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「亡霊」 (Yuurei)
“Ghost”
I may have jumped the gun when I thought Richthofen was going to get a new prototype Trial Krieger back in episode seven, but seven episodes later and we have just that. If you’ve been reading my weekly impressions on Argevollen, then it should come as no surprise when I say this is a welcomed development. I’ve been “silently clamouring” for the pilot rivalry between Tokimune and Richthofen to deepen since I saw it as a great means to see more of the war from Ingelmia’s perspective; however, in order for Richthofen to get more screen time, he’d need something on par with Argevollen so that he will clash more regularly with Independent Unit 8. Enter the Sturm Alpha, a.k.a. “The Ghost”.
Depending on how in-depth one chooses to (or cares to) watch anime, this probably comes off as more of a logical development than a predictable one. If Richthofen’s character was going to have any meaningful impact on the overall story, plus if the group of capitalists were going to play their cards further and prolong the wars as long as possible to reap all the monetary benefits, Ingelmia was probably going to get its own prototype Trail Krieger. What is less certain is which direction the writers plan to take this subplot. They could just wrap it up in the next few episodes with Tokimune defeating Ricthofen and then proceed to the next stage of the war that was hinted at the end of this episode—i.e. mass-production versions of the Argevollen and Sturm Alpha prototypes—or they could drag the rivalry out until the very end of the series where Tokimune and Richthofen (and thus, Arandas and Ingelmia) turn their attention to the guys manipulating them from the shadows once they catch wind of this “NR Syndrome” that these prototype Trial Kriegers are inducing on their pilots.
At this point it’s hard to say, because at the onset of the series, I was pretty convinced that uncovering the conspiracy behind Reika’s death was going to drive the main story from start to finish. Instead, it proved to only be another subplot and wrapped up entirely this episode with Tokimune acknowledging that he’s moved on. While his character growth from it was significant, this is just an example of how it’s difficult to tell exactly where the story is headed at times. Going forward, I surmise that the two characters that we should watch for and be suspicious of are Cayenne Toshikazu on the Arandas side and Erich Zarl on the Ingelmia side. They’re the main contacts for the Trial Krieger prototype manufacturers—Kybernes and Fordergrunt respectively—and they both enjoy a good glass of their alcohol of choice while they’re scheming in their offices. The latter I semi-jest about, but when it comes to anime, a sign—or a flag rather—is always foreshadowing something.
Lastly, we got a new ending theme and sequence this episode, meaning the next one will likely have a new opening to go with it for the second half of the series. I don’t get what the deal is with all the Jamie fan-service other than taking it as a telltale sign that she continues to add very little to the overall story, but I was quite surprised to see that Tamaki Nami was the artist of the song. I haven’t seen anything in anime from her since the Gundam SEED/SEED Destiny days. Those songs were really catchy so “Vivid Telepathy” was to me as well. Have a listen below.
ED3 Sequence
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ED3: 「Vivid Telepathy」 by 玉置成実 (Tamaki Nami)
Watch the 3rd ED!: Streaming ▼
Preview
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Huh? The Fanservice is strong in the ED? Now they selling her Body to the Fans? I like it
It feels like this show has shifted from a planned storyline to being made up as they go along.
you think its possible the NR syndrome might have something to do with the 2 of them almost going berserk?
i mean look at the preview shot of righthoven the man normally always calm and collected is showing the looks of a predator enjoying a battle with a prey.
Reika’s death could probably still be revisited later when the NR Syndrome comes up. It’s probably related to what drove all the test pilots mad. The unmanned Trail Kriegers apparently learned to move from Reika, which I guess explains why they functioned so well despite Reika seemingly losing control. It didn’t look like something that would be classified as “going berserk.” Although, I wonder why they attacked in the first place. Did Reika (or her mind) paint them as the enemy? Probably something that won’t get explained. Just needed something tragic…
Anyway, since unmanned Kriegers were deemed a failure, they maybe incorporated the system that allows Kriegers to learn from their pilots into the new models.
Not sure where they’d go from there though…
Gotta admit I’m (somewhat pleasantly) surprised you’re still covering this despite it’s flaws. Despite the rather lackluster first half, I still have some hope that now that it’s finished setting up the board it’ll focus on delivering a good plot. This (and the last few episodes) were definitely steps in the right direction.
I get the feeling that the evil companies are actually patsies of a third nation, who will sell them faulty equipment that drives their operators mad before swooping in to take over both. It’ll be interesting to see Tokimune and the Red Baron fight while slipping into insanity, and how Jamie reacts when she realizes that she’s facilitating whatever this “NR Syndrome” is.
Chibi Prussia so cute <3
Tokimune, fired over 60 shots, 0% accuracy, holy crap he sucks. D:
Richthofen meanwhile fired most of his shot with over 80% accuracy…
Tokimune seriously need some training, the mech is only as good as its pilot really. :T
Not sure the weight of the gun and the ammo box. Probably that new type of gun is heavy when he’s always holding two hands. Firing at full auto continuously while moving will get worsening accuracy.
is that Jamie hitting on MC?
too bad he’s denser than a brick -_-
To be fair, Jamie did say that shes not interested
That’s because he asked her over the loudspeaker. Seriously, what a dumb move. Of course she said no.
https://randomc.net/image/Shirogane%20no%20Ishi%20Argevollen/Shirogane%20no%20Ishi%20Argevollen%20-%20ED3%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Shirogane%20no%20Ishi%20Argevollen/Shirogane%20no%20Ishi%20Argevollen%20-%20ED3%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Shirogane%20no%20Ishi%20Argevollen/Shirogane%20no%20Ishi%20Argevollen%20-%20ED3%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
Dafuq.
Hey Divine. Off-topic question but have you considered doing a blog entry for THE iDOLM@STER MOVIE? I know you don’t blog full time anymore but as I recall you were a big fan of the 2011 anime so I had to ask.
I don’t have any plans to blog it unfortunately. Zephyr mentioned it to me while I was on hiatus and I suggested that he blog it instead, but it looks like that never happened.
Alright. Thanks for answering.