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...Yeah this is feeling like the first time I watched King Gainer. Not just in how upbeat it is atmosphere wise, but also there's a lot of stuff that evidently the cast knows, but we don't really get explained in the first episode proper. Like, I can see a lot of this stuff happening, but piecing together the context is gonna be a bit of an exercise. Here's hoping we get at least one or two straightforward answers though, unlike another mecha series that aired this year.
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Oct 2, 2014 23:36
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:58 |
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...So I actually forgot to watch the second episode yesterday. Its a weird thing, but I feel like the episode handles its piecemeal exposition better than the first episode, even with the obvious anti-exposition cut. Possibly because there's an actual setting to (briefly) explore, rather than a space elevator travelling the upper atmosphere. I like that Bell briefly freaks out at what an ageing, non-future tech castle looks like, though it does seem a bit off to keep in use. Plot-wise though, I think there's two major things at work. First, is a reverse of the typical Gundam setting, wherein its those in space who currently benefit more than those on Earth, since they're able to pull their energy requirements out of the ionosphere, but those on Earth (presumably including the nation of Ameria) can't, but they also can't get solar panels to provide power because the Capital is able to block it for whatever reason. And I mean, it is over a thousand years into the future, so I can see oil reserves and such having kinda run dry by that point. The second is that this seems to be more building up to a conflict, rather than diving straight into one. The 'pirates' might well be closer to privateers in terms of function - the likes of Ameria is able to write it off as just the work of some lowlives, but in reality condones - if not supports - their actions because hey, its to Ameria's benefit and the Capital's detriment. That or the pirates are a bunch of legit defectors who kept their suits from their time in the armed forces. In any case, the G-Self was probably an asset they stole in the hopes of using it as their one man army unit, except, well, Bell and the Iris Sign happened. Meanwhile the Capital recently created an army distinct from the presumably more defense based Capital Guard, with existing members of the Capital Guard not even wholly sure on why the new group was created. And well, if you've already got a defensive force, the main purpose of an army would be to have an aggressive one...
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Oct 3, 2014 18:17
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I think you could still set things up a bit better though. Like the Gundamjack at the start of the first episode - cutting into that where they did, from the opening, doesn't really transition well. I mean, you don't have to show the exact start of it, but a nice establishing shot would have done more to ease viewers in. But hey, could also just be having to get back in the swing of writing for TV again after a while. We'll see how the series goes. Edit: The exposition and such, I mean.
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Oct 3, 2014 18:48
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I actually kinda wish the flying suit was standard pilot wear in this setting. I mean, given how rarely mobile suits have any form of escape pod, some way to bail whilst fighting in mid-air would be kinda useful. Otherwise, I'll play devil's advocate a bit and say the show isn't off to the best start, but that here's hoping Aida will get back to a mobile suit soon enough to be able to do something. Like, I can understand the context for the situations in the first two (possibly three) episodes, but I wouldn't want it to become too much of a trend. Plus hopefully Bell's mother isn't shoved into a capsule.
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Oct 3, 2014 19:11
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Potsticker posted:That would be pretty great, provided helmets and oxygen tanks were also standard issue. Good point. Don't need the Char clone sputtering out 'G' as he tries to recover from the oxygen deprivation.
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Oct 3, 2014 19:22
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Raku posted:So do you guys think that Aida is his sister? Although I guess unless clone/gene manipulation shenanigans happened that wouldn't give her the same irises. But it seems possible that he could have been lied to about who is his mother since it's probably a given he'll wind up with the space pirates. My theory would be designer children of some kind. Secret project that developed the G-Self also had a bunch of kids made as pilots, who for whatever reason got scattered about, and then are being slowly reintroduced to each other as the plot moves along. I mean, I'm more than willing to suspect a third faction at play here - or a sub-faction within the Capital. Because whilst Dellensen and others were clearly trying to keep the G-Self from being stolen, he evidently knew nothing about Monday, and given the speculation in-universe, neither do the Capital Army folks. Something that's also telling is that our NotChar for the season is wearing the Capital Army uniform. So unless Tomino is going to subvert franchise tradition (and he may very well), the show is almost certainly going to set itself up in a fashion that allows for Bell and co to fight him.
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Oct 4, 2014 12:23
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Ethiser posted:Isn't Mask just Bell's friend? It looks like they have the exact same hair and since this is anime two main characters can not have the same hair style. ...I actually had missed that due to the uniform difference. By god, the mask works.
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Oct 4, 2014 13:02
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Well Manicured Man posted:I love the way Tomino does those little comic book panel cutaways to the inside of the cockpit that pop up whenever mobile suits are out and about and one of the pilots needs to say something. It's one of my favorite little Gundam things. Honestly I think it works better too. I mean, you don't actually have to cut away to inside the cockpit and take up time, but just have the action keep going behind the pop up. That or if you want to be dramatic, the pop up suddenly consumes the screen.
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Oct 6, 2014 10:47
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Perhaps the capital is built over Jaburo?  Otherwise, my theory regarding the plot seems to be generally right. Capital controls the energy supply, Ameria (and possibly others) feel that doesn't meet their needs, endorses pirates to try and alleviate things. What's piqued my curiosity a bit is how Bell explained that this was in response to humanity's inability to act responsibly in the Universal Century. Imagine that the Capital was initially brought about as a group to impartially distribute and ration energy fairly, but that either its gotten too fond of the indirect control it has, or otherwise is continuing the system even if its perhaps not entirely fit for purpose.
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Oct 10, 2014 09:37
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Potsticker posted:I realize you're joking, but it segues into an actual question I had. I think its roughly along those lines, yeah. From what I can gather, its based in the ionosphere where the atmosphere is ionised thanks to solar radiation, and thus carries - through sheer abundance - a great potential source of power, and at the very least, a possible conductor for energy. Nikola Tesla had ideas (to varying degrees of actual functionality) to use the ionosphere as a means of wireless power transmission, with wardenclyffe tower as his proof of concept that never really took off. What the series seems to have is similar to that - the space umbilical cord absorbs energy from the ionised air, shoves it into photon batteries, and then has those carried back down to Earth whenever an elevator is set to go back down. That, or the elevators themselves are equipped with one anyway, hence why attacking an elevator would allow you to steal something intended to help power countries.
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Oct 11, 2014 20:25
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Darth Walrus posted:It is all kind of screwy because these guys are supposed to have an unfair, tyrannical stranglehold on global energy distribution. How the hell are they enforcing that? Well, prior to anyone *cough*Ameria*cough* taking up significant arms to steal it, the main thing would be simply denying a given country its photon batteries. What we don't know for now is the frequency of rations or how long each ration tends to last, but this is a clearly technologically advanced civilisation, and if nations struggle to meet power demands within their existing supplies, then of course being able to turn off the flow at one's leisure puts a significant pressure on political leaders to get the supply re-established as soon as possible, or face - within likely months - the functional end of their society. Especially since, unlike real life nations that provide resources like oil and such, its almost certain that there's no money in the matter for the Capital, so to them, cutting off someone's supply to keep them at line affects them in next to no ways at all. Edit: ^To the post above, its likely a position that the Capital got as an old institution, not anything recent. Ie, either the other nations, still horrified by the wars they'd fought, were energised enough to actually put together an organisation to control things, or they themselves were in such a desperate position that when someone came along offering energy, with certain demands of course, they couldn't afford to say no.
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Oct 16, 2014 23:03
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icantfindaname posted:I sure hope nobody in this thread ever tries to read a postmodern novel, or they might literally have an aneurism because of the lack of clear and simple exposition Eh. I would still say that Tomino could have provided a better introduction to things, at least for the first episode. Yeah, don't need to explain everything at once, but a little lead in, at the very least not dropping you in at the end of a chase through the skies, would help people adjust better. Beyond that though, the main thing is just not to approach the questions the series raises with 'why don't they just do X?'. There's an evident amount of politics and cultural elements at play in the script, both done well and kinda stumbling, so you have to give things enough room to establish just what the distinction is between 'this is because of the society they live in' and 'this is Tomino writing'. Say, Bellri being indignant about Ameria's energy issues because of the understanding that's been given to him, raised so close to the capital, versus Aida getting shot in the rear end because she stuck it out a bit too much for Noredo's liking.
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Oct 16, 2014 23:30
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So, some more curious background details. Gondwan and Ameria are at war for whatever reason, which may factor into the energy expenditure issue. It may also add to why Ameria - and more specifically, Aida - find the Capital's argument of 'we have to control energy distribution to keep mankind from destroying itself' to be a load of bunk, because evidently the two sides have found a reason to fight anyway, if not because of the Capital's policy. The Ag-Tech Taboo (I think that's what they called it) seems to be both a plot device and an in universe reason for why a time period one thousand years ahead of Victory doesn't even have beam sabers as a norm. Obviously, its starting to get ignored, but it reeks of something akin to Gurren Lagann's suppression of the human population, so as to avoid unwanted attention. Interesting that Bellri claims that his mother knew nothing of the Capital Army's formation, If that's true (and not just Bellri trying to stick up for his parent), then the Army's formation is evidently something decided by the few, not agreed upon by the entirety of the Capital's upper hierarchy. Which could factor into the Colonel's decision to let Aid and such go, if he's aware of the secrets going on behind the scenes. Count me in the 'this is related to Turn A somehow' theories. Of course, that could be Tomino deliberately laying a red herring, but the whole 'threat from space' thing has me thinking. Edit: ...Wait between all this whole 'threat from space debacle', and the overt religious nature of the Capital, I think I just realised where the reconquista in the title has come from. Astro Nut fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Oct 17, 2014 |
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Oct 17, 2014 22:20
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I like how its kinda evident in the design that the armour and such have been added on, rather than an integrated part of the design. Its minor, but fitting, given the Capital is going all Polandball with regards to warfare.
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Oct 18, 2014 12:06
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Sharkopath posted:A dumb little thing, but the gundam card game / video game hybrid thing bandai puts out released a new set of cards with g-reco units in it, and if you're curious here are the descriptions they give for them. They reveal some very trivial information I had been wondering about, and one bit about Klim surprised me, although they had mentioned it earlier. Wonder how many episodes it'll take for Tomino to remember it has that feature.
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Oct 21, 2014 17:28
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...It violates the taboo to look into space. That is some ancient conspiracy material right there - makes me suspect that the taboo may not entirely be built around the notion of preventing a repeat of the Universal Century. Given where a certain mobile suit may come from, that... should prove interesting. Also I love that the friend forgotten at the Capital is actually the first person to see right through Mask's... uh, mask.
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Nov 14, 2014 20:06
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Eiba posted:World Building Tomino seems to just generally be better aware of the world in general, when compared to a number of other writers in the industry, though that might just mean I need to broaden what I watch. His casts are generally diverse, and he's more than willing to utilise settings otherwise left untouched by anime. The Earth Federation Assembly? In Senegal. Jaburo was located under the Amazon rainforest. One of the major battles of the One Year War was at Odessa, in Ukraine. King Gainer covered a journey across Siberia. He may be a writer undoubtedly influenced by aspects of his home culture, but he doesn't allow that to dominate his works as other writers might. The talk with the space pope touches on some what was already deduced though, which does add to the enjoyability of this thread, seeing whether or not people were right. It does, however, all raise a question: Why are the people in space starting to make a move? Sure, the world doesn't know they're the ones behind the photon batteries, but one has to wonder why they're acting in a manner that's getting everyone spooked. Is it because the Amerian-Gondwan war is has resulted in an arms race quickly becoming a space race? Were they prepping before that? Why send the G-Self out to Earth by itself? I'm genuinely intrigued by the possibilities, especially given what the series may ultimately lead into, but I have a small worry it might not meet expectations.
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Nov 21, 2014 15:31
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Oh yeah, new episode is out. Looks like the schism in the two military arms of the capital is growing deeper.
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Nov 28, 2014 15:03
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Eiba posted:Turn-A I suppose if you wanted to take it from a slightly less meta-angle, it'd be kinda similar to how Gokaiger did things? Like, if you comb through all the various bits of story, particularly where some series used similar themes, there's no way for all the sentai shows to co-exist in the same setting. Alternatively, how Mazinkaiser is vaguely a sequel to Mazinger Z, but details about the OVA series don't quite line up with either the show or the manga. So instead, as part of the central conceit, you have to accept the setting as being where a version of what you're familiar with took place, but its not the actual same events. So the Turn A timeline is, in theory, built in a universe where all the other Gundams happened somehow, but beyond the minimum one time that the Turn A went and unleashed the Moonlight Butterfly, there's no guarantee on the details beyond that. At most, the budget for MSG was just as 70s in the Turn A timeline as it was originally. Edit: And since ImpAtom got in, to clarify my point a bit: In the same vein, this could still lead into Turn-A, in that whole vague version of events you already know thing.
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Dec 5, 2014 19:37
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Yosuke posted:Plus, under gravity, Launcher and Sword weren't as top heavy as Aile. I mean sure Aile can jump/sometimes glide, but in situations where the feets are required, it doesn't hold up too well. I don't remember if it came up during the desert arc but I do remember the fresh from space guys (well, just Yzak and the Duel AS) having trouble walking in the sand since not calibrated + being too heavy. Even Kira had that issue, but it didn't last long because he pulled his trick from the first episode and just recalbirated the OS to compensate. For the flak it may get sometimes on its characters, SEED did actually have some interesting limitations on its unit, if only to then emphasize how outright broken a unit with a full nuclear power source would be. That actually leads me into a question for Reconguista here: Are their suits battery limited too (albeit perhaps like with a twenty four hour charge)? I mean, a big part of the setting is on how photon batteries are the lifeblood of society, so presumably they haven't got the means to just go building a bunch of nuclear generators, or... why not upscale those for energy needs? Or perhaps the power they'd need would just eclipse whatever they can put together for an army of mobile suits?
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Dec 6, 2014 13:30
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Eiba posted:Honestly, you don't need to put it in a Japanese context to understand it. Overt racism is pretty rare these days in the US too. This is more on the level of thinking a black coworker is lazy, even when you'd give a white coworker a pass for the same thing, and not really ever thinking about it. Or more topically, just feeling that a black man you pass on the street is dangerous. That kind of subconscious prejudice is still pretty pervasive, and is actually way more subtle than the poo poo going on with the Kuntala here. You can imagine how far that'd go over peoples heads if they tried to depict something like that in media like this. And at some point someone would have to explain what was going on, and you'd get trite blithering "why don't they show, instead of tell" responses, while all the examples of it being shown would be dismissed out of hand. So I guess nothing would change. And it gets trickier honestly when one gets into vague, nebulous concepts like 'N-word privileges', or 'joking' with friends and family, and where the divide on satirising a culture and being racist about it lies. Living in Britain makes this really awkward to discuss sometimes, as - I suspect in part due to the sheer extent of our former Empire - we have a great deal more racial/cultural (and even generally 'offensive') humour than some people might expect. Generally, from our perspective, so long as it doesn't seem actively malicious or inciteful - or if need be, is laced with some self deprecation - we're willing to let it slip by. See: Jimmy Carr's relative lack of controversy compared to Frankie Boyle's rather sizeable list. Yet still that could be seen as perpetuating a lot of negative attitudes or stereotypes in order to, well, make the joke. Pop down to the pantomime, and you are almost guaranteed to see a dude in drag. Often the gags involve them being ugly and/or fat, over-emotional, and often a bit desperate for romance as they can just can't find a date (tying back into the first two). Taken by the blunt description, that could be offensive to women for making them seem hysterical, men for using their non-femininity as the primary source of the jokes, and pretty much anyone who falls outside the standard gender roles for, well, the whole thing being built around those standard gender roles. The absurdity of everything in a panto tends to mean these things don't get much notice, but its still there. I need to catch up on the latest Reconguista ep, so maybe this stuff has come up and I'm just hopping into the convo at the wrong time, but it kinda makes me wonder how the concept of the Kuntala as a cultural image is looked upon in the show. Like, aside of the snide remarks about Kuntala, is there a particular idea that pops into people's minds, despite the clear lack of a common appearance beyond 'human' that we've seen thus far?
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Dec 27, 2014 19:20
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:58 |
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To clarify on the 'cultural image' thing a bit, I meant what people of say, the Capital, stereotypically imagine when they hear the word 'Kuntala'. I suppose perhaps the might not really be one, given the nature of the Kuntala as more of a social caste than a visible ethnicity. Perhaps people just vaguely think 'not as good as me at doing stuff' and leave it at that.
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Dec 27, 2014 21:19
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