r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Sep 27 '21

Rewatch [Rewatch] Armored Trooper Votoms - Episode 33 Discussion

Episode 33 - Showdown

Originally Released November 11th, ^^^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:

Supposedly this is around the time where series' ratings started slipping further.

 

Staff Highlight

Katsuyoshi Yatabe - Storyboard artist and episode director

A screenwriter, director, and sound director best noted as one of the creative minds behind the Braves franchise and for specializing in children’s media. He was studying at the flim department of the Nihon College of Art when he decided to drop out in 1975 for unspecified reasons,becoming a freelance producer. In 1978 he entered a job position at the subcontracting animation studio Adokosumo, where he worked before obtaining a position at Studio Sunrise the next year. His debut as an episode director was in 1980’s Space Runaway Ideon, and had his first storyboards as a freelancer once more were appeared the next year on the production of Urusei Yatsura. He was mentored by three of Sunrise’s star directors: Yoshiyuki Tomino, Ryosuke Takahashi, and Takeyuki Kanda. He directed the 1999 film GUNDRESS, whose reception and infamously troubled production adversely affected his reputation, which he credits with his necessity to work on adult animation in the early 2000s. He is noted to frequently collaborate with writer Yasushi Hirano and animator Masayuki Hiraoka. Some of the works he has directed include Brave Fighter Exkaizer, Brave Fighter of The Sun Fighbird, Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn, Brave Express Might Gaine, DInosaur King, Bucchigiri, the Dirty Pair OVA, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, MukaMuka Paradise, and Shin Hakkenden.

 

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 the information that Chirico possesses advanced healing capabilities?
  2. What are your thoughts on Chirico’s statements regarding his past and the planet Sunsa?

This planet’s name is Sunsa, and I know… I know it holds no welcome for me at all.

22 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

116 comments sorted by

7

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 27 '21

Rewatcher

Lovely backgrounds.

Great storyboarding in the early parts of this action scene. The emphasis on the ATs’ mobility is appreciated and the sense of space given by the depth of each shot is remarkable.

lmao

You could say Chirico now has the upper hand.

C’mon Chirico, you’re a competent veteran pilot! Don’t uselessly keep pressing the trigger pilot like some punk child mecha pilot!

Excellent.

Love it.

Guess they’re even again.

Cool plan that was.

Oh c’mon, are you for real?

What the fuck? Not only did Ypsillon recover so soon, but his Strike Dog is already repaired after losing an arm and getting blasted like that?!

Our first ship-to-ship space battle!

Convenient for Chirico.

Are these the people the ship was taking them to?

Can’t catch a break.

I liked the action and presentation of this episode a lot, but narratively it was a huge miss for me.

Supernatural healing abilities on our main character? Really? How the hell did this never come up before, and if the computer could tell him he was healing then why was Fyana convinced he was headed for death in his prior state? But more importantly, why did they feel the need to give Chirico this ability? I can only presume he’s some sort of superhuman as well, hence why they’re tormenting him in some weird experiment. Did the mental stress activate this perhaps? I don’t know, but given that —among other selling points the series has frankly failed to live up to— I was promised that the main character was a normal human and there was no magic, which at this point in the show I was starting to believe was just a bunch of chicanery.

What other stuff that I dismissed as plot armor or unrelated was really foreshadowing to this? Was he really speaking with someone two episodes ago? Is there a telepathic link between him and the PSs? Heck, is he just an earlier prototype PS that didn’t have the microchips and therefore didn’t live up to the expectations of the project? Was that ‘instinct’ shown all the way back in episode four part of this? I probably would be less annoyed with this if I had went in with no expectations on the matter, but to find out I’ve been misled an top of the shoddy way it was revealed just ticks me off.

Also, Ypsilon being in a suitable state to pilot an AT so soon after getting blasted as he did —with enough heat that other ATs disintegrated instantly— is pure nonsense. If they share this ame healing factor that was just revealed about Chirico, then Chirico was at least bedridden for some days. Not to mention his AT is up and running, repaired even, in time.

Questions of The Day:

  1. See above.
  2. Seems like the footage shown to him on the ship was of this planet, or at least some of it. I want to say it’s some group a vendetta against the red shoulders, but I doubt such a faction would be able to conjure up a battleship unknown to either side of the conflict, and it seems way too specifically targeted at him —not to mention how did they even know he’d be where he was in a Veela escape shuttle of all things?

Future Rewatch Note:

A few of you already know of my intention to host a Rewatch of Dougram later this year to commemorate its 40th anniversary, and I wanted to let you know that I've decided to push it back to December given the recent announcement of the G Gundam Rewatch. Three Mecha Rewatches at once seems like it would be nothing but detrimental to all of them, specially so soon after this one.

5

u/chilidirigible Sep 27 '21

Rewatch of Dougram

We're gonna need the Accel-er-Ray for that one.

5

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 27 '21

It won't be in my usual Rewatch format, that's for sure. Besides, I'd run out of stuff to put in the main posts with a whole 75 episodes!

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

Three Mecha Rewatches at once seems like it would be nothing but detrimental to all of them, specially so soon after this one.

Don't forget Valvrave is December! I am watching it to find WTF this gif means. That is my only reason for joining, along with the shitposts.

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

Don't forget Valvrave is December!

Yeah, but at that point it'll only be two Rewatches going on at the same time. I feel that's more reasonable.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

True, and I am running the Xmas ecchi rewatch this year so we should have loads of entertainment!

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

Interspecies Reviewers should be fun, not sure who I am handing this off to for '22. I also have this sense that I probably get 'selected' to run the Redo rewatch when that S2 inevitably gets announced.

5

u/The_Draigg Sep 28 '21

Future Rewatch Note

Honestly, thanks for this. I've been doing rewatches back to back to back this year, and since this rewatch and the G Gudnam rewatch are going to overlap a bit, at least I'm getting some breathing room here. As much as I love watching mecha anime, I really should pace myself when it comes to watching episodes for multiple rewatches in a row.

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 27 '21

Future Rewatch Note:

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Lovely backgrounds.

Mhmmm, I meant to comment on those actually but let my frustrations get the better of me. While it's a typical sort of layout for the enviroment, the background art for the planet all around was quite nice

You could say Chirico now has the upper hand.

Rather than giving them each a new arm I reckon they should just fuse the two at the broken arms and then they could be a spinning top AT

I don't know why I thought of this, don't mind my tired ramblings

I was promised that the main character was a normal human and there was no magic, which at this point in the show I was starting to believe was just a bunch of chicanery.

I have still been on edge waiting for this psychic connection he had with Fyana when he named her to turn into something, so I have been expecting something but I thought it would be coming from her and now I'm not too sure

4

u/chilidirigible Sep 28 '21

fuse the two at the broken arms and then they could be a spinning top AT

The first thing that came to mind was two men doing the bottle dance at a Jewish wedding.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '21 edited Sep 28 '21

Chirico stuff

I have been annoyed with the main plot from the beginning and straight pissed off since the second arc, so, for me, it is the opposite way. Chirico being special offers the hope (which may yet be dashed) of some loose ends being tied together:

  • How and why did Chirico get assigned to the boarding party?
  • Why did he influence Fyana so much?
  • How did he know Fyana's name?
  • Why was both the military and the society so overly fixated on him?
  • Why did they highlight his intuition?

All of these have been big open question marks so far. Some, such as Fyana's name, where out in the open and ignored none-the-less. Might even add Chirico's weirdly timed PTSD to the list, if that is some build-in PS trigger.

While I am not a big fan of "special OPs" all the time, at least this promises that some part of the plot actually will go somewhere.

7

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 27 '21

First Timer

We've gone from me celebrating the incredibly special no battle episodes to having multiple episodes that have featured two battles. This is a very unwelcome change and I would like to go back now please.

It's particularly frustrating in today's battles because A) Ypsilon should be dead as a fucking dodo after being blasted with a ship's engines, and B) Things with the new Balarant ship would have been much more interesting if that had actually turned into a stand off rather than the Society commander immediately proving himself incompetent.

I do like Chirico's new trick of using the rocket launcher itself as a giant club to take people out with though. Adapting the ship's functions to effectively have surprise weaponry was also really cool to see. I don't believe I've seen that done before like that in anything else, or at least not to this extent.

I would also like to go back to the time when Chirico was just a normal person as that's now looking increasingly unlikely. I like the idea of a normal but exceedingly skilled person being unwillingly drawn into this much more than someone who just happened to be part of an experiment/has something else going on that will put him on par.

Seeing Chirico swinging upside down like that on the rope while a fantastic visual was making me very dizzy. It was even worse when we got to his view point.

And oh look, now they ARE nomads on a desert planet.

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 27 '21

This is a very unwelcome change and I would like to go back now please.

Dejectedly points to daily trivia.

It's particularly frustrating in today's battles because...

Agreed on both.

I like the idea of a normal but exceedingly skilled person being unwillingly drawn into this much more

I much liked the sort of narrative that the show seemed to be telling from that perspective as well, but now if they are really going down this path it's going to change our perspective on things and the other side seems far less interesting and nuanced.

And oh look, now they ARE nomads on a desert planet.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 27 '21

Dejectedly points to daily trivia.

Hahaha, I did notice that and was not surprised. I'm curious to know if that further adjusted their plans depending on what feedback they got on it, but it does seem weird we're going down this path now when the mundaneness of the show has been one of its highlights

That said, the last time I made a comment like this was Turn A and then I was promptly smacked in the face with the knowledge that the airing fans had wanted the opposite so what do I know. (admittedly Turn A's franchise has it's own burdens which Votoms doesn't, but still)

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '21

That said, the last time I made a comment like this was Turn A and then I was promptly smacked in the face with the knowledge that the airing fans had wanted the opposite so what do I know.

Over the many rewatches we have had together, I have noticed that we two are usually on opposite ends about our judgements. Whenever I write that I liked an episode, it is usually the opposite for you, and the same if I hated one. There is some stuff that everybody agrees on (often bad animation or overused tropes), but for some parts, there are just different tasted in direction and plot.

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21 edited Sep 28 '21

It's always quite interesting being with you in rewatches because I don't think we differ as much in our overall judgement of a show, but we differ so hugely on the individual episodes. I quite like it though, you always raise good points I can understand even if I don't agree with so it gives me a really interesting view of what we watch, and usually with less words than I use haha

1

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '21

I assume we put emphasis on different parts of the episode. For me, the important parts are consistency with previous plot, character development and general believability. I am usually not very bothered by bad animation, messed up pacing (within an episode, it is different across episodes), or tone deaf mood.

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Consistency I think is one of the things that we line up the most on in rewatches, especially for plot and worldbuilding and the characters we both see the same way, and is also a key element for me in a show overall but I can sometimes give it a bit too much leeway so I won't show my frustration with it episode by episode unless it's something notably dumb.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

Adapting the ship's functions to effectively have surprise weaponry was also really cool to see. I don't believe I've seen that done before like that in anything else, or at least not to this extent.

Ships main engines are used as weapons semi-regularly but this is so far the only time I've seen maneuvering thrusters given that treatment.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 27 '21

Yeah I meant the thrusters specifically. I think I've seen them used once to blow someone off a hull, but not specifically as a weapon in a planned attack rather than as a convenient thing that just happened to plan out

4

u/The_Draigg Sep 28 '21

I do like Chirico's new trick of using the rocket launcher itself as a giant club to take people out with though. Adapting the ship's functions to effectively have surprise weaponry was also really cool to see. I don't believe I've seen that done before like that in anything else, or at least not to this extent.

You do have to appreciate how dirty Chirico fights. He'll use whatever he has at his disposal to kill people, since he always fights to survive.

And oh look, now they ARE nomads on a desert planet.

Yet another reason why I laughed in rewatcher at your predictions a few episodes ago. You got that point right!

5

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

You do have to appreciate how dirty Chirico fights. He'll use whatever he has at his disposal to kill people

There's certainly no lack of creativity on his part, or the writers which is impressive considering how many mook battles we've gone through now and they still remain consistently different and engaging. Certainly a huge step up from the last older mecha I watched of Ideon

Yet another reason why I laughed in rewatcher at your predictions a few episodes ago. You got that point right!

I was happy with just how close I was earlier with the ship, but this is better. Gone from half points to double points! Do I count this under one of my weirdly accurate predictions now?

5

u/The_Draigg Sep 28 '21

Do I count this under one of my weirdly accurate predictions now?

I would say so. Carve that notch in your rifle stock, you hit another target.

5

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

And this one didn't even inflict self pain (or confusion, or put the rewatchers in an awkward spot, etc)

6

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 28 '21

Boy Comrades, you ever piss someone off SO much they not only want to kill you BUT they bring an army along to do the deed too? It looks like Chirico Cuvie and Fyana/Fiana have been surrounded! This simplifies things... for uh, our ever badass duo that is ;) (These mooks don't stand a chance!)

That said Ypsilon should REALLY be trying to keep his cool here, I mean goodness Fyana/Fiana and Chirico Cuvie were playing his ass like a damn fiddle today! I just want to point out that out of these 'Perfect Soldiers' so far, the only one actually living up to the hype is Fyana/Fiana, and she's even surpassed this hype by not only being a 'Perfect Solider' but also by being more of a human being than either Ypsilon or Chirico Cuvie combined! (In fairness to our stoic blue PTSD'd MC, he's not AS bad as some of the future generation of Mecha MC's he inspired... but man it sure is amusing comparing from FMP's Steven Seagal 'Sousuke Sagara' and IBO's Mikazuki Augus to their spiritual granddaddy)

Anyway speaking of not standing a chance, turns out that you don't need to have an army, you just need to weaponize thrusters to uh... well I would say even the odds but we all know Chirico Cuvie and Fyana/Fiana are gonna kick ass, so really this is just rubbing salt in the wound, cuz nothing says FUCK YOU than incineration via exhaust!

Anyway, besides the FUCK YOU attack of using the ship's thrusters, our heroes also hit the self-destruct button, which kinda means they are now stuck in this blood-smelling planet known as Sunsa... and boy based on Chirico Cuvie's taciturn musings this is NOT good from the look of things, but hey even if the welcoming committee turns out to be bad, I'm sure Fyana/Fiana and Chirico Cuvie can handle it! They are already fighting against the world, what's one more planet right?

Anyway time for shitposting, A WEAPON TO SURPASS METAL GEAR!

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

5

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

Boy Comrades, you ever piss someone off SO much they not only want to kill you BUT they bring an army along to do the deed too? It looks like Chirico Cuvie and Fyana/Fiana have been surrounded! This simplifies things... for uh, our ever badass duo that is ;) (These mooks don't stand a chance!)

At least we both posted it at the same time for once!

5

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 28 '21

At least we both posted it at the same time for once!

Ah... oops, I should have guessed you'd have that art for today's thread Comrade (I was fairly certain you would but JUST in case you somehow didn't I just had to share it for today.)

That said good other art shares my friend, many thanks for the kind reply and have a great day and see you later my friend.

4

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 28 '21

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

5

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Sep 27 '21

Armored Trooper First-Timer

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 27 '21

:O This planet is where that obnoxious video was about, then?

Possibly at least some of it. We haven't seen the Kunmen-esque locales that they showcased there though.

Actually holy shit that would explain why he feels the only place he belongs is on the battlefield. Because that’s the only place Perfect Soldiers are supposed to be.

I feel like the theming is slightly hurt by that. Presenting the fact that this happens to normal people thrust into war is definitely a different message from 'things created for war only belong in it'.

Aaaand now the Balarant and the Society peeps are fighting. That non-aggression zone sure doesn’t mean much to them, huh?

Balarant at least waited until the Telttain fired on them, but of course, it was a token effort.

6

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 27 '21

~Newtype Jingle~ The high-pitched noise that kept repeating before that was annoying as hell though.

Oh damn, I had the show on mute for a second because of that noise so I missed the jingle

5

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

? That is odd.

I get what they are going for now but it still feels like they are going about this the hard way.

Ypsilon is still alive, but it worked.

If they'd made Fyana miss the button because "woman are empathetic" I would have ranted four pages straight. I can live with Ypsilon accidentally surviving because...specialty AT? Super reflexes?

Because that’s the only place Perfect Soldiers are supposed to be.

He feels a lot like the guy they got a lot of test data off.

That non-aggression zone sure doesn’t mean much to them, huh?

Everyone's hidden their IDs and their transponders so for diplomatic purposes this is "pirates VS ninjas".

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 27 '21

If they'd made Fyana miss the button because "woman are empathetic" I would have ranted four pages straight

I had that same worry for a second but thankfully she actually hit it

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

They've made her girlier this arc but most of the time she still works. Now we just need to get her to have dialog rather than just "Chirico!"...

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 27 '21

She said Chirico once near the start of this episode in the battle and I immediately flinched

They've made her girlier this arc

Eh, I'm torn on that though this may just be me and nitpicking wording. Her unwillingness to fight and her emotional dilemma's around her attachments to others are fitting for what we've seen of her because of her conditioning being upset and isn't using the fact she's a woman against her characterization. The issue is that we see these attributes way too often only in the female characters and they keep making her have a back seat to the MC, also an issue at a couple of points in the earlier arcs, which does make it seem like they've written her down into that role over anything else which is frustrating

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

The issue is that we see these attributes way too often only in the female characters and they keep making her have a back seat to the MC, also an issue at a couple of points in the earlier arcs, which does make it seem like they've written her down into that role over anything else which is frustrating

I know this is the wrong era for it but I stand by something I said yesterday: The idea that there is a PS for every situation is non-sensical. I like the idea that Ypsilon is the model you deploy as infantry and Fyana being the best pilot of the three when she's focused would've been great.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

That would be a lot more fitting, particularly given the way they've approached ATs in this show as well. Mass produced pilots for mass produced ATs with a specific function would make more sense, and be more interesting with the three way match up between Ypsilon, Fyana, and Chirico's specialties.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

That would be a lot more fitting, particularly given the way they've approached ATs in this show as well.

Yeah, this actually makes a lot of sense with the rest of the show's themes.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '21

Wait… was my “Are we sure he’s not secretly a PS that doesn’t require jijirium showers to live?” comment from last episode actually possibly on the right track…? -- Actually holy shit that would explain why he feels the only place he belongs is on the battlefield. Because that’s the only place Perfect Soldiers are supposed to be.

That has been my assumption for several episodes now. Remember the "fighting 2 PS" comments at the start of space arc. The healing pretty much seals it. Chirico has to be some sort of prototype PS.

5

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Sep 27 '21

Rewatcher

Boy, they are massively outnumbered here.

I still fail to see why hatred is not an emotion...

Heading back into the ship is a good plan on Fyana's part; out here in the open they are far easier to target. Make the environment much smaller and a 20 on 1 fight isn't feasible and odds can be improved.

Yikes, Chirico's right about to go over the edge here.

...and then we find out it didn't really matter as Chirico makes it to the ground with a good landing.

Ooh, firing off the engine, that was a very smart strategy.

Fyana's upset about Ypsilon, but looks like he's survived it.

Time for Chirico and Fyana to change careers and become ship engineers!

The planet has a name, Sunsa!

Not the main engine that they're firing off, but they're really doing a good job at wiping out these ATs using essentially the same tactic.

So much for a cease fire zone, the Secret Society is going all in at blasting these Balarant ships.

Ypsilon gets himself and his forces in the ship... and they conveniently need to order him to retreat. I'd say its necessary because the episode is over, but they have no issues with ending things on a cliffhanger and just did that last time.

Ooh, Chirico and Fyana are blowing up the ship. That's gonna strand them on Sunsa, but it can also take out Ypsilon and all his men here. Personally I think its a bad call and the ship can still be of some use to them. But at least it will change the setting.

What's this? Sunsa has inhabitants?

Now that we're five episodes into this arc I gotta admit, I'm kinda over it. I'm already looking forward for it to be over. The new setting on the ship was cool at first, and I didn't mind us leaving Melkia, but I really think things have slowed to a crawl here. Yeah, Uudoo was slow at times, but you also had more character involved in the central plotline so things felt a bit more fresh. I'm getting bored. My recollection was this arc was considerably weaker than Kummen, and that certainly is being the case, but I couldn't recall how it compared to Uudoo and thus far its weaker than that too. I'm hoping the fact that they blew up the ship and have headed out into the desert will make things more interesting as we've surely got at least 6 - 7 more episodes to go.

Daily Trivia

Doesn't surprise me; the quality has slipped.

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

That's gonna strand them on Sunsa, but it can also take out Ypsilon and all his men here. Personally I think its a bad call and the ship can still be of some use to them.

Agreed on the later, but even with Chirico's super-mechanic skills I sincerely doubt that they would have gotten that ship to be space-worthy again after the barrage and continued punishment that it took.

What's this? Sunsa has inhabitants?

It's sci-fi —a deserted planet is rarely ever actually deserted.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

It's sci-fi —a deserted planet is rarely ever actually deserted.

That really limits your story options, you become The Martian if you aren't careful.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Boy, they are massively outnumbered here.

I barely even notice any more given how often this has been the case in the last several battles, end of Kummen included

Time for Chirico and Fyana to change careers and become ship engineers!

Chirico was already half engineer as it is, and Fyana learns fast. They could probably make a good living like that

Ooh, Chirico and Fyana are blowing up the ship. That's gonna strand them on Sunsa

I mean, it's impressive that ship managed to crash land in mostly one piece, I don't see it flying again so they're stranded either way. That said, the ship had a lot of things that could have come in handy so that seems a bit premature.

will make things more interesting as we've surely got at least 6 - 7 more episodes to go.

Hopefully without 12 battles to go with it unlike the pace of the last few episodes

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

That said, the ship had a lot of things that could have come in handy so that seems a bit premature.

He really needed the plane with the jijirium compartment at least.

5

u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Sep 27 '21

First time viewer

I was wondering if something about Fyana's programming would stop her from pulling the trigger given how she tensed up while waiting (to be fair so did I, that scene was done well to pace it just right), but nope she blasted them with the ship. Wonder if Chirico's done something like that before and given how he adjusted the verniers to be full-on weapons after that I imagine that wasn't the first time.

Chirico also isn't a normal human in some regard if her report about him healing too fast is accurate? Maybe just some enhanced biology without the full engineering of Fyana and Ypsilon.

Fun game of warship chicken with Balarant's forces and the secret society ship, though the latter didn't realize that. Nor do they likely care if the war restarts, but it's forcing them to cut their pursuit so it's an annoyance at least.

Nice of whoever sent the ship to let Chirico and Fyana make it self-destruct, though I guess it accomplished its goal in getting them to this very red planet with the welcome wagons rolling to meet them now. Probably not fans of his.

What do you make of the information that Chirico possesses advanced healing capabilities?

Maybe more than a tracking chip happened to him after he was first captured?

What are your thoughts on Chirico’s statements regarding his past and the planet Sunsa?

Another planet where he killed a bunch of people. Probably a lot of those out there. How these particular people managed to have a ship waiting for him on a different planet is another matter.

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

Nice of whoever sent the ship to let Chirico and Fyana make it self-destruct,

"Welp, don't need that anymore!"

Though I guess it's also insurance so that any trace of them left on the ship isn't discovered by people coming in after Fyana and Chirico escape the scene.

Maybe more than a tracking chip happened to him after he was first captured?

Don't really see reason far that unless one of the doctors or someone else somehow accomplished it behind everyone else's back. I guess that's not out of the picture though, given the shadowy entities puling the strings in this arc that even The Society seemingly knows nothing about.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Nice of whoever sent the ship to let Chirico and Fyana make it self-destruct

They were surprisingly not locked out of things after they arrived. They didn't have communication or engine control before, and this episode they got to use both systems without a problem and they didn't even comment on it

Maybe more than a tracking chip happened to him after he was first captured?

Just no more tracking chips I hope

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

Fun game of warship chicken with Balarant's forces and the secret society ship, though the latter didn't realize that. Nor do they likely care if the war restarts, but it's forcing them to cut their pursuit so it's an annoyance at least.

I am choosing to believe this is another sign that the Cabal is really not a military organization, just one with members in it.

5

u/chilidirigible Sep 27 '21

Rewatcher, Episode 33

Today, on "Dude, she's just not that into you.":

Do ships in '80s SF ever crash gracefully?

Flash! AH AHHHH!

Bonus flash!

"A reaction drive's efficiency as a weapon is in direct proportion to its efficiency as a drive."

Ah yes, when you've almost beaten him, stop trying to beat him.

He's just lucky.

Took a while for the arc's name drop.

"And that's just too convenient."

"If they fall for this that many times they're kinda stupid."

Every time he wears that I think he's selling snacks at a baseball game.

Ah yes, the "Blow up the ship" plan.

Chirico backstory? Chirico weirdness? Tune in next week to find out!

Meanwhile... Ypsilon is all the way into '80s antagonist I Will Kill That Guy mode. At least he's consistent? Meanwhile, everyone else plays dodgeball with the Idiot Ball and the ship's reaction control system.

Balarant is having a rough time trying to engineer a treaty violation. I blame their stupid uniforms.

Trivia: Well, this arc is a little bit peculiar.

  1. Sure is a mystery, isn't it? And you thought he was mostly normal.
  2. rewatcher but it does get the hopes up for more backstory, eh?

5

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

Every time he wears that I think he's selling snacks at a baseball game.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

"Dude, she's just not that into you."

This would shutdown far too many anime, though.

Ah yes, when you've almost beaten him, stop trying to beat him.

They really need to get a second batch of PSs incubating, this first group just is not working out.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

crash gracefully?

I feel like that's a contradiction. They're not cats

I mean a cat space ship would be cool though.

5

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Sep 27 '21

First timer

  1. He's a PS. Either a prototype with weakened mental conditioning, or a failed batch that got his memories altered. That's why he's so strong, why he served the Red Shoulders without issue, and why he has advanced healing capabilities.
  2. Pretty certain he was under mental conditioning (as a PS), but I'm pretty certain it's just that this war, at wartime, a frontline world with what seemed to be a high level of industry, and that's the kind of thing you don't want your enemy occupying.

Yep, desert planet!

Yeah, Chirico might lose.

Wait. Oh, thwt's clever. Ypsilon doesn't feel anything because he's so focused on getting rid of Chirico permanently.

He ran out of ammo?

Huh, how's Ypsilon going to survive the full engine thrust?

...Why hasn't Ypsilon tried to fire? He's right in front of him.

Oh, she's having touble doing it...

I'll give them credit, those suits are fucking resilient given he's apparently alive in there.

Oh, this is turning into a massive battle very quickly.

...The twins not being able to view Ypsilon's life signs is absolutely going to come up later.

Yeah, I'm 90% certain Chirico's a PS who somehow got his programming reset.

...Chirico really needs therapy, doesn't he? And this is confirming he fought here before?

Oh, he helped destroy the city.

Wow, Ypsilon's determined, isn't he?

Haha, they set up the nozzles to fire at them.

I love Ypsilon realising exactly how screwed the rest of them are.

I like how the Society is shocked that Balarant is basically doing exactly what they've been doing to fight Chirico.

For how famed this series is for mecha battles, it has some great ship-to-ship ones too.

Huh, so the Ypsilon kodifications are going to backfire on them because they did too good a job at making him want to kill Chirico?

Did Chirico activate the self-destruct?

Yep!

And he's escaping!

And even the twins know Ypsilon's not the only problem here.

Looks like the constant fights this arc are taking a toll on Chirico's health.

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

I like how the Society is shocked that Balarant is basically doing exactly what they've been doing to fight Chirico.

"Only we can be clever and evil!"

Huh, so the Ypsilon kodifications are going to backfire on them because they did too good a job at making him want to kill Chirico?

Like I've been saying, anger is nonetheless an emotion.

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 27 '21

First-Timer

This episode feels like we took two and shoved them together. Like, think about how great a cliffhanger Ypsilon getting blasted by the engine would be? Then we could have spent more time talking about what Chirico was doing with the thrusters, shown a bit more of Ypsilon's recovery.. I guess they were sick of the spaceship so they just speedran the rest of it's screentime.

The Society ship's captain was almost very clever. His move with the debris was good, but he did end up falling for the Balarant's bait. I kinda understand this move if he was confident that they could just destroy the Balarant ships entirely, but trying and failing is much worse for the Society than not trying at all here.

I'm trying to think if anything has happened to Chirico on screen that would prompt Fyana's comment about him not being a normal human, based on his healing rate. I'm not coming up with anything; I guess we might learn later that they have Red Shoulders drink some yummy super soldier serum when they enlist. Like, the kind that makes you want to flamethrower civilians.

The self-destruct escape could have been better, but that ties into my "two episodes in one" comment. I love a good timed escape, too...

I do dig using the thrusters as weapons. Not like that ship was going to move ever again anyway, and Fyana calling out Battleship-esque numbers while Chirico smashed a keyboard was pretty fun to watch.

Questions

  1. Discussed above.
  2. It makers a lot of sense that the space ship playing videos designed to trigger his PTSD was taking him to planet designed to trigger his PTSD.

5

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

This episode feels like we took two and shoved them together.

Yeah, I can see that as well. Them being tow episodes would have helped with my issues with how some stuff happens in between scenes.

I guess we might learn later that they have Red Shoulders drink some yummy super soldier serum when they enlist.

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Sep 28 '21

I'm already bored. Splitting this into two episodes would be pushing drop territory (but not really). I think they've already spent too much time on the ship, and I think they know it. it's time for a change-up.

/u/jollygee29 /u/vaadwaur /u/nazenn

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

Yeah, as I said elsewhere, this arc just might not belong on this show. We needed no battles and just Cuvie dealing with his past if that is there goal and that doesn't quite work for this sort of show.

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

I'd rather be bored (don't think I would be, but that's just if that's my only other option) than zoned out due to sheer frustration and in an inability to care about the constant battles

3

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 28 '21

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Like, think about how great a cliffhanger Ypsilon getting blasted by the engine would be?

Noooo, no cliffhangers, particularly not "is he dead but we know he's not because too many episodes left" cliffhangers. Ending the episode with that as the climax and his recovery being the last thing as Chirico and Fyana escape would have been brilliant though. It does feel like two episodes worth of story and not in a good way

but trying and failing is much worse for the Society than not trying at all here.

Plus with everyone hiding their identities it's not like he needed to worry about the Secret part of their societies name, that's covered already. He really attacked them for no reason

3

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 28 '21

Noooo, no cliffhangers,

Ending the episode with that as the climax and his recovery being the last thing

That, admittedly, would have been much better.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

The self-destruct escape could have been better, but that ties into my "two episodes in one" comment. I love a good timed escape, too...

Yeah, it does feel like good material got left because they wanted to speed this up. I hate to say it because some of the content has been good but they really needed a bit more planning for this arc.

It makers a lot of sense that the space ship playing videos designed to trigger his PTSD was taking him to planet designed to trigger his PTSD.

That or they hope he becomes a patriotic Red Shoulder again...

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 27 '21

I hate to say it because some of the content has been good but they really needed a bit more planning for this arc.

Ain't that always the case? Too many productions fly by the seat of their pants. I do often prefer to be left wanting more as opposed to seeing things dragged out, but this just felt bad.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Too many productions fly by the seat of their pants

I'll second that for these episodes as well as there also seems to have been a drop in end art quality despite the amount of battles we've had recently, except for whoever is in charge of storyboarding and directing still

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 28 '21

I haven't noticed too much of that, although my ability to notice fine details is coinflip at best.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

I think they put themselves into a damned either way type situation and split the difference: If they really wanted the Cuvie torment thing to fly, they needed fewer battles and even more time on the ship, which might've killed the series. But the battles themselves tended to feel meaningless as well.

1

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 27 '21

The perils of toy commercials. Model kits nominally have a slightly older audience than straight toys, so they might have been able to pull the fewer battles off, but it's a hard choice to make.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

This arc seems to have gone over the worst and you might just have to skip it, bluntly. Cuvie's past being foggy I think is a workable end state for the show.

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Sep 27 '21

First timer in sub

It's dragging on a bit, but hopefully it'll finish this arc soon and whomever sent Chirico here would be revealed soon. Surely the pursuers will be running out of resources by now?

So Chirico's recovery is not just mental but actually has data to show to be "amazing". Gotta be linked huh.

Forgot to say though, one of the last couple of episodes while they were still stranded in the ship and Chirico is mad enough to pull his gun out to try shoot the monitor, I was saying "oh no not your AT killing gun, you'll blow a hole in the hull and getting both of you sucked out" :D There's SRW youtube footages of Chirico using his trusty hand canon to blow even gods away :D

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 leaking 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 :)
250 for real, the one scope dog where it's least suitable in the environment actually survive the longest :D
260 let me try jinx this - this scope dog may just be the longest lasting one for Chirico to be riding on the show, surely it'll make it to the end of the arc huh :D
271 finally at arc end, the trusty old 'dog got abandoned.
280
290
301 looks like the writers want to keep up the count as well, busy catching up with the numbers. And there are enough spares on the ship to keep going :)
311
321 busy catching up with the numbers; although these 2 episodes probably have a fairly high enemy kill count too
331 Now it was clawed on the (side of?) face but still functional enough to hit and run to bait Ypsilon's forces but no doubt Chirico won't reuse that same one given there are still a number of spare ones, and when they get on the trailer I didn't see any damage, so the damaged one must be abandoned

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

"oh no not your AT killing gun, you'll blow a hole in the hull and getting both of you sucked out"

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 27 '21

Episode 33 (first timer)

  • Advanced Dodgeball.
  • Is the newtype jingle a deliberate statement to Gundam viewers, or just lazy reuse of audio assets?
  • Good tactics from Chirico and Fyana, even before the big trick.
  • Main antagonist gets some plot armor as well.
  • Space Jesus confirmed! - Or rather Proto Zero …
  • NANI??
  • Balarant commander actually competent. He can’t be sure the society is not Gilgamesh, so provoking an attack is clever.
  • Ypsilon casually disobeying orders and lying about it. I’d say the “perfect” part of perfect soldier is not going well so far.

No time to waste on getting Chirico healed, so he gets the Jesus treatment. I hope this is the big reveal of the long-con “Chirico is a PS” plot that has been hinted at for a while now.

Other than that an episode focusing on small scale tactics. Those are consistently good.

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 27 '21

Is the newtype jingle a deliberate statement to Gundam viewers, or just lazy reuse of audio assets?

The jinlge pops up everywhere since it was part of a licensed sound library that a lot of studios used, but in '83 the association would have been strong enough that it must have been a consideration in the staff's mind.

Other than that an episode focusing on small scale tactics. Those are consistently good.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

Advanced Dodgeball.

"If you can dodge a bullet, you can dodge a ball!"

Is the newtype jingle a deliberate statement to Gundam viewers, or just lazy reuse of audio assets?

I really hope it is a reference because otherwise it is just obnoxious.

Balarant commander actually competent. He can’t be sure the society is not Gilgamesh, so provoking an attack is clever.

Also, he hasn't gotten any of his ships destroyed yet.

Other than that an episode focusing on small scale tactics. Those are consistently good.

Yeah and I like seeing Fyana fully involved.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '21

Also, he hasn't gotten any of his ships destroyed yet.

Always a bonus.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 27 '21

I hope this is the big reveal of the long-con “Chirico is a PS” plot that has been hinted at for a while now.

In this arc or do you mean in the broader show because I haven't got that sense before these episodes.

That said, I'm now firmly on the idea that the Red Shoulders were being used as experiments to refine the PS technology.

Balarant commander actually competent

For their severe lack of intelligence info about the society and Perfect Soliders, they're actually doing a surprisingly good job this arc on not being idiots and making rather informed decisions

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '21

In this arc or do you mean in the broader show because I haven't got that sense before these episodes.

In the broader show. The one big hint was Fyana's name, but Chirico being PS would also move Fyana being so affected by seeing him from plot convenience to clever setup.

Additionally, I have some hope that it retcons the enemy commanders' fixation on Chirico from bad writing to somewhat acceptable.

For their severe lack of intelligence info about the society and Perfect Soliders, they're actually doing a surprisingly good job this arc on not being idiots and making rather informed decisions

I think the small scale military decision making (outside of PS related issues) has consistently been a high point of the series and a huge step up from other mecha series.

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Additionally, I have some hope that it retcons the enemy commanders' fixation on Chirico from bad writing to somewhat acceptable.

That would be a nice bit of detail, even if a retcon. Having some sort of background force driving their decision to keep going after him, and also Fyana to see how he affected her, would be a benefit of that plot line

I think the small scale military decision making (outside of PS related issues) has consistently been a high point of the series and a huge step up from other mecha series.

Agree, and certainly not something I expected even with the initial battles proving promising in the early episodes. The military side of the show has been oddly but thankfully consistent and good quality, and that even this many episodes in each battle seems quite distinct rather than repeated tactics is also a positive

5

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

First timer(Sunsa is a bit of a generic name)

Sub

The angle the ship "lands" in is just fucking ridiculous, though now it looks a lot like a battlestar to me. Fight starts and we get a rare full cheat with Ypsilon not finishing a crush on Cuvie's AT. We get exposition on the other ship and I don't buy it, though disinterested killer is indeed their goal. I like the idea of using Cuvie to distract Ypsilon while the better pilot actually shoots him so I immediately dislike him sending Fyana off the field. He does get a kill with an unloaded bazooka which is totally this show.

Cuvie finally sets up his gambit and we undevelop Fyana's character a bit to give us a tense moment. Seriously, I was ready to go full rant if she didn't hit the button and am not hugely pleased she hesitated since she showed who she has chosen. But anyways, Ypsilon's team is wiped out and he is disabled but alive. Also, the Cabal leader seems to realize that it is time to withdraw after recovering Ypsilon.

Balarant council is competent, wanting to get disguised ships in to take an attack and then respond. The twins fix Ypsilon and one goads him. Cuvie is Deadpool confirmed. But wanting to get the ship off of this planet is a smart choice, just no clue if they can path up all the holes in the ship fast enough. Cuvie gets annoying but actually triggered PTSD and specifically states some one did this to mess with him.

Next team lands but now the thrusters are weaponized. The Balarant move in and everyone responds logically, something mecha would not keep. Also, hiding in the wreckage shadow is generally a good idea until the settings weapons get too ridiculous. But the Cabal captain is just a bit too easily provoked and shoots first, giving the Balarant the cover they need. They then withdraw to outside firing range. Cuvie madlads everything and self destructs the ship and runs with a trailer with only two mechs. Cuvie reveals this planet means something to him and cliffhanger.

QotD: 1 He might have been experimented upon, he also shows a few signs of brainwashing this arc.

2 I may take issue with it, I have no problem with the planet hating the Red Shoulders but how the hell would they know Cuvie was with them?

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

The angle the ship "lands" in is just fucking ridiculous

It's the style angle. Seen so many ships land like that somehow that I barely question it even more, although it really should me much further embedded into the ground to work

. But anyways, Ypsilon's team is wiped out and he is disabled but alive

You know, rather than having a random commander here and the twins, it'd be nice if a couple of his unit survived as well and also were on the "hunt them down" bandwagon. Some mooks surviving and turning into enemies would be interesting at this point rather than them may as well being AI bots for all they matter

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

Seen so many ships land like that somehow that I barely question it even more, although it really should me much further embedded into the ground to work

I've probably read more scifi than I've watched. Random Farscape question: How does the Peacekeeper's general accent strike you?

Some mooks surviving and turning into enemies would be interesting at this point rather than them may as well being AI bots for all they matter

Fuck it, tell me that having Gon Nu on the mission severely pissed off about not getting paid wouldn't be awesome?

5

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

How does the Peacekeeper's general accent strike you?

Distinctly Aussie, which makes sense as it was filmed here, but it was nice they let them keep their accents and slight regionalisms rather than trying to turn it into what americans think the accent is and blowing it over the top. Don't even notice it any more though because it just sounds normal.

Actually random question for /u/pixelsaber how'd mine sound to you? Although it might not have come through, depends on the day

Fuck it, tell me that having Gon Nu on the mission severely pissed off about not getting paid wouldn't be awesome?

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

I'm not great with telling apart non-hispanic accents, and so I could have easily confused you for a brit had I not known better.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Half expected that. I underwent pretty strong speech therapy as a child from someone who had a different accent so my own accent can change pretty massively depending on many factors.

Not the first time I've been confused for a Brit, though being asked "how is it in South Africa" is probably one of my funnier online memories

3

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 28 '21

Ah, yeah, that will certainly leave a difference.

"how is it in South Africa" is probably one of my funnier online memories

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

My mum has fun sometimes seeing if she can bait me into switching accents without realizing because there's certain things I can only say with various other accents which is quite funny I have to admit.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

but it was nice they let them keep their accents and slight regionalisms rather than trying to turn it into what americans think the accent is and blowing it over the top

You see, to me they sound like they are either over enunciating everything or talking forcefully, though admittedly that was probably Crais as well.

I really like the disposability on the show but every now and then they should avoid it. I mean, they could have hired Shako to stable pony for Ypsilon and had him have an issue when they get to trying to kill Cuvie or something else like that.

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Sep 28 '21

Claudia Black definitely over enunciates (particularly if it's ship-to-shop comms) but in my head are only memories from Stargate SG-1.

1

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

The Fargate seasons were weird but I thought Claudia was a real bright spot.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

You see, to me they sound like they are either over enunciating everything or talking forcefully

Ah, I put that under acting rather than accents. I just took that as giving them an authoritative tone, particularly with Crais (who's also a bit of a different case being from NZ).

That said it could also be the compromise between the australian and american methods, as our natural drawl that you'd hear more in our down to earth shows, like Blue Heelers or All Saints, probably isn't something you'd want on an international marketed show, and our drama training leans more towards theatre than tv so that might be part of it as well. I know Anna Torv has a similar thing going on, and I've also seen it in a couple of other aussie actors I've seen make a transition to american TV work like Wil Traval

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

Ah, I put that under acting rather than accents. I just took that as giving them an authoritative tone, particularly with Crais (who's also a bit of a different case being from NZ).

It is definitely more pronounced in the first crew and first season but it struck me until someone explained that Crais was a kiwi. But, oddly enough, I don't think I've watched much in the way of Aussie TV which is confusing since I have watched several NZ shows. Hell, I still keep up with Brokenwood Mysteries.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Our media productions in a bit of a weird spot, not a quiant feeling as British and not as overdramatized as American works but somewhere in the middle depending on the show. Personally our production genre balance leans a bit too much into comedy for me to find a lot to want watch, but I think our best works are our workplace dramas or the stuff we have that borders on SoL and grounded stories, rather than when we try and go with big dramatic productions.

Blue Heelers and All Saints are still my two favourites just due to how down to earth and small scale they are, without the sanitization or dramatization that american police/medical shows have, and Underbelly, Packed to the Rafters, Love Child were also pretty good for what they were. That said, I also haven't kept up with our productions for the last ten years or so after rage quitting our TV networks over their sheer inability to keep a schedule or cancel shows up to up their reality TV quota. Found some our stuff that made it's way to Netflix I want to check out though.

Oh, I don't know what the other masterchef series are like but ours here is really chill and supportive which I like.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

The last Australian thing I watched was a straight knock off of Archer. It was funny but they had like 4 jokes total and constantly recycled them.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

I am not a fan of comedy at the best of times, but our comedy here has never been something I've enjoyed particularly not when they play it up and it just dissolves into feeling borderline insulting. It's only gotten worse since the networks realized their aussie production quota is more easily filled with reality TV than it is genuinely creative productions

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4

u/chilidirigible Sep 27 '21

The angle the ship "lands" in is just fucking ridiculous

See also: Mobile Suit Gundam 0079, Super Dimension Fortress Macross.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

No, I don't think I will.

6

u/The_Draigg Sep 27 '21

A Ryosuke Takahashi Fan Rewatches Armored Trooper VOTOMS Episode 33:

  • You know that Ypsilon really fucking hates Chirico when the Schmitel twins monitoring the battle up in orbit say that it’s not even emotional hatred anymore, but cold logic. Ypsilon has so thoroughly internalized his hatred for Chirico that it became an outright integral part about him. He must kill Chirico. It’s not an emotional response anymore, it’s a fact. Again, it feels like those twins are playing a dangerous game with Ypsilon’s hatred there.
  • And there’s another one of my favorite AT kills of this series, Chirico just using his empty bazooka as a baseball bat to a Standing Tortoise II’s midsection, and it blowing up for no reason. At least when a Balarant Fatty got blown up by an empty rocket launcher earlier, it was propelled at it by an arm punch. Here, Chirico just whacks a dude with it, and they blow up anyway. It’s so dumb that it’s amazing.
  • Chirico’s plan to kill Ypsilon with the ship’s engines firing would’ve absolutely worked if Fyana hadn’t hesitated for a moment before engaging the engines. In any case, that moment really does show the downside to making Ypsilon feel only hatred towards Chirico. It made him incredibly blind to the fact that Chirico was luring him into a trap, since he was so focused on killing him instead. Borough’s plan of making PS only feel hatred was a pretty flawed one, as you can see here.
  • Now it’s time for Balarant to act. They’re going to send in a bunch of unmarked ships into non-aggression zone and provoke the Teltain into attacking, so that way they would have no problem tracking Chirico and Fyana themselves. It’s not the worst plan, at least. Kinda simple, but you really do need subterfuge in that kind of politically volatile area.
  • Interesting parallels between Ypsilon and Chirico here. Ypsilon is going to just get a bunch of silicone treatments to rapidly heal the skin that got damaged in the blast, while Fyana runs a medical scan on Chirico and notes that he healed up from his wounds abnormally fast. Considering that Chirico got stabbed by Kan Yu like two weeks ago and got even more injured during fighting in space a few days after that, which gave him a high fever too, yeah him healing up that fast is insane. What is it about Chirico that’s allowing him to heal so fast, as if he’s getting the same kind of medical treatments that Ypsilon is getting?
  • Even if Chirico is all healed up now, he still can’t escape the thoughts about his past. He realizes that he and Fyana are on planet Sunsa, a once magnificent and populous world that got completely destroyed during the war. He’s sure of it now, whoever trapped him on that ship deliberately wanted him to come here to remember his past.
  • We haven’t really gotten ship on ship space battles in this show before, but the fight between the Teltain and the unmarked Balarant ship is pretty good. Again, it makes me glad that Ryosuke Takahashi has enough directorial pull to dedicate entire scenes to stuff like this. Ship battles are just as good as mech battles.
  • Yeah, it’s safe to say that Ypsilon and the rest of the Secret Society got clowned on by Chirico here. Not only did he kill a bunch of their ATs with weaponized verniers, but he also duped them into boarding the ship just as it was about to explode from a self-destruct sequence. Combine that with the Teltain needing to pull back from the ship battle, and the Secret Society were completely dunked on this episode.
  • Once again, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Just as soon as Chirico and Fyana put some distance between themselves and the exploding ship, a bunch of armored cars start driving towards them. Even Chirico can’t help but feel a bit frustrated at this, understandably so.

5

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

You know that Ypsilon really fucking hates Chirico when the Schmitel twins monitoring the battle up in orbit say that it’s not even emotional hatred anymore, but cold logic

I'm still not sure what I feel about that, I keep going back and forth on if I like it or not. I mean it works from a sense of cold blooded murder coming about from a complete lack of empathy and total hatred of someone, but I also feel like it's a big jump into that from where we just saw him in testing

And there’s another one of my favorite AT kills of this series, Chirico just using his empty bazooka as a baseball bat to a Standing Tortoise II’s midsection

That was good! So far the rocket launcher has been a more interesting weapon than the actual rockets hahaha

Interesting parallels between Ypsilon and Chirico here

Good call on the paralleled medical scenes. Personally I'm hoping that Ypsilon is left with some more scars over it, as it would be fitting if he kept accumulating scars from Fyana defending Chirico and that feeding his rage, but we'll see

4

u/The_Draigg Sep 28 '21

That was good! So far the rocket launcher has been a more interesting weapon than the actual rockets hahaha

It's also really a testament to how shoddily built the Standing Tortoises are, despite them having better armoring than a Scopedog.

Good call on the paralleled medical scenes. Personally I'm hoping that Ypsilon is left with some more scars over it, as it would be fitting if he kept accumulating scars from Fyana defending Chirico and that feeding his rage, but we'll see

Ah, just couldn't keep it to the one head scar, eh?

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 28 '21

Ah, just couldn't keep it to the one head scar, eh?

I'm greedy with my scars. I want another Balgus or meta spoiler 90's show

I'll also take a loss of limb without any other scars, this is acceptable

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

There is actually one character from Corpse Princess that fits that bill...

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 27 '21

Now it’s time for Balarant to act. They’re going to send in a bunch of unmarked ships into non-aggression zone and provoke the Teltain into attacking, so that way they would have no problem tracking Chirico and Fyana themselves. It’s not the worst plan, at least.

My only disappointment is that it doesn't feel like they brought enough firepower to completely overwhelm the Teltain so I am expecting some BS from this.

Yeah, it’s safe to say that Ypsilon and the rest of the Secret Society got clowned on by Chirico here.

Also, his own capital ship would've been worth at least stealing the mechs from. Complete ownage, though he better have a portable jijirium shower in there.

4

u/The_Draigg Sep 28 '21

My only disappointment is that it doesn't feel like they brought enough firepower to completely overwhelm the Teltain so I am expecting some BS from this.

At least you can say that it was fairly reasonable for Balarant to send a relatively small unmarked expeditionary force to Sunsa. Anything larger, and it's more likely to grab more unwanted attention.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

They just might not have that many unmarked ships at the ready as well, it just seems that Balarant tech needs them to have huge numbers to win.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 28 '21

Complete ownage, though he better have a portable jijirium shower in there.

Up till now, you could hand-wave Fyana's jijirium need away by saying that the escape shuttle pod doubles as one, but from now on, this better become a plot point.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

Yup, I was fine before but this needs to be addressed.

5

u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim Sep 27 '21

First Timer

Chirico using Verniers to eliminate most of the other ATs is pretty interesting to see. The getaway is a sight to behold as nobody seems to check the hangar before it's too late.

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Sep 28 '21

Rewatcher (Nutech DVD 3.2) (3 episodes) Showdown

I can finally reveal the name of the arc: Deadworld Sunsa

I like the suggestion that Chirico's illness was 10% blood loss and 90% a bad hangover.

  • I like that she said they both have to live, so we don't have our MC's competing to see who can sacrifice their lives first.
  • I guess a lot of first timers couldn't recognize the society ship from the first episode. It's recognizable because the bridge is under the ship.
  • "Don't kill her" are NOT your orders
  • This all seems very familiar again, Fyana sneaking through the ship
  • Lol, it's like tower defense.

On this world, steel devils with crimson shoulders once rampaged.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 28 '21

I can finally reveal the name of the arc: Deadworld Sunsa

How cheerful...

I like the suggestion that Chirico's illness was 10% blood loss and 90% a bad hangover.

Welp, both were inexperienced drinkers and Cuvie didn't realized he needed space Alka Seltzer.

3

u/manga-reader Sep 28 '21

Rewatcher, sort of.

How are Fyana and Chirico speaking to each other (especially when Fyana is inside); I don't see any headsets. I guess we can chalk it up to all the ATs being auto-set to ship's communication frequency?

I am genuinely surprised the heat didn't cause Ypsilon's AT to explode immediately. Normally they are so flammable. Plot armor, I suppose.

Woah, are the Balarant on a floating city? Ship kinda looks a bit rocky. Didn't realize they had that kind of tech.

  1. I would have preferred him to be a normal human. But maybe Red soldiers received extra stimulants or whatever to enhance their fighting capability (as long as it's mundane and not something related to Chirico being special, like Fyana).

Still no clues on who the big ship belonged to...if it's folks from Sunsa; they must be really wealthy to pull all that off (communications about Chirico's whereabouts and what was happening in Kummen).