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「茉莉香、初仕事する」 (Marika, Hatsu Shigoto Suru)
“Marika Does Her First Job”
Ah Marika, such a loveable high school space pirate captain. The way she gets strung along and gives it her all — even when it comes to plastic Bentenmaru models — is just too endearing. Best of all, she’s modest about her abilities as she’s more surprised than anyone else at how quickly she’s thrown into the space pirate thick of things. This week proved to be a very fun and lighthearted look into the series that continues to defy generalizations, as the setting shifted from Marika’s Space Yacht Club to the Bentenmaru. We’re not given a proper introduction to all the crew members mateys, but it wasn’t too hard to pick out the key ones seen in the ending sequence: Hyakume (Fujiwara Keiji), Luca (Mizuhara Kaoru), San-Daime (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu), Schnitzer (Miyake Kenta), and Coorie (Horie Yui in a Miya-like “nishishishi” role). In lieu, we were given a mesmerizing in-depth look at the world of Umi no Akeboshi, the history of space pirates care of Misa’s awesome hand-made storyboards, and most importantly, what it really means to be one.
Interestingly enough, what it really means to be a space pirate is a little open to interpretation at the moment, as the Galactic Empire who put a stop to the War of Independence between the Colony Federation and Suzerain Planets, formally recognizes space pirates as a private military. As such, they have to be active in order for their Letter of Marque to be remain valid, and at the same time, quite tactful about how they approach pirating. The part that’s open to interpretation is whether they’re an entertainment side show or actual space pirates who have modernized their approach over generations. My understanding is that they’re the latter and loot in the spirit of pirating but refrain from taking lives needlessly, since Misa made it pretty clear that they do get in life-or-death situations because there are other parties out there that wouldn’t hesitate to shoot them down. The reason for the excitement among Princess Apricots’ passengers is over the rarity of space pirates in this day and age, where getting robbed by them is seen as a bit of once in a lifetime experience.
There appears to be an implicit understanding among those in the know that space pirates won’t kill you if you just hand over your valuables, and as Kane kindly pointed out to the two ladies who were new to it and genuinely afraid of what was going to happen, the cruise liner covers space pirate losses with its insurance. However, the danger of the passengers fighting back is there, hence why Kane went ahead first to put up an act and minimize the possibility of one happening. I would even go one step further and say this is just a textbook robbery of a cruise ship — and one that cruise ship passengers are aware of so it kind of does double as a form of entertainment — judging from the Bentenmaru’s crew’s reaction on how it was just another day of work for them. They do have to be prepared for the case when things don’t go smoothly, and of course when the job is more in line with something that a private military would take on, much like the preview hints at. To the best of my knowledge, I believe that’s the correct interpretation of what it means to be a space pirate, which will hopefully be confirmed or denied in the next episode.
* Full-length images: 04, 18, 27.
Preview
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Good episode – a little lighter than previous ones. But, I hope this isn’t going to
be a pirate comedy troupe series, and there’s serious stuff ahead.
Ha Ha Divine – text-book pirating (as she reads the script – by the book!
I loved all of the paper work stuff and I’m especially glad we didn’t have to sit
through all of the electronic stuff for them to take control of the liner.
Still, a great series in my book!
When the episode started with Marika and Mami presumably heading for the beach, I glanced at the episode number and thought “Oh, episode 6. The episode where most shows usually have they’re prerequisite fanservice episode, huh.” Up till then, Mouretsu Pirates had done an admirable job of not falling to the same old tricks of otaku pandering despite the minefield of opportunities with its veritable cast of high school girls. I guessed that it was inevitable that they had to dedicate an episode to some fanservice to boost the sales of those Blu-rays and DVDs. Imagine my surprise and utter relief when Misa and Kane came to crush her dreams by whisking her away to attend to official matters as the new captain of Bentenmaru. It also didn’t hurt that it was the most interesting episode yet of Mouretsu Pirates instead of another generic beach episode.
I especially liked the way they portrayed the numerous procedures and formalities that Marika had to attend to with her new official status as Bentenmaru’s new captain. Visiting the various ministries and departments, and signing and stamping all those documents really drove home the fact that the crew of the Bentenmaru are legal pirates who are regulated by the government, and are bound by the certain rules regarding their pirating endeavors.
The training sequence on board the Bentenmaru was, beside serving to show Marika learning the ropes from the crew to understand what makes a pirate ship tick, also worked to flesh out the other crew members besides Misa and Kane. It also highlighted yet again that though Marika might have the natural disposition to become a great captain, it doesn’t mean that she can just get into the captain’s seat and start issuing orders to fire port and starboard . 🙂
Some people were quite surprised at how enthusiastic the Princess Apricot passengers were at getting robbed by space pirates. But as you said Divine, I think that because of the rarity of space pirates among the general populace daily lives, the passengers were all excited at experiencing what to them would be a novel experience. I also think that the pirates in that time have been romanticized as these dashing yet noble thieves, much like how in our reality the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean series has done for our generation. The fact that all the passengers were wealthy probably contributed to that, as these rich people need to get their kicks from somewhere besides just spending their boatload of money.
Next week looks to be Marika’s real trial by fire as the new captain of Bentenmaru, so I guess its going to be another long week of waiting for the next episode.
I was amazed by the portrayal of red tape involved in getting letter of marque… in space no one can you scream over the beaurocrats!
One thing I liked is how it was emphasized that the most important part of being captain – the leadership is not something you can train in simulators (shout out to Kobayashi Maru anyone?)
I guess the pirate “shows” money flow is like that pirates<—passengers<—insurances<—planetary govt (as a cost of having the pirates in combat readiness).
Marika doing the "pirating by the book" was genuinely pure comedic gold, and her "dirty pirate trick" when she seemed to be disarmed was just a gem… I just wnated to hear "You fight dirty…" "I am a pirate!"
…goes off to create AMV to the "(s)He's a pirate" theme from the POTC…
Their world is so damn pretty…
Ha! Glad I took up this show indeed.
Makes me sad that we’re born too early for space living. :'(
This show reminds me of the old Captain Harlock series, for some odd reason. Maybe it’s the costume (the black one).
Not gonna watch it just to find out, but that’s what the screencaps make me think of.
What, not even a single mission of how adorably tsundere Chiaki was the entire time?
I guess we’ll get episodes that focus on Chiaki’s own pirating adventures then. It would be nice if she and Marika team up often.
Arg, modern methods eh? Not actually a bad episode. This is actually great. It’s Marika’s training and first day at work. And she pulled it off like the cute highschool model student space pirate captain she is.
Looks like there be action up in the next episode. I wonder why Marika’s team are called pirates when they’re actually privateers? Pirates don’t have Letter of Marques while privateers do and is considered a private military.
I laughed when the show denied its audience its swimsuit fanservice in its first two minutes. Well, I was slightly disappointed in not seeing Marika in a swimsuit, but mostly I just laughed.
I know exactly how Marika feels with all the paperwork though. I had to go through a lot of **** to get my passport. And after all the crap she did she only gets a 50-day pass? That was BS. Nice to see that in THE FUTURE you are apparently not free of the horrors of red tape.
Marika’s training was a great watch. Its nice to see her slowly learning the ropes and have fun doing it. Misa’s cardboard presentation was hilarious and even Marika lampshades it. I also liked during her first “raid” where she reads from a script then slowly tosses it away when she starts getting more into it. Seeing Marika hog a tsundere Chiaki was icing in the cake too.
Well, you know we’ll get our fanservice of Marika and probably the rest of the Yacht Club in swimsuits later. Though if they don’t give us any at all I will be thoroughly impressed… and a touch disappointed :X
I’m not convinced we will. Several times Sato has signaled, “This isn’t that kind of show.” For instance, the locker room scene in ep 3. This was another one. “No, you don’t get a beach episode.”
Well, as long as we don’t go too many episodes without Marika making Chiaki blush, I’m good with that too. Who does that tsundere think she’s fooling? XD
While I thought Misa did a bit of a 180 this episode, I still loved it. The atmosphere wasn’t as fun as the Odette II, but it wasn’t meant to be yet. This is work for them, and putting Marika through the ringer was part of the job. Still, I love the crew, and glad we get 18 more episodes with them. Of course, things only got better when Chiaki showed up for training. Not at all to see Marika. Nope, not at all. 😛
I was a bit skeptical of the crowd was cheering when they were about to get robbed, but then it made sense when Kane mentioned they would get reimbursed. Just don’t bring a precious gift on the trip and you’re set! Crazy rich people… XD Plus the script they gave Marika was pure gold.
That’s what’s funny with anime’s population of super filthy rich people: They sometimes actually WANT to get robbed. XD Especially rich princesses who want to see manly dudes.
Chiaki blushing is just so love! <3
That was a bit strange. If the rich people are entertained by piracy and willing give up their goods, then when do these pirates actually fight? Obviously they’re not going to attack the ships of the government since they are privateers, so I really don’t see a point of conflict in this show.
If I’m remembering my history correctly, privateers were pirates hired by the government in order to discover land in the New World, colonize, and attack/steal from the ships of other nations. I’m not really seeing any inter-planetary rivalry or any race to colonize a recently discovered galaxy, so I’m kind of confused on the direction of this show.
I’m still hoping this anime goes into the direction of a Francis Drake vs. Spanish Armada-esque battle, but I guess light-hearted space piracy would be entertaining too (just not what I expected).
And what exactly is that? Human with modifications? Iron Man suit? Some kind of alien? Whatever it is, it knows karate and it’s awesome ^_^
My theory is that there’s another revolution brewing, in secret. The pirates are effectively a huge money-laundering scheme, and most of their take is being rerouted to a secret effort to build a fleet.
I also think that Marika’s father isn’t really dead. His death was faked because he’s in the underground, helping that building effort somehow. Or training crews, or something like that.
There’s a major character we haven’t seen yet, that blonde girl in the fancy dress they show in the OP. Once we find out about her, I think a lot more will become clear.
Marika chasing Chiaki was the funniest part of this episode.
This show is so good!!
When Marika was talking to the cruise ship over the speakers, she messed up a bit. But once she was inside, talking to them directly, she really got into it, and I thought she did a fantastic job. She didn’t make any flubs, did you notice that? No stuttering, no take-backs, no obvious nervousness, no confusion. She was in the groove, and even the sword fight didn’t phase her.
And it worked, too. The goal of the mission was to get in, collect loot, and get out again without anyone getting hurt. And that’s what they got. That they amused their victims at the same time certainly isn’t a bad thing.
Good episode, it made me laugh a few times, like the storyboards and of course, Chiaki when she gets hugged to Marika. It’s like she doesn’t know how to manage her emotions… or how does it work. I love how she loses all of her bearings when she gets surprised or shocked.
There’s one thing I fail to understand though. Take a look at exhibit 43A, or this link:
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7541/1326748920895.jpg
Schnitzer, second-from-last picture, went from a human being to a skeleton-looking cyborg… I can understand hair style change or minor facial features, but THIS is rather unusual. What actually happenned ? I haven’t seen the novels. Was Schnitzer a normal human before some kind of accident or something ? Right now, the change seems too drastic for me, like it clashes too much with the human society.
Not just the next episode but also the next next episode will be epic.
I think this “Letter of Marques” is just a facade and legality to pirate in the publics eye but I think Space Pirates has more dirty work while under the shadow.
You have a point. Because, the Anime only Focus on Bentemaru. But, Barbalusa is a Pirate Ship too. And i think they are Happy to stay Off screen/in the Shadows 🙂
I’ll remember this series for the “legal pirate” term. It’s funny how one has to go through so much “legal” paperwork to become someone who “illegally” boards ships and steals valuables. I agree with a point in a forum that aside from keeping their Letter of Marque valid, pirates do these entertainment raids for a living until the military needs them. Also they may not be pirates, but the mixed bunch of the Bentenmaru reminded me of the Soyokaze crew from Irresponsible Captain Tylor. Luca is pretty and Misa seriously has a future as a kindergarten teacher if she can make cutout presentations that good.
I’ll be happy if they did make a plastic Bentenmaru model, I’ll buy one right away.
No one is thinking…
“Drill to the Heaven!”? 🙂
https://randomc.net/image/Mouretsu%20Pirates/Mouretsu%20Pirates%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
Dont he remind you of someone “Little younger?” 🙂
OK, this is how the “legal pirating” works:
Show Spoiler ▼
nice show there. Just don’t post what is happening next episode. far too spoilorish for me to handle
Is that from the books, or is that you guessing?
Well that was unexpected. So the pirates are basically committing insurance fraud… IN SPACE.
Oh, I also love that scene where Marika is chasing Chiaki with that training sign in her hands. Nothing like tsunderes on the run.
Yeah because we love seeing a cute girl chase another cute girl inside a space ship.
The performance at the end was pure GOLD. Really put the “opera” in Space Opera.
I liked this episode a lot especially the training with Chiaki. However between all the paper signing and regs and the training I felt like I missed an episode. It felt strange especially since they spent so much time on the Odette II’s voyage. I wanted to see Marika’s first impression of the Bentenmaru and of the crew introductions. I was admittedly disappointed.
The ‘raid’ on the Princess was funny. That overhead panshot with all the pirates in their classic pirate clothes made me laugh, it was like I was watching a cartoon from when I was a kid. Also the whole scene of raiding the ship after Marika introduced herself in person came off pretty over the top(obviously done on purpose since pirates are as much about presentation as plundering) it reminded me of a Las Vegas floor show or something like that. I was pleased with Marika’s performance during that though and seems to enjoy it. Her bow and performance during the introduction was spot on classic romanticized pirate and she really wears those clothes well.
One of the appeals of this episode for me was reminding me much of the swashbuckling tales of pirates I knew as a kid(before pirates of the Carribean came out). Those western styled pirates really brought it back for me. 🙂
I guess she has no time to recruit her Yacht Club buddies on the next episode!
Gyaaahahaha gyaahahaha cough cough cough
I’m pretty sure Chiaki chan wanted to try laughing like that too.
Loved this episode. Especially the duel and Kane getting shot, I laughed so much, reminded me of the Indiana Jones Vs Swordman scene.
I’m gonna love this so much if every episode turns out so refreshing and funny and all. I’d like serious stuff too, which will happen next episode if the jikai preview isn’t lying.
The full length pics are pretty good as always keep them coming.
I loved this episode it made me laugh a great number of times though I thought this was the best one 😀 Show Spoiler ▼
What happened to the playlist at the side of the website which you can play the opening and ending over and over again?
Did we saw the Kobayashi-Maru Mission here? 🙂
Sadly she dont know the Cheat from Kirk 🙂
https://randomc.net/image/Mouretsu%20Pirates/Mouretsu%20Pirates%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2009.jpg
Dunno, but every time i say the Face of Striker a Name pops inside my Head. A-L-I-T-A
Dunno why.. Perhaps i haw seen to much Animes in my Life, and can remember tiny pieces…
What you think. Left and Right from the Helmsmen, are this the “Weapon” Crew? Because both have the exact same Radar..
Marika said exactly what i was thinking while watching the Misa history lesson portion. The entire plan of having Kane play the act of the guy who tries to be a hero is good. I wonder what would happen if others joined him making the opposing force more dangerous. Probably he would insist on an “honorable” duel and lose fairly so as to defuse the situation.
In Worst Case Scenario, She has real Battle Experience Backup. Aka her Crew. And from the looks, if Schnitzer get serious there will many Bones break…
and my Guts are telling me, that he is a Old Warrior Cyborg. Perhaps he is older then all together. How knows
I’m watching this at work.. It’s so corny that I failed to laugh silently..
DIVINE, as always, your appreciation of Morestu Pirates are clear and SPOT ON! I congratulate you.
Pirates 07 are out. And i spoted the official Name of the 2nd Pirate Ship. Balarusa
(When Chiaki was Phoning with his Dad on his Ship, and we get a “Icon” of his Face too)
around 13:55Min