Anime Thoughts: Bodacious Space Pirates Episode 26 - There Go the Pirates

Summary

Everyone warps to the site of the battle, only to find that Christie has brought three Grand Crosses that she can operate in sync. Nevertheless, the coordinated efforts of the assembled pirate ships destroy the remote-controlled ships and allow the Bentenmaru and several others to board the main one, where Marika, Schnitzer, and Hyakume confront Christie on the bridge. Marika brings up the former’s earlier comments about pirates lacking a purpose and explains that while she’s thought about it, it’s now clear to her that they don’t need a definite purpose – each pirate makes their own. Christie escapes and warns Marika to leave before the ship self-destructs. In other words, capturing the Grand Cross was a horrible failure – but who cares, they won!

…Before the Odette II could show up to help, much to Gruier’s disappointment (Mami made her a pirate outfit and everything…). Leaving the ship in the hands of Jenny and her fellow graduates, the club members board the Parabellum to get back in time for their exams. Gruier thanks Ironbeard Gonzaemon for giving them a lift and asks if he was able to see Marika, but he just says he’s Ironbeard now. On the bridge, Ririka remarks that staying distant is his way of showing he cares.

Chiaki finally gives in and transfers to Hakuoh to stay. Marika passes all her exams, and it’s time to sail away for more adventures!

Thoughts

Not much to say about the final battle with the Grand Cross. The pirates worked together as a team and won; Marika confronted Christie, said pirates make their own reasons for what they do, and the latter bailed. The Grand Cross blew up. The end. All told, it was a bit anti-climactic. No desperate reversals, nothing about how or what the characters are feeling, just the battle, presented in a very business-like manner. Hardly the grand end-of-series payoff one might expect.

No payoff for the whole ‘future of the pirates’ thing either. But, like the pirates of the Galactic Empire, that’s certainly good fodder for the upcoming movie.

But at least we got somewhat of an answer to the whole ‘why did Gonzaemon never visit his family’ issue. Sure, it’s one thing to give your kid space so they can become their own person, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be part of their life. Ririka was around the whole time, and while there was an element of Marika trying to live up to her she still became her own person. Sure, she still turned out alright despite her dad never being around, but just because something works doesn’t mean you should do it that way. But anyways, he wouldn’t be quite the mysterious, larger-than-life figure he was made out to be if he’d been there all along. I don’t feel qualified to make any call whether he’s right or wrong to be doing things this way, but there’s definitely the sense that he does care about his daughter, he just has a unique way of showing it, just like Ririka said.

That being said, it actually wasn’t all that unsatisfying. This show was never about grand battles or epic space opera – as cool as that would have been. It’s about the characters themselves, their growth, and why they do what they do. So while there was none of the spectacular end-of-series payoff one might expect, but it still had a character-based one, both in terms of Marika showing that she’s become confident in her role as a captain and a pirate, and the wider pirate society proving that they believe in what they do enough to stand up for it. Not sure if that makes sense, calling the final episode somewhat anti-climactic and then saying it delivered exactly what it was meant to, but if there’s one thing this series has consistently done, it’s leave me satisfied with what was given (most of the time at least **looks at the filler that was episodes 19-21**), even if it wasn’t what I expected. Granted, sometimes I’ve thought that the latter was just me trying to cover disappointment, and I was to some extent, but now that I’ve finished the entire show it’s much easier to appreciate what it was going for all along and reassess how I feel.

Like I said, it would’ve been cool (and I may even have liked it a little more) if it was more of a space opera – I was definitely expecting more of that going in – but as the character-driven show it turned out to be, I think it actually succeeded rather well. Even without any kind of over-arching narrative, looking back, it was consistently enjoyable to follow Marika’s adventures and her growth as a person and a pirate. I certainly never felt the need to stop watching; heck, I’m darned sure I’d keep watching if they made another season or two and not just a movie. That alone says something – maybe not that the show’s necessarily good (though I think it is), but certainly that it’s a lot of fun, and I’m pretty sure that was the main goal in the first place.

Anime Thoughts: Bodacious Space Pirates Epiosde 25 - The Pirates' Council Begins

If it's the Galactic Empire, why is the ruler a Queen?

Summary

When android Luca was killed her internal computer reformatted automatically, so the only thing Hyakume can glean from it is that she was built by a Galactic Empire company called Human Torch. Everyone wonders what happened to the real Luca, and right as they decide she was a pirate and knew the risks she walks through the door. Ostensibly, nothing worse than men hitting on her happened during her vacation, but she decides not to mention that actually, Kane and Ririka saved her life.

Christie suddenly appears in the throne room again, wearing a cloak fastened at the shoulder by a golden skull. The legendary chef’s brother, who runs the station, orders everyone to stand down – pirates may not kill other pirates at the Pirates’ Nest. When one of the captains dissents, since Christie’s not a pirate, but the chef says she is – her cloak-and-skull mark her as a pirate registered with the Galactic Empire. Apparently the Letter of Marque idea was actually copied from them. Marika proposes that Christie take on the other pirates in a fair fight, which is accepted

Ironbeard arrives, his own cloak-and-skull reminding Marika why she recognized Christie’s. He says he’s here on orders from the Queen to take Christie back. While the other captains feast Ironbeard leads Christie away. The captain from before still tries to kill her but is thwarted by Kane, Misa, and Ririka. It is revealed that Other Kane is actually his older brother, Ironbeard’s helmsman; Real Kane switched places with him for a while to report to Ironbeard. The latter did this because he wanted to see if the pirates of this sector will choose to remain pirates-for-hire with their Letters of Marque, or strike out on their own and becoming real pirates.

With the upgrades to the comms complete, the Bentenmaru sends a call to arms to the other pirates, using the song that was broadcast when they were called to the Pirates’ Nest. This time it’s a new version, recorded by Marika and Chiaki, much to the latter’s chagrin. She hated every minute of it – no really ;). Everyone assembles and prepares to confront the Grand Cross.

Thoughts

Y’know, it might’ve helped to establish that Luca had gone on vacation sooner. As it is it’s just out of the blue and makes it looks like no one questioned why she can back early from her vacation when the android showed up, or that she went on it without telling anyone. Not to mention the ‘actually, she’s fine’ bait-and-switch. If the Grand Cross wasn’t clearly destroying the ships it attacks, I really would be convinced nobody’s in any danger whatsoever, period, in this show. It’s one of its weaknesses, but I’ll get into that more in my final review.

Well, at least we got to see Ririka in action a little bit, even if it wasn’t of the awesome variety. It’s a silly thing, really; the show’s isn’t about Ririka at all, I just felt that the middle-aged, not-so-former badass getting her own Big Damn Heroes moment, or come up with a perfect plan that leaves everyone stunned and a little scared at her cunning, or something like that, would be a lot of fun to see. Eh, maybe they’ll let her have her awesome moment in the upcoming movie.

Insofar as the actual meat of the episode, it raises an interesting question. Christie’s contempt for the pirates in the region is centered on how they ostensibly aren’t ‘real’ pirates anymore, dressing up and putting on silly little shows (I’d make another The Pirates! Band of Misfits joke, but there aren’t any good YouTube clips of Queen Victoria’s rants). Ironbeard talks about whether they’ll decide to become, again, ‘real’ pirates, but it turns out the whole Letter of Marque thing was copied from the Galactic Empire, and both Ironbeard and Christie are registered, so doesn’t that mean they’re just as much privateers, not pirates, as anyone else? Nobody we’ve seen is actually a pirate. There’s no answer, it just makes me wonder what pirates in the Galactic Empire proper are like. I have no idea what the upcoming movie is about, but that’d be an interesting thing for it to focus on.

Also, there’s a ninja pirate. Isn’t that an oxymoron?

Anime Thoughts: Bodacious Space Pirates Episode 24 - The Wounded Benten

Summary

The Bentenmaru manages to evade the Grand Cross, but suffers damage in the process. Once they reach the pirate station Marika draws up are repair plan that includes comm system upgrades. The specifics are unspecified but apparently involve the ability to command an entire fleet. While the repairs are underway she and Chiaki meet with Kenjo to discuss the situation. News that another ship has been destroyed reaches them during the meeting, and he wonders whether even ten will make it.

After leaving the meeting, Marika encounters a stranger she realizes is the captain of the Grand Cross, who says her name is Quartz Christie. She won’t say who she works for, and when asked why she’s attacking pirates she confirms it’s for trial data and talks about how pirates are anachronisms with no useful purpose. She reveals that there’s a spy on the Bentenmaru and switches on her cloaking device before Schnitzer and his men can catch her.

Meanwhile, Kane is being tailed by Luca, the ship’s navigator, who earlier voiced suspicions about him to Misa. The two of them corner him, but when Misa whips out her gun she shoots Luca, who is actually an android double and the spy – the real Luca doesn’t care about anything other than her work. The android escapes, and Misa demands an explanation from Kane, who is obviously up to something suspicious. Watching from afar, another Kane slips away.

In her room, Marika calls Ririka, who’s just finished her vacation and has boarded a ‘luxury liner.’ It’s called the Parabellum and is headed for the station.

Thoughts

Whatever Kane’s up to, the real one isn’t acting like anything’s amiss so he’s obviously aware that the second one – the one with the lock of hair that’s always sticking up (antenna?) – has been the one on the bridge the last few episodes, so that’s obviously part of what he’s doing. Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure it involves reporting on Marika to someone – probably Ironbeard. He’s clearly significant, whoever he is, and definitely the kind of person who’d want to know about Gonzaemon’s heir given the number of hints there’s been throughout the series that the latter was a great man and a great captain. Kane has shown a considerable amount of interest in her progress and goals over the course of the series, and there’s been enough references about how she’s so much like Gonzaemon lately – (fake) Kane’s remarks about how obvious it is that there’s blood ties, or the captain of the Big Catch saying she looks like she’ll be as good a captain as her father. Heck, if Gonzaemon’s as great a pirate as he’s been made out to be and if his daughter seems to be worthy of that legacy, it almost sounds like there’s a plan afoot to make her Queen of the Pirates. Which would be pretty awesome.

Also, Christie does have a point about the current state of pirates. After all, what possible purpose does legally (or at least legally grey) robbing bored rich people on cruises actually serve – other than the pirates and their insurance companies making money? Sure, every business is about making money, but usually whoever’s on the receiving end of its services gains something, instead of losing it. Then again, no one on the receiving end seems to mind and the pirates themselves get to make a living dressing up in cool clothes and acting over-the-top, so it all works out, I guess.

She’s wrong about the “they aren’t even pirates” (with the implied ‘anymore’) comment, though. Since these pirates have only existed since Letters of Marque started being issued, they were never pirates – they’ve been privateers the whole time. Of course, accounting for that little tidbit would mean none of them would be able to say ‘I’m a pirate’, which would defeat the whole purpose of becoming one in the first place.

Anime Thoughts: Bodacious Space Pirates Episode 23 - Head for the Pirate's Nest

Summary

The second mysterious ship, captained by the masked Ironbeard, identifies itself as the Parabellum, a pirate ship registered with the Galactic Empire. It fires on the pirate hunting ship, called the Grand Cross, which flees despite its shields absorbing the bombardment. The Parabellum vanishes back into hyperspace as quickly as it appeared and the Bentenmaru goes to save the crew of the Big Catch. Everyone is rescued but the ship is destroyed when the fires reach the ammo stores.

Marika asks Gruier to see if her own connections can unearth anything about the Grand Cross, and she manages to find out that it’s an experimental ship being developed by the Galactic Empire. It’s attacking pirate ships because, those that are still active being military-class, it’ll yield better trial results, and attacking pirate ships in a backwater sector isn’t going to draw much attention.

Chiaki transfers to Hakuoh again, but despite Marika’s insistence that she stay so they can graduate together she insists it’s just so she can deliver a message from her father. In light of the current situation, Kenjo believes a Pirates’ Council should be called. To do this, however, they’ll need to find the legendary chef, who first brought the pirates together during the war of independence. There’s a reason pirate ships are so full of outdated equipment. Yes, it’s because the economy sucks right now, but also because they actually need their old radios, so that the legendary chef can reach them when he broadcasts the secret message that’ll summon them to council.

Finding him? Easy – Marika already knows where he is. He’s the chef at the seedy restaurant where she goes to discuss missions with the bridge crew. She figured it out because Ririka always took her there as a reward whenever she learned to do something new as a kid. Ririka clearly relied on the guy, and she’s super-special-awesome, so that must mean he’s even more super-special-awesome and therefore the legendary chef. Solid reasoning, but she’s wrong. The legendary chef was his dad. However, that still means he’s heir to the mantle, and he broadcasts the signal, which also tells every pirate ship the location of the meeting place. Right as the Bentenmaru’s about to head there, the Grand Cross appears.

Thoughts

Yeah, yeah, we get it, Ririka’s a badass, it’s been  sufficiently established – let her show it. Damnit, I wanna see Ririka do something awesome!

Anyways, I like where this is going. Not that the other parts of the series weren’t fun in their own way, but nothing’s ever really been about the pirates themselves, so the upcoming delving into the wider pirate society is much appreciated. Plus, they’re actually in real danger for once! For all that I’ve tried to rationalize my enjoyment of the preceding episodes, much of it was an attempt to mask my disappointment that things were never the former two. Not that I didn’t enjoy any of it, but it still would’ve been nice if more of the show was actually about them.

Also, I’m no longer sure there’s some grand secret the bridge crew is in on anymore. Possibly Kane and Misa are – they both showed signs in this episode that they at least suspect something, but no one else did, so clearly if Ironbeard has some big reveal in store it’s not something everyone was in on.

On another note, it’s nice to see Chiaki back to her old grumpy ‘I’m not enjoying this, seriously you guys’ self. Not that she ever stopped being like that, but it really comes out when she’s interacting with Marika, and there wasn’t enough of that last time she was around a lot, during the Yacht Club arc, which was a shame because it’s what makes her a fun character, and it’s good to have her back. Not that she hasn’t changed (she’s long since given up on objecting whenever someone calls her ‘Chiaki-chan’; I’ll bet she actually likes it), but it’s just not the same when she’s not insisting on taking things seriously or pretending she didn’t do things for more sentimental reasons – no really, she couldn’t just visit to give Marika the message, transferring back to Hakuoh was crucial to ensuring it got delivered.