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Archive for January, 2010

Cute ending to what essentially amounts to minor character development arc. But I’m not complaining since we got to see Misaka’s Railgun at the least.

And a little bit of fanservice from Mii-senpai too. Dat chest of hers!

Misaka and Kuroko should probably take her lead and drink that “Musashino Milk” everyday too! Can’t deny they need some there.

Definitely looks like it’ll be tying in with a larger arc though. The Capacity Down thing sure didn’t just fall out from the sky for Hebitani. Guessing it’s some shady anti-ESPer power weapon research being done by a very Engrish-ly named organization, just like almost every major villain in Academy City is.

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As the UN personnel begin to learn more about the alien artifact found near the island, the anti-UN forces plan to take it for themselves while increasingly strange things begin happening as the fighting comes to the island in earnest. Sara tells Shin that it’s his fault that this is happening, that the UN forces are ‘weakening the bond’ between nature and the island, and somehow this relates to the Protoculture artifacts but no one is quite sure how. Now that the generator is fixed, the islanders are becoming ever more entranced by the offerings of modernity, much to Sara’s dismay. And Mao suddenly makes her move on Shin, while his reactions indicate that he might have some sort of thing for her older sister. Ah yes, it wouldn’t be Macross without a love triangle now would it?

Shin, trying to distract Aries and Edgar by…doing a witch impression?

Loved Sara’s facepalmstaff.

Mao, NO! Oh gods, the kancho has spread to even this remote island. Maybe it was occupied by the Japanese in WWII? Though after getting a wikipedia link to make the reference, apparently this happens in South Korea and the Philippines too (Koreans and Philippinos, confirm/deny that this horror lurks in your countries as well) . You learn something new terrible everyday.

For all that Macross seems to promote the virtues of pop culture, the scenes of people greedily turning the generator on during the day to watch TV certainly weren’t portraying it as a good thing.

Kind of reminds me of Qoo. Also, is this an actual language or something made up for the show? Reminds me of Thai, but I don’t know enough about what that language looks like to say.

Edgar feels like a third wheel, but hey, at least this Shin actually deserves the girls that go after him, unlike a certain Gundam pilot of the same name *cough* Shin X Lunamaria WTF *cough*

Commercialism already existed on this island!

Right after Sara notices Shin watching her and stops singing, the rocks immediately fall to the ground, all of them seemingly having runes carved into them. When he asks how it’s possible, she just replies that he has brought a Kadun to the island and that it’s weakening the bonds on the island, though I suspect something to do with anti-gravity generators similar to those aboard the Macross. Perhaps they are part of the Birdman machine buried under the island and something is causing them to malfunction…or work as designed? Sara cautions Shin not to tell anyone what he saw, but replies that no one would believe him anyway. While she agrees and tells him that he and the other UN personnel have a Kadun attached to them that only lets them believe what they see, clearly meaning it as a negative, I for one am all for reason and science. But it’s a matter of one’s point of view, and from my point of view the Jedi are evil. Aside from this, Sara is also angry at the researchers and the UN presence on the island, thinking that they’re corrupting the people by bringing them modern standards of living. Certainly the islanders are now very eager to watch TV inside instead of being out in nature, but to be honest I think this is a bias of the writers and of people who live in advanced industrialized societies in general, that being out in nature is superior and ‘purer’. If we all lived on islands, were at the mercy of weather for our food, had no antibiotics, and never saw a TV we’d probably wax poetic about progress and technology. Soon after this conversation, Mao takes Shin by the hand to show her her ‘treasure’ a site underwater that they must dive to get to. We get a long scene about the wonders of marine life, with fish, coral reefs, an octopus, and diving birds swimming along with the two humans. Just as the two are oxygenating their lungs before the deepest part of the dive, Mao asks Shin if he likes her older sister, but before he can answer in any form he dives down. Coming to a cave opening, they stand before a Protoculture artifact with an eye that opens and follows them. Shin is so surprised that he panics and loses most of his air, and Mao kisses him both for romantic reasons and to pass air to him.

Some really bright, beautiful shots of the coral reefs not far from the islands shores as Shin and Mao swim through them.

Mao swimming along with the diving sea birds, certainly suggesting the link between her (and the people of the island) and the natural world.

I saw this in a movie once…

They recreated this scene shot for shot in Macross Frontier’s ‘Tori no Hito’ movie, the only real change being that Mao/Ranka asking Shin/Alto if he loves Sara being in a voiceover during the kiss in the movie version.

You almost can’t tell the difference.

The Mao/Ranka surprise kiss attack. Oh Ranka, I really was cheering for you at the beginning, but you had to go and betray everyone.

While the two are off on their scuba dating, the Celestial Being forces are planning on seizing the Protoculture artifact from the hangar bay of the Asuka while simultaneously sending a submarine and amphibious force to the island to secure other artifacts. Sara senses a disturbance in the Force, and the UN carrier battle group seems to have some advance warning as well, scrambling Valkyries and Ghosts shortly before the enemy VFs approach the fleet. But even with this notice the UN battle group is loses a destroyer and takes damage to the Asuka II in the attack. But just when the Old Man and his wench of a sidekick Lesser Selvaria start entering the hangar deck, what at first looks like a Destroid ‘THIS IS SPARTA!!!’s the geezer’s VF out of the bay and jumps to the deck of the carrier to fight back. Lesser Selvaria is sent to the island to reinforce her allies there, while Roy Focker in an armored VF-0 fights it out on the deck, at first looking destroyed and then purging the extra armor around the VF-0 and continuing the fight. While this was happening farther from the island, Shin picked up the alert on his radio just as Mao was trying to consolidate her romantic gain with conversation. He tells her to head towards the island when Edgar shows up in their VF-0D and floats it on the surface to pick Shin up, just as a torpedo from an anti-UN submarine heads towards them. Shin quickly scoops up Mao and gets her inside the cockpit, then takes inspiration from the seabirds he saw earlier and dives the Valkyrie into the water in pursuit. A nice and realistic touch was his firing the main cannon into the point of entry for the Valkyrie, helping to break up the surface tension that could have damaged his Valkyrie. Destroying the sub in close combat and seizing an artifact it had recovered, he sees the larger amphibious force move on the island, fighting it out with the Destroids from the UN camp.

A breakdown in traditional social order caused by rapid modernization. Though I don’t think it’s quite so bad as Sara seems to think it is, at least it hasn’t gotten that bad at this point.

AHHH now I want one, possibly two VF-0 models and an arming crew model kit!

Quite possibly the coolest shot of a Destroid evar, I really liked the grainy green light from the missile exhaust.

These Destroids featured Code Geass-style wheels at the heel of each foot for added mobility.

This is Roy’s house!

The Macross team certainly likes their external, detachable armor. They even brought it to Gundam when some of them worked on 0080.

The Birdman was all YAKK DECULTCHA!

Carrying the girl to safety in the hand of your Gerwalk-mode Valkyrie: a retrospective.

The island sees a lot of destruction as Shin delivers a traumatized Mao to Sara, then jets off to try and protect the artifact from the enemy. Meanwhile Mao is MedEvac’ed to the Asuka along with Aries and a group of UN troops and about to be given a transfusion of the blood that was leaking out of the artifact, as it matches her own blood type. But just after the helicopters leave UnterSelvaria dives down on Shin, her ammo low but her fanatical determination in full supply. After a running battle she send the VF-0 down in flames, and secures the artifact, only to have Shin steer the flaming wreck INTO HER FIGHTER! Hell yeah! Ejecting just in time, he and Edgar parachute to the ground, but find themselves confronted by their rival once more. Things are going to get…interesting.

That’s some regression. Also, Mao as prototype Ranka: loli with psychological issues due to trauma.

Indiscriminate attacks on populated areas to take out a few military units? Check. And you wonder why I call them Celestial Being.

Ah, more cool cockpit sequences. I wish Gundam did first person views like this more/at all.

Tsun tsun, tsun tsun, kuroshitai hito wa pirotto!

Oh my. If only you weren’t evil.

Final Thoughts: - As I watch more Macross, it’s becoming quite clear exactly how much influence it has had over Japanese arcade flight sim games like the Ace Combat and Airforce Delta games. Two enemies in Airforce Delta: Strike look a lot like the enemy pilots in Macross Zero, for example. And then there’s the song bringing everyone together from the end of Ace Combat 5 that was very reminiscent of the final battle scene in DYRL. Along with Area 88, Macross seems to be a huge influence over the genre.

- The original series and DYRL had elements of environmental concern to them, though in DYRL it was also tied in with an anti-nuclear message. Zero seems to put more emphasis on with the coral reef scene and the generally positive portrayal of life on Mayan Island. Which I think can potentially be kind of hard to reconcile with the franchise’s love of pop/consumer culture and the way that it argues the virtues of that culture. Depending on which level the environmentalism/nature argument is made. If it’s more about just taking notice of and valuing the natural world, the feeling I got from the original series and DYRL, then it’s fairly compatible. But Zero seems to be idealizing, at least at this point in the story, a sort of goodness/virtue of pastoral life. That living in close contact with nature and actively avoiding modern technology and culture is a better way to live. Which, excuse me if I sound cynical, seems to be only the daydreams of people who have grown up in and lived in advanced societies. It’s all too easy to forget about the myriad of very bad things that people are subject to when living outside of modern societies. Low life expectancy, easily curable diseases, living one drought or storm away from starvation, lack of communication and education, the generally oppressive nature of traditional societies towards women and anyone defying the norm, etc etc. But there exists, and has existed probably since Rousseau if not earlier, this longing for a more natural and ‘purer’ way of life that’s seen as the cure-all for the ills of modern society. It just seems like human nature to want these elusive things, even opposites to what one has. The old PC adventure game The Longest Journey commented on this nicely when you were in the magic-filled world and people wished for all kinds of modern things to solve their day to day problems, while in the futuristic world people were wishing for magic and adventures while complaining about how the world has no mystery.

- Zero’s dogfights continue to be the best Macross battles I’ve yet seen. I even went back to Frontier to refresh my memory, and they just don’t compare. Zero’s fights are just more fluid, they utilize cockpit points of view more, and they focus more on the battle itself instead of one individual machine. That is not to say that I didn’t find Frontier’s dogfights and battles gorgeous, just that I find Zero’s approach much cooler and more like the original series.

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This part was fun to watch. Knowing that your school chairman is also a vampire queen and a student sure does result in some interesting facial expressions.

Hm, this episode wasn’t too bad for a change. The lack of random vampire-underling-thug henshin scenes did help. I’ve also come in to terms that this is an original story that just takes the world setting of the manga and retells the story, so I’ll be looking at this more objectively from now on. One thing I still need to get used to is the cinematography style of Shinbo though.

There’s also a new character introduced, Meiren, who’s a vampire and seems to have some sort of infatuation with sweat. Coming from a Kobayashi Yuu character… I don’t feel surprised at all.

Admittedly, one part I like about the anime is more screentime for the maids. I loved their 4-panels at the end of the manga volumes, and now they are getting their own segment at the end of every episode!

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Tatsumiya Mana… ever the consummate professional.

(I wonder if she knows about the switch though…)

Woot, showing off her skillzors.

Holy fffffffffffff— what!

The 4-dimensional ammo storage notwithstanding, how the hell did she keep that gun in that “magical valley”! “Human Typhoon” is a pretty apt description of her right now.

Meanwhile….

Nodoka, DAI-PINCCHI! Faced with the Lifemaker guy right off the bat. Negi is gonna regret leaving her alone. Say, what happened to Rakan?

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Unlike that honor these do not require a beheading…

With the passing of 2009 we thought that it was time to recognize those who showed individual competence during the course of the year. While it is the habit of many to judge series here we prefer to recognize the characters that made their shows a little bit better even as their series was weighted down by anchors that exceed the weight of Big Zam. While there are many who are worthy we decided to only bestow honors to those who gallantry we have borne witness to so while air dates may vary, they are just as deserving if not more so than some of the scum that crept forth from the dirt this year. After much deliberation and table pounding we have finalized the list for those exceptional few who made 2009 so much more bearable and outright enjoyable. These are but the first in a long list of names that have scrawled their names upon the pages of history with the blood of their enemies.

The Reinhard/Yang Wen-li Distinguished Service Cross

Origins: While Yang Wen-li and Reinhard have long since passed from this world there is still a need to give due recognition to exceptional commanders who rise above their respective series and demonstrate a superior grasp of strategy, operational art, and tactics that would have both Yang and Reinhard eager to recruit them into their personal staffs. Thus was created this award in the 35th Century (1982) to honor superb commanders of formations large and small who display tactical skill and outstanding leadership in times of great crisis.

Brigadier General Katie Colasour – To put it simply Katie was in the wrong series, at the wrong time, and on the fated to lose side. Surely she deserved better than to have her plans thwarted by pixie dust and havoc physics, but at least while she had screen time it felt like it was almost Macross with Patrick trying to show his undying love for her. Unlike most of the cast she had a fully functioning mind in stark contrast to her closest rival who was getting drunk and was refusing to put out for the booze she got. Still, for winning out in the end in life Katie is here by awarded the Reinhard/Yang Wen-li Distinguished Service Cross for conspicuous gallantry in the face of a plot armored foe, and for refusing to surrender in the face of unbeatable odds or worse join them in a idiotic Three Ships Alliance or something to that effect. She demonstrated competent tactical thinking despite having technical inferiority that only grew more disparate with time and managed her men well, under the most horrid of story conditions considering she was saddled with Andrei. On the behalf of mein Kaiser Reinhard-sama and The Honorable Fleet Admiral Wen-li have a wonderful honeymoon, General.

Lt. Arleen Nazon – Having been betrayed by the man who supposedly loved her Nazon was condemned as a criminal for the deed of one dirty Zeke. In her quest for revenge she turned her understrength platoon from a few mechanics to top class pilots that helped make Operation Odessa a resounding success. While often the first to be sent in as cannon fodder they adapted well under the command of Major “Giggles” Colmatta whose leadership is rather suspect. Having accepted that death was a distinct possibility she turned herself and her mild mannered mechanics into berserkers with exceptional cunning that got the better of many a Zeke. While the Zekes already had the data from her beloved RTX-440 that did not deter her in the least as she punched a hole right through Zeke lines to wreak havoc upon their artillery. For demonstrating superior leadership in leading her RTX-440 platoon under the most dire of combat conditions during Operation Odessa and having destroyed 13 Zakus,  6 Magella Attack Tanks, countless Zeke infantry, two Doms, one Gouf, and two Dabudes. Sadly this honor is a posthumous one as Arleen did not live to see the end of the war though her sacrifice and that of her unit resulted in a significant loss of Zeke heavy equipment and personnel.

Grand Duke Jouslain Tytania – The clear successor for the title of Grand Duke of the House of Tytania. Gifted diplomat, generous and kind leader to his fellows, and most dangerous enemy to his foes. He began his rise to distinction with swift political action to end the crisis caused by Ariabart’s unexpected defeat by rebels. Continuing on, he incorporated brilliant minds that were dismissed by his peers into a tight knit group that could act in all manners necessary to the conduct of politics and war. Lord Ariabart, a solid commander that was sneered at by his rivals for one unforeseeable defeat; Princess Lydia, viewed by others as merely a hostage to ensure her planet’s loyalty, but in fact a valuable social asset; and Lord Bal’ami, the son of a traitor who was held in the same contempt as his father by others was turned into a valued source of ideas and shows promise as a future commander and leader. All were brought under Lord Jouslain’s influence and protection, showing his vain and impulsive rivals that it takes a team to run an empire, not just a leader.

Oberstein Order of the Velvet Glove

Origins: Created to honor all those who work indirectly, get inside the heads of their enemies, and manipulate friends and foes alike for the greater good. These skilled men and women often go unrecognized by the nature of their work, but they are often of the highest importance to their causes, whether it be galactic empire management, yuri shipping, pursuit of True Love and Friendship, or many other worthy causes.

Tsumugi – Sometimes your own side needs a little manipulation to make the most of things, and Tsumugi used her gentle facade of an oujousama to quietly steer her friends towards The Yuri. Skillful and elegant, Tsumugi secretly worked to optimize the Light Music Club without ever betraying her intent. Innocent comments such as ‘I think that’s alright’ were used to take conversations in a definite shipping direction without suggesting Tsumugi as the initiator of such thoughts. And her ability to call upon vast resources helped bring the club together and provide them with the training-vacation time necessary to BE FRIENDLY. An outstanding manipulator and schemer if there ever was one, leading to her deserved nickname ‘the Machiavelli of Moe.’

Ayane Yano – One of the best analysists in modern shoujo intelligence, Ayane is currently leading a team that has scored several successes against Ume Kurumizawa and her war on True Love and Friendship. While Sawako is out on the front lines and Chizu itches to escalate the conflict, Yano has quietly worked behind the scenes supporting the effort. She was the first among personnel in the field to warn of the threat posed by the evil Vichy-tan, and the first to take action. Adept at gathering HUMINT, she scoured the area for both friendly and hostile witnesses to Kurumi’s actions to piece together a complete picture of her methods of attack. Her recent actions including [SPECIFICS REDACTED DUE TO SENSITIVE NATURE OF ONGOING OPERATIONS] have earned her this commendation and our gratitude.

Kana Minami – Good supervisors are just as invaluable as the higher profile field agents and analysts, and Kana Minami has demonstrated great skill in managing several covert operations. The continuing Operation Mako-Cakes has been her responsibility since its inception, and she has also overseen liaison efforts with Fujioka and Tomo as well as numerous shorter duration operations and actions during her years of service. To this day Operation Mako-cakes continues with its cover intact, despite extremely difficult situations that would have compromised Makoto’s identity many times over if it had not been for her quick thinking and intimate knowledge of those she handles.

Baron Ashura – Despite being the butt of a long string of jokes Baron Ashura nevertheless got the last laugh with a single act of subtle treachery that led to the demise of Dr. Hell and made all the efforts of the titular heroes all for naught. Baron Ashura was never the strongest and despite numerous attempts at defeating Mazinger Z he inevitably failed each and every time. He was made into a traitor to his own people by Dr. Hell but his love for Mycenae was so deep that he endured every disgrace and beating just to fool his enemies into underestimating him. He fooled the smartest woman in all of Mazinger Z into taking him in and deceived Koji into thinking that he was an ally while he waited for the time to strike back decisively. Baron Ashura not only made up for his past treachery but also brought about an invasion to avenge the loss of Mycenae when the heroes thought that they had finally triumphed. For treacherously ensuring that there will be a sequel, the person we least suspected, Baron Ashura, is hereby awarded the Velvet Glove for manipulating the heroes into destroying all that Zeus had fought and died for.

Roy Focker Cross

Origins: Following the heroic sacrifice of Roy Focker in defense of the SDF Macross on 30 November 2009, UN high command designed and began to award the Roy Focker Cross for service and sacrifice. Sometimes the cause of righteousness must be watered by the blood of brave men and women, and their supreme sacrifices are honored by this most somber of awards.

Prince Ali al-Sarshes – An ace pilot who also took the initiative in rallying forces to fight the terrorist group Celestial Being for many years, he made the ultimate sacrifice for the U.N. during the final battle of the war. He served when called in the service of several of the pre-Federation armies, both in and out of uniform, was instrumental in the destruction of 2/3 of the Gundam Throne forces, and without hesitation joined the forces of the Federation and A-LAWS when they were created. While stalking known Irish Republican Army terrorist Lyle ‘Lockon Stratos’ Dylandy, Ali al-Sarshes was killed by a chance shot, no man ever able to best him in honorable combat. Despite Celestial Being remnant claims to the contrary, his fatal wounds did not match the weapons signatures of any CB weapon used by Dylandy. He is survived by his sister Alphard al-Sarshes.

Kikiyo – A unit commander, superb markswoman, and healer for many years in the fight against Naraku, she ignored her wounds to save Miroku and take the fight to the hated Naraku despite the extreme personal risk. Waging her own personal war against the terrible foe for several years, she was the first to develop the Shikon Purification Strategy and brought others into her plan. Putting aside her rival’s lack of worthiness in both combat and love, she tirelessly worked to assist all who oppose Naraku, even when they did not understand the necessity of her methods. In the end she gave her remaining life force in the operation to purify the Shikon Jewel while Naraku was attempting to inhabit it. The war continues, but her sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Herman Yandell – The age of Zeke ascendancy was a hard one for the poor soldiers who made up the EFGF, they fought against a technically superior enemy that pushed them to their limits of endurance and courage. This long and bitter fight had caused numerous wounds on Lt. Yandell, both psychological and physical, unlike those pretty boy engineers in the Zeke wasted weapons program. Despite the personal hardships, his grief, and his endless nightmares Yandell never backed down from a fight. While the Type 61 was no match for the Zakus they faced, it did not stop Herman Yandell from taking the fight to the enemy and in his final moment of supreme triumph felled the White Ogre. Sadly his victory was cut short by a Zeke RPG team, while Yandell and his beloved Type 61 have gone into the mists of time, his name will forever remain on the honor roll of the honored dead who have gave all they had and more in the fight against the vile Zekes.

Arleen Nazon, Karppi, and Kuzuwayo – Operation Odessa was a hard fought campaign that cost many a Feddie his life to expel the hated Zeke invaders from the Earth, among them were three engineers who were betrayed and had the blame thrust upon them by a traitor they once called friend. Despite having years of work undone by a base act of treachery, and despite being relegated to becoming penal troops neither Nazon, Karppi, nor Kuzuwayo cowered in some jail cell to weep of the injustice that was inflicted upon them. Instead they sallied forth with all the courage they could muster to endure the insults and get back into the fight at a most important hour. None of them had any previous combat experience yet they rose to the challenge and met it tread first and built a fearsome reputation for getting the job done. The swathes of dead and dying Zekes was a testament to their righteous fury. But it was during their first mission with the 44th Independent Composite Brigade that they met a a tragic end, but their deaths were not in vain as they successfully annihilated an entire Zeke Battalion and their supporting heavy artillery in their last charge. Even when confronted by a traitor professing love and friendship they did not heed his lies and blew him straight to hell where all Zekes go when they die. For their tenacious efforts between the time of their sentencing to the their last charge they were granted amnesty and the Focker Cross for performing above and beyond the call of duty and making the supreme sacrifice under conditions that were harder than they needed to be.

Lieutenant Colonel Barack Ginin – The war against GN Terror cost many good men their lives, but one in particular stands out for his sins were few and his conduct noble through and through. Unlike the terrorists he did battle with, Ginin was never the one to moan every other episode about how Kataron had killed his wife in a terror attack, and maintained his composure in front of his subordinates including one very lost Louise. His loyalty was first and foremost to the men who served with him and despite Louise’s lackluster performance early on spared no effort in giving her praise when she did well and never failed to bail her out when the rookie got herself in trouble. While terrorists such as Klaus and Shirin are hailed as heroes for bombing civilians, Ginin was condemned as a criminal for merely killing members of a terrorist movement. While the quality of Ginin’s beloved Federation might have been less than that of the Federation that Yandell, MacKenzie, Nazon, Burning, Monsha, Sanders, Bate, Synapse, Adel, Amada, Joshua, and many others defended, his courage and bearing were equal. To set the record straight and to honor a man who made the supreme sacrifice so that his team might live and Katie’s operation might succeed it is with great pride and sorrow that we are to award the Focker Cross to one of the few true heroes of Gundam 00.

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So we have broken piece of Lost Technology Tank sitting in the garage… what do we use it for?

Ans: Play Amazing Grace on it!

Gotta say, they install pretty pimpin’ sound systems inside those tanks!

Well, that’s that. This episode was a good episode compared to the previous two, since there’s character development focusing on Rio and Kanata. Wasn’t much, but it was well executed and as a bonus it contained a lot of subtext to read between the lines with! I am a sucker for that, especially when it’s well executed one.

While I’m sure others have noticed the weird fusion of Western and Japan cultural elements in the show, this episode finally made me sit up and notice it. Well, it’s not like I didn’t notice it from the start, but it wasn’t a talking point for me yet, until the trigger this episode, where the Church blessing is actually using the Japanese Yaoyoruzu! Really made me sit up and notice that since it’s LOLWEIRD the Church in the show believes in polytheism.

And of course… the Tank. At this point, it’s pretty much a Lost Technology plot device and I did take a double-take when Rio booted it up with a total Gundam-esque startup sequence etc. etc.

It also made for a good contrast about the fact that there seems to be almost no doctors or “medicine-man” types in the world, with Rio having to resort to going to the Church, despite her misgivings about it. Thankfully, Yumina at least does have some basic medicinal knowledge instead of relying on blessings and prayers. Crackpot miracle workers are one thing me and Rio agree upon… a waste of money and should be banished from the world.

And mentioning Rio, looks like she and Kanata are connected by the virtue of Ms. Blonde (since I don’t know the name and all)…

I wonder who is she and how will she play out in the future.

Looks like this show might not be so boring after all!

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Seems Noel took one valuable lesson from Gulf War I, don’t sleep in your tank.

I am pleasantly surprised that three episodes in I have yet to find reason to shout WRONNNNNNGNGGGGG! at the screen for something woefully inconsistent with military life as I know it. So far it is is in line with instances of garrison life in an all volunteer force though things are different for the poor dumb bastards who get conscripted. Morning ceremonies seem consistent enough with a reveille and morning colors, cleaning is common enough though the practice has largely died out where bases contract out for civilian janitors who get pretty good pay state side though I hear that in the field the TCNs taking out the trash aren’t making bank despite their salaries usually being better than most other jobs in the area. I like how Felicia listed ammo as the first thing on her list of needs since ammunition usually gets first priority. Being low on ammo means they are probably expending it and that means range time. Other things I did like were the rifle PQS though Kanata has poor muzzle discipline as she was flagging Kureha, but at least Kureha and Noel weren’t flagging anyone and it wasn’t at a range. I could understand if the room was crowded but I can forgive Kanata since she isn’t squared away yet. I like how they had Noel teaching rifle and Felicia teaching tanks since it usually goes that way. It is also good to see that Rio has some basic first aid training, though she is no medic.

Setting-wise it seems that while the 1121st is a black sheep unit they certainly aren’t lacking in heavy equipment with a motorcycle and two Kubelwagen in their motor pool in addition to Takemicaduchi (I guess that’s the “proper” spelling at any rate from the UI screen). The place keeps getting stranger and stranger with the addition of German Heavy Equipment but with the driver placed in such a way that it is British. Also the fortune cookies have fortunes written in the Japanese style, but in French or some other romance language. Nevertheless even if it is rather odd it certainly seems to be a better blend of monoculture where the engineering is German though since there are Kar 98ks one has to wonder about the existence of M1 Garands and Gewher 43s. The church being back in the medical business is case for some concern as it implies a sort of dark age where science and medicine have gone back to alchemy and local remedies of dubious use. For now at least the local remedies are good enough though I doubt they have the ability to perform surgery or reset a broken bone. It’s not that bad as Rio was able to voice some skepticism about religion and seems to have come to blows with the local clergy over their gaggle of kids. Still malaria as the diagnosis seems to be a bit of a stretch though it could be just general ignorance that came with the loss of medical science.

Rio got more character development or at least more of her background was hinted at. Rio lost her mom early on and seems to have fallen out with her dad, also it seems that Rio and Kanata have the same personal hero in the form of the Blonde Herald (her name will come up eventually I think). For now Rio is conforming to how a senior NCO should behave in the people first mentality. Her panic over Kanata wasn’t too alien to me since my first day at boot camp had one guy undergo a panic attack which left the whole squad bay at a total loss of what to do while we waited for help to get there. Cursing the supply corps. is  nothing new and is as old as standing armies are since there is always a shortage of something. Whether they intended to or not Rio showing concern for Kanata isn’t too alien these days since “walk it off” is no longer considered the solution and much more has been invested in mental health and training NCOs to look out for the mental well being of their subordinates. Even Rio creating a relationship based on trust and understanding is the ideal norm since the new school of though is to get away from just using your rank to get people to do what you want in the case of NCos, though officers are still free to just point to the collar device as far as I can tell. My admiration of Rio has certainly grown as she demonstrated that she remembered where she came from and that she too was once a lost little E-2 who didn’t know how to march. I wonder what trouble Rio cause with the local clergy but I do applaud her for sucking it up and asking for help, for now I agree with not calling in HQ since they were farther off and would have taken a while to get there anyway. Still I have reasonable suspicions that Rio didn’t call HQ because her dad might be top brass and she had personal issues with him. Certainly Felicia’s comments about Rio having poor manners indicates that her father was some one who had the time to bother with fuss and feathers. Judging from Rio’s example it seems that despite being lax when it comes to rules and regs they do train regularly despite having an inoperable tank. For that the 1121st is certainly earning brownie points from me since they haven’t skipped training and seem to take it seriously enough that Rio knows how to operate some functions of the Takemicaduchi.

Kanata seems to have the same reasons for enlisting as many guys I know including me, I was delighted that unlike that stupid Zeke blond boy from IGLOO (that ranted on about some nonsense about defending the Zeke Republic headed by a family of tyrants), Kanata told the truth when it came to her enlistment. In my experience enlistment isn’t always about patriotism and there is a degree of personal interest mixed in when it comes to the older folks. In the case of the younger kids, including me, it was more about getting out of the house after high school and seeing the real world. I can sympathize with the desire to gain or regain one’s self esteem, I lost mine after not getting into a big name college out of high school, at least in my case I found that and more. During hard times military enlistment seems like a better alternative to unemployment regardless of the accusations (most are gross exaggerations anyways) from the anti-war camp. Another point of interest seems that the age of an adult in this society has been drastically lowered as Kanata is an adult though she is roughly equivalent to an 18 year old in the US. She can still be viewed as a kid though she is for all intents and purposes an adult. Talk about taking one huge step back in time when the age of adulthood was pretty low during periods when women were marriageable once they were able to conceive, though mostly it was due to high infant mortality rates and the need to maintain a population in societies where disease was much deadlier than it is now. All in all it seems to be a keeper after garrison duty on a Monday, it’s relaxing though oddly it errs more toward the hard military fiction side of things.

Unlike me Kanata seems to have little trouble getting up at the crack of dawn.

I was pleasantly surprised that Rio bothered to get up around the same time, usually it’s “do as I say, not as I do” with higher ups.

Thank goodness it wasn’t cooking fail moe.

Good to see that ammo was on top in terms of priority.

I guess having them post the colors ensures that they are out side for colors…

Ah the old military pastime of field day, I guess they’re too poor to have contractors do it.

On the one hand I am glad they are doing weapons PQS, on the other hand Kanata is seriously flagging Kureha…

I hope that’s a diagram of the enemy tanks otherwise…it looks French or Italian…

Seems some one watched the Book of Eli.

…

ORLY?

Let’s see they got German military equipment, Japanese cultural habits, speak and write in French, this is some monoculture they have going…

Ah yeah the Kubelwagen, for a unit of Five they certainly aren’t lacking in heavy equipment.

It’s a pretty standard question.

At least she is honest, patriotism isn’t exactly the number one reason people enlist…

Usually the case though the odd lifer does come up in the crop of the “I had nothing better to do” crowd.

The Military Musical Monopoly…

Try a kiss it might just work…

Seems Rio lost her mom early in life.

Taken out of context this seems so yurilicious…

I see Rio read last month’s mishap report in full…

Report is as follows: So this E-3 Aviation Machinist’s Mate had to cross the Coronado Bridge back into San Diego on his motorcycle, and for some reason he was in a heckuva hurry, to the tune of more than 80 miles per hour.

I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure of driving across this bridge. If you haven’t, I recommend it.

Outbound from San Diego, it offers a nifty escape from the city, arching over the blue water far below and curving down toward scenic Coranado and NAS North Island. I do not, repeat, do not recommend that you try to do it at 80 miles per hour, either on two wheels or four.

But wait, you ask, maybe traffic wasn’t too bad, a hilarious suggestion given that this was Southern California, and it was 4:15 in the afternoon. Not only that, but once, driving across the bridge, I entered the dense fog they call “the Marine Layer,” and let me tell you, the visibility went from excellent to 10 feet in about one second.

Back to our E-3, who was inbound to San Diego. Where the bridge curves left, he was in the right lane, his view blocked by a box truck. When he got a glance ahead, lo and behold there was a car in his lane, not going 80 miles per hour. He managed to slow down to 60 before rear-ending it.

He sailed off his motorcycle and slid to a stop.

Unspecified injuries to multiple body parts, which is believable. One week of Light Duty, which is less so.

Testimony to some good PPE, at least.

That is some diagnosis, either she is horribly wrong or all the medical specialists were wiped out and religion is back in the healing business…

We’ll just call her Doc.

Hey so she did stop crying….

From a distance it looks like such a beautiful place.

She sounds like me and every other kid that joined to get away from home for a while.

Well the UI sure is friendly though it has no idea that it’s crew is all female.

I am surprised they bothered to learn how to operate it given its condition, not that I am saying they shouldn’t.

At least they didn’t leave it out to rust.

I guess way back when everything was an MP3 player…

I guess they did have wireless, and then they lost it.

I’ll interpret this silence as an admission of yuri.

Hey a choker.

Seems the Blonde Herald was a local hero.

Loli Rio :3

…sounds about right.

I see that they went the same direction we have gone with the kinder gentler military. Not that it is a bad thing as “embrace the suck” is not a real cure all for everything.

Hey watch it there, don’t get malaria just to get nursed…if you do we’ll let Kanata be the corpsman.

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Oh…. wow. This is pretty amazing.

Also, say hi to Hii-Yoko! (man that just feels so wrong…. orz)

©2010 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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SENSITIVE INTELLIGENCE REPORT – RESTRICTED DISSEMINATION

SUBJECT: 1. CEASEFIRE AND FIRST ATTEMPT AT NEGOTIATIONS CALLED BY SAWAKO.

……………2. FIRST PUBLIC DECLARATION OF MEANS AND INTENT BY KURUMI.

DATE: MID JANUARY 2010

1. THE FORCES OF KURUMI ROUTED AND HER PLANS THWARTED, A FINAL DEVASTATING ATTACK WAS MADE AGAINST KURUMI HERSELF BY AYANE AND CHIZU. SEEING THE DEVASTATION BEFORE HER, SAWAKO INTERVENED TO STOPPED A PLANNED PUNITIVE STRIKE BY AYANE AND UNILATERALLY DECLARED A CEASEFIRE. NEGOTIATIONS WERE ATTEMPTED, ALTHOUGH COOPERATION BY KURUMI WAS NOT FORTHCOMING. IN THE FUTURE SAWAKO HOPES HER ENEMY WILL BE MORE RECEPTIVE TO BEING BROUGHT INTO A FORMAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES, THIS PREVENTING THE RESENTMENT THAT COULD BRING MORE DESPERATE ATTACKS DOWN THE ROAD.

2. AFTER THE FINAL ATTACK BEFORE THE CEASEFIRE, KURUMI ADMITTED TO HER MOTIVATIONS AND MEANS OF HER AGGRESSION. UNREPENTANT THOUGH SHE WAS, SHE WAS CLEARLY IN A MOMENT OF DESPERATION AND CLOSE TO COMPLETE BREAKDOWN. ANY PEACE TREATY MUST ENSURE THAT THIS RESENTMENT AND FEELING OF HELPLESSNESS IS DEALT WITH CAREFULLY LEST SHE TAKE UP ARMS AGAIN. CEASEFIRE IS TENUOUS AT BEST UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, AND ALL ALLIED FORCES AND ASSETS MUST REMAIN ON HIGH ALERT IN CASE THE ENEMY DECIDES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SAWAKO’S OFFER OF PEACE.

Wow, there was so much revelations about plots, strategic thinking, discussions with the defeated enemy, and shifting of power this episode to be worthy of Legend of the Galactic Heroes. With Kurumi backed into a corner by Ayane and Chizu’s proof of her dark deeds, and Sawako standing before her unable to believe the extent of her maliciousness, she drops all attempts at control and lashes out at Sawako while crying. She admits to spreading the rumors, to seeing Sawako only as an obstacle in her path, to being intensely jealous of her, and that she has no problems with using anyone and everyone. While she claims that others use her so it’s ok for her to do the same, such petty justifications fall on deaf ears and Chizu lays into her in a moment of furious and uncharacteristic eloquence. Sawako keeps asking if all this is a misunderstanding, for she is most merciful, but Ugly Ume displays why she has earned such a title and all but spits in her face, crying and yelling that she hates Sawako and was never her friend. Ayane finds her lack of repentance disturbing and walks off threatening to tell Kazehaya, and despite Kurumi’s encouragements to go ahead and tell him she clearly is fearful of the justice that is about to be done upon her. But along the way to the volleyball match Sawako stops Ayane from doing so, feeling pity for her defeated foe and calling off the shoujo equivalent of the ‘Highway of Death’ – having the one the rival loves hate her.

Things just get worse for Kurumi when she skips out on her teammates and they think that they actually did better without her. Piling on the damage, Pin, as predicted last post, just can’t keep his mouth shut and talks all about Kurumi being in love with him in front of her teammates and Ayane and Chizu. Kazehaya drags him off and tells him to shut up, but the rumor is already lose, Kurumi’s teammates talking about it immediately after hearing about it. Sawako continues feeling bad for Kurumi and runs off to find her, offering the olive branch and letting Kurumi know that she’s serious in her love for Kazehaya, that she’s not just someone who’s coming in to ruin Kurumi’s day for no reason. Not that Kurumi is being any more gracious about this attempt at a peaceful resolution to the conflict, and she even goes on to say how much better she is for Kazehaya. While the thought enters Sawako’s mind for a moment, she’s grown strong enough from past confrontations to acknowledge but ignore this attempt to make her feel insecure. Kurumi really lets the tears out this time, and while she seems determined to take one last action, I very much doubt that it will work. Even if she takes a page from Sawako’s book, reforms, and goes about her attempts on Kazehaya  in an honest way, she’s lost too much momentum at this point to make a counterattack that will provide her with any lasting gains. And the forces of True Love and Friendship always have ‘the bomb’, Ayane’s willingness to tell Kazehaya about Kurumi’s misdeeds should that option prove necessary.

Crusader’s Record of Kazehaya War

With her cloak of deception cast into the fires of retribution Ume is to suffer insult upon insult that has been long over due for her propaganda war on true love. Sadly Sawako is distressed that Ume was no friend and tries to mend fences despite the fact that Ume is not worthy of such efforts. It was wonderful to see that Ume was incapable of bluffing and was considered to be useless in sports. Her class’s victory is attributed to her conspicuous absence as her replacement proved to be superior in every way. While Sawako decides to show mercy Zeus ensures that Pin is unable to keep his big yap shut and thus grows the tale of Ume’s shit taste in men and love for Pin. The word is out and long may Ume suffer for it just as Sawako suffered at the hands of Ume’s vile lies. It is much more delicious as Ume’s own false facade created this rumor which was based on glorious misunderstanding instead of petty jealousy. With that concludes the last real battle that Ume was able to muster for in any considerable amount of force, I am sure that the rumors of her love of Pin, spread by Pin himself will take up most of her time in her futile efforts to quash them. Sawako may forgive her, but I shall forever laugh at Ume’s love of Pin, and long may she visit the tree of confession for True Love will never answer to one so vile as her.

Needs to be made into an omake.

They are trying to find the one that causes a critical meltdown.

That she is, that she is…

But you started it…

Let’s see if your pretty face is a match for Chizu’s FIST.

That is the dumbest question I have ever heard.

The bluff is weak…

Thus did Ume wait fruitlessly at the tree of confession…

No that would be Ume…

I had to check the IFF to see if it was Tomoko and Eriko, thankfully it wasn’t them.

But what they spoke was the truth.

See no one stands up for Ume, what great friends Ume has….

I felt like throwing up…

Yeah and we though Ume had an ego…

Pin commissioned many a cheap shody shoujo background.

Yes she does and HOW!

Well I don’t…

Not my problem that you put all you eggs in one basket…

ExecutiveOtaku’s Unadulterated Adoration of Sawako and Current Intelligence Report

Kurumi can’t stand the site of True Love and Friendship.

Not so keikaku doori, eh Kurumi? Muahahaha, her indignant, spiteful words of failure are music to my ears!

Kurumi is without honor and behind her carefully maintained looks is an ugly soul.

For the day would come when Kurumi would know fear.

Let me see your war face!

Chizu is GAR! At least, for a moment.

Oh yes, you’re just the poor innocent victim here.

“I’m not as good-natured as Chizu.” Be still my heart, I love evil Ayane!

EO’s DDAAAWWWW of the Week: Sawako fidgeting in front of Ayane and Chizu.

She’s probably a team-killer, perhaps they should consider giving her the boot.

INTIMIDATION!

All too easy.

I really love these half-face staring shots this episode, it’s a perfect way to the ‘O RLY?‘ feeling.

Pin is ready to get up and do his thang. He wants to get into it man, you know, like a, like a sex machine, man.

…

Kazhaya’s minor bit in this episode, trying to keep Pin from doing any more damage. Perhaps even Kurumi doesn’t deserve that kind of BAD END.

Behold the face of True Love, Kurumi, for it is a power you shall never conquer!

This episode got back into using some of the more creative shots and ‘camera’ techniques that I enjoyed in previous episodes. This pan up through the fence is one, as well as the traveling through the branches of leaves of the autumn trees and then the pan up to the sky followed by rotating in a complete circle off to the side and then back to the ground.

This heart beats with an awesome POWER!

Peace negotiations. If Sawako can make Kurumi see the error of her ways and become her friend then her victory will be total.

The rivals face each other amidst the starry universe. Ano Sora wo Yuke, Sawako!

Finally you realize the futility of your actions.

Perhaps this defeat will make her reflect on things, but I’m not letting my guard down until comes out with a definitive ‘I’m glad I fell in love with you’ admission of defeat before Kazehaya himself.

This image is 200 proof pure shoujo.

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Episode 2 in a nutshell… sorta.

So basically episode 2 was episode 1 but with the main focus on the young miss Rio Kamichika who was part of the attempted kidnapping. Rio wanted to commit suicide when she found out that her father was cheating on her mother and was supposed to meet someone by the alias of Nakura. Nakura, or Izaya Orihara (his real name), told her that he simply wanted to observe her reactions and emotions the entire time. What his real motives are, if any, are still unclear. Rio decides to go ahead and proceed with the suicide attempt, but is saved again by the headless rider, Certy. She departs with a single message for Rio, “The world isn’t as cruel as you take it to be.”

It wasn’t that great of an episode in terms of content, but I do like this style of story telling. Being able to see what goes on from different perspectives is always fun especially with so much going on. We get to meet a few more characters, both entirely new and some from episode 1 with more exposure. There’s so many that you can’t help but wonder how they will all interact with each other.

So Izaya is supposed to be the sinister badass of the show I guess. At first I thought he wasn’t going to be a bad guy and that the whole thing was supposed to stop Rio from wanting to commit suicide. But boy was I wrong. The guy just wanted to observe humanity like some sort of god looking down on a petri dish. Of course, this makes him a perfect candidate for the “villain” of the series if there’s supposed to be any.

I honestly liked her better with her hair this way… not much else to say about this character.

Creepy teacher is creepy. Already checking out the students on the first day, eh?

This guy seems like a prick. If you’re not going to come to school then don’t show up at all.

Despite the show’s natural realistic setting, it’s a bit nice to see some supernatural elements embedded in. We of course have Certy (or Selty? Which is it?) the headless rider. Now we have Shizuo Heiwajima who we saw during the opening and a little bit in episode 1 throwing around vending machines. I’m not sure how this will all play out in the end, but it certainly does make me curious enough to watch the show even more.

This is a bit off topic but I’m kind of liking Erika Arisawa’s character design. It’s strange since the character seems so plain, but just the outfit itself is a bit unique and somewhat refreshing among all the school uniforms, plug suits and fancy clothing you seem in anime these days. Or maybe I just have a thing for plain looking women… who knows.

On a side note, I thought including sort of a summary of what happened in the previous episode in the middle of the opening sequence was kind of clever, but that’s just me. =)

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