Wait for it Price we only got one shot at that bastard Zakhaev…
Rio-hime has gone off to try and bring peace, but it seems that negotiations have been over for some time as it must have taken a while for both Helvetia and Rome to mobilize forces to far flung frontiers. Considering that Vingt, where the fighting was the fiercest in the last war, is in the east, it is no small logistical feat for the Romans to mass on the Western Border which was lightly defended but carefully watched. Noel seems to have been the Harbinger of the Romans’ destruction when she was working for Helvetian weapons reclamation (they weren’t making anything new they were just bringing back some of those old magical weapons). However it seems that Noel was dubbed as the Witch of Helvetia for being the Reclaimer of Lost Technology during her time under Colonel Hopkins. Much of this episode hints at how when Noel was loli that she had an affinity for the relics of the past that Helvetia needed to fight off Rome. The interesting thing here is that the use of WMDs is the side that is fighting for national survival which is probably the most likely use of WMDs in our own world as their use as first strike weapons is unthinkable in cases of mutually assured destruction be by internal WMD stockpiles or being under the aegis of a power that does have WMDs. Nevertheless one can be pretty certain that if a nuclear state were to be invaded and on the verge of perceived defeat the nukes would fly the VX gas canisters will be used. As serious as the use of chemical weapons is it seems that Rome with it superior numbers of conventional forces backed Helvetia into a corner and asked for Iliya and now Rio as a hostage wife of the Emperor between a the choice of fighting a war they probably couldn’t win and becoming a vassal state, Helvetia chose to fight it out for independence and eventually resorted to unleashing the horrors of the past to avoid defeat. In that context the use of Noel’s reclaimed chemical weapon (possibly a blister agent like phosgene given the coughing of blood, though there is a lack of horrific blisters) isn’t as clear cut as it may seem from the usual WMDs are only used by the bad guys trope that permeates more simplistic takes/platitudes about war. Given that the Roman Army was attacking Vingt when the gas was used and they are invading now that the Emperor cannot have Rio as wife and hostage it’s not as if the Romans are the good guys either nor is Noel completely absolved of her involvement in creating the WMD (though getting sleepy might earn her more forgiveness in the short term).
Noel has regrets about her involvement for which I don’t really blame her since she was a child at the time and it happened on a larger scale with Physicists after the advent of nuclear weapons. In the case of atomic weapons many physicists had a crisis in faith as their science was used for a most dramatic weapon of destruction, even if the use of both bombs resulted in less death and destruction than incendiary munitions used over Japan I suppose the knowledge that just one nuclear weapon can gut a city was just too awful to contemplate. At least that is how the story goes as my Microbiology Professors told it in how microbiology benefited from the mass defection of physicists having trouble reconciling how their science ushered in MAD. Also Noel seems to have visited the sites of her handiwork which gave her guilty conscience a face and a a few parting words. As a microbiologist I can sympathize with Noel since my science can be used to create bio-warfare agents that can cause a most painful death, however it can also provide resources, medicines, and bio remediation. Like pretty much everything else it can cut both ways. Even if Noel has reservations about completing Takemikazuchi I hope she realizes that Takemikazuchi can be instrumental in liberating Rio from a loveless hetero marriage. Even if the my inner scientist is sympathetic my inner sailor is looking at this most horrid of scenarios with black humor, and to that end I assuaged my own horror by pretending that Noel’s Invisible Reaper was an anti-boy agent that culled the male population of three towns that resulted in a gender skew favoring the females. The truth is probably all the males 18-40 were rounded up into elite Royal Guard formations with all the best equipment that formed the nucleus of the Helvetian Army’s striking power, it’s probably the same with the Roman army as well since they also used young women for dangerous scouting missions and kept the 18-40 males in the main attack force.
I have my doubts that Noel has cut all her ties to the weapons reclamation program, as it is unlikely that Hopkins would simply let go of his little loli genius who gave him the weapons which he earned his own infamy, and some how miss that Noel was still in the Army using the same name that is now infamous among the Romans. Hopefully they will reveal a little bit on how Noel managed to stay with the 1121st for so long, even if it was just because there was a budget cut, royal protection from Iliya, or that Hopkins was reprimanded after Vingt. Hopefully Noel is going to make a speedy recovery since there is a BIG FIGHT coming to the town. Right now my own constructed timeline is that 200 some years ago the Angel of the Apocalypse (Rodan) gave civilization and the ecology of the Earth a good thrashing before it was finally killed, possibly by fire maidens with a Type 0 tank, from the ashes rise competing states one of which becomes Rome and another becomes Helvetia. Religion takes over as science and technology decline, the religious question of the “purpose” of Rodan causes a schism that prompts conflict (though wars are not necessarily religious in nature they provide an additional dimension to the political struggle of Helvetia for continued independence and Roman Imperial ambitions). Helvetia is not a major power like Rome and seeks to work out an alliance but the marriage plans for Iliya to marry the Emperor turn sour, for whatever reason Rome will not accept continued Helvetian independence (whether it is because they have other major power to content with, they are simply expansionist, wish to control the site of Rodan’s watery grave for religious reasons, and/or if the Emperor just plain likes pretty women is anyone’s guess). War breaks out and Rome invades Helvetia through Vingt, at first things go bad for the Vingt garrison, desperate to avoid rout Hopkins is authorized to use Noel’s chemical agent to turn the tide. However Hopkins has only enough to use on three targets with any meaningful force from his new weapon, three towns are hit the vagaries of using gas in an open environment with winds blowing about means that Helvetians are killed whether by design or by accident since this is the first time chemical warfare is reintroduced since the coming of Rodan. Iliya is sent with her royal guard divisions as an armored reserve to mop up the Roman who have been thrown into disarray from the use of the Invisible Reaper. The Romans come to know that Noel was the one who created the gas, while the Helvetian Army covers up the incident and disbands Hopkins’ unit. Noel is reassigned to the 1121st, whether by simple military orders or royal protection is not known, but Iliya with her penchant for saving little girls it is possible that she posted Noel far away to the west to save Noel from being pressured to develop any more WMDs.
On a lighter note Rio may be gone but Aisha has ended up being Felicia’s new plaything. On the one hand 1121st is not doing anything wrong by treating their prisoner well, but in reality depending on the army and depending on how that army sees the enemy POW tactical information is only good for about 72 hours tops after that a scout isn’t likely to know much more beyond his/her mission, how many units they have seen, and how big their unit is. They might know some of the other chains of command but that isn’t usually the case. In truth unskilled interrogators are more likely to try and beat out information from a prisoner if they are desperate/scared enough. Usual military routine is to treat, tag, bag, and pass Mr. Suspect up the chain. Even with terrorists the small time guys who are just in it for the money just sell people they kidnap higher up the chain until one of bigger groups that has an agenda buys up the hostage and begins a media blitz. It’s not necessarily out of brutality that a POW is mistreated, but out of fear of the enemy and how many of them are there how strong are they, etc. Skilled interrogators are less likely to simply beat it out of people though those people are more rare than excited front-line troops going off on what they have seen in the movies (believe it or not even terrorists watch Hollywood movies and shoot gangsta style). In that sense any attempt to beat Aisha into giving out information relating to her mission was rendered moot since the main Roman spearhead was not far behind her, hence any info she still has will be of limited use once the shooting starts in earnest.
Aisha might be a late addition but she did do somethings right as a POW in that she humanized herself, not that she needed to with the 1121st but she probably will need some good will from her captors now that Hopkins is calling the shots. If Aisha is lucky Noel’s groping is the worst it’s going to get, but given the general tone of the series I don’t think that they will go into detail about how the 9th can be more brutal to POWs. I have heard of methods that they can use, and as novel as Felicia’s threat of yuri rape was it was nonetheless a tactic that can and has been employed, historically rape of POWs have happened and if you think that only women can be raped think again. It’s a rather depressing subject and one that I’d rather not dwell on. Still since we know that Felicia is a nice gal I can say that her threat was amusing and did serve to ferret out if Aisha knew how to at least listen in on the Helvetian language (really important for the US since English is a widely taught language, and just because the locals can’t speak it doesn’t mean they can’t listen in and understand). Aisha either really didn’t know or kept her nerve or excitement (give me a break it was delightfully yuirlicious) and showed confusion. Not sure how the rest of the Romans are but I like Aisha in that she kept her nerve and didn’t give up anything useful to the 1121st, even if they are on friendly terms Aisha is still a POW and the 1121st and now the 9th are her captors. Oh and being attended to as if she had a yuri harem, not to mention her alone time with Noel earned her points as well. Even if Aisha recoiled from the groping it’s a normal reaction given how she was probably in an adrenaline down phase after she worked up the adrenaline to attempt to stab Noel with scissors. I have never attempted something so brazen so I don’t really know what would happen, it probably involve a slap at some point though…
Now that we are approaching the end game with a cliffhanger to dwell on for a week or so, I personally am hoping that Hopkins isn’t just merely a caricature of evil incarnate and that he has a brain. I have faith that Hopkins will make some good decisions in regards to that big Roman Army marching on him and set aside his suspicions with regards to the 1121st. Even if they were harboring a POW Noel and her crew are the only ones who know how to operate Takemikazuchi without any problems. If he’s dumb enough to trust Takemikazuchi to an unfamiliar tank crew he pretty much loses an ace in the hole since he might be outnumbered. Interrogating Aisha is pretty much pointless now since the Romans aren’t hiding out there and all he really needs to do is secure Aisha until there is a lull in the fighting to get some info about the unit she was assigned to. Even if Rio can’t save the day perhaps Takemikazuchi with the 1121st in tow will assume the mantle of Liberty Prime and give the Romans a bloody enough nose to disengage. If there is still time then Takemikazuchi and the 1121st with/without Aisha will begin the Liberation of Rio-hime. I don’t think they are going to go deep into GRIM DARK territory since they have been very mature about the whole series up to this point, the war itself is not as clear cut as say an AU Gundam or Marcoss, but it is refreshing in an almost (again almost) LOGH kind of way since both sides have some pretty major faults (minus the long meetings about meetings, overt history lessons, operational art, grand strategy, large unit tactics). Nonetheless I am pretty excited about the conclusion, certainly up to now Sora no Woto has impressed on many levels, hopefully more people will allow the series to just sweep them away.
I don’t think that’s Jacott…
Designation: Liberty Prime… Mission: The Liberation of Rio-hime of Helvetia
Primary Targets: Any and All Enemies of Noel…
Emergency Imperial Acquisition Directive: Immediate Self Destruct…Better Dead than Red…
It’s probably chemical…
Goddamn Hopkins you’re amateur if you think chemical weapons are going to win this for you…
Good to know that Hopkins flunked chemistry…
Death with a smile…
Well it looks like Noel’s anti-Boy agent is rather lethal…
Not sure if that is a M1911…
I warn you Kanata there are differences be mindful of them…
I suppose Kureha didn’t dispose of any witnesses…
Wait how come Aisha was alone? Is she just an Army of One?
Damn that must have been a brutal forced march through the winter to get here…
Noel mocks your yandere FAIL.
Don’t worry it’s consensual!
Well that was rather quick…
Aisha I hope that’s not your real outfit because if that is they now know more than you realize…
Rank is optional, but good your name and serial number is all you should be telling them with regards to all matters military…
Kureha also took the liberty of getting her three sizes…
…
I don’t think she knows that Felicia is hitting on her…
Felicia considers silence as a yes…
Let her think about that for a minute…
You’d like that if Rio was the one to do it to you amirite?
Kanata doesn’t know but she can damn well imagine… Noel looks like she has seen it before…
Congratulations you are now in a yuri love triangle…
Noel was getting hungry too…
DAAAWWWWWW…
Good to see that Aisha remembers that her primary obligation is to escape.
Wait that mecha hating Rodan? Fuck no it’s a Demon!
You probably meant Latin, but the truth is she’s speaking German…
Lucky you Kanata you have a valuable musical instrument fit for royalty.
Anything from Rio is wonderful.
Well that is a bit excessive you can barely see that hickey…
I hope you guys have all your winter gear ready…
And his name is ZEUS!
I guess some one fell asleep when they mentioned to never discuss religion with the locals let alone captors of another faith…
Now you are thinking.
Oh ho the humanize yourself tactic eh?
Well I still think that Rodan is a demon…
Oh dear…not saying that isn’t impossible for your grandma to fall in love with her captor, but part of me thinks that love for him might have come later in life if at all…
That thing isn’t Kuroko… ITS NOT EVEN UIHARU!
Well maybe grandma did convert willingly…
Wait don’t tell me Rodan’s corpse is their equivalent to the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock…
You have to feel sorry for that one guy who couldn’t leave his pack on a vehicle.
He’s rather Roman looking…
Well if Noel hates the guy I hate him too.
I shall dub him Chemical Hopkins.
Sorry Kanata now is the not the time for wishes…shit’s happening it’s time to do something.
That is not going to cut it for them at the Hague…Let’s hope that Rio can grant amnesty.
Seems the Roman have gone a bit way down since the heyday of the Roman Republic…lone scouts, really?
I wonder who told him that…
To Be Continued…
It seems that Noel is quite famous…whether that is due to poor OPSEC is anyone’s guess.
The Harbinger of the Emperor’s Destruction…
Miss Moel…
I think the Romans aim to change that “n” to an “R”…
41 Comments
After what happened in this episode I was really looking forward to your entry Crusader, and you didn’t dissapoint. Nice observations on the likely timeline and chain-of-events, and indeed how Noel must suddenly feel like Oppenheimer at his lowest, except she had the additional horror of coming face-to-face with the immediate results of the weapon she helped develop (to the extent of seeing at least one person dying from it), presumably while still a child. Small wonder she’s become an introvert since then.
Regarding the episode itself, the final ten-or-so minutes were for me the best part of Sora No Woto yet, just because suddenly all of these characters are in a grim situation and I realised that I cared, even for (previously) annoying characters like Yumina who suddenly shone in how not only was she able to function as a translator, but didn’t shy away from Aisha’s opposing relgious doctine: while she reacted badly initially, the scene later when they are huddled in the old classroom indicates that Yumina wanted to know more about the Roman interpretation of Rodan. The fact that she isn’t shutting herself in a religious bubble and is willing to at least listen to other faiths/doctrines is something I find refreshing.
On that note, we now know that the Helvatian Orthodox Church is possibly pantheastic (although earlier episodes indicated that the faith’s elders/leaders would not approve of the Candle ceremony). It’s interesting that they believe in a singular Devil though. Rome on the other-hand is (unsurprisingly) monothestic. I wonder if the other differences are over a doctrine, or if they are as different as Buddhism and Christianity. I get the suspicion that certain Judeo-Christian elements are present in the Helvatian Orthodoxy, unless those stained glass windows of the mother-and-child and the cruciform above Yumina’s church are just holdovers from before the Apocalypse or have lost their original meaning in favour of a new cultural context.
Aisha adds another spin on the mono-culture, in that she’s ethnically (I suspect) either Arabian or Indian-Asian, has a Hindu Bindi spot on her forehead, follows a monothestic faith, has an ethnically Islamic name, serves in the Roman army, and speaks German (apparently her voice-actress studied in Austria and evidently speaks the language fluently and markedly accent-free, though Yumina’s actress also does much better than most attempts at foreign language I’ve seen in anime). It makes the mind boggle, but its amusing how quickly I’ve adapted to the strange culture of the show and want to know more about it.
Aisha I have to say kind of rocks, and nicely upsets the group dynamic, while still allowing for Kanata and Noel to have their yuri-moments, Kureha to call them out over the fact that ‘we’re still soldiers’ and forces Felicia to make a command decision (which of course, she does with a smile). I do want to also give Aisha credit for sussing (presumably) that Noel had her regrets/was trying to atone for the Invisible Reaper incident and went after her when she ran off screaming, even though she must have understood that the 9th were searching the building for her. So she basically went into enemy territory in aid of a friend – guess it shows why she was a front-line scout, the girl’s got guts. I would be very happy to see her help crew Takemikazuchi with the rest of the 1121st (I suspect/hope that the tank has multi-linguistic software which would allow her to perform a useful role whilst overcoming the language barrier).
Hopkins, I think is a rank bastard, but at the same time I’m left with the horrible feeling that he did what was necessary to preserve Helvatia in the face of superior enemy numbers. His actions are contemptable, but his motivations may justify them. I was almost trying to con-myself into thinking he was a double-agent or subversive or a sadist/criminal/monster on the level of Heydrich just to allow me to hate him legitimately. That said, abusing a child’s genius and making Noel cry is probably grounds enough for total, justifiable hate. And can I say, Noel’s pained screaming towards the finale was heart-wrenching!
I honestly want more of this. There’s so many threads to wrap up, including how Rio could possibly play into this. I am left wondering if we’ll get a comprehensive explanation of who/what Rodan was, or if we’ll see the various character backstories elaborated on any further, but Sora No Woto has taken me on an emotional journey where I cared for the characters unequaled since the hallowed days of Azumanga Daioh, and as long as that core emotional plot gets a satisfying conclusion (it doesn’t even need to be a happy ending so long as I feel my emotional investment was worth it) I will happily sing its praises and buy the DVDs. I’ve already got my eyes on the OST…
After all that happened last week and given the direction the show had taken to date, I was pleasantly surprised that the show threw us something unexpected with this episode (a lot of unexpected things in fact). Here’s hoping the same for the finale!
Incidentally, thankyou Crusader for introducing me to this. The only reason I picked up on Sora No Woto was because of your reviews, and it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience! All the best, and I can’t wait for the final episode, and am just as eager to see your thoughts on it and the series as a whole when all is said and done and the cannons have fallen silent. Long live Princess Rio and her loyal followers in the 1121st!
Thanks for joining us. The only minor annoyance left is Kid Kaifun but he’s pretty much out of the way at this point. Yumina doesn’t strike me as a staunch advocate of orthodoxy since the local church has already made some modifications to doctrines laid forth by the Helvetian Central Church. It’s a weird pastiche of evrything but we shall see how these Romans fight, if they are fighting like Italians back in the 1930s and 1940s they are in for some trouble.
I suspect Aisha was supposed to be on the look out for increased Helvetian activity since the Western Front was up to that point lightly defended also they needed to figure out what those black boxes did as well. The Romans seem to be technically inferior when it comes to lost technology perhaps they sent scout like Aisha as path finders and force recon to report on the defenses of the towns they intend to attack.
Right now Hopkins seems to be on the Helvetian team along with Rio and the 1121st, even if his methods are unsavory he is acting as a defender of Helvetian independence. He’s still a Colonel despite his success at Vingt so I suppose that he might have been censured for using the Invisible Reaper, If success was all that mattered he’d be a hero and probably a Brigadier General by now. I am curious as to see how Aisha will react to her situation so far she has tread that fine line between getting chumy and keeping faith with Rome. There are some exclusive DVD eps so that might shed a little more light for some other stuff. It will be interesting to see if they can pull it all off, so far they have surprised me at almost every turn I hope it continues.
Why do I get the feeling that there’s going to be a Tomino ending for the 1121st???
Unfortunately Hopkins exemplifies an ugly truth, bastards like him are needed around for national survival, to paraphrase a line, we can’t handle the truth and we need him on that wall. Not all officers are necessarily gentlemen… He looks like he enjoys his job a little too much (Gentlemen, he loves war?) to be a professional who hates mass murder but hates losing even more… I would assume that genius savant loli Moel, after being used to concoct brews like phosgene and VX, would have been disposed of quietly if Iliya and/or the unnamed Professor didn’t quietly smuggle her out of the weapons lab.
The Romans seems more like a reconstructed Western Empire (or at least Byzantium), speaking German and with a mix of diverse races. I think Aisha’s pistol is a Browning (thought it was a SIG P210 at first though).
Note that HQ didn’t call the 1121st until AFTER Hopkins showed up, which means that his division was on the march early. If that’s the case and he’s operating on his own agenda (a quick run into No Man’s Land to provoke a reaction?), the Romans may be merely responding to his manuvers and the Helvetians here may be forced into a fight they didn’t want…
And oh yes, Felicia has the most awesome way to determine if an enemy scout can speak the lingo…
Unlike a Tomino end I am sure they will have a more meaningful death than simply being Kamille’s supah shield.
If war is Hopkins’ home then it will be interesting to see how far he can go as he is just a man. As ugly as it is it’s the bastards like Hopkins that can do the dirty work that can win battles. Even Patton was a crazy racist anti-semite but he kept it enough to himself that he was able to throw men into battle and win regardless of the race and religion of the men he lead. LeMay and Halsey were also crazy and in the case of the former wasn’t going to pull any punches for the sake of moral high ground. At least LeMay was honest about who and what he was, not sure if Hopkins’ is cut from the same cloth though it is good to see that the side fighting for national survival is the one resorting to WMDs to stay in the fight.
Hopkins did catch the scout that was supposed to provide recon in Trieze he either knew something was up and predicted that the Romans would advance in an unexpected quarter or her got out more of that scout than he’s letting on. Maybe he just came here to reclaim his prized tech expert Noel, and the rest sort of just fell into place. What is known is that he did bag himself a Roman scout and headed to Sieze, there might be a correlation, and I suspect that there is. I doubt that Helvetia has the means to launch an offensive or try a pre-emptive strike since it is implied that the Romans already mobilized back when the Duke was making a phone call to Rio. Right now it seems that the Helvetians are reacting to Roman pressure. The Duke’s pleading with Rio was probably a last ditch attempt to maintain the truce through a marriage alliance.
Felicia was simply AWESOME this time around, part of me wishes she made good on those statements.
Oh, I don’t think Felicia was joking about some of the propositions she made… especially with the harvesting of Soma…
Wasn’t there an “accident” with the first scout Hopkins captured? I’d also surmise that the Rio’s father’s position is politically perilous, with hawks supporting the use of more WMDs and preempting the Romans. Marrying Rio off to seal a peace treaty may be the only way to avert both a coup and a war.
Anyone up for a dead pool prediction? My guesses on who lives or dies:
Kanata: 50/50, chances are that she’ll live…
Rio: Dies
Kureha: Dies, probably takes the bullet meant for Kanata or Rio…
Klaus: Dies…
Felicia: Dies, Last Stand Perk…
Noel: Dies with Felicia during a last stand with Takemikazuchi, does an Aidan Pryde on Tukkayid…
Yumina: Lives, but most of the children are killed off, including Mishio…
Naomi: Probably dies while organizing an evacuation…
Heres my Dead Pool prediction
Kanata: Lives
Rio: Dies in a valiant effort to save Helvetia
Kureha: Lives, in shock due to Rio’s death
Klaus: Dies, more pain for Kureha
Felicia: Dies, likely with Rio
Noel: Hahahaha, Noel is a god and, thus cannot die
Aisha: Lives a happy life, worshipping her beloved wife and god, Noel.
Yumina: Lives, takes the place of the old priest who dies protecting the children. Soon ends up reforming the church in proper monotheistic worship of the Yuri Godess, Noel.
Naomi: Dies, probably saving Kanata.
If the Duke is in a perilous position along with Rio then it will prove very interesting as it was a silent coup similar to what happened in WWI.
I’d rather not bet against them even if the odds are stacked against a happy ending.
I thought came to me that perhaps this is not a true ‘Roman empire’ wanna be but a wanna be of a wanna be being the ‘Holy Roman Empire’; Makes a bit more sense considering they speak German. Perhaps they some how got the main language of the ‘Holy Roman Empire’ mixed up with that of the true ‘Roman Empire’ in their emulation attempt after whatever appocalypse they went through?
Thought so too… although if they were Byzantine, it would explain Aisha’s skin tone (her grandfather may have been from the Turkey/Middle East), but then she would be speaking Greek…
I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trying to reclaim the legacy of the pre-Rodan era as Rome had held significant importance historically. Being the seat of papal power it might be a state that can draw on religious fervor as well as nationalism.
The interesting thing will be to see how they fight…
Interesting that opposing theological doctrines sprung up after the apocalypse. If what really spoke to Filicia was a ghost of a dead soldier not a halucination. The remains of “Them” is not generally known. Guess only Fortress Maidens who’ve taken a dip like Kanata knows of its existence on Seize. But agree with Yumina to worship the creatures that destroyed Human civilization and the world is blasphemous. Interestingly Roman’s have their own version of the Fortress Maiden story.
As for Aisha’s grandmother I think she got a sterilized story of her grandmother meeting her grandfather. I’m basing only this on the actions of the Roman emperor but taking the enemy’s women as wives may be a Roman cultural trait. It sort of makes a dark sense with the current depopulation. Added to the fact Roman’s could be polygamists. Aisha’s grandmother was probably raped and developed Stockholm Syndrome for her captor. One Fortress Maiden was taken in the past hopefully Rio won’t have her fate.
Oh crap! No wonder Noel couldn’t participate in the Obon. Her work is probably responsible for most of those deaths. If Mishio is an indication refugees have settled on Seize.
Why do I have a feeling Tank-kun will pull a Celestial Being on both the Roman and Helvetian Armies asses?
Either that or all that ruckus awakens one of those damn birds and the girls in Tank-kun will have to take it out.
I guess one could not see the corpse of Rodan without scuba dear or weighing themselves down like Kanata did during her unintended leap of faith. I have similar suspicions that Aisha’s grandmother did not get married out of love or even her own free will, with every state being depopulated and no indication of prisoner exchange it’s not beyond the pale to suspect that her grandmother was raped and couldn’t go back to Helvetia. Even if Aisha’s grandmother hated the grandfather perhaps she stayed because she could not part with her children and grand children. If the Emperor can have many wives I am sure that aspiring Roman officers would emulate such behavior, unless the Emperor is the only one who can have many wives. Given the culling of the male population it might be an outgrowth of promoting population increase.
I hope that it won’t be as crass as a CB intervention and I will RAEG if pixie dust starts coming of the engine block…
They have surprised me consistently enough that I am willing to put faith in that they are not Sunrise making and AU Gundam. I hope they don’t disappoint me and everyone else.
I’m pretty sure it’s RAEPRAEPRAEPRAEPRAEPRAEPRAEPRAEPRAEPRAEPRAEP, since it’s a common occurence for captured female soldiers and civilians (and some male soldiers too). In fact that would explain why we see female tank crews, the chances of getting isolated is relatively low and if the tank goes up, almost everyone bites it…
As previously mentioned, I’m expecting a Tomino ending with the Takemikazuchi, Felicia and Noel pulling an Aidan Pryde…
Kherubim you do bring up a good point.
Now that I’ve thought about it, it is possible that the all female squads of Helvetia’s military was set up to protect women soldiers from sexual abuse.
It would also explain why Hopkin’s forces are all male. The one soldiers who were in the train with Kanata mentioned their destination had good women. (Yeah these guys don’t get much.) A gender segregation set up in Helvetia’s military.
Good thing good men were with Kanata on the train even if they were looking to get laid on their destination and enjoy their discharge from conscription.
Bullshit! No you won’t. You won’t rage no matter what the outcome or even if it’s potentially stupid as hell because this is one of your pro-attitude blogging series. It could do the exact same things you griped about with the 00 ending and you’d still find a way to spin it as praiseworthy and I don’t even have to strain myself to picture it because every series I’ve ever seen you blog you only ever go 100% positive or 100% negative right from the get go and nothing in between, never switching positions, never erring….just staying the course.
Anyway my prediction is that everything is solved through dialogue about love and peace as delivered by the main girl characters and not one single shot or death is recorded. I will then proceed to gag myself with a spoon and we can call it a day. Care to place a friendly wager on it?
The chances of a Trans-AM for Takemikazuchi is pretty much close to nil. Since you have the gift of foresight maybe you can tell me if my commander in chief is destined to be the next Jimmy Carter instead of wasting your divining rod on a show you really don’t care about and that you can never truly understand and empathize with it as enlisted and conscripts do. I doubt that you are interested in sea stories that the enlisted and conscripted anime fans have to offer or what they have to say about this show.
Let me be very clear on this I have hope for the end I am not sure how it will play out but it has consistently surprised me at every turn. As hard military fiction it is pretty good at nailing down garrison life and military life, it would pass you by because you don’t know and you never will until you go through an enlistment or conscription. You don’t have those sea stories as I do as a basis for comparison. If you think that this is just K-On with guns more power to you, I don’t think it is and if you doubt how enlisted and conscripts would enjoy this show more than the average civilian that’s your issue.
I am willing to be surprised by the end because I genuinely don’t have any idea on if it will play out alright. I have nothing to give me a definitive prediction on how it will play out since this is not a long lived franchise. At least with Gundam you generally know how it will end since the only time the “heroes” lose was in 0083. Which was rather shocking the first time around. Gundam is fairly consistent with endings it usually hinges on a duel for the most part. Sora no Woto has exceeded my expectations often enough that expectations run high, They wouldn’t be high if it didn’t live up to much at all.
We shall see if they go the Gundam 00 route and bring out a Jihad-kun equivalent and roll out the Gaga equivalent and have a final duel between Rio and the Emperor with mecha. Sure I’d be pretty mad and sorely disappointed. For now they have yet to bring out a couch potato princess that doesn’t do jack shit but harp about idealistic platitudes and waste food on fat kids. That said they might be so inept that they roll out the Marina equivalent at the 11th hour. Anything is possible, but you are convinced that this show is crap and that you know how it will all play out.
As tempting as the offer of you killing yourself with a spoon is I’d rather put up with you and your pro-Sunrise agenda than see this series amount to nothing. It’s not much of a bet when I have to choose between betting on a well executed end and the pleasure of watching you end your life. I am not your friend and I really don’t want to have you flinging shit at a series you probably don’t watch and you don’t understand for the next two episodes in a bid to play devil’s advocate arguing this show sucks when most people already wrote it off as Moe-shit.
If Gundam 00 were beyond redemption I would not have stuck it out to the bitter end (shows that I don’t like even in the least get dropped, just look at that list just once), I liked aspects of Gundam 00, but it promised a lot and it fell short, Sora no Woto looked to be like K-On with guns and yet it delivered so much more to those who have enlisted or were conscripted and can sympathize and empathize with the main characters. If by now you cannot comprehend my Pro-Federation leanings and infinite hatred for Zekes and terrorists you never will. If you think I am reviewing as some sort of Pope of Good Taste and lay claim to being qualified to do literary criticism of media, you sir particularly slow. If I truly hated Gundam I would not even watch it let alone blog about it.
There has been a lack of mecha series this winter and Spring’s most promising aspect is Iron Man for the the mecha camp. In this winter of despair you complain about what little mecha there is instead of trying to appreciate what little has emerged from the snow. Some mecha fan you are…
As for a friendly wager those take place between friends, I am not your friend and I have doubts about your honesty and character. You attitude just plain sucks as does your etiquette and protocol. You are combative with anyone one who does not conform to your views and are hostile to anyone who has a problem with enjoying Gundam 100% of the time. Ghostlightning might forgive your errors in judgment and drive by Haruhi haet/Kyo-ani haet/haet for all things not Sunrise, but I just find it bothersome that you always come by to snipe at this and that. I cannot help but wonder whether or not you bother to watch the show before you try and play John Stewart, and end up like Glenn Beck. (Go ahead an laugh, but just because you fail to see similarities does not mean they do not exist)
In never gave Gundam 00 an F, it was passable better than Cosmic Era shit, but not a decisive turning point from much of what we have already seen. The promise of S1 Gundam 00 was not fulfilled, and as time goes on the political overtones will be seen as a joke, the Tamil Tigers have been vanquished, and the way things are going the predicted scenario might well be way off. If Gundam 00 doesn’t age well due to the then current events take I would not be surprised, that won’t make it a bad show, but much of it’s attempts at political commentary will be lost as time goes on and people forget that Ceylon had a war raging on it for 70 some years.
Well actually there’s plenty of mecha on the way. We’ve got lots more Votoms and if I’m not mistaken there is the next eva movie will be out soon. Then at the end of the year it’s more Unicorn.
I watched plenty Sora No Woto before putting it on hold and waiting to see if there was actually going to be a big revelation or not. Then it kind of turned out to be Turn A Gundam lite with it’s backstory which is perfectly okay in my book since I have never been a harsh stickler for originality. However at the end of the day when I still find the setting and mystery surrounding it infinitely more interesting than the characters and their interactions (only liking and identifying with one character in Rio myself) then that is kind of the death sentence for the double thumbs up in my book. Maybe one thumb up for giving the effort to be a little different than it’s art style and character designs would lead one to think.
As for Barack Obama being the next Jimmy Carter…..I’m going to say that if he starts focusing more on making successful inroads in foreign policy that Carter and his predecessor couldn’t then no…but if he focuses solely on domestic policy reform and the pipe dream that the Republicans are ever going to work with Democrats on forging moderate policy then not a chance. The GOP will use every opportunity it has to try to and forestall his policy if it passes through the house in order to make him look weak and ineffective. This means he has to start finding ways to work around them that will be to his advantage politically.
He already has one thing that Carter could never brag about though, one which is key to making an argument against a comparison in his post-presidential years. Obama oversaw a successful resolution to a hostage situation….Carter did not.
Lastly the only time I even once recall you using any positive tone in relation to a promise was in your Season 1 Episode 25 post which I just recently realized was because (and only because) Celestial Being got whupped by Sergei, Soma, Graham, Ali, Daryl, Alejandro and co. and that was the one and only thing you seemed to care about seeing in order for it to get a pass for the week. This rather personalized model of gauging positive vs. negative reaction to the show kind of continued throughout the second season and my impression of it can basically be summed up in about 4 sentences. Celestial Being? Boooo! Earth Federation? Hooooooah!
Though wait a moment….you use quotation marks around the title of “heroes” for the Earth Federation characters in Gundam 0083. Now this legitimately confuses me because aren’t you pro-Feddy? You couldn’t possibly be allowing any notion of heroism in the Delaz Fleet’s cause now could you? My you are full of surprises tonight now aren’t you……
P.S: I would love to hear some sea stories from the enlisted men. It may surprise you but I have gained a lot of respect for the ideals of the military over the past several years and what they are meant to stand stand for even if it’s not always or even rarely the true reality of it all. Men standing tall with courage and pride, defending the beliefs and rights of their homeland and defending the security of the public, often by putting themselves in potential danger. Of course there’s the darker side of things where it can be inferred that the military is defending the rights of private interests to the same extent as the general public if not more so….but I still want to hear more of their stories just the same.
P.S.S: The other reason why I could no longer maintain an active interest in Sora No Woto had to do with me finding Band of Brothers part way into it’s run and finding it’s story of Easy Company’s exploits several tiers more enjoyable than those of the Teen Girl Squad to the point where any time I tried to put on Sora No Woto after watching BoB I could only think of how much I’d rather be watching BoB instead. Sorry to say but there’s only room enough for one character driven military squad story in my life at any given time.
@Kaioshin
The “Heroes” was in the context of all Gundam AU and UC in AU it is not donned by many heroes in my book, but plenty of pricks. Also I was pretty positive when Ginin kicked Jihad-kun in the teeth and when the Ahead was a considerable threat to a Gundam, but in the end GN-XIIIs and Aheads ended up being cannon fodder. Bushido Bob did more cool posing than making himself useful to the war effort. Prince Ali made few appearances, and a piano was dragged out so that kids could sing for dramatic effect. Princess Poverty sat on a couch and was more useless than Relena. The one good thing about Gundam 00 was that it made me appreciate how Relena actually tried to make a difference instead of sitting in her castle watching the news… If you thought that Gagas were a good use of mecha, I’d say you were insane. I was quite happy about Katie marrying Patrick, I was quite unhappy with Andrei living, but consoled myself in that Andrei was not on Katie and Pat’s guest list. I enjoyed it on a different level. There was plenty to be disappointed about between Marina and Bushido Bob…feel free to argue how they were useful just keep in mind not every one is going to buy it, and that I am not alone.
There is no mecha being broadcast on a weekly basis if that does not give you even a moment of pause you are no fan in my book. I know what dedicated mecha action there is going to be, but I find the wait for Unicorn 2 is overly long and torturous end of the year is quite a long time away. Also there is the issue of waiting for subs. I look forward to seeing a lot of dead Zekes, but I still hate this long wait of months on end.
If Band of Brothers is your excuse you are unfashionably late and comparing a broadcast show to an HBO miniseries, they don’t have the same budget nor is Sora no Woto based on real events. To be honest Sora no Woto can be related to a wider pool of enlisted and conscripts the Band of Brothers experience belongs solely to those who fought it. If you put SnW on hold it probably wasn’t meant for you anyway. If you want tales of heroism and how much idealism means to us I doubt you will find much of that. What you will find is a bunch of stories about “This one time during convoy…” “There was this one officer that…” The reality is you probably aren’t interested in how low idealism is held, how prevalent cynicism is, and how the average grunt is more interested getting the day over with than how we will build a brave new world. You’d be surprised at how many enlisted because they had no where else to go or how many enlisted because they needed a way to pay for school. Conscripts have no say in the matter period so for them it’s not about idealism it’s about having to do time and getting out ASAP.
Fundamentally I think you are more interested in the Hollywood depiction of wartime human drama, as faithful as BoB was they made mistakes here and there. They condensed years into a few hours, of course it’s going to be high on drama, and less about drudgery. Don’t get me wrong BoB was great, but SnW is great too because it reflects the greater portion of the military experience known as garrison duty. SnW is pretty faithful to garrison duty, it’s not filled with drama but it happens, and is therefore relate-able to those who experienced it first hand. You want to hear war stories, but not every one has them. However almost everyone has the story of how they ended up making their first trucker bomb, or that first time they volunteered for something. It’s not exciting stuff to be honest words cannot convey what a unique, unpleasant, and odd experience it is to piss in a bottle and all the details surrounding the incident.
You have time to snipe at me and time to snipe at Ghosty’s lack of love for ZZ, the issue is not your lack of time. The issue is how you are choosing to spend it, and from my point of view you are spending it rather poorly by putting up comments like the first one you did. You went off on a mere hunch on an event that has yet to happen if ever. The end has yet to occur yet you insist that your ending will happen and that I will conform to your rather arrogant prediction. You cannot see the future so don’t pretend that it has already happened go off and cry foul before the very end. We shall see on Monday, but it is not Monday.
Shit just hit the fan… the fan of a jet engine.
That it did.
On Aisha’s grandparents, it only said that they met after her grandmother was captured. That doesn’t automatically mean that her grandfather was a Helvetian, he could have just been another Roman POW.
To be contrarian on another point, the Roman force that was destroyed after the scouts passed an ancient ruin may not have been the one that was destroyed by Noel’s chemical weapons. Two Roman scouts where shown passing one of the sentry block-things with the glowing ruins, and it was mentioned that Hopkins used recovered ancient technology. While the glowing glyph might have just been alerting the Helvetians to the Romans’ presence, it’s quite possible that he revived some ancient weapon to destroy them and the chemical weapons were used at other locations. If three towns were targeted as was stated this episode, then it sounds like it was a larger geographic area than just the one town/city that was fought over in the flashback.
I doubt that the Grandfather of AIsha is a Helvetian, more likely something more sinister happens to women POWs that the Romans get. There was no indication of prisoner swapping and even if they don’t tell us the dire implication remains as a distinct possibility that Aisha’s grandmother did not conceive willingly or even without duress.
My mistake if I accidentally said that the follow up forces that crossed the border were scenes from Vingt. To clarify I think that the Romans that crossed the western border was the same force that is training their weapons on the 9th and the 1121st. There were some ruins in vicinity of the “end of the world.” I suspect that the Romans advanced on the terminal position that Noel, Kureha, and Kanata etched their names on. The one who coughed up blood was mostly from the same time frame as Vingt. I don’t think that force that crossed the Black Boxes was destroyed and only detected though I suppose the Romans have even a lesser understanding about how they work. So far the invisible reaper was only confirmed to have been released at Vingt back when Iliya was still alive, Felicia was still enlisted, and Noel was loli.
Still perhaps your are right about there being more targets out side of Vingt, but right now Vingt is the Bastogne where the paths of many of the characters seem to start. Either way it seems that the use of the Invisible Reaper had a decisive affect at Vingt. Still The Romans might have tripped a wire that will bring other forces into play.
We may never know about Aisha’s grandmother for certain, any number of things could have happened there. I probably got the Roman forces mixed up given the proximity of the scouts and advancing forces to the flashback. The signal from the Black Box is from the current movement of forces it seems, not the past war. Which would explain why the 9th showed up so quickly, though that makes me wonder how the Helvetians remotely connect to the Black Box sensors. I doubt their technology can interface with the ancient kind, so maybe there’s an ancient control center or central node that can display what sensors are being tripped. They probably weren’t originally built (just) as sensors too, so that makes me think that whatever Hopkins reactivated might be connected to them. Unless it’s simpler than that and the ‘reactivated ancient weapon’ was just Noel figuring out how to reconstitute an ancient chemical weapon.
We might not know about Aisha’s grandmother but personally I think that it was more likely to have been much more sinister than falling in love.
It the Romans activated a trip wire then everyone will be in for a rude shock except maybe for Hopkins. In principle chemistry is just one level up from cooking, and making dangerous things is easier than making useful things. If there is an intact control center then I suppose that all they care about is when the klaxon sounds and the red lights start going off.
Excellent post and some equally excellent replies. My favorite show of the season by far and one of the most enjoyable that I have ever seen. SRNWT still has a tall task if it is going to wrap itself of conclusively in only one more episode, I don’t know if there will be any continuation but it might be necessary to thoroughly develop some aspects of the story and the world it is set in. Among the list of things that need to be resolved:
-Rio’s fate and/or the role she will play in ending this conflict.
-Kanata’s conclusive development based on her experiences at the fortress and how it will shape her going forward in life.
-The actual backstory behind the “Angel”, and how it relates to humanity’s past and future. Similarly, the Fire Maidens and how this story will be revived or “symbolized” in the modern story.
-Noel dealing with and moving past her dark past conclusively.
-Kureha’s character development her genuine role.
-More of a face still needs to be given to the Romans. We have seen the good and bad of the Helvetians, the same needs to occur with some depth for the “enemy” too.
These are just some of the things that as of now will be concluded in 30 minutes or less as it currently stands. I just worry that after a great run we might be left wishing for a bit more. No one should expect a purely happy ending but it is important that by the end of Sora no Woto we understand the importance of the 1121st platoon and within the world it inhabits. Similarly I would be very happy to see the “existence” of each and everyone these girls to be justified by the role they play in that conclusion, as much as I have enjoyed watching their story it would be a shame to be shortchanged in that way.
They have one ep but they have managed their time astutuely I hope they can keep it up even if it is a tall order. If we are left wishing for more then I think that might be the goal since there are bonus DVD eps. If they want to be really sneaky they can announce additional episodes at the end.
I’m hoping for a time skipped second season set 5 years later, with a horribly scarred (or at least wearing an eyepatch) Kanata leading an orchestra of female resistance fighters against the Romans and Helvetian “hawks”… That’s assuming that she survives the next episode…
Whoo boy talk about a great episode. I really liked how they were able to squeeze some light-hearted and comedic moments in there without disrupting the more serious mood of the episode. Disguising Felicia’s yuri desires as a “test” so as not to feel out of place was pure genius, even though I was hoping with all my soul that she was serious (and I’m sure in her heart she was).
I thought that the German was a very nice touch and helped to strengthen the atmosphere and credibility of the show. But I guess it wasn’t too surprising that A-1 would make the extra effort seeing as how they’ve been going all out with this show since the beginning. From what we learned about the Romans from Aisha it looks like they’re just as much an eclectic mix of culture, race, and religion as Helvetia is. I wouldn’t mind seeing what it would be like from the point of view of the Romans on the other side of the fence. We may have also have gotten an explanation in regards to how 1121st managed to secure the Takemikazuchi despite being so out of the way. I assume that the top brass recognized Noel’s talents in restoring and redeveloping the weapon’s of the lost era and assigned her to the tank in the hopes she could work her magic with it.
As an aside, I found it interesting that the Romans speak German while the Helvetians speak French (although for the sake of audience convenience we hear it as Japanese). With this revelation the assumption in your time-line of Rome invading Helvetia doesn’t seem all that surprising. If our history has any meaning in Sora no Woto, I’d be very worried if I were the Helventian 9th Division right now .
Well given that Hopskin supposedly doesn’t have a clue his WMD making genius is there I venture to guess Noel’s presence in the 1121st is the work of the late Princess Iliya. It is too much damn coincidence that two VIP are present under Filicia’s command. Filicia knew Rio’s identity all along so is the case with Noel.
I was surprised they took it that far to find a good German speaker, suffice to say it was quite impressive considering the more prevalent Engrish.
Given that Helvetia and Rome are a mix of everything it remains to be seen which one actually derives the same fighting quality as the Germans, the guys with the German equipment or the guys who speak German. Also note that in the case of Rome they might fight like Austrians…which would be pretty bad.
Natsume, Yoshika and now German. Great singer as well
I guess, Misato Fukuen is really that awesome.
Just some comments:
Helvetica is the new Latin name for Switzerland. It was introduced around 1700 when in the area of Switzerland the religious war was raging and the people needed a national symbol.
Since the houses are build in a more Mediterranean way and in regard of the surrounding nature, the place must be situated in the south of France (Provence, Central Massive). But considering the devastated nature, a deep change in the ocean`s border must have happened.
But well, it`s fiction. Who cares ^^.
The Holy Roman Empire was protected by the king of the Frankish Kingdom ~ 800 bc (Charles the Great – quite an interesting man). As reward he was crowned to the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. At this time, the nobles spoke a German dialekt: Fränkisch.
At this time the crossing of the Alps was meant as a testing for the newly crowned king to show his might … read the textbook about that. Actually there were hundred years of politics because of this title and the title lasted till 1806 when it was renamed to the emperor of Austria.
In the Frankish Kingdom, a man was allowed to have more than one wife, but they are distinguished by the form of marriage etc (Friedelehe, etc).
And now the fun part: The language in this anime is quite good. I wasn`t able to find any mistakes in their French writing and wow they use an understandable German! It`s more like listening to your local Asian shop keeper after 6 month in an language course and I am temped to try the “Streichholzschächtelchen” – joke because she as .. an issue .. there .D . But she speaks casual High German (without any Austrian accent by the way) and the grammar was nearly correct.
It`s getting better and better.
It’s quite impressive that they did their homework and went to such great lengths to give the show a sense of authenticity. Within anime English is not given such a grand treatment very often, and barring some studios’ obsession with IRL weapons, not many studios would go to such lengths. The town itself is based on a Spanish town IIRC.
Even if the Roman Emperor can have more than one wife I think that there are quite a few who still baulk at the idea of having Rio married off in such a manner bereft of love.
Great episode! excited to see how they end this series, the tank is finally up but sadly no action unless 12 is a action packed episode. Noel has some interesting back story lots of secerts with her, wondering how Kanata will favor in a battle thou…
Liberty Prime sortied for not even 10 minutes but it was still impressive… Also Igloo 2 03 showed that you can pack a lot of action in less than thirty minutes… I think they can pull it off or at least really hope that they will.
I know plenty of people check out you reviews so I guess this is a good place to post this:
If you refer to the official streaming site for Sora no Woto, they make mention of the fact that there will be in face TWO more episodes, airing on the 22nd and 29th respectively. Perhaps we have a little more time than we thought to resolve things…
http://www.crunchyroll.com/library/Soranowoto
Everyone please forgive my spelling, I was trying to express myself with a half-functioning brain after a night of studying…
Sweet I guess they do have a little more time to play with the end game.
Yes, I see that Crunchyroll is listing two more episodes, one for March 22 and one for Mach 29. Also, “Senkou no Night Raid” is scheduled to start on April 5 on the same Anime-no-Chikara time-slot. So March 29 seems to be free for an episode 13.
However, I checked TV-Tokyo’s website. Although, as of now (March 20), they only list the schedule up to March 27, their March 22 listing for “Sora no Woto” indicates that it is the final episode. (That’s the white kanji “終” in the little red square.)
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/index/timetable/index_after.html
Also, the preview for the next episode has Kanata clearly saying that this is going to be the “saishuukai” (最終回), which means the final episode.
http://www.sorawoto.com/theater/yokoku11.html
TV stations often have special programming in the last week of a cour, so that can account for the open slot on March 29. It seems to me that Crunchy Roll just made a mistake.
But there is still room for one more episode, the extra episode scheduled on the final volume of the DVD/Blu-ray release, scheduled for September 22, if the creators choose to be perverse.
Given the pacing of the show up to now, I have some difficulty imagining the series being resolved satisfactorily in just one episode. But the show has surprised me several times so it might surprise me again.
We’ll know either way in a few days won’t we?
I am hoping for just one more even if it ends up being a general epilogue. A one ep wrap is a tall order, we shall see how well they wrap it up.
I really love this show, even if I must admit my experience with garrison duty can be likened to my experience with death (i.e. none).
With this ending at around the same time as Cross Game, the end of this cour’s going to see me a lot of happiness and then a lot of emptiness.
I’m fairly sure Sora no Woto is going to stay as one of my favourite shows for a long time now.