Spending that first paycheck well doesn’t happen as often as it should…at least Kanata did not waste it on a first payment for a car she could not afford.
Funny how they decided to have a small part on pay problems on the same week I had to help process travel claims. While the 1121st being Beer Barons in their spare time is a fantasy, I think that every unit wishes they could distill their own booze. I have seen more than one of those Mr. Beer home brew kits at some garrison units so I think that the dream of being able to make your own liquor is alive but a far fetched dream nonetheless. Still even if they are living the dream it at least explains how they are rather well equipped for a unit, that by Kureha’s confession, is considered a joke. As making ends meet goes I am glad they didn’t turn to abusing their weapons to get what they needed and I can somewhat sympathize if I were not only paid late but in script as well… I can see why recruitment fell so drastically and it sheds a little light on why Claus was playing courier. I like how they hinted at some black market activity in previous episodes with Naomi having minimal business but lots of cash on hand as well as their possession of a sizable motor pool.
We got a lot more information about the setting with the little details that they gave. The economy seems to have tanked if they are paying the people with weapons in script without a mass mutiny over pay. Manufactured goods of all sorts seem to be held in much higher value and the local market seems to be powered by the exchange of items we would consider junk and common, indicating there is a shortage of everything. I am guessing that the war must have been long if there is a dearth of civilian goods that they were able to scavenge out of the ruins of the previous civilization. It’s a rather dire situation but the atmosphere is as far away from GRIM DARK as you can get. Even in the case of organized crime it seems that there are still small competing groups fighting over illegal activities. Racketeering is probably less attractive since the most well armed people are being paid in script, meaning there is a shortage of hard currency. If the Big Time Crooks from the cities are buying at a glorified swap meet then I think it is safe to say these are hard times even for them. Given that there are fewer people I suppose it is possible that pretty much every one can find meaningful employment prostitution is probably less attractive not to mention I can’t imagine what kind of prostitute would accept payment in script. Alcohol at least is a physical commodity that can be traded and is in demand judging by the state monopoly and associated taxation, so it’s a reasonable stretch in a war torn world. I am surprised that there is no black arms market going on but given how the standing government can get away with paying it’s troops in script it must have adequate means to enforce order to prevent anarchy. That or it’s because the general population is too exhausted to want to employ violence after six months of peace when all they knew for a long time was war.
It was fun to see how the events were intertwined and there was a measure of instant gratification when it came to guesses as to what had happened. Despite the fanciful nature of the mafia cosplay it was enjoyable, though I doubt Noel or anyone could fire a MG-42 from the hip with a reasonable degree of accuracy. At least in that regard A-1 seems to have a love for weapons almost on par with Black Lagoon and Canaan. They explain an awful lot without directly telling the audience and I quite like that aspect since it’s rather fun to put together the pieces. While we have deviated from military reality into the realm of fantasy it remains nonetheless plausible and with regards to making your own booze a coveted dream of many a military unit that has no liquor ration. Given how the place seems to have a strong French influence I am sure that a monopoly on spirits would be intolerable enough that you can build a criminal empire around it’s distribution. The second half was a little less enjoyable for me simply because I really didn’t care about that kid, but still her tragedy did offer a little more information. Other than economics it seems that the local Church is also running a “Your Name in Ideograms” business on the side and that the eastern front saw more conflict than west, hence why that defense line is still largely intact and functional around Seize. I am not sure if the “invisible reaper” is necessarily a biological, chemical, or radiological weapon since the kid survived instead of her mom, I would have expected the opposite since children are more susceptible to biological and chemical agents. Since there was a period of hyper advanced weapons of war it might have been a surprise attack by cloaked units but I am thoroughly intrigued as to what invisible weapon wiped out Vingt.
As side jobs go selling moonshine is certainly more lucrative than being the pizza delivery boy for the on base pizza parlor(s), pizza delivery usually tips well and from what I have seen doesn’t infringe too greatly on one’s real job in the military. Kanata and her first pay check was a suitable moment to set things is motion. Far too few E-2s and E-3s spend that first paycheck wisely, for most kids it may well be the most money they have seen in their lives up until that point. As far as I can tell that first paycheck is more often than not used towards buying a new truck or car that poor bastard can’t really afford which leads to a bad financial start off the bat. I have heard tales from older senior enlisted about the old days before the financial management classes started up, on how the POV sale lots had some sweet deals on on relatively new cars due to E-2s and E-3s getting overly excited about their first paycheck. Kanata’s use of her first paycheck was rather fanciful, but still it is the ideal that middling and senior enlisted would rather have things shake out. While Sora no Woto does go into flights of fancy it is still well grounded in reality and down to earth military ideals regarding garrison life.
Man they have it rough late pay and it’s in script I am surprised they haven’t mutinied yet.
Eventually they’ll have to tell her, but why keep secrets?
I for one, am glad they have mandatory direct deposit.
Sure beats being the on base pizza delivery boy.
Well at least this explains why they are so well equipped.
At first I thought they were here to enforce Prohibition.
Good goods are never cheap, cheap goods are never good.
Remember no Russian.
His head hardly qualifies as pretty…
Ask them if they are feeling lucky…
This one forgets if it’s heat sink is over capacity…
Someone really likes their period weaponry, sadly I doubt Noel or anyone can control a MG-42 without the bipod or tripod…
They call her, Big Mama…
For a minute there I thought that we just went into GRIM DARK territory.
Should have caught on that the lack of blood was due to lack of real rounds and not just censorship…
She doesn’t believe in the three strikes…
It seems that Big Mama has bigger guns than you…
I know what you are thinking, did I just fire six shots or five shots?
Well to tell you the truth I lost track myself. So you only have to ask yourself do you feel lucky…
Well? DO YA, PUNK?!
I wonder if that was how she became the Butcher of Torfan…
I wonder if they call their side job their little thing…
You don’t stand much of a chance against anything…
Things must be grim if a pile of stuff from a flea market is considered treasure…
More likely they will ask for you to HOOK THEM UP, unless they are one of those boring Mormons, in which case they might take your smokes while they are at it…
Wow state monopoly? That is HARSH and no liquor ration too…
Seems the Arch-duke is is rather tyrannical… or really hard up for money.
Like any good distillery they built their business on tradition.
Rio just had to bottle it at the source…
I have to say even if they are a yard bird unit, they got one of the best billets in the whole army.
It’s precious to her…
Your John Travolta cosplay is made of FAIL.
To be fair you walked into it…
Scary how someone might actually believe her…
More colorful than your standard fare…
I hope she’s saying that because she is color blind…
I take it there are no trash dumps in this country…
I see that ideograms are not only read by a select few, but have MYSTICAL POWERS. Quite how the equivalent to the “Your Name in Chinese” kiosk on Pier 39 became a religion, would make for an interesting and hilarious story.
It’d be real fucked up if he survived the war and wanted nothing to do with his family, still he’s MIA and presumed KIA.
OH SHI- she was living on Ostfront…
Not sure if that was a biological or chemical agent, or simply a mass attack by cloaked units…
CHANCE!
FUCK YEAH YURI!
Coincidences happen everyday…but I don’t trust coincidences.
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Argh! You beat me to it. I was all set to make Beer Baron jokes!
It was going to involve new hats and bowling balls and catapults…
Sigh…
Well they haven’t exactly resorted to bathtub gin…
i loved the noir-esque moonshining scene, for a second i really thought they had killed them, until i realized there were two mafia groups…
you’d never expect the girls to be doing something like this, especially since its illegal, but i guess the cultural climate, and mainly the remoteness, makes it acceptable.
I think the first group (which includes Naomi) are the townies working the black market and the moonshine runs, they have a lot to lose if the mob muscles their way into the operation. Plus once the mob gets in they’ll have their own rackets such as gambling, protection and child slavery (using the church orphanage as a source). Bootlegging is the lesser of those evils…
Then it’d be really grimdark…
Heh. It looks a massive deflation took place. 100 japanese yen right now is worth only a dollar, hence the reason why japan has 100 yen shops instead of dollar stores. however, it looks like in the future, a yen is worth a dollar, either that or that glass dolphin/car is worthless, cause i don’t think 1.50 would pay for either those.
Strange though, considering they are speaking french, I would more expect the currency to be euro. I highly doubt that yen would become a wide spread currency in the future. us dollar is going downhill right now and I won’t be surprised if in the future the gov just says fuck it, let’s use euro or something. so I was expecting euro to be the world currency, especially considering it is the aftermath of a wide spread war.
They probably used what was plentiful, as for universal currency it’s bound to happen when every one has dealings across the globe. Still not even the euro is immune to the ups and downs of exchange rates, Greece was having problems that just had a rippling effect on the rest of them.
THESE GIRLS ARE LIVING THE GOOD LIFE…
Isn’t it a fact of life when:
Too much free time + not enough funds = troops coming up with ways to make extra income?
Bootlegging is at least a more decent sideline (heck, even monks did it back in ye olde days) than some of the more unsavourly stuff troops have been busted for, even if asked to account for a few hundred rounds of 7.92mm blanks, Felicia can handwave it as training expendibles. Claus (who I probably assume is the Brigade S1) is probably in on it and closes a blind eye as long as the girls do their main job. It seems that Prohibition type laws are more to do with a monopoly on trade and import of alcohol (taxes and repatriations?) rather than for moral panic reasons, based on Noel’s comment.
I can accept the presence of a still, the fortress used to be a high school and the previous generations of fortress maidens probably scrounged something from a chemistry lab. The vineyard on the other hand, might be the best kept secret in the region (unless they use those berries from the last episode)…
I’m just wondering why doesn’t Felicia and Rio use the booze as a way to barter or scam for stuff they can’t buy from other units? It doesn’t seem like they’re the only outfit with a reasonable sideline…
Silly me, Calvados is an APPLE spirit… serves me right for being a vodka drinker…
My question: Is the brew flammable?
I mean they’re the Fire Maidens and all…
Calvados is flammable, perfect for all “flambé” dish.
Judging by that fully functional motorpool and the ability to have a meister grind specialist lenses I’d say they probably barter often enough.
Given how desperate people can be for smokes and booze coupled with a post war situation with everything in tatters and a state monoply it’s not beyond the pale. Its a better use of free time than just goofing off.
Praise be to Chemistry and Fermentation!
Listing the known traditions of Fortress Maidens.
1. Choosing the festival Fire Maiden. Where in legend the Fire Maidens saved the town at the cost of their lives. The unlucky girl reenacts the legend. This year was Rio.
2. ‘End of the World’ Hike from Hell and Hot Spring Bath.
3. Discovering the secret of “Salary” and joining the Bootlegging Conspiracy. (What?!)
These are just some of the rites towards womanhood every Fortress girl has to go through.
Unfortunately Kanata is too naive and pure hearted to join the conspiracy.
Suddenly I remember episode 1 with those soldier looking forward to booze and women at their destination. They got tricked. Seize is where the booze and women are at.
Klaus? He’s living the dream… Being the only guy visiting the fort he is the only male the girls are mostly exposed to. How many fortress girls before Kureha has fallen for this guy? Plus he gets a bribe, one bottle at every other visit.
Klaus has a decent retirement, but not the best he’s still paid in script…
Kanata hasn’t been in long enough to be initiated also she might unintentionally give away the secret, right now they are trying to make sure Kureha can keep quite on her own.
Oddly enough these Fire Maiden make Fire Water…
Remember, if it doesn’t burn blue, it’s not worth drinking…
Anyway, those guys with the homebrew beer kits, are these legit (as in messing purposes), or do they need to keep it under wraps for fear of getting busted? Are the natives in Afghanistan as dry as the natives in Iraq, or do they have their own concoction of home made dragster fuel?
It varies, I have seen people fail at it stateside, not sure if they can manage over there with any significant amount of success. The whole damn region is dry the only exception is Dubai I think.
I’m pretty sure this ‘invisable reaper’ was a cloaked attack. There was a mention of the ability to cloak on the tank in an earlier episode and Sora no Woto is the type of show to give us hints like that.
Maybe it was something bigger than a tank…time will tell…
The revealing of the secret was really surprising this epsisode. I’m sure absolutely no one saw this twist coming. As great as the moonshining revelation was, however, what really impressed me were the production values this episode. The framerate for the shooting scene was monstrous and the entire episode looked fantastic.
The fact that the platoon even has to resort to that side business speaks volumes not only about the state of the world in general, but also to the value placed on the 1121st platoon within the military. I don’t think they’re really discriminating against Kanata in not telling her about the distillery. As we were shown in an earlier episode Kureha wasn’t privy to the secret and must have found out just recently. Rio also stated this episode that Noel and Kureha didn’t know until they started asking questions. I’m sure if Kanata ever wises up and asks they won’t lie to her.
I’m really interested to see if they’re going to go any farther with this and make it a driving force behind the main plot. Noel’s listing all the grave consequences of them ever being found out gave a pretty ominous impression of the possibilities of things to come.
Now that there is no Chaos of war the central government will eventually reassert control, but it will probably take them a while. The seem to be far enough into the boondocks that no one really takes notice. Still as a money making scheme it’s not as bad as it could have been, making moonshine is as bad as say racketeering.
“Should have caught on that the lack of blood was due to lack of real rounds and not just censorship…”. Could be both, after all if a show like Noir can have zero blood, then I’m pretty sure this can too. Also the first part reminded me of Baccano.
Perhaps but they did have me fooled for a while.