(L) Shangri-La

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by drobertbaker

Karin says "This is Atlas?" There's a cross shaped icon to the left of her console that says (I think):
"Karin's File
ATRAS A Ptaric Corporation"
Is this what she found?

What will our little kuma (I love that line, I had to use it!) do? On the run, with no friends or money or any of her support systems, unable to even talk to a real person, without even a bear suit to protect her! If she indeed has some vital information, she'll have to try to get it to somebody who can use it. The only person she has ever talked to is Kuniko.

Are Granny and Talsin on the same team? He seems to still admire her. Have they been working together all along? Are they Karin's parents? Did they set up Ishida Finance to create MEDUSA and then destroy it to set MEDUSA loose as the only weapon that can take Zeus down? Karin has been manipulated right down the line.I believe that the Jungle and Atlas itself are in cahoots.

Yeah I guess in addition to finding out stuff about Atlas perhaps she has also found out something about herself or why they've been keeping records on her (just like they have been on Kuniko, Kunihito and Mikuni) from that file.

Can't blame you for using that line when it's finally such a perfect moment to, LOL. As such I'm totally looking forwards what she does next. With even her online group disbanded Kuniko does seem to be her only option so it's going to be quite the character moment to watch her in action if she comes to the same conclusion and goes to find her.

The Granny and Talsin thing looks like one of the key mysteries to me.

Originally Posted by wandering-dreamer

And I would REALLY like to see where all these random attacks are coming from (the poison gas attack I believe was the third one). Also, the previous two attacks (on Dumo in the first episode and on Metal Age two episodes out back) occurred outside so it was plausible that the attacks came from an air born source. However, Atlas is enclosed so this attack came from within it. Also, Talsin seemed fairly prepared for something like this to happen so I wonder what he's planning.

Yeah, looking forwards to where this mysterious force is going to end up being located. I was also thinking somewhere in the sky or the possibility after the huge scale of the attack in the first episode of even Earth orbit especially with the way the stuff came down and the mysterious daggers being involved, but then they said that they traced the bombardment to the forest. That second attack also supports this air born theory, perhaps cloaked in the skies somewhere. Like you I'm curious what this latest attack changes as this is the first time we've got relative proof of actual ground forces too with it being inside Atlas. I suppose they could have used Metal-Age's attack to get inside themselves if they came from outside. Why they chose to do the chemical attack and why they did it at that particular time is still quite the mystery. This well-done mystery has continued to have me hooked right from the start.

Originally Posted by wandering-dreamer

And I wanted to say that I like how we have a lot of adult and teenaged main characters. Actually, only Kuniko and Kusanagi are teenagers, I think Mikuni is younger, and it's nice to see so many competent adults in charge.

I totally agree, one of the show's biggest strengths is the selection of main characters.

[KiryuuKazumanosuke]

and it's nice to see so many competent adults in charge.

Competent adults in charge? Are we watching the same show? In the show I watched, a group of hardened rebels decided to put an 18-year old girl with no combat leadership experience in charge of their entire organization, and followed her insane plan ("We'll jump in from the sky! It's like going in by ground, but it means there's a lot of opportunities for us to get murdered by Atlas's air defense system!"). At her bidding, they expended a massive amount of their stockpiled resources on an all-or-nothing strike at the center of power. They took massive casualties, as her poor planning led them right into the teeth of the cities holographic defense network. Then, just as they were about to reach their destination, she had them all pack up and leave, because somebody claiming to be a UN-appointed mediator (The same guy she'd just found out was intimately involved in the construction of Atlas and presumably an ally of her opponent, the Japanese government) told her that he'd "looked at the evidence and decided against them." They couldn't have ended up with that lousy of a result if they'd let Narase Ryoko run their organization.

So yeah, I'm voting no on the "competent adults in charge." Not that I don't laugh whenever somebody who blindly follows Kuniko gets shot, which is becoming an increasingly common event.

[wandering-dreamer]

In response to KK's bull- I mean, logically argued- I mean, stuff, in most shows it seems to follow the plot line "the world is f****** up, send the teens out to fix it." Here it's, the world is messed up and mainly the adults are working on it.
Why is this guy here again?

[KiryuuKazumanosuke]

Ripping apart the show publicly makes me feel better about having to watch it.

[Mistypearl]

Wouldn't publicly really consist of going out into town square with a megaphone rather than in a forum in a small corner of the internet? Well, atleast the megaphone version would be more entertaining, but then it would end up on youtube so I would be able to see it, so I guess somehow it comes full circle.

Also am I the only one who wonders where the heck Karin spirited away to? Does she have some sort of underground bunker? This show really confuses me.

[KiryuuKazumanosuke]

That's an interesting question. I think a more interesting question is what the hell happened to Talshan, unless that whole plot thread was resolved and I simply missed it.

Also on the list of good questions is how the hell nobody in Duomo seems to know that Houjou Nagiko was the driving force behind Atlas as well as its first leader. She was the driving force behind the single greatest engineering project in the nation's history; possibly the greatest in the history of the planet: a massive arcology one that's radically altered the lives of millions upon millions of people. She wasn't a "behind the scenes" leader either; the video we saw was an attempt to use her own (fairly considerable) charisma and force of will to persuade a battered citizenry to support her. The story of how she went from the leader of Atlas to the leader of the rebel group against it should be part of Metal Age's origin mythology, a story told hundreds and hundreds of times by anybody even remotely affiliated with the group. Think Darth Vader publicly leading the rebel alliance.

Simply put, she should be one of the most famous people in the nation's history. That Kuniko grew up her adopted daughter for 18 years and didn't know it is simply inconcievable. It would be like turning 18 and suddenly finding out your dad is Michael Jackson or Bill Gates. I mean Kuniko's dense, but nobody's THAT dense.

[Mistypearl]

Well Nagiko didn't nessicarily age that well, and maybe the current population in Duomo is too young or unknowlegeable about who was in charge of Atlas, I mean they did think the lottery would get them into Atlas instead of being killed.

[aeriis]

Originally Posted by Mistypearl

Well Nagiko didn't nessicarily age that well, and maybe the current population in Duomo is too young or unknowlegeable about who was in charge of Atlas, I mean they did think the lottery would get them into Atlas instead of being killed.

I don't think they were publicly announcing that winners of the Atlas Lottery could potentially be forced to participate in human experimentation or strange, cult-like religious rituals.

[KiryuuKazumanosuke]

Well Nagiko didn't nessicarily age that well, and maybe the current population in Duomo is too young or unknowlegeable about who was in charge of Atlas, I mean they did think the lottery would get them into Atlas instead of being killed.

There's no evidence to support this whatsoever in the anime; the average age in Duomo seems to be pretty high, as you'd expect from a refugee city like that. And even if your average citizen doesn't know; nobody in Metal Age knew the basic history of Atlas, or the name of their own founder? Even though their entire lives revolve around the thing, and some of the older members were probably around when she herself was going around proposing it?

Hell there was a freaking anime character based on her, and it's still playing 24/7 anytime anybody goes to Akihabara. (For those of us keeping score at home, that Gina doll was based off of Nagiko, sayeth Wikipedia.JP. Gina is Nagi backwards, get it? Hyuck-hyuck.)

Face it, Shangri's got more plot-holes than it does self-indulgent monologues that show off how much "research" the author did, and that's saying a lot.

[BrokenWingz]

lol, and you're basing everything on a holographic generated picture, which even momoko didn't see. The whole truth was only witness by Kuniko. It wouldn't be assumptive to believe there could be something superficial; the holographic projection has different results on each person while it was intended to show a partial truth it wasn’t the whole story.
The most important person Kuniko’s mother has yet to be shown/identify

And can we say this is the 'will of Atlas',

also I wouldn't be surprise if this issue gets resolve in the near future.

[aeriis]

Originally Posted by BrokenWingz

also I wouldn't be surprise if this issue gets resolve in the near future.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next episode tries to waste time with a mostly apathetic or depressed Kuniko (brought about by her own doings), only to have some cliche cliffhanger at the end where her life's in danger, given the direction of the series.

[drobertbaker]

Hey look! It's a brand new member with a brand new name that is different from KiryuuKazumanosuke!

What a coincidence! Just when I needed a new name on my ignore list!

[npal]

Damn, this thing gets messier and messier. In a good way though, unlike some known franchise I could name that just gets crappier.

[drobertbaker]

So the Daedali are the culprits! There goes the intelligent Jungle theory. Just another man-made creation run amuck.

Kuniko banishes Granny.
Then she trys to plunge to her death taking Momoko along for the ride.
"Every decision I make is a good one."
Now that's "brilliance like the Sun."

Miko, being a pure maiden, becomes Lord Hiruko who is Talshin's plaything and now apparently the CEO of Atlas. This has solved her weight problem, but may have a deleterious effect on her life span.

Kunihito quits the military because of "the Sun perhaps". Kuniko has turned him!

Ryouko takes another shower. She likes showers.

Momoko gets two new fetching outfits and goes over her weekly quota of gay jokes.

Lord Hiruko's chamber really brings out Mikuni's eyes nicely:


Takehiko darkens. Apparently he is now Atlas agent #13.

Sayako reappears, bleeding.

The oscillation:

Some nice music this week.

The preview shows Karin with Sayako in Akhihabara.

[Weils]

Now it seems all the major players are leaving Atlas in some way or another: Mikuni, who leaves with Sayoko and Mi-ko/Hiruko. Kunihito, though still early to tell if he actually leaves Atlas, has quit the military, and Hiruko as well, though not willingly.

So...#1 is Mikuni, #2 is Kuniko, #3 is Kunihito, and #13 is Takehiko? I wonder if his sister along with other children were sacrificed to be Hiruko's vessel...but why blame Kuniko into this?

I wonder Sayoko and Karin are mother-daughter.

And I can't wait to see Ryoko get her comeuppance. That woman is so evil and cruel and seemingly no redeeming features that I wish to see a horrible death in store for her.

[BrokenWingz]

Originally Posted by Weils

Now it seems all the major players are leaving Atlas in some way or another: Mikuni, who leaves with Sayoko and Mi-ko/Hiruko. Kunihito, though still early to tell if he actually leaves Atlas, has quit the military, and Hiruko as well, though not willingly.

So...#1 is Mikuni, #2 is Kuniko, #3 is Kunihito, and #13 is Takehiko? I wonder if his sister along with other children were sacrificed to be Hiruko's vessel...but why blame Kuniko into this?

I wonder Sayoko and Karin are mother-daughter.

And I can't wait to see Ryoko get her comeuppance. That woman is so evil and cruel and seemingly no redeeming features that I wish to see a horrible death in store for her.

Lol, why am I starting to believe this to be true, while I still doubting it since we were already told of her daughters name in episode 11(?).

Did anyone else find Mikuni cute when she said "Disobey me and die"

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by BrokenWingz

Lol, why am I starting to believe this to be true, while I still doubting it since we were already told of her daughters name in episode 11(?).

Did anyone else find Mikuni cute when she said "Disobey me and die"

Hehe, she's done that a few times now hasn't she lol.

Originally Posted by Weils

I wonder Sayoko and Karin are mother-daughter.

Like BrokenWingz my initial thought was the same, however the more I think about it theories do start throwing around in my head, she's even got several character traits that could potentially fit lol.

[wandering-dreamer]

Originally Posted by drobertbaker

Miko, being a pure maiden, becomes Lord Hiruko who is Talshin's plaything and now apparently the CEO of Atlas. This has solved her weight problem, but may have a deleterious effect on her life span.

Am I the only one who thinks it's a little odd that someone called "Lord" requires a female body? Although, Miko looked kinda feminine after Mikuni and Sayoko recused her...

[Zwei]

Thank god Ryoko is 100% pure female, she's hot and one of the reasons I'm watching this anime....

[wandering-dreamer]

Oh and I would like to say, dammn, Ryoko changes outfits fast! Her wardrobe rivals Momoko's in terms of size too.