Episode 06 – “Planet”

With Taeko out of commission, Aoi decides its her time to step up and carry the team on her shoulders. Unfortunately, she up and gets kidnapped by the 1st Division. That sounds awful, but it kind of turns out for the better because of surprisingly nice hospitality that they give her. Who can say no to free onigiri and miso soup?

Oddly enough, it seems that the main objective of 1st Division is simply to get rid of Coppelion. Like territorial animals, they react negatively against having outsiders in their domain, and it calls into question whether Coppelion’s services are truly needed in this place. One of the characters even makes a remark about the upside of living in a nuclear wasteland which is not having to pay taxes or do any of the other stuff ordained by modern society.

I can imagine that as being cool and fun, but the fact that you’re living in a highly toxic environment is still not what I would imagine to be pleasant. This also goes back to the second episode when that mother refused to be saved by Ibara. Denying their help is essentially denying their existence because rescuing people is all they know. It’s the reason why they were created and the purpose for which they spent their entire lives training. It’s why they’re even allowed to venture out in the open world in the first place.

I also feel bad for Ibara. Not only does she get beaten with bats, but she gets blasted by a tank round. I have little doubt that she’ll survive, but it’s still worrisome that a girl (or anyone for that matter) has to be subjected to such brutality especially after she showed compassion for the 1st Division commander. She’s more human than he’ll ever be. I don’t think he survived that tank round, so that’s also a factor.

Haruto also turns out to be an okay character, as he comes in handy with his grenade throwing skills. Now I’m wondering that if Taeko and Ibara are down for the count, does that mean Aoi gets to take over? I think that would be a sight to behold.

B.W.