This show is very shrewd. There are some parts that feel so real, especially with the characters. and then it keeps pulling some weird over the top plot twists from out of nowhere. This arc once again ends with a wonderful anti-climax that I did not see coming.
The build-up for this episode was fairly straightforward with the electronic warfare and the spaceship battles. And then the revelation of Jenny’s fiance’s over the top performance as some sort of hitler-like figure felt so out of place that it became hilarious, especially when Chiaki immediately followed it by one of her best performances as a pirate so far.
And at the same time, I also feel like ths is something that the final arc is going to use in some way: the anti-government sentiments. This episode did show that there are quite a few people who are looking to organize some sort of revolution. I can very much imagine the Bentenmaru getting involved in this somehow, and it woud make a very interesting climax. Speaking of which, I do wonder whether the creators also plan an anti-climax like in this episode for the ending of this series. It would be awesome if they did that.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
This show’s really braindead recently. There’s no sense of threat or writing skill, since they can conveniently hack their way to any solution, and they’re fighting Bond villain rejects. True, you can hand-wave this away, but it doesn’t engage or convince me in any way. This is Scooby-doo quality storytelling and plot-foiling, here.
I love this show, but I have to admit this “solution” certainly did come out of blue. To such an extent that I think its insertion is a setup for something in the future. If not, Hogart’s criticism is valid.
I don;t know why, Mouretsu Pirate did not do anything wrong, at least I can see, it’s solid, but I cannot get myself into it. There’s something lacking.
“Taste” really is such a subjective thing. A number of times I’ve encountered shows or books that have all the elements in them I geneally find enjoyable, but for some reason the way the elements were brought together just didn’t work for me. The whole was less than the sum of its parts. And sometimes the opposite happens. “Blue Drop” was an anime that did just about everything wrong, according to my usual criteria…and yet there was something about the “tone” of it that simply caught me. Bizarre critters, we Humans are.
There is no way to convince someone to change their tastes, but I’ll explain why I like this series.
The writers could have just gone the route of traditional pirates, making Marika lead a crew of murderous thieves or something.
Instead they are unconventional pirates in a post-war era where pirates have to find work doing odd jobs like faking robberies for entertainment.
It’s a creative premise, and it’s well executed. Marika is smart, but not impossibly smart, she still makes mistakes and has tons to learn about being a captain.
The best part of the show is watching the younger generation of “pirates” grow into experienced crew and captains. At least that’s how I see it.
They will probably have more intense action in the finale, but ultimately the show isn’t about big space battles.
All of the above plus the fact that the writers actually take the viewer seriously and not treat them like other OP(Otaku Pandering)anime production directors/writers do(I haven’t seen a panty shot yet *gasp*) That and the writters treat women like human beings, and not some caricature of a person.
Hell, they do this to marika and the nurse/mentor (forgot her name) without making her into a *strong independant woman* troupe (i.e. Balsa). Meaning that regular women can have decent roles in anime without being objectified for their panty shots/swimsuits blushing moe hijinks, whatever.
It’s like she’s (*gasp*) an actual PERSON!
That Being said,I can definitely see why some people don’t like it. . .espeically the gripe with the whole “not much is happening” thing. I’ve thought about it and really, the way the portray Marika and the characters wouldn’t suit a show where there’s crazy space battles every five seconds with some B.S. pretentious anti-war message, while using war in outerspace with kids piloting the best robot in the universe to sell toys to said age bracket. . .(i.e. every gundam series that didn’t have char in it lawl) but you know what I mean, it just wouldn’t fit the characters, nor the setting. (they’ve pounded into our heads the fact that pirates cant really do illegal stuff) I kinda feel that a super overreaching arc is just way too soon for this series (Im sure there will be a second and third series, and fourth etc. . .) that and series that tend to do that too soon tend to have to jump the shark later on, or just become extremely cliche. I’m kinda getting the feeling that they are going to have Marika go on actual adventures instead of that getting interrupted mid-way through exploring the world the author has created to “SAVE THE UNIVERSE!!!111” It’s just different in that regard, and for some reason that really works for me.
Now. . .this whole “matter of taste” thing is bullcrap. A bad show is a bad show, no amount of “taste” will be covering that up. I’m pretty sure most people will realize that this is a “good” show even if there are a lot of elements that they understandably don’t like about it. It’s not about a matter of tastes, as that is a cop-out for saying “I don’t care if the show I like is bad, I can like it because of my TASTES in media” (As they argue about “queens blade III Return of the Otaku Pandering empire”) but a true critical fan can tell if a show/movie/song is good even if they don’t like it, like how Mozart’s symphonies are good even though they bore me to tears, or how some movies are good even though. . .I never liked them, but I can see what makes them good movies. a lot of people use the whole “tastes” cop out because they don’t want to talk about what makes the show good, what things they like about the show, and most importantly acknoledge why people wouldn’t like a show, or the most important, acknowledge that their favorite show/movie/music is BAD as they feel it makes them BAD as people or whatever.
Whenever someone uses the whole “taste” argument, it’s hard to take them seriously, as it seems that they don’t know enough about what they are watching to really get into the what’s and the why’s of their viewpoint.
. . . .dont know where all of that came from, guess that’s been irking me for a while…
I prefer my lesbianism to be implied. And only among high school mahjong players who refuse to wear underwear.
lol, yeah there was a lot of lovey dovey stuff with the couple towards the end of the ep. . .that was toeing the line a bit between, taking the relationship seriously and making fun of the fact that they are Lesbians. . .the first kiss should have been enough…