Suisei no Gargantia - Episode 4 Discussion / Poll

[Dop]

Originally Posted by Endless Knackwurst

The spacecraft in the book closely resembled that of Project Daedalus (more), a nuclear-propulsion design.

I spotted that too, and it was a nice reference.

This episode was all about the dichotomy between Ledo's society and the society on the Gargantia, and Ledo's struggle to understand it. Why aren't the children being drilled. Why are sick people not culled. What do people do when they're not in battle?

The Galactic Alliance is a harsh place. Certainly I'd not be allowed to live there.

I also liked the idea that Ledo was making the flute from the claw on kind of a subconcious level. He didn't consciously know why he was doing it. But then when Bebel played it he had that memory. Looks like his younger brother had not been seen as fit to live and so shot out into space as part of the cull.

I liked the idea that he'd learnt the basics of their language but still needed Chamber to translate more complicated phrases.

As for that big tower, the assembly at the top made me wonder if this was not just some "crow's nest" observation tower, rather than anything more sinister.

I am hoping that nothing bad happens in this show and that really it will be a case where Chamber finds a way back to the Galactic Alliance but Ledo decides not to go because he prefers life on the Gargantia.

Sure, Urobuchi has a reputation, but it would be cool if he belies it for a change!

[Metaneo]

Originally Posted by Endless Knackwurst

And now we find that Chamber is willing to be directed by others... which, presumably would not extend to hostile actions directed toward Ledo or other humans, but might give people bad ideas about removing Ledo from circulation.

Originally Posted by Kanon

Yep, Ledo is still the main "operator". Chamber won't be hijacked so easily. It would be very dumb on Ledo's part to hand full control of Chamber over to somebody else.

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Hmm but it seemed while Chamber could take directions from someone else, Ledo was still communicating with Chamber through the ear piece. Thus Ledo was still in control.

I think y'all are misunderstanding something. Ledo's mech is not Chamber, Ledo's mech is a Machine Caliber as he called it in Episode 1. Chamber is an AI that oversees the pilot. The two are not one-in-the-same. So when Ledo's machine caliber was being directed by someone else, it wasnt Chamber that was taking orders, it was his Machine Caliber that was taking orders.

[DuelGundam2099]

I liked the episode, it sets up the setting very nicely. I also found it weird that the Hideauze is just the word "hideous" with a different spelling. Not that I am complaining about that, although it would be nice to see them again.

[creb]

"You will eventually be reunited with the Army."

"Yes, I know."

Such simple words that almost certainly portend dark tidings to come.

Also, looking at this episode mechanistically, did they just lay the groundwork for someone to attempt to take control of Chamber with the exposition concerning Ledo being able to transfer command authority to another person?

'Cause, you know, no one really believes this story is going to be completely Amy-happy, right?

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Metaneo

I think y'all are misunderstanding something. Ledo's mech is not Chamber, Ledo's mech is a Machine Caliber as he called it in Episode 1. Chamber is an AI that oversees the pilot. The two are not one-in-the-same. So when Ledo's machine caliber was being directed by someone else, it wasnt Chamber that was taking orders, it was his Machine Caliber that was taking orders.

Yes they are. Chamber is both the mecha and the AI.

Good Smile's rendition of Chamber http://myfigurecollection.net/item/144370

Ledo also continues to refer to the mecha as Chamber.

When the mecha gets tangled, he yells Chamber
He says the place he is given to sleep is fine because he will be near Chamber

And so forth!

[Gravitas Free Zone]

I'll use your quotes to mention again that people might get ideas about killing Ledo to use ... the mecha.

I want to call the Machine Caliber "Chamber," if just because otherwise I have to call it the "Machine Caliber," which is as weird a name for anything as... any other name for a mecha, really. But I can resist the urge to accept their weird terms.

On that note, the mecha's shape in the legs reminds me of two ice cream cones in formation.

[FlareKnight]

This was a really good episode. I enjoyed seeing Ledo go around and express his questions about the way of life on Gargantia. A good chance to really express the differences between the culture there and the Alliance. A good case of everyone being human, but having extremely different cultural backgrounds.

Seems like to survive humanity threw a lot away for the sake of becoming more efficient. Survival was the top priority and if they couldn't beat these enemies then there wouldn't be a future. So no support for the weak, intensive training, making the most 'use' of every life. Those that survived long enough were deemed suitable for getting reproductive rights. That way the best humans would continue to survive and the best chance for victory could be had. In the end they are so different that even Ledo had no issues when questioned about getting rid of those that weren't useful.

I like that while they looked into these differences, Ledo is starting to look at things differently. He's willing to learn more. Not that he's throwing away all his beliefs, but he's not actively rejecting this different view point.

That flashback was sad which was added to by Ledo's reaction to it. Maybe his memories were messed with for the sake of efficiency or it was so traumatic he blocked it out himself. I feel for him. Certainly the more he learns about this place and the more he remembers, that desire to go back to his old lifestyle...probably isn't going to increase.

I just hope his biggest conflict is deciding whether to return or stay. Rather than having to fight off an Alliance invasion or something.

[Gravitas Free Zone]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

I just hope his biggest conflict is deciding whether to return or stay. Rather than having to fight off an Alliance invasion or something.

Well, that would finish off the Dances With Wolves comparison...

[ThereminVox]

Ledo has finally secured room and board from Tom Nook Ridget, and is beginning to integrate into Ferngully the Gargantia.

It wasn't at all subtle, but it was nicely poignant that when it's first suggested to Ledo that he should meet Bevel/Bebel he quickly judges that conversing with the boy would be frivolous, and seeks out a more conventional authority figure from which to gather information. This proves fruitless, and yet Amy's "useless" brother brings worldview-shaking perspective to Ledo's mission. I'm not saying that Bevel is entirely right, or that the Alliance is some monstrous society, but they have left Ledo with a very narrow cone of experience; one that is rapidly expanding the longer he is among the Gargantians.

Something about the water collection scene made me feel like I was watching a feature length animated film. This was such a tremendous piece of world-building, and it one of my favorite sequences in the show thus far.

The language barrier continues to be handled deftly, though I suspect it won't continue much longer. Ledo is making a concerted effort to speak Earth-tongue with the assistance of his translator HUD, which probably includes phonetic guides along with real-time translation. He wouldn't be shown trying so hard if he weren't eventually going to be more or less fluent.

[Algent]

Originally Posted by ginger02

Never seen his previous work, so don't really know what it was like, but I'm enjoying the themes of this show. It's a nice take on slice of life.

Well he did say "this anime is made to heal hearts" or something like this about madoka .


That black tower look like some high tech part of something like 00's elevators or a colony. It's so completely out of place I expected Ledo to ask about it immediately.

[zztop]

Actually, I almost feel sorry for the Alliance people, if only for the circumstances that drove them to become the society depicted in the series thus far.

Their ancestors escaped Earth and fled across the stars in search of a new home, but found no refuge within the darkness of space, only the neverending blackness and the ravenous incursions of a monstrous alien species(assuming no other intelligent life was encountered).

I mean, it just seems rather sad they had to adapt themselves into that sort of society. I could sympathise with the Alliance on those grounds, but could not support the type of actions they do to maintain that society.

What does eveyone else think?

PS. I am curious as to whether all Alliance people are subjected to the same military training, or if Ledo is of an army caste serving the more privileged Alliance society(ala the society in The Hunger Games).

[creb]

I'm a pragmatist. I'd have zero issues with conforming to the type of lifestyle Ledo talks about concerning the Alliance, if circumstances warranted it (ie: fighting for humanity's survival).

That said, the fact that they call themselves the Alliance would suggest they used to be individual groups/nations/etc, so presumably there was a period of time during human expansion into space when they weren't fighting against this alien enemy.

I'm actually kind of curious what the time scale is here.

As for Ledo, and the other members of the Alliance, seeing as how eerily similar to Ledo that "kid" looked, and looking at all those "tubes", it seems almost certain that the Alliance operates on cloning individuals, and has at least two clones of an individual at different growth periods at any given time. Which makes sense, since human beings have a relatively long childhood phase, so to get around the issue of how long it takes to take a baby human and turn it into a soldier, compared to how quickly that soldier's life can be snuffed, you keep cloning it and stagger production of those clones on a timeline based on average life expectancy, which allows you to keep a far more efficient production line to keep your war machine operational than traditional human nurturing customs.

[ChainLegacy]

This was a truly amazing episode... Really hope this series can continue with this kind of storytelling because it is a rare thing to come across. You can almost hear a bit of doubt and dismay when Ledo acknowledges he will soon return to the fleet in the last scene. He's begun to understand that the barren existence of a soldier in space isn't all there is to human existence. I really like the culture shock he's experiencing. It's becoming accustomed to a foreign land, which is always a nice element in fiction, but his Spartan life in the Alliance offers much reflection as he now experiences the more traditional human mode of existence in Gargantia.

I enjoyed Bevel's line about how 'standing by' is basically what everyone is doing as they live their life. Ponderously philosophical for a quote from an anime character.

[Jan-Poo]

Ledo could paraphrase Kahlil Gibran's famous quote into:

"We live only to fight wars, all else is a form standing by".

[Raviel]

Originally Posted by creb

That said, the fact that they call themselves the Alliance would suggest they used to be individual groups/nations/etc, so presumably there was a period of time during human expansion into space when they weren't fighting against this alien enemy.

I'm actually kind of curious what the time scale is here.

Now that you mention, I'm kind of curious about the time scale as well.

Ledo did say they were fighting the Hideauze since the founding of the Alliance, the question now would be was the Alliance already founded when they left Earth.

I think you may be on to something when you said there may have been multiple groups in space because we were shown other destroyed human colonies in Ledo's training video. Perhaps the Alliance was once made up of more ships like Avalon but over the course of their fight against the Hideauze they were gradually worn down into the pragmatic society they are today.


P.S. : Next week on Gargantia, Ledo discovers girls and swimsuits.


EDIT: Was it just me, or did that black tower look a bit more "advanced" than anything else on Gargantia? Maybe it's an old communication tower nobody really knows how to use?

[jeroz]

I would be surprised if Ledo showed any reactions to the swimsuits next episode considering that he is used to the Starship Troopers style shower room. If anything most of the reactions would probably come from the girls

But yes, gravity ball is OP

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by jeroz

I would be surprised if Ledo showed any reactions to the swimsuits next episode considering that he is used to the Starship Troopers style shower room.

Well, you know what people say: sometimes, a woman wearing erotic clothes is more arousing than wearing nothing at all .

[Eclipze]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Well, you know what people say: sometimes, a woman wearing erotic clothes is more arousing than wearing nothing at all .

Assuming he understands/is able to feel aroused.

[calorie]

My faith in this anime has been restored, some character development at last!

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

And I don't think Gargantia embodies noble ideals. It's obvious they're complacent. And their leadership's full of short-sighted cowards.

Well that's a very cynical way to view it...

Gargantia is simply a group of individuals who've come together with the common goal of survival in mind. They're not short sighted just not "big picture" type of people.

After all as long as you have everything you need to survive what else could you want?