Anime Thoughts: It's also made me wonder if the Colossal and Armored Titan are in humanity's midst at this very moment

Attack on Titan [eps. 9-10, The Left Arm's Trace & Answer: The Battle for Trost Parts 5 & 6]
Is it just me, or is the ‘Battle of Trost Arc’ really starting to drag? It’s not that stuff didn’t happen – we learned what makes Mikasa tick, Armin came out of his shell more, there was a well-planned reversal of a hopeless situation that even gave Jean a bit more depth, and a major plot bomb got dropped – but did we really need 6 episodes to cover all of that? The stand-off with Captain Wellman’s troops didn’t really feel as tense as it should’ve, either. It was a good setup, with his soldiers terrified by the idea that the enemy might be in their very midst, creating some obvious and understandable fears and potential for things to go wrong. It’s obvious that Wellman is supposed to come across as a bad officer, but something about the way he was not just unsure of what to do but almost completely frozen in panic just didn’t work for me. I suppose it was because rather than feeling like a race, trying to convince him to stand down before he decided our main trio was too much of a threat, it felt more like they were being saved by his inability to do anything; they certainly had lots of time of sit there and plan. And it isn’t even over yet, which is kind of annoying when the one really good part of the stand-off was the hint about the nature of Eren’s newfound ability. I don’t care about seeing him use his Titan powers to block the gate, I want to find out what’s in that goddamn basement!

When Eren first got ‘killed’ I thought it was one of the best moments to date. It was surprising even for a series that made it clear people were going to die left right and center, after all, he’s still the main character and we’re pretty well-conditioned to assume they’ll live at least, and had the potential to take it in an interesting direction. I was wondering how I’d feel it somehow wrote its way out of this, and honestly, what they did works fine, since it’s now clear that it was foreshadowed, without letting the viewer realize it had been, which is the best kind. Because c’mon, what else could you possibly think his father’s injection was for, after this? Hey, if you want to oppose someone or something, it’s best if you at least level the playing field.

Gargartia on the Verdurous Planet [ep 10, Island of Ambition]

I’ve gotta give Flange credit here. When he decided to go with Pinion* I assumed his reasons were profit-driven, but it turns out he really did want to use what they found for the benefit of everyone. Too bad Pinion’s greed is infectious.

I’d wonder what Pinion is thinking, but the only thing going through his head now is probably ‘first wealth and power, then the bitches!’ So I don’t have to wonder, because the answer is that he’s not thinking. By broadcasting ‘I found all the kickass loot and you can’t have it, so nyah!’ he’s guaranteed to provoke a response, especially from raiders and opportunists like pirates, now that it’s been suggested that the area is safe. “They started it” my ass. Nobody was going after the whalesquid ‘treasure’ in the first place, so it’s not like he needed to worry about anyone else swooping in to take it until after he announced its existence himself.

It’s as wonky as Chamber’s reasoning for why what Ledo’s learned about the Hideauze changes nothing. According to him, what makes humans human is that they rely on innovation and machines to overcome their limitations, whereas the Hideauze went in a different direction, adapting their very bodies to survive in their new environment. Basically, because they chose to adapt themselves biologically rather than using artificial means, they can no longer be considered human. Or in other words, his logic for why they shouldn’t be thought of as human basically boils down to ‘because they’re doing it wrong!’ Yeah, air-tight reasoning right there. Good thing Ledo isn’t buying it, now that he’s really started to realize how he’s only ever been living for what others want. Even his decision to join Pinion’s expedition was motivated by his desire to cling to a now all-but-useless purpose someone else gave him. Contrary to what Chamber says, he most definitely has a choice and he’s starting to realize that.

And speaking of the Alliance….

Being the kind of story it is, I knew they were going to do ‘the hero’s old life catches up with him’ eventually, though I’ll admit when I first started watching this show I assumed it would be the Hideauze manage to follow him and he has to fight again to protect the new life he’s come to value. Which, of course, no longer makes any sense, since it would go against the direction the show’s taken thematically. The Alliance showing up, however, that fits just fine, since it’s a safe assumption they’re going to agree with Chamber. And because being torn between going back to what he knows and embracing what he’s come to realize isn’t hard enough, probably another pod of Hideauze is going to show up and make things really complicated.

You know, because they weren’t about to get bad enough now that the situation looks like it’ll turn into an all-out brawl over ancient technology soon enough. In other words, you can bet everyone’s going to converge on the area, things will start going boom!, and it won’t surprise me in the least if Amy gets killed in the crossfire to make everyone realize ‘OMG, fighting each other is horrible!’ She’s had some nice character moments, like showing the strength of her beliefs by stepping in Ledo’s way in episode 7, even though she probably knew it was kind of pointless since Chamber could just pick her up and move her out of the way. But she’s still a symbol of everything that’s good and pure about life on Gargantia, all cheerfulness and wide-eyed innocence. Exactly the character you’d kill off to drive home the message that violence is bad. Not that that’s a bad message, but conveying it that way would be so easy and obvious that I hope they don’t go for it. But I suppose we’ll see shortly.

*whom I was accidentally calling Joe two commentaries ago; yeah, brain fart. Somehow the blond egomaniac and the brown-skinned that-other-mechanic-guy hadn’t become distinguishable enough yet.

Anime Thoughts: And it'll all go downhill from here

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet [ep. 9, Deep Sea Secret]
If you’re going to introduce something like a legendary cursed sea, it helps if you set it up beforehand, even if it’s just something like a name-drop, which is all they would’ve needed for the Sea of Mists. I thought they were just going into ‘whalesquid territory,’ which it is, but not that it was also some supposedly supernatural place shunned by mariners since time immemorial. It’s like how attacking the whalesquid is supposedly some sort of ancient taboo, but for something with supernatural connotations, they didn’t really do anything about it. Rather, the Gargantian response to Ledo’s actions was weak. They tried to stop him when the whalesquid actually attacked, but there weren’t any mobs calling for blood, or discussions of some plan to stop him long-term since he was making it clear he was going to kill-‘em-all – they just filed complaints like some present-day concerned citizens. True, Chamber is a pretty compelling deterrent, but the only substantive response was ‘we have someone who can kill them handy? Sweet, let’s go after their treasure!’ It makes avoiding attacking the whalesquid look like a practical measure, akin to what you should do when you’re suddenly faced with a bear in the woods, not something based in superstition. It’s not like the Sea of Mists is a bad name, it’s a great one by all appearances, it’s the way they framed it that I’m talking about, because for all the existence of things like that and the taboo on avoiding whalesquid, the Gargantians don’t actually seem superstitious at all. And it's not like 'the Sea of Mists' is a bad name - it's an excellent one since it describes the area literally; it's the framing of it that I'm talking about. Granted, it didn’t help that the show wasted two episodes on pointless fanservice instead of setting any of this up.

As for the revelation about the Hideauze, well, I’m pleased that I wasn’t able to completely say ‘called it!’ since they still managed to surprise me with something. Also, obligatory reference (and what Ledo would be if he did manage to make it back to the Alliance; you know, right before they euthanize him because he’s obviously deranged). I did start to suspect something was up when the Hideauze larvae looked like either Greys or human embryos, but I’m not really gonna count suspicions I didn’t even have until the episode itself as figuring it out beforehand.

A lot of it is definitely Your-Mileage-May-Vary, though. Like how they didn’t even try to give any technobabble on how they accomplished the transformation of humans into Hideauze, and whether that’s a cop-out, or just as well since any possible explanation would probably be nonsense anyway. And the whole ‘the Hideauze are humans!’ thing at all. Aside from the general weirdness of the concept, there’s the issue of how it fits into the themes of the show. Personally, I’m not really sure. On the one hand, it speaks to how people on both sides of a conflict can get so wrapped up in their differences they forget what they have in common, and how we dehumanize our enemies, turning them into lower life forms so it’s easier to justify killing them. In this case, they just went with an extreme version by visually representing the Hideauze as monstrous when they were still humans (in a sense, at least) the entire time. But on the other hand, since they’re human Ledo basically has no choice but to re-evaluate his conception of them. Plus, there already are humans who are obliging him to see that there’s more than one way of doing things – the Gargantians. The Hideauze aren’t much more than a refinement of that – not only is there more than one worldview, but also more than one solution to the same problem. If they genuinely were a different species, Ledo would be right that they’re different from humans, which would make the realization that ‘different’ doesn’t mean ‘evil’ harder to accept, but, I think, reinforce the show’s message of cooperation and coexistence all the more strongly.

Flowers of Evil [ep. 9]

When Saeki refused to break up with Kasuga, I thought we were about to find out she’s as bad as the rest if not worse. But nope, she’s still better than just about everyone else in this series. She can tell Kasuga really does like her and just wants to understand him better. I’m not sure I’d brush off stealing her uniform as ‘that’s just how boys are’, but it’s nice to see that she didn’t just jump to ‘you’re sick! I never want to see you again!’ Not that it wouldn’t have been understandable if she was weirded out by what Kasuga did and didn’t want to be with him anymore, but I like that the story hasn’t gone for the obvious like that. Oh, I’m sure she still is at least somewhat weirded out by it, but she isn’t making a snap reversal of her opinion of him, which is one of the things that makes her such a good person.

Which is exactly why she’s right – talking to her would be way more helpful than turning to Nakamura, who just encourages Kasuga’s anxieties and harmful behaviours, under the pretext that she’s bringing out the ‘real’ him. Of course, it’s not and Saeki’s right. Sure, the theft itself was perverted, regardless of the fact he did it out of panic rather than design, but one act does not a pervert make, it makes an awkward teenager who hasn’t figured out how to balance his sexual thoughts and desires with his more high-minded ideals. That’s hard to do, and it’s worse when others, especially people you can’t avoid and whom you want to have a good opinion of you, find out. He can avoid Saeki, more or less, but his mom is a lot harder, though both are squarely in the category of people he doesn’t want to think badly of him.

He certainly imagined the other two would have worse reactions; Saeki actually doing the whole dismiss-him-as-a-pervert, while his mother exclaimed “I’m disappointed! What will we tell the neighbors?” Because apparently she’d care more about the family’s social standing than trying to understand and help her own son. Now, I’m not familiar with all the nuances of Japanese culture in this regard, so it’s possible, and I suspect it to be the case, that Kasuga’s worries aren’t entirely unfounded. But that isn’t how she reacted. It’s been pretty clear up to now that she could tell something was up, what with her frustration at him always coming home late without prior warning, and her actions after finding out, both the way she approached him and that she went to look for him, suggest that she’s more worried than angry. Not to mention, Saeki pretty much explicitly forgave him, and isn’t all that bothered by the act itself. Not that either of them isn’t disappointed, because they both certainly are, but they know him better than that. Problem is, that’s not the reaction he was expected, and in some ways, not how the thinks they should feel, so he’s unable to accept it, and turns once again to the last person he should be, but, in his limited understanding, the only one who’ll take him as he is.

Anime Thoughts: Now that I think about it, Mikasa does have a slightly different skin tone

Attack on Titan [eps. 7-8, The Small Blade & Hearing the Heartbeat: The Battle for Trost, Parts 3-4]
Man, I would so not want to be in that lift just then!

I’m not sure how to feel about Jean right now. Earlier he’d been characterized as the unlikeable jackass who looked down on everyone else but, because he wanted to join the military police, was obviously just a coward. But he ended up being a pretty good leader this time around. What’s-his-name* probably has a point – he may be more of a coward than he’s been willing to let on, but that makes him more likely to empathize with others who are scared. And I also kept waiting for things to go ‘you’re such a great leader, Jean!’ *yoink* *gulp!*. Which is weird, because I could’ve sworn what’s-his-name was the one who got grabbed just before they reached the HQ?

Writing that made me feel like I should be commenting on other characters. But, well, I’ve already done Mikasa and Armin and didn’t see anything that would inspire additional commentary these last two episodes (which, to be fair, could be due to lag between when I saw them and when I actually got around to finishing this), and other than Jean, well, nobody’s really done anything standout. Not to mention I’ve forgotten most of their names. Given the setup, there’s obvious assumption that it’s because most of them are going to get eaten sooner or later, but it’s still kind of unfortunate. Because it would make their deaths more meaningful, and because it might give me something to talk about in the ‘all the obvious stuff was commented on when the show started and I can’t think of things to say stretch.’

Meanwhile, I had a theory that the Titan-killing Titan had absorbed Eren’s essence or something (it did look vaguely like him), but not that once it collapsed it would look as if he’d been piloting it mecha-style. I say ‘look’ because the preview for the next episode then went and tells us he became a Titan. That…raises some interesting possibilities about the nature and origin of the Titans as a whole.

*I’d go back and check what his name is, but, y’know, most everyone not Mikasa, Armin, and, as of now, Eren, being tagged as ‘expendable.’

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet [ep. 8, Separation]

Figures, right after I complain about Chamber’s inability to figure out their coordinates, he figures them out. Of course, it’s still kinda plot-convenient, since it came right as Ledo’s caught between what he’s learned on Gargantia and what he’s been taught to believe the last sixteen years. Being told ‘we ain’t going nowhere!’ is exactly what he’d need to hear to push him towards the option that’ll let him cling to a shred of the only life he’s ever known until…however long it’s been since he came out of stasis; not very long, at any rate. Not that I think that’s a bad way to do it, per se, but it still struck me as odd how long it took Chamber to get the results.

Also, most convenient heart attack, ever!

I guess I could’ve been wrong about Ledo being a clone, since he thinks that kid was his little brother. But he only thinks so, and the Galactic Alliance seem like the types to do things as efficiently as possible, and family definitely sounds like the type of thing that would fall under ‘inefficient and unnecessary.’ Now, Ledo had earned the right to get it on just before…whatever it was the brought him to Earth. So it’s possible that children are still created the old-fashioned way, even if the Alliance doesn’t do the whole ‘familial relationships’ thing.

And I suppose you could say he’s finally given a reason why the Hideauze are this super-abhorrent, extermination-is-the-only-option menace to humanity. And the reason is…they “oppress the domain of humanity.” Whatever that means. Are they invaders, or, maybe, are they preventing humanity from expanding unopposed? I don’t strictly believe the latter is exactly the case, but I do believe the situation isn’t as good (humanity) vs. evil (Hideauze) as Ledo’s been taught to believe, and it does seem like one way to interpret what he said. As in, humanity believes it’s its manifest destiny to expand and conquer the stars, and have found a way to rationalize anything that doesn’t fit that perception as an obstacle that needs to be removed at all costs.

Honestly, part of me believes they originated on Earth. Hey, it’s the simplest explanation as to why they’re there. And would drive home the idea that cooperation is always possible even more. Not that Ledo will appreciate have to realize that.

But he’s not the only one about to get something they won’t appreciate. Dude, yes, Amy likes you, and I get that you like her too, and that’s why you want to do what you think is necessary to protect her. That and you can sympathize with her affection for her little brother, something you were denied and so don’t want her to feel the same loss. But yeah, I’m sure committing genocide as exactly the sort of thing to earn you gratitude from a girl who’s been raised to believe in peaceful coexistence.

Flowers of Evil [eps. 7-8]

Well, that must have been cathartic. Which wouldn’t be surprising, given how much Kasuga’s been trying to hide and act normal, that he’d finally say ‘oh fuck it!’ and let loose.

And that was an unusual way to start episode 8 – literally six minutes of Kasuga and Nakamura just walking home holding hands. It might even have been endearing, if their relationship wasn’t fucked all to hell.

Then Saeki caught me by surprise. When she said good morning to Kasuga I thought to myself ‘she’s not very perceptive, is she?’ since, like multiple times before, Kasuga’s behaviour’s been slightly off – this time he had an anxious posture and didn’t respond when she asked him a question. Well, technically she does ask if something’s wrong, but clearly didn’t think it was worth dwelling on since she let it pass with a ‘we’ll be late.’ Sure, some of it, like when they were on the date, could have been interpreted as nervousness about that, but given the number of strange things she’s seen happen to him, like getting a bucket of water dumped on his head, or that the time she saw him with Nakamura in the library, surely she’d start to wonder if something was up? I guess in the absence of any explicit reason to suspect anything, it’s just a case of not seeing what she doesn’t expect to see. But then she was the one who put the clues together and figured out everything else. Not that it’d be hard for her to do, since she’s the only one who’s looked at the book long enough to remember the flower, but it was still wrong of me to assume she’s clueless. Not to mention, seeing things that way overlooks that she was suspicious after she saw him and Nakamura in the library – that’s why she asked him if she could trust him. So yeah, I’m the one who wasn’t very perceptive.