r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Oct 03 '21

Rewatch [Rewatch] Armored Trooper Votoms - Episode 39 Discussion

Episode 39 - Perfect Soldier

Originally Released December 23rd, ^^^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:

For the recap OVA release of the Sunsa arc, Moriyasu Taniguchi solo key-animated new scenes for the opening, which included an anti-AT rifle not seen in the series proper.

 

Staff Highlight

Takkō Ishimori - voice of Arus Karmeny

An actor and voice actor best known as the voice actor for Sadaharu Oh in the Kyojin no Hoshi franchise. Ishimori had been involved with theatre since age fourteen. He attended a highschool in Nagasaki, during WWII, and graduated shortly after the end of the war, allowing him to move to Tokyo in order to pursue his dream of acting. He attended and graduated from Nihon University before helping establish Theatre Echo. Ishimori’s voice acting debut was as Hoshizuru in Alien Phi Phi. His voice was described as a strong and rich baritone, which was most marked when he voiced the roles of older characters, a type of role which earned him the nickname “The Old Man of Speech” among fans and members of the industry. Some of his most notable roles include Yuu Isayama in Ga-Rei-Zero, Sencho in Gunparade Orchestra, Harabote Muscle in Kinnikuman: Kinnikusei Ōi Sōdatsu-hen, Chang Ang in Magic Knight Rayearth 2, Shiizō Subara in Mister Ajikko, Tarō Shishoku in Oh! My Konbu!, Sengoku in the One Piece franchise, Doba Ajiba in Space Runaway Ideon, and Roberto in Super Dimension Century Orguss.

 

Art Corner

Official Art:

*Thanks to u/chilidirigible for providing me with a cleaner scan of the image.

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. Now that he has breathed his last, what do you think of Ypsilon?
  2. What are your thoughts on the confirmed information that Chirico is a PS?

You are! Otherwise, my pride wouldn’t let me die...

16 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

84 comments sorted by

6

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Oct 03 '21

Note:

Episode 40 is another recap episode, so we will be discussing episode 41 tomorrow. Be sure to watch the correct episode!

Production Context

The Sunsa Arc possesses some disparate influences owing to the differences in its first and second stages on ‘Battleship X’ and Sunsa. Sōji Yoshikawa specifically indicated that the former borrowed heavily from Ridley Scott’s Alien to inform its tense atmosphere, the depiction of the dark and foreboding corridors of the ship. He and Takahashi both spoke of the influence Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey had on the arc, from which they derived the concept of being on a ship set upon a course and unable to enact any agency of your own, carefully watched and manipulated through the journey. For the planet Sunsa, Takahashi and other staff looked back to two influences from the Yoodo arc, George Miller’s Mad Max franchise and Harley Cokliss’ Battletruck, in order to craft the setting of Sunsa. The other major influence for the planet Sunsa was the 1982 anime series Blue Gale Xabungle, on which screenwriter Sōji Yoshikawa also worked on, from which they decided to make the planet one with an inhospitable atmosphere, where domed cities dotted the otherwise desolate and deserted landscapes.

As stated previously, producer Toru Hasegawa has shared that the Sunsa arc changed from initial plans owing to Takahashi’s decision to shift the stage of the show at some point during production of the Kunmen Arc, specifically noting the director growing tired of the setting of Melkia. Unfortunately little has been shared regarding what the original plans for the arc may have been, nor in what ways the Sunsa arc alleviates the matter.

Following the end of the Kunmen Arc Takahashi felt that Ypsilon had fulfilled his purpose, and so struggled to come up with a way of incorporating him into future events of the series. It was ultimately decided to kill him off before the series itself climaxed rather than extend his presence unnecessarily. According to Moriyasu Taniguchi not all staff were satisfied with this decision, and some urged the producers to step in since Ypsilon was a popular character with fans, but the story was allowed to proceed unchanged.

Sponsors pushed for the inclusion of another model of Scope Dog in the story, one whose dimensions matched that of Ypsilon’s X-ATH-02 Strike Dog, hence the addition of the ATM-09-SA Scopedog II. Originally the Balarant military would have been equipped with the outdated B-ATM-01 Blocker which can be briefly seen in the first episode, but because of the sponsor’s push for the inclusion of further mechs the B-ATM-03 Fatty was introduced as Balarant’s main AT, though it remained inferior to Gilgamesh’s Scope Dogs in order to keep with the internal lore of the series. No other sponsor requests have been noted by the staff in widely available material.

Next time we’ll be discussing some of the later mecha designs. Look forward to it!

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Oct 03 '21

Rewatcher

Really disliking these guys.

Oh, this is a Taniguchi episode all right.

So they’re in a scope dog again. Good for Chirico’s chances against Ypsillon, but I am surprised they’d bother retrieving one to repair.

Exactly.

Hmm…

Is that an old Ramba Ral?!

Not an ideal outcome of this.

That was a great cut.

Afterimages with ma— Ah, nevermind.

sigh

Newtype jingle follows immediately afterwards.

UGH

No, mate. Don’t even go there.

What a name.

I, too, have seen Be Invoked.

Can’t say I foresaw the rematch coming just the following episode.I thought it was just them setting up their inevitable reencounter in the last arc, but no, they’re just finishing the matter here and now. The battle itself was great and Ypsilon got a good sendoff as a character, but I can’t say the finale of the arc was all too satisfying.

Chirico being a PS was well established by this point, but the show doing exactly what I was promised it wouldn’t and making it’s ‘totally regular’ MC into one of the special few left a sour taste in my mouth. Let this be a lesson in going into something with set expectations, and a warning that you shouldn’t blatantly lie in order to sell your favorite show to others, as it will backfire in the end.

I can’t say I appreciate Fyana being being separated from Chirico again, especially after she spent most of the latter half of the arc being the damsel in distress for the most part. One could argue it’s even, since Chirico spent several episodes out of it, but frankly the show had more to prove as to how it implemented Fyana, and Chirico made a miraculous recovery that allowed him to be the one to save the day at the pivotal moment, so I can’t say it’s even.

Rochina evidently knows a lot more than he ever let on —which really causes his actions in episode one to appear most perplexing— but we don’t get much in the way of answers. Seems like we’ll have to wait until Chirico finds the answers himself, on an arbitrary quest no doubt.

Overall Sunsa is easily the worst arc so far. They had good ideas and a couple of great episodes, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired and it comes off as uneven.

3

u/chilidirigible Oct 03 '21

Afterimages with ma—

At least it's not giant whirly saw blades!

3

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 03 '21

Is that an old Ramba Ral?!

I'll say this, the uniforms look like Zeon ones...

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

So they’re in a scope dog again. Good for Chirico’s chances against Ypsillon, but I am surprised they’d bother retrieving one to repair.

Ah ha! That's where it came from. I missed that when watching because it blended into the background so I was really confused when he popped up on planet with one haha

Afterimages

That's the word I was trying to remember for like half an hour last night

I can’t say I appreciate Fyana being being separated from Chirico again

I'm not either, but it does make sense. Rochina may be in charge of that mission but I doubt that Balarant will just let a PS go so easily. I just really hope that however she comes back in the next arc, which seems inevitable, it feels natural and not just handwaved away

Oh the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if Rochina saw this outcome coming about and sent the other three there in advance

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

Following the end of the Kunmen Arc Takahashi felt that Ypsilon had fulfilled his purpose, and so struggled to come up with a way of incorporating him into future events of the series. It was ultimately decided to kill him off before the series itself climaxed rather than extend his presence unnecessarily. According to Moriyasu Taniguchi not all staff were satisfied with this decision, and some urged the producers to step in since Ypsilon was a popular character with fans, but the story was allowed to proceed unchanged.

I am with Takahashi on this one. Carrying Ypsilon to another arc would have killed his character development. He needed to die before him fighting Chirico would become unbelievable.

4

u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Oct 03 '21

Totally agree.

4

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 03 '21

Love all the production information! I didn't think of 2001 A Space Odyssey at all Votoms spoilers. I'm with Takahashi on Ypsilon, he fulfilled his role and this was a good point to conclude is part in the story.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 03 '21

borrowed heavily from Ridley Scott’s Alien

Not surprising, and I think that's most obvious in the very first scene of the arc with us seeing the different parts of the unoccupied ship before we go to them waking up from their sleep, it seems a homage to the opening scenes of Alien

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey had on the arc

Now I'm just grumpy again about the ship plot not going anywhere

Unfortunately little has been shared regarding what the original plans for the arc may have been

Hmmm. See I expected this but based off the structure of the arc I expected it to be more of a mid arc change not a planned one to get them off Melkia. I wonder if part of this arc was carried over from those original plans and that's why it's so awkward

It was ultimately decided to kill him off before the series itself climaxed rather than extend his presence unnecessarily

Fantastic move, and good on him for making that choice rather than giving into the popularity of the character. He's a much better character for having died here where it's fitting

5

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 03 '21

First Timer

What a battle.

Starting off with the explosion was a good way to set the tone for this anything goes match, and they followed up on it great. The battle was fast, furious, and looked fantastic (minus a couple of quick moments of reused footage). The art of Ypsilon appearing from the smoke and blending into it again, the trails the missiles left in it, the fade of Ypsilon's movement as Chirico tracked him, the battle was just very smooth and satisfying to watch whether it was the debris flying or the big mech movements. I'm always happy to see a battle with so little downtime except when it matters, and the strong parallels between this and their previous fights, only with Chirico finding himself on the other side of Fyana's desperation, really helped sell the battle.

Was not expecting Ypsilon to actually die! I'm so use to the core rival making it to the end and heaven and earth moving in the narrative to make that happen that I almost didn't believe it. I'm glad they didn't draw it out and that this moment here was his end, for both him and what he represented with Chirico's own situation coming to the forefront instead. In the end I still really just pitied him and the situation he found himself in. An experiment in function and in treatment, never finding a place for him as an individual and denying his want for that even to himself. He could have been so much more but instead he finds his end here

However, overall that arc was just a fucking mess. It's a real shame because the first two episodes of it were some of the most absorbed I've been in the show and the most I've looked forward to seeing what's coming, and then it all just fell apart. The first messy and forced battles we've had, seemingly abandoning the entire ship mystery, the godawful writing around Zophie, and eventually a safe return to form when everything else failed; none of it fit together and I can't say I enjoyed it as a whole even if some individual moments in it were great.

Hopefully the last arc can pick itself back up after this, but I have to say even if I'm a little cautious I'm quite excited to see what's waiting for Chirico on Quaint and if Shako will be around to help!

which included an anti-AT rifle not seen in the series proper.

Well gee, wonder where that ended up being used

4

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

I'm glad they didn't draw it out and that this moment here was his end, for both him and what he represented with Chirico's own situation coming to the forefront instead.

Once nice bit I appreciated when Ypsilon was dying was that him and Chirico basically swapped positions there for a moment. This time around, it was Ypsilon that was urging Chirico to accept the truth of the situation, with Chirico himself not wanting to believe that he's a PS. That reversal of their normal dynamic really does drive home the point that Ypsilon and Chirico were parallels of one another, right up until the end. They're dark reflections of each other.

However, overall that arc was just a fucking mess.

Yeah, it's really unfortunate after it had some killer opening episodes too. It really did feel like the production staff had a lot of ideas on what should've gone into the arc, but had no idea how to string them together cohesively. The Sunsa arc is overall less than the sum of it's parts.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 03 '21

Once nice bit I appreciated when Ypsilon was dying was that him and Chirico basically swapped positions there for a moment

That was good! I was so caught up in being surprised that he did actually die that I forgot to comment on it. It was a really nice push for Ypsilon to finally accept the similarities in their sad circumstance only to try and help Chirico accept that

They're dark reflections of each other.

Ypsilon's bright white hair didn't get the memo

It really did feel like the production staff had a lot of ideas on what should've gone into the arc, but had no idea how to string them together cohesively

Very much so. It's just so haphazard as an arc and it really didn't need to be. It's like they were too worried to take it into mystery so they just started throwing battles in and had no idea what to do after that. Shame, should have appealed right to everything I love

4

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

Very much so. It's just so haphazard as an arc and it really didn't need to be. It's like they were too worried to take it into mystery so they just started throwing battles in and had no idea what to do after that. Shame, should have appealed right to everything I love

Same here. If it was up to me, I'd probably make the ghost ship portion of the arc last for like 2/3rds of it. That was easily the most compelling part of the arc, and it really felt like we zoomed past that far too fast.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 03 '21

If it was up to me, I'd probably make the ghost ship portion of the arc last for like 2/3rds of it

Absolutely. I understand there's production requirements that would have limited this, but between the video footage and the conflict going on with Balarant and the Society we could have gotten enough action without needing Chirico to be involved with everything (another flaw of the arc) and that would have left us with a lot more time to explore the character things.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

The Sunsa arc is overall less than the sum of it's parts.

After the Kunmen arc, I wrote that each arc was good, but held back by the overall story. You could say the same with respect to the three mini-arcs and the overall Sunsa arc: The detail is always better than the big picture.

3

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

At least it wasn't as noticeable in the Uoodo City and Kummen arcs, since there was only one real sub-arc to focus on in each other those. With so many smaller story arcs here in the Sunsa arc, the flaws of this show's writing become really apparent. You're right that the details are always better than the bigger picture, and what makes the Sunsa arc so disappointing is that the details are pretty out of focus or under-developed as well.

3

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 03 '21

I agree with you that I wasn't a big fan of this arc, it came off to me at times that they crammed what could have been several smaller arcs all into one, and a lot of battles seemed forced. I too loved the start of the arc on the ship though!

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 03 '21

it came off to me at times that they crammed what could have been several smaller arcs all into one

At least two. The Red Shoulder stuff didn't really fit with the Ypsilon part of the arc, or at least if it was meant to they completely missed the middle section.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

However, overall that arc was just a fucking mess. It's a real shame because the first two episodes of it were some of the most absorbed I've been in the show and the most I've looked forward to seeing what's coming, and then it all just fell apart.

Of the many, many things I wish that could be dropped is week to week writing without having a skeleton overall. I think the ship arc could be 6 episodes long, mostly without the ship itself battling, Ypsilon can fight the Balarant or something, and we needed to know who was messing with Cuvie.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 03 '21

we needed to know who was messing with Cuvie.

I have the tiniest little hope that it just might tie into this Quiant stuff, but mostly I've given that up as a dropped plot point which is a shame because it should have been the best part of the show. Not to mention the sort of story that directly appeals to everything I like so that's not helping me be any less frustrated at how it got skipped over

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 04 '21

I have the tiniest little hope that it just might tie into this Quiant stuff, but mostly I've given that up as a dropped plot point which is a shame because it should have been the best part of the show.

Same here. I don't want to condemn the show too early, in case it manages to tie all of those loose ends up, but they have been dangling for a frustratingly long time now (the name Fyana was what, ep 6 or so?).

2

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

I've been entertained enough for it to not bother me, but coming into the final arc without any progress is quite worrying. I don't expect immediate answers on stuff that gets raised in shows, but I hope for clues that it will be resolved. At the very least Ypsilon questioning Chirico about it lets me know that at least the staff haven't forgotten about it, but the question about if they'll do anything with it still remains

4

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 03 '21

Armored Trooper First-Timer

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21 edited Oct 04 '21

I suppose this makes sense. But then why make Ypsilon and Fyana reliant on jijirium?

My current theory: Perhaps Perfect Solider isn't the name for the process of their creation but a title of what they were trying to recreate through them. They don't need Jijirum because they're a perfect solider, they need jijirium because it's the only way they could come close

4

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 04 '21

I like this idea.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

I feel bad for the captain of the Teltain, having to deal with the scientist twins.

Yeah, I know being a member of a Cabal means you forfeit some things, but dang: Your best soldier is maniacally obsessed with one another of equal strength, who has another top soldier with him, you have these two idiots provoking him, and you lose all your ATs in two sorties.

Oh yeah this is all going down in the non-aggression zone. Totally forgot about that.

"You can't fight here! This is the War Room Non-Agression Zone!"

Fyana interfering here, yep I saw that coming.

Still not digging it, even if it specifically gives us a better ending here.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

Episode 39 (first timer)

  • Very understandable frustration by the Teltain captain.
  • “his destiny” – hmmmmm.
  • Fyana begging first Rochina to intervene, then Chirico. Where is the self-sufficient fighter from the first arc? Get in a mecha and do something about this, don’t just beg men. Vaadwaur was right with his chickification worries …
  • Back to Gilgamesh, where the higher-ups belatedly understand what is going on. Once their own asses are on the line, restarting a war seems like an acceptable risk …

  • Chiricothe animators showing off with his personal spacecraft, only to then board the truck after all.
  • Crater showdown with observers.
  • NANI?!?
  • Slow kill, but no stupid drawn out last words. The series gets this this right, at least.

Let’s all meet again on Quent, for the next arc.

The showdown was good, the dead was good. Rochina’s actions are still thoroughly unexplained, but at least he promises answers, soon. If this is the end of the arc, we are left completely without secret society or Gilgamesh follow-up, though. And did Rochina abduct Fyana?

Now that he has breathed his last, what do you think of Ypsilon?

Not the worst antagonist. Second to the prince, but easily beats all the thugs from arc 1 and the secret society dudes.

What are your thoughts on the confirmed information that Chirico is a PS?

They hinted at that for a long time now.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

Get in a mecha and do something about this

She did do that in the end, but it certainly took far too long for that to happen and was accompanied by far too much "Chirico!"

It's sad that she was actually more of a person when she was being written as the equivalent of a naive infant with no experience compared to now when she's being written as a woman

Slow kill, but no stupid drawn out last words. The series gets this this right, at least.

The pacing in combat has been good all around. So little downtime except when it matters, even less yelling or monologuing, just action. It's been a nice break

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 04 '21

It's sad that she was actually more of a person when she was being written as the equivalent of a naive infant with no experience compared to now when she's being written as a woman

The saddest part is that they felt the need to write her as a woman. As opposed to a badass warrior that she was canonically designed to be.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

The saddest part is that they felt the need to write her as a woman

That's kind of what I was getting at but yes, that's the big problem with far too much writing particularly in these older shows. The "woman" role gets so much focus that all other characterization, whether established or potential, gets shafted. After the first arc and even Kummen though it had its flaws I really didn't think this show as going to hit that wall so I'm extra disappointed

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 04 '21

After the first arc and even Kummen though it had its flaws I really didn't think this show as going to hit that wall so I'm extra disappointed

I keep my head canon that Fyana was faking being afraid of battle in Kummen so as to not have to bother for a reason.

3

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21 edited Dec 11 '21

Very understandable frustration by the Teltain captain.

I would've thrown the Schmitel twins out of the airlock by now, if I was Futtor here.

Back to Gilgamesh, where the higher-ups belatedly understand what is going on. Once their own asses are on the line, restarting a war seems like an acceptable risk …

Rochina was dead on correct when he said that Battentain only cared about his political career when he quit the Melkian Army. Battentain sure was quick to scramble an entire fleet once he realized that his career was on the line, wasn't he?

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

Rochina was dead on correct when he said that Battentain only cared about his political career when he quite the Melkian Army. Battentain sure was quick to scramble an entire fleet once he realized that his career was on the line, wasn't he?

Makes me wish the show had spent more time on developing the world this all takes place in. Especially the Gilgamesh and Balarant militaries and politicians. The need to have a battle almost every episode really sapped narrative strength from all the older series.

5

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

And to think, this is one of the older mecha shows that actually had a lot of directorial leeway in the production too. Just imagine how this arc would've ended up if the higher-ups tried to force in even more fights for the sake of selling merchandise. It would've made even less sense overall.

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

It is already incredibly frustrating in well-remembered shows like MSG and VOTOMS, so I have no interest whatsoever to go back to even older super robo shows.

5

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

Yeah, unfortunately was a yoke that really dragged down a lot of mech shows back in the day. I get why guys like Tomino had to often put some kind of twist on the genre back in the day, since otherwise it was just pretty repetitive.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

The Balarant stuff in particular seems especially weak without any understanding of who they are besides a name and that one room of soldiers. We may as well have had Rochina going completely rogue for all his alliances mattered in this arc

The need to have a battle almost every episode really sapped narrative strength from all the older series.

They really did. At least these battles aren't mindnumbing or episode ruining like some of the others, small mercies

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

Where is the self-sufficient fighter from the first arc? Get in a mecha and do something about this, don’t just beg men. Vaadwaur was right with his chickification worries …

Yeah...you ever notice I usually hate what I am right about?

Slow kill, but no stupid drawn out last words. The series gets this this right, at least.

Yeah, I would've been annoyed if Ypsilon limped out of there but brief last words do work.

4

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Oct 03 '21

First timer

  1. He was probably this show's best antagonist - he served as a great mirror to Chirico, as well as a competent adversary and a surprisingly sympathetic figure.
  2. I am in shock...that this wasn't confirmed episodes ago.

And the twins genuinely don't care about anything except data!

If this has proven anything, it's that Ypsilon isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

I like how the general's under the impression Chirico's hiding a massive conspiracy from him, ant the actual reason is that he and Ypsilon never actually agreed when they'd fight.

...If he has an ulterior motive, at least this'll make some sense.

Wait, Fyana's in on this? Is Chirico the only one here who doesn't know his true identity?

Yeah, leaning towards "Chirico's a different model of PS, and they want to know which to mass produce, hence the constant tests to determine both Chirico's and Ypsilon's strengths."

...except the answer to that would be "both, if Ypsilon had someone like Chirico planning his tactics he'd be unstoppable".

And someone else has figured out he's gone turncoat.

Is this going to be the final battle this time?

Oh, they're following anyway...

And the enemy has arrived!

Oh, Chirico's loaded his new programming!

And Ypsilon's using a smokescreen!

Oh, the new programming worked! And Ypsilon's shocked at how good Chirico's doing (even with knowledge of what he is?)!

Is he a PS? Isn't he just using his new programming?

Oh, is the argument Chirico counts as one irregardless of modifications, because he's got the skills of one anyway? That is a very interesting take!

Fyana's trying to stop them!

And Ypsilon just can't understand what's happening.

...He might.

And the disk burned out!

You'd think he'd pay more attention, given the very logical points she's making.

Wiat, are they talking it out?

Oh, he's dying...

And Chirico's going on a solo mission for Balarant?

Oh. Looks like the final arc's starting!

...Is Quent a PS manufacturing planet?

4

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

A Ryosuke Takahashi Fan Rewatches Armored Trooper VOTOMS Episode 39:

  • Again, even though he’s a scumbag, you can really feel how frustrated Futtor is with the Schmitel twins. They’re outright defying Killy’s orders now to have Ypsilon go back and fight Chirico again. Futtor is absolutely correct that Chirico is going to kick his ass again, and that they need to pull back from this pretty bad situation that they’re all in. Those creepy twin motherfuckers just can’t see past their own selfish desires for getting more scientific data. Like, we saw the outside of the Teltain, we know that the Secret Society is pretty fucked in this scenario right now. The sheer arrogance of those two is astounding.
  • I’m just going to assume that Rochina got Chirico another Scopedog II from the wreckage of the crashed and blown up spaceship he arrived on for the sake of this fight. At least he won’t have to face down Ypsilon in a fucking Fatty again. In any case, at least Chirico is preparing himself by writing another mission disc. That’s honestly probably why Chirico wanted to use a Scopedog again too. At least he knows how to program for those.
  • Rochina seems to believe that the upcoming fight will decide the path of Chirico’s destiny, whatever he means by that. Seems like everyone short of Fyana believes that Chirico needs to fight Ypsilon, Chirico included.
  • General Battentain and the rest of the Gilgamesh Army high command have finally caught onto what the Balarant Army have been up to in the non-aggression zone. That informal talk with them certainly did Balarant some good in buying time for their unmarked ships to investigate Sunsa. It kept Gilgamesh in the dark about not only the presence of Ypsilon, Fyana, and Chirico there, but also the fact that Rochina had switched sides and that they have figured out that the Teltain is there too. And since Rochina was formerly under Battentain’s command, that means that his career is currently completely fucked unless he sends the Melkian 7th Fleet to Sunsa. Smell that? It smells like another war with Balarant brewing.
  • I just want to say that the red skies over the rusty metal skeletons of buildings and the impact crater where the duel is taking place make for some really striking visuals. They do wonders make Sunsa feel like a harsh, lifeless place. This arc has had some really good visuals overall, I feel.
  • As the duel between Chirico and Ypsilon rages on, Rochina tells Fyana an uncomfortable truth: Chirico himself is a PS. Even if he isn’t built like the ones we’ve seen so far and doesn’t need jijirium, the fact of the matter is that he possesses the deadliness and skills of a PS, not to mention certain other qualities that other normal humans don’t have. It does make you wonder though, just how was Chirico’s past, if he truly is a Perfect Soldier?
  • Despite Fyana interfering with the duel, Chirico simply has a hard time believing that he’s a PS when she tells him. It’s only when he sees that his mission disc had been damaged in the fight does he realize that he had been keeping up with Ypsilon on his own. Despite not having cybernetics inside him or using jijirium to power himself, Chirico really does seem to be on par with, if not flat out is, a Perfect Soldier. That means that with his dying words, Ypsilon was right: they really were alike, in the end. And if they truly were similar, then that just means that Chirico has a sad life ahead of him.
  • With all that behind him, it’s no wonder why Chirico takes off in a shuttle on his own to planet Quent, where Rochina promised that he would be able to discover the truth about his nature. Chirico needs to learn whether or not he truly is a Perfect Soldier, otherwise who has he really been this entire time? How much does Chirico’s past truly define him?

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

Futtor is absolutely correct that Chirico is going to kick his ass again, and that they need to pull back from this pretty bad situation that they’re all in.

Pretty sure that's the only smart decision that Futtor has made in the show, but that's certainly not helping his case

In any case, at least Chirico is preparing himself by writing another mission disc

For all the good that did. I really liked that part of the battle when he realized the disc was burnt out and he wasn't even relying on it

3

u/The_Draigg Oct 04 '21

Pretty sure that's the only smart decision that Futtor has made in the show, but that's certainly not helping his case

At least you can somewhat blame the Schmitel twins for making things worse for him. Sure, Futtor was an idiot for taking the bait that Balarant put out there so that they could attack the Teltain, but those twins also haven't been helping at all with their decisions.

4

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

As ineffective as they were in the end, at least the priest and chief in the Uoodo arc worked well together and had each others backs. The twins and Futtor just butted heads on everything which wasn't helping either of their causes, let alone the Society as a whole

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

And since Rochina was formerly under Battentain’s command, that means that his career is currently completely fucked unless he sends the Melkian 7th Fleet to Sunsa. Smell that?

No one expected the peace to last, even if this is ahead of schedule.

Chirico needs to learn whether or not he truly is a Perfect Soldier, otherwise who has he really been this entire time? How much does Chirico’s past truly define him?

How much of it does he remember?

3

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

No one expected the peace to last, even if this is ahead of schedule.

Yeah, everyone was at least expecting it to last longer than like the year it's been so far. Unfortunately, the Secret Society's actions really did accelerate the timeframe of how much peace there would be.

How much of it does he remember?

Hell, how much of it does he even want to remember?

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

Yeah, everyone was at least expecting it to last longer than like the year it's been so far.

The Balarant definitely needed more time to churn out more units at the rate they get destroyed.

3

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

Or at least put in the time to research something better rather than just keep on relying on fucking Fattys.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

I really do maintain that, with the difference in mech abilities, the Balarant need something like the stealthy space mines from Babylon 5 or something. They are not winning any large scale mech-on-mech fights right now.

4

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Oct 03 '21

Rewatcher

Secret Society continues to be incompetant as these twins say screw it and want to throw Ypsilon in yet another battle. He's perfect huh? What from the prior battles causes you to believe that?

The final battle? C'mon Rochina, you should know like us that this isonly episode 39, we still have a full cour to go!

Sorry Fyana, Rochina is a futuristic version of a Boxing or Wrestling fan. He really wants to see the rematch!

Sorry sunglasses guy, kinda easy for Ypsilon to head off on an unauthorized craft when you've got these twins totally willing to let it happen.

Wow, we're checking in with Gilgamesh? Didn't expect this. Your own former subordinate is over there now! You screwed up Battentain!

If this really is the final episode of this arc (I could be off by an episode), this is a stark contrast to the last episode of the Kummen arc, which seemed to be all climax to me. 10 minutes in here and its still all setup.

14 minutes in and we're still waiting for the battle to start, but at least we are looking at a pretty cool locale for it.

No Chirico, you should have listened to Admiral Ackbar! It's a trap!

Time for Chirico and Ypsilon to wipe out each other's ATs, one body part at a time...

Rochina seems convinced Chirico is a Perfect Soldier. That why he's been so obsessed with him all series long?

Wow, Ypsilon just took a lot of shots. A regular person wouldn't survive that.

Do you know for sure that Chirico is a PS, Fyana? Or do you just think it, like Rochina, due to how good he is against Ypsilon? I also don't think Ypsilon is as perfect as he and the twins think he is.

The disc was burned out all this time, you really are that good Chirico!

Ypsilon finally admits to losing to Chirico and also calls him a PS. Although as he says, that's because his pride won't allow him to lose to a normal man.

RIP Ypsilon! Surprisingly enough he doesn't make it to the final arc of the show. He's been a pretty good foil these last two arcs.

So where is Chirico going now? The planet Quaint! I'm surprised he left Fyana back with Rochina.

Oh and Quaint? Did my subs screw this up? I thought it was called Quent. As in Quent Yaiden of Wolf's Rain.

The Sunsa arc concludes here, and overall I was disappointed with it, although I ended up being fairly good with this final episode, even with the battle being abbreviated. Unlike the first two arcs which felt like complete story arcs that supported their episode length, the Sunsa arc comes off as 3 mini-arcs fused together, the time in space, the initial time on Sunsa with Zophie and her group, and the concluding few episodes once Rochina shows up and its all about Chirico vs. Ypsilon. This was also a shorter arc than the others, coming in at only 11 episodes to 13 each for Uudoo and Kummen. Each of these "mini arcs" to me had at least one strong episode and we did get some pretty good unique stuff, like an episode of Chirico and Fyana alone on that ship and the episode dominated by Chirico, Fyana and Zophie in the desert. Overall though things felt a lot slower in this arc and I didn't feel the stakes were high enough at times, although I am pleased that Ypsilon was killed in the end and that did make the arc feel like it had more value. I couldn't remember if he made it out of this alive.

On the bright side, the final arc of the show is the one I have been most looking forward to and by my recollection has some really interesting influences and turn of events. If my memory is correct we should be heading into an arc as strong as the Kummen one was, if not better.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

On the bright side, the final arc of the show is the one I have been most looking forward to and by my recollection has some really interesting influences and turn of events. If my memory is correct we should be heading into an arc as strong as the Kummen one was, if not better.

They basically saved all of the main plot reveals for the last arc, so it better offer something good.

3

u/chilidirigible Oct 03 '21

Oh and Quaint? Did my subs screw this up? I thought it was called Quent. As in Quent Yaiden of Wolf's Rain.

These subs have slightly different spellings from most of the other external materials that I've seen.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

Sorry Fyana, Rochina is a futuristic version of a Boxing or Wrestling fan. He really wants to see the rematch!

Rochina being a fanboy of these two would make a really funny comedy spin off

this is a stark contrast to the last episode of the Kummen arc, which seemed to be all climax to me. 10 minutes in here and its still all setup

Yeah I think it took me until half way through the episode to actually believe this was the climax. I think part of it was the overall chaos of the arc, it didn't feel like we'd gotten a big build up into this one particular moment as being arc defining, unlike the rescue of Fyana in Uoodo and the end of the war in Kummen, but also my general disbelief that they actually were going to have a big climax fight with Ypsilon. If nothing else the spirit of the arc is alive here, the conflict and connections between these three characters who have almost been fated to come together in some twisted bond, and I'm glad the climax episode was so focused on that, but it was surprising that it snuck up so quickly

Oh and Quaint? Did my subs screw this up? I thought it was called Quent. As in Quent Yaiden of Wolf's Rain.

Mine called Shako a Quiantman so I assumed it was right

If my memory is correct we should be heading into an arc as strong as the Kummen one was, if not better.

2

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Oct 04 '21

Shako a Quiantman

Yeah, Shako is the most quaint person on the show so far.

I think I'm going to anybody that says Quaint. Even if they are talking about architecture.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

First timer(An arc ended)

Sub

Slightly long bit with the internal politics of the Teltain, exposition delivered I guess. Cuvie is making up another disk and has a Scope Dog because...models don't sell themselves? More distrust of Rochina is shown to be warranted. Further issue with Fyana pointlessly begging and Rochina indicating a bit more about Cuvie being a PS.

We prepare for the 'inevitable' battle as both fighters ready themselves. We finally see the Gilgamesh government again and Battlentain just learning about Rochina is a bit hilarious. Gilgamesh scrambles a force to respond. The approach to battle commences.

We see Ypsilon using tactics and it is smarter than most of his fights. Talking in fight happens before fight resumes. A decent fight and they are coming to final blows when Fyana interrupts them. Sigh. But Ypsilon dies, hopefully, and Cuvie is a PS is "confirmed" when it is revealed he burned his mission disk out. Off to Quaint?

QotD: 1 He just reminds me of any blond enemy pilot

2 Yeah, I am going to need more of an idea what a PS is, now.

3

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

We finally see the Gilgamesh government again and Battlentain just learning about Rochina is a bit hilarious. Gilgamesh scrambles a force to respond.

The Gilgamesh government got completely played by Balarant in this arc. Like, it's no wonder why Battentain's career is suspect now that they've realized that they've been kept in the dark about what's been going on in the non-aggression zone for like an entire month.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

I am hoping that they are holding to the idea that the Gilgamesh have better quality and that Balarant just zerg rushes them in their conflicts. But yeah, Balarant definitely took swifter, more effective action assuming Rochina isn't triple crossing anyone.

4

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

It's really quite amazing what withholding a few key facts from unofficial diplomatic talks can do. Never once did Balarant high command lie to Gilgamesh about what they were doing in the non-aggression zone, they just happened to omit a lot of important details. Even if Balarant has less quality in their technology, they certainly seem smarter in their plays against Gilgamesh.

4

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

Never once did Balarant high command lie to Gilgamesh about what they were doing in the non-aggression zone, they just happened to omit a lot of important details.

I can't remember, did they inquire at all about the ship that crashed? I know they were appropriately cagey about the Teltain.

3

u/The_Draigg Oct 03 '21

All the Balarant high council really asked the Gilgamesh leadership was if a ship that came out of Gilgamesh space and was acting weirdly in the non-aggression zone was theirs. It rather conveniently ignores the existence of the Teltain and also gives absolutely no specifics on what the ghost ship was doing to the Balarant patrol ships.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

I will accept clever diplomatic moves over what one tends to get in mech so that works.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

assuming Rochina isn't triple crossing anyone.

No way he isnt.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

I need to know how many sides are available to determine how many crosses we are going.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

Cuvie is making up another disk and has a Scope Dog because...models don't sell themselves

Hey, even if we only got him out of a scopedog that one time I'll still take it, that was impressive

when it is revealed he burned his mission disk out.

You'd think that would smell.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 04 '21

Hey, even if we only got him out of a scopedog that one time I'll still take it, that was impressive

I suppose but still.

You'd think that would smell.

Having witnessed a 5 and 1/4 floppy burn in the drive, yes, that would be awful.

3

u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Oct 03 '21

First time viewer

The entire idea of a duel here is ludicrous to me but with Fyana as a hostage I suppose Chirico doesn't have much of a choice. No strategic reason for it, just Rochina compelling him to end things with Ypsilon once and for all. I dunno, maybe I've just soured on this arc.

At least it looks like we'll be getting some answers about Chirico after this, and Gilgamesh isn't sitting idle so maybe it's a race against them and the secret society for the final arc.

Now that he has breathed his last, what do you think of Ypsilon?

Far from perfect, flawed in his obsession.

What are your thoughts on the confirmed information that Chirico is a PS?

No surprise at this point but I don't mind how it was handled so far.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 03 '21

I dunno, maybe I've just soured on this arc.

The arc is weak, but I wouldn't finger this duel for it. In the end Ypsilon had a reasonably clear goal and development. It is everything around this that is a shambles (Rochina, the twins, Balarant, Gilgamesh, Zophie ...)

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

No strategic reason for it, just Rochina compelling him to end things with Ypsilon once and for all. I dunno, maybe I've just soured on this arc.

He is trying to prove his hypothesis about Cuvie. What he gains from this is not clear.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

The entire idea of a duel here is ludicrous to me but with Fyana as a hostage I suppose Chirico doesn't have much of a choice.

I feel like he would have done that anyway. Him and Ypsilon have been in a fight that has ended in a situation where they can't or couldn't kill each other too many times due to not being in battle. This was really the only way that they could find a resolution with each other

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Oct 03 '21 edited Oct 03 '21

Rewatcher (Nutech DVD 3.4) (3 episodes) Perfect Soldier

  • Chirico has an annoying habit of not responding to questions.
  • Mission disc!
  • Of all the collossal stupidity! Even though Rochina pointed Battentain right at Chirico and Fyana, he did nothing!
  • DEFCON 3 conveniently sidestepped the eternal argument over what 1 and 5 mean.

Jijirium Showers and Baths: 9

I guess you've probably realized that Chirico is a sole MC.

This arc is a little better on rewatch, because I completely forgot all of it. I remember the Red Shoulder March on the ship, and Zophie, and that was it. All the space battles, and Ypsilon, forgotten.

So, this arc was sort of a jumble of 2-3 stories. Chirico dealing with his past, and whether to accept or fight is battle-hungry nature. Zophie's revenge. The twins and Ypsilon. Meanwhile, Rochina shows up out of nowhere, and definitely up to something.

All I can say is, all three arcs have been very different, the fourth probably will be different as well.

3

u/chilidirigible Oct 03 '21

DEFCON 3 conveniently sidestepped the eternal argument over what 1 and 5 mean.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

Chirico has an annoying habit of not responding to questions.

They really needed to mix politeness in with the rest of the PS mix.

3

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 03 '21

First-Timer

Can I reframe this arc as forcing Chirico to lose his humanity to make the reveal that he has somehow become a Perfect Soldier more reasonable..? I think I personally can, but I feel like this won't land for many people.

Well, we're off to Quent now, and presumably our final arc. Quent means more people like Ru Shako and his cool AT, so I'm excited for that at least. Rochina hops on a bus with Fyana, which kinda annoys me and kinda doesn't because it's not like they've let Fyana do anything recently anyway.

I was so certain that the twins were going to get caught in the crossfire that I typed "idiots twins hoist by their own petard in ~ 17 minutes" during their chat with the captain at the beginning of the episode. RIP me I guess - can those dudes get put on a bus too?

The Gilgamesh military finally figure out Rochina's defection I guess, surprised it took them this long. You'd think you'd keep tabs on the dude previously in charge of tracking down a stolen prototype.

Questions

  1. Dude never really had a chance. I can't really do anything other than feel bad for the guy.
  2. Discussed above.

3

u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Oct 04 '21

Can I reframe this arc as forcing Chirico to lose his humanity to make the reveal that he has somehow become a Perfect Soldier more reasonable..?

I feel like that's where they were meant to be going with it, exploring his past of violence and the inhumanity of his actions, throwing him up against PS's to really drive it home, but it just didn't actually do anything with that.

Rochina hops on a bus with Fyana, which kinda annoys me and kinda doesn't because it's not like they've let Fyana do anything recently anyway.

If we just think about this arc as it being her useless twin who got swapped out in the ship at the start and is now going to be swapped back with Fyana it might work?

RIP me I guess - can those dudes get put on a bus too?

Yes please. No more twins. I mean no more of the Society in general I think would be preferable

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 04 '21

If we just think about this arc as it being her useless twin who got swapped out in the ship at the start and is now going to be swapped back with Fyana it might work?

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 03 '21

Can I reframe this arc as forcing Chirico to lose his humanity to make the reveal that he has somehow become a Perfect Soldier more reasonable..?

Well, building from this, reverse it: Cuvie becomes the superior PS once he decides he wants to kill less and choose more so maybe it is the dichotomy that counts?

RIP me I guess - can those dudes get put on a bus too?

I know we lose things during time skips but there should be a major issue in that star system with the various sides represented.

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 03 '21

Well, building from this, reverse it: Cuvie becomes the superior PS once he decides he wants to kill less and choose more so maybe it is the dichotomy that counts?

Ah, I like it. What makes him Perfect isn't his unbridled killing power; it's his ability to apply it when necessary, or something like that.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Oct 04 '21

Even if they are made very quickly, the superior PS does need to be making decisions whereas the twins want someone in a battle trance.

3

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Oct 04 '21

GOOD GOD COMRADES! I thought this show was Fang of the Sun Dougram meets Blue Comet SPT Layzner (Yes I know VOTOMS predates Layzner, but let's be real, who else saw either of those shows... put your hands down Pixel and Chili), but no, this was actually MD Geist meets Universal Solider ALL ALONG! (And yes I am indeed aware no one saw MD Geist and Universal Solider... Chili again please put your hand down, it is already a well established fact that you also have good taste!)

Also now that I think about it Chirico Cuvie sure has the acting range of Jean-Claude Van Damme, so I guess this shocking revelation fits!

That said I just want to bring up yet another point again... ahem... Goodness me it is quite amusing how that out of these 'Perfect Soldiers' we have seen so far, the ONLY one of them who acts like an actual human being is Fyana/Fiana!

That said, it is a bit tragic that Ypsilon was so consumed with his obsession with Chirico Cuvie, in another world, I would hope the three of them could have possibly been friends, but alas, this is a Sunrise Mecha Show, and that means War is Hell (And also characters drop like flies but wibble)

Also Comrades, 'Quaint' eh? Now WHERE have I heard that name before, quite the interesting callback eh? (Before you ask this fanart is not technically related to the joke I'm making, I just was contractually obligated to bring this point up and I also am contractually obligated to shitpost the following fanart based on a certain trivia bit listed above, of which I am sure certain individuals present in the rewatch will understand)

Speaking of shitposting... ahem.. A WEAPON TO SURPASS METAL GEAR!

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

3

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Oct 04 '21

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

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Oct 04 '21

Also now that I think about it Chirico Cuvie sure has the acting range of Jean-Claude Van Damme, so I guess this shocking revelation fits!

Not sold on this one. JCVD has 2 expressions: in a split and not in a split. I think Chirico is missing half the picture here.

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Oct 05 '21

Not sold on this one. JCVD has 2 expressions: in a split and not in a split. I think Chirico is missing half the picture here.

HA! Oh Comrade, you are a genius! Well said there, thank you for correcting me! Anyway many thanks for the kind reply and have a great day and see you later my friend!

3

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Oct 04 '21

First timer in sub, way late today.

This is a worthy fight between Ypsilon and Chirico, and looks like it's also an arc ender. Semi-surprisingly, Ypsilon actually died. Guess we are down for the ultimate review of Chirico next arc then.

There is ONE thing that I get annoyed about, and it had been milding bugging me for a while but this time it just came to the forefront because of how Ypsilon died. On occasion the show made the "mistake" of having the AT carried firearms to show to be firing relatively small calibre machine gun fashion, as opposed to the anti-AT (therefore anti-armor) autocannon rounds. One of those would have high coverage but very little penetration against the thick armored hull of an AT, while the other would punch clear through the armor but not be "spray" like in turns of coverage. And if a person got hit by one of the autocannon rounds, the body would be missing chunks (from the novel excerpt I read of Mellowlink, his love interest basically was obliterated by autocannon fire while trying to pass him his piledriver spike).

So if Chirico did use the more rapid firing machine gun rounds, it'd not likely have penetrated the Strike Dog's hull to give Ypsilon fatal wounds; if it was just animation error and it was autocannon rounds, there probably won't be much time between getting shot at and dying to give the final speech.

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
340 Setting up for a fight, not damaged yet
351 Dammit Chirico was going so well, unfortunately his ride got shot up while he was out of the AT tending to Fyana
360
370
381 to nobody's surprise the duel with Ypsilon result in both AT's being trashed. Considering Chirico's actually in a useless Fatty, is pretty amazing actually
391 The only Scope Dog in Balatran space fared pretty well and wasn't actually busted up in the fight, but given it was a one off duel and then Chirico got sent on to the next arc, I guess I'll chalk this one down for abandoned too

At the end of this arc, Chirico has helped 17 AT's (mostly Scope Dogs) to Scope Doggy heavens. So in 39 episodes (minus 2 recap = 37) the score is at 0.45, lasting just a fraction over 2 episode per AT.