ALDNOAH.ZERO / First Impressions

「深い森を抜けて -The Rose and the Ring-」 (Fukai mori o nuke te -The Rose and the Ring-)
“Through the Deep Forest -The Rose and the Ring-“

Aldnoah.Zero is predictable, but it’s predictably unpredictable too.

Superficially, this episode of Aldnoah.Zero could hardly have done a better job of following the template the series has established so definitively in a season-and-a-half. There were two battles, and each went exactly the way they would be expected to. The two leads followed the same course they’ve been on almost since the beginning. But it’s also predictable that A.Z is going to drop some bombs of a more interesting kind in the final moments of an episode – and the repercussions of those plot explosions are enough to keep you guessing about what happens next.

Both fights here went according to plan – but the thing with Aldnoah is, the fights in this show pretty much always go according to plan. We had another Count attack Earth with his supposedly indestructible Kataphrakt, which had one fatal Achilles heel. We had Inaho several steps ahead of the combatants on both sides, taking advantage of some semi-hard science to outwit the opponent (in this case, the inability of beam weapons to follow the curvature of the Earth). Really, if the Terrans were to simply do nothing it seems as if they’d be able to pick off the 37 Orbital Knights one by one as they each make a fruitless attack that ends in their death.

Indeed, I think the most interesting thing here is the acknowledgement that Inaho outranks his sister – which of course he does, as she’s technically a warrant officer (which is at the top of the enlisted ranks, but still below every commissioned officer – of which Ensign is the second-to-lowest rank). Of course he should really be commander-in-chief, but in any event it’s nice to see an open reference to the fact that he’s no mere scrub now. Also of note is the conversation between he and Inko, where Inaho reveals that his eye can even see the duel occurring at the moonbase. He doesn’t deny it when Inko says “You can see everything”, but he does add that the one thing he cannot see is what he really wants to – could it be what’s inside Slaine’s head, or Asseylum’s heart?

As to that duel, Niles Crane did of course prove no match for Floyd Mayweather. And the foregone-ness of the conclusion did render Slaine’s tearful pre-fight confab with Eddie and Tank Girl somewhat hollow – there was as little doubt as to the result here as there was to the battle on Earth, and the only question was just how Slaine would go about it. Well, to be fair, it did occur to me to wonder whether Slaine might try and find a way to let Marylcian live for political reasons – but it appears he saw greater value in the message he sent by killing him (and in a rather nasty way, too). Barouhcruz may emerge as a leader of some kind of old-guard opposition, but Terran or not it seems as if most of the nobles are getting the idea that it’s better to back a winner than a loser, and Slaine is systematically chipping away at all resistance.

Given that, it’s no surprise that he should make his move in a big way, and that gives us the big twist(s) after the ED. Lemrina speaks of her glee at seeing an outsider seizing power, and of how she’ll never let go of her grudge against the family that shunned her – and Slaine’s victory seems to have convinced her to unreservedly throw her lot in with him both personally and politically. Lemrina agrees to marry her Terran Prince Charming, and with it announces their intent to establish a new VERS kingdom on Earth. She almost has the last card played here – it looks for all the world as if Lemrina is going to end Asseylum and eliminate any possible future competition for Slaine, but she pulls back at the last moment. Sentiment – some residual love for her half-sister, or perhaps simply a spark of decency? Or just plain pragmatism (she’d certainly be the first one I’d suspect if Asseylum died)?

The last card, though, is reserved for Tank Girl herself – Lemrina seems to have unwittingly stirred her sleeping consciousness by systematically turning off her life supports, and the last thing we see is Asseylum opening her eyes..  The fox is really in with the chickens, now – Slaine is going to have some ‘slaining to do, because I can’t see Asseylum being very happy with the course he superficially seems to be following (and that’s not even factoring in marrying her impersonator).  Whichever thing it was Inaho said he wanted to see – or both – these final frames seem to bring the moment when he’ll have his answers a lot closer to fruition.

Zephyr’s Impressions:

I’ll say the duel ends up as expected, but the episode overall ends up anything but. Filled with the twists and turns, this was every bit as straight forward until the final moments, and honestly, I need a moment to collect myself here. We got Lemrina saying she’s going to take Slaine as her husband while posing as Asseylum, the former almost taking out all of the latter’s life support system shortly afterwards, and the actual awakening of the real Asseylum moments after that. It’s a classic one-two punch knockout (with a third for good measure) if I’ve ever seen it, and I can’t say enough about how much better this second cour’s coming along.

The major developments are coming suddenly and hitting like trucks, all while being nestled in between lulls in the action that are giving almost every character their fair share in the spotlight. Gone are the climactic twists seemingly made for impact value only. Gone are second fiddle characters serving as mere blips during Inaho’s demolition runs. Okay so the Inaho demolition runs are still the usual for the most part, but there’s such a stark difference here overall that it almost makes you wonder if they changed the staff here between the two cours. Suddenly there’s a decent cast of characters with their own individual motivations, a cloak of intrigue regarding how things are going to go from here, and a load of plot lines waiting to be explored with Mazuurek still in the background (I’d laugh if he was a literal red herring though).

The easy conclusion would be that Lemrina will regret her decision not to kill Asseylum while she had the chance, but it’s interesting to think about the possibility of that not being the case. Ultimately, Slaine’s path—if we can assume it’s one trying to unite Earth and Mars under Vers rule—is a one way route that essentially resigns him to either him killing others or being killed, and the fact that Lemrina comes in with the background she does means that even if she understands this, she’s not going be the one that stands in his way despite what seems to be genuine feelings for the former. Rather, her desire to see the Vers hierarchy torn to bits and the whole “I’d be a willing substitute” bit highlights the notion she’d support him more than anything, and it’s pretty tragic in the grand scheme of things how different their lives could’ve been.

Either way, it boils down to the notion that the real Asseylum becomes extremely important as the only source of the duo’s potential “deliverance” and “salvation” so to speak—meaning that if shit goes down and their plan ends up being thrown to the curb (likely by Inaho), she’s the only one capable of making a difference between Slaine + Lemrina’s lives and struggles either being worth something or nothing at all. Given her unique perspective, Asseylum’s the only one capable of understanding their respective circumstances and why they did what they did, and it could very well be her role to be the one who delivers the classic “it’s okay, you’ve done well” parting line at the very end if they both end up meeting their makers. At the very least, we know Inaho’s far from fitting for that role if things work out as I think they will, and the basic thing is Asseylum’s the only one who can give both Slaine and Lemrina the proper closure to their respective stories—one that reflects the struggles they’ve gone through and highlighted the harshness of the reality they lived in.

Of course, there’s plenty of time for things to change and ALDNOAH.ZERO’s shown a propensity to really surprise this second cour, but let it be said that I don’t expect things to work out well for Slaine and Lemrina. As I mentioned a few episodes before, it’s a star-crossed tale if I’ve ever seen one, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Inaho joins them in the land of the dead either. As ironic as it sounds, the Princess who’s been killed half a dozen times now might just be the one who truly survives until the bitter end, and it’ll be quite something to see if this actually ends up being the case. I can see it now… an time-skip epilogue where it’s just Asseylum reflecting on the things that happened. Yup. Sounds like an ending to me. Or maybe it’s just my flu-hazed mind conjuring up hallucinations and just making me think that.

134 Comments

      1. Well, imagine how Slaine would react if the real Hime-sama is dead in this Medic tank. How had access to this room, and knownlentgh to shut down the Controls? What will Slaine do, when he lose the last thing that is dear to him?

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      2. When I saw that scene, I had a different thought. The timing was too perfect.

        My theory is: What if Asseylum was perfectly healed already, and Slaine was just keeping her sedated and comatose? So, maybe when Lemrina was shutting off systems one by one, she did not know to restart the sedation meds. Remember the last time Slaine saw Asseylum was when she was trying to save Inaho on the side of Earth, so he might want to conquer Earth and kill Inaho first (jealousy) before he lets Asseylum stops his misguided conquest.

        Ptolemaios00
        Reply

      5. @Ptolemaios00
        Actually, it’s kind of the opposite. If there was some sort of drugs being pumped into her system to keep her asleep, turning the system on again would have put her back to sleep. Instead she woke up. Also, the fact that he gave up hope that she would ever wake up again (saying that the blue roses meant “the impossible” rather than “miracle”) shows that he wants her to awaken. If he didn’t he would be making excuses of all the “good” reasons she should stay asleep rather than hoping against hope that she wakes up.

        She was just in a long coma, and the effect of the life support systems being turned on and then on again so suddenly, jolted her system back to consciousness.

        Irenesharda
        Reply

      6. anyone else wiki blue roses and find the bit about potential signficance.?

        “In Chinese folklore, the blue rose signifies hope against unattainable love.”

        Anyone able to confirm or debunk this….

        defunkt_bots
        Reply

      7. @IreneSharda: I actually agree with you in this case, but you’re still just ludicrously one-sided when it comes to Slaine. If he IS manipulating her somehow, they’re not going to have him come out and say “wow, I’m so glad that I’m keeping her asleep.”

        Why would they do that? That makes no sense.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      8. @Irenesharda
        I found it really weird how slowly Lemrina was turning off the life support. She seemed to type out something and only one part of the ECG switches off. This leads me to believe multiple monitoring and supportive systems are separately working to keep Asseylum alive/asleep. THEN, Lemrina just pushes ONE button and everything switches back on at once even though it took forever to switch them off one by one. If there was a sedation program, it would have to be secretive and hidden, so maybe the ONE button she pushed did not restart the backdoor secret programs?

        Ptolemaios00
        Reply

      9. @KaleRylan

        I’m sorry if I seem one-sided, I’m just making a defense since so many people seem to be bashing Slaine nowadays (not on here persay, but a lot of sites elsewhere). What I meant was, that when he was by himself in that cockpit, that seemed to be the point that he was saying that lost hope that she would awaken. If he really wanted her to sleep he would keep telling himself that it was a good thing, and to try to justify it to himself. That’s all.

        Honestly, if Slaine ends up being a douche and mistreats Asseylum after he finds out that she is awake, I’ll call him out on it just as much as any other character, even if it is a part of his plan. However, for now, I have no problems with him.

        @Ptolemaios00

        She didn’t just hit one button. That one button she hovered over was to turn the last of the life support systems off, which I’m guessing is what keep her breathing and her heart pumping. She decided to not do it and you could hear a lot of other electronic noises after that before she left. She probably just told the computer to cancel all changes, that would put the system to exactly the way it was before. You would honestly have to program something else in for it to totally change it’s protocol in such a weird way, especially a life support machine.

        Irenesharda
        Reply

      11. @Nicro

        Actually Slaine’s main reason for keeping her sedated wouldn’t be Inaho (he thought he was dead) but rather from what we know of the princess she would be vehemently against what Slaine is doing now. So if he was indeed sedating her he would have planned to wake her when all was said and done

        Juan
        Reply

      12. @defunkt_bots: What does Chinese folklore have to do with a Japanese cartoon? Slaine was following the meaning of the roses according to hana kotoba 「花言葉」 The blue rose has the following meanings in Japan:

        「夢かなう」which means dreams come true.
        「不可能」which means impossible.
        「奇跡」which means miracle.
        「神の祝福」 which means God’s blessing.

        There isn’t a romantic meaning for this particular rose. Slaine knew two meanings, the ones employed in the show, miracle and impossible which are the most commonly known.

        Rina
        Reply

    3. To Silentcid,
      I don’t think just a few slaps will cut it. We need something bigger than that.
      Actually, having Asseylum GLARES at Slaine will hurt this guy hundreds time more than slapping.

      TOMA
      Reply

    3. I get the impression that the Vers Empire are people with the best toys but with the worst way to utilize it. I wonder why – and it dawn on me. When you’re strong, tactics and strategies become less and less unnecessary. What’s the point of thinking if all you need to do is strike with a blunt hammer and getting the kill anyway? Inaho and Slaine are two individuals that realized what people can do when a strategic and tactical mind is paired up with the best tools.

      https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2010.jpg
      https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2011.jpg
      Inaho and his eyes.

      https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
      https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
      Slaine and his mech.

      KF
      Reply

  4. Princess waking up? That’s peanuts this week. No the big news is the science: the bloody physics is actually correct this time!

    Personal pedantry aside it looks like things are shaping up for a three way fight often alluded to last season, depending on the allegiances of Slaine’s imagined kingdom. Quite clear Earthen humanity won’t be joining anytime soon, but it’s up in the air what Vers proper will do if Slaine decides the Orbital Knights need not pay fealty anymore. That decision will likely depend on where things go with Asseylum now awake, which for all intents and purposes looks to be continuing to make Slaine into the tragic (anti)hero.

    Considering Aldnoah’s script so far, full bets on Asseylum going against Slaine once she figures out what he is doing; it’s too dramatic not to happen 😛

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. It’s dramatic and also accurate. Asseylum is vehemently anti-war. It’s literally her defining characteristic. Whatever Slaine’s true purpose is, he has continued the war, expanded it on some level, and used her face and image to do this. It would make no sense for her NOT to be angry with him.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    2. Actually, there is one part in the anime that physics was not accurately portrayed. The part when the count float into space after being defeated wasn’t correctly portrayed. In space where it is essentially a vacuum, the body, given its massive amount of fluid, would explode because the pressure inside the body is much greater than the pressure that is being imposed on the body.

      Exester
      Reply

      1. Well, you forget the “Cold” of the Empty Space, sure his Body needs sometime to freeze. Perhaps the freezing harden your skin for a while and that slow down the “Explosion”. Before you explode you freeze to Death

        Well, Hollywood Laws…

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

    3. So, how long do people think he’s going to get lost on the desert? I mean, Inaho and company have gone all the way from Yemen to New Orleans and he’s still trying to get to his castle. :p

      You know what would be really funny, is if he ends up being a red herring and that it’s not till the end credits of the last episode that he finally gets back to his castle, only to find the war is over. 🙂

      Irenesharda
      Reply

  7. https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2030.jpg
    Good riddance. He died as he lived, a complete moron.

    Opinions on the Inaho vs. Slaine debate aside, I think we can all be thankful they are both weeding out all the one-dimensional Martians devoid of any common sense.

    I am looking forward to seeing the Princess rip Slaine a new one now that she’s awake, though judging from her glass eyes she may not be fully recovered. I’m hoping the writers don’t resort to something cheap like amnesia just to pad out this little subplot.

    fragb85
    Reply

    2. yeah, i am happy that they began to give Inaho more deep now. right now he was more a Lonewolf, with some friends. But looks like he is about to melt his Ice barrier. Perhaps this Love to Hime-sama started a change in his personality. Trust other persons beside Yuki-nee

      But then again, this explain me, in how the chain of command works on the battlefield. Inaho made be a Smart Guy, but above him is Marito above Marito is the Captain

      p.s. It could not hurt to show silently some motions on the Captains face. In Sidonia the Captain has a Mask, but the Manga-ka gave the XO the function of her emotions, and even we saw some movement under the Mask, to show us that Sidonia’s captain is not a Robot Monster. Silently like close the eyes (like she done it on the Ship Carrier), to give is some “Humanity” emotions. You do not need to let her Scream, whining or other Instincts. But a bit of face motion, let looks her Human

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

      1. Maybe I’m misinterpreting what you meant, but even if Marito is ranked higher, he can take the advice of his “tactician” (Inaho in this case) to account if necessary. Tacticians in real life military forces aren’t necessarily the highest ranked soldiers.

        paulrenzo
        Reply

      2. What i mean , was Guidance Trust. Yuki-nee would surly follow the “get away” command from Marito or from the Captain. But she would not take it from his Brother, even if he would be Captain rank.

        Inaho needs to gain the respect and trust of the ones under his command. In life and Dead situations, how you you trust?

        So i was trying to say this. commanding trust

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

    2. I don’t like how manipulative and twisty she is. I’m not saying it doesn’t work for the show, it just means I don’t like HER as a person/character. I don’t like the implication that ‘good’ martians are all deceitful jackasses. Also I have a feeling she’ll end up being the true ‘villain’ of the series.

      Primarily due to her dislike of Asseylum, pretty much the one unquestioned good character in the show. She still might be a tragic villain, but I sort of think that’s where she’ll end up if they go for the tragic end.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    3. of course after all she is part of troll, made unessential to the story itself, just disappear already, time for seylum to make appearances. I hope she is not lost memories and to be active toward Inaho for reunited wkwkwkwk

      lehur
      Reply

  9. Even with her waking up she has to get out of the tank to do anything. And I see slaine keeping her locked up like a “bird in a cage” (Forshadowing from a previous episode) so that he can be content to keep her out of harms way but she has no ability to get in his way.

    We also have a martian knight looking for her now. So until he gets to the station to aid in her escape I don’t see her getting out of the tank.

    Bijyu
    Reply

    1. This episode already went against that supposed “cage” theory. Slaine wants Asseylum to awaken, that was what all that talk about “miracles” vs. “the impossible” was about. He actually lost hope that she would ever awaken (that there would be “no miracles”), which was one of the reasons that he told Lemrina to make that announcement. Also, if there were really drugs keeping her asleep, the system being turned back on would have put her back to sleep rather than having her wake up.

      I’m actually seeing Asseylum take a while to wake up fully, she also has to recover for quite sometime since she hasn’t moved for almost two years. Also, Asseylum is going to want to know about her sister that she’s never met, and about what happened to Slaine all this time, since the last she saw him was on Cruhteo’s castle.

      Irenesharda
      Reply

      1. Yeah… that would be the most boring premise ever. You REALLY think they’re going to have her just recover slowly while having nice bedside chats with the girl that is actively trying to steal her life and the old friend that is waging a war she hates using her image?

        You don’t dramatically have her awaken in an after-credits scene only to have her non-dramatically recover for the next 4 episodes. Whatever happens, the first rule of Aldnoah zero is it must feed the drama. Also, again, your weird refusal to see any black on Slaine just comes off as almost trolling. He’s directly responsible for her being in the coma and then he appropriated her face to justify a war. While she’ll probably forgive him (that’s kind of her schtick) it’s unlikely to be that simple.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      2. You have to remember that Asseylum doesn’t know that she even has a sister. I think that would be quite a bit of shock and that is someone that she would like to get to know. You forget how kindhearted Asseylum is and how she likes to blame herself for everything. She would definitely want to get to know this sister that has been hidden from the world because of her bastard status, and even if Lemrina gives her the cold shoulder, she’s not going to give up on that. There will be drama alright, family drama as Asseylum is being brought up to speed on everything that has happened while she’s in a coma.

        Irenesharda
        Reply

  11. I admit that I’m not that good with physics/geography, but does that strategy actually work? I mean, does the Earth curve that much in the distance between or most recent Knight-of-the-Week and the ship, that the ship can opt to just stay in place knowing all shots would miss?

    I’m starting to like Mazuurek. He seems like such a cool nice guy. He’ll prolly be involved in smuggling Seylum out of Slaine’s clutches and die in the process, though 🙁

    Beedle
    Reply

    2. Building off of what Gog said, yes it does. Best example considering Deucalion is a ship is to look at early-mid 20th Century naval vessels. The larger ships, especially battleships, often fired at targets over 15-20km away, well beyond the horizon line. To properly hit these targets a spotter was required since the ships themselves could not see them.

      As for the physics it also is well used. All projectile weapons (i.e. guns, artillery) make use of projectile motion for over a long enough distance gravity will eventually cause the projectile to fall back to Earth; such an effect has to be accounted for which is why you see tanks and artillery often aiming above their targets, it corrects for gravity. Knowing the average shell speed, distance to target, and the acceleration due to gravity allows easy calculation of the angle needed to fire the weapon at so to hit the target.

      Beam weapons on the other hand would be significantly faster than any projectile as well as significantly lighters in terms of output (they would be using photons or atomic/subatomic particles versus a slab of metal and explosives). As such the effect of gravity could basically be ignored; in terms of distance travelled on Earth the path of the beam would be an almost perfectly straight line. Gravity does still affect beam weapons, but to see it would require analysis on an interstellar scale.

      Pancakes
      Reply

      1. the only “chaos factor” here is the Wind. You can calculate all through Physics laws, but the Wind is the Chaos factor. Well, i must admit it must be a very strong wind to blow the Bullets astray. Thats also important for Snipers

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      2. @Pancakes

        To be precise, the effects of gravity on lasers is already measurable at shorter distances, which they tested when they fired a laser to the moon.

        @Germanguy

        The wind, or generally speaking, fluctuations in the atmosphere plays a bigger role that you think. Even if there wasn’t any wind, a bullet travelling through the air with a higher average temperature will take a different trajectory compared to one travelling through colder air. Furthermore, a bullet in the air is more or less in a frictionless environment… meaning any force applied to it will make certain deviations to the trajectory.

        flCer
        Reply

      3. Gravity can bend Light, but this Gravity must be heavier then our Earth Gravity, they also use piles of heavy mass Galaxies as an Gravity lens, to look behind or further away, in Science

        Also, Black Holes with their Super-gravity, even Light can not escape it. Only thing that can escape are some Steam of protons? (i think)

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      4. @flcr

        I know, just compare the Wind with different Water temperature in the deeps, and you get the same for Submarines…

        Wind is also a end product of 2 different temperatures of Air. Hot Air hunts the Cold Air. it is also a pressure thing..

        Phisics laws of Nature

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      6. Gravity can bend Light, but this Gravity must be heavier then our Earth Gravity, they also use piles of heavy mass Galaxies as an Gravity lens, to look behind or further away, in Science

        Also, Black Holes with their Super-gravity, even Light can not escape it. Only thing that can escape are some Steam of protons? (i think)

        http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/34352/how-is-light-affected-by-gravity

        FYI, for what the physicists theorize thus far, nothing really escapes black holes. When any object goes within the Schwarzschild Radius (aka point of no return), they never escape. What you might have heard is from the theory that “black holes can lose mass”, implying that things inside the black holes can “escape”.

        The theory goes like this:

        All matter in this world is paired up to it’s antimatter. When matter and antimatter collide, they “implode” and vanish out of existence, changing all their mass to energy.

        For some reason, physicists believe that matter and antimatter are born spontaneously. How I imagine it is that 2 blobs of material, 1 matter and 1 antimatter, can be born into this universe for some reason, and travel dawdle around the universe. Now, imagine the scenario where this happened, where this phenomenon occurred exactly on the Schwarzschild Radius, where the matter popped out at the safe side of the SR, while the antimatter popped into the point of no return.

        The antimatter gets sucked into the black hole, in which it collides with matter inside the black hole… Since matter + antimatter = energy, the black hole loses mass. The physicists think that’s how black holes can disappear. Now how frequent this occurs is unknown, or if this is actually the case. But that’s one of the popular schools of thought thus far.

        flCer
        Reply

      7. flCer, if matter and ant-matter were thus created, there’s no particular reason that it would be the matter that escapes and the anti-matter falls in. (Matter and equivalent anti-matter would have identical mass and would be affected by gravity in the same way.)

        The mechanism as I understand is something else called Hawking radiation, which happens due to quantum mechanical effects near the black hole’s event horizon. This is because, per quantum mechanics, particulate position is not fixed in space, but rather simply more likely to be in a particular position than another. Thus, despite the intense gravity, photons within the black hole can, with very low probability (higher for smaller black holes), quantum jump outside the black hole’s event horizon.Then, since they are already travelling at c, if they happened to be pointed away from the black hole’s event horizon, they escape, resulting in the radiation. Enough of this happens, and the black hole disappears.

        Sha
        Reply

      8. @Sha

        No, the theory I stated is not hawking radiation. You’ve misunderstood what I meant.

        flCer, if matter and ant-matter were thus created, there’s no particular reason that it would be the matter that escapes and the anti-matter falls in. (Matter and equivalent anti-matter would have identical mass and would be affected by gravity in the same way.)

        What I said was:

        Now, imagine the scenario where this happened, where this phenomenon occurred exactly on the Schwarzschild Radius, where the matter popped out at the safe side of the SR, while the antimatter popped into the point of no return.

        Here’s a diagram:

        -> direction of black hole
        |
        + | – .
        |

        + Matter
        | Schwarzschild Radius
        – Antimatter
        . Black hole

        Matter lands in the safe side, therefore doesn’t get sucked in. Of course, nobody is expecting antimatter to pop out of space at this exact orientation every time. It’s just that there is a chance it can happen, and when it does, it could reduce the mass of the black hole.

        flCer
        Reply

  12. It was only when the life support systems were tampered that Asseylum showed signs of waking up. Is it possible that Slaine was merely putting her to sleep all this time, all for the sake of protecting her? With their Martian tech, I assume healing her is easy. He can then use the excuse that the injury left her in a coma so he can keep her there.
    If that’s the case, then Slaine’s definitely irredeemable. Locking her up for almost 2 years is just fucked up. Not to mention him and his continued lectures in front of her and it makes you question his current mentality. I can’t wait for Asseylum to give her a hard slap to the face and more.

    belatkuro
    Reply

    1. She would have gone right back to sleep the moment life support was turned back on if she were being pumped with drugs for an induced coma. Seems more like she received a system shock, it’s not unheard of actually.

      Len
      Reply

    1. Honestly, this marriage is nothing but a facade and is just for Slaine to get to where he needs to be for the next step in his plan. It can be annulled pretty quickly since Lemrina is marrying under a false name. And it’s not like Asseylum has to keep a marriage contract that she’s not a part of. It’s all just for the purpose of the plan.

      Irenesharda
      Reply

      1. Umm… if they do this, and assuming he succeeds, he can NEVER annul this. He has taken charge of the Orbital Knights under false pretenses, and he is using a royal marriage to give him the authority to found a kingdom.

        He can’t just say a bit later ‘Oh, I’ve been lying this whole time. Now that she’s back let’s drop all that but I’ll keep everything I’ve gained.” If Slaine is to succeed, Asseylum must go along with him.

        Or, more likely, some third option will appear in the end. But it’s not going to be as simple as ‘she’s awake now, let’s annul the marriage.’ That would utterly destroy Slaine’s entire position.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      2. I think that depends on if, once he succeeds, the current government will even still be intact. Some clues to Slaine’s plan include that he’s trying to dismantle the feudal system of Vers and get rid of the noble’s monopoly on Aldnoah, either by having no one have Aldnoah at all, or for everyone to have it. So, it really depends on in the end, what kind of government he intends there to be in this new Earth area. Will he eventually get rid of the imperial regime? If so, there’s no need for his marriage as political clout by that time. At this point he’s beginning to get people to respect him for his actions and not just his connections. I think in the end he’ll probably be able to lead his faction, with or without royal ties, especially since he’s making this new world for the lower classes rather than the nobility.

        In any case, I’m just saying that legally, such a marriage wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. It’s basically fraud and identity theft, but using a marriage contract. Lemrina is not using her legal name and Asseylum is not beholden to what a person using her name, has contracted.

        Irenesharda
        Reply

  14. I’ve come to like this show sooo much more thanks to this cour. Everything, for the most part, is sensible, tastefully dramatic, and reasonably thought provoking. The characters that are important are being properly focused on now and things are just…so coherent.

    I’ll be one to say that even though there’s isn’t much going on with the Terrans in comparison to the Vers… I actually prefer their lack of drama to the hectic drama lifestyle of the Vers. It’s like a breath of fresh air to see such minimal drama in the terrans. They’ve got a bit, it’s simple and effective as well. Now with the Princess waking up, I can’t wait to see if she and Mazuurek will have some sort of discussion of the sorts.

    Also, I think that if the Princess wakes up, Slaine will do everything in his power to keep her in the dark because she’d actively work toward not permitting his actions. No way could she agree with most of how he’s acting.

    Also, I like the fights where it’s not simply Inaho doing all the work, sure he was a main reason as to why the plan worked…but it was a team effort for once.

    Kabble
    Reply

  15. See, i told you this Medic Tank of Hime-sama will work out. Now the most are curious in how the real Hime-sama can break out of the SAO Golden Cage. Right now she is back, but not free. Edelritto sure will be maid her, but she will not be allowed to get out of her Isolation, to nobody see the real Her. As long Lemrina keep the facade up, only Inaho is suspicious and this Count he asked to look for her, and even the count needs to do it in Secret. Not even asking the Grandfather for help…

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

    1. but i must admit, you nearly got me there, when Lemrina was about to shut all Powers down. “oh shit they do the impossible possible again”… but lucky you choose for the POW route, somehow

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  16. and now the CGI and Hand-drawn Animations and Pictures had married together. I could not find anything wrong, or things that hit me the big “This is CGI!” Sledgehammer in my face

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  17. And no one is seeing the implications of 29.951103, -90.085579…

    Show Spoiler ▼

    -rant-
    OTOH, Lemrina turning off majority of Asselyum then restoring them seems out of place. The Lack of commonsense is strong here.
    -/rant-

    At least the rose stuff felt more of a TIL here for me. Thx Slaine. 😮

    a few more points:
    -looks like Tharsis’s ability can be overwhelmed here.
    –and the blades can be opened up into two halves…scissor blade anyone?
    -Interesting that only Deucalion has the old school battleship style 16″ guns…

    info600
    Reply

      1. Say you guys, these Fire satellites of his Mecha. reminded me of Guitars.. Do not some other Mecha show had similar weaponry?

        i am not into much Mecha Animes, beside this Gundam Singing Duo and some very old one in my Youth “battle of the stars” or such, with some Elf alike princess and a Earth Human, riding on a play horse. My memories failing me now for the name of the show

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

    1. whas this starting scene under the Bridge, the same where Inaho first meet the Hime-sama in Season 1?

      And trust me, Makeup Pros, can make every female into a Snow-white Princess

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  20. considering where the mech was standing and remembering it was also there when it first apeared in s1 as showcase of martian power makes me wonder, has he been there the entire time without anykind of bathroom breaks, showers or food?

    destiny
    Reply

    1. Well, it is a good strategic position. Ground troops has to reach through the Bridge bottleneck. For Air attacks he is on a high position. And nobody can come from underground like in a Tower building and such. But then, if they can target him, he is a mouse in a trap. like it happen. You should not forget, his High Nose above Earth scums…

      Slaine used the “Bottleneck” effect to tame the weapons of the Enemy Mecha, no where to run

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

      2. was more talking about the laser martian then the bit/funnel/fang user martian(i know those things need proper wide spaces to move.)

        i meant he was like what 19 months when they started the invasion ontop of that bridge wich im thinking is the same one as we see in today’s ep.
        wich gives me the question, did he ever get of that place or has he been there for 19 months.

        destiny
        Reply

      3. Well, with the Impact of the Castle descending, around it the most where dead in a Instant, and the rest flee in Panic. Perhaps his Job is to hold the Ground. But for taken the entire City and repel the retake Attacks of Earth Defense, he can move. i think he can Jump. Because he is very thin build, so it would not be impossible to Jump around or fly through Air.

        In this Episode, he could use this Position for be the best Defense Position for him. Like a Mountain Fortress

        So no, while his Castle is nearby he could walk/fly free around the Castle supporting range. Aka Long Range Radar, Space range Radar and such things, as support

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

  21. How convenient, now Imbaho’s all-seeing eye has just seen the weakness of the Tharsis thanks to that duel! (e.g. the Tharsis couldn’t predict the multiple simultanneous attacks and lost a wing in the process, so he will just have to tell all terrans to attack from all sides to kill Slaine! a superb tactic he’ll have figured thanks to lucky observation instead of careful thinking!)

    Aldnoah screenwriters oh, how much I hate you! I want a “final battle of wits” dammit !

    Please have Slaine upgrade the Tharsis with tech from that other kataphrakt as his trump card so the final fight isn’t too boring to watch! (or just have more “bosses” attack together instead of going solo to the slaughter “horror-movie” style, I’m sick of it already… “monster of the day”-type series are way overdone)!

    Kneko
    Reply

    1. Well, in short here the Zerg Tactic (all attack at once with overwhelming forces) could reach to success?

      No, Slaine just could blow a hole in this Sphere of Earth Attacks, and break out through this Hole

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

    2. Actually, that wouldn’t really work. The problem with the gun pods is they’re small, fast, and unmanned. Difficult to shoot down and even if you do, it doesn’t hurt the mech in question. If Inaho just sent the whole terran army after him Slaine would simply take them out. They’re large targets, they’re much slower and less maneuverable, and they have people in them.

      You could potentially try something like having a number of ships hit him from long range so he can’t respond in time to all the simultaneous attacks, but it’s not clear Earth has that many space cruisers. Or maybe prepare a battlefield with traps, such as gun emplacements or explosives, that you could trigger simultaneously? Not sure.

      The point is a zerg tactic is not the point, a zerg tactic that he can’t shoot back at is the point. That’s why he had to get them in the tunnel where he was able to put the little pods in his firing line.

      That all said I do think the tharsis could use another weapon. Even with the future sight, the fact that it just has a couple of machine guns and blades seem weirdly under-equipped.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  24. Does anyone else think they will end this season with Inaho rescuing the princess and defeating Slaine? I genuinely don’t see how else it will play out, I know they’re doing the Versian Count of the week episodes at the moment but still..

    Lyfe
    Reply

      1. i think this season is about to get Rid of the “falcons” Counts around Earth. I do not see, that the War will move from Earth to Mars. I think the Showdown in this Season will be on the Moon base. Vers civilians needs the resource of the Earth.

        But here is the question, be it in peace or through taken by Force, thats the Question

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

    2. @Lyfe: Agree. IMO the most likely way this plays out is Slain vs. Inaho with Inaho winning (cue cyborg eye ability), rescuing the princess in distress, etc., etc. Had Urobutcher stayed on as series composition, then things might be different. Never know though. Show might surprises us.

      daikama
      Reply

    3. Regardless of whether or not one enjoys Aldnoah Zero (I for one very much do), we could probably all agree that A.Z is very good at ‘teetering’ our expectations. You can never tell whether they’ll do something predictable or unpredictable, half the fun comes from the tension.

      I for one have reserved suspicions as to whether the series will end on such a simple note. And even if it does, there will probably be some kind of catch or twist to it.

      WhaleLord
      Reply

  25. https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2002.jpg “Have you decided what route you’re taking Count Troyard?”

    https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%2001.jpg “I’ll be taking the Final Fantasy Tactics route!”

    https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%2006.jpg “Your ass is mine now Slaine.”

    https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2038.jpg “Reverse Netorare Complete”

    https://randomc.net/image/ALDNOAH%20ZERO/ALDNOAH%20ZERO%20-%2018%20-%2039.jpg “Do you feel in charge Lemrina? You think Netorare is your ally? You’ve merely adapated it, I was born in it! Now I must break you.”

    magoiichi
    Reply

  26. Now, before let my emotion overflows after having waited and seen for three long episodes, I will just state some points about this episode for now:

    EXICITING PARTS:

    1. Inaho is cool as ever and far less ‘Gary Stu’ now. In this episode he plays ‘Arty’ and acted as a spotter rather than a pilot. Great! At last we have some fresh idea in the mecha battles, especially after those boring space battles.

    2. Asseylum is fianlly coming back to us! Yay for that! Not just it managed to produce the ‘Oh, Slaine! You are so fucked now!’ atmosphere right at the end of the episode, it also brought back the long-gone surprise in season 1, which is ‘you think it’s going that way? No, it is not’.

    Boring PARTS:

    1. Slaine. He is just getting boring in this episode. (May be the last three episodes as well?) Yeah, he has no dream, alright. But is that why everytime this guy pop up the tension of the whole show simply lost? As I have said before, I don’t like this ‘Slaine the knight’ but for some reasons Slaine in this episode just fail to create the tension that should be there EVEN WHEN HE IS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE IN THE DUEL. For god’s sake! Even the scene that Inaho was talking with Inko under the moonlight looks more interesting.

    2. Slaine’s duel. For an instance I thought I am watching ‘Infinite Startos’. (You will know what I mean if you check out the 2nd episode of I.S. season 1). Overall, this duel is a lazily designed mecha battle. Worse, it was placed right after Inaho’s mecha battle in the same episode. Inaho’s fight at least looks tactical and absolutely practical (despiete it is still a military non-sense in some aspects); Slaine’s duel is nothing more than a half fanservice (for Slaine-fans only), half routine mecha battle and 100% playing favourism/ bias for Slaine.

    All is said, I just don’t feel that duel is impossible for Thasis to win. So, when the FAKE PRINCESS and the REAL MAID are worrying and screaming, what I got is ‘what are they screaming for? That overpowerful mecha just lost an arm. Not like it’s the first time, too’

    BAD PART:
    The noble man died too FUCKING early! And yes, THE NOBLE MAN. What’s his name? I remember it’s ‘Maryl…’ something. I can’t remember. Becuase HE DIDN’T EVEN HAVE ENOUGHT SCREEN TIME FOR A NEW VILLIAN!

    Seriously? Is that how this production team treat their characters? Everyone stand in the way of Slaine are just SLAINED casually with little buid-up, a little bit of development and zero surprise. Hell! Even Inaho lost an eye for…what exactly? I don’t think last season’s ending is fully elaborated after all.

    If that’s all they need these VERS villains for, I doubt they need to give them names in the first place. Just call them ‘Knights who don’t like Slaine’ can pretty much get the job done.

    TOMA
    Reply

    1. well, right now they are using Slaine to get rid of the racism under the Knights. i see this as a build up for the Show End without a “to be continued”.
      Sure there would be fights for power or revenge, but there would be no more sacrifice of innocent Peoples because they are lower lifeforms

      Slaine is holding the Hime-sama like… let me use some Pictures

      Hime-sama now after awakening:
      https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2029.jpg
      Slaine:
      https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2035.jpg
      Inaho:
      https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20-%2017%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
      Yuike-nee:
      https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2001.jpg

      You see, if we just took the SAO Base here, we get nearly the same lines

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  27. One of the better episodes of Aldnoah in my opinion. For a (welcome) change, earth managed to defeat the Kataphrakt of the Week without solely relying upon Inaho. Did give me a bit of pause how they missed with Inaho’s exact (and I mean exact) artillery spotting, but hit it with some random flares as guidance over the horizon. Eh, good enough. Progress is progress. That being said, I do have to wonder why everyone isn’t clamoring for a cyborg eye. It does everything other than your laundry.

    I thought Slaine’s duel was actually one of the better mecha fights in the anime. I liked how it ultimately didn’t come down to Tharsis’s ability, but rather Slaine once again preparing thoroughly for the battle. Fun to watch that. The “wedding announcement”… was kind of weird. I would think that Slaine expects Asseylum to wake up at some point so… he figures she’ll just go with it? O.o

    Frankly, for me Asseylum waking up was inevitable. So when she opened her eyes I wasn’t surprised, but rather “Ah, that’s when she regains consciousness”. I do think the timing is right. At the half-way point, plenty of time for the show to do whatever plot lines remain involving her character, and she is a central figure in all of this. Should be interesting to see how she reacts to what’s happened since she’s been out. Same goes for Lemrina. Have to wonder whether she’ll regret not killing off Asseylum when she had the chance. My guess is Slaine is also in for a rude awakening. Pretty clear that Asseylum x Inaho is the pairing for this story. Maybe the show will surprise me.

    daikama
    Reply

      1. @KaleRylan: I thought the “eating into one’s brain” part was due to Inaho “overclocking” it (e.g. trying to get every last bit of performance/extra abilities/mapping parts of his brain rather than stick to the default settings).

        I understand it’s a prototype, but so far, the thing works flawlessly from what I can tell. It sure gives Inaho some pretty hax/OP abilities. I mean he can “see” a battle taking place in outer space!? It’s not just vision, but it also seems to have extra processing power – all those instantaneous trajectory calculations, “seeing lies”, etc. You’d think there would be at least some other volunteer to try one out. Maybe someone who has bad vision or lost an eye already.

        daikama
        Reply

      2. I think whether or not it has other test-users is one of those questions that shows don’t answer. There very well MIGHT be other people with the eye out there. But the eye doesn’t give you powers, it’s just a computer. Only Inaho can effectively gain powers from it because of magic physics knowledge. Basically he’s doing the same thing he did all season 1, now it’s just built into his head.

        If you put it in someone without magic physics powers it would just be a computer in your head giving you info you can barely interpret. And it doesn’t ‘see’ lies. It just picks up visual details which Inaho interprets (perfectly, because that’s his thing). It’s a computerized version of the experienced cop in every cop drama ever.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  28. Freaking Slaine man. Why is this man so bloody awesome? He’s just as clever as Inaho and doesn’t have to rely on military fodder to find a working strategy. That final decapitation swing was satisfying as hell ^_^

    I enjoy this show mostly for the B movie vibe it has going on but one thing it’s done surprisingly right is show the subtle changes Slaine has made among the Martians society. Not only has he been gaining respect/status but he’s making everyone realize the flaw in their messed up system with his very existence. The fact that he, a lowly Terran is able to come so far is slowly breaking down the walls of superiority that has plagued the Martians for so long. Others happen to share his viewpoint as well. They just never had anyone to confide in about it until now.

    Hell him and Lemina even got hitched together. A couple that I’ve wanted to see happen since the beginning. I was screaming NOOOOOO when she was about to kill her sister. That was a such a tease by the writers right there but I kind of knew she wouldn’t do it. Asseylum is way to important to just be killed off like that. Hell she’s technically already died 3 times now. The girl is an immortal monster. I REALLY hope they don’t pull the amnesia plot device but knowing this show it’s very possible.

    Looking at Earth’s side…………….yeah not sure why I keep trying to talk about it. Heck nearly the first half of the episode was dedicated to a long fight. I can admit the action in Aldnoah is pretty entertaining but I feel like there is way to much of it. And it’s the only way to keep the audience from falling asleep when they focus on Earth. They have nothing to lose. We know all the main characters will survive. We know Inaho will save the day. Still nothing new there.

    Also why the hell don’t the Martians ever attack together? Like in a group? They’d be much better off that way. A platoon of Earthlings has trouble with just ONE mech. Can you imagine if there were 3 of them? Or heck 5? Everybody is dead man. Super dead. But nah they all attack one at a time. I know it’s because of the pride thing they have going on but it’s really not a smart battle plan especially in war.

    Hopefully Slaine can change that too 🙂

    leatherhead333
    Reply

    1. This Noble Knights acting like a VIP treatment use in the old European Century with no backup.

      I agree with you Slaine should come up a better chain of command and reorganize into a special elite forces.

      Private
      Reply

      1. To Private,
        Good point here. Problem is: will this ‘Slaine command’ really works? You know, changes don’t solidify overnight, not even with 11 months. It will be odd if the entire Orbital Kinghts, who have always been fighting separately, could fight in perfect coordination simply because Slaine is in command.

        Put simply, you can’t expect a baby who didn’t even know how to walk can suddenly run and gun.

        TOMA
        Reply

  30. This was definitely one of the better episodes of A/Z that we’ve seen. It also fulfills it’s role as the midpoint of the season by setting the tone for the last half as well as injecting a lot of plot points to intrigue us of what’s to come while nicely tying together what has already been around.

    The biggest improvement of S2 over S1 has been the narrative. the characters feel a lot more rounded with each having their own minds and objectives. S2 feels a lot more character driven and natural as opposed to the rather forced feeling of S1. That said, I’m looking forward to the last half of the season.

    Juan
    Reply

  31. So now that Asseylum is awake, what will Lemrina do? Will she regret not killing her sister? Will she turn against Slaine if she thinks that he’ll ignore her now that Asseylum is awake?

    Irenesharda
    Reply

    1. I think the more interesting question is what will SLAINE do? I know you refuse to even admit it, but Slaine has NOT been doing what the princess would want. And while I don’t think she’ll go completely berserk since that’s not her thing, I think we’re going to have an interesting conflict for Slaine between a REAL princess who isn’t necessarily going to do what he wants and a fake princess who (he thinks) is effectively his puppet.

      Slaine is not the naive boy from Season 1 anymore. He’s a count who has united the orbital knights, founded a kingdom, and destroyed most of his rivals. Going back to just being a servant who does whatever his beloved princess wants even if she doesn’t continue doing what he’s been doing for the last while doesn’t make a lot of sense.

      Also, it would be bad for the show. Slaine’s machinations have been a big part of what has made season 2 so interesting, for him to just give up and turn into asseylum’s servant would be a huge downgrade in the show. The story is MUCH more interesting if we start to see complications between Slaine and Asseylum.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

      1. Well, it all depends on how Asseylum processes all the information that is coming at her. Remember that, whenever she becomes fully lucid, she’s in for a lot. Slaine will be talking to her, but he’s also got a lot of responsibility now what with running the moonbase and now having acquired Marylcian’s castle as well. So he won’t be able to talk to her all the time. Eddelrittuo will probably be spending time with her, and she will have her opinion to go on as well, especially since the last she knew, Eddelrittuo hated Slaine, and now she sees him as a big brother figure. I honestly think, and hope that Asseylum process all this around her and talks with him like that. I don’t think she may approve of the path he’s taken, but she may also understand the necessity of it. She began to realize what her people were really like last season, and that they are a bunch of political maneuvering, backstabbing snakes that she can’t possibly control herself. Even the nice one like Mazuurek talks the talk and wants Earth’s resources, even if he’s loyal to her. Asseylum feels a responsibility toward her people, as she should, and I’d honestly think she’d want to have a hand in changing the direction they’re going for the better if she can. Slaine has changed and grown up from when she last knew him, but I think that original child side of him is still there as seen when he talks to Eddelrittuo, but he just has more facets to him now than he did before. So, it will be up to Asseylum how she processes all this and how she thinks of him now that he’s changed.

        However, my original question still stands. Lemrina actively made an attempt on her sister’s life and backed out at the last second. She never thought her sister would ever awaken. Now that she has, what will she do? Asseylum and Lemrina have never actually met face to face with both of them conscious, I think that Asseylum would definitely want to get to know and befriend her little sister. However, Lemrina has said that she will never stop her grudge against the royal family and she sees her sister as an obstacle that constantly overshadows her. I’d be more interested in seeing where that family drama goes and if Lemrina can ever forgive her sister for the circumstances of her birth, or will she try once again to kill her? Completely this time?

        Irenesharda
        Reply

      2. My Prediction out of my Guts for the two Princess?

        Lemrina will be the Princess of Aldnoah Drives for the New Vers Country of the Moon base and perhaps some Land on the Earth. Slaine will be the Knight

        Asseylum will be the Princess of Earth, that has the power over the Captures Aldnoah Drivers so far. Her Kingdom will be Earth. Well, Earth will be in need of her, if they could not finish the VERS threat. Inaho will be the Knight

        So both Princess will chose a Side, where both sides depend on their Activation Blood curse

        Mars itself, will stop playing a role, it will dwindle nearly to extension

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      4. “New Vers Kingdom. Join me or Die on Mars. But i will lead Vers Peoples to a New Glory, i will bring them Prosperity” could be Slaine and Lemrinas base

        “Help me to defend our Earth from these Vers surpressers, that whant to enslave us and taken our Freedom. Let us drive them back where they came from” could be Inaho’s or Earth Defend Force base

        i do not see an life along side, of these Two factions. The key here is really onyl Asseylum. But are the Hearts ready of both sides to forgive the hatred, Sadness and Lose of dear ones? Asseylum must overcome this Moutain of Hate, Mistrust and “Proudness”. You think Inaho would be the right chose for that? No, Asseylum needs Slaine, too Inaho ist the “Light” side, and can keep it in check. Slaine is the “Dark” side, and can keep it in check. Only both of them can be Gray. Alpha and Omega, i am the beginning and the End. Asseylum is the Core that hold these two together. But first she needs to get out of the “Dark” sides control. Nobody should hold Power over her, not even Inaho

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      5. You know, I’m sorry but talking with you is really frustrating. Because you’re fairly reasonable and type fairly reasonable, but you have this insane need to couch every single thing Slaine does in the most perfectly heroic, optimistic take you can possibly imagine. Even though if that were all true, he would actually be worse than all the things people complain about Inaho.

        The interesting about Slaine is that he’s imperfect and grey and manipulative. And you continuously just ignore the fact that Slaine is STILL ATTACKING EARTH. Asseylum’s primary driving goal as a character is to end that war. She has never been established as giving much of a crap about VERS’s political situation, to the point that her best friend was regularly beaten while he was under her care and she never noticed. I highly doubt she’s suddenly going to completely flip her switch and go down the Slaine road of caring about reforming VERS and Earth be damned. Of all of Slaine’s traits, one of the most enduring is he does not care about Earth. He has never once expressed any concern for it. Which is actually a bit weird given he does not deny being a Terran.

        He was never shown to be mad that VERS started a war with Earth, he was mad that they assassinated Asseylum. Now that that’s out of the way, Earth is merely a stepping stone for his plans regarding Mars. Asseylum is the exact opposite. For a Martian princess, all she’s been shown caring about is peace with Earth and an end to the killing, something Slaine is not doing. Honestly, they’ve never really been on the same page. If they suddenly act like they are, it will be bad writing.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      6. You know, what you think Slaine should do? Go there and Ask the Counts for not attacking the Earth anymore, because it is curel

        Slaine is working on get Power, an powerless Human Count’s Pet has nothing to say in this Hard World. You all have the wrong impression of Power plays. You surly think all can be resolve with just “let us talk”. Slaine needs power, and now with Hime-sama in back, and earn the Respect of the other Counts, he can now slowly begin to take the steer.
        You can not just switch a flip and stop the other Counts around Earth, you must earn first their trust.

        Oh, you mean with his only Mecha he can go all out against the others Counts, because he loves Earth so much? To Protect Earth, he needs Power he needs to be Strong. He must Play the game, he must be a Wolf even if he is a Sheep.
        Most here just see Slaine attacking Earth, but he must convince the other Counts to gain Power around them.

        Mind manipulating if you want

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

  32. I know that there has been a lot of talk about how Slaine has betrayed the princesse’s ideals but I would like to note that any peace talks with the Earth would have only benefited the upper class of Mars, as from what I can tell she has no clue about how bad things are for the lower class, and if she does then that just leads to a whole other topic of debate. Slaine on the other hand is doing something for everyone on Mars. Once the princess learns what Slaine is trying to do for the lower class she might see it as a case of what needs to be done, though she won’t like it. A way I see this ending is with peace between Earth and Mars with the princess giving up her identity to live with Inaho on Earth while Slaine and her sister take care of Mars.

    James
    Reply

    1. First thing first, sorry, James. I accidentally gave you a vote down while I was trying to give you a vote up (which was the first vote, by the way). My apology.

      Now, back to the discussion. That’s some interesting points you have here. However, I think we better not jump to conclusion at this stage as the season still has a way to go.

      So, I guess we can all wait and see.

      TOMA
      Reply

  33. Just done a count on comments:

    ep 13 (ep 1 of 2nd cour): 278 Comments
    This ep: 123 Comments (by the time I wrote this comment)

    Looks like the ‘5 ep’ rule is in effect–many people have probably dropped this anime after 5 ep of this season. Can’t blame them. If you compare the two seasons and someone told you that you are watching two different anime, you might believe it if the title’s and characters’ names are all censored. So, for those who were expecting the epic, high-tempo style in season one, they are in for a disappointment.

    TOMA
    Reply

    1. Well, i prefer more the quality of the comments, not the quantity

      I love to discuss with someone seriously in a friendly manner without felling offended, then just Many single Line ones, with just Trolling

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  34. Good to see Inaho NOT playing an indispensable role this time! Just a Forward Observer. All the actual deflection and elevation calculations would be done by the Fire Direction Center on the ship. Except that last one, which Magdebridge did on the fly in her head and called it directly to the turret captains! AWESOME! Man, I am really liking the Captain more and more each time I see her in action.

    Slaine might have bit off more than he can chew; I am expecting division to flare up among the Orbital Knights, and I don’t think Grandpa back on Mars is going to like what going on. Whether or not he can actually do something about it remains to be seen.

    Brian
    Reply

    1. Show Spoiler ▼

      Only read, if you have watched

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *