Xam’d: Lost Memories ep 4: “Enlightenment”

I’ve really tried to think of a witty phrase without involving Haru’s boobs…..but I can’t.

Akiyuki tries to deal with the Hiruko on his arm, even if that means listening to a old lady high on drugs or working to death on the Zanbani. Poor guy, he really has a weakness for blue eyed girls. Nakiami and Bekinawa have a small cat-fight which leads to one of the most moe scenes so far (that is, if you dig drunken chicks). Good episode indeed.

Update: Opps. Screwed up the names and called our big momma Ahm instead of Yunbo…fixed the names now.

Soulstealers
A Humanform Weapon is attacking anoter random town and we get a view inside the pod controlling it. The Humanform User inside is able to control the orbs that each HFW has, which they act as remote cameras and as weapons. But a squad of ships arrive, deploying troops of armored suits called Soultealers (ever played Warhammer 40k? They are the clones of Tau Battlesuits, Jump Packs included).

Thinking with Portals.

This Tau Battlesuit Squad is worth 150 points.

With a coordinated attack, they’ve managed to destroy several of the orbs and proceed to a close attack, managing to pull the ring on the HFW’s “head”. That disables it, turning it into our familiar purple stone state. Their next objective is to prevent the suicide of the HFU. Now, what’s up with the ring? Every HFW seems to use it to stabilize their form; without it they destabilize and become stone. If you remember episode one, you can see Nakiami using a similar ring in ove of her experiments.

One ring to rule them all.

Meanwhile, a group of albino kids are getting ready for some sort of travel. They present themselves to Lady Sannova, geared up and ready to leave. they state they are ready to leave to the “lost land of souls”, which Lady Sannova replies to “return the Hiruko, for the sake of Raikon”. These words seem enigmatic now, but they become clearer by the end of the ep.

“Hmm, we should demolish this and build a Mcdonald’s here.”

Training

Akiyuki gets used to the hard work life onf the Zanbani ship, up to the point of exhaustion. Nakiami decides it’s time for him to have his Xam’d training, so she leads him to meet someone in the deepest parts of the ship. In a room filled with spirit calling incense (aka, opium) , he meets Madame Tenshin, a grumpy old lady with more bumps than a pickled prum. She asks him several question, but the main one was “what does the Xam’d seeks?”. Akiyuki asked if she could remove the Hiruko but she states only Lady Sannova, the leader of Ruikonism has the power to do it and she’s been exiled by the NG. Tenshin then asks Nakiami to start Akiyuki’s training drills.

20 bucks if you can guess the song.

five words: I am stoned.

Bekinawa and Yunbo are in the captain’s cabin discussing their flight routes. They are a bit constrained since both sides are tightening the securict, so they can’t deliver as fast as before. While counting her boxes of money (and I mean it litteraly; greedy megane girl …), Ishu comments she would be happier if they could dispatch the kid out of there, referencing Akiyuki, but he’s a Xam’d, so they can’t just leave him. Yunbo replies she would have been honoured if Hinokumaru was a Xam’d instead of Akiyuki (if you haven’t noticed, the lil’ punk is Yunbo’s kid).

Two women in front of a map? No wonder they are always lost.

Work on the Ship & Despair in the Island

Akiyuki’s training seems to be making some ordinary work like using a rubber stamp on a series of documents the fastest possible, but Akishiba and the kids use his drills to make bets between each other, which kinda annoys Akiyuki for being used as a diversion. When he questions Nakiami about the purpose of the drills, she replies they will keep him alive.

At least pay me a salary!.

In Sentan Island, there is no more school since it was destroyed in the last attack. Using their current free time, Haru, Furiuchi and Midori meet together to watch the arrival of a Southern Continent Free Zone ship, which marks the creation of a militia in the island to reenforce their defenses. Haru notices one of her schoolmates, Shidara, still in her school uniform, all dirty and without shoes. Seems her familay was entirely killed in the last air raid. Haru tries to cheer her up but she replies to not wait for anyone, because they are all dead. Meanwhile, Kakisu boards out of the ship and is received by our Moustache Guy (cmo’n, noone knows his fucking name?).

Anyone knows the Suiciders Help Hotline? Also….nice boat.

Lost Letters

Back to the smoking weed lady chamber, he replies Madame Tenshin he still doesn’t have an answer for what the Xam’d seeks. At lunch, Akiyuki is still working and Yunbo is ready to spank Akushiba for making him work so much, which Akushiba replies he did his job already. He’s actually replacing the stamps of undeliverable letters. But those letters are all adressed to Sentan Island, so he won’t give up on them, even if it costs part of his salary. Yunbo joins in to help, followed by the kids and even Akushiba (mainly because he didn’t wanted to look like a bastard).

Save the trees! Don’t waste good paper!

The Nekotama was found later humping a Pikachu doll and drooling like a doberman.

At night, Akiyuki tries to write a latter to Haru, but his mind is blank. Akushiba teases him a bit and calls him a wuss. Ironical, since he does it while oogling a pic of Nakiami that Raigyo took with only a speck of him (Akushiba) in the background. Poor Nakiami and Bekinawa, they must be harassed all day. Oh wait, nevermind, they probably just kick Akushiba in the balls and ignore him…But the picture kinda hints that Raigyo was a photographer. Go back to the opening, right at 1:00. Do you see a guy with a camera there? Is that Raigyo?

LOSER.

Akushiba does his impression of Pedro Domingo from Excel Saga.

Those Without Homeland or Soul

While Akiyuki is outside the ship helping Kiselji in the repairs (mainly by dropping tools and panicking for being kilometers away from the ground), a strange postal ship approaches the Zanbani. They come from the above at great speed, do a close tangent to the ship, positioning themselves in fornt of the Zanbani and drop a smokescreen on them, with little care for the safety of the crew. Benikawa seem to know who’s responsible for the reckless ship and calls Akushiba to prevent Nakiami to go out in the Beat Kayak because that’s a Tessik ship, but the warning was too late.

Pipehugger.

While crawling back to te ship, Akiyuki asks Kiselji if Nakiami knows the people on the Tessik ship. Kiselji replies they are NG pawns; casted away from their homelands and spread around the world. Akiyuki wonders what’s the diference from them and refugees, which is promtly called ignorant by Kiselji; the point is wheter they have a homeland to return to.

…If that isn’t the face of a bad guy, I don’t know what the fuck it is.

In the captain’s cabin, Nakiami and Bekinawa have an argument. Nakiaki wants to meet with Zeygend, the captain of the Tessik ship, so she can get info about the NG but Bekinawa rejects it. Nakiami asks if it’s because they are Tessik, which Bekinawa angrly replies if that’s her real reason to meet them, she can be considered out of the ship. Bekinawa states the Tessik betrayed the anti-government army and now they are making easy money in the south, even resorting to human traffic; people who’ve lost their past and home and sold their souls, nothing better than crap now. Nakiami asks if that statement includes her, since she’s no different from them. A shocked Bekinawa slaps her in the face, ending the discussion there.

Wheee, Biatchslap, everyone likes seeing them.

While sopping up on her cabin, Nakiami has a knock on her door. She expected Bekinawa but it’s Akiyuki instead. He was expecting her for the metting with Madame Tenshin but he’s worried with her condition, which she replies to not worry. Akiyuki states that she is always worried about him, but Nakiami says it’s because he’s Xam’d. At the chambers, Madame Tenshin asks again the same question: what does Xam’d seek? Altough still not sure, Akiyuki has an opinion: that the Xam’d is just looking to live alongside people. He still needs the help of Nakiami and the people of the ship. Madame Tenshin states that the Hiruki is a lost soul for now, thoughts that can’t be given live and unsure of what they seek. She asks akiyuki to keep meditating in the answer and gives permission to remove the restraints on Akiyuki’s arm.

Moe pic of the ep.

I would say Porn.

Meanwhile, Bekinawa get’s drunk alongside Yunbo for having slapped Nakiami. No more words needed, just see the pic below.

Second moe pic of the ep.

Jibashiri

Back to Sentan Island, Dr. Ryuzo is coming back home when he’s approached by Prois Sukakki, the secretary of Commander Kakkiku (or his aide, whatever you call it). She states there’s an anti-humanform research lab being assembled in the island and they wanted his expertise on the team. Problem is, Ryuzo hates soldies and doesn’t want anything to do with the military. but prois uses her trump: she mentions that she’s on behalf of Tojiro Kakisu, the man he saved at the battle of Barador. Again at night, Akiyuki tries to write a letter in his cabin but without luck. Asushiba teases him again, but since Akiyuki gently ignores him, he just gives up on him.

I hope the anime doesn’t reveal he was a former lover -.-y

This is the most important scene of the episode. A strange cilinder shaped ship comes from a hole in the ground (not really certain, it’s dark as hell). They land nearby, and it’s crewmembers come out. It’s the albino kids, fully geared in a suit resembling Skeksis from the Dark Crystal or the gear that Plague Doctors would use in the times of the Black Plague, one of the earliest appearances of a hazmat suit. Meanwhile, a guy is running away from some soldiers. The Albino Kids walk some ruins until they find the corpse of a pregnant woman. Sensing something, they remove what appears to be a Hiruko from the woman’s belly and collect it on their staves. The runaway man finds them and says they are the ones that remove the Hiruko from the deceased, the Jibashiri. The soldiers find the runaway and shoot him in the head.

*Insert tune from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” here*

Soylent Green is PEOPLE!

Conclusions

Okay, this episode so many questions, I’m not even sure where to start. First of all, the Hiruko. What the hell is it afterall? I would speculate it’s some sort of memories or even counscience from the deceased, but it can be from anyone or newborns like we have seen on the ep? Second of all, how the hell it’s related with Lady Sannova plans? I suppose she’s part of the good guys, but these animes tend to have thin frontiers on what’s morally good or evil.

Nakiami’s a Tessik then, with their trademark tattoos. But the albino kids are Tessik too, since they have them on the ankles? There is one bigger issue, why they are albinos? A theory I have is because of the place they live in. In the ep, it was said that Lady Sannova was exiled, but never stated to where. Another fact is that the Jibashiri ship seems co come from a hole in the ground. So I speculate they live underground, and the idillic paradise we see on their scenes is man-made. It would also explain the abnormal pale colour of their skins and hairs.

Zeygend spells troubles and isn’t hard to guess he will be the first “villian” the crew will face. I just hope someone smashes his nose, I don’t like the due even one bit and we’ve only seen his goddamn face…

And it’s just me or Akushiba is a loser for having a pic of Nakiami with the rest of the guys there crossed out? And let’s not mention Raigyo, I’ve already commented about that above.