Things are heating up as the crew determines a high probability of solar flare activity from the sun, and rushes to finish repairs to the hull. Hotheaded Arei demands to be allowed to help, but her medical record bars her from doing so, leading to a confrontation between herself and Shinon. Luckily, the medical staff leader compromises and gives Arei the green light, as well as a time limit and the promise of a mandatory checkup afterwards.
Out on the hull surface, she finds the harem-tastic firing control officer Takai tired and weary from working nearly half the day on hull repairs. The two old acquaintances chat a bit while hurrying to patch things up, but when they finally finish, there’s not enough time to make it back to the ship before an imminent solar flare is predicted to occur, killing all those outside with a lethal dose of radiation. Takai uses the last of his booster fuel to propel Arei near a hatch, and then gives her the last bit of force needed by simultaneously pushing her forward while propelling himself away from her. As he drifts off into deep space, he justifies his sacrifice by telling Arei that the death of a beautiful woman is a terrible thing, and thus vaults himself into the Ladies’ Man Hall of Martyrdom.
Later, the remote utility vehicle retrieves his body from space, and it turns out the damn guy is still alive. What a gyp! Unfortunately, the Galaxy Network decides not to air this tearjerker episode, as apparently such raw emotional moments are counterproductive to their aims, whatever those might be. The shy weapons control girl Sanri, who’s been head-over-heels about Takai since forever, is further unnerved by Takai’s daring rescue of Arei, and coincidentally gets stuck with her on a hardware checkup mission. Arei eases Sanri’s fears by telling her she has a one-sided crush on her foster father (!), and reprimands Sanri for not doing something about her love for Takai.
Meanwhile, the crew is badly shaken by the near-death events, and a large number of them wish to leave the ship. The Kingdom predicts that this will eventually happen, and sends out a parley ship to offer an diplomatic way out for those who are tired of the staying on the rebel ship. Sanri’s wealthy and powerful parents are on the ship as well, and plead with their daughter to come home. When everything seems at its worst, and the main officers are considering just allowing everyone to leave with the negotiation ship and run on a skeleton crew, Sanri steps up to save the day. She makes a public speech televised on all the ship monitors as well as on the Galaxy Network about how everyone has their own reasons for staying on the ship, and how she has chosen to stay simply because she loves Takai. Her refusal shocks her parents and the crew (not to mention poor Takai, who had no clue this was going to happen), and inspires the crew to stay on board the ship. Thus, the Kingdom’s plot was foiled, and disaster was averted.
In episode 4, the Kingdom sends one of their most prominent admirals against the Amaterasu, along with a top-of-the-line stealth ship. Shinon and the stargazer enthusiast Miyuri try a very primitive method to detect its position, with no avail. Shinon finally comes up with a risky (and expensive) plan to detonate a curtain of torpedoes behind the ship’s predicted location, creating a silhouette effect. The plan succeeds, and the Amaterasu destroys the Kingdom’s elite vessel. Meanwhile the ship gossip grapevine is in a tizzy about what Takai is going to do about Sanri’s confession, and we also find that there seems to be a mole on board. Finally, the last scene once again refers to the ulterior forces behind this whole charade, implying an almost Foundation-like pre-determined future.
Not sure if I’m the only one, but I’m really getting into this series. The action is realistically sparse, consisting mostly of buildup and planning, punctuated by a split second of execution. The crew is starting to show a bit more personality, and the character designs are quite colorful and pleasing. As the crew begins to form bonds and we learn more about their backstories, I’m further drawn into this web of bravery, deceit, and reality TV.
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2 Comments
I like the whole cat and mouse game the crew is playing against the Kingdom, where there are logical *smart* minded people running things for once.
I completely agree with your last paragraph statement of the series. It’s too hard to do full reviews of, but is fast becoming yet another favorite for me for the spring anime season
Don’t forget to mention the most memorable aspect: Shinon actually smiled in episode 4 ^_O
I really dig this show. One Garten gives the go-ahead I’ll blog 3+4 too. Just one thing: Episode 4 had a plot hole big enough to fly the Amaterasu through. Who noticed it? How could the crisis have been handled easily?
Nevertheless, this show is exactly up my alley