「欲望の牙城」 (Yokubou no gajou)
“Stronghold of Lust”

For the first time, we have an episode that devoted a fair share of the spotlight to the Wulgaru and to say this is a long time coming would be a gross understatement. I must confess – I had my reservations about the origin about the Wulgaru, whether they are in fact, aliens from another planet or simply human terrorists who have gone renegade. That question was pretty much laid to rest with their introduction this week – and unless a curve ball is thrown at us, I don’t think there’s any doubt that they are indeed, a foreign life form and one that is marked by a fascinating mix of contrasts. On one hand, the prevailing ethos of the Wulgaru’s civilization seemed somewhat similar to that of an archaic warrior tribe – they are ritualized, militaristic and spiritual in nature, and there’s a particular obsession with an unknown prophecy that I assumed actuated the attack on the humans. On the other hand, the relative technological edge that they possess is also beyond doubt, and I suspect their mecha might have a biomechanical component which, to a certain extent, is analogous to the JURIA-system. Humans – or Lamata, as referred to by the Wulgaru – are seen as a primitive life form who has abandoned their innate desires and primordial instincts, and it’s worthy of note that such humanistic values are considered profane and deplorable in the eyes of the aliens.

The upper echelons of the Wulgaru were scintillating, witty and often mysterious in their own right, but it was the Prince Jiart (Midorikawa Hikaru) – the mecha pilot that made a brief appearance in the second episode –  who piqued my interest the most. Not only is he a man-about-town that has no qualms about cheating with the king’s concubine, but it has also been made apparent that he’s a loose cannon who answers to no one in this war. Where his ultimate loyalty lies is still to be determined, but it does seem like there’s more to Jiart than meets the eye – he has a history with a certain someone by the name of Teoria and I presumed that person is the enigmatic silver-hair maiden who shows up every now and then. Izuru has clearly shown an interest in the same girl and if the opening theme is any indication, Jiart will probably fill the role of a rival and perhaps represent the third point of the inevitable love triangle that is slowly brewing in the backdrop.

Speaking of Izuru and the Zannen 5, it looks like there’s an epic battle that is in the making over here and I suspect the upcoming showdown will be nothing like what they’ve experienced before. The Battle of Ceres is the human’s first attempt of a large-scale offensive operation – whether it was a wise decision or not is still up for debate, but it does look like the Wulgaru has gained the upper hand in their first few exchange of fire. That certainly does not bode well for the success rate of the mission and it’s not at all reassuring that GDF has put such an incompetent leader at the helm of the operation – Captain Komine is hardly an inspiring figure and having him in charge of the task force is just plain suicide! What comes next for the Zannen 5 is hard to say, but I don’t think there’s any question that Team Rabbit will play a role that is of utmost importance in this mission and if the preview is any hint, Izuru’s Red 5 will be crossing blades with Prince Jiart next week – and no question, that should prove to be an immensely entertaining spectacle to behold!

Random tidbits:

  • There’s a good chance that Team Doberman will show up at the warfront next week. Will they survive for another episode? Stay tuned!
  • My wish has come true! It looks like Reika and Rin Rin will indeed, be spending a lot of quality time together.
  • Someone should tell the head honchos at GDF that broadcasting their battle plans to the entire world is hardly a shrewd move.
  • The Zannen 5 just can’t seem to stay away from each other. So why is everyone in my room?
  • “I’ll do my best to become a hero!” – it looks like Kei and the rest of the gang is slowly warming up to Izuru’s dorky charm!
  • “Aren’t heroes supposed to be loners?” – how can you not love Izuru when he says things like that without breaking a sweat!
  • A sleazy superior leeching off your hard work – now where have I seen that before? Every day at work, that’s where!
  • The pit crew and the side characters got a good dose of the screen time this week, but what’s up with those antennae on Yamada Peko (Touyama Nao)? My Peko senses are tingling!

tl;dr: @SeishunRC – #MajesticPrince 07: The mystery and intrigue deepen with the introduction of the alien race. This is the calm before the epic battle next week! #Anime
 
Full-length images: 02, 03, 04, 08, 09, 11, 21, 26, 30, 31.

 

Preview

52 Comments

    1. Its just like borrowing your brother’s car without telling him :P.

      Just so happens its the Ferrari/Lambo/Jag/MacLaren/Zonda/Porche instead of the Accord/Corolla/Vios/Jazz/Yaris.

      Azuma
    1. The prince was with Lutiel (the lady exuberant) because he had nothing with the concubine of the King (his brother in addition O_O), lost interest because she surrendered right?

      Shadow74
  1. I’m still waiting for the reappearance of that other part of the love triangle (who I assume is Teoria, the person that Jiart is looking for). If she’s a Wulgaru, the major question is why she’s in the human world. She doesn’t seem to be a spy, since Jiart doesn’t seem to know where she is, or even why she left, apparently.

    Tre
    1. It does seem like she’s a Wulgaru. I’m waiting for a proper introduction of Theoria as well – my initial impression is that she’s Jiart’s sister, but I’m not so sure about that now. Also, I have a suspicion she’s the one who shared the instinct-based JURIA-system technology with the humans.

      Seishun
      1. I’m pretty sure that >90% of people would agree that she’s probably a Wulgaru at this point in time. She seems like a defector who vies for peace between the two races, probably selling out their instinct-based tech for this very purpose- and I would imagine that the reason why she believes in humans is her yet-unrevealed history with Izuru…

        Zen
  2. Oh so typical. The Wulgaru are a warrior race living by their passions, hence the title of the episode. They just have superior technology that allows them a technological edge in battles, then. Unless they also have youthful immortality such excesses usually catch up to them after a few years. Unless their wandering rogue planet has superluminal speed from star system to star system, you’d expect more a reason-based culture.

    Of course, the usual bureaucratic feudalism from Earth masquerading as a military with ambitious officers doesn’t help, either. So we’re about to see Nordic/Celtic individualism gone wrong vs. incompetent collective military willing to throw their best and brightest into a situation and expect them to turn the war. We’ll see if the Majestic Princes can pull it off.

    jhpace1
    1. Hmmm… I don’t see the connection – what does a warrior tribe has to do with being Majestic, if that’s what you’re referring to?
      As far as I can tell, Rin Rin’s a pretty capable leader, so I wouldn’t say they’re “collectively” incompetent, but you’re right, having Komine at the top definitely doesn’t bode well for the humans in the upcoming battle. Let’s hope the casualty is kept at a minimum.

      Seishun
  3. How do you got from this:

    https://randomc.net/image/Ginga%20Kikoutai%20Majestic%20Prince/Ginga%20Kikoutai%20Majestic%20Prince%20-%2007%20-%2002.jpg

    To bigger than her head:

    https://randomc.net/image/Ginga%20Kikoutai%20Majestic%20Prince/Ginga%20Kikoutai%20Majestic%20Prince%20-%2007%20-%2008.jpg

    in the same episode?

    Also, anyone else agree that this thumbs up/down option is getting in the way of real discussion? It becomes more about getting the most up votes than actually making a point.

    Captain Sunshine
    1. Adjust the camera angle accordingly and you can find them in all shapes and sizes :3
      I happen to like the up/down-voting system, it helps the authors screen comments and highlights the great/horrible ones for the readers 😉

      Seishun
      1. But how do you determine which ones are good or bad? It just comes down to majority opinion, and that’s not always necessarily right. I only started posting here recently, but I’ve seen comments downvoted to -20 when they’ve had legitimate points that just happened to differ from the norm. Where’s the fairness in that?

        Captain Sunshine
      2. Good… bad… they are all just comments in the end. It is up to the readers to decide whether they are worth reading or not. If you don’t like it, just imagine the Up/Down thing isn’t there.

        But I like this up down thing, it shows that people appreciate/hate your comment and it lets you know as a commenter what is appropriate to write. Also it shows regardless of rating that your comment has at least been read.

        Overall, I love the commenting thing on this site/blog/whatever the technical name for this space in binary dimension is. It invites great discussion and/or it puts people in their place (looking at you spoiler posters).

        Goodwill.Wright
      3. You’ve seen those long strings of downvotes, right? Most people don’t even read the comments before they up or down vote, they just make kneejerk assumptions and then soon the comment is blocked out even when it was perfectly fine. At the very least, they could take out the downvote option. Having the option to downvote a comment to oblivion doesn’t do anything because without the comment, the conversation has a major hole in it. And people are going to want to read it more due to it getting such bad reception. And ultimately, it just discourages people from commenting on the site.

        Captain Sunshine
    2. In any anime with this character design always find one or two blessed women with exaggerated curves, lol XD. This show broke the record for having three well-endowed beauties: Tamaki, Reika and Lutiel. :3

      Or there is another by Hirai-sensei who has more?

      Shadow74
      1. If you’re talking about the power front (aka breasts), none of the other Works of Hirai-sensei. But if you’re talking about general physique, Heroic Age is a note above: Dhianeila, Aneasha, the Twins Tail and Mail, General Nilval, Lekti and Prome Ou blow MJP in terms of beauties.

        SeedStriker
  4. This episode pretty much reconfirms my belief that MJP subscribes to old school plot elements. The antagonists are just over-the-top ridiculous, between their gaudy crystal architecture, ridiculous outfits and cackling villain dialogue its just reminds of the mecha shows of the 80’s to 90’s. There culture of pure instinct is interesting though, if a little bit….rapey. Speaking of ridiculous, Commander Moron Mcdoucehington is also quite old-school by virtue of his sheer incompetence. Apparently he lacks any functional brain cell to know that broadcasting a battle plan in Live TV is a bad idea.

    I’m quite happy that the pit crews are finally getting characterization as well. They always looked like a fun bunch. Its also nice to see the our Fail Five is starting to warm up to each other at last.

    fragb85
    1. MJP is indeed very old school – the setting, the character designs, the animation style, those who love it adore the heck out of it, but it’s definitely not going to be an easy sell for the mainstream audiences.
      The pit crew does seem like a fascinating bunch, the deadpan humor with Izuru’s crew was pretty spot on as well XD

      Seishun
  5. Ah, the calm before the storm. They threw in all the humor that was missing last ep back into the second half of this one. I really like that sunako nakahara-esque side character they introduced.

    And now i am quite intrigued with the wulgaru. Ok i am also sticking with the alien lifeform assumption for now. I am also guessing that theoria is jiart’s and the king’s sister (same hair color, ne?). So it seems she is advocating peaceful coexistence with the humans, going as far as living amongst them and learning their culture. And from the looks of it, she’s doing this for quite some time now. But what really intrigues me is her connection to simon and that she seems to be familiar with the MJP project. Am looking for the eventual kei-izuru-theoria love triangle (the jiart-theoria-izuru dynamic would probably be similar to the kazuya-erika-richter dynamic in daimos).

    And kei is reall growing on me. Gotta love dem legs :3

    flamerounin
    1. Kei’s my favorite girl in MJP as well 😉
      My initial impression is that she’s Jiart’s sister, but based on what we heard this week, I can’t say I’m so sure about that now. There are a number of ways the love triangle can turn out – Izuru, Kei, Theoria, Jiart and maybe Toshikazu. Let the game of permutation begin!

      Seishun
      1. Might I suggest something as revolting as ‘incest’?

        Following what Jiart talked about, he’s someone who will go all out to fulfill his own desires without much qualms for the consequences or traditions. That is one possible way of looking at it on the surface, I believe.

        Owaranai
  6. Seishun no ecchi lol XD. They are very interesting some of your links of images. Lutiel is your new favorite?.

    Irony, they are an advanced civilization but only in technology. Their culture is bellicose behavior and tempted by their low desires (for now it is clear in the prince).

    I died of laughter with mechanical teams. I hope to see more development in the relationship between the Zannen 5, but I already want to see an episode full of action of steel and lasers in space. I want to see more action scenes of Rose3 and Red5, and also wanted to see more of the combat capability of Purple2, although I think they are only for defense, not for an intense battle.
    Good job Shueishun, I had fun your post XD

    Shadow74
    1. Thanks, I’m glad you like my post. Your words of encouragement means a lot to me 😉
      Nope, Kei’s still my favorite. We haven’t seen much of what Blue 1 and Toshikazu can do as well, that’s definitely something that I’m looking forward to next week 😉

      Seishun
  7. I’m not suprised by the NTR at all considering what happened in Gundam Seed >:).

    That Captain Komine is such a leech.

    I predict that the Wulgaru was just the first humans to get sent into space and probably separated themselves from their old society like in Shin Sekai Yori.

    Magoiichi
    1. LOL What is with the link? XD

      (But I do agree to your statement about advance technology being no different from magic. I think in one of Arthur Clarke’s three laws, he predicted that eventually technology would soon progress that it would seem like magic)

      Dualash
  8. > two sibs share a woman between them

    Ew. And I expected a classier, morally misguided alien race. But meh. Since the younger bro comes off like a huge a-hole to me, its understandable.

    9/10 Ideal elitist aliens confirmed.

    The Moondoggie
  9. The sad moment when the most incompetent commander is pulling the shots. I think he’s one of the reasons why mankind is on the losing end hahaha.

    Nice to see the Wulgaru at last. “Stronghold of Lust” indeed guhehe~

    Great post as usual and can’t wait for the action next week!

    WildKaiser
  10. The Wulgaru aren’t as advanced as they appear. Looking at the way they fight, they’re command structure appears to be very rigid, which won’t leave room for much flexibility in the event of a loss in the chain of command. On top of that, their technology doesn’t seem to be constantly advancing like that of the humans. While their bio-mecha may have the edge now, this advantage is gradually disappearing as the humans put out better and better mecha of their own equipped with the JULIA-system. Unless the Wulgaru start making an effort to improve their current mecha and equipment, they’ll eventually be surpassed by the humans who continue to advance their technology in leaps and bounds.

    Judging from the preview the shot that super laser puts out is going to be utterly devastating. Just imagine if the humans decide to mass produce those. The Wulgaru formations won’t even be able to get near them before being wipe out. The only real advantage they got right now is speed and agility. Once you take these away, they’re going to be sitting ducks like the Japanese were to Allied planes like the Hellcat and Corsair near the end of WWII with their outdated and outclassed Zero fighters. In a way, the Wulgaru are like a mix of the Japanese warrior culture and the Native American tribalism. Both were impressive races, but eventually lost to technologies that simply surpassed their own over time.

    vanfokerdumplestein
    1. The problem here with human tech is its charge and preparation times. While the Wulgaru can hit and run and get prepared really fast (it looks like it), those laser weapons need a previous tedious charging time. They have great guns but slow (they take to much time to get prepared).
      This military is in serious need of better scouting systems to make up for this weakness.

      Also, mass producing can not be viable because of high maintenance costs afterwards; and you should consider too that space is in 3d. It’s really difficult to cover all angles and I suspect that these aliens have hidden nasty surprises in store to deal with the inventive humans (let’s hope they don’t have a super cannon too).

      Ebisu
    2. Hmmm… you seem to be making a lot of assumptions over here. We have merely gotten a quick glimpse of their civilization – the information we have on their military structure, combat capabilities and technological advantage are very minimal at this point.
      The humans to eventually win out – that I am sure, but before that, I suspect they might suffer a great defeat in the upcoming battle first. We’ll see how it turns out next week, this is going to be very exciting :3

      Seishun
  11. First off… Kei resting is so damn adorable.

    Next, did anyone notice the similar drug injection device that Jiart used that was similar to the one silver-maiden used in an earlier episode?

    Finally, I wonder if the silver-haired maiden (who I’m pretty sure is Teoria; my mind will be blown otherwise if it’s anyone else) is actually attempting to suppress her own primal urges, if the rest of their culture is one that lives by it. Would actually be both funny and scary if she ended up having a 180 moment and attempted to claim (raep) Izuru in a moment of weakness.

    Lurker
    1. Kei’s just too adorable, no matter what she’s doing :3
      Good question, I wonder what is that injection for. I guess we’ll find out when we get a proper introduction of the silver-hair maiden 😉

      Seishun
  12. I’ve always noticed this, that relationships and familial ties seem to be one of the core themes of the show. Episode 7 shows this with the introduction of the mechanic crew with Izuru and even Suruga (Push-ups are good for you, Suruga. Builds up fitness, muscles and some visual appeal to the ladies). I’m hoping this doesn’t actually becomes the starting point of a death flag for any of the crew.

    Jumping over to the silly scenes where they hang out in Tamaki’s then Asagi’s room, it shows that this bunch of teenagers are exactly what they are – teenagers. They want and desire companionship, though part of it might be because they aren’t used to their surroundings yet. I find such moments heartwarming on top of being humorous and endears me towards the characters more.

    And yes, that was an incredibly stupid idea to broadcast your battle plans to the media, if you consider enemy espionage.

    Quite like the world of the Wulgaru. Seems like some kind of aquatic-based planet, with those crystals in abundance (what do they do for the Wulgaru, exactly?) and the idealism of Jiart a striking concept. Freedom to follow your desires is good, but where will it lead to if there isn’t a price to pay?

    Next episode promises to be really exciting, with our heroes thrusted into the thick of action thanks to the utter incompetence of their superiors AGAIN (a familiar situation for them and us viewers, I wager) and a much vaunted fight between Jiart and Izuru. Gotta stay tuned.

    Owaranai

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