Monday, January 30, 2017

Martian Successor Nadesico Part 5 Episodes 22-26

A Jovian Ambassador, a Gekiganger convention on the Nadesico, a love story between two people from different worlds...and that’s all before things start going totally sideways.  A tragic loss pushes Yurika to throw off the kid gloves and unite the Nadesico like never before.  Now hunted by Nergal, the Earth Military and the Jovians, the crew that strives for total peace embarks on one last mission to Mars to end the conflict once and for all.  What awaits in the ruins of the Utopia colony?  Can the Nadesico withstand the pounding of three enemies bearing down on it?  Will we get a proper finale and still find time to smooth over Akito’s love life?  So many questions…and the crew of the Nadesico wouldn’t have it any other way.
 
You know, it’s strange how Nadesico manages to mirror my love of Anime.  In my mind, there has to be some show or shows (hell the Toonami block from the early 2000’s would do) that could be the answer to world peace.  Akito and Tsukumo though the same thing and organized a freaking Gekiganger convention onboard the Nadesico, including a Dealer’s Room, Cosplay, and marathon screenings of the series.  For all the war going on, it’s strange to see this going on.  But that’s been Nadesico from the beginning, going all out bizzare and out of left field and making the trip all the more fun for it.  Indeed, these last few episodes did make me smile despite problems at the very end.
 
Akito and Tsukumo making peace and getting to know each other should have happened long before now.  Sure Akito was dealing with the Jovian reveal but still, having Tsukumo around a bit more as a not really prisoner could have been a good way to deepen their friendship further.  It also could have helped explore the Tsukumo and Minato romance a bit further.  But I have to chalk it up to good writing and the feel good vibe it gave.  Tsukumo’s time with Akito, Minato and the Nadesico crew may have been criminally short but it was very effective in the end.  His loss was felt and it was the perfect catalyst to get the ball rolling on the finale.
 
It shocks me about as much as the crew that Akatsuki is the head of Nergal…it wasn’t a huge reveal, we all knew something like that was coming.  It was kind of hard to keep track of his allegiance jumps, same with Erina.  First, they take the Nadesico back from the crew, then they need their help to perfect Bosen Jumping their latest ship, The Kakitsubata, and then they’re back to fighting against them and then with them again.  Yeah if what you read didn’t make sense then you know what I was thinking the whole time…sense didn’t get made.  Akatsuki would have made a better straight up villain and rival for Akito while Erina, who like every other girl decided she was in love with Akito, could have ended up siding with the Nadesico crew against her boss.  The drop of a dime change in motivations actually fits everything that Nadesico has gone for so far, so I shouldn’t be as irked about this.
 
I loved the retaking of the ship.  Ruri really stood out in these final episodes as she brought the crew back together and held onto the lessons she’s learned from the first episode of the series.  The Nadesico is her home and Akito, Yurika and the others are her family.  “Those unforgettable days.  For them I live,” Omoikane repeats to the crew.  This has become Ruri’s mantra as much as the Nadesico itself.  You wouldn’t believe it from the first episode, but this crew has come so far.  Sure they’re not military trained (for the most part).  But much like Shin Godzilla, it takes the out of the box thinking of a new generation to pull off a victory that the prior generation might not be able to.  Yurika’s a ditz but she’s brilliant.  Akito is a skilled pilot but he loves Anime and cooking.  Ruri may seem cold and distant but she realizes she’s as much an idiot as the rest of her friends.  I could go on but short version: this show works because of the bond these guys all share, even when they don’t get as many moments to shine as others.  It’s made for an unforgettable ride and one that is actually a little near and dear to my heart…wow that almost sounded like my final thoughts but there’s still one or two things to get to.
 
The finale kind of felt rushed to me.  The two part battle of Mars seemed more focused on trying to end things than explain thoroughly and in the end, some revelations were “Ooooook?” and others were “Is that it?”  Inez being revealed as the little girl Akito thought he let die on Mars falls under the “Ooook?” banner.  The whole Bozen Jumping as time travel instead of instantaneous teleportation, that’s more under “Is that it?”  Some technical, science-y aspects were lost on me but it’s Nadesico, it tries it’s best.  Of course I covered Akatsuki and Erina’s jumbling loyalties to the Nadesico crew. 
 
And then there’s the final few moments.  In order to get the central hub (and the Nadesico itself) off of Mars and somewhere safe from the Earth and Jovians…Akito and Yurika must kiss to get the ship to jump.  Now, I like that, by this point, all of Akito’s romantic entanglements have been dealt with.  Ryoko, Megumi and even Erina all put aside what they feel for Akito and accept his path of romance was only going in one direction.  The destination was being a pain in the ass though.  Yurika flipped out and ran away, thinking that Akito wanted to be with Inez (which is weird.  Even if she did grow up to be a hot scientist in the past, she’s still wayyyy to young for Akito, technically.  Plus Akito doesn’t think of her that way).  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the final act of the series hinges on these two sorting out their crap and admitting their feelings for each other.  Akito has to preach about Gekiganger a bit more and Yurika has to deny she told Akito she loves him.  Then kiss.  I should sigh and I kind of do.  But then I smile…that’s just the way Nadesico roles.
 
So as the series closes out, the war basically grinds to a halt.  The Nadesico flies the Bosen Jump core into safety and both sides listen to Akito and Yurika banter.  There’s no sign that peace is even close to happening and we don’t know what happens to the crew after Akito and Yurika’s kiss.  Ruri narrarates that all of the answers to these questions, including the identity of the race behind the Bosen Jump technology, will be saved for an inevitable sequel.  And while there is one…yeah we’ll get to that next week.  Officially, however, there is no sequel series to Martian Successor Nadesico and there isn’t any word of one coming any time soon…which is a shame.
 
Martian Successor Nadesico was an iffy balance at first but once it got a little more serious, the lighter moments were more welcome and made for a better series in the second half.  This crew is one of the unsung casts of Anime: likeable, charming, stunningly beautiful and full of quirks.  You’ll def come out with at least one absolute favorite (for me it boils down to Akito, Ryoko and Minato).  The animation and action are pretty good for their time, which is even better since this show is a nod to classic 70’s and 80’s space operas.  And the use of Anime within and Anime made for a strange but pretty entertaining plot device.  It’s a parody of Otaku culture as much as it is mecha/sci fi Anime but it also speaks to the hearts of Otaku anywhere in a heartwarming way.
 
What can I say, it’s been an amazing ride with the Martian Successor Nadesico and her crew and though we may never see them in a full length series sequel…they’ll always remain in memory much like Gekiganger 3.
 
The series gets a solid 8.5/10

BUT we’re not done yet.  As I said, we did get a sequel, it just wasn’t a series and it’s one of the most divisive continuations of all time.  Will I love it or hate it?  Tune in next week as we wrap up Martian Successor Nadesico with Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture-The Prince of Darkness.
 
LET’S GO GEKIGANGER 3!!!! 
 
V


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