Episode 07 – “The Princess’s Decision”

Honestly, this was the first episode since episode 1, where I wasn’t completely enthralled the whole way through. I mean, I still loved it, but for some reason, the first half of the episode felt particularly drawn out. Perhaps it was just my imagination or because the last episode was so action heavy. Despite my possibly illusory observations of the episode, I hope we can all agree that Pinya’s and Bozes’s misunderstandings about Itami are incredibly hilarious. These interactions are not only comedic, but they also serve the slightly more subtle purpose of further illustrating just how different these two worlds are.

We’re finally approaching our return to Japan, which is a development that I have been looking forward to since the beginning. It’s always fun to see new characters react to new locales and environments, and it’ll be doubly interesting to see what kind of scenes occur with this great cast. On the more serious side, a return to Japan means meeting with the government, and what I’m hoping to see is just how different Itami’s views are from the country’s because then it’ll become less of the Special Region vs. Japan and more of the Special Region, Japan, and a group of characters who wish to do things their own way.

It’s not uncommon for me to punctuate an episode impression by voicing my excitement for the events to come. In fact, it almost acts as a lazy catch-all for when I’ve run out of anything else substantial to say, merely serving as a reminder that yes, I am indeed going to watch the next episode. However, I feel like things are quite different in the case of GATE. When I say that I am excited to see what happens next, it’s because I feel a completely genuine sense of anticipation for what lies ahead – a sensation that I haven’t felt in a very long time for an anime series.

I believe it’s because I’m so completely engrossed in the world, its rules, its characters, and the attitude of the series itself. Sure, structural narrative aficionados may find fault in the series’s story, and I will certainly never claim it to be perfect (though, I would never say that about anything). But, what GATE does, it does right. All of the story elements feel right in my wheelhouse, and I love watching the events unfold.

“So we can take over a country by force, but we cannot make its peoples’ hearts ours.” ~ Pinya co Lada