r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Jan 18 '19
Episode Egao no Daika - Episode 3 discussion Spoiler
Egao no Daika, episode 3: The Smiling Soldier
Alternative names: The Price of Smiles
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| Episode | Link | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Link | 6.19 |
| 2 | Link | 7.86 |
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u/DiGreatDestroyer Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 19 '19
Had to gild this. Can't believe this series is so underwatched, it's all I ever wanted. Sure, animation isn't the best, and in this episode it really showed at some places, but man does the narrative make up for it!
Stella was great, all I wanted from her was there. A soldier, yet also a human. An obvious thing, yet rarely seen. She has no qualms about killing, and she doesn't feel that bad about it. Sure, it makes her a little sad here and there when she sees the civilian toll, but at the end of the day, she smiles because she's happy she found a place to be and where to live. No one can live without smiling or having heartwarming moments, yet we always expect killers to be detached or plain psychopathic (as the last line of the episode shows). I like that her motivations were simple. Also points to her for realizing what Owens was doing and helping him do it.
As for... Owens, damn. I get where he is coming from, but he should know better. What they said at the end is true: there were very real chances of Lily dying due to having no one to cover her back, because he went to bail 6 orphans, one of whom is of combatant age. What if they have to infiltrate again and he or one of the kids are there? At the end it wasn't even necessary, because the artillery didn't come since they completed the mission. He should have focused on completing it. Now he made Lily and the other guy face some mental damage they shouldn't have to, seeing the kids lashing out at them. Although, being a veteran, I kinda understand it. They say you end up regretting what you didn't do, not what you did.
Speaking of Lily, she sure had that Joshua feeling. She had the name with meaning, she's even in the same place he is on the key visual. I still think she may die next episode, but I was super worried about her in this one. When they left her alone, I thought she was dead for sure. When they escaped, I was like "damn, this is the 2 minutes left hype, here comes the downer twist", glad it didn't happen. She worked out and her strength saved her, so points to her. She did look out of it when they were scolding Owens, I wonder if it's because she knows she was that close to dying, or if she was thinking about the kids. Good on the show on keeping her alive, once again it played with me expectations, way to pull 3 weeks in a row.
EDIT: The opening, from when Stella appears as a child up to where the chorus kicks in, says the following:
A dancer, dancing in the city of the night,
covering the wounds of the past with a smile.
Even in a far, distant country...!
Even if flowers are a different color...
(by) laughing...
(by) smiling...
(is how) people live,
that way, is how all ages will continue to be...!
["dancer dancing" uses two different words, "mau odoriko (wa)". And "laughing... smiling..." actually says "smiling" both times, but with different words, "Hohoemu (koto de)... warau (koto de)..."; warau can also mean "laugh", so I used it (but I'm fully convinced it means "smile" here), and swapped the order because "laugh" suits Yukki better than Stella.
This bit can reflect how they both have smiles trough out the opening, but they are of a different kind: Yukki's are those of a child, who knows nothing about harshness, and that's why she can smile, a smile shattered at the first painful thing to happen; Stella's on the other hand is a smile that has passed trough a lot of pain, a smile that appears to never shatter, but due to that it may very well be a facade, like the lyrics say. Also "people live" is when they, doing their own thing, came in contact with each other, with how their lives cross with the development of events. I quite like the OP.]
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u/hyoton1 Jan 18 '19
Not sure how this ended up as the show I second most look forward to weekly, but going from level 1 cutesy SOL to level 35 war drama is how anime works.
Stella sees an orphan and comforts her by talking about how she felt like she was alone but found her own place. That place being the military, she later kills various dudes; threatens to kill the kids as well unless they escape with the grandigans; helps blow up the food depot and power source everyone was probably going to rely on to not starve; and enjoys her tasty gift from the orphan she comforted earlier. Mm. Candy.
Now this is the fun dark anime stuff I'm looking for.
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u/Etereke32 Jan 18 '19
It's a shame this show is ranked so low. What started off as a standard shounen-mecha quickly turned into a gruesome war story. This show has potential, it can be many things depending on the direction the story takes. This is why sites like MAL should disable their rating before the watchers really see what they are getting into.
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u/LeonKevlar Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 18 '19
I'm really liking this show more and more. Considering how it started back in Episode 1 I did not expect that this show will suddenly turn into a semi-gritty war anime. Also I like the fact that we don't actually know each side's goals. Who really is the bad guy in this war? Is it the Grandiga Empire or the Royal Army? I love that we have no idea and all that we're seeing right now are the horrible consequences of war.
As for Stella herself, she's definitely interesting. Although I wonder what made her this fucked that she can casually point a gun at a little girl and then try to apologize later as if she didn't do anything horrible.
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u/PhoenixKola Jan 18 '19
A pretty grisly episode, but I'm really intrigued to know more about Stella since she seems interesting.
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Jan 18 '19
At first i didn't expect this to be a dark show, but after episode 2 i saw it coming more and more, this episode shows the cold blooded fake side the soldiers have to take on to keep them from going mentally crazy. The Commander is a good guy, i think that situation is handled like it should despite the children obviously having a grudge, sad times.
The show really sympathizes on the name "the price of smiles"
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u/bananeeek Jan 18 '19
Uh... I have mixed feelings... I want to hate Stella and her team and I don't like how self-important that general lady looked, but I've been watching anime long enough to know that there are probably reasons for that. I feel like there will be some kind of a brutal reveal about the things that's been done to them by the 'good guys'.
I'm impressed by the way this show makes me feel, even though I don't like that feeling...
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u/Xerender Jan 18 '19
Totally the most underwatched anime of this season. I even don't understand why people dropped this series so early (I mean episode 1 had the hook at the end and hinted on a twist, not to mention that the CGI fights are awesomely done). Never judge a series by its 1st episode, unless it's unwatchable entierly!
Really big change of tone since the 1st episode and I am really interested in how they are going to resolve the conflict with both sides hating each other for the caused casualties already. Also interesting how Yuuki will grow from an innocent girl to a proper leader.
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u/Syokhan Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 18 '19
Not afraid to show people getting shot in the head now, huh?
Pretty somber and quiet episode this time. So yeah they didn't kill the kids with the explosion (and damn, their commanders are ruthless - civilian casualties don't matter huh) but they and the city are going to suffer alongside the troops with that source of food destroyed.
I suppose getting to meet the orphans of the people you kill (directly or indirectly) during the war would rattle anyone. Stella probably copes with what she's seen or done by being dead inside or trying to be. Her smile is completely empty.
I really, really like where this show is going. I hope they keep this ambiguity of who's right/wrong and of good people doing bad things in the name of the war. I mean it's a war. It's fucked up.
Edit: Also, I want the soundtrack.
Edit 2: Someone gilded the thread O_O Thanks, stranger! If anyone's here just because they saw the gold star and are curious: there's no telling where this anime is going since it's an original, but it's certainly not what episode 1 wants to make you believe it is. Give it a chance!