Schwarzesmarken – 04

This episode starts with a groan as we meet a new member of the cast, that being Theodor’s sister who on first sight hugs with with the ever so traditional “Onii-chan!” The sister does bring some good developments to the table, namely the machination the Stasi has in store for her, but I really wish the didn’t resort to an old caricature. We even have some back story for Theodor which pretty much only confirms that yes, Lise is Theodor’s step sister and non blood related so she’s perfectly fine for being pushed into the boy’s harem. I understand that harems are essentially series tradition for Muv Luv (The first entry of the series was a pure by the numbers harem after all) but Schwarzesmarken at least has kept that particular element at bay and I would like it to stay that way. The last thing a do or die setting like this needs is harem hijinks. As far as Lise’s standing as a spy she certainly is suspicious. She clearly seems to be feigning amnesia over the period she spent with the Stasi and doesn’t seem too pleased with Therdors approval of Irisdina. Her reaction is a bit too serious to write off as simple jealousy. There’s also that rather delayed response from her when Katia was about to get ambushed by BETA. I am willing to bet that she was weighing her option of letting Katia die to BETA assault. Whatever the Stasi has planned it seems to be working as Therdor looks reluctant to entertain the possibility of Lise being a spy. He may say otherwise to Katia but that felt like he was just putting her at ease.

So with a new member added to the cast this looks like a good time for the team to have some R&R and use the new character to flesh out the other members of the squad. At least that would be the wise move but sadly the plot disagrees and sends them out to a major offense against the BETA. It really seems like there could be plenty of things to expand upon before jumping into a major plot arc. Such as Katia’s awkward position of no longer acting as a replacement for Theodors sister. A large amount of Theodors dedication to protecting Katia was due to her resemblance to his sister and now that his actual sister has shown up it puts Katia in a more perilous state as when push comes to shove he will save his sister before saving her. Plus the whole complicated feelings humbug with dear Therdor senpai not noticing her anymore. However that is written off quickly and now we are in a big offensive quite literally straight out of nowhere. A combined effort by the UN and countries of the world to prevent BETA from crossing too far west from Europe. Our big issue here is when Gretel starts giving out unreasonable orders due to a desire to distinguish the east German task force in order to win political favor. However no one seems to hold them in high regard as artillery is fired without regarding them being in the line of fire and at episode’s end it looks like even the west Germans despise them. A little hypocritical considering that east Germany is the one thing keeping the BETA at bay but with the Stasi and whatnot, they are hardly beyond reproach. All of this has the potential to be quite interesting but the fatal flaw remains. We the audience lack emotional attachment to the characters. Why is Gretal looking for political favor? Why is anyone here fighting at all? Why did Irisdina tell a racist joke before going into battle? And most importantly of all, why should we even care if these people live or die?

2 thoughts on “Schwarzesmarken – 04

  1. First i want to say is, i really feel your negative opinions in the episode also i really think you hate it XD lol. This anime series is not really for those people who expects something that there will be a grandiose scene that can make people happy etc that’s why its not really a hype this season.
    Second, base on your opinions i think you are not really briefed enough what’s going on to the story (its overall universe etc.) and you expect something unique that you want to see but you are disappointed in the end ( i just assume it but i think you already know the glimpse of the stories that Muv-Luv has).
    I totally agree with you with the lack of emotional attachments its because each characters backstories is not really explained well but it is not really the main point of the story and i think if you view it in general and feel the setting of the story you can already see what emotions will arise in Schwarzesmarken for example, sadness and being afraid to lose your life in the invasion.
    Lastly, i really want to answer some of your questions,
    1. I really didn’t know the reason why Gretel wants to have the political favor but if you look at it closely Gretel wants to prove that East Germany is not a weak country and can handle the BETA with ease without the interference of other nations and can “show off” what East Germany can offer.
    2. They are fighting because of the Beta and if you look closely again they have unity on doing it but if individual characters are concerned they have different ideals that put them scattered everywhere. ( i really hope i answered your question but if its not its okay lol).
    3. I really didn’t know it but that joke Irisdina said can only mean one thing for morale boost of the characters.
    On your last question honestly it is really hard to answer you really didn’t need to watch it if you really didn’t feel anything to the characters. Your question for me stems up on the story’s setting itself if you understand it and find it very interesting watch it; since its a story of a society that human rights are violated and freedom can only mean one thing that is death or punishment in East Germany if you really like history with a twist you will find it very beautiful.

    Since the Light Novel is already finished i really think they will animate it until the end but since the anime has only 1 cour (12 episodes) i am sure that it has some important details removed in the anime adaptation but as long as the main story ‘s pacing does not go in different paths (has no direct relation in the story) it will not be bad.

    1. I am guessing this is the first of my episode reviews you have read, otherwise you likely would know that I am pretty well versed in the Muv Luv series.(I have read the original trilogy, several side stories, the day after Ep 0 and 1, the start of the Schwarzesmarken light novels and pretty much anything I can get my hands on.) But anyway, welcome.
      As for your answers.
      1: Gretal’s determination for East Germany to prove themselves seems far more than just pride. She is likely receiving pressure from the higher ups to preform out in battle, hence why she’s in a TSF instead of hanging back at headquarters. But this is merely speculation as we didn’t see any scenes of her talking with higher ups before this operation. Based solely on what we seen, Gretal just got some massive patriotism boost out of nowhere, just to suit the needs of the plot. And that is not good storytelling.
      2: Not quite what I was asking. I suppose I should rephrase it. What are reasons these pilots are fighting? It’s obvious it’s to defeat the BETA, but surely these people have their own reasons for doing so. Reason we have no idea about, because the show is taking no time to flesh out the characters.
      3: I did know the reason Irisdina said that joke. Generally Irisdina says jokes in order to relieve tension from the team before a battle. In the first battle in episode one she made a joke about German astronauts in the light novel. She always tends to use humor to get the team relaxed before a dangerous mission but this aspect was absent for the most part for the anime due to time constraints. In that regard people really would be asking why shes coming out with a joke out of nowhere.

      I may sound harsh in these reviews but I do love the setting. I said many times that this show is something that could be great but it’s lacking something crucial to reach it. I don’t like seeing potential squandered just so animators can crush a story into a twelve episode time frame.

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