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「翠の星の伝説」 (Midori no Hoshi no Densetsu)
“Legend of the Verdurous Planet”
I originally came into this post with a whole host of things to say, but nope. After watching this episode, it would be a complete and utter failure to not start with a discussion of the manAI of the hour… the godly kickass mech that made everything possible this week… CHAMBERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Indeed, with the culmination of Suisei no Gargantia’s run, we also get the culmination of what I noted last week: the completion of Chamber’s growth and change as a result of his stay on Earth. And gosh darn, what an amazing show it is, because even though I mentioned this previously, even I couldn’t have predicted just how much of the stage Chamber would steal in this final episode. Not only does he say a literal “screw you” to Striker by saying her and Kugel’s (and thus the Galactic Alliance in general) views are illogical, he adds insult to injury by saying that “it was regrettable” that she ended up this way, and then pours even more salt on the wound by saying “Go to hell, tin can!” at the end as well. For the most part, Ledo’s shock at these comments paralleled mine, and I was literally just mentally clapping for Chamber and his epicness the entirety of the episode… because he just stole the show in such a way that I think he’s likely risen to be one of viewers favorite “characters” this season (and maybe this year)—or at least, he has for me. To this end, the whole bit where he literally rejects Ledo’s suggestion to merge them together, accepts it later, then literally kicks Ledo out of the cockpit upon confirmation that the latter doesn’t wish to die just takes the cake, and it’s something that really makes this episode a truly spectacular one to end with.
Interestingly enough, I have to say that the bit about Striker’s views being illogical was quite ironic as well… because by all means, Ledo and Chamber are actually the illogical ones if you look at them from the context of how they’re theoretically supposed to be following the Galactic Alliance’s views, but it goes to show that a little perspective just goes a long way.
Moving on though, another big thing this episode was just how things have changed since Flange and the other ship captains left the Gargantia. Initially, we thought that the Gargantia was the group that lost the most, but what was lost behind all of this was the fact that Flange’s group also lost some protection as a result too. Again, it was a necessary separation, but it was one that made both sides weaker for it (at least, from a military point of view). However, if there’s one thing Flange showed, it’s that ultimately, while they might have been separated, it doesn’t change that their ultimately all very similar personality wise. All of them innately know what it means to take responsibility for your actions… what’s right and wrong… how to treat everyone and everything with the proper respect… and really, they’re the true representation of whose truly human in this battle between the Hideazue and the Galactic Alliance.
And to this end, there’s no better representation of the humanity—especially that of our propensity to fail, but succeed with later tries—than Pinion (you suave man!) in the last few episodes, as his shortcomings started this mess, but his technological prowess and additional chances later afforded him the chance to redeem himself as well. Suffice to say, he seizes this chance—and scores Lukkage as a romantic interest as a result, too—and it goes to show that humanity is all about the resilience we possess, the ability we have to learn from the mistakes we’ve made, and the responsibility we have as people with such capabilities. Pinion’s valiant efforts (and attempt to sacrifice himself to ensure the safety of his comrades) highlight this especially, as does Ledo’s (and Chamber’s) realization that he’s been essentially allowing the perpetuation of a flawed system (and logic) through his action and subsequent attempt to take responsibility by taking down Striker.
In turn, all of this just comes together (with Chamber’s aforementioned epic actions) to set up the reunion of Amy and Ledo… and the key realizations that I predicted would happen many episodes prior. The activation of the “heaven’s ladder” (or Gargantia Mass Driver System) follows shortly after, and while it no longer possesses the capability of launching ships into space, ends up giving the Gargantians an epic, long range projectile weapon from which to decimate the Kugel fleet. Granted, some of the developments here are a tad bit of a hit and miss in terms of how they were incorporated and developed, and some might’ve felt less or more than others at these particular junctions, but it doesn’t change the fact that what we get is a fairly good ending to say the least—
—one that ends up also with my alternative prediction from a while back coming true as well. It might not be exactly the “Hideazue” per se that it ends up involving, but as Ledo points out himself in the end, communication between them and the whalesquid seems like a realistic possibility in the end, and it’s something that just might lead to a peaceful coexistence between at least those on Earth. This development does make it notable that we don’t revisit the conflict in space again—which is a slight pity—but arguably, it’s something that doesn’t need to be revisited, because it essentially no longer matters to the people on Earth anymore. That and the fact their communications attempts just might help solve that too. And with that… it’s time for the final impressions, which you’ll find after the ED caps.
ED1.13 Sequence
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Final Impressions:
Coming into the season, Suisei no Gargantia was a notable series for me due to sci-fi/mecha nature, UroGen’s involvement, and Murata Kazuya’s involvement as well. The latter two have combined to create quite a few of my favorite works (or at least, works I’ve liked), and it was very interesting to see the two work together in a production whose genres were also some of my favorites as well. To this end, UroGen’s involvement lead to a fair amount of hype for many viewers too—a hype that while not necessarily met in its entirely, feels at least mostly fulfilled from my opinion.
Essentially, what we got here with this series was Murata and Gen combining together in an attempt to create a series with many of the strengths from previous works. To this end, Murata brings his gifts with dynamic group interactions and experience regarding mecha and sci-fi to the table, while UroGen adds the fairly grim screenplay he’s been known for (along with the philosophical questions and concepts he likes to weave within plots as well). In this regard, this combination is something that really reeks of potential on paper—and was something that was really worth hyping in my opinion—but the ultimate result was something that fell somewhat short.
And well… it’s kind of interesting, because I’m not quite sure why I feel this way. On one hand, the final episode showed in particular that there’s a lot that this series ended up doing well (mostly the elements listed above)… but at the same time, the series as a whole seems to have garnered an emotional payoff that was somewhat less than expected. I suppose if I had to point out some reasons why though… it’d probably be because there’s a lot here that could’ve been expanded on—ranging from more details into the past and how it developed into the present to the potential resolution of the fight in space and the expansion of a universe that feels like we’ve hardly scratched the surface of. To this end, one wonders if the emotional payoff would’ve have been better off had they either had a few more episodes to work with (or perhaps had they truncated one or two of the episodes during the middle part of the series), but I guess there’s no real point to ponder that at this point.
Ultimately, I guess what Suisei no Gargantia ends up being is a series that is quite good overall, but lacked that extra oomph to push it to the elite tier. Basically, it’s not quite a masterpiece, but there was definitely the potential for it to be. Generally, I’d think most people liked what this series gave us (at least, most of what it gave us)… and it really makes me wonder if we’ll be able to get another Murata x Gen combination on a series anytime soon. Either way though, this finale brings us to the end of yet another series (and the season itself in many ways), and I’d just like to take this moment to thank everyone who’s tuned in to read my Gargantia posts and those who commented as well… so thanks(!) and hopefully you’ll join me for coverage of other series in the future. Until then, I bid thee a fond farewell.
To heck with Ledo, Chamber as MC!
Also: that is not how you’re supposed to use a mass-driver.
Chamber….
The robot that’s more human than us. Rest in peace Chamber.
Ledo is useless in this series, the MC should be Chamber…
This series is ended with Happy ending not like previous work of Butcher
Badass Level: Chamber.
I agree. The plot gravitates so much on the actions and “decisions” of Chamber that it actually drives the story line much more than Led. For this, Chamber deserves to be considered the main character. This just goes to show that this anime is very deep, even though it may have appeared otherwise because of its flashy, traditional sci-fi elements.
I shed a manly tear for Chamber, his awesomeness bro level was on par with Kamina from TTGL. CHAMMMBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!
First comment ever on Randomc!
My favorite part of the finale was how Ledo’s personality changed in the ending. Wish we could have seen more of this side of him before though.
Not a perfect series, but one I definitely do not regret watching the whole way through. Chamber, you will be missed. ;_;
He will more,but his last moments were pretty damn awesome that one can’t possibly regret his decision – he will be remembered,not mourned!
I feel like Chamber being surrounded by the hideauze means that one day Ledo might be able to rebuild him.
Gods I loved this show.
Chamber is an awesome character we never even REALIZED was a character till now. The whole self-aware AI thing is fascinating and was handled rather well and the writers left it ambiguous enough for discussions to continue for years. The way I see, functions of Chamber and Striker went way above a normal AI behavior and Chamber’s final line, as well as actions this episode prove it.
I got teary eyed during his monologue where he urged Ledo to survive and explore and live.
I LOVE Ledo’s character development and growth and how everything he experienced shaped who he is. And other characters got fair share of badassery too – Pinion and Rackage mainly.
The epilogue was BEAUTIFUL – I love the show’s decision to sideline Hideauze/Alliance war – because both Alliance and Hideauze ARE no longer what you could call “human” – those hegemonous alien empires can fight their fanatical genocidal crusades, while earth and humanity gets another chance and hopefully will learn from their mistakes. The touch with them trying to find a way to COMMUNICATE with whalesquids was also charming and hopeful for their future.
The last scene with Chamber in the ocean – a weapon of war and annihilation having become a nest for life and continued existence – pretty much emphasizes Ledo’s growth too
Overall this is without a doubt the BEST show this season and the most exciting and touching mecha show since 00 ended its run.
‘…those hegemonous alien empires can fight their fanatical genocidal crusades…’
The way I see it, it would be poetic justice if both space parties were destroyed by a 3rd party of actual space aliens, sick and tired of the Alliance-Hideauze turf war happening in their galaxies.
Chamber ejecting Ledo and making his own decisions really reminds me of the end of Full Metal Panic where Sousuke was also crying (for the first time) saying he doesn’t want to die all alone on Merida Island without seeing Kaname and AL asking Sousuke if he can be human and then proceeding to activate the Lambda Driver all by himself, saving both of their asses from the nuke.
Happier ending than Gargantia, but FMP wasn’t written by Urobuchi.
RIP Chamber.
Best line: “You must see Striker as an embarrassment to your kind.”
First of all, a moment of silence for a dear mecha BRO. Manly tears were shed.
*Salutes Chamber*
There will be no sentient Weapon of Mass Destruction as bro as he was. May the metal Kyon-bot find his way to robot heaven.
I got to love his little logic argument with Striker before the final duel. He basically told Ledo in his own robotic, monotone way that Striker was full of s***.
His final words to Striker made laugh so hard that I though I was gonna die. Suck that Striker, you evil tin can with some serious god complex!.
Kyon-bot! That’s awesome.
Yes, I always loved the way he delivered everything with that robotic monotone – the lines to Striker were the very culmination of this. Ledo’s comment was pretty accurate – you could feel shame and disgust from his words. That’s really good writing.
When humanity regains their technology in the future, Chamber will serve as the basis for AL and Arm Slaves.
It´s official, Chamber is the most awsome self aware mecha I have ever seen. Chamber I have an incredible amount of respect for what you did for Ledo, what a way to go!. Rest in peace wise mecha.
Have you seen how Tachikomas from GitS are like? Jesus.
no need to get angry.
let’s just say they’re both awesome k?
Not angry. Jesus, as in “Jesus. That was so depressing, that’s where all my tears went.”
Some writers are just way too skilled to make me care more about robot deaths than human deaths.
^No kidding,lol.Amy’s death wouldn’t have had nearly as much impact on me.But I’d feel sorry for her while I can’t feel sorry for Chamber because his death was just SO HEROIC!
Chamber = Badass
It may just be me, but this episode felt a bit rushed. I didn’t mind the 2 fanservicey episodes in the middle initially but now I kinda wish they only did one of them so the ending could be more fleshed out. Overall a great series though.
“One who abandons thought and decision-making deviates from the definition of ‘human’.”
Something tells me that Chamber would have gotten along well with a certain Demon Queen’s Head Maid.
Chamber final words “Go to hell tin can!”
I think it’s a good show; it’s nicely contained and that it seemed to wrap up in a way that doesn’t leave many things hanging, but leaves room for whatever future expansion could happen.
Like, I hadn’t thought that Gargantia housed something that would hold a direct link to the past’s interstellar shenanigans, but it got re purposed into a nifty missile launcher. Makes one wonder what the exact history Gargantia had…and also how it is that the Five Sages (so abruptly made their existence known) would hold such knowledge and be able to encrypt that really interesting looking data file that Ledo found.
I’m also glad that Pinion just didn’t go through with the Ahab route and went back to his old job, hopefully older and wiser for it.
What I think is interesting between Striker and Chamber’s clash of ideology is that they are focused on primary definitions of how they interpret roles of people and society. Like, Chamber deciding that Ledo is now a noncombatant because Ledo wants to see his friends again contrasts with how a lot of war shows would typically say: that to fight for the chance to see them again should be a motivating force to keep fighting with all you got. But Chamber is saying “Nope, I got this Ledo. This isn’t the reason for you to fight, so I’m going to do my part in ensuring that you living out a life doesn’t get impeded.”
Cuz Chamber saw the long-reaching goals that the space federation probably forgot in their long fight with monster-humans (sorry but I really can’t be convince that those giant space star fish things are people. Are they a conglomerate of people merged together?? Ahhhh nightmares!), and that is to eventually achieve a life that’s like in Gargantia where people can thrive and live.
It was Urobochi’s plan all along – the next time someone mentions how depressing his plots are, he’s going to mention Gargantia, and how he hasn’t killed *anyone* there – technically speaking, Chamber isn’t a person. Damn you, Urobutcher.
Chamber totally stole the show – that was a great last episode. I loved how Gargantia’s people are now better informed about Earth’s past, and are making sure everyone learns about it. It’s a pity we didn’t have a romantic scene with Ledo and Amy – not even a clear confession. Oh, well.
About the series, I agree – it’s very good, but not a masterpiece. I feel it’s because of the lighter tone – that was, without a doubt, the happiest ending Gen has ever written. The war’s history is quite dark and deep, but since the narrative didn’t try to get back to space and solve the situation there (which is a shame, but a daring narrative decision), it’s mostly just a obstacle and catalyst to Ledo’s change of view, and a small seed for a better future om Earth.
Those are all happy feelings – Ledo is much happier now, Gargantia’s people are likely more united than ever, Ridget and Pinion matured, etc – the things lost were just part of their journeys. Beautiful, but unexpected.
Mmm the bit with the happier ending is definitely something I feel is partially due to Murata’s influence in creating the series. Generally it’s a hallmark of his works… though Gen did say himself that he wanted to do something different as well. Either way, it was a nice departure from Gen’s previous works to say the least.
from what i’ve read, the story was mostly Gen’s? Murata joined like half a year into the project and mainly contributed the setting of people living on ships.
“Go to hell, tin can!”
RIP Chambro
And I’m so totally glad that you mentioned Pinion represents humanity. So many people were writing him off as a bad guy and whatnot, but he and Flange were the only people willing to try and improve and evolve the human race. The people of Gargantia were stagnant and willing to never change or try to understand their world.
Pinion is that spark of humanity that makes us different than others. That drive to learn and evolve. Sure, it was not always for the right reasons, but I, like you Zephyr, always viewed Pinion as the embodiment of the true spirit of humanity.
And lo and behold, in the end Gargantia is finally starting to evolve and learn about the world.
Great show all around.
And of course, I have a feeling that the OVA will be about reviving Chamber. His frame is still whole, the Hideazu are latching on to it meaning it still has energy and Ledo has that communicator device and I’m pretty sure in one of the earlier episodes Chamber said he could store some of his Ai/interface/mind/etc into it.
But yes, I really liked this show.
And Pinion now has Rackage, Bellows and Mayta. Lucky guy.
One thing that I really like about sci-fi is that, in scenarios when there are alien races involved, the attributes they associate with humanity (with a mix of horror, confusion and respect) are mostly the same – messy, short-lived, dangerously amoral; but with great drive, adaptability and will.
Those attributes are what I think humans are about, and Pinion portraits them well.
Good catch about the OVA! I have forgotten about it. I’m really looking forward to it now =)
Winners from the pixiv character design contest: (http://www.pixiv.net/info.php?id=1703)
http://i.imgur.com/u1ZKOmt.jpg
I was kinda hoping they’d get animated even by a little bit, oh well.
Gotta love how Gargantia characters have a very distinctive costume design (which prompted a lot of amazing fanart like those) – I’m pretty sure that I’ll think “oh, that’s from gargantia!” even if I see one of those 10 years from now.
So that’s who those guys were. On my first watchthrough, I was wondering why they looked more interesting than baseline-generic. They show up in that one scene with Bevel lecturing:
http://puu.sh/3sn1Z
http://puu.sh/3sn3r
I’m sorry I don’t have higher res caps, but the timestamps are 21:48 and 22:06.
oh… I did not even notice it. I was probably doing something else during that scene XD
Yeah, I was disappointed most of them only appeared in the far background! At the very least, the animators should have given them close up shots so we could see them in full detail!
i’m hoping for more animated appearances of those characters in the OVA myself!
Well, Animation takes Time and Money. Perhaps this was in the “Last Minute” insert Chars. You must count the Preproduction into account
Now that I think about it, does this season mark the advent of an era of monotone-deadpan characters? There’s Chamber here, and Tsukiko on Hentai Ouji – both seiyuus did a great job.
I’m going to throw everyone a bone – there’s a chance Chamber is hibernating not destroyed. The whalesquids are usually attracted to electricity in general and since Chamber is now one of their nest, I think there’s a chance that the generator thus the system is still operational. Will they be a reunion with Ledo? Maybe…
TQ
Coloring and Themed animation(specially the metal rust) : 10/10
Story : 6-7/10
WTF meter : 7-8/10
Chamber AI : 10/10
Overall : 7-8/10
Once again, Urobutcher has the last laugh by killing the best brobot in anime history, Chamber. Tears, something that I shed slowly and silently as I watched one of my favorite characters sacrifice himself. Damn you Urobutcher, stop killing my favorite characters T-T!
AMORE! You know Jesse loves her James when she does the Hair Flick LOL. Bellows is jealous all of a sudden. There was no development between her and Pinion. I know exactly what it is, remember when Ridget was in the bikini sitting next to Bellows and looking hotter than her. Bellows wants to be the object of desire, but now that Lukkage seems to be permanently staying with Gargantia, the competition is fierce! Side Note: I hate you so much right now Pinion, I’m so jelly of you >.<!
I was a little worried about who would translate for Ledo now that A Brobot Named Chamber, yes the A Brobot Named is included, is gone. He seems a lot more fluent now so I guess there’s no need for a translator.
I like how Bevel is now the historian. It seems like some of those cultists joined Gargantia too.
I thought 13 episodes would be too short, but the anime wrapped up nicely in that amount to my surprise. That being said, I want a Slice of Life OVA, since the war with the Hideauze just got completely ignored and the people in that time is just screwed.
It doesn’t look like the usual UroButcher’s way of killing off characters though.Normally,you wouldn’t see a character dying at his/her own call and the death would be pretty much despair filled & meaningless.Here,it’s actually glorious 😛
Before Chamber did a Final Flash, he was hitting Striker with all of his shots… meaning he could’ve of destroyed Striker without self destructing!
If I remember correctly. In, Phantom: Requiem for the phantom, Show Spoiler ▼
Yeah, it’s bothering me a bit when people are yelling “UROBUTCHER!” whenever someone dies in one of Gen’s works, when really it’s not terribly different from how a character would die in another different anime. Urobuchi’s signature deaths that he’s known for include cruelly killing the characters whose deaths are meaningless, driving the characters into absolute despair or madness, forcing them into situations where they must make sacrifices, but in the end they still suffer. If the death actually evokes sad but positive feelings, as opposed to horror and emptiness, then it’s totally not a true “Urobutcher” death.
@Swarz
Show Spoiler ▼
Gaaaaahhh!Magochii,you just had to remind me of that 🙁 I really,really grew to love both of those.They are some of the characters that I think deserved the most to have been happy after all the shit they went through,lol.Gen was just too cruel there…
Epic ending to the battle! 🙂
Great job on blogging this Zephyr. This series gets a 9/10 for being unique and amazing.
Great ending to a great series. But as many said, I was a bit letdown because there was so much more they could have done with the story with more episodes. Oh well, I hope there is a second season in the future.
This episode solidified Chamber as one of my favorite anime characters of all time.
https://randomc.net/image/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
Now that’s a good way to end a ship’s life.
Also, CHAMBER!!!!!!!!
To K6821 “Chamber”.
The First And Last Hero Of The Galactic Alliance.
AKA: Chambro.
it was a satisfying ending, but i still think the Hideazue will rise from the ocean sometime in the distant future and kick some human ass.
Chamber is #1. That is all.
I feel so bittersweet about this ending… Although it was moving to see that Chamber has changed and wasn’t allowing Ledo to do on his watch… Ledo without Chamber is hard to grasp (his only companion from his Galactic Alliance days), yet I’m happy that Ledo was finally able to find a way to live happily and peacefully on Gargantia.
I only wish there were episodes solely based on Ledo’s past, and concretely confirm who that little boy who looked like Ledo was– a little brother? A clone of the perfect soldier, as we see Kugel looked like an older version of Ledo…?
What was society like back on the Galactic Alliance?
Those seem like it could easily be covered in OVAs.
Anyway, it’s been a fun ride with reading your posts, Zephyr, and also Kairi’s posts. Look forward to next season with you and continuing Shingeki.
Ledo’s past is elaborated upon in the Gargantia light novel spinoff from Japan. From what I’ve heard, the little boy in the flashbacks IS his younger brother. Ledo also had some space buddies of his too. One of them was a girl who was yandere for him, or so I heard.
Wow, that’s great. Thanks for letting me know. Let’s hope it gets translated (or has it already?).
Christ, this last episode. I was in utter disbelief throughout most of the episode. Chamber blew through the roof with his dialogue, my god.
This was an amazing anime start to finish. I echo your thoughts on it not quite reaching the potential it could have, but what it did manage to do was more than satisfactory. I suppose in the end it wasn’t so much about the worldbuilding or the philosophical questions as much as it was about the growth of Ledo as a character, and that’s what I respect.
Can’t wait for the OVA in August. I’d kill for more AmyxLedo and LukkagexPinion.
Now that Gargantia has finally ended, I can say I found it entertaining to watch. However, I was disappointed by the show overall. The final third of the show was haphazard in my opinion. The reintroduction and subsequent abandonment of a major plot thread and the moral dilemma that arose from that thread, was just poor storytelling along with the introduction of a shotgun villain. Chamber was my favorite character from the beginning and definitely stole the show in the end. Although, I feel the happy finale was forced. Reminds of me the true last chapter of Clockwork Orange and how it did not fit. Well, does not fit as far as my tastes are concerned. This show needed a slightly longer run time and a few more drafts at the storyboard to become a truly memorable piece of anime.
What an amazing series! Gen has out done himself, proving that he can go beyond just being a butcher. Hands down, story wise, this show is FAR beyond any we’ve seen in the reason years. Now please, before flaming on me, let me explains my reasons behind this bold statement. This is an anime that was intended for rejuvenation. It was targeted towards the young adults or teens that are coming into contact with society; encouraging them to not be afraid of the outside and go experience life. This is where it differs from typical animes. Animes nowadays, despite not directly sending us the message stay conserved, many anime fans have tend to lean towards this sort of behaviour, at least for japan it is. It gives me hope and joy to finally see a writer who doesn’t reuse the already dull characteristics and actually make an attempted to provide some of us this sort of quality of anime despite the industry’s current situation On top of having very simple and familiar concepts seen in animes these days, such as; love, mecha, action, drama, etc. Suisei no Gargantia is able to connect these concepts properly and create a genuinely, down to earth, world that is both realistic and reasonable. Underneath the animation, music and dialog, there is a hidden message to the viewers that we should go venturing and interact with others (quite nostalgic for the people who watched anime in the golden days).
I also have the give props to the production team, especially the designers and writers. It’s very rare and obvious that a well written anime story was completed before the anime goes into full production. From the beginning to the end, Gen has told us the direction of this anime and how it would flow. Far too often, we see animes that have lack the full preparation and are rushed into production. Every episode of this anime was planned out so that at the climax and resolution, the audience would feel satisfied and complete. I understand some people’s disappointment of the lack of resolution for the Hideazue and Galactic Alliance, but for me, I think that’s where Gen’s brilliant writing sense comes in. If the story was to even slightly focus on those two ‘race’, the anime would lose its original purpose and turn into a hollow action show. The concepts presented in this anime are extremely well controlled, except for the two slower episodes earlier in the season. This is the point that I think is what kept me from believing it is one my favorites. I listened to the pod cast and agree to what the podcasters said about those two episodes, especially the trio dancing scene. I understand it a show targeted mainly towards the Japanese audience, because they are the ones facing this problem. However, I think it was absolutely unnecessary to have some of those parts in there, especially the design of the dance dress. It’s a method to stimulate the viewership during the slower episdoes, but I feel it completely conflicts with the direction of the show as well as the time that they could have used to explore the ship and its way of life more. Speaking of the designers, I think they did an outstanding job with the overall designs of the races, as well as the world in general. Some of these backgrounds are so beautifully drawn; I had to pause my video multiple times just to enjoy the view.
So my final conclusion to the show is that simple. Props to Gen and the team for providing us with such a beautiful and genuine story, I’m sure manly would agree that is deserved to be called a classic.
Btw, I can’t help but giggle every time I hear Pinion say aniki hehe :3 Oh Kamina, I knew uve always wanted to be the little brother for once xD
I actually have to agree with you that the Hideauze and Galatic Alliance conflict is not necessary to the show. Disappointment is too strong of a word for the lack of resolution of that plot point. I find it questionable as to why the conflict was reintroduced, and reintroduced in a rather profound way and discarded without much thought. It was shock for the sake of shock.
the entire point was that Ledo was leaving that whole conflict behind. it didn’t need to be “resolved”, it needed to be abandoned.
I can’t but agree wholeheartdly. It is in this series that Urobuchi went out of his bloody corner and joined the level of epic, yet heart-uplifting storytelling that was hallmark of Miyazaki – to whose works there are certainly nods (come on, glider-flying heroine wioth pterasquirrel pet?)
The timing of the storytelling was nothing short of near-perfect. Easygoing early episodes of fun were all stepping stones for Ledo finally becoming truly human, and then things snowballed into the epic ending in the latter part of the show. The irony that it was machine that helped him with that is obvious. I will not delve into the epic hero that Chamber has become, down to famous last words – everyone is talking about it.
But lets not s forget the boatloads (pun intended) of other epicness in the episode. From Pinion coolly telling his crew to abandon bridge, to Rackage (Amore!!!! – the ship has truly sailed lol) to Ridget getting her moment of destiny. (I was wrong previously but not far off in the meaning of the key – it was not missile, it was space cannon!)
Can’t but make one of epicly worst puns ever:
What did Urobutcher do to the cult fleet?
Dropped Ridget on them!
https://randomc.net/image/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
Thank you Zephyr for covering series, and thank to the studio and Urobuchi himself in particular for creating what amounts to a instant classic.
/bow
I. Am. Healed.
that was definitely a great ending. i loved chamber’s character development. you can see it as him finally reaching the holy grail of AI development, that is he can now think beyond his own programming and reason freely much like humans.
and that part where his remains became a nest and playground for those whalesquid babies was quite touching. he was created solely for the purpose of destrying the hideauze, but he ends up becoming a means for the whalesquids to live on (both literally and figuratively) *sniff* the guy finally found peace in mecha heaven T_T
definitely loved ledo’s ending development. wish there was more to his and amy’s lives in the aftermath.
what can i say, Urobutcher isn’t Urobutcher anymore. the guy’s already healed. and that is definitely good in this case.
finally, an UroGen story i can actually leave feeling satisfied and happy about! nothing beats a feel-good ending. i want to shake UroGen’s hand so hard.
Ledo and Chamber had the best man-on-machine bromance evar. I know I’d totally be down for a bromance with Sugitabot. Hug me in your cold metal arms, super dark chocolate bear!!
100% Rika approved!
Even though he is a tin can, Chamber is DA MAN!
A Sugita Tomokazu character dies a badass heroic death in a rare Urobuchi Gen happy ending? (More importantly, Ami-chan survives)
Right, I’m on my way on watching this in one go, having withheld myself from watching before, for fear that the UroGen trademark angst would consume me.
If only it’s longer ,we could have a full circle with space action and all. but I love this top 3 with Hatarakumaou
gargantia
Yahari
Go Go Go!
chamber. best wingman ever.
If I remember right, in the first episode I believe Kugel mention that the Alliance was throwing everything it had at the Hideauze. And they lost badly. I’m assuming that the Galactic Alliance won’t last. In time there won’t be anymore humans in space. Just the Hideauze.
Striker: All my actions are in accordance with the colonel’s directives…(He)formed the society of this fleet…around my worship.
It’s interesting that the situation with Kugel and Striker is a direct parallel to Ledo and Chamber’s condition. Instead of interacting and discovering with the locals, I believe Kugel deliberately isolated himself and imposed Alliance teachings upon the fleet in form of the cult,believing himself superior to the Earth people and they were in need of higher guidance.
Together with Kugel’s initial input and his final orders to Striker to uphold the cult prior to his demise, Striker’s singular interaction with the fleet people as the ‘God-being’, unlike Chamber’s interactions, caused its AI to evolve to actually believe it was a God which deserved nothing but full obediance and submission from the people.
So it’s not so much a AI vs AI fight, but could be seen as a ‘free will’ vs ‘the collective’ ideology as learned by the 2 AIs during their period on Earth.
Just my 2 cents.
Rest In Peace Chamber
you`re de heroes
Stand and be judged!
Been reading the Bolo books lately. From the pilot machine interface to the self sacrifice to the vague ending with Chamber’s remains I can’t help but think Chamber as a Bolo.
Best show of this season. Like Zyphir said it have flaws, but it my opinion that flaws is vastly outnumbered by show good points. In my opinion what I like most its show consisted with it quality, from start to finish we see great animation, character development (at least primary) and story what not tiring to watch. But what I don’t like the most its what we don’t know anything about what happened with Galactic Alliance – Hideyazu war. Granted Suisei is show not about that, but still… If they decided do 2 season I’ll definitely watch it, although chances for that is slim. There is still hope.
i was healed
Nice episode. Nice ending.
Overall I liked the series, and I’m glad I watched it.
I did expect a little bit more from it, maybe I had my expectations too high.
Chamber shined this episode.
To say I liked this series is an understatement, a big one too! I simply loved every single part of this episode. It has made it climb to one of my favorite series of all time. The overal animation, which gave me goosebumbs at certain moments, a good soundtrack to back it up, and such well crafted characters (Chamber, you’re the best!). The only slightely lacking thing was the story, seperating this series from the GOD TIER anime. I won’t say the story was bad, it was good, just not perfect.
Now it is time to download the first 6 episodes again. Why o why did I delete those? D:
Nooo! Another awesome bro died! Whyy Urobutcher! Why do u need to kill off the most awesome characters in your shows? First Broskandar from F/Z now Chambro !!
Relatively “nice” ending considering how that anime could easily go into dark territory .I was expecting some actual onslaught when Striker set his sight upon Gargantia during the fight with Ledo.I thought for an instant it was going to use that disintegrating homing laser attack ledo once used with Chamber(probably couldn’t because of low energy level).
https://randomc.net/image/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
I wonder…does Ridget know what she’s reading? I’m assuming that the language might very likely have evolved to something else, like how the GA’s language is completely different from Gargantia’s language.
it was shown that they have old copies of the books of the ancient civilization. so ridget or the other officers might have already studied the language.
Because English is really cool when it’s scrolling across the screen during an OS Loading sequence. Well established in Gundam.
I haven’t forget about Code Geass’s Momeland loading screen
I found that i really liked the series more after i had time to reflect on it. Especially the progression of Chamber from just a human support system, what essential became Ledo’s friend and on some regards his brother. From the beginning helping ledo understand the new culture he is in. To even Chamber developing his own opinions on humanity, and the culmination being that Chamber realizing that he himself can not be part of Ledo’s future, yet Ledo being human can advance forward in this new culture. As well as save Ledo. I found it very tragic how this series ended.
I’ve been rather irked by a sense of inconsistency for a certain character in this show. Namely him https://randomc.net/image/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia/Suisei%20no%20Gargantia%20-%20ED1.13%20-%20Large%2002.jpg , Amy’s little brother. If I remember correctly, when he was first introduced Amy told Ledo that he’s bedridden due to a disease. But a few episodes ago when Ledo was about to leave Gargantia, he is seen getting out of bed and dashing off to find Ledo. Now we see him on a wheelchair. What’s with this weird inconsistency ? Or is his disease isn’t as bad as the anime seems to show?
It doesn’t detract from the overall awesomeness of this anime, but it still irks me when I see the scene
It sounded to me Bevel is an asthmatic. With Asthma there are times you are fine and times you are not. It depends on the weather how the body reacts.
i assume he is just of generally weak constitution. most likely he is incapable of prolonged physical activity (possibly hole in the heart?), though that won’t stop him from pushing himself to his limits for dramatic effect.
I don’t really want to nitpick, but I felt weird when Gargantia attacked the cultist fleet. Remember way back in the earlier episodes when Ledo killed Lukkage’s men and the Gargantians were extremely pissed about it? Now they’re happily attacking the cultist fleet without remorse even though there’s a high likelihood that such bombardment would most likely kill some members of the fleet. Heck, when Ridget fired Lukkage’s missile at the tower , there were cultist members on that tower. I’m pretty sure such a massive explosion would’ve killed some of them. O well, fireworks!
It is not they are pacifists but Gargantian prefer not escalate conflicts. In conventinal warfare one side matches the other in terms of arms. Since Kugel Fleet had advanced weaponry Gargantia in turn pull out their big gun.
If they used the mass driver on pirates it would be overkill.
This episode cemented Chamber as my favorite character in this series.
Pity we couldn’t see more of the epilogue but at least we got a happy ending.
I ｆｅｌｔ ｌｉｋｅ Ｉ ｃａｎ ｅｘｐｅｃｔ ａ ｓｅａｓｏｎ ２ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｉｓ？ Ｔｈｅｒｅ ａｒｅ ａｌｏｔ ｏｆ ｌｏｓｅ ｅｎｄｓ ｔｈｅｙ ｃａｎ ｓｔｉｌｌ ｔａｃｋｌｅ．
Nah. A second season would just be commercial fan-pandering. It’s told its story. I’d much rather it finish off like this- than have an unnecessary continuation ending up sub-par.
Sorta like Elvis. He should have died in his prime- rather than fat and overdosed on the shitter.
I loved the scene where Lukkage rustled Pinion’s styled up hair at the end. She has good tastes in hairstyles.
Woo! One of the rare moments where a side character in an anime got his own harem! Hell yeah Pinion!
Chamber just got Urobutcher’d
RIP to Chamber ;u;
Well I think Chamber is not dead because Ledo has this USB-like thing.
Chamber’s Body is dead. But the AI could survive in his Life-pod Rescue Boat. But, you must keep charging it with Energy.. So somewhere there must be a “CPU+Database” around, and i dont think it all fits into this USB thing. Perhaps he guarded the Cockpit somewhere on “his” Boat
Because, he needs Chamber’s AI for Translation
this is one of the most succesful finales i’v seen in anime and it was the best episode of the show, I actually dropped the show at some point because it got a bit boring but when I came back to watch the last 4 episodes I was glad to see i had been completely mistaken, these last episodes were awesome
I enjoyed watching this show. It was really fun and exciting. It is in the runner ups for the best show this season :)….
guys, just so you know, a new unaired episode of suisei no gargantia will come out. really looking forward to that 🙂 http://myanimelist.net/anime.php?id=19211
Yup. And it shall be covered here when it’s out as well.
Great, i am waiting for it 🙂
See, i was right. Our Tin Can, lost his Life. And the “Water Gysir” was “Lost Technology”. Because right from the Start, i was out of Place, when i saw it. No Rust and in good Condition. There must be something mystery about it, and in the end. It was a “Catapult”.. Well Mass Driver Cannon
I should work in the Anime Industry 🙂
You also thought Ledo traveled back in time, and that the Hideauze were weapons created by humans. Don’t be like one of those “psychics” who remember their hits but forget their misses.
Well, some Hideauze Weapons are out there in Space with the Alliance
Well, i like to speculate. Right played, it let me enjoy much my Hobby here. If my Speculations Bullet Chambers are full, and the most of them miss the target. But someones nearly miss them, and rare ones Hit the target, thats why i love to Speculate
oh, and you dont need to take all so seriously here. I dont remember me, writing here that i am a almighty knowing God or Angel. You get now my Gist? Stay easy
Well, at least we can be sure that what remains of Chamber has a chance of being salvaged by Gargantia.
I think even if Ledo answered yes to Chamber’s question, Chamber would also eject him.
>”Your state of mind is unfit for a soldier, a soldier must strive to survive so that he can perform his duties, therefore, I hereby strip you of your military duties. Non-combatants aren’t allowed into the cockpit, Get out immediately”
BROBOT…………….
I have to admit that I thought Amy was a particularly annoying character (actually, most of Gargantia irritated me). But with that one exception, the series, as a whole, was pretty good. They did an excellent job with easing the story elements in. But I had imagined the re-introduction of the Colonel and Stryker to lead to more a interesting plot. I thought that what they went with was too simple (and maybe too easy) and because of this I thought it could have been more interesting.
So IMO, Hataraku Maou-sama is more interesting.
“And thus he finds his humanity and the pilot starts a new life…”
This season, we have Hachiman and Chamber.
Both of them would make an excellent pair………..
https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2031.jpg
A satisfying end , I’m glad I watched this , turned out to be very good
I thought the pirate girl shouting “AMORE” after saving Pinion was hilarious. It made me laugh hard lol
I’m glad someone else mentioned this, I thought it was hilarious as well!
And just to reiterate what has been said by everyone Chamber was freaking awesome! I replayed his speech to Ledo three times before I finally finished the episode.
Chamber is so bro
God dammit Pinion *w*
Respects to the greatest AI character that have ever graced an anime, the star of this last episode was most definitely Chamber, his awesomeness has just gone through the roof, all I can say is: NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CCCHHAAAMMMMMBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRR!!! AAAAWWWWWWW!!!
I understand that his sacrifice was ‘necessary’ for Ledo to live but STILL! *bangs head on wall* couldn’t his data have been saved maybe not entirely but at least partially inside the part that was ejected with Ledo…? Yeah, that would have been too good to be true…
The last sequence was also of him, he became the support for a new nest of hideauze, who knew it will turn out like…
There is still one episode to go which will be released with the bluray; but somehow, I don’t have the feeling it will be a direct sequel of this? I’m betting for either a flashback, a flashforward or a random light hearted story happening in the middle of the series; because I really can’t imagine a continuation to this: they made this episode feel very ‘final’, we never know though.
Most epic line ever from a robot to another
Show Spoiler ▼
XD LOL!!!!!!!!!! RIP Chamber ur fukin awesome
Great conflict between the point of views of the two AIs. Both were designed to protect mankind. A major problem for developers of AIs in the future!
Urobuchi really knows how to write them lines. It’s a shame that they didn’t have more episodes to work on the anime. There’s clearly a lot of stuff they tried to fit in, but ultimately didn’t manage to develop. Striker’s appearance is too sudden. I wished they’d dropped hints about Striker and the religious groups earlier on. There’s too much focus on the squids before Striker’s appearance, so making Striker as a last boss is a bit incongruent with the expectation. And despite all the focus on the squids, all they managed to do is to make Ledo not want to fight. So he had to seek out a new meaning of life. It seems like a waste. I’m sure Urobuchi could have come up with something else that serve the same purpose even if he didn’t have the squids to use.
Rest in peace, Chamber. You were the best robot companion.
I think I was actually sadder when Chamber (a non-living being) “died” than when actual human characters have died in other works. They did an amazing job building up Chamber’s awareness of his surroundings and you could tell that he wasn’t really Ledo’s machine (partner, tool, whatever you want to call it) but I got a feeling that Chamber developed something like emotion after being exposed to the crew of Gargantia and wanted to protect Ledo. It was pretty epic how he played it off as “according the rules” saying that his pilot was no longer fit for combat, asked him if he wanted to live before the time on the fusion ran out, etc etc.
THAT is how you do an anime death, it has a lot more meaning to it, even if it is just a robot.
Things became seriously clumsy right from the moment Ledo entered suffering mode after the big reveal on the Hideauze. As for the finale, it was painfully lacking, they threw everything they could think about, mostly ultra generic clichés, in it and called it a day.
Despite the porn designs and strong visuals, Gargantia is a show that people will remember for CG mecha, Pilot Support Enlightenment Interface System, Chamber. May his soul rest in peace at the bottom of the ocean.
Striker design flaw ? If it ejected its pilot it’d have no eyes.
Well, I think everything’s been said about the dominant themes in the ending, so I just wanna add my 2 cents on something else. Going back to that very early quote from the producers that this was written with young adults in mind, I’ve been looking closely to see how this idea took shape. Obviously there are the themes in the wider perspective about humanity, which most of the discussion about this show seem centered around. And to be fair to UroGen, it was decently written. Not mindblowing, but there’s enough intellectual fuel for Suisei to surpass most other works. But I always felt a little disconnected with these discussions. I always felt that with an idea like this, it would boil down to something more personal, usually on a micro-level. Not the wider, philosophical debate between the GA and Hideauze, nor that of free will or what it means to be human.
So my main takeaway from this show, really, was in the boy and his machine. I always thought there were greater parallels to our lifestyles than we, or even the show itself, gave credit to. This I found especially so in Ledo’s character development of how he slowly learned to live for himself. From him stumbling around with Chamber, learning through all these experiences on Earth, to him finally affirming a choice (EP12) that he could truly call his own. Watching him has sparked my thoughts on the few true decisions that we of generation Y/Z make for ourselves these days. (cogs in the machine or whatever analogy you want to throw in here)
I’m might be over-extrapolating here, and the internet would probably agree. But I’d like to think this was the message of “hope” that Suisei wanted to convey. A inspiration message to these young, generation Y/Z people here, to find something truly yours out there. Just for this alone, as well as Ledo and Chamber’s development across the show, I thought Suisei was a worthwhile watch.
And why is it that Sugita nearly always gets to be best character? Sugita-brobot, you’ll be dearly missed.
Mmm yeah, it’s definitely not overextrapolating eh. There’s definitely a lot said here in terms of hope, of being able to find yourself and do things your way in a society that goes more for conformity than anything… and in ways, I feel that it’s definitely something that was influenced heavily by the Director himself.
If I remember correctly, both Murata and Gen came together to create the idea for this series, and the bit about hope is something I feel comes a lot from Murata originally (he’s had quite a few series end on similar notes emotionally), and something that Gen tried to get the essence of in his script. In ways, I feel the series falling a bit short comes from Gen’s inability to capture this… but it’s something I’m not particularly surprised about, considering how Gen’s trying to write something quite different from his norm in many ways.
Basically… the way I see it, they tried to combine their strengths together… but combining these kinds of things ain’t the same as just adding together, and what we got here was a combination that didn’t quite completely mesh.
To this end though, that’s also why I hope they’ll end up doing another series together, because I feel like Suisei had quite the potential to be even better than it ended up, and it’s a good first step toward what could be a really good partnership (once they learn to really work together given a series or two more).
Last but not least: A wild Asobi appears! (Had to say that, XD)
I love this show and all of its flaws. Ledo is probably the strongest male protagonist in years.
I read this post before watching the final episode so I knew how events would unfold… but damn, when Chamber booted Ledo and told Striker to “Go to hell, metalhead!”, did my hairs stand!
I’d like to think that Chamber isn’t ‘dead’ (decommissioned?) and that he’s still active in Ledo’s comm-device.
Sugita robot…
Awww… I was kinda expecting an “I love you” phrase from either Ledo or Amy to the other. :3 but, oh well, it was great with Chamber not breaking my expectations and even passing them. 🙂
Their love needs no words!
My Thoughts…
Well, if you want to see some RL comparisons, just exchange Striker and the Cult with the “War Eagles” in the Politic. And Ledo the Transformation of an ex-soldier of War into a normal civilian. Where he can trust again the “peace” around him, learn to have true peace and not smell a conspiracy on every corner around him. For me, it was this Way that awoken my interests in this Anime. i wanted to see the way of Ledo from “Soldier” to “Normal Civilian”. The Way his emotion nutshell that he build up for self protection in War time(Episode 1. He even forgotten to have Fear!) to crack in the last Episode (He missed Amy!, and here Chamber understood that he should life, and not throwing his Life away. So Chamber “made” the decision for him to survive. *Deep Bow of Respect to Chamber AI*
And i think, the last Screen with Chamber dead Body, showed us some old Battleships in the distance, so that even Old “War Machines” can give Life in the End. Tools for taken Life, are in the End helping to give Life.
Yin and Yan
Uff.. Hope i explained somehow, why i loved this Show. Oh and of Course, i loved to speculate. It is the Pepper, the Salt of this Anime for me.
even Pinion was about to blow himself up, to take down the Artifacts with him, so that the Cultists lose their Weapons. But Rukkage? forced him to “life”…
As you can see, Pinion was “saved” from a Strong Woman. But Ledo from Chamber AI that understood “life and Love”
strange, this anime here is the first one, of explaining myself why i loved it..
i must became Old
“You stay. I go. No following.”
The problem is, there are still Hideauze in space, and the Galactic Human Alliance is losing because the Hideauze can reproduce and evolve faster than the totalitarian Alliance. If Avalon is destroyed there is nothing keeping the Hideauze/Evolvers in check from infesting the entire Milky Way Galaxy, and that includes making it 65,000 light-years back to Earth eventually.
While Ledo and Chamber may have been successful initially in suppressing the Hideauze/Whalesquid threat, evidence shows that when threatened the Hideauze evolve. Their nanotechnology-assisted DNA with the ability to “eat” random electromagnetic radiation makes them effectively self-sufficient, such that even a single Hideauze/Whalesquid can Von Neumann itself into a new world-wide Whalesquid threat.
What would happen if a space-based Hideauze/Evolver met an Earthbound Hideauze/Whalesquid? My guess is assimilation and upgrading to the new weapons capability of the space-based Evolvers. There’s your plot for a sequel. Make it from a Galactic Human Alliance wormhole forming in the Sol System and you have an epic-level plot.
If the Hideauze evolve and reproduce faster than the Alliance, then it seems like a viable scenario that the Hideauze have embraced a more defensive role in the war or else they would have wiped out the Alliance way back before the Alliance could have built a city/country in space.
This seems in line given the history of the two, where the humans took offense at the genetic engineering and acted to destroy the Hideauze.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m more worried about the threat from the Galactic Alliance than from the Hideauze.
Now that mankind has created the Hideauze to dominate the galaxy, mankind needs to create Gunbuster to destroy them.
Did anyone else think the Hideauze reminded you of the enemies in Gunbuster that were trying to wipe mankind out?
I half expecting Chamber’s AI matrix is being preserved on Ledo’s portable communication device. Since Chamber is AI, there’s no meaning in a physical body anyway. As long you got his “soul”, he’s with you at any time.
Not sure if its mentioned before, but did anyone notice the play of words of Rack(age) and Pinion, which is a pair of gears.
I particularly like this ending scene. It symbolizes that the pilot, as part of the head of the robot, is finally detached from the robot’s body and is on his own. That scene was moving because it was the climax of Chamber’s “evolution.” Through observing Led’s decisions on how to interact with the Gargantia people, Chamber had learned to sort out the logic on how a human society is supposed to function. More importantly, Chamber sorted out the logic on why the squidwhales should be annihilated even though they were partially genetically human. This did not only save Led from his confusion when he discovered the secret, but also provided the same logic for Chamber to disagree with Striker later. To Chamber, once humans give up civilization, they become enemies of humans, and Chamber the support system has to stand on human’s side. Because both the Hideazue race and Striker the robot fell into the enemy category, Chamber stepped up to give its final support to humanity. While my heading was still spinning and thinking what Chamber just said, it finished off Striker in a bang. Its final words were also well chosen to signify that Chamber the robot had attained humanity at that instant.
Then the series ended right after its most important message had been delivered. That was superb storytelling skill and great production planning. A great contender for Best Sci-fi Anime of 2013.
I wonder if using “tin can” for mecha was meant as a David Bowie/Major Tom reference…
As much as I enjoyed this episode, Gargantia ends up as a series I liked a lot, but don’t ultimately love. Glad I watched it nonetheless; Chamber, Ledo, and Amy were wonderful characters, and the philosophical discussions were very thought-provoking.
Gah. Forgot to say I wish there had been a better shot of the fanmade character designs (In the last group shot where Bebel was giving his history lesson). Loved the winning designs.
I loved the relationship between Chamber and Ledo more than any human to human relationship… I miss Chamber i wanted him to live 🙁
Yeah it was a wonderful seires, i totally argee it needed something to make it go wow. but at the end, i enjoy it =D it was one of few anime i stick too watching during that time when it came out