The Nadesico has finally reached Mars, but the Jovians
are waiting for them and they’ve had time to prepare. When the valiant Nadesico finds itself
trapped on the red planet, the crew learns they may not be as invincible as
they thought. Secrets from the past are
uncovered as Akito discovers the truth behind the Battle of Mars that left him
scarred for life. And as if there weren’t enough incredibly
beautiful women aboard, the crew also finds brilliant scientist Ines Versange
roaming the martian landscape. The only
thing more surprising than the secrets the Nadesico finds on Mars…is what
awaits them when they finally return to Earth.
The Nadesico made it to Mars and…didn’t really stick
around that long now did it? After such
build up to get there, I was expecting a little bit more of an extended
stay. Still, seeing as how we only
glimpsed at some of the secrets buried there, and the heavy Jovian presence, it’s
safe to assume we will be back at some point.
Still, the Mars chapter was a little unfulfilling in the plot
development department. And yet it
allowed for some good character moments and beats, particularly for Akito and
Yurika. With the Nadescio not as
invincible as everyone thought, or hoped,
Yurika had to make the hardest choice so far, sacrificing a small
settlement of colonists in order to protect her ship. And Akito supported her too. For all her goofy, Akito obsessed antics, it’s
good to see Yurika tested every once in a while and come out stronger and not
darker for it.
Akito also had to deal with the Admiral aboard the
Nadesico. You’ll remember from the first
episode that the old man fought the battle of Mars that ended with Akito being
the sole survivor (and mysteriously transported to Earth). Akito’s rage is understandable and his
dealing with it helped him grow as a character.
The Admiral’s sacrifice felt a bit empty. We haven’t seen much of him to get an
impression and while it’s sad more people care about his death than Guy, I just
didn’t feel anything like most might. Guess
I shouldn’t be too surprised. Unless you’re
a character who’s only gotten a total of five minutes screentime, your safety
is pretty much garunteed at this point.
I mean Akito gets lost not once, but twice, and everyone thinks he’s
finally bought it…once would be ok but twice is pushing the forced emotion
limit. Akito is indestructible at this
point, and at least he’s growing as a character to balance out that luck.
The 8 month time jump did the series a couple of
favors. Firstly, the animation in the
post Mars episodes got one heck of an upgrade, looking sleeker and a bit more
on par with an OVA’s animation. We also
got introduced to Guy 2.0 aka Akatsuki.
He seems to be set to take over the mentor figure position left behind
by the dearly departed mecha fanatic. He’s
charming, fun loving and still a realist when it comes to battle. And Akatsuki seems to appeal to Akito’s inner
otaku to get him back into battle. He
seems to gel well with the crew but I don’t know, I cant shake the feeling
there’s more to this guy than at first glance, something…shady.
Akatsuki also brings along Erina, who seems like his
secretary but also doubles as helmsman with Minato. She’s just kind of a bitch…that’s all she
brings to the table. That and her
apparent interest in Akito, who’s harem of love interests seems to be
growing. Not only did he have to endure
two separate, and highly awkward, high school romance simulations with Yurika
and Megumi, but there’s also Inez, the only survivor the crew saved on
Mars. As dead beat as Ruri and as
seriously nerdy as they come, Inez doesn’t seem to have a problem getting close
to Akito to complete her studies.
Honestly, Akito and Yurika had some nice moments this week, actually
making me believe they could work as the core couple of this series. In the back of my mind though, I’m hoping
Ryoko hooks up with him as im enjoying her continuing to grow respect and
concern for the cook turned pilot.
It wasn’t all great new things this week. I already mentioned how the Mars storyline
seemed to just toss out more questions than answers, offering us little more
than an appetizer for things to come I guess.
There was also the mandatory beach episode. Yes, since this Anime technically works as a
Harem title in addition to a scifi/mecha title, everyone hit the beach for some
fun in the sun and all the ladies in the sexiest swimwear they could find. I wouldn’t mind this so much at all
(especially Minato, wow), but the episode was just filler and did nothing to
advance what had gone before in the last few episodes. Sure Akito playing simulator was kind of
filler too but I liked that something came out of it. The beach just served to give Akito a strange
distraction from his love…triangle, quadrangle, how many girls are in love with
him at this point? Whatever the case, it
makes sense he’d attract a random girl living on a beach who would set up a
Jovian attack machine in order to die in battle with her true love as per her
hearts desire…he just happens to attract all of the crazy.
Diversions and distractions aside, this is still a fun
show to watch and im enjoying the heck out of it. For such a large cast, everyone gels really
well together and the new additions fit in just fine…even if Ruri thinks
otherwise (is she a robot?) I just hope
we can get more plot rolling next week and eventually see Mars again for all of
those unanswered questions. Perhaps they
can serve as material for Inez’s “Get to Know the Nadesico” segments.
See ya next week dear readers.
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