First Impressions / Suisei no Gargantia

OP1.02 Sequence

OP: 「この世界は僕らを待っていた」 (Kono Sekai wa Bokura wo Matteita) by 茅原実里 (Chihara Minori)

 

「始まりの惑星」 (Hajimari no Wakusei)
“The Planet of the Beginning”

Continuing on from last week, Ledo gets quite the reception—and whereas the first episode gave us a lot from his perspective, things balance out this week with a focus on the other side of the equation…

…meaning the members of the Gargantia fleet get prime time this week as a result, and I gotta say, I’m loving the dynamics between everyone. Admittedly, I didn’t quite sense the relation there last week, but after this episode—there’s definitely a fair similarity in the group dynamics here in Suisei compared to those on the Gekko-Go in Eureka Seven, as well as the Zanbani in Xam’d. And considering how well the aspect was done in the aforementioned (and how much I loved the two series), things definitely look good for future developments. There just ain’t nothing like seeing a group get along as well as these guys do, and it just looks like they’ll be a fun group of people to follow around through the duration of the series. I mean, even with something completely foreign on their doorstep, they’re more worried about the damages resulting from the end of last episode than anything. Heck, Ledo’s more of a tourist attraction than a threat, and it just emphasizes the contrast between how relatively peaceful this world is compared to the one Ledo came from. Really, it makes you wonder just how amazing things would be if everyone was as chum as these guys… though I guess in part, it required the world freezing over to get to this point.

In any case, Amy—as expected—ends up being both the figurative and literal highlight of this episode, volunteering to be the envoy that gets things rolling. Needless to say, the cultural/language barrier between Ledo and Amy end up setting the basis for some rather nice moments—HERE HAVE THIS!—and it really looked like it was going to be the start of a beautiful, heartwarming friendship/story from there. Sadly though, even this world ends up having its share of dangers…

…which brings us to the latter part of the episode, where pirates attack the Gargantia’s salvage team. At this point, it was pretty obvious that Ledo was going to end up intervening in some shape or form, but gosh darn, I never expected anything like that. The result just ends up being worlds more than I ever anticipated, as Ledo makes short work of the pirates in mere moments, to the point where they’re literally decomposed into dust. It’s the definition of shock and awe if I’ve ever seen it, and it ends up saving the salvage team… but at what’s likely to be quite the cost. Undoubtedly, the relationship between Ledo and the members of the Gargantia aren’t going to be the same anymore, which is just quite sad considering how well things were going on up until this time. It’ll be interesting to see how things work out to the say the least, but at this point, it’s going to be a given that Amy’ll play a big part (perhaps by her admitting she requested the help in the first place). I wouldn’t have it any other way though, as she’s definitely starting to win a place in my heart early on—with much help from her “oh, he’s nothing special” description of Ledo—and I… admittedly wouldn’t mind being stranded on a planet I barely know if you’d tell me I’d end up meeting someone like her.

Okay well, so maybe I would mind. But you get my drift. Ultimately, it’s just another superb episode of Suisei no Gargantia to wrap things up on the weekend. Like Shingeki no Kyojin and quite a few other series this season, words just aren’t enough to describe the enjoyment I’ve been getting from Suisei, and it’s something that’s further added to by the absolutely superb OP/ED sequences and themes we get this week. Oh yeah, did I mention how great the animation is too? Sadly though… the airing of another episode also means one thing: the need to wait another week for the next one. And what a wait it’ll be.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「空とキミのメッセージ」 (Sora to Kimi no Message) by ChouCho

214 Comments

      4. Or Captain Monkey D Luffy. Hot-blooded shounen spirit gets you through anything!

        PS After watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2 last night, I dreamt of Captain Jack Sparrow’s action scenes, except it all involved him creatively avoiding Chamber’s laser blasts…Strangest dream I ever had.

        zztop
        Reply

      3. It appears in their world that the only major energy source is the “galaxy” in the ocean so if I was a pirate ship raiding I would need some other form energy/movement tech to move between Galaxies as I raid.

        Batteries would give me a day or two of operations beyond the galaxy but would cut into either weapons, cargo, crew or equipment.

        Sailing might be slower but may is effectively unlimited range.

        I would also have the advantage of surprise such as it is, as i could approach on a vector that they may not have defending ships due to poor galaxy density or none at all.

        T-Man
        Reply

    2. And yet as we speak, in millions of KFC restaurants people are sucking out the flesh of dead birds. Or scrambling lots of aborted chickens to make an omelette. Meat is meat and it doesn’t matter as long as it tastes good.

      And properly dried and prepared fish is great. Especially if the head is still there. Those are the best parts of a fish.

      fragb85
      Reply

      3. In consumer eggs there’s no chick inside to abort in the first place. The egg has to be fertilized by a male for a chick to come out. If you just leave an unfertilized egg alone, nothing’s gonna magically pop out.

        Kuntzy
        Reply

      6. I wouldn’t really say I misinterpreted so much as failed to elaborate my point. I was more talking about the process rather than the action itself and since eating is the end result that’s what was mentioned.

        My bad though. You know the internet, sarcasm is lost due to lack of tone and that D: emoticon is usually used to express disgust (from my experience at least).

        Kuntzy
        Reply

      11. I learned about Balut through the anime Hanasaku Iroha, where it is used (in Vietnamese, “hột vịt lộn”, but pronounced more like “hobiron”) as an insult against the main character. Go figure!

        hoiut
        Reply

    1. 1 minutes 36 seconds from getting into the cockpit to firing the reflector beam. 19 seconds from first firing to complete annihilation.

      The pirate battleships look mid 20th century and Chamber cuts through them like a plasma torch through butter. Yet in ep1, those space tentacle snails and space flowers were dropping the machine calibre squad like flies. This put the threat posed by Hideous into perspective.

      fatflightlesspenguin
      Reply

  6. Next week’s spoilers: Ledo takes on the combined pirate crews of Captains Sparrow and Luffy for the legendary Jar of Dirt and the Nami Sea Charts…

    WHO WILL WIN?

    Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets.

    zztop
    Reply

    1. honestly, i thought that was 100x more scary than a brutal and bloody mess. i got chills just watching someone’s life fade away in the blink of an eye, leaving absolutely no trace of their humanity left. a bloodstain at least belongs to somebody, they turned to fucking dust.

      bolton
      Reply

      2. You are right Bolton but for me, I think this’s more humane since its quick and instant even if there are no traces of you left.

        To go off in a “brutal and bloody” mess is just too inhumane IMO.

        Seeing that this is done by the master himself, I was surprised that the pirates went off the quick and instant manner

        c2710
        Reply

      3. morality is probably the reason such a way of disposal was invented. in any case, dead is dead. i think the most shocking thing was that he was able to precisely locate and dispose every single crew member in one shot, although murder is inherently wrong, the puffs of smoke just carried the finality and thoughtlessness of the procedure for me. i never really thought of burial or cremation as much, but after seeing this i felt incredibly shocked that in a future with this type of disposal in use, there is almost no cause to reflect or think about the murder or how it could be avoided. in ledo’s world, soldiers would be trained to kill, and the kill would produce absolutely zero feedback.

        after seeing this, i can’t help but imagine ledo being put in a dark place, where chambers is unresponsive and his weapons out of reach, forced into a situation where only he or his attacker may live.

        but maybe that’s thinking too far ahead. ledo would probably show no remorse in that situation either, and perhaps simply that is the whole premise of the show. it is a little hard to imagine things being entirely light after coming back from this kind of ending, though.

        bolton
        Reply

      4. I won’t disagree with you Bolton neither do I fully agree with you.

        IMO, burials and cremation are our ways of sending the deceased off from this world. Either religiously or culturally. It gives a form of closure for us.

        Building on your point on the weapons Ledo used, aren’t they in use today? We have smart bombs that apparently “seek to reduce collateral damage” and a plethora of guidance and detection systems to “segregate and dichotomise friend from foe”. It does have some semblance of “cold hearted murder” but than again, isn’t that the other function of weapons?
        We produce weapons to protect ourselves and it does that by efficiently taking out the enemy.

        And your comment on soldiers being trained to kill, that’s a bit iffy for me to comment on. Yes I do agree with that but I think we also have to consider that at times, they kill to protect their own lives and the lives of those that they hold dear. So that’s why I said its a bit iffy for me to comment on it.

        Lastly, I have to agree with you on your last 2 paragraphs. Seeing that this’s from the mind of Urobochi, I won’t be surprised if it comes to that situation. Mami Tomoe totally took me by surprise. Madoka Magica DID start of as what I’d like to call, “very colourfully and innocently fuwa fuwa”

        c2710
        Reply

      5. I think the “turned to dust” bit has nothing to morality or any humanitarian reasons, but more on the fact that the Mech Caliburs’ intented targets are large plantlike aliens who need more than just one shot from them to seal the deal, so to speak.

        Effect-wise… It depends on how the writers want to interpret this, of course, but imho, turning someone to dust may have less a psychological impact on people than a bloody mess with bits and pieces of your kind decorating the scenery (not to mention how annoyed and horrified the cleaning crew will be at the need to clean up so great a mess). People will associate more with blood and splatter innards than they will with dust that would (more or less) vanish with a good wind, and it may take them longer/harder to register the level of threat Ledo+Chamber could pose to them. They will see them as dangerous, no doubt about this, but put next to a man with conventional weapons, it’s very possible that the latter will be identified as the greater threat.

        My $0.02 =3

        A Random Comment
        Reply

      6. Ash to ash, dust to dust. But people’s body never really disappears their atoms just take a new form. Right now the water you drinking could have been dinosaur urine and the air particles you breath could have a few atoms of Thomas Jefferson’s body in them.

        Haseo
        Reply

      8. I’d think she didn’t like the feeling of breathing dead pirate’s dust. It would be interesting though if he had mistakingly killed one of her comrades but I guess Chamber’s capabilities are over the top.

        Ebisu
        Reply

  8. Damn Zeph, getting to blog the two of the best, if not the best shows this season. Still kinda wondering how the laser beams of death didn’t shatter the glass on the ship (if there was glass) … but then again light doesn’t really shatter glass … >< but still pew pews were awesome.

    Xpulsion
    Reply

    2. I didn’t see holes either.

      What could make this possible is adjustable laser wavelength. Set it for carbon and it should do energy transfer mostly into target element and potentially compound.

      Now that I think about it, he may be mainly configured to scorch organics as his main enemy uses organic ships.

      T-Man
      Reply

  10. Has it been confirmed if this series is only one cour? love Amy by the way; she’s such a breathe of fresh air from your usually female protagonist (was so relieved that she didnt throw a tantrum over the fact that Ledo touched her butt)

    sonicsenryaku
    Reply

    1. Well, he got lost in a space and Time distortion, while he was in this Wormhole

      Well, we know now the Space. it is Earth. But we dont know the Time. Is he far in his known Future? Or are the “Space Peoples” like “Inca’s” going into Space and returned? How knows

      Germanguy
      Reply

  13. >start of a beautiful, heartwarming friendship/story

    And then he brutally murders two ships of pirates… They really have played this part in a special way. Hope we won’t have usual HEALING from Urobuchi

    Schmell
    Reply

    1. honestly wondering if this is the magia turning point. it would make sense considering they gave this ep and last ep out before tv showtimes… but yeah, hell of a way to end this episode.

      bolton
      Reply

    2. I think ‘brutally murdering’ is a little extreme. Every single person there was shooting a gun that was more than capable of killing others – once you start firing you know there is a chance and likelihood of killing someone. The difference is that Ledo just had a much better gun.

      The crew can’t sit there and complain later while they were also shooting guns at the pirates – granted they weren’t human evaporating lasers.

      7godeohs
      Reply

    3. Well judging from the new characters introduced on the Suisei no Gargantia homepage I can regretfully say all of us will be wishing them all a very painful death if what I see is any indication of what im think they doing.

      Haseo
      Reply

  16. What were they expecting Ledo to do? Harlem shake for the pirates. It was obvious things would end up the way it did. They know he’s solider. They also know the threat he possess which is why amy asked for his help in the first place. Anyway, hopefully they done blame Ledo in the next episode for how he defended them.

    I also thought it was sweet how The pirates were vaporized without destroying the glass.

    BlackStealth1989
    Reply

    2. Sure they know how powerful he was. But only Amy trusted him fully. This Guy was think this is a “bull”. And i think even for Amy’s thinking he overdone it with the Pirates. Not to Destroy their Ships (Ships are Life!) or complete wipe out them. Perhaps they was thinking in scaring them away

      Germanguy
      Reply

    3. they didn’t expect him to annihilate the whole crew let alone have the capabilities to even do so. ledo could have been many things, even a spy for the invading pirates who boarded their ship would have been probable. they knew ledo was technologically advanced, but aside from making extremely durable robot suits (which they believe is a suit and not an actual robot), they have no idea just how advanced ledo is. i definitely didn’t expect him to mercilessly murder the entire crew in a single shot, anyone who said that was anticipated is gonna get a weird look from me.

      bolton
      Reply

  18. To ask realistically, if the entire Earth were to be flooded to the extent depicted in Gargantia, would there still be any remaining land masses in the form of above-sea level highlands and mountain ranges(ie the Himalayas)?

    Or would everything as we know it be completely submerged?

    zztop
    Reply

    1. Well, perhaps we should think this like “Future Boy Conan” or “Water World”. But here it seems they have the wisdom to produce “Fuel” for their engines. And are not only depended on the “Kaze” (Wind)

      Germanguy
      Reply

    2. @14:25 Amy mentioned there was a placed called land a long time ago, but she didn’t know much about it.
      We can only assume any mountains were levelled by the ice sheet when Earth was frozen, and all remaining lands were flooded when the ice sheet melted.

      fatflightlesspenguin
      Reply

    3. Interestingly enough, if there was enough water on Earth to cover all landmasses, then our atmosphere would be so humid that we would drown by breathing. In order for the situation in Suisei no Gargantia to be real, then the mountains of earth either need to be undiscovered, or worn away. Also, volcanic activity must be stopped.

      I love this show, and the way it logically is carrying out Ledo’s introduction to this waterworld society is nicely done, but waterworlds themselves carry so many scientific problems. They are hard to overlook.

      sands76
      Reply

      1. Well, in “Future Boy Conan” there was Magnetic Bombs, so powerful that they could sink entire Continents. The whole Planet Magnetism got “buged”, and in the End some of the Bombs effects worn off, and they reappear (flowed)on top of the Water. But dunno, if this is a Effect of the Sun or a “forgotten past” War

        Germanguy
        Reply

  19. Talk about overkill. SENMETSU indeed. I’m sure not going to forget that word anytime soon.

    The show is shaping up to be a beautiful friendship between a cute girl and a boy and his Kyon-bot. He expresses such friendship by completely annihilating a pirate fleet within seconds. How sweet. Heck look at that OP, its bright sunny happy and full of friendship. STOP TOYING WITH ME UROBUTCHI!

    Suffice to say the citizens of Gargantia will be terrified now with the knowledge that there is a weapon that can kill them in seconds in their midst. Hopefully Amy will be the proper go-between that Ledo can trust. At least they won’t be skeptical about Ledo’s claims that he’s from space.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. Well, if i am allowed to compare the Power.

      Gargantia have their ballistic Weapons (Guns) and Leo has far more then A-Bomb

      And i bet this Fly mode sphere has something with Anti-Gravity to do. Well, it works in Space and on Earth. Or it is a Strong Magnetic Field Sphere. But then Gargantia is full of Metal…

      Germanguy
      Reply

      1. oh i forgot. Looks like the Earth dont have strong “Wind” Storms anymore. Perhaps a side effect of covered in Water. But how do you explain this “big” City’s on the Ships. a Strong wind from the side would sink them in no time. They “Balance” is very on the Top. A strong “push” and they turn to their side and well….

        Germanguy
        Reply

      2. From what I’ve seen so far, the sphere generates some kind of anti gravity field in a cone below it. Look closely when Ledo flies off towards the pirates. When he ascends from cruising over the ocean, a huge swell forms. It’s like the water is being drawn towards the sphere.

        specter472
        Reply

  23. Splendid episode!
    I actually already watched it last week (the pre release version) but I immensely enjoyed watching it all over again 🙂
    The last minutes was the highlight for me, beautiful fighting scene, but it also made me wonder just what was going to happen now; when Amy asked for his help, I don’t think she imagined he was so overwhelmingly superior to them and could kill them all in a flash, but now, they all know…

    About the name: I believe it’s ‘Red’ not ‘Ledo’?
    It feels weird seeing ‘Ledo’ written in the subs, while everyone knows it’s just the way japanese pronounce it, and not the actual name in itself.

    sherry
    Reply

      1. Thanks for the info~
        In the pre release version I saw, whatever group subbed it called him ‘Red’ and it made a lot more sens to me than ‘Ledo’
        But indeed, in the official website, it’s written レド

        sherry
        Reply

    1. I don’t think so – evidence suggests the Gargantia is the far future from his point of view. His current knowledge of earth is that it’s frozen over – the crew’s knowledge is that it was frozen over long ago.

      The obvious followon from that, and from the fact his suit’s distress signal is being ignored, is that the human alliance lost the war with the hideauze. This fits with what we know from the first episode where their all in assault got massacred and fled in disorder.

      Velk
      Reply

      1. Rather than the far future, like others have said, it’s more likely the present (not OUR present).

        The people in space fled from earth because the planet was freezing over. It would have taken them a LONG time to develop a city in space that houses…400 million people, I think? By the time that happened, whatever caused the earth to freeze may have been dealt with and it all melted, flooding the planet.

        Rasen
        Reply

    2. I don’t think Led actually moved to the future. The idea that the Earth was still frozen was probably made through calculations and from previous models. I’m guessing that what warmed up the Earth were the shining sea bugs. Those bugs are factors that didn’t exist when they did their calculations. I wouldn’t consider the human alliance over yet.

      Those bugs are probably a strain of Hideauze that adapted to life on Earth (or maybe vice versa). This would make things very interesting since an enemy is now aiding in the revival of humankind.

      anon
      Reply

  26. So place your bets people – how many episodes till Urobutcher murders the little girl’s brother in some gruesome fashion and brings the galactic war upon this calm earth fleet? 😛

    Epic episode.

    UnknownVoice
    Reply

  27. I “see” discussion about the potential dark directing direction this series may take; I don’t know.
    It’s pretty obvious they’re trying to build a relationship between Ledo (Red) and Amy — why,
    it’s for Ledo’s character.

    Ledo is a soldier – it’s all he has known. Everything he has done has has a tactical purpose of some
    sort to return to his comrades, but is perceived as compassion or helpful to the people on the flotilla.
    There’s a huge technology gap, and the pirate encounter served as an interesting tool to show the
    people the capability of the technology he possesses in one “fell” swoop. Too, I think people were
    shocked at his over-the-top performance with the pirates, maybe thinking he should have scared them
    off or something less lethal than vaporizing the pirates. But that’s what a soldier does; efficiently annihilate
    the enemy or threat, not scare them off or compromise.

    Notice, the lack of cheering after he saved them, as may happen in some other stories featuring a “hero.”

    This is a brilliant way of showing the juxtaposition between them — the shock of this hits them like a ton
    of bricks the real and significant danger they were in before the pirates showed up had he turned
    his weapon against them.
    The directing shows an interesting contrast between him and his armour (Chamber) — compassion.
    He is not a “soldier” machine and has a heart. Remember Chamber wanted to take everyone out and
    keep a few hostages? He (Ledo) recognised their toil of their lives and deep inside, realized that his
    life to that point was to protect those interests.

    Those were the first two episodes. As I understand it, they were done some time ago. I hope the spark
    is still there, that made these first two episodes so good, in the next episode.

    IMHO, the success of this series hinges on how he returns – as something to be feared, like a god, or as a
    member of the community that happens to have a really big hammer to use to protect him?

    Obviously, Amy is the key to how this will all play out and I’m really excited to see if this momentum continues…

    mac65
    Reply

    1. I must say, Ledo is my most likeable male MC in this season. Calm, cool-headed, always thinking and forming plans before acting.
      And he do shows compassion too. In episode 1, he didn’t want to force his way out with Chamber because 1: He need to know the surroundings and form a plan, and 2: The crew wasn’t wearing pressure suit, and he didn’t want them to die if the next room was outer space.
      Not being a hot-blooded shounen, arrogant, full of angst, or out for bloodthirsty revenge, like a lot of male MCs, is a big plus in my book. Gotta love strategy guys 🙂

      livid
      Reply

    2. I agree.

      Ledo, being a soldier and being from the portion of his society that has NEVER EVER HAD CIVILIAN life, has only learn to class people as allies or enemy combatants. Where the only good enemy combatant is a dead one. In short taking prisoners or even compelling surrenders not a common response. To label what he did as murder is most unfair as he had no malice aforethought. At worse he may be classed a mercenary security force as he did the defensive action to improve his bargaining position.

      His only failure in my opinion was that of communication with Amy of Gargantia. An unavoidable failure due to time constraints, that applies to both Ledo and Amy. He treated her request as an intercept and destroy order when what she was asking was another defending rider to what in essence a nomadic herd raid on another nomadic tribe (replace herd with salvage).

      Gargantia’s inhabitants shock comes from multiple reasons.

      Based upon the conversation between Bellows and the pirate captain raids were common and usually did not involve wholesale slaughters as she expected him to depart with valuables they could grab but leave her survivors intact. The conversation also indicated that people could change their city ship allegiance which means the raider and defender may have people they know playing for the other team leading to another reason for both parties to keep the killing to a minimum. So Napoleon’s “the primary objective is the destruction of the enemy’s armies” was alien to them.

      Amy and the rest of Gargantia had issues centers around trying to place Ledo in their frame of reference. They know that his mech tech is better, what they failed to understand was how much better as unlike him they have no understanding of the harsh conditions of space for which it was designed for. Their world doesn’t have energy weapons, tech level somewhere between early 21 century to middle. Leading Pinion to recommend “sinking” Ledo, as he thought Ledo’s mech was like their salvage mechs just a few times stronger (5 or 10) not like a few million times stronger. So Ledo effortless destruction of a rapid attack raiding force tells them that his force level is not in their frame of reference at all.

      The final part of their shock was his destruction of the enemy ships and equipment. Their world’s second most valuable commodity besides galaxy is salvage. The whole reason the raiders are raiding. Yet Ledo sends 3 ships, a fleet of zodiac size skiffs and a fleet of kites to the bottom. Like pouring cold water into the desert in front of a man dying of thirst.

      T-Man
      Reply

      1. I’m not sure. I think Amy’s concern was for their personal
        safety more than hedging their position in a little sparring
        spat, and now that I think of it, it was the tone of her voice
        more than anything else, that communicated to Ledo the urgency
        and peril of the situation. So in a way, Amy (unintentionally)
        set the stage for how Ledo responded to the pirate’s threat.

        I like it when a series engages discussion like this and makes
        you think about subtle things. And everyone will take a slightly
        different position on it based on their own experiences.

        Very Cool!

        mac65
        Reply

      2. Oops! Hit “Submit” too soon.

        The rest of your points are very good, especially about
        the spoils to the bottom rather then claiming as victors.
        But in space combat, there doesn’t really seem to be much
        opportunity for that, so it’s understandable how he acted.

        mac65
        Reply

      3. My apologizes. Did not mean to make it sound like Amy was bargaining in a deal, I totally agree with you, her urgent plead was for the safety of her friends under attack. She view Ledo’s power level as i guess on the same level as one of their patrol ships except faster and smaller. Ledo on the other hand was under the impression she as a representative of the ship when she was making her plead thus a deal of some sort. A honest misunderstanding of the details, leading to different expectation on either side and a really, really bad day for pirates.

        I really dig how the show has been driving the development of characters and realistic first contact situation. It will be an interesting watch and discussion.

        T-Man
        Reply

  28. Just wondering, but how is the salvage team pulling up wrecks from underwater? Wouldn’t the wrecks sink to the bottom of the ocean? And assuming the ocean level is currently high enough to cover continents, wouldn’t that be pretty deep?

    PTH
    Reply

    1. As you can see when they pan to the underwater scene, it’s only the ocean *now*, it used to be land, hence all the buildings there – the bits that used to be ocean as well will presumably be much deeper.

      Velk
      Reply

  30. “Undoubtedly, the relationship between Ledo and the members of the Gargantia aren’t going to be the same anymore, which is just quite sad considering how well things were going on up until this time.”

    How well the things went? If I remember correctly they still wanted to drow him, and didnt believe what Amy said about the “other person” either. They only wanted the technology and nothing from Ledo. And the cief said this isnt the time to make relationship.
    At least now they will take him more seriously.

    dangreg
    Reply

  32. When you think about it both branches of humanity trying survive is not that dissimilar.

    Ships coming together forming a fleet whether Gargantia or the Human Galactic Alliance’s Avalon.

    The presence of unaffiliated human spacers are just other fleets.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if there is such a thing as space pirates as well.

    To Ledo pirates equates to enemy of all mankind.

    ReddyRedWolf
    Reply

  33. I can’t help but see the similarities between Ledo and Sagara Sousuke(FMP),which I really enjoy mind you.I’m liking Ledo more though 😛

    Also,when I saw that Amy had a(bed-sick?)little brother my instincts kicked in,reminding me that Urobutcher is behind this anime.So a voice in the back of my head kept telling me: “Be afraid,be very afraid….”

    MgMaster
    Reply

  35. To accurately hit pirates even inside a ship…

    That’s some SRW level hax right there.Chamber coming to a new SRW near you.

    Gargantia is starting to remind me of the Thames from Xenogears.

    Better watch out Ledo because soon…

    YOU WILL…BE A MAN…OF THE SEA!!!

    Magoiichi
    Reply

  43. Im curious to see how long his mech can keep going , like how it works and whether or not its energy reserves will need to be replenished, would be interested if it shuts down and he has no way to fight other than using the weapons they have on gargantia

    raiken66
    Reply

    1. I think it would make sense for mechas in the future to run off some sort of solar, nuclear or other sustainable energy source. I think the Machine Calibre should be able to gather energy from the Galaxy thingies.

      Suppa Tenko
      Reply

    2. Perhaps this will a important Point. Or else he could fly out there and “Eliminate” every Enemy, that “Enemy” is not accurate, “Prey” would fit in there. But serious, i hope not every Episode needs this art of Killing. Or “Gargantia” will be the only Humans on “Water World Earth” :9

      Germanguy
      Reply

    4. Not too sure how they will explain that, or if it will even be brought out at all; but in this episode Chamber offered several options to Ledo about his situation, like attacking them all and take hostages, or for him to go back into artificial hibernation shall all this last for a long time, also to wait for help to come from the Alliance etc… but Chamber did not mention at any moment there would be any energy issues on his side to comply with everything he suggested.

      sherry
      Reply

  44. I wouldn’t have it any other way though, as she’s definitely starting to win a place in my heart early on—with much help from her “oh, he’s nothing special” description of Ledo—and I… admittedly wouldn’t mind being stranded on a planet I barely know if you’d tell me I’d end up meeting someone like her.

    You do realize Urobuchi is totally going to kill her, right? By saying that you like her you practically tripped her death-flag yourself.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    1. Lmao. Maybe, maybe not. The big thing here is that if there’s one work that Gen’s ever worked on that might not involve killing off peeps from the main cast, this might be one of them… considering Murata Kazuya’s involvement as director. We’ll see how it goes though.

      Zephyr
      Reply

    2. Movie by Kevin Reynolds and and stared by Kevin Costner

      I remember watching this on HBO maany years ago. That what i thought when saw ep 1 too .and don’t worry i don’t know meaning of suisei thank for telling me btw.

      pokpok
      Reply

    3. I’m late on this, but WW was the very first thing I thought of. Wonder if there will be a character that acts like that, even for one scene. Oh, well, I’ll just have to keep watching

      SmithCB
      Reply

  46. This anime is chalk full of imagination. I almost feel like a kid watching a Miyazaki movie for the first time. I am constantly being awed by everything in the re-imagined Earth (especially the galaxy currents). Great anime season.

    kondee
    Reply

  49. It was funny to see the faces of the crew lol.They thought they had some kind of force equilibrium.I guess that demonstration at the end showed them that was far from being the case.

    satyr
    Reply

  50. Hmmm, Since they were not able to locate land… Where do they obtain their oxygen from? Unless they have a forest of trees on their ship or they have some form of technology to maintain breathable air, those trees on the settlement does not seem enough to supply the air they need.

    For them to eat bread, they need wheat or some kind of plant… I guess we will find out afterwards 😛

    Very beautiful anime, love how the lightning comes from the ocean.

    Flappy
    Reply

  52. I like the idea of alien world culture shock. Humans who stayed on Earth have adapted to the new planet’s situation while humans who fled to space had to adapt by using neo-malthusianist methods and preconditioned life trajectories due to the scarciness of resources in space (air, water, nutrients).

    Amy’s and Ledo’s universe actually have something the other one lacks.

    The only thing that I find funny is the Tron like space suits.

    Yummy
    Reply

  54. Although what Ledo did was obviously a massacre to the eyes of the Gargantian residents, I can’t say that killing the pirates was wrong, soldier or not. Even before he intervened, people were already getting mauled to death by machine guns and those two girls were about to be raped. Ledo may have went overboard, but I don’t think any of the Gargantian residents really cared if the pirates were killed or chased away. They were more concerned about the otherworldly destructive nature of Ledo’s tech and their own safety.

    Zip
    Reply

    1. Yeah it’s not like there’s any police or government. It’s like wild wild West, you have your small town and it’s isolated. Bandits are coming to you and rob, so you have to protect yourselves. With all people have guns and stuff, this planet doesn’t seem, while is not quite as brutal as the war zone of Human Alliance, much of a peaceful world.

      UDoh
      Reply

    2. what he did is justified as a HERO by saving those girl. and ash is better than mountain of corpse (watch Berserk , Code geass, Titan, claymore and FMA:B for ref). Those people were just too surprise about a Freaking robot shooting beam that evaporate people and cause explosion on the pirate fleet.

      pokpok
      Reply

    1. Seems like it has a pre-programmed set of absolute allegiance to the Galactic Alliance and will assist the pilot as long as it doesn’t violate those preset rules. I think it’d be pretty hard for the pilot to even get killed without Chamber jumping in at this point… but if Ledo does somehow get killed, I’m thinking it’ll likely be capable of judging independently how to best guarantee its own safety based on what it knows. This’ll likely be without a pilot, considering it’s Earth, unless Ledo designates someone specific as a backup or something. As for the killer, it’ll likely kill them just based on an automatic response that a threat to Ledo is a threat to him.

      I don’t think… we’ll ever find out though. Feels more like Chamber’ll go before Ledo does.

      Zephyr
      Reply

      1. It’s true that Ledo is protected by plot armor as protagonist, but assasination attempt could be made by Gargantian people or the pirate either by sniping or poisoning Ledo When he is far from Chamber

        Silverhorn Trident
        Reply

    2. My guess is that the AI will simply go into long term hibernation while emitting the distress beacon. That makes the most sense when it cannot return back to its place of origin

      Zaku_Fan
      Reply

    3. If the Pilot get killed, not in Combat. Then i think Self destruct will occur. This Tech in wrong hands, and you get my Gist. Perhaps he will self destruct with an EMP Impulse so that all Electronics is destroyed with him itself. Or he goes Auto Pilot and try to reach Alliance on himself, until he runs out of Power

      Dunno.. to little Info.

      Germanguy
      Reply

    1. It’s likely the “freezing of the planet” (a la Ice Age) was something that occurred gradually over many thousands of years. It’s not inconceivable that there were localized pockets of land that allowed for survival during this time. From there, the melting of the ice likely caused the ultimate flooding of all land on Earth. But like the process of freezing over itself, this is a gradual, extremely long term event that likely made it so that the creation of fleets like the Gargantia (and its “artificial environments”) was possible before all land was completely submerged. So it’s not completely out of the question that a few small animals/critters like squirrels could’ve survived by latching on to one of these fleets with a few families before hand. 😛

      Zephyr
      Reply

  59. LOL Lasers vaporizing pirates! XD I wonder if that’s a take of the show on what to do with pirates(ie those that pirate anime.)

    Jokes aside we got only one more episode before the Urobuchi hits. Isn’t this the mecha show done by Gen, I forgot. But if it is, just brace yourselves. XD

    The Moondoggie
    Reply

  60. I wonder what’s the significance of the Hideauze tooth ocarina that Ledo’s working on? It’s probably just a pass time for him, as a form of trench art for a soldier. But I wonder if it symbolizes anything or has any importance later on.

    mangaka-chan
    Reply

  61. UM… overpowered much? XD;;

    [SPOILERS AHEAD]
    With auto targeting + and high density refracting beams that annihilate everything with one push of a button feels like brining machine gun to fight cave men….

    https://randomc.net/image/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2035.jpg

    Though it should be interesting to see what happens on the next episode, I mean, human fear admire and fear great power. I can sense a lot of tension + other plot twist later on in this series… (I’m totally looking forward to it)

    Shanku
    Reply

  62. I feel like this episode sort of setup a few things for us to understand.

    1.) Chamber, no matter what it may seem like, is a cold calculating A.I that has no interest in human lives. He can give orders to massacre just as much as save, based on the situation.

    2.) Leto, no matter what it may seem like, is a soldier. He has fought agianst an enemy far more powerful than anyone on Earth can dream of. So when he see’s a threat he only knows one mode, Absolute Domination. BUT he is human and does have empathy.

    Now the important thing to get from this is the sort of relationship this could form. Amy is clearly the kind of character that can melt a soldier’s heart, make he see a different way of life. She’s also the kind of character that if killed would allow Leto to be as cold and murderous as Chamber.

    The fate of this series lies solely on Amy. If something happens to her, or she hardens up somehow, it will be a slaughter for however involved.

    Tikal
    Reply

    1. Leto was Trained to avoid unnecessary Toughs and Feelings. It is not that he can Recover. But to break a “Solider’s” Protect Shell will need some time. And i am not talking of War trauma…

      Gain Trust, enjoy the “unnecessary” things, he has to learn this a New

      and i think, Chamber will evolved behind his original meaning. He will become “Human”, if his CPU is able to evolve of course

      But for Speculation, we are still to Short on Stuff. We just have 2 Episodes. Where Episode 1 first Half, was more “Zack Bum, Peng, Peww Peww” and 2nd Half was “where the hell am i?” Chamber Protocol is Important, or will be… How he get on Earth, and even “underwater”? Only Chamber can give the Clues

      Germanguy
      Reply

      1. or in other Words, the Writer still have many “White Pages” he can fill with his Story. But then, the Preproduction must have “chained” the Path of the Anime. So only Little adjustments is on “possible” side, if he want to change something

        Germanguy
        Reply

  63. I suspect it may end up that the snails find him first and then he finds out the humans colony in outer space have all been destroyed. That should be a nice FUBAR scenario for the writer

    Zaku_Fan
    Reply

  67. Even though this series seems to be mishmash of various story elements from elsewhere, I’m loving it so far. Seems a few people have referenced the “water world” movie. I for one am totally getting vibes from that movie, as the ships, technology and way people dress seems reminiscent of that movie.

    I also enjoyed how Ledo demonstrated the “curb-stomp battle” trope at the end of this episode: old-school technology gets owned by advanced technology. Lastly, I must say, the quality of the music, character designs, art and animation are top-notch. Seeing as how Production I.G. kept their quality high last season with Psycho-pass, I hope they continue that with Suisei no Gargantia.

    Aoihoshikage
    Reply

  68. Is it out yet? Is it out yet? is it out yet? (like a little Kid, and stomping with his feet!) 🙂

    Well, i wonder how the Gargantia will react after they saw this Destruction. “get lost of the Pilot and put the Mecha in pieces” to study it, is now out of reach…

    He sure will now receive the Gold Shoulder of Fear from them, and i bet Amy will the one to melt the Ice

    Germanguy
    Reply

    2. Episode 3 won’t air until the 21st so were out luck until then. I looked on the Suisei Gargantia homepage and checked out some of the new characters they posted up. Judging from what im seeing and a few logical guesses things are gonna get real dark later on.

      Haseo
      Reply

    3. Yeah, that’s definitely a valid conclusion. Led’s lack of remorse over killing people is going to anger the Gargatians, even if he did them a favor. But more than fear, I wonder if the upper leaders will try to control him for their own benefit…?

      And of course we can’t rely on the OP and ED to give us any hints; that’s one thing we’ve learned from Madoka. (Speaking of which, neither songs made as much impact on me as Madoka’s did.)

      On the matter of things getting dark, that’s a given since it’s Urobuchi’s story we’re talking about. Perhaps Led will face more antagonism due to further misunderstandings, which results in some sort of (semi-)tragic ending. All I know is, I can’t wait.

      Py687
      Reply

  69. I was just wondering, Ledo was bound to make contact with his people one day, and once that happened the Alliance would find out about Earth. Their technology would surely be enough to make Earth even more inhabitable, so I’m more worried about how the two races would deal with each other. Human superiority complex has the potential to be deadly in such cases …

    Engelcross
    Reply

  70. Dieselpunk pirates, meet antigrav powered, beam weapon shooting, galaxy-travelling mech!

    I wonder what course of action will people of Gargantia (I guess fleets replaced nations on planet Water) follow now?

    1. Kill the pilot, disassemble the mech for reverse engineering.
    – not likely, not only the AI is capable of retaliating for attack on pilot, but the sheer technological gap is too much to bridge. Think Leonardo Da Vinci trying to re-engineer M-1 Abrams…

    2. Try to form alliance with this newly formed one-man-one-mech hyperpower, and learn as much as possible in the process. I assume even with AI’s limited informaations (it is not wikipedia) it can fasten their tech progress by decades or even centuries, when properly employed.
    – quite likely, leaders of Gargantia seem to be intelligent types.

    3. Get an unification of Water fleets underway and start crash space program to get prepared for contact with Galactic Alliance.
    – pretty unlikely, considering time scale of the enterprise and lifespan of heroes.

    4. speculative: if Galactic Alliance picks up signal and arrives in force, assimilation of water fleets into Alliance either peacefully or by force. Ledo might try to protect his new friends and die in the process (with Urobutcher it’s “anyone can die” Trope)
    5. speculative 2: if even small Hideous presence follows Ledo, I expect him fully to die protecting his new friends (we’re talking about Urobutcher!)
    6. speculative 3: BOTH Alliance and Hideous follow Ledo to Water. Grand battle ensues. Ledo dies, possibly in vain anyway (again Urobutcher factor)
    7. speculative 4: Ledo hibernated 6 months, meanwhile, Hideaze finished off the Alliance, then follow Ledo to Water. OMNOMNOM ensues. Ledo as usual dies (you all know why)
    8. speculative 3a: Same as before , but only with the twist of Hideaze dont wanting Water (maybe it is not inhabitable for them?) and Alliance has to take refuge on surface, forfeiting space travel. Ledo still can die.

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. #2 is pretty much impossible for them. They can’t even create their own electricity now how do you expect them to reverse engineer a space mecha? They don’t even know what it’s made of (the metals and other materials probably can’t be found on earth anyway). First off they can’t cut it never the less study how it’s made, the tech gap is just to fucking huge. It’s like trying to grow oranges from and apple seed. Plus i doubt Ledo is going to be handing out military secrets of how to create mecha to strangers.

      Haseo
      Reply

  71. Correct me if I am wrong, but the early consensus among writers and folks seem to indicate that this show is THE best among this season, is that so? The sheer volume of comments seem to agree with this sentiment.

    I don’t see it, though. It’s pretty good drawing/animation, but I struggle to get past this and finish. It seems to a bit too clichè-ridden for my taste; to be precise, the type of clichès that bother me greatly, rather the types that I can ignore and/or tolerate since there is no 100% original and everything will have varying degree of recycled stuff.

    I tried to watch the premiere and I just couldn’t do it. Again this show looks clean, nicely packaged, produced show, all right, just too many things irk me already and the fact that I can’t even finish watching the first episode inform me that this isn’t for me. I think among the two popular shows of this season, I prefer Shingeki no Kyojin, which I find generally entertaining, over this.

    deathtogeneric/formulaicshows
    Reply

    1. I don’t think people say it is “THE best” but it certainly isn’t riddled with rage inducing tropes. (If you like you can list them off and we can YMMV them)

      From watching the two episodes so far the character all act in believable ways and a lot of little details which in movies/shows can get glossed over are addressed.

      It might be small things but I’ve noticed not many movies/shows pay attention to things like, (Spoiler for compactness)
      Show Spoiler ▼

      I prefer the opposite but then again everyone has different tastes.

      a20020000
      Reply

    2. It is not “The Best” Show in this Season (it is still to early to decide anyway). But this Anime give me the Feeling of “Home” or “Me Entertainment” then other Anime running. Others are not my Style. I am a fan of Sci-Fi and Good Story, and i learned my part of trusting “Muv-Luv” first 2 Episodes blenders.

      Episode 3 here, met my expectations so far. Thats it for me

      Germanguy
      Reply

  74. Ok, the similarity with Rinne no Lagrange comes out.
    Maybe theres nothing to do with time?

    The fleets reminds me of those moving city thing in King Gainer.
    The fleets also seem like colonies on the “galax-sea” 😛

    Don’t see much of military and politics yet on this watery Earth.

    iron2000
    Reply

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