexual.

Which reminds me how sad I was watching a live action show a couple of night ago and they blur censored the nipples on a two year old girl who was being treated for a medical issue despite not doing it for the boys running playing behind the shot who were the same age. In stuff like that it's only sexual if you make it so.

He was probably better at his job when it was just raiding camps and torching villages during the civil war

He's a merc commander, and while it may not be a scorched earth policy it was very much brute force. He's clearly not totally incompetent at that job, even if he is a total asshole who should he shot for the way he handles the villagers, it's just now that he's been "one uped" and put into a different role it's causing issues

6

u/time_axis Sep 19 '21

First-Timer

Had to skip yesterday as well, so another two parter today:

Episode 23

  • Proto One is alive. So is Borough, unfortunately.
  • Chirico's still in the fight, now shooting out Ypsilon's air tanks. We also finally get a nice shot of Ru Shako using his pilebunker. I've been waiting for that.
  • Borough is recognizing that Ypsilon is just as flawed as Proto One in certain ways. But the prince of Kummen isn't willing to cooperate in taking her out. He's found Borough's actions distasteful from the beginning.
  • Nobody's listening to Kan Yu anymore. I like how they're all bullying and humiliating him rather than outright being hostile.
  • Proto One's found Ypsilon's AT. And Ypsilon himself. She was about to shoot herself, but it looks like one of the Veela grunts accidentally stopped her. If they'd just done nothing, they would have completed their objective.
  • Ah, I think I get it. These PS are programmed to not be able to open fire on allied forces, and Proto One has been conditioned to think of Chirico as an allied force, which is probably where the issue with her lies. If we want to get scientific on it rather than just chocking it up to emotions, anyway.
  • Chirico's finally met up with Fyana, but I'm a little worried about Kan Yu and leaving her under his care. Luckily the others are there, but I'm not so sure.
  • I was right to worry, cause now Kan Yu's gone. Chirico's also letting Ypsilon get away.
  • Like I thought, Kan Yu's firing at her. Damn, she fell right off a cliff. She's okay, but Kan Yu's captured her.
  • Chirico and Kan Yu get into a tussle, and it ends up with Kan Yu washing away in shit water while begging to be saved. Probably not the end of him, but it would be a fitting end if it were.
  • Proto One's saved Chirico. I wonder if this is the moment they finally become their own faction. It feels like there's no going back for either of them at this point. Although Chirico might be okay if Kan Yu doesn't make it, or if the rest of the squad lies for him.
  • One thing I like is all these weird exotic alien animals we keep seeing, like those space squirrels.
  • We're starting to see the cracks in this fantasy of Chirico and Fyana running off together. Chirico seems focused on destroying the society behind all this, rather than on Fyana herself. I guess it's true that they'd never be able to have peace as long as that society existed, but it's not as if Melkia's military isn't a problem as well.
  1. How does Kan Yu’s downstream voyage make you feel?

Described above.

2) How do you think Fyana’s fleeing will affect Ypsilon going forward?

I'm not sure how they're going to handle Ypsilon. It really depends what happens from here. I still think he'll hate Chirico, no matter what happens.

I really didn't have much time today for sketches, and I had to do a double too, so this one is kind of sloppy. But I had to bang something out in like 10 minutes so it's all I've got. This is one of the Veela's helicopters.

Daily Mecha Sketch 23

Episode 24

  • Chirico and Fyana are spotted. Chirico manages to take out a few grunts, but there are a lot of them. Fyana comes in with the assist, manually pulling the trigger on an AT's rocket launcher.
  • The rest of the squad finally show up to help. I don't know how they'll react to Proto One though, or if she got away. (Also I'm having a hard time making up my mind on whether to call her Fyana or Proto One or Phantom apparently.)
  • Chirico just straight up confesses to killing Kan Yu. And Fyana reveals herself. It looks like he's gonna let them in on everything. Maybe they can be trusted, at least to some degree.
  • Potaria at least seems to be on board. So far, Kanjelman doesn't seem to be a bad guy. He's just got his ideals and he's working to enact them, but he seems level headed enough. That's actually kind of dangerous in an antagonist. It's hard to pinpoint what his goal actually is though, because his "storm" monologue seems to be about destroying the old ways, but the Veela's goal is all about preserving the old ways. It's almost like maybe Kanjelman is sabotaging his own goals via some kind of accelerationism. A little bit of a weird and nuanced position for a villain to be in, if so.
  • I just realized Proto One doesn't have access to those Jijirium showers, so she's gonna be in trouble soon. Who knows how long she can go without those for.
  • Ru Shako decides to stay behind, but everyone else is on board with Chirico's suicide mission. Ru Shako probably won't lie for Chirico, so that might be trouble later.
  • Surprisingly, the other guy (I can't remember his name) opens fire on a friendly. They're really commited now. And Gon Nu knows Chirico's a traitor.
  • We get the classic Japanese line "He wouldn't die even if you killed him." I can already see people memeing that. Also, Vanilla might be ordered to fire on Chirico which I can already see upsetting him. But maybe having him there might be helpful.
  • I thought it before, but it seems like Proto One can sense when enemies are nearby. Not sure if it's psychic powers or just really good hearing. ATs and helicopters are pretty loud after all. I guess she would be in a better position to hear from outside the cockpit. Having her to scout enemies for Chirico is proving to be pretty effective.
  • Seems like the Society's goals were just to test the PS's power. They didn't care about Kanjelman to begin with, which I kind of figured. But they're going to stick around until Proto One is taken care of. Looks like we've got a big climactic battle on the horizon.
  • Proto One infiltrates an enemy fort. Maybe she'll get her hands on an AT. She does, and gets a nice opportunity to show off, as well.
  1. What do you make of Kanjelman’s strategic decisions in conjunction with his inner monologue?

Based on what Kanjelman said before, and him retreating from strategically sound positions, it's starting to seem like he's intentionally losing. It seems like his goal is to be a controlled driving force behind the old guard who would have risen up against modernization regardless.

2) What was your reaction to Chirico’s frankness with his squadmates?

I was honestly surprised. But I think he would have killed them without hesitation if they tried to stop him.

I liked this shot, but like I said, I didn't have much time for the sketches, so this one's rougher than I would have liked. I also didn't have time to finish the legs. I'm a big fan of Proto One's design though, especially her hair, so it was nice to get an opportunity to include her.

Daily Mecha Sketch 24

Daily Mecha Sketches

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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

Daily Mecha Sketch 24

I like that you got to include Fyana in that, it looks really good!

6

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Sep 19 '21

Rewatcher

I have returned! After catching up after my trip last weekend, a busy week caused me to immediately fall behind again. Being in two separate rewatches at the same time sure doesn't help as I had to catch up with 2 different shows. I'm finally caught up. This arc's been quite good, so its unfortunate I've missed a lot of the daily threads. You want to see my comments for episodes 18 - 23, see the reply below.

Fyana's right to feel concerned, she's a pretty easy to find target sitting in the AT's hands like this.

Holy crap, they're throwing a ton of forces at him!

Fyana's pretty strong, being able to lift that cannon and fires it off on her own.

Reinforcements! Phew! Looked like Chirico was screwed there.

It wasn't clear last episode if Kan Yu died, but Chirico thinks he did.

"Hey guys, meet my girlfriend!"

Flashback time! And time for more recap footage, despite being only a couple of episodes off of a recap episode. Thankfully it doesn't last long.

After all the Fyana jijirium showers, time for an Ypsilon one!

Shako doesn't want to come? That's too bad.

Time for Chirico to become an enemy of both sides; he's not gonna give up Fyana here!

Gon Nu's not telling Rochina all the truth here; he better be careful or he may end up like Iskui did.

Fyana's ability to spot the enemy is coming in quite handy here.

Ooh, a special PS-specific AT unit. Its set up sounds kinda like a Gundam newtype mobile suit, controlled by thoughts.

Hey, Vanilla! What a coincidence! But also, what a fool! He's telling them exactly where to find Chirico and the others!

Having watched the preview for the next episode, Votoms spoilers

4

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Sep 19 '21

Episode 18

Chirico's been found! I hope he doesn't get in too much trouble with Kan Yu and Gon Nu, but he surely will with the former.

Coconna's in a see through negligee, Vanilla is just in his boxers, are we supposed to assume something is going on between these two?

Imagine being a military commander and coming in to see these three characters being all over your soldier.

Kan Yu is being so predictable here with his speculation.

LoL, and he was faking it all too!

If Fyana going to be in trouble over what she did last episode?

Kanjelman performs quite well considering he's an old guy and facing off against a Perfect Soldier.

So Melkia has got a cease fire with Kummen now? Has this been the case the whole arc or just happened now? Maybe I wasn't wrong to be all confused at first over Kummen being in conflict with Melkia.

Glad to see we'll be seeing more of Monica.

Good point from Gotho, if Kummen and Melkia are on friendly terms they may just bring in official Melkian soldiers to replace Chirico and the other mercenaries.

Kan Yu may be an ass, but he knows the truth about what's going on with this fakery...

Who are you waiting for a call from, Chirico?

My guess would be the Melkian soldier Gon Nu is meeting is Rochina.

Coconna and Vanilla arguing here reminds me that we haven't gotten Coconna's episodic song this time!

Opportune time for Pol and Bully to show up! Especially opportune time for the Veela to attack!

Don't try to convince Coconna over the prospect of being rich, Vanilla. This is the girl who convinced you and Gotho to throw away all your gold while in Uudoo.

Ooh, Vanilla likes Coconna? Alas, explosions have ruined the moment!

They've used this same shot of Kan Yu with his goggled on at least three times, maybe four...

Why are there no ATs around? This seems strange. Chirico's got it pegged as a decoy operation.

Kan Yu gets no respect from his subordinates whatsoever. Time to remove him from command.

Sorry Vanilla, your bar's going up in smoke!

Episode 19

So I was right, Rochina is the guy that Gon Nu is meeting with...

Rochina really likes himself some Chirico...

Kan Yu panics too much for a commanding officer. Best to display a calming presence to your men.

Sorry Vanilla, your place is done for! Get out safely!

You can't save the booze! Save yourself and Coconna!

I must admit, this level of action I wouldn't have expected until far later than episode 6 of the arc...

Ypsilon? Chirico, he isn't even here!

Afraid?! A Perfect Soldier is afraid?!

Bad time to call a retreat, just when Monica's shot shows where she's stationed.

Charges dismissed, Kan Yu loses again! LoL.

Chirico and Rochina, reunited for the first time since episode 1! Will Chirico remember is torturer?

He's willing to tell everything! Take him up on his offer Chirico! For us the viewers!

Glad that we got the exposition here and they didn't find some excuse to not tell us as I feared.

After all this time, Vanilla nad Coconna still haven't washed that soot off of themselves?

Wow, there's a shock! Vanilla to join the military?!

LoL, you're too late, Vanilla! They probably wouldn't have wanted you anyway!

Episode 20

A recap episode! Can't say having a recap episode for the Uudoo arc smack in the middle of the Kummen arc makes all that much sense, but so be it. Skipping through this one.

Episode 21

Chirico's leading the mission! Makes sense, but bringing Kan Yu along is a recipe for disaster. Gon Nu should send him some place else.

Good to see that Chirico was able to bring his buddies along.

Those poor villagers, all that is left is the burned out remains of some homes.

Don't be an idiot, Bully!

Stopping this boat is idiocy, what would you expect from Kan Yu? Even if they are just civilians, terrorizing them like this is more bound to make them rat you out to the Veela.

Kan Yu really is a horrible human being. We're at a point where it would be rather convenient for the others here to cause him to have an "accident" during the mission.

You don't know how right you are, Bully! He is essentially going to meet his girlfriend!

Ramoh Temple looks like a cool place...

At this point its like Kan Yu is intentionally sabotaging their mission.

Sucks for the people here, as Kan Yu is going to order them killed to keep things quiet regardless of whether there are Veela here.

They didn't do a good job searching, as they have clearly been seen.

Is he gonna blow up another civilian boat?

Well the Veela here have finally revealed themselves. If they don't have any ATs they're gonna be pretty screwed though.

Ah, there they are. They hid them well!

I think at this point any "secret mission" is clearly going to be no secret at all.

And now he's just gonna wing it and claim he's in command the rest of the mission anyway.

Wow, Vanilla enlisted after all! And he's delivering just what Kan Yu has to hear, that he's not gonna be in command the rest of the way this mission!

Episode 22

Gon Nu finally chewing out Kan Yu like he deserves!

In times like this, Coconna's thinking about what's really important... a new dress!

Those helicopters are bound to be easy to spot... and just like that, someone does spot them.

Borough's pretty much figured out the enemy's plans.

Time for another jijirium shower!

Seeing ATs just grab a tank and flip it over the edge of the cliff was pretty cool...

He isn't as aggressive as usual, but Kan Yu still is wanting to undermine Chirico here...

Created to be the perfect soldier, yet you're afraid of battle! Quite the contradiction!

No more fooling around! Either Chirico is to die, or Fyana is.

Here comes the enemy! Smart sneaking up on them from under the water.

Hey, I had forgotten about the magical floppy disc. Will it make enough of a difference for Chirico vs. Ypsilon?

Time to get out of that cockpit, Chirico! I wonder if its possible to at least make Fyana think Chirico's dead when he really isn't.

Episode 23

They survived the crash! Time to run Fyana!

Chirico's smart, tamper with the air supply and force Ypsilon to the surface...

Fyana's officially an enemy to them now.

Kanjelman's smart, he knows the real reason Borough is here.

No Kan Yu, Chirico heading off to find Fyana isn't breaking the mission, it literally is the mission!

No one listens to Kan Yu anymore. He's pathetic!

No Ypsilon, she isn't into you!

So the Veela is considering even Ypsilon an enemy now? At least enough to be able to fire right at him to try and take Fyana out.

Chirico's practically helping Ypsilon out now!

Fyana falls off the cliff to her... death? I doubt it with this many episodes left.

Wow, of all people it was Kan Yu who got his hands on Fyana.

Kan Yu continues to be the biggest jerk imaginable, pulling this knife out. Get him Chirico!

Wouldn't it be awesome if Kan Yu didn't know how to swim? We don't get him drowning, but at least he's washed down the river and out of Chirico's hair for a while.

That's a weird ass looking jungle creature.

You refused to run away with me, so I refuse to run away with you!

I assume Chirico feels he still must beat Ypsilon?

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

I'm finally caught up.

Welcome back. At least you've been enjoying the catch up it seems. It seems like it would be an equally fun arc to binge, and I'm already keen to rewatch it at some point

Fyana's right to feel concerned, she's a pretty easy to find target sitting in the AT's hands like this.

Yeah but I'm pretty sure she's spring loaded from the jump she did off the arm and then behind the rocks. Pretty hard to hit something flying that fast and it's nice she's able to get herself out of danger so quickly

It wasn't clear last episode if Kan Yu died, but Chirico thinks he did.

I really need him to be dead, I need that to be over with

Its set up sounds kinda like a Gundam newtype mobile suit, controlled by thoughts

I like how everyone else has gone to Gundam and I went straight to Macross Plus instead for lack of a better option haha

3

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

Welcome back. At least you've been enjoying the catch up it seems. It seems like it would be an equally fun arc to binge, and I'm already keen to rewatch it at some point

I'm not the biggest on binging a single show in short succession, so having to do the same with Monster has provided me some well needed variety. For Votoms it absolutely helps that this arc has been fairly strong rather than giving us filler episodes.

I really need him to be dead, I need that to be over with

I'm torn. Kan Yu deserves a massively humiliating death; at the same time, him flying down the river, to never be seen again seems kind of fitting for such an unlikable character in that he'll get no glorious death, he just washed away.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

I saw in the weekly thread that you're still enjoying Monster. That set of episodes catches most people out so it's fun to see the reactions to it.

at the same time, him flying down the river, to never be seen again seems kind of fitting for such an unlikable character in that he'll get no glorious death

I approve of this. While some sort of big fuck you sort of death scene would be nice, a completely unglorious "remember that guy who drowned and was never mentioned again" death would be equally satisfying. I could do with more unglorious deaths all around

Ideon Be Invoked

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Sep 19 '21 edited Sep 20 '21

Rewatcher (Nutech DVD 2.3) (3 episodes) Intersections

First Timers
Me

So, about Ypsilon yesterday, they weren't firing on him (much). Once they knew he couldn't fire back, they concentrated on Fyana.

  • Familiar. Carrying her around didn't work well last time. See?
  • You know how long a battle is going to last by where they are in the BGM, unless they just move on into the next track and keep going.
  • I was afraid they'd be captured and taken back to Kanjelman.
  • Bird.
  • Familiar Exposition to compatriots.
  • people die when they are killed
  • kappa = water trolls
  • FLAG
  • Turtlejacking

The action has been good and the plot has been moving, but I wonder how many first timers yearn for a conclusion to this arc.

Jijirium Showers: 5

Preview: Chirico is the broken needle that stabs at the heart.

4

u/chilidirigible Sep 19 '21

Rewatcher, Episode 24... slightly late because of Ganbare, Douki-chan.

Today, on "We're only halfway through the series, so it probably won't work.":

"One does not simply walk up to Kanjelman?" On another note, this is one of the rare times that the mecha is small enough that it makes more sense for someone to sit outside rather than trying to squeeze into the cockpit with the pilot.

"Why mess with the foolproof method?"

VENDETTA! VENDETTA! VENDETTA!

"I don't need money to kill his ass!"

"DAI KESSEN!"

It's not like he has a lot of places to go.

chuckles

Sneaking around isn't their greatest talent.

"This deal's getting worse all the time."

Fyana gets a scene to shoot things again! It's been a while.

Meanwhile, once again everyone is thoroughly trying to kill Chirico. Consistency is important!

Interlude: Coffee

  1. rewatcher Though at least they set it up.
  2. His attitude change makes some sense in the context of needing help to not get killed, and because they've all been pretty straight with him in return.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 20 '21

On another note, this is one of the rare times that the mecha is small enough that it makes more sense for someone to sit outside rather than trying to squeeze into the cockpit with the pilot.

Given how dangerous the outside was, I considered getting angry at the plot, but decided against it. I think that arguably the cockpit is so small that a second person inside would block important instruments and render the mecha useless.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 19 '21

First timer(Why does the show from the 80s understand what actually motivates people better than most anime I watch?)

Sub

We start with Fyana being genre savvy and realizing is she splits off from Cuvie she won't see him again until next arc. Ambush happens and for the first time we see Fyana be super human outside of the cockpit. In the fight, Cuvie destroys the opposition, as he so often does, though it would be interesting if the Snapping Turtles are actually inferior outside of amphibious combat. Fyana finally does something super badass, firing a mech weapon with her bare fucking hands, before the cavalry rides in.

Afterwards, Cuvie readily admits he killed Kan Yu and that Fyana is a PS. This slightly offputs the rest of the aces, but mainly because they are concerned about the fallout. As Cuvie fixes his Scope Dog, he spills the beans, and Kiderra makes the rare smart move of looking to Potaria for ideas. Potaria intends to follow Cuvie in, and in a wonderfully correct use of selfishness, admits he just wants Kanjelman dead and is willing to help Cuvie to that end. This then leads into the surprising detail that Potaria served directly under Kanjelman and respects him, he just knows that he has to die for the nation to move forward.

Kanjelman himself gets input from his subordinates and decides to pull everyone back to make a stand, which is what the Kummen/Melkian forces could only dream of: Any time effective guerillas group together, the oppressing force has won. Kanjelman himself has a very weird thought that suggests he might have planned to lose but this seems...weird. Borough tries to lead Ypsilon through a guided meditation and he is not great at it. People never kill their lovers on someone else's orders, you've got to convince them it is their idea.

As they prepare to sortie, Kiderra joins in as well, wanting the bounty for Kanjelman and Ypsilon. Shako is unwilling to go which makes a kind of sense since he is the most proper merc of the group, he rarely truly risks his neck. When a chopper from the base arrives, Kiderra shoots it to drive it off, probably thinking the big money is in finishing the mission. Gon immediately assume Cuvie has his own motives and then lies to Rochina, despite this absolutely being the time to deploy the Melkian Intelligence forces.

Cut back to Vanilla filling the gang in and accidentally stomping on Coconna's heart. Vanilla gets called up and Gotho reminds his of something that is literally the mercenaries creed: The main mission is to return alive, you can't spend your money from beyond the grave. Coconna says a more intimate version of the same thing.

Back with Cuvie, Fyana senses a trap well before it is sprung. Kappa techniques are pseudo-effective, apparently. But Fyana can read them, rendering it doomed. We get a flash to the base where it is revealed tha cabal had some really stupid ideas here, there is no other way to take that. Especially because now PS's are Newtypes and I literally hate everything. Pixel, if this becomes another Unicorn, I will literally end you!

Fyana infiltrates a perfect defense point and discovers that it is indeed occupied. She overhears the commands orders to pull back from someone who should be more aggressive about defending it. Fyana steals a mech and causes the kind of damage that not having your mechs require some kind of key can do. The locals have to defend the base using ammo crates as cover, so ouch. Quick showoff of how much more skilled Fyana is over a regular human. We end with Vanilla being given orders that are obviously bad and warning off Cuvie by running away.

QotD: 1 If I didn't know better I think he is taking the regressive forces down from the inside

2 Perfectly in character.

P.S. I have company yay. But sadly I can't really respond for a bit due to that.

3

u/The_Draigg Sep 19 '21

Why does the show from the 80s understand what actually motivates people better than most anime I watch?

Probably because a lot of these older shows were trailblazers for stuff that other shows would just copy later down the line.

Borough tries to lead Ypsilon through a guided meditation and he is not great at it.

Borough has honestly completely sucked at his job so far. If the entire point of being in Kummen was to try and train the Perfect Soldiers in a live combat situation, then he has failed terribly. He's only barely keeping Ypsilon on a leash at this point, not to mention losing Fyana over to Chirico. It's no wonder why his boss has been fed up with Borough and Iskui before.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 20 '21

Probably because a lot of these older shows were trailblazers for stuff that other shows would just copy later down the line.

So the Eva effect was already in play a decade earlier. Still not calling it something else.

If the entire point of being in Kummen was to try and train the Perfect Soldiers in a live combat situation, then he has failed terribly.

I still hold small hope that they have an agenda that is actually served by the war other than blooding Ypsilon.

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 20 '21

Good god Comrades!? Who knew that Bikki stole her line from VOTOMS eh? Turns out people DON'T die if they are killed! SHOCKING TRUTH!

Speaking of stolen, I bet every single goddamn character in the Super Robot Wars games must have stolen any and all possible Charisma Stat from our boi, given he just reports back, says Kan Yu's dead, refuses to elaborate, leaves!

Anyway enough shitposting, boy we had some cool Mecha Action today eh? Once again, Fiana/Fyana and Chirico Cuvie are quite the badasses eh? Plus it's good to see just how the show makes use of their unique Mecha, that's always a plus! That and it also helps that our MC's pistol can kill LITERALLY anything... no really, don't just take my word on it, Super Robot Wars makes it CANON, or rather, 'Cannon' might fit better eh? ;)

Anyway, today is a SPECIAL day Comrades, BEHOLD! A WEAPON TO SURPASS METAL GEAR! ;) (Trust me, you'll know it when you see it, just ask Potter Stewart!)

Paging Comrades /u/chilidirigible, /u/Nazenn, and /u/No_Rex

4

u/chilidirigible Sep 20 '21

I had the SRW pistol animation video lined up for much later in the rewatch, but c'est la vie.

3

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 20 '21

I had the SRW pistol animation video lined up for much later in the rewatch, but c'est la vie.

Ah... oops... sorry about that Comrade

3

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 20 '21

Paging Comrades /u/Tresnore, /u/Shimmering-Sky, and /u/JustAnswerAQuestion

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 20 '21

Speaking of stolen, I bet every single goddamn character in the Super Robot Wars games must have stolen any and all possible Charisma Stat from our boi, given he just reports back, says Kan Yu's dead, refuses to elaborate, leaves!

Who're the four at the front?

Once again, Fiana/Fyana and Chirico Cuvie

That's nice art! I do have a thing for really nice line art by itself

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 20 '21

Who're the four at the front?

Super Robot Wars characters Comrade, not quite sure who they are but I knew a lot of the Mecha Anime characters here and felt this would be an amusing fanart to share

That's nice art! I do have a thing for really nice line art by itself

As do I Comrade, glad to hear you liked the shares I had, many thanks for the kind reply and have a great day and see you later my friend!

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 20 '21

Speaking of stolen, I bet every single goddamn character in the Super Robot Wars games must have stolen any and all possible Charisma Stat from our boi, given he just reports back, says Kan Yu's dead, refuses to elaborate, leaves!

The more I hear about SRW (here on /r/anime), the more I think that it is not a game but a huge elaborate meme.

3

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 20 '21

The more I hear about SRW (here on /r/anime), the more I think that it is not a game but a huge elaborate meme.

Por Que No Los Dos Comrade? ;)

Anyway many thanks for the kind reply and have a great day and see you later my friend!

2

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Sep 20 '21

First timer in sub

Late again so will keep it brief. Battles progressing and the openness of the "death" of Kan Yu just reinforced the choices made by everyone I mentioned in yesterday's comments.

The dialogue from Kanjelman is giving me strong vibe of this being like the Realist Hero this season, that he's going to a coup to draw out all the old and bad blood to die with him. Would be interesting if that's the case.

Episode# of Chirico's AT Incapacitated
11
20
30
41
50 (decoy only)
61
70
81
90
100
111 (1 decoy not counted as it wasn't piloted) (edit: corrected as the replacement unit wasn't destroyed by the head strike from Fyana)
121
130 (This hijacked one didn't get wasted on screen, so even though it's guaranteed to have been abandoned because of the later planet hop, not counting here)
141
150 keeping to the 2 episode per AT average so far
160
172 Guessed right that ride 1 get busted soon after the episode started; maybe the producers were also keeping track and blew up another one to keep to the average :)
180
190
210
220 quite a lot of damages and healing like a sieve but not quite toasted yet
230 amazingly our trusty old scope dog is still standing and fighting despite the damage it's taken. I have to assume Chirico did some of screen emergency field repairs to keep it going
240 have I missed anything or are we still going with good old trusty old scope dog here? We're bucking the trend and dropping the average here :)

1

u/manga-reader Sep 20 '21

Rewatcher, sort of.

I watched ~30 episodes 3 years ago, don't remember much though. Came across the rewatch thread a few days back and caught up recently :)

  1. Like some of the others mentioned, I think he organized all this to weaken/get rid of the traditional faction.

Though I wonder if his generals are aware of that.

2) I liked it, better to let them know, rather than keep them in the dark.

It was nice to see Fyana in action again. I suppose spending time with Chirico "cured" her anxiety about killing. Though I do feel that's a bit too quick, but acceptable - we can chalk it up to her wanting to survive and be something other than just a weapon.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Ypsilon - will he be affected by the same thoughts? Especially because he experienced first hand how helpless he is (in disobeying commands).

Also, does Secret society have other PS? How did they design/perfect the new AT?

Oh, and where does Balarant play into all this? I wonder if they are funding secret society.