Anime/Suisei no Gargantia

<salutes to Chamber>

Unfortunately the story wasn't as good as it could have been. I was fine with the slice-of-life pacing of the earlier episodes because for some reason I thought there were more than 13 episodes. So yeah, they should have sped up the plot to fit the 13 episodes, or made more episodes to fit the slow pacing.

Ah, well. It was still a good show.

Hmm, when did they show up?

EDIT: Ah, just found out, nevermind.

edited 2nd Jul '13 5:35:57 AM by universalperson

Just because the place was blown up doesn't really mean all the tech was lost. Pinion said there were LOTS of the stuff under the place, the difference is that now they don't have a self entitled A.I. god to help figure it out. Not to mention that Ledo is figuring out how to salvege without starting a fight with the squids.

For a sequel, I got the image of one of Ledo's descendents scholing both Hideuze and the human alliance in a fitgh piloting a robot based on Chamber named Tin Can, beating both with no casualties while trying to explain tha figthing is wrong. And it's Glorious.

edited 2nd Jul '13 10:23:53 AM by minusmagniaxe

Isn't that just Gundam SEED with a different trapping.

Also, I am slow, Chamber's deactivated body was there from the very OP.

The two OVA episodes will center on Ridget and Kugel's backstories.

The tradition continues.

If she gets an entire episode...that would make Ridget the most fleshed out of the gargantians wouldn't it? None of them really got much development, even Amy, which was kinda sad.

x2 There's three if I recall with the first one mentioned being one based on Ledo's life in the Alliance.

Why should they get much development? It's Ledo's story. Other characters are secondary.

I dunno, Pinion still gives her some competition in that regard. He's got one of the most developed arcs in the show.

Episode 14, OVA. In which there are ghosts. Three cute ghosts.

Was his Japanese this stuttering before, or did I just forget about it?

Of the three girls, one of them is somewhat more of a scaredy cat. And the other two are pranksters.

The team they sent seemed a little... Well, they lacked a redshirt.

A nice little bit of history for Ridget. But I really do wonder about why they put the cranks up there. Seems kind of like it would invite accidents by bulk...

It was nice to see our Gargantia friends again. All except Chamber And that doctor guy?

I'm not sure if his Japanese was quite that broken by the end of the series, but I liked his voice acting none the less. The animation wasn't as good, but it was still good.

Remember to check your motors for crystallized light bugs every six months.

...I have the feeling episode 14 didn't take place after the series proper, but is meant to take place in the middle of the show. That's why Ledo is still using his translator while speaking a bit brokenly and Chamber is both talking and appears for a split second.

Also I posited that if Gargantia ever got into a Super Robot Wars game, that Ledo's Machine Caliber would be akin to the Fire Emblem-esque early Paladin you get. Basically it'd be far stronger than the Xabungle and co. units you'd be using, but the catch is that it comes almost fully upgraded, and Ledo appears already at a very high level, so while it would be overpowering in the first part of the game, once you get to storylines where Gundams and stuff become commonplace and everybody else is ditching their old rides for shiny new ones, the Machine Caliber can't quite catch up since there's very little to upgrade and Ledo wouldn't be leveling up so much, so it'd be just sorta average late-game. Plus the only real big upgrade Chamber gets in the show is basically that lance thing used to fight the Hideauze. But yeah, this would make sense because of the whole thing where Chamber's powers are godly in a world of Yunboros and rusty ships, but back home it's a disposable mass-produced grunt unit that isn't much special.

Funny, I was just reading the Crutch Character trope, formerly named Jagen Character. (As in, two pages prior to this one.)

Going by the actual plot, even if he doesn't evolve much, he still starts far above where everyone else stops. But then, for a proper Super Robot Wars game, you have to invite a lot of new and more powerful friends to come play.

edited 13th Sep '13 5:03:36 PM by AnotherDuck

So this just happened.

Personally, I'd like to see a very long Time Skip and see what happens to Earth in the far future.

You mean in the further far future?

Hell yeah!

Great news.

It just won't be the same without Sugitabot.

About that, he "died" because he used all of his power and was then shown at the end covered in the organisms that were explicitly stated to generate and discharge power...

Gargantia Two: The Search for Chamber

Because...yeah, you need him.

Hey, cool, a sequel. Will Urobuchi be back?

Yeeeeup.

The third and final BD box was released in Japan just a few weeks ago. In it is the second and final OVA which focuses on Kugel. While there are still no English subs (official or fansub) released in the West as of yet, I watched the raw episode. In short, you owe it to yourself to watch this episode. Not only does it greatly develop Kugel as a character, it also explains key plot points such as how he installed the notorious Anti-Hideauze cult and why he got the illness that eventually killed him. Word of caution, it is Darker and Edgier than any episode of the first season, so do know that Urobutcher's at it again.

In case anyone's interested (or unwilling to wait for Viz's release which apparently includes the two OVAs), I will provide a synopsis/impressions of the second OVA here. I don't speak much Japanese so forgive me if I screw up a few details. Needless to say, BEWARE OF SPOILERS.

• The episode begins just as Kugel gets his Heroic Sacrifice moment. While he also gets to Earth via a wormhole, it's clear that the events take place long before Ledo's arrival. Kugel comes flying in just as pirates are attacking an escaping freighter belonging to a fleet.
• This is where we meet Linaria, the orange-eyed Love Interest who is essentially an Expy for Amy. She even has her own pet squirrel for goodness sake! Anyway, everyone but her were shot to death and she is left for dead until Striker totally owns the pirates. Afterwards, she collapses just as Kugel defeats the pirates and Kugel brings her into Striker. After waking up, she explains that it was a sign and shows gratitude to Kugel.
• A timeskip of an unknown length later, the three arrive in a homefleet. By then, Kugel has become well-versed in Gargantian culture and Linaria has become his servant, top lieutenant, and lover (now that's a lot of roles).
• As Kugel is welcomed like a god, the three pirate sisters are shocked that a Gargantian would bring in a stranger to their fleet. The eldest blonde sister, Aleria, sees Kugel's arrival as an opportunity to take political and social advantage.
• One day, a rogue Hideauze attacks the fleet. Kugel is surprised by their presence and promptly takes it out. He finds out, however, that they worship the Hideauze and are in awe of what Kugel just did. As the earlier scene showed the three sisters blowing up the sea floor with mines, it seems that they lured the stray Hideauze to the fleet to wreck Kugel's reputation. Again, take my suggestion with a grain of salt.
• As Kugel explains what happened to Linaria, she is no longer able to hide her illness (tuberculosis, perhaps?) and she collapses again. The next we see of the two, Linaria is on her deathbed thanking Kugel for all he did. Kugel takes her up to the top of the fleet, with nothing but beautiful blue oceans surrounding the ships as the last thing Linaria ever sees before she dies.
• A grief-stricken Kugel tries every last thing he can to revive Linaria. Just when he realizes his attempts are futile, he hears Linaria's voice. But it's coming from Striker, who is by now convinced that Kugel must take the reigns of the colony. You heard me: Kugel's mech takes advantage of his grief to manipulate him into starting the cult.
• Seeing Kugel still mourn Linaria, Aleria begins her plan. Unfortunately for her, Striker's manipulative plan means that Kugel has no interest in the sister and he shanks her to death with his Alliance dagger.
• After murdering the eldest sister, Striker announces that she and Kugel, not the Hideauze, are the gods of the fleet. As proof of their power to the people, Striker fabricates two prophecies which produce the coffins of Linaria and Aleria.
• The last we see is Kugel hiding the illness acquired from Linaria as he ascends his throne next to Striker. Sanity's all but gone at this point as Aleria's homefleet has now fully converted to Kugel's cult.

Once more, if anyone speaks Japanese and can correct details or add additional details then I'd really appreciate it. That said, this is one hell of an OVA and I'm not surprised why some are calling this the real Episode 5 instead of the episode we got on TV.

edited 12th Nov '13 11:12:23 AM by sanfranman91

Yeah, this was way, way better than most of the series.

I think that the younger blonde sister was really hot, though. Kugel is pretty much exactly what I expected: It's a shame he didn't get to go all Heart of Darkness in the series. I felt that having Ledo fight what was - basically - a malfunctioning robot made things too easy on him; If Kugel was involved, this series would've ended in a much more cynical way.

Either Ledo kills the man who saved his life, so he can live with the monkeys - Or Chamber and Striker are dragged back to the endless war in space. (I think the latter would've been cooler, though.

FOR THE FEDERATION AND THE DOMINION OF MAN!)

edited 14th Nov '13 9:00:05 AM by iridium248