(L) Mouretsu Pirates

[sa547]

As a bookworm, I'd rather put it this way: it's like I'm almost like reading the original novel (or for that matter, Treasure Island), and at that pace I'm okay with it, rather than speeding things up (and ruin the storyline).

It takes some time for some character development to kick in, as Marika gains some experience along the way; it ain't easy being a pirate princess, because that kind of rep needs to be earned by first-hand, hands-on experience on all aspects of seamanship, from piloting to navigation, to offensive and defensive warfare, to systems maintenance, to negotiation and diplomacy (Try playing Sid Meier's Pirates to get the feel of what it takes).

Marika will be scrutinized closely on how well she performs on this cruise, to see if she has the will to lead a crew of rowdy brigands and possess sea salt in her veins, worthy of flying the banner of Jolly Rogers.

In the real world, an EVA (extra-vehicular activity) outside a spaceship or a station will require lanyards, jet packs, and another set of eyes on the back of your head, along with a buddy right out there to keep an eye on you (oh, just like scuba diving). But this story's very far into the future (and this is science fiction), so they have their suits rigged up with very advanced gear, just enough to keep the girls safe, even for a greenhorn crewmember.

Ah, well... Let's stay the course, folks. There could be more coming up.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by sa547

As a bookworm, I'd rather put it this way: it's like I'm almost like reading the original novel (or for that matter, Treasure Island).

You know that's a comparison I quite like,I remember reading treasure island and at the beginning having the same reaction as some people here,I was thinking "wait,where are the pirates?Where's the island?Where's the treasure?" .

[justpassingby]

Originally Posted by ReddyRedWolf

What you don't know about the next generation space suit being developed? The Bio Suit is designed for free movement in space or on bodies like the moon or Mars.

^This

Spoiler for MIT Biosuit:

Picture retrieved from National Geographic Japan [Link]

Actually I'm finding excuse to post this: Happy Lunar New Year to those who are celebrating it. Here hoping a good year for sci-fi, mecha, and anime in general. And good luck for Satou Tatsuo (Tatsu = dragon). Though I think he believes more in Tanabata (The 7th Symphony, 7 deities, Original Seven, and his birthday)

Edit: Jersey club has its club song. Look forward to Yacht Club song. Satou said it during one of the event that I posted NicoNico link before. :P

[Kyuu]

Originally Posted by Lost My Music

With its slow pace storytelling, the anime probably isn't for everybody. I'll probably marathon through this anime after it ends.

The yacht club disembarks; and it's considered slow? For a 12-13 episode series... it would most definitely be slow. But, this is a 25-26 length...

[Crimrui]

Originally Posted by Om Nerabdator

Did they really waste a whole episode on launching a ship and fixing a mast........

I don't see the problem, they are taking it slowly as there are quite a few more episodes to fill. As pointless as some conversations are, I still like it. Even small talks builds up a character.

[Iron Maw]

Originally Posted by CWW

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn

I didn't think anyone could make space boring, but this episode did it. Just get on that ship already and do some buccaneering, girl! I thought maybe they'd introduce an antagonist, like whoever's trying to hack into the ship, but that went nowhere. It needs some direction and fast. If not this will be one helluva example of false advertising.

I'm giving a bit of leeway since 2 cour shows always tend to start slow, but yeah the individual episodes could be a little more exciting. About the only future hooks for this show so far is the promise of space adventuring and yuri, which are just being dangled like carrots on string. Hopefully the training arc ends by ep 5 or takes a more "practical hands-on" kind of turn.

Originally Posted by Om Nerabdator

no way i dont believe it!

Did they really waste a whole episode on launching a ship and fixing a mast........

I'm more confused as to why this was not checked out thoroughly in maintenance to begin with. Especially with Odette II being a fairly old ship that's knowngly being targeted on top of that. You would think that learning how to triple checking equipment and make sure things running smoothly before jumping out to space would be one of the most important things on a practical run. =/ Automatic repairs as shown can only do so much.

[Dark Wing]

I don't really mind the so called slow pace because it just seems to work very well with this show and once again they keep the fan service at a minimum which still amazes me.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by totoum

You know that's a comparison I quite like,I remember reading treasure island and at the beginning having the same reaction as some people here,I was thinking "wait,where are the pirates?Where's the island?Where's the treasure?" .

Years ago I watched the movie Space Camp, and this episode reminded me of it and the training scenes (both on the ground and in/around Space Shuttle Atlantis). Guess this episode from now on might be considered as the start of the training arc.

[Sackett]

Originally Posted by felix

If we want to go there, then isn't it interesting how their sutits were so tight. I mean their suits were presurised and space is a void (kind of). That's one tight suit to mold to the body like that under those circumstances.

It's actually a real thing, the depiction was rather hard science too.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I'm not so much bothered by the slow pace, but by the fact that the series isn't really doing all that much with it. If you're going for character-driven, give us some character drama - but so far it's emotionally safe. If you're going for a sexy show about teen girls as space pirates, give us something sexy - but so far it's sanitized for your protection. If you're going to screwball, give us some comedy - but so far it's extremely low-key.

I like the series - it looks fantastic, it's dignified and pretty smart. But too much playing it safe - It isn't willing to commit itself to actually being anything, really.

This is old school sci-fi. It's the setting and world-building that they are spending time on. Like all the good old sci-fi novels. Sure they need a good plot hook and development, but the "character" we all really care about is the science.

I'm enjoying it more and more each episode.

The odd thing is the moe high school girls, since this is really a show for science geeks.

[DezoPenguin]

Originally Posted by Sackett

It's actually a real thing, the depiction was rather hard science too.



This is old school sci-fi. It's the setting and world-building that they are spending time on. Like all the good old sci-fi novels. Sure they need a good plot hook and development, but the "character" we all really care about is the science.

I'm enjoying it more and more each episode.

The odd thing is the moe high school girls, since this is really a show for science geeks.

As for the spacesuits, really, the only problem with them IMHO was the cosmetic design choice of those little patches over the crotch...of the female suits only. A giant neon sign with arrows would have been about as subtle. The actual design of them makes perfect sense, and I'm not surprised that researchers would be working to improve bulk, mobility and flexibility for spacesuits IRL.

And now we know that the solar-panel sails of the Odette II are what the weird hexagonal-things were in the opening sequence.

With regard to the pacing...yeah, I have no problems there. I think the biggest problem with pacing is if you go into the show expecting some hyper-quick, half-comedy, over-the-top kind of show (I guess Tenchi-Muyo! GXP would be the closest thing I've seen which would reflect that?). They've been shooting that idea down relentlessly right from Episode 1, but it's hard to overcome the idea that a character-driven, surprisingly hard-SF show seemingly centered more on a teenage girl's coming of age is going to be called Bodacious Space Pirates.

That said, the outcome of the electronic warfare engagement was quite anticlimactic. It's one thing for the battle to be inconclusive; it's the reaction of the characters that doesn't ring true: Marika doesn't care that her ship was attacked by these people from the Lightning II and isn't curious about who they are? Marika and Chiaki, rather then telling the rest of the club and their advisors what happened, keep it quiet ("Oh, yes, some outside force tried to seize electronic control of this ship that we're going to take into deep space, but let's keep it secret, 'kay?")? Even Kyle and Misa don't seem like they're following up on it (even though they knew about what was happening, as was revealed)? It makes it feel like the entire sequence existed only because the writers (anime or original LN) felt that they needed a conflict sequence at this point of the story, and to show Marika being enthusiastic about leaping into battle instead of cowering in fear as a character point, and once those two things were accomplished just dropped it all and moved on.

[Guardian Enzo]

Sackett, I'm as old school sci-fi as anybody, believe me, and while I know that world-building is what they're going for. But the really good sci-fi novels and movies (and Stevenson's "Treasure Island" for that matter) had a way of grabbing you right from the beginning. They did it through instantly memorable characters or fascinating you with the world they were building. I don't deny that's what Mouretsu Pirates is trying to do, but I don't think it's doing it more than passably well. Someone compared this to Kubrick and Clarke's "2001", and I think that's a perfect illustration of both what MP is trying to do and how much it pales in comparison to writing that does it really well.

It's funny to hear Symphogear (falsely, in my view) accused of trolling and false advertising when really, if you're going to make that case this show is a much better series to make it against. It doesn't especially bother me and I don't agree that's truly the case, but the disconnect between the promotion and the product is a lot more stark here.

[Random Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

I'm more confused as to why this was not checked out thoroughly in maintenance to begin with. Especially with Odette II being a fairly old ship that's knowngly being targeted on top of that. You would think that learning how to triple checking equipment and make sure things running smoothly before jumping out to space would be one of the most important things on a practical run. =/ Automatic repairs as shown can only do so much.

There wasn't room in the dock to extend the masts. I'm sure they were examined as much as they could be while retracted, but that sort of problem might well be invisible until the mast is actually extended. Also, it's actually pretty true-to-life. Large-scale moving parts like that rather routinely break down on real spacecraft, things that governments spend millions of (insert currency of choice here) on. Keeping spacecraft operational is a constant maintenance nightmare.

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

Marika and Chiaki, rather then telling the rest of the club and their advisors what happened, keep it quiet ("Oh, yes, some outside force tried to seize electronic control of this ship that we're going to take into deep space, but let's keep it secret, 'kay?")

Hmm? That's not the impression I got. The fact that the very next scene is Kane and Misa talking about the ship that tried to hack them led me to believe that the two girls explained it openly.

but the disconnect between the promotion and the product is a lot more stark here.

Not even just the promotion. Just watch the OP to the show itself, and it gives the impression of a lot more activity and excitement than have actually been present so far.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Sackett, I'm as old school sci-fi as anybody, believe me, and while I know that world-building is what they're going for. But the really good sci-fi novels and movies (and Stevenson's "Treasure Island" for that matter) had a way of grabbing you right from the beginning. They did it through instantly memorable characters or fascinating you with the world they were building. I don't deny that's what Mouretsu Pirates is trying to do, but I don't think it's doing it more than passably well. Someone compared this to Kubrick and Clarke's "2001", and I think that's a perfect illustration of both what MP is trying to do and how much it pales in comparison to writing that does it really well.

It's funny to hear Symphogear (falsely, in my view) accused of trolling and false advertising when really, if you're going to make that case this show is a much better series to make it against. It doesn't especially bother me and I don't agree that's truly the case, but the disconnect between the promotion and the product is a lot more stark here.

Every Satelight show feels like it does this to some extent. Just really slow beginnings with not a whole lot happening and not much in the way of hooks so much as teases. This is a little slower than usual, but at least it's not meandering and I actually like it not being too bloody goofy and all over the place early on like a lot of Satelight stuff can be. Also I'm kind of surprised they haven't worked an idol character in yet since almost every one of their shows has one it feels like.

I think the problem with Mouretsu right now is that it has competition in the sci-fi department (how often do I get to say something like this) in shows like Rinne no Lagrange, Mouretsu Pirates, Gundam AGE, Aquarion EVOL and I suppose Symphogear and aside from Aquarion which I haven't seen any of yet I can say that all of those shows are currently hitting their stride right as Mouretsu is still thinking about getting around to establishing itself and thus ultimately it comes off as a bit less gripping than it might have had it come out say last winter.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Every Satelight show feels like it does this to some extent. Just really slow beginnings with not a whole lot happening and not much in the way of hooks so much as teases. This is a little slower than usual, but at least it's not meandering and I actually like it not being too bloody goofy and all over the place either on like a lot of Satelight stuff can be. Also I'm kind of surprised they haven't worked an idol character in yet since almost every one of their shows has one it feels like.

I think the problem with Mouretsu right now is that it has competition in the sci-fi department (how often do I get to say something like this) in shows like Rinne no Lagrange, Mouretsu Pirates, Gundam AGE, Aquarion EVOL and I suppose Symphogear and aside from Aquarion which I haven't seen any of yet I can say that all of those shows are currently hitting their stride right as Mouretsu is still thinking about getting around to establishing itself and thus ultimately it comes off as a bit less gripping than it might have had it come out say last winter.

I could quibble about all Satelight shows being like that, but that's not really the point. The irony is that I like MP probably better than any of those other sci-fi series you mentioned apart from perhaps Symphogear. Maybe there's something to that for some viewers but the comparative factor has nothing to do with any issues I'm having. I just want a little more commitment from Sato in terms of what he's trying to do - he's pulling his punches way too much.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I could quibble about all Satelight shows being like that, but that's not really the point. The irony is that I like MP probably better than any of those other sci-fi series you mentioned apart from perhaps Symphogear. Maybe there's something to that for some viewers but the comparative factor has nothing to do with any issues I'm having. I just want a little more commitment from Sato in terms of what he's trying to do - he's pulling his punches way too much.

Fortunately there's still plenty of time to work with. I'd be a lot more concerned if this was a 12 episode series, but 26 episodes gives you the time for slow beginnings. Though all too often I find a lot of 2-cour shows are getting a little too relaxed with their pacing and still tend to give themselves little time to work with in their second halves as a result so I'm kind of hoping this one gets it's kick in the pants before the 10 episode mark at the very least.

As for the whole Satelight issue, I'll just go ahead and settle it on my end. To me they're like a diamond in the rough. Their shows have so much potential to be hits with me since they work the sci-fi groove that is my bread and butter as an anime fan and usually bring a decent sized budget and interesting ideas to the table, but they often miss the mark due to the pacing issue mentioned above and regularly come up disappointingly short by the final arc. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't something I was a little apprehensive about with this show, but it's far from the only one that has me cautiously optomistic this season.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Someone compared this to Kubrick and Clarke's "2001", and I think that's a perfect illustration of both what MP is trying to do and how much it pales in comparison to writing that does it really well.

I just want to say that was me overeacting to someone finding the show I liked boring more than me trying to make a valid comparison

I guess the difference between you and me is that I really trust Satou completely and expect the action to heat up later on.I also like Marika more as a protagonist than Hikibi,that's what's pulled me in despite the lack of action.

[Slick_rick]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Sackett, I'm as old school sci-fi as anybody, believe me, and while I know that world-building is what they're going for. But the really good sci-fi novels and movies (and Stevenson's "Treasure Island" for that matter) had a way of grabbing you right from the beginning. .

I can't agree with this being the purpose for the current pace/events. If they wanted to world build they would truly be failing as they constantly missed great opportunities like the cyber battle or expanding the roles of other pirates/authorities.

So far the world has only expanded in order to expand on Marika's character or on her interactions with other characters. The cyber battle showed her and Chiaki working together and their relationship becoming closer while the space walk showed her leadership ability and joy of being in space. This and other events will most likely lead to her ultimate decision to become a pirate captain.

The basic story premise is the following of a character through a life changing decision and understanding her qualifications and reasons for doing so. They are also building future relationships that will become important to her story. The Sci-fi element is nothing more than window dressing in this type of story. It adds some novelty but this same type of story could be told without space and lose almost nothing to the story but the novelty by changing the dilemma and the setting of the story.

You shouldn't compare this story to something like 2001. In 2001 it wanted to highlight space, the mystery and wonders of space, to make the audience become interested in it. Space was the main character. In this it highlights the fact that Marika enjoys being in space, nothing more than that really. A much more character specific reasoning as this is a story about her character development.

I personally find it enjoyable but I don't really want to argue whether people should enjoy it or not, that's really only your own preferences for a story. I think if people try to understand the story a bit more then they might enjoy it more also.

I don't know if some got a false impression from the OP as I never put too much faith in them to begin with. It is action filled but it is also a love song set to battles, so what does that even mean? Probably nothing.

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I could quibble about all Satelight shows being like that, but that's not really the point. The irony is that I like MP probably better than any of those other sci-fi series you mentioned apart from perhaps Symphogear. Maybe there's something to that for some viewers but the comparative factor has nothing to do with any issues I'm having. I just want a little more commitment from Sato in terms of what he's trying to do - he's pulling his punches way too much.

I'm looking at this post and I'm trying to figure out what you'd have liked to see. It's not exactly easy, since you say it's not pacing.

For me, the narrative approach hits all the right spots. Many, for example, say that they found the thing with the cyberattack anti-climactic, but I didn't. What we got was:

- Marika makes a rash decision.
- Chiaki's warnings were spot on; they could do naught.
- But the ship's automatic firewall (or something) kicked in and saved the day (including through a power down and reboot). -- I might have misunderstood that part.
- Enemy's tactical retreat.
- Shortly, after that we hear about something like a "cease fire" about Marika's situation.

The show is working with lots of characters and intricate setting. It's casting a wide web, and rather than giving you a flashy fight, you've got background scheming with the main character (and thus the audience) not quite sure to what ends. I'm pretty confident we're going to get the various factions involved pretty soon.

Let me demonstrate what I mean by "casting a wide web" with something more tangible. Take the space suit design. The teacher cringes: "Oh, it's that guy." It's only a very short moment; we've met the person in question once before, when they talked about the pirate-ship-turned-yacht. When the character will finally be properly introduced, we already have a bit of feel for the character. Compare the effect to the screen time he gets, and look how other shows handle that.

Here's what I think: Nobody's pulling punches. The show keeps a very tight and very precise control over what information comes when and how. It's non-linear; a bubble here, a bubble there... and when the plot picks up we'll find ourselves well enough prepared. I'm pretty sure nobody will pick up all hints on the first go, but almost everyone will pick up enouogh.

Plenty of time for disappointment, yet. I just hope I won't be.

[DezoPenguin]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

Hmm? That's not the impression I got. The fact that the very next scene is Kane and Misa talking about the ship that tried to hack them led me to believe that the two girls explained it openly.

Hm, I got the impression that Kane and/or Misa (who are there to usher Marika towards the Bentenmaru--witness, for example, Kane having Marika take charge on the spacewalk, an obvious "give the hopefully-future-captain a chance to be in charge in a real-life-with-consequences yet not immediately risky situation") were monitoring things from the outside. After all, when the power failed, Marika and Chiaki immediately started talking about what excuse they were going to give to the others (as opposed to giving the completely legitimate reason for what happened), and in fact did start "aha-heh-heh"-ing when everyone came in, rather than saying, "Guys! We were under electronic attack! Something bad is happening!"

[Tiresias]

How many episodes are there supposed to be again? It's not that I hate world-building (I like it, in fact!) but...it's 3 episodes already and I still don't even remotely know the direction the story is heading.