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Old 2013-07-05, 03:45   Link #11
ginger02
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by backbone View Post
I'm not going to bother writing long post. Just want to ponder something; what kind of ultimate message this show has been trying to convey us? Because i can't seem to find one. Which is sad given this is Butcher's show.

It's unfortunate, but i can only give Gargantia 6/10

Uro said he wanted it to be a show for teens entering the real world and to give them the confidence to face it, in which case I feel like it did well.

There were a lot of themes explored in the show centered around Ledo.

Ledo came from a bubble of the Galactic Alliance. It's similar to high school for a lot of people. Don't really get to experience too much life outside of it, in Ledo's case it was the extreme of not knowing any life outside of it.

His arrival on Gargantia and it's people is like a teen thrust into the "real" world after school. Lots of different people and customs and things to do you aren't aware of. His meeting of people from Amy to those cross-dressers shows that you'll meet tons of people in the world. Some you like, some make you uncomfortable, some you find endearing, and some that make you sad.

The contrast between the GA and Gargantia's society. Ledo learned that everyone has their purpose in the world. We sometimes forget that as humans. Asian schools in particular use the public ranking system a lot for grades and scores. In the workforce, things seem to always be about ranks, who's useful and stuff, but in that people tend to forget they all have value.

Those fun, relaxing days were vital to Ledo IMO. It showed him what life not as a soldier is like, and began his forming of memories and bonds with people like Amy.
It also was a message to the audience to slow down and enjoy life occasionally. In Asian particularly, teens are always busy going to class for hours, and then sometimes going to cram schools. I think this is the teams view that there is more to life than just working.

The cult and their reverence for Kugel's figure seems to show a parallel between blind worship of...well anything. Growing up, we're fed many different beliefs and ideals by family, friends, peers, society, etc. Some of us never question it in the slightest, and I think the writers wanted to show that we should, and we should be more inquisitive, since not everything is what it seems and we rarely know the whole story.

It all ends up culminating in Ledo realizing the value of human life, how every single one is important. He ends valuing the time he spent with people, and learned to believe in himself, something that can be difficult for people to do.

There are some things I didn't like
-The hideazue story was interesting, but it didn't really come full-circle. It didn't even go 3/4 of a circle lol. Like, it made an impact on Ledo, but that seemed to fade when he found Kugel. What really made him decide for himself was Striker's sights on Gargantia.
-Last episodes needed more Amy
-I think the last episode needed to be 5-10 minutes longer to be fantastic
-Some things still don't make sense, like how Kugel ended up on Earth. Or how Ledo did even.
-The commander's death could have been more impactful had his character been explored more. Those talks Doctor had with Ledo might have been better on Commander.

Overall this was the best series of the season for me, and I'm excited for the OVA's
Spoiler:
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