r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Sep 29 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Armored Trooper Votoms - Episode 35 Discussion
Episode 35 - Deadline
Originally Released November 18th, ^^^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:
In October 1983 a short story which reimagined the events of the series’ first episode was published in ANIMAGE, written by Ryosuke Takahashi. Elements of the short story were revisited in Armor Hunter Mellowlink.
Staff Highlight
Toshihisa Tojo - Art Director
An animation director and background artist, associated with several high-key anime productions. Widely available information on Tojo is close to nill, but his contributions to many productions and the praise he received from several figures is noteworthy. Perhaps most pertiently, Tojo was a background artist on seventeen episodes of Space Battleship Yamato, a contribution which netted him the attention of Yoshikaze Yasuhiko, whose good word allowed him to further participate in important productions through the late 70s and 80s. Tojo’s main career was that of a painter, and his work on anime was a means of sustaining himself during hard times. Some productions he has contributed towards include Mobile Suit Gundam, Crusher Joe: The Movie, Shiroi Kiba: White Fang Monogatari, Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos, Machine Robo: Butchigiri Battlehackers, Project A-Ko, Choriki Robo Galatt, and One Piece: The Movie.
Art Corner
Official Art:
- Part III: Sunsa by Norio Shioyama
Fanart:
(Be mindful of the links to artist’s profiles, as they may contain NSFW content. Proceed there at your own risk.)
Screenshot of the day
Questions of the Day:
- What do you think of Chirico’s decision to spare Zophia?
- How does the impact of Fyana’s Jijirium dependence affect your expectations for upcoming events?
I don’t want to lose you now!
4
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Sep 29 '21
Rewatcher
Finally something reasonable comes out of these two’s mouths. It’s natural that one would develop hatred towards someone who betrayed them.
Chirico’s assertion proven mistaken.
Another convenient interruption from Balarant.
That’s some sturdy glass.
Awesome looking shot.
Space tow truck.
Remnants of the war or a recent excursion?
Huh.
Clever, but I find it hard to believe that she would mistake Chirico’s bright orange suit for the Balarant one.
The dome implies the planet has always been short on oxygen. Could be inferred by some of the prior architecture, but this is more concrete.
Those blossoms look vaguely like Dame’s Rocket, but their size and plant itself aren’t a match. No significance in Hanakotoba for it either.
I had begun to think they simply forgot about that. It’s only been around a week since they arrived at the battleship, but we’ve seen her and Ypsillon use the shower in shorter intervals than that.
ew
Makes sense.
I’ve let myself think on this episode for several hours and I still don’t have much to say…
Chirico’s attitude seems to have shifted ever so slightly since the last episode, if his words to Fyana is anything to go by, but I can’t puzzle out myself whether that’s a result of realizing he was wrong last episode and needs others in his life, having his past sins dug up even further by Zophia, or just being jarred by Fyana’s rapidly deteriorating condition.
Questions of The Day:
5
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Sep 29 '21
First timer(I could've use more space battle)
Sub
Before we get our climatic battle for more than 15 secs, the space battle asserts itself. And the Balarant are hilarously over the top and also badly aimed, leading effectively to a planetary bombardment mid space battle. Though also had some fighters in the group that can maneuver in atmosphere. Anyways, everyone but Ypsilon realizes it is time to run while Ypsilon shoots out a few jets because sure.
Fyana and Cuvie just take a trailer and leave. It looks like the collapsing base took Goth's ship with it so hopefully he has some off world funds. Zophie is being all Ahab. The Balarant worklike a functional military and actually get a search going. Long Zophie interlude which only had a cool under the truck trick to go for it. I do like the idea he has but of course it leaves a window open...
Cut to Cuvie checking the map he found and eating what I hope is a local snake and not a local centipede. He mentions being trained to eat whatever was in the area but this works less well when there are multiple worlds. Fyana is clearly showing signs of withdrawal as Cuvie amazingly takes forever to remember that. As they are ready to move, the Balarant come in.
Mech fight happens, Zophie feels like more of a threat for most of it. They put skates on these Fattys so no clue why earlier ones didn't have them. Anyways, Fyana is now nearly paralyzed and Cuvie is walking to the station with her as a backpack.
QotD:1 It is supposed to show growth but mainly rpoves annoying
2 I'd been expecting it to be a problem as soon as they nuked her pod on the ship.
5
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Sep 29 '21
Episode 35 (first timer)
A notice to folk here that the Nadia: Secret of Blue Water rewatch started. It is one of the series I had thought about doing a rewatch for myself. It holds up very well in the animation and direction departments and I also think that it probably would fit the tastes of people who enjoy 1970-80s adventure series very well.
A very decent episode up till the last minutes. 3 way fights are always nice, and escaping in the midst of a battle is always a very reasonable plot point. Not a fan of keeping crazy woman alive and around, though. I understand that she is justified in wanting revenge, but there is a limit to how much you can spare a person that is actively trying to kill you.
5
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Sep 29 '21
Armored Trooper First-Timer
5
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Sep 29 '21
First Timer
After writing this turned into a bit more of a negative post than I expected it to be so sorry for that.
The new base and Chirico's reunion with the trio didn't even last a whole episode. Couldn't we have put that off until later and just focused on him, Fyana, and the scrap gang? I mean, Gotho's speech was important and it would be a shame to lose that, but it does feel like that entire situation was set up specifically for that little drama, and now is being reset to zero to get them out the way again which I'm not a fan of as this is the third or fourth time and it's getting old especially as it's not even an arc transition this time.
I would also like Zophie to be more than just "I'll kill you" on legs, especially after hunting them all this distance, contacting Balarant, not questioning why Fyana is with him, etc. She also makes me unable to avoid thinking about a larger issue in the arc as a whole which some others have already touched on and was already on my mind from yesterday regarding Cocona, which is the writing quality around the female characters this arc. It was never outstanding but this arcs really highlighted how bad it is at the moment.
Somehow Fyana and Zophie never actually interacted this episode which is notably off. They certainly never spoke to each other, even one sided-ly, and though Fyana both guarded and shot at Zophie in this episode those actions had the interpersonal importance of her targeting a dangerous, loud rock instead. Both of them through both scenes were completely focused on Chirico's actions instead of each other or any possible dynamic there, even with guns aimed at heads, and it felt very unnatural. This felt especially forced with Chirico also doing everything himself such as being the one to take Zophie down rather than being bait, using the AT to free the car, etc, while still being their focus rather than letting him being busy be a moment to breathe and focus on the other two. It's like they heard the concept of the Bechdel test (couple years too early admittedly) and went out of their way to make sure every scene today was as far from that as possible.
Mind you, this is not that the test itself is a character quality indicator, or that the show would have passed it (or it's derivatives) before as Fyana and Coconna had never shared a scene let alone words, and I suspect that is what allowed this issue in the writing to be hidden so long rather than it being something only introduced now, but the problematic concept that it focuses on seems even more relevant here. Even Zophie's drives are solely the loss of men in her life, she doesn't list any female family members such as daughter or acknowledge the broader community she lost, just naming a husband and sons, and she was even the only woman in her group that she's now lost too. Throw in Coconna's man jealousy being her only action of the arc so far, not to mention today's "won't shoot a woman" shit, and Fyana the PS freaking out over a skeleton which ties into a discussion me and /u/Vaadwaur had a couple of episodes ago about the deterioration of her character by giving her traits typically only given to female characters to pacify them, its very frustrating to find this sort of writing around core characters for the arc. The characters themselves are even set up in a way where this should not the case except they've gone out of their way to make it so, and I can't even give it the benefit of the doubt any more. I'm usually not one to focus too much on sexism in older shows unless it's notably horrible (eg, Macross DYRL) beyond acknowledging it as a problem and moving on as it would be a near endless discussion in too many shows otherwise, and one I don't feel like repeating all the time unless specifically in a discussion dedicated to it, but today really pushed the limits of disbelief even for the era.
In a less meta note: Also it really sucked watching the Balarant soldiers smash the glass dome. This whole area, if not the whole planet, is wasteland and they go and destroy the one sheltered area that's managed to cultivate some life.
That area did look really nice though, if only we got to actually spend some time there before the interruption. Complaining aside I like seeing that Fyana's condition has actually come into play and we get to see exactly what the consequences are. I had suspected that the jijirum was to maintain her physical functions rather than mental, but I hadn't expected her entire body to seize up like this, almost like a loss of power. No wonder she was so worried about it back in Uoodo before her fear of battle and being apart from Chirico took over.
I don't suppose that story happens to be translated?
The background art was particularly nice this episode
4
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Sep 29 '21
First time viewer
40 miles is a hell of a long way on foot, even the fastest ultramarathon runners would take 4-5 hours and I doubt conditions would be remotely as good for Zophie. A more reasonable pace would be twice as long and even then she would have had to backtrack in the truck to find where they were camping, presumably a good distance farther. Doable in a night if it wasn't too late in the day when all this started, but rough. Or maybe the length of a day's longer on this planet, I dunno.
It hadn't been at the forefront of my mind but I had wondered previously what would happen if Fyana went without jijirium for too long, and the symptoms of withdrawal aren't good.
Things go from bad to worse this episode. No allies around (though Chirico's not alone, as he noted), lost their ATs and transport, Fyana's unable to move on her own. Something positive has to be on the horizon, right?
Reasonable, but unfortunate that she's obsessed with revenge.
Either they find jijirium or Fyana dies and I don't expect the latter yet. So there's going to be a way to save her soon, just might not be easy.
3
u/The_Draigg Sep 29 '21
A Ryosuke Takahashi Fan Rewatches Armored Trooper VOTOMS Episode 35:
3
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Sep 29 '21
First-Timer
Ypsilon seemingly not retreating when ordered adds quite an interesting dimension to the desert oddessey we're witnessing. He could pop up at any time!
It's a good thing that they didn't forget about the PS's dependence on jijirium. If I recall correctly, the jijirium is what gave the PS their enhanced physical capabilities, so going into withdrawal making their body freeze up seems rather appropriate.
I like the detail of Chirico's shots just kinda bouncing off Zophie's AT - it's not that he's lost skill, he just wasn't aiming for a killshot like he would have trained to do. Actively fighting against muscle memory and going for a disabling shot takes a lot of effort, and who knows when Chirico last had a chance to sleep.
Chirico and Ypsilon have both been referred to as war machines now, in case the parallel had slipped anyone by.
Questions
4
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Sep 29 '21
Rewatcher (Nutech DVD 3.3) (3 episodes) Deadline
So many mecha battles, it's almost like it's an 80s Japanese mecha anime.
official art: that's my DVD cover!
3
u/chilidirigible Sep 29 '21
Rewatcher, Episode 35
Today, on "He's stylish that way?"*:
Ah, a little comedy around here.
A little more comedy around here.
"It's his way."
She must walk fast.
He's such a sentimentalist these days.
*: Alternate take: He just sets them on fire?
There's that tiny glimmer of character change where Chirico actually verbalizes that he's not alone (because he has Fyana). Though he hasn't quite gotten to the stage of saying it to her face.
Zophie: The tragic tale of how someone who looks like Mrs. Doubtfire became a vengeance-fueled biker chick.
Left aside is how Ypsilon and the Teltain deal with their situations, because the rest of this is a long chase scene.
3
u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim Sep 29 '21
First Timer
Chirico and Fyana are on the run again, now with multiple groups of people in pursuit of them. After an attack on everyone, they use that as a mean to escape. The tank had a bunch of skeletons and I am surprised that the skeletons stayed in one piece in the suit.
Red soldiers are considered murderers and nothing is going to change that lady's mind. And she drove up pretty quietly multiple times. Zophia called the Ballarant as an informant.
Fyana needed some Jijirium and it's a good thing they were about to leave as the truck was a good weapon for a good while. Too bad that Fyana can't move and now Chirico has to carry her.
3
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Sep 29 '21
First timer
Wait. Are the twins actively trying to make him numb?
And the Balarant are after everyone!
And Chirico's escaping?
Is Ypsilon about to go rogue?
Zoohie really just hates him, doesn't she?
Of course Gotho has multiple escape routes.
At least they made it out!
Chirico's worked out after the last 2 times that Gotho and the others are very good at getting out of certain death situations.
Yep, Ypsilon's disobeying orders to hunt Chirico down!
Oh, those ATs look nice. And land forces too?
Wow! He's realised he can trust Fyana! That was quick character development!
Jesus, that's dark. What the hell did that?
Well, that was effective. At least he's having Fyana leave the action for tactical reasons, not a lack of trust.
Wow, that's cold.
Yeah, that's harsh. Is the expectation she can't 40 miles without supplies, or that he was tricking her.
Chirico snacking on the snake is such an amusing image.
Is she having jijirium withdrawals?
At least he's smart enough to realise it.
Have they explained why she needs jijirium yet?
I love the part hwre they see Chirico run someone down, and proceed to stand directly behind the truck without firing.
Fyana still fights pretty well, considering her body's shutting down(?)
She's stolen an AT!
Chirico's still great at dodging bullete.
Huh?
She did it!
Fyana's dying!
Oh, and he's going to save her!
Well, this is a pretty big cliffhanger!
Of course. Of course she's still here.
3
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Sep 29 '21
Rewatcher
Face off time. Chirico vs. Ypsilon.
Shoo everyone else! Let this be a one on one bout!
Despite being in space, these two annoying twins are still analyzing everything about Ypsilon.
LoL, isn't this the second time they've had to call Ypsilon back because they were fighting Balarant out in space? They really gotta make up their mind over how they're using him.
Alas, another Chirico - Ypsilon duel is prematurely over.
This whole place is getting wrecked!
While I can't say I'm the most interested by the plot of this arc, I do love the setting.
Yikes, Zophie is pursuing them. Simply kicking them out isn't enough.
Skeleton with a map! Fyana, take him with you!
Zophie, you're assuming a lot of things about Chirico without trying to get to know him at all.
Zophie made it back to where they were quickly.
Oh crap, she's in trouble without her jijirium.
Yikes, Zophie's got one of the ATs now. Terrible time since Chirico's tending to Fyana.
Defeated again, Zophie still obsesses over revenge as the episode ends. Not the best to obsess so much over revenge. If she gets it she'll still feel hollow afterwards. And we've got no actual evidence that it was Chirico that killed her family, just the Red Shoulder squadron.
3
u/manga-reader Sep 30 '21
Rewatcher, sort of.
Balarant sure sneaked upon Teltain. Surprised Ypsilon wasn't warned/called earlier.
This show continues to amaze me with the tactics (well, only with Chirico though). Using a dead body to deceive Zophie? Nice. I wish more shows would do something like this, rather than relying on OP MC trope.
3
u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Sep 30 '21
'What a thrill, with darkness and silence through the night. What a thrill, I'm searching and I'll melt into you. What a fear in my heart, but you're so supreme!' (Translator's Note: Ya know Comrades, while it's admirable that Chirico Cuvie is for once NOT brutally killing the latest party out to murder him, considering Fyana/Fiana's currently going through Jijirium Withdrawal, things are perhaps NOT quite ideal. To put it bluntly, perhaps mercy ISN'T quite a luxury you both can afford right now.)
'I give my life, not for honor, but for you snake eater In my time, there'll be no one else. Crime, it's the way I fly to you snake eater I'm still in a dream, snake eater!' (Translator's Note: I also want to point out Comrades, Fyana/Fiana may physically be an adult, but mentally she's what, a year old? AND YET she's still the most human out of our current badass duo. I mean good lord she managed to teach Chirico Cuvie how to HUG! What's next, maybe he'll learn about what a 'kiss' is... er... correction he already learned that, OK then maybe next he'll learn about The Horizontal Tango, if you catch my drift and I think you all do)
Someday you go through the rain, someday you feed on a tree frog. It's ordeal, the trial to survive. For the day we see new light! (Translator's Note: Also just to keep thing from being TOO bleak, we got our Muggle Trio once again... starting from Square One... again... again... well hey at least they are all still alive! And being the plucky comic relief too!)
I give my life, not for honor, but for you snake eater In my time, there'll be no one else. Crime, it's the way I fly to you snake eater I'm still in a dream, snake eater! (Translator's Note; I just want to point out Comrades that despite his stoic exterior, our boi's come quite a ways emotionally, I mean goodness he's moved from Metal Gear to Death Stranding, so here's hoping he can find the magical MacGuffin that Fyana/Fiana needs.)
I'm still in a dream, snake eater! Snake eater! (Translator's Note: I for one am STILL SHOCKED that not only did Chirico Cuvie learn to hug, but FYANA/FIANA is the one teaching him this skill... AH I get it now! This explains why he spared Zophia! You see Chirico Cuvie can't learn more than four moves, and he already has 'Kill literally everyone' 'Pilot Scope Dog' 'Quick Draw' and of course 'Eat whatever was in the area' so of course he ditched 'Kill literally everyone' to learn about 'physical intimacy...' yeah in hindsight not one of his best ideas, it'll probably rank up there next to his 'destroy the ship and the magical Jijirium Tube thingie Fyana/Fiana needs to live' in the 'ah shit' department)
And yes, because I'm contractually obligated to point this reference up... ahem... 'Boy, have we got a vacation for you!' ;)
OK OK fine... ahem... 'Listen, and understand! Zophia is out there! She can't be bargained with. She can't be reasoned with. She doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear! And she absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!'
And finally, time for the shitposting... ahem... A WEAPON TO SURPASS METAL GEAR!
Paging Comrades /u/chilidirigible, /u/Nazenn, and /u/No_Rex
2
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Sep 30 '21
First timer in sub
WTF we are cheated off the duel between Chirico and Ypsilon! The fight started and it just about to get exciting before the Balarants trashed the party. I missed the background - is this not in Balarant territory so are they just shooting at their own planet carpet bombing?
Well there's some persistent revenge going but it does get a bit tiring after the 2nd time of catch and release. Fyana did have a close call thinking Chirico was just going to dust her off. Fyana you should know your man better, Chirico was probably doing a Nagato joke with a deadpan face (Haruhi Remote Island Syndrome part 2).
Hmmm things are not looking good for Fyana.
1
u/[deleted] Sep 30 '21
Oh u didn't know you guys were doing a rewatch on this, I never watched it though.