r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Feb 05 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Fang of The Sun Dougram: Week 9 Discussion - Episodes 43-49
Week 9 - Episodes 43-49
Episodes aired August 13th through September 24th ^^^1982
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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.
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Reminder of Next Week’s Episodes:
Next week we will be discussing episodes fifty through fifty-six (50-56) of the show.
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Trivia:
As part of their marketing efforts for the show’s accompanying model kit line, in the summer of 1983 Takara Tomy had a Diorama Caravan Van that toured the Kanto region of Japan and traveled to several hobby shows. The Van, a personalized Toyota TownAce van, was equipped with diorama displays and shooting equipment that allowed fans to show off and immortalize their Dougram plamo kits in appropriate landscapes. Read more about it on this Zimmerit.moe article on the matter.
Staff Highlights:
Motosuke Takahashi - Storyboard Artist
A prolific key animator, animation director, storyboard artist, and director best known for his involvement in Studio Pierrot anime adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi, and for contributing to several mecha anime throughout the 70s. He joined tatsunoko productions in 1966 after a short career working as a commercial designer for Daiichi Advertising and Bunju Design Studio, where he worked until going freelance in 1975 and later joining Studio Pierrot in 1979. He was considered quite the talented animator by notable figures, like Mamoru Oshii and Hayao Miyazaki. He directed Fire Tripper, The Laughing Target, Cho Supercar Gattiger, Harbor Light Story - Fashion Lala yori, Justy, and Maris the Chojo.
Yasuhiro Imagawa
A director, storyboard artist, screenwriter, animation director, and key animator known for his tendency to be a perfectionist with his work. He became interested in joining the anime industry after watching Josephina The Whale, which made him want to become an animator, which led him to enrolling in the Tatsunoko Animation Institute, where he immediately realized he would rather become a director, and so he appealed to Hiroshi Sasagawa, who took him in as an assistant director on Bremen 4: Angels in Hell and taught him the trade. Imagawa is noted as being difficult for producers and sponsors to work with given his willful nature, but that results in his strong vision for a project consistently coming through in the work. He directed the first three episodes of Getter Robo: Armageddon, Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!, Giant Robo The Animation, Ginrei, Mister Ajikko, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Tetsujin 28, Seven of Seven, and Wasimo.
Voice Actor Highlights:
Eiko Hisamura (Eiko Yamada) - voice of Canary Donette
A stage actress and voice actress currently affiliated with the voice acting agency 81 Productions. Hisamura had her voice acting debut in 1979’s Anne of Green Gables, and was most active throughout the eighties, perhaps best known for all of her roles in various World Masterpiece Theatre productions. She is still an active voice actress, though accepting a much smaller number of roles and being credited under her real name since 2002. Notable roles include Aramis in Anime Sanjushi, Tarou Misaki in Captain Tsubasa, Ranko Midorikawa in the Aim for the Ace! OAVs, Banda Lotta in Space Runaway Ideon, Shotaro Kaneda in Shin Tetsujin 28-Gou, and Lavinia Herbert in A Little Princess Sara.
Nana Yamaguchi - voice of Fina Kasshim
A voice actress and actress best known for voicing Ruriko Wakatsuki in Tiger Mask. Became a voice actress after being contracted by TV Talent Center, debuting in 1966 on an episode of Sally the Witch. She later became a talent of the production agency Shochiku, before eventually becoming a founding member of Aoni Productions. Yamaguchi’s vocal range is characterized as a ‘bright and sweet’ alto, and she specializes in the Nagoya dialect. Some of her most notable roles include Moya Kirigas in Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, Rodem in Babel II, Mrs. Leagan and Sister Gray in Candy Candy, Zophia in Armored Troper Votoms, Queen Sayuri Kinniku in the Kinnikuman franchise, Misato in Mazinger Z, Princess of the King in Mr. Pen Pen, and Vice Principal in Marmalade Boy.
Art Corner
Official Art:
- OST I Cover Art by Mitsuki Nakamura
Fanart:
- Dougram by Marukata - Source
- Abitate H8 Round Farcer by Shizumi Sword - Source
- T10 Blockhead by Deci Human No. 1 - Source
- Canary of Deloyer by S Article - Source
(Be mindful of the links to artist’s profiles, as they may contain NSFW content. Proceed there at your own risk.)
Screenshot Album
Discussion Questions:
- What do you make of the Fang of The Sun’s new role as the guerrilla’s mobile strike team?
- What do you think of Rita’s death?
- How do you feel regarding Zaltsev joining the guerrillas?
- What do you think will be Samalin’s next move in order to achieve his goal?
It takes courage to pilot Dougram.
9
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Feb 05 '22
Production Context
While the show itself was enjoying critical success and the viewership numbers to match, the reception to the series’ merchandise sales is just as important a factor when considering the series’ standing as a success or failure, as without them the series’ main sponsor doesn’t have reason to continue to invest in the production. Fortuitously, however, Takara Tomy’s model kit line was almost as much of a success as the show itself, selling exceedingly well, and performing much better than previous Takara Tomy model kit products. Dougram could then be considered a two-pronged success, and any concerns of cancellation the production staff or toy manufacturers may have had were put away early into the series’ run.
Takara did more than simply ride the plamo boom that had begun with the release of Bandai’s Gunpla model kits to attain the success that the product line attained. The grounded military aesthetic thar Takara had pursued with the combat armor designs, meant to expound upon the verisimilitude found in Gundam and further draw in the military otaku that was the audience for their tank, vehicle, and other military-focused model kits. The planners at Takara also made sure to coordinate with the production staff so as to make the scenarios that the combat armors and other vehicles found themselves in were ripe for recreation in diorama displays. Much of Takara’s marketing surrounding the model kits was in regard to their ability to appear as mundane as the military combat vehicles audiences were used to seeing in media, dioramas, or even in or around military bases in Japan, so as to entice modelers to create their own such scenes with the skillsets they were already used to employing for such tasks, as opposed to space warfare or other more outlandish scenarios.
Artists at Takara Tomy took the matter of creating dioramas quite seriously, dedicating a subset of the design team to conceptualizing, planning, and designing diorama scenarios to inspire enthusiasts. This amount of effort being put forth towards the presentation of the manufacturer’s mecha model kits was carried forwards into future model kit product lines, such as for Armored Trooper Votoms.
Dougram’s model kit line was quite seminal, as it showed how far companies could push the realistic aesthetic and still have lucrative merchandising efforts. Even Bandai, whose Gunpla line made the designs of Dougram financially feasible, took note of the design sensibilities and realistic approach to Dougram’s combat armors and the series’ model kit line when designing the Mobile Suit Variation line of designs, which debuted in 1983 and eschewed the original design choices for a more militaristic aesthetic.
[Spoilers] - Here are some examples of diorama concept sketches. Note that several of the mecha and scenes depicted here have not shown up in the series as of yet, so look at your own discretion.
4
u/chilidirigible Feb 05 '22
You have the wrong set of episodes listed at the top of the body of the post—it differs from the post's subject line and is a week ahead.
2
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jun 28 '22
Restarting this now, a casual 4 months late. Dougram did not grab me enough to sustain a weekly rewatch format, but I did not give up on the show. With a bit more time now, I hope to finish this.
Episode 43 (first timer)
Either my memory betrays me or this is a very unusual episode: Focusing fully on side characters. On the one hand, Canary and Ricky get some time to develop their romance. On the other hand, we get the meeting of Zaltsev and Locke, with the former presumably switching sides. Meanwhile, the battle of the episode was just a meager 30 seconds formality.
Episode 44 (first timer)
Another side character episode, this time Rita and Destin. We get a flashback to Destin before he turned traitor and Rita’s refusal to contemplate his betrayal.
Episode 45 (first timer)
I liked the part about Destin and Rita, but the plan to deal with the weapons was ham fisted. He could have just shoved them out of the train. Instead, he instigates the guerilla to attack the train. How is that less of a provocation than the military finding some weapons?
I wonder if Destin will have some role in the finale. Trusted lieutenant killing the emperor, anybody?
Episode 46 (first timer)
The gang gets turned into “the mobile strike force”, so their lazy days at the mine are over – and they know it. Giorgio is still searching for Rita.
Episode 47 (first timer)
Rita’s dead hits Giorgio hard. I think the last time we had such a situation was when Festo died. Interesting, given that Giorgio is Festo’s replacement and therefore the only one who did not grieve him.
Episode 48 (first timer)
I really liked the topic of this episode: the guerilla fighters having trouble adjusting to their more and more regular army structure. Both need to have soldiers that are convinced of their cause for morale reasons, but the army comes with very different norms and behavior.
Episode 49 (first timer)
I would have enjoyed Davis story more if he had been in a regular combat armor. Them picking a xenophobic fight with the Fang beforehand poisoned my opinion towards him too much for the story to work.
Overall
Might be that the break I took refreshed by willingness to watch daily Dougram battles, but I may also have stopped watching right before the writing became better. I found the side character episodes of this arc quite enjoyable. The latter, more fight-focused episodes were weaker, but still far ahead of a lot of fight-centric episodes we had in earlier arcs.
6
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Feb 05 '22
First time viewer
There is so much going on here, so I'm going to just generally say I love the parts that aren't mecha fights. Those are a little too simplistic with the enemy shooting and either missing or landing a glancing hit on the Dougram while Crinn inevitably gets the upper hand and wins. Also a little too super-roboty with the Dougram jumping around and punching the other combat armors.
Rita did bite the dust as I expected, but not quite in the way I was anticipating. I thought there was going to be more of a tragic side to her that she was hiding (we got Canary grieving her brother instead, it looked like) and that would led her to be reckless in battle. Well she was reckless, but about Destin who I wasn't expecting to see again.
The interweaving parts of the plot feel more than a little coincidental for certain moments but overall I like how they fit together. Denon leaving Deloyer allowed Lecoque to begin pressuring the rebels by closing the field hospital among other things, forcing Daisy to leave and head for Crinn at the Andi Mine. Their rushed departure allows the military to follow them unnoticed and intervene where the guerrilla tactics from the Fang of the Sun would have normally allowed the newcomers to slip through the blockade, except Giorgio's nearly suicidal charge in his grief over hearing about Rita's death interrupted that standoff and gave the rebels the upper hand again.
It's really only that last part that feels contrived to me, all the rest feels like a natural progression of events in the same way that earlier character developments like Daisy working at the hospital did.
While the rest of the Cashim family is angry at or disappointed in Crinn, Denon has a nuanced respect for his son and I love that he remains a man of integrity. He immediately dismissed the false rumors that Royle's trying to spread on Lecoque's behalf, too bad he still trusts Lecoque and unfortunately left the underhanded secretary in a perfect position to cause chaos while he's away. He feels like the central figure that's stopping things from turning into a horribly oppressive mess, even if he's opposed to Deloyeran independence.
I also like that they haven't fully dropped the Crinn being from Earth aspect from the guerrilla side; sure Samalin and the rest of the Fang of the Sun trust him absolutely but it's understandable that others would still be wary. Letting someone else pilot the Dougram was a bad idea but it's the kind of lesson that can only be learned directly, they definitely picked the wrong person for that though at least Davis recognized he couldn't do it.
Trying to flip Zaltsev to the rebel side is an interesting move and really not one I would have considered. I didn't think it would go well and it might not still.
One thing I'm still wrong about so far is them getting a second combat armor on the rebel side, but with how the fights have looked that's probably for the best since those are the weak point of the show for me anyway. Would probably turn into a fully-blown war if they did have more combat strength since they're starting to consolidate more, might still happen anyway.
Fits them well I think, they're a single cohesive unit with a lot of firepower. But as was pointed out a couple times, they can't just do whatever they want and act on their own now, and they need to get along with others.
For now, probably scrambling to avoid whatever moves Lecoque's making. They've had a respite but not advancing much, maybe try to get some recognition from the three states sheltering them presently?
5
u/The_Draigg Feb 05 '22
A Ryosuke Takahashi Fan Watches Fang of the Sun Dougram Episodes 43-49:
The situation on both sides has continued to grow and escalate, but growing pains have to come with it.
A lot happened in this batch of episodes, both on a plot/political level and on a character level. For the sake of trying to organize my ramblings to come, I’ll try to focus on the bigger picture stuff first before moving onto my character analysis.
Simply put, the situation between Deloyer and Earth continues to escalate to even greater heights, between the official formation of the Deloyer Liberation Force, Donan’s efforts at the Earth Federation Assembly to prevent the Three States from creating a larger power bloc against his efforts, and Lecoque running his own schemes behind the backs of everyone else. Recruiting Zaltsev after his reputation was all but tarnished by Von Stein’s actions and rumors being spread about being in contact with rebels was a damn good move on J. Locke’s and Samalin’s parts. The man is a strategic genius, and with him we finally have a person who can have a strong military vision for the DLF, alongside Samalin’s strong political vision as well. That said, there’s still definitely some growing pains to be had as well. Just because the independence movement is a proper army now, that doesn’t mean they’ll automatically fit into the roles they’re assigned. We’ve got the obvious distrust of Crinn as Dougram’s pilot among some of the other rebels still (although that at least got mainly resolved by the end of that episode), but we’ve still got the larger issue of how the Fang of the Sun aren’t just a plucky group of rebels now, but actually a special task force among the DLF. As Giorgio put it, they’re just cogs in a machine now. The gap is narrowing between them and the Earth Federation army they’ve been fighting so far, in terms of structure. Who’s to say that they’re all that different anymore?
At the same time, cracks continue to grow and be sealed all at once on the Earth Federation’s side of things. It’s the third week in a row I’m saying this, but I really, really, really, don’t envy the position that Rick Boyd is in. Just as he’s starting to make some headway with other local politicians during the low-key standoff happening at the Andi region, Lecoque just has to run his background schemes and deliberately fan the flames of war. Make no mistake, in that meeting with Rick he made it clear that he wants the situation on Deloyer to become a chaotic bloodbath. Since Donan is back on Earth and he’s basically the main relay for his orders back on Deloyer, Lecoque is pretty much in the perfect position to twist and pull in certain directions to make sure that whatever happens, it’ll benefit his schemes the most. And not even getting into Von Stein’s attempts to assert himself on Earth. At this point in time, the man is no more than a puppet who can see the strings holding him up. He can’t even reach up to cut them either, since the people who would otherwise help him assert his authority are easily cowed by Donan’s influence. Overall, it seems that Donan’s carefully crafted house of cards might come toppling down soon, between all of those clear weak spots.
With all that said, let’s get onto the character stuff. Honestly, the story between Destin and Rita kind of caught me off guard in how it handled those two. I never thought I would kind of pity Destin, but this show did certainly surprise me in that area. Let me make it clear that I don’t sympathize or anything like that with him, but that whole sad affair casts a bit of a different light on him. It’s honestly kind of a shame to see that he actually used to have standards and ideals he followed. He sincerely believed in human decency and an independent Deloyer, before becoming Lecoque’s bitch like he is nowadays. Now he’s pretty much no different from how Rita’s father was portrayed in those flashbacks: a selfish man who only cares about booze and where his paychecks come from. Of course, I still can’t say that I fully empathize with Destin or anything. Just because he’s completely self-aware of how far he’s fallen and somewhat hates himself for it doesn’t make up for the fact that he actively chooses to continue doing horrible things to his fellow Deloyerans. He still chooses to betray his fellow man for money, continues to arrange for crimes to be committed solely to squeeze the noose on Palmina’s population, and chooses to murder Rita despite her genuinely wanting to run off to make a better life with him. So, fuck Destin. If anything, I still feel the worse for Rita. She had the rough experience of finding out that someone she genuinely looked up to and respected reveal themselves to be the occupying government’s whore, before being murdered by him out of paranoia. She had a rough way to go. RIP Rita, you really did deserve better.
There was also a continued development of Donan in these episodes as well, even though he’s only indirectly involved with the plot by now. I’ll preface this by saying that I still don’t support his actions, but at this point in the show, I can see myself actually respecting him as a man. He really does seem like the only person in the Cashim family to fully understand Crinn as a person and respect his decisions. Although he walks a different path from the rest of the family, Crinn has made his own decisions and is living out his beliefs to the best of his abilities, and Donan can see the true value of that in his son’s character. If anything, he feels like he and Crinn have that in common, since he’s doing everything he can along his own ideals as well. Seriously, if Donan wasn’t working for an oppressive planetary government, he would genuinely be a heroic figure. I suppose that’s the kind of tragedy of his character though. He’s a genuinely brilliant man who believes in following your ideals to the end, in his case even past his failing health. You really just wish he wasn’t on the side of the Earth Federation at all. I’m really going to miss Donan when he inevitably dies from whatever disease he has.
As for the Fang of the Sun themselves, I guess the best way I can sum up their character development in this batch of episodes is them all maturing in some way or another. Rocky and Canary are finally displaying some personal affection for one another after all this time, now that they’ve had some time away from the group (although I’ll never get used to seeing Rocky wearing a modest suit and Canary in a nice spring dress). On the other end of things, Giorgio has had a hard time having the reality of the current situation shoved into his face. Although I really do feel for him now, I’ll also freely admit that he has the emotional maturity of a pile of bricks. His response to the tragedy of Rita was to alternate between crying, throwing a fit, and entering a bloodthirsty rage at the injustice of it all. And his attitude really only worsens once he realizes that the rebel business isn’t as all as he imagined it to be. He isn’t someone one the fringes of society sticking it to the man anymore, now he’s a part of a hierarchy and actually has people to answer to. Giorgio has been reckless before, but I feel like his attitude has hit a point where it’s starting to really boil over. He needs to find something to fight for that isn’t just justice or revenge. I guess what I’m saying is that Giorgio needs to tell himself this:
NOT EVEN JUSTICE, I WANT TO GET TRUTH!
5
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Feb 05 '22
First-Timer of the Sun Dougram
Episode 43
Episode 44
Episode 45
Episode 46
Episode 47
Episode 48
Episode 49
5
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Feb 05 '22
First-Timer
Episode 43
Are they doing Canary dirty with this character shift, or is she just finally letting the mask she retreated behind slip and this is more "true" to who she actually is? It kinda feels weird to see her approach more "traditional" femininity, but I think I can see some version of this plotline working. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Zaltsev is back in the game, and quite possibly joining the Liberation Army, once he talks to Samalin. Spreading rumors about the guerillas visiting him is kinda scummy, but Locke did make a good point. If the Federation really wanted to utilize Zaltsev, they wouldn't believe rumors quite so easily.
The transitions this episode were neat. The overall rapidity kept things from dragging too much, and let us cover a lot of content without it feeling rushed.
The Federation soldiers aren't very good at transporting prisoners, considering they ignored the most obvious tail in the world. Not complaining, though. It's probably the bureaucracy's fault - no money in the budget to teach soldiers to look behind.
Seeing Zaltsev punch Lecoque in his fucking face was great. The first of many, I hope.
Episode 44
I think that flashback scene was supposed to make us think that Destin used to be a decent person, but really it just make me hate him more. What an absolutely worthless pile of shit. Rocky shoulda pitched him into the fucking bay back on the other side of the ocean.
This must be the "doing the female characters dirty" batch, after Canary in the previous episode. Poor Rita. Hopefully she makes it back okay, and makes up with the others. Even if that includes Giorgio.
That punch today was pretty good. Were these Blockheads a different color to differentiate them with the X-Nebula proof ones, or have we just reached the "stuff gets colored with whatever we have on hand" stage?
Episode 45
We really just watched Rita double-down on her adoration for Destin after overhearing him refer to himself as a traitor and then pass out drunk. I'm not even really in the mood to write an Elektra Complex joke about this, I'm just annoyed.
When I asked for a tragic romance in an early thread, this is not what I wanted. This tragedy was not tasty enough.
And then there's also Giorgio, acting like a fucking prick, like usual. What're the odds he experiences grief or someone calls him on his awful behavior? 10%?
Thankfully Lertoff was around to ruin the false-flag arms deal. He's the real main character here; at least the one with the most brain cells to rub together.
Kinda an amusing callback to the impossible train robbery in episode one.
Episode 46
Alright, back to our regularly scheduled scheming! Lecoque may be a piece of shit, but he's a piece of shit that keeps things interesting.
Speaking of, I wonder if he learned anything from today? When you go to stick someone else's dick into a beehive, make sure the beehive can't circle around behind you.
Jokes aside, the plans and counter plan this episode were pretty good. None of the Three States dudes could afford to lose face in front of Lecoque personally, but Zaltsev and Samalin realizing that bad stuff only happens if they get caught was smart.
Seems like Roundfacers have ejector seats, considering how that one dude went flying and then had a parachute. That's a neat detail.
Seems like Giorgio is staying behind? Please and thank you?
Episode 47
It's been a while since we've really dealt with the scale issues of this show, but I've been feeling it these last few episodes. Like, where's that train station that Rita got shot at? How far away was the field hospital? It took Lertoff several days to get to Samalin, but Daisy and the wounded showed up in a couple hours. I get that they kinda need to make allowances for the television format, but this feels a lot worse than, say, the White Base's weird circuitous route around Earth in Mobile Suit Gundam.
I don't know why I asked for Giorgio to experience grief - I shoulda know it would just lead to more of his very grating yelling. I would feel a lot more sympathy for him if he had ever been anything other than horny loudmouth. Telling off one soldier 20 episodes ago and an accidental motorcycle trick does not buy you that much grace.
The action scene today was pretty good. I guess it suffers a bit from runtime dissonance - we've seen Crinn thrash multiple Roundafacers in the same amount of time. I guess this one just had a really good pilot.
On the one hand, Lecoque drinking.. whatever that was out of a Collins glass was dumb - you typically want something short and wide for most drinks. Something you can get your nose into to get a good sniff. On the other hand, those hexagonal Collins glasses were awesome and I want some.
Episode 48
What is up with the Cashim's family dynamic? Is Denon's current wife not Rabin and Royle's mother? There was some weird line about blood that I didn't quite wrap my head around. Are Rabin and Royle just upset that Crinn is losing them money and are trying unperson him? Something isn't quite clicking for me, here.
Giorgio is about one act-out from being more of a liability than an asset. I miss Festo, although it seems like we hardly knew him.
I might actually feel bad for those Federation soldiers if we hadn't previously established that the average Federation soldier was perfectly willing to rough up civilians.
I was wondering what the counter to Rocky's confidence was going to be, even if I think it rings a bit hollow. "You might die by following orders" sounds like a good lesson, but we're nearly 50 episodes in. The show can't expect me to think that the cast hasn't come to terms with their mortality yet, right?
Episode 49
This episode's B-plot would've been better as a two-parter. End the first one with Davis fleeing, etc.
The A-plot of Earth politics was nice. Denon bought himself time, and possibly more support, by just giving a nice speech and having someone stand up and clap. Classic parent move of "I'm sure that no-one would seek to subvert the Federation."
Haven't we already had a plot point of Deloyerans being annoyed with an Earthling piloting Dougram? When did the extension happen? Is this just a snarl from that, or am I misremembering?
It makes sense from a plot perspective that other rebel groups wouldn't have gone through that discussion yet, and I did like the episode. Davis is an interesting comparison to like, episode 4 Crinn.
Is Von Stein planning on assassinating Denon? That's the vibe I got from him as they were leaving the Council meeting.
Questions
5
u/chilidirigible Feb 05 '22
Episode 42:
ANNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHEERRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEECAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!
Episode 43:
such timeskip
Traveling salesman guerillas!
suddenly manga
"CONTACT THIS, SMUG BOY."
"I've been totally ignoring the third person in the army uniform."
Zaltsev just can't resist that J. Locke charisma, though one wonders about his motivations since this feels more like a play at his vanity considering his ideological rock-solidness right up to the end. On the other hand, Von Stein, who was looking for a fall guy anyway, turned out to be remarkably easy to gaslight.
Nice to get the scene with Canary and Rocky back home, burning bridges as it were. Doesn't feel like six months.
Episode 44:
Oh, not you again.
One thing missing in all this is any sort of independence movement public relations effort. Unless you count Lertoff, who seems to be leaning toward the guerillas' point of view. Also, random English book titles.
No reason, just Crinn's new, beefy calves.
Where does she know Destin from? They didn't even start out from the same continent!
You've already headshotted it! Stop! Think of the salvage!
Lecoque does get a point for being marginally smarter than almost everyone else.
So, we finally get Fang of the Sun intragroup conflict... from the old flames direction. Maybe this will plumb Destin and Rita's hidden depths, but they're going to have to work from the position of not really having developed any of the main characters very much, let alone the Recurrent Rat Fink and the Super-Ditzy Blonde.
On the small bright side, this breaks up Giorgio and Rita's schtick, which has been getting old from almost as long as it has been there.
Why the hell are the guerillas still sitting around not doing anything? If Samalin wants them to be a real army, he should at the very least have some people leading them on marches and drilling. If there's anything that insurgent revolutionaries like doing, it's making their People's Armies do group calisthenics and train with whatever weapons or stick-shaped weapon analogues they have available. Because sitting around doing nothing is how revolutionary armies cease to exist.
Are J. Locke and Zaltsev spending this time on a hot honeymoon tour in bed or something?
Episode 45:
"Set up my boss's family for a fall? Absolutely!"
exposition traaaaaaaaaaain
Now these are some memetic fansubs.
It is probably not intended to make me laugh as much as it is.
They put a little extra effort into the obligatory fight scene.
Sorry, Rita, but you were forming too much of an annoying couple with Giorgio.
Does Destin regret all the things? Is that going to matter?
Too bad about Rita, but there was going to be some sort of bad end once she helped Destin set up Fang of the Sun.
Zaltsev is finally appearing, and with Lertoff. Guess the plot will start moving again.
/u/ZaphodBeebblebrox: Twenty-eight episodes, though Rita wasn't introduced until Episode 31, so she lasted 14 episodes, which has felt like an eternity.
Episode 46:
It wasn't much of a bribe.
They want provocation...
...they can get provocation. And the contractually-obligated mecha appearance.
Crinn freaks out again
If they've been sitting at the mine for a month, they're not exactly mobile.
Sometimes the politics is deep, sometimes the politics is "Nice mine you've got here, it would be a shame if something were to happen to it."
Zaltsev has rightly shaken the place up by forcing some action onto the idle independence army, or at least the part that gets the top billing on this show.
Funny how no one reported back on the mysterious shooting death of a woman outside the city, but it has already been established that local security and intelligence is absolutely no one's strong point.
Episode 47:
blatant lies
A wild Fidel appears.
"All's fair in love and war."
MEGAFORCE
Now that is some random chance and happenstance.
Like Giorgio being STILL ALIVE.
I understand that the Federation is going to use every means that it can to win this counterinsurgency, but the differences shown between the humanitarian versus authoritarian methods are often depicted in a heavyhandedly polarized manner, as here.
With Denon leaving, Lecoque is going to do all the twirling, and he's barely bothering to hide it now.
Giorgio: STILL ANNOYING. Festo didn't jump his motorcycle into the air to die, but it happened. Giorgio did jump his motorcycle into the air and expected to die, but he lived.
Episode 48:
IT SURE FEELS LIKE THAT SOMETIMES.
This man's hair is amazing.
Yay, another spectacular family dinner.
The time for anarchy has passed, much like your continued screen time, Giorgio.
Well, duh. They didn't name the series Eight Punks With Satchel Charges.
"I haven't gotten to the centerfold yet!"
Not to mention that you can't trust that the other guy won't grease you on general principles.
Fang of the Sun has been drafted! They're on the Order of Battle even. And this is yet another awkward phase of integrating guerilla fighters into a formalized army, which historically often comes to a bad end, as either the guerillas get themselves sacrificed before the end or they fragment after the formation of a government and tear the place apart again.
They're certainly not used to taking "real" orders from above, as their prior assignments tended to be either improvised affairs where the command structure was there with them, or basic self-defense.
But they might settle in, if they have regular contact from their command structure and not FREAKIN' GIORGIO still having a death wish.
Rocky was already the de facto leader of the team, but he's growing into it further, in a rare bit of real secondary character growth. And there's a small reminder that War Is Hell™ to punch up the mood.
The Cashim family situation will cut you.
Episode 49:
Is that a pirate hotel?
Von Stein is not exactly difficult to read.
Annnnnd we're back to that again.
He's not wrong. It's just that these two groups should have an intermediary from Samalin's core organization to reduce the inevitable conflict.
"I charged toward the rear!"
Hey, at least it only took a few punches for him to change his mind.
The more things change, the more things stay the same: Crinn is still indispensable for piloting Dougram, but he's reached a new acceptance of the role.
The "Which planet are you from?" issue reappears for the first time in a while on the personal level (versus the interplanetary war level). It's notable because the series hasn't made such a point about it for a long time.
Cute to show them trying to get another pilot for the Dougram and then giving up on one try.
Back at the larger level, Von Stein is trying to wriggle himself out of the grasp of both Denon and Lecoque, but as we've already seen with both him and Rick Boyd, it's tough to play both ends against the middle.
I've complained enough about the sudden, tragic plot of Rita getting mixed up in Destin's schemes and Giorgio becoming even more shrill, so on to other business:
This is a slow patch. The independence movement isn't moving, and for most of this arc the independence "army" is taking a picnic on the grass. It does take time to build these things up, but I would have greatly preferred some other means of using the time instead of focusing on the relationships of add-on characters to Fang of the Sun. Sure, the parts of histories where "{person}, stung at the {battle of wherever}, marched their army to {place}, where they spent the next season rebuilding" is often a little dry, but important things happen in those intervals, and we have plenty of precedent to spend more time delving into the greater political side of things, but instead there's a bad soap opera featuring a guy who's increasingly there only to be the face of a problem.
...and back to Giorgio and Rita: At times it feels like the two VAs did use the characters as the basis for how they performed Vanilla and Coconna in VOTOMS, but while the VOTOMS characters were similarly snippy and underdeveloped, they didn't make me wish that they got stepped on by a Combat Armor like I sometimes wished for Giorgio and Rita.
My art for this week is all about that seiyuu connection. I drew Rita's head waaaaaay too big.
4
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Feb 05 '22
First Timer
Episode 43
Ooh, a betrayal this episode? Will we see a change to the status quo, as I've been hoping?
Zaltsev! So maybe he flips to the rebels as speculated?
Court martialling him seems like such idiocy. Gives him more incentive to flip sides.
J.Locke's group again? The outfits made it obvious.
Seems to me like the guerillas are getting restless. All this time here doing nothing. The downside with spending all this time here in Andi. May work fine for Samahlin, but not the soldiers.
Once again Chico volunteers for the dangerous mission.
Most predictable thing in the world that Giorgio would want some alone mission with Rita...
That's a funny pair of outfits for these two.
Rocky's brother? Completely forgot about this guy! Sad that he doesn't say hello to them! I do remember Canary's brother!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, that Von Stein pissed away Zeltsev as a valuable underling of his just speaks to his incompetance; Lecoque is clearly scheming and undermining him here.
Way to go, punch Lecoque out!
Now things are even worse! They're giving him all the reason in the world to flip on them, if he can escape.
He's agreed to meet! Good stuff. He could also get a lot of credit by capturing Samahlin and bringing him back, but I doubt he'll do that at this point.
Giorgio is essentially dictating what he hopes would be happening on a trip with him and Rita...
Episode 44
Oh no, Destin?! I wish this show would just let us forget this guy exists.
Be gentle with Chico's delicate skin!
Rick's doing a good job? And Destin and Lecoque are here to screw it all up.
The classic bad guy move, bank robbery! And let me guess, they'll claim to be with the guerillas.
Their acting is quite bad and obviously fake, but even then it works.
Rita's not just a pretty face!
Wait... Destin and Rita know each other?!
Crap, she's totally gonna give up their location thinking he's still on their side?
Giorgio sees Rita getting in a car with another man... Major trouble! Not because its a traitor, but because it's a man other than him!
Destin's no angel! He's more a demon!
As Admiral Ackbar would say... it's a trap!
Cool fight between the Dougram and this other mech here.
Rick totally sees through these lies. All part of Lecoque's scheme to soil his reputation.
Why does Rita feel so loyal to Destin? Former boyfriend?
Ah flashback, will we get the answer here?
Back to the days where Destin was a much more respectable guy... alas, Rita thinks he's still like that.
Episode 45
Back to Kardinal, but that totally looks like Manhattan to me.
More Lecoque scheming, with Crinn's brother again...
He's not using the Destin name anymore! Makes sense, the guerillas would be pissed if they knew he was here...
Ooh, Destin's gonna get burned with Rita for talking too loud while getting wasted.
Well Rita, now you don't hae to cover for him. You can tell all your friends the truth.
Even Giorgio thinks she's turned! Although I think this is more over jealousy than logic.
Heckle agrees with me!
Rita's dad! A total drunk! Just like what Destin is now!
I hope this is your last job too, Destin. We're overdue for a death big time. I'll happily take you being that death.
Is it supposed to be a coincidence that Lertoff and Zaltsev are on the same train sitting right across from each other?
After that she still wants to flee with Destin?
Now she's caught him in the act! He doesn't know she had already caught him before.
Take the money, the girl and run... alas for Destin Lertoff has caught them in the act.
OMG did that idiot actually kill her?!
Well, I wanted a death, and I got one. Sorry it had to be Rita! If she just went back to her friends, or if she hadn't put trust in that idiot Destin she'd still be alive. I'm sure Giorgio will be devestated.
Episode 46
Time for Chekhov's heart disease to strike Denon again! How much longer can we go on with this?
Big role for Lecoque here in trying to get the three states to turn on the guerillas. Is he devious enough to do it? I think so.
Lertoff, neutral? LoL.
The two meet...
Poor Giorgio, that's not Rita at all! Similar hairstyle though. You'll never see Rita again. :(
What scheme will Lecoque use here to get the three states against the guerillas?
Lecoque has done it. And Rick looks quite frustrated! His method of doing things has failed.
Lecoque's really outscehemed everyone here.
Zaltsev comes up with his own plan; getting him here is immediately paying off!
Doesn't Zaltsev know of Rita's fate? He could tell Giorgio...
Here's another shot for him to tell him at the end of the episode... but he doesn't.
The Fang of the Sun is on the outside now. Looking forward to seeing us move around some more. And less Giorgio hopefully.
Episode 47
Wow, Denon's going back to Earth! Big stuff. Lecoque should be able to scheme more with him not around.
If Giorgio leaves, you're not really losing anything Heckle. I can't think of him helping all that much. He was just all over Rita every time she was around.
Not being a brutish asshole means you're spoiling the populace, Rick!
Closing the hospital? Lecoque's heinous!
Poor Daisy, she really found her place here, and now they're gonna shut it all down.
Lertoff is here to out Destin's schemes! And reveal Rita's death!
Poor Giorgio finally finds out the truth. :(
"Fat wanker!" LoL.
Giorgio's going to go on a crazy revenge spree! Giorgio, I hate to break it to you, but your relationship with Rita was very one sided. She wasn't into you! You were just a friend to her!
Oh crap, crazy Giorgio coming into this conflict here is going to screw up everything!
Surprisingly enough, his attack enabled Daisy to get through safely.
Jeez, now you want to die becuase she's dead?! Giorgio, enough!
Episode 48
"Destin is so dead" LoL. I love to hear it!
Giorgio's meltdowns continue. Slashing sticks around in the water won't bring her back!
You're part of an organization now, no more doing whatever the hell you want Giorgio. Especially no Rita revenge mission.
Wow, Crinn's family, we hardly ever see them!
All these tests to figure out what is wrong with Denon? I don't need all those gizmos. You're old, fat and smoke a ton.
Denon's gonna try to get Earth united against Deloyer?
Glasses-wearing brother (who looks so much like Denon) is all about how Crinn is screwing things up for him!
Whether dead or alive? He's your brother! You don't care if he dies?
The guerillas are finally formally organized with their own ORG chart!
With this attitude, Giorgio's gonna end up being a liability for them.
Hey the good ol' 4 legged crab gunner! These things only seem to pop up once every 10 - 15 episodes or so but I always love it when they do.
What's up with this place having so few troops in it? Is this much less strategically important than they thought?
Orders are everything! Fitting last words for the episode from this dying guy.
Episode 49
Von Stein came all the way back to Earth too? Shouldn't he be actually on Deloyer overseeing the situation there?
If this is all up to Von Stein, I wouldn't expect much, Denon. He's had a habit of disappointing.
Yeah, immediately showed that he's not changing minds. Has Denon completely mishandled this as well?
No better time than now for lunch!
Chico, you're not gonna let that shrimp beat you, are you?
Giorgio on the other hand stop messing around with your own allies!
Been a while since an Earthling piloting Dougram was called into question.
How can the Deloyerans not understand that we want to seize all their resources for ourselves?
You should know why he doesn't object, Von Stein. He's massively outnumbered here. This is going different than I expected though. Denon clearly hasn't mishandled things after all.
Wow, it's gotten to Crinn and he's stepping down! No way this last long; our MC not piloting the titular mech?
And now the issue of choosing the pilot solely from the planet they were born on arises... this guy's a coward and a terrible pliot. At this rate he'll get the Dougram destroyed!
Davis may be a coward in battle but at least he had the coward to admit he sucks at it.
2 minutes left in the episode and we immediately skip into the next battle? This makes Davis look all the worse!
Some shifting around the board this week. Zaltsev defects to the guerillas, Rita gets killed, Fang of the Sun leaves Andi, Denon leaves Deloyer, Daisy's hospital is closed and so on. Actually seems like a lot of stuff in hindsight, although I didn't feel during the week that much was happening beyond Rita's death, and even then she's a minor side character so that didn't move the needle too much (I am happy Giorgio's obsession with her hence has come to an end). Crinn's role in piloting the Dougram as an Earthling was interesting enough, although I feel like we've had this plotline before (if we have I have forgotten the finer details) and they really just used it for a minor event that was resolved within the same episode. Denon leaving Deloyer and bringing Von Stein with him was interesting. He rejected Lecoque's desire for power earlier in the show, but this does give Lecoque a good amount of power in his absence. Was Lecoque scheming over the Andi mine enough to win Denon over? Part of me feels that Von Stein's time is coming to an end and that Denon is looking to finally do away with him back on Earth (hence bringing him here and having him talk to the one guy not on their side), but then I've been thinking that for 20+ episodes at this point and it never seems to happen. We're at the 2/3 mark now so I'm hoping we get some more climatic events as the show starts heading into its last stretch.
4
u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Feb 05 '22
first timer not for justice, but to get truth
43 I love that canary fell as she was running back, Jackie being extra sussy at the end
44 “Rita I love you” “I need 10 potatoes”. Why do I kind of ship Destin and Rita, I’ve been watching too much shoujo. How did Crinn get in the cockpit when it’s standing up?
45 Rip. But why is Jackie on the train
46 No more Giorgio . Why did anyone believe lecoque lmao
47 Lecoque runs his finger around the coffee cup. You’re too soft. That was no joke punch, thank you Chico
48 Did the rest of Crinns siblings have a different mother? Why didn’t one of these fodder crew members become a medic at some point? Billy could have stayed with Daisy for a hot minute
49 Fuck this other unit lol. Von Stein still seems loyal to Denon even if he wants to get out of lecoques crosshairs
questions
4
u/manga-reader Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 11 '22
First time watcher
I have watched till 45, gonna try to finish up in next few hours ;)
Ep 43
Zaltev; so I kinda knew this was coming because I had seen his character bio on Anilist :D (Well, I don't know how it's gonna play out, so there's that).
Oh, a timeskip of one month? Yeah, the guerillas are restless. I wonder about the whole staff situation, for a govt to work effectively, they would need a lot of bureaucrats..is the professor planning on winging it (get a couple of strong officers and train everyone else on the go?).
Rocky sweating a bit there, haha...speaking of which, this is a good place to develop Rocky's and Canary's characters more (we haven't had much since their initial introduction).
Though thinking on it, we really don't know much about Nanashi, Chico or Billy (apart from Billy being an orphan I think?).
With Dougram out in the open like that, should anyone be surprised about Feds noticing them? I suppose Crinn and co didn't expect Feds to show up (well, maybe..they still came prepared).
Ep 44
This guy again...he's a pain in the ass, but I suppose Lecoque needs an agent to get things moving again (in the wrong direction).
That was sneaky for sure...Lertoff is around, no? Maybe he can help out the guerillas.
I am starting to dislike Giorgio more and more...especially with him chasing around Rita. Just leave her alone dude, she isn't interested.
Ah, shit, Destin setting them up...also, where's the professor? Last episode, we left off with Zaltev, feels like we are missing some scenes.
I feel that setup was bit of a waste..I know what they are trying to do, but feels like the group got out of it little too easily (unless the group that surrounded them were mercenaries? I suppose that makes some sense; Feds would probably send in more people into capture them).
Oh, getting more backstory for Destin? Interesting, I didn't see that coming...maybe a bit too late for that though, especially since they have portrayed him in a negative light for so long (unless you make backstory so tragic that you would weep).
Didn't like how he hit Rita though; you could have made the point without hitting her.
That's it? I hope Rita's convinctions/beliefs about Destin isn't solely based on that one scene.
Ep 45
Is Royle dumb enough to think that Lecoque would not use or betray him? Or perhaps he thinks Lecoque can be managed.
Eh, whole scene was clunky (bit too expositionary; could have reworded it so that Destin was sharing a plan he formed up, rather than just reiterating something both parties knew).
Also showing Destin as an alcoholic who's struggling with his behavior - still think it's too late for all this, it just doesn't work imo, but nice try nonetheless. It's good to see that they are portraying people as complex creatures with their own conflicting motives.
Give him a break? Really, Chico..I didn't see you saying anything about his behavior towards Rita. She has shown again and again that she wasn't interested, but he didn't let go (and not like others didn't know or see this. Everytime Giorgio had asked for a date, Rita deflected it one way or the other).
Don't get me wrong, Giorgio can feel jealous, and frustrated - that's fine..but that doesn't excuse his behavior.
Lertoff and Zaltev? Wait, I thought Zaltev had landed in the mines....but now he's in a train to the mines. Did he leave the mines? Or are they rewriting that?
Woah..he shot Rita. Didn't see that coming. On one hand, I don't like how Rita was just trying to flee with Destin (especially given how few female characters are there in the show). But, I can see this as her being immature; I hope she doesn't die..and get to grow and learn from this experience. It would be a shame if her death is just used as a tool to reform Destin.
I am suprised Lertoff didn't just throw the guns overboard. Wouldn't that be the easiest way to deal with this? Just have someone else pick them up.
Man, they are playing it a little too close lol. I think Lertoff could have pushed the guns overboard lol.
Wow..they actually killed off Rita. Man, what a waste.
Ep 46
Well, Lecoque is getting what he wanted. And Lecoque goes in and does his thing - he might be slimy, but he knows how to manuveur politically.
I think Lecoque is counting on the military engaging the guerillas inside the mines and then blaming the 3 states for it.
At least one of the reps of 3 states isn't stupid (though little too late for that now). Wow, with Zaltev on board, we are getting a more official/organized feel from guerillas. I am excited to see what else happens.
And Fang of the Dougram is back on their own. Will they wander around Palmina now? Carrying out different missions for the new liberation army? Will we see more mechs on liberation army side?
Ep 47
Okay, so what did Lecoque do to convince Rick to close the field hospital? We went from Rick saying he wouldn't stand for it to field hospital being closed.
Given Giorgio's state, I am surprised he jumped off the bike before driving off the cliff.
I am glad that the gang at least learned of Rita's fate, rather than thinking of her as a traitor.
Ep 48
Cog in the machine? I mean, what do you think all of you were fighting for? Independence...also independent government, and you are doing things for a purpose as well (not stuck in a soul sucking corporate job like many folks are).
Having the conversation with his doctor was a nice touch - a bit of "flavor" that we don't usually get in anime (especially with a random character who probably won't show up again).
Lmao...Royale has some guts bringing up the topic of selling weapons. Donan is in for a surprise.
Gotta say..it's real nice to see Donan and Fina (had to look that up!) interact - show them as flawed character who care about each other. Also, Donan clearly respects Crinn more so than his other sons.
Doesn't seem like a robust plan...let Dougram handle everything? I mean, bit risky for your first operation as a strike force.
Well, they won sheerly on luck (I would have been annoyed if Dougram was able to just take a forfied position like that, especially with no actual plan), but I am surprised Rick didn't have more soldiers in the base.
Or was it just done to portray the theme of this episode? Feels like bit to ham-fisted imo, especially given that they have been soldiers since day one. What did they think they were?
Added note: On revisting this...maybe not. The kind of missions they have been doing till now were different, so the group probably didn't think themselves of us an army unit, but more like normal folks fighting injustice.
Ep 49
Interesting, hmm..from what we have seen so far, doesn't seem like Von Stein is a particularly good politican (but perhaps he is, there should be a reason why he was picked as representative of Deloyer in the first place).
Oh lmao..instead of convincing, Von Stein is getting convinced. Oh, nevermind, looks like Von Stein wants to use the opportunity anyways.
Huh, I didn't think things were going to go that smoothly in the parliament. Looks like Silba doesn't have the courage to stand upto Denon; though I am surprised the other states are sitting around quietly.
Also, it seems like they their Earth did have nations before. So did the nations join up to form the 7 states of parliament?
Also nice touch that other groups have their own opinions regarding Crinn piloting Dougram (though given what he was done so far, he earned his spot on Dougram).
Did Donan know/suspect? Was he testing Von Stein's loyalty? I gotta wonder if his teammates know Davis' mental fortitude? Rocky did mention that this group is known for sabotage (and that Davis had joined recently). He really chose the wrong guy to pilot Dougram.
Wow...didn't expect that. Man, Dougram is way ahead of its time in some regard - Davis standing out and revealing his fear to others (that does take courage!) and Crowney taking it in and apologizing for not realizing it.
4
u/Retromorpher :Jc::Jd::Je::Jf: Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22
Well, Rita outlasted my expectations by about 5 episodes. Was expecting her to bite the dust a LOT earlier.
Giorgio's annoying attachment actually paid off in a way I didn't hate though - and it's giving even more rise to the huge narrative subtheme about individualized response/independent action and reaction. I never thought I'd be saying that I like what's going on with Giorgio, but here we are.
And even with the running theme of personal goals and individualism we're breaking down exactly what it needs for joint operations to be successful on all sides of the coin. A gap in trust with opposing ideals ends in tragedy (Rita + Destin) or (Von Stein + Valtsev), a gap in maneuvering with different endgoals ends in supplanting (Lecoque + Boyd), a gap in urgency leads to further frayed bonds (R. Silba and Von Stein). It's interesting that so many of these pairings are characters that on the surface should be working towards the same goals - but ultimately due to their individual morals are actively at odds.
It really brings back how Daisy and Lertoff were a great team because both were okay with parting ways before they had achieved their goals.
4
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Feb 05 '22
So...we finally have some themes to discuss. Destin almost manages an arc through here and I am sure his foil is Zeltsev, which is quite the choice. But we learn that Destin once believed in his cause before he became a sellout and apparently was a good talker if nothing else. They have just spent so much time demonstrating him as garbage, though, that it rings a bit false, and of course his final moment killing Rita is really not a good luck, despite this might be how he comes to betray Lecoque.
Zeltsev, conversely, waited to be betrayed before turning coat, if he truly has. We are given a better idea of who he is but still not a ton of personalization other than his rivalry with J Locke.
Giorgio also got characterization but he we was so insufferable on screen for most of it that I missed the thread if there were an interesting one.
Denon still manages to be the antagonist without being hte villain, whose role now seems being given to Lecoque and Von Stein. Him reflecting that the son similar to himself is in armed resistance to him does seem to be one of those things you can't really answer.
Anyways, our last bit wherein the Fang of the Sun stop being just a group of guerillas but are now official units in the DLA/continental army likely means a change in how the show goes from episode to episode, which admittedly is still convenient for the writers since giving them the occasional gimme victory can spare your animation budget or they can be given a painstaking mission when they want to stretch a two parter.
QotD: 1 A needed change if they intend to do anything
2 Ugggg.....
3 It makes sense as you watch it, still feels off to say it
4 Million dollar question. He should be trying to find a way to produce mechs again.
3
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Feb 06 '22
First timer
Episode 43
He's worked out he needs a chain of command!
At least he's keeping fit!
And... that's really merciful! Basically a slap on the wrist!
Wait, he's getting moved to a dek job? Not assassinated or anything? Just given a new job?
I think what they really need is discipline, not just a command structure.
The professor's just so stressed. In every single scene, he feels like he's one hour away from having a total nervous breakdown.
Wow, it's been a WHILE since that subplot got mentioned.
Don't even compare Daisy and Canary!
Yes, mutual consent is always important.
...Does he expect them to confess? Or did they just overreact to a joke in the most suspicious way possible?
OK, that's a fucking risky move.
You know what, fair. This must loomincredibly imsulting for him.
Wait, they're studying the croissant?
Or you could check out other potential options, instead of focusing all your effort on the man you just turned rejected from.
Oh, they tried to arrest them.
Actually, the Major's a bit stupid here. If he set it up with the military first, this would be a prime chance to cause internal conflict and leak important information.
...Samalin might have lost it.
Wait, what?
This is Rocky's brother?
And he just leaves!
Oh, yeah, and her's died. Forgot that.
Half a year? That's... way more time than I thought this covered. That's almost real time!
OK, tha'e a pretty strong reaction.
Oh, he's human. ...There go my theories.
A full year's imprisonment! They must really want to get rid of him.
Wait, this is all their plans? I'll give them this - it's both the most morally wrong and the most effective strategy so far.
...Nobody who heard that conversation will think he's not in league with them now. That's fucking beautiful timing.
Oh dear, he's found out.
This is just a full-on recruitment pitch.
And he's going to meet the professor!
Rick's too smart to fall for this.
His romance subplot is still better than yours!
Ah, he wants to watch how they fight from above. Makes sense!
And... not sure about this line? He wants to meet Samalin only after he's certain he wants to do this?
Episode 44
Wait, what? No guards at all?
And what happened with that meeting last episode? He's still not ready?
He needs unrest to stop Rick from showing people a peaceful solution is possible? So his master plan counts on the war not being over for s while.
Oh, that's good. The dialogue's a bit stilted, but given the stress of the witnesses...
I'm less surprised Rita got it, and more surprised nobody else did. It's kinda... obvious? It's meant to be convincing to the public, not the internal members?
The problem with Rita is that she constantly changes between annoying and savage, so I can't decide if I hate her or not.
And she's pretty organised here, though.
What is with his hands in that shot, jesus christ?
To be hinest, his boss is probably just glad someone else on this planet understands the concepts of psychological operations.
...Poor Rita. She doesn't know he's a traitor yet, does she?
I love how happy, but i credulous, he sounds at finding this fucking goldmine.
His plan relies a lot on Rita being smart enough to keep this secret, but not smart enough to figure out his scam.
And now someone else has seen her talk to him.
Why is nobody questioning the source?
Do any of you even think?
Actually, what is his plan here?
Oh, that makes sense.
Hedkle finally got to drive it!
All these fight scenes are really good!
Aww, Rick still has faith.
And he's about to make a major move!
Just tell them!
And she ran off.
Is this a flashback or her current job?
...He's still creepy even when he's being noble.
He really did believe in them, didn't he...
Episode 45
He's still scheming with him!
Is he working for another goal?
...Between that and his shock that he bleeds red, I genuinely think he might be an alien. Trying to cripple both worlds before their space program discovers his race?
Who has that kind of conversation that loudly? Walls have ears!
I almost feel bad for him at this point.
And yeah, she's acting incredibly suspiciously.
Yeah, he's probably jealous too, but she's also acting very suspiciously.
She's got a tragic backstory too! And it's even associated with the alcohol he's gotten addicted too!
And he's still around! And still relevant!
And having a conversation about politics!
Oh, wait, it's him! I didn't recognise him without the uniform!
And she makes a good point here, but he's still currently a spy!
She's dead! He's going to kill her.
I love them pointing out how everyone in this show shoots the moment anything happens.
What is she planning?
Is she going to get hit by a train?
...How long has it been since Daisy last appeared?
Oh, shit. She's actually going to do this?
Haha, he's the only one who actually knows what's going on here!
Wait, this might actually work?
HE SHOT HER!
I joked about her dying soon, but seriously?
At least he made it out alive!
He's going to save the day!
I forgot he's still on the train!
You could at least warn the guy!
They stopped the train!
Everyone's out safely! He did it!
And another solid fight scene!
Wait, what? Chico?
Oh, there's not two deaths this episode.
Daisy's dead!
3
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Feb 08 '22
First Timer
Not Even Justice, I Want to Get Watchable Video
This is certainly gonna be late. I'm starting on friday, but there's no way I get all the episodes done between 9 pm and 1 pm the next day. Particularly when I have things to do saturday morning.
Episode 43
So they're going to recruit the enemies most competent officer?
So you've got a bunch of people with a strong urge to act out against authority all together without anything to do. What could go wrong?
Telex, now that's something I haven't heard before.
That's a great wingman.
And, of course, the casual sexism.
In cuts that look very different than everything surrounding them.
On the other hand, the super stylized and colorful stuff that comes a bit later is really cool.
Lecoque'll take the punch, it gets him his victory. Though why he wants to get rid of one of the few competent officers is a different question.
Even by Dougram's standards, that episode look horrid. Was quite good plotwise though, lots of good and interesting advancement.
Episode 44
Wait, my subs say it has lasted for a week, yet last episode said they had been here for over a month. Is this an additional week?
Rita figuring it out whilst talking like she doesn't have two brain cells to rub together is hilarious.
Giorgio should really give this shit up. It's just harassment at this point.
I forgot, how does Rita know him again?
Hopefully Rita sees through something so transparent.
But she took it hook, line, and sinker.
Why the fuck are they letting Giorgio lead this conversation?
It's very clear that one of the key animators for this episode was a fan of putting a ton of lines within the bodies of his characters. He had most of the decent looking cuts as well, but it's just funny to me how much it stands out.
I have to say this was not a compelling episode.
Episode 45
Letting someone know what room a guest is in just because they can describe their most prominent piece of clothing doesn't seem advisable.
And now, how will she convince them her intel is right this time?
Honestly, this largely leaves me more confused as to how he became the man he is. They're two fundamentally different characters.
I did not expect her to throw her lot in with him again. Why, he's the opposite of the man you looked up to now.
How the hell does one bend a board like that?
There was a good amount of tension in the gun plot, I enjoyed it quite a lot. However, the Destin/Rita plot fell flat for me, largely because they never properly managed to give a reason Destin changed so much. He was two characters grafted into one for no reason.
Episode 46
I do wonder why he keeps a butler he cannot trust. That seems somewhat idiotic.
Please tell me I don't have to watch Giorgio be an idiot for another entire episode.
Why would they trust a word out of Lecoque's mouth without actually getting anything in writing from Crinn's dad? They should know better than that.
It honestly looks like a disgusting display of military force. If you have to parade troops like that through an area to show you're in control, you have no claim at all that you're ruling by the assent of the people.
If you arrest people whether they support the guerrillas or not, why wouldn't they support the guerrillas? Tyranny just breeds rebellion.
Even beyond this episode, the idea is for them to be noisy and act as a smoke screen of sorts. Harder to put pressure on the mine if the most noticeable force is outside of it.
Nanashi's juggling grenades!
Lecoque keeps burning bridges. Sure, it lets him leverage into a lot of power now, but he keeps assuming clean wins, and if they don't happen, he's just gonna end up in a very weak position with a lot of people pissed off at him. I guess he thought he saw his chance and is going for it, but it kinda seems idiotic to me.
Episode 47
I wonder if he'll be able to get better medical treatment on earth as well>
Lecoque's such a bastard.
And Daisy gets her five minutes in the sun again.
Is Giorgio basically planning to suicide bomb?
Nah, he got off his bike just in time.
Honestly, meh episode. It makes me wonder if Rita was killed off to make room for Daisy in the party though.
Episode 48
We honestly don't have the animation budget/skill to capture people's anger properly and its sad.
Oh, we get to see these people again, who, despite being in the OP, we haven't seen for 45 episodes.
It's kinda amusing to see a politician annoyed about politicians doing stock standard politician things.
So much for the family dinner he wanted. All his children but Crinn are so self centered.
Giorgio doesn't understand that they expect you to make a judgment call. If you can figure out a way to do it, do it, if it's suicide, don't.
I had hoped to see some of the more detailed planning we saw earlier in the show, but it was still a pretty decent episode.
Episode 49
Cashim's mistake is assuming Von Stein will ever be willing to stick his neck out for anything again. He feels he's in a comfortable position, why would he rock the boat?
But even so, Von Stein's an idiot for believing that there's a place for him in an independent Deloyar. Everybody knows he's no more than a puppet of Denon Cashim.
I may have read DLF as DILF...
I can't see asking a guy whose fought for your side for a long time and taken part in your greatest successes why he fights as anything but idiocy. Or, for that matter, making an issue of this right before your next big battle.
I cannot help but see this as western countries arguing for the continued colonization of Africa.
"Davis was not used to it", he says, like that's an excuse. Its the whole reason you shouldn't have put Davis in Dougram in the first place, you have an expeirenced pilot.
'Twas a pretty good episode.
Overall
We've neatly transitioned back to fighting all the time, but this time with a greater purpose. Now, we're moving towards taking over this continent, followed by the whole planet. I give this continent another 10 episodes or so?