Impression:

Well, it finally happened. Suisei no Gargantia ended and it brought some mixed feelings with it. I was very happy because I enjoyed the last episode for the most part. I really only hated one thing. The part that I did not enjoy was the fact that the season ended. Yes, this series is that good. It is so good that Bryan and I both consider it to be our favorite series from the Spring 2013 anime season. That says a lot because it was a very strong season. Well, let’s see who died. Don’t act surprised. The director is Gen Urobuchi.

Striker has decided that she is going to become a god. People are following her now because certain humans will always follow the alien presence. Not only is Red against that, but Chamber is not having any of that bullshit either. He refutes her flawed logic and continues to fight against her. Red decides that he is going to use this crazy power up that is very dangerous in nature. It links her central nervous system to Chamber and increases combat capabilities. Using it for too long will kill Red, but that is to be expected. On the other end, things are not looking great. Flange is evacuating civilians as his ship is taking way too much damage. Pinion sends his workers away because he plans on turning his ship into a bomb. Lukkage is having none of that and she saves him as the counterattack begins. Heaven’s ladder is actually a giant cannon. It’s original size and firing range brought about the story that it could reach the heavens. Looks like my prediction was wrong again. Well, that canon is really powerful and extra reinforcements pretty much seal the deal during this fight. Gargantia is such a big threat that Striker flies straight for them. Red was not having any of that and he chases them while nearing his own death. Time is not on his side and Chamber asks if he wants to live. Romance prevails because Red says that he does not know how to live, but he wants to see Amy again. Chamber deems such emotions to be unfit for a soldier and he ejects Red. Chamber then tells Striker to go to hell and takers her down with him. A true hero.

That may not have been the death that we expected, but it was an interesting one to say the least. The entire fight kept me on edge because you were waiting on someone to die. Flange survived the barrage, but he wasn’t a prime target. Pinion not going down with his ship was odd. That was basically set up for death. Amy not getting shot out of the sky was odd. Not only would it have been a death that we could see coming, but she was an obvious target. Striker should have known that she was the scout giving out the strike coordinates. Then there is Red. The speech about removing the space presence from Earth had me pretty convinced that Red was going down. In fact, everyone that should have died was set up for a cliché death. Flange goes down with his ship as he faces the mistakes that he has made. Pinion faces a similar situation, but more people care about him. Amy was against fighting, but is killed ironically on the battlefield in front of the soldier that came to love her. Red takes out the threat to the people that he has grown to care about. Chamber ends up taking on Red’s role. Some people said that Chamber fans sprung up after this episode, but anyone that did not like Chamber prior to this was not watching the same anime that I was. People lived happily ever after as Gargantia reunited and took on some new people. Everyone learned of Earth’s history and Red started a new life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Opinion of the Show:

I really enjoyed this series. As I said, Bryan and I both picked this as our favorite series from this season and the ending solidified it for me. We got a lot of cliché ideas, but the writing was always strong. We got that classic career soldier obtains feelings in a foreign environment and even very expected deaths, but it never made me upset. At times, I will watch something that is so cliché that I will roll my eyes in disgust. Bryan will always ask me at times when I am comparing a series to something else whether or not I would like said series if I never saw what I was comparing it to. In and of itself, Suisei no Gargantia is a great series. The characters are great and used very well. I love the artist style that was used and the use of CGI never felt out-of-place. The story was well written and the back-end of the series literally kept me at the end of my seat. The series wasn’t perfect. I did feel like the first half was a little slow. Also, the ending was a bit too happy. Calming the Hideauze with a flute and trying to communicate with them seemed like a little much to me. I understand why it was there, but I did not like it. Having said that, those are pretty minor flaws in my opinion.

Did anyone else notice that it was a side character that was getting all of the ladies? Red and Amy being a thing was pretty much a given from the second episode. That never wavered and the only other suitors included a girl who called him hot and a bunch of cross dressers. Pinion became the surprise suitor for a lot of ladies. Some of us could see Bellows caring for him. It wasn’t thrown at us, but you can’t tell me that you see nothing between those two. Then there is Mayta. She works with Pinion and did not want to leave him as a sacrifice during that last fight. Also, she had this look on her face directly after they pan away from the picture above this section that clearly says: “I finally got him away from Bellows and he picks up this crazy woman? Not only that, but Bellows is back in the picture. This is too much…” Don’t tell me that I am reaching because that is pretty straightforward in my opinion. Also, we have Lukkage that came out of nowhere. I think she is cool, but that is because I like her mech. Bellows is one of my favorite characters. I guess you could say that there was some fun to be had in a very serious episode. For those of you that want more, there is an OVA coming out in late August of this year to look forward to. Aside from that, I actually don’t know if they would continue this story. I am not used to getting more after this stage. Oh well, I will gladly accept more from such a great series.