Episode 10, “Interlude”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: The Empire is informed of the upcoming invasion of Imperial territory by the Free Planets Alliance, as leaked by Adrian Rubinsky. The nobles decide to put Reinhard up to the task of repelling the invasion, hoping it’ll take the fight out of him so they can finish him off at their leisure. On Heinessen, meanwhile, the fleet leaders meet to discuss the battle plan, proposed by overzealous officer, Commodore Andrew Falk, which Yang objects to. Reinhard assembles his admiralty on Odin, informing them of the clash ahead.
Comments:
This episode is the final ramp-up to the two-part finale of the first season of this show. My guess is that the movies they’re continuing the story with will be broken down into episodes, like Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and its sequel, for a second “season”. I mean, if this show did well enough for that. I hope it does, because the second novel is the best material of this story arc. I do worry, though, because with only two episodes left, they have to cover three chapters. Perhaps with much of it being action, they’ll be able to get it in the final two episodes. We still have the Battle of Amritsar and the reveal of Rubinsky’s own manipulator.
Speaking of the Black Fox of Phezzan, this episode sees him trying to balance the two super powers by informing the Empire of the oncoming invasion. Since the FPA took Iserlohn, they have too much power for his tastes, and he can’t have them completely equal or he couldn’t make as much money. If there was peace, it would inconvenience his plans, so he has to prod both sides, hoping to exhaust them to where Phezzan will be on top. Of course, the only person he seems to confide in is Dominique Saint-Pierré, who at this point is just somebody he can exposit to. You may wonder why one or both of the superpowers don’t catch onto this, but remember that they’re constantly thinking of war and how to gain an advantage over the other side. Even if people have suspicions (they do), Phezzan is already too powerful, economically, for them to stop doing business with.
The higher ups in the Empire have no problem using Reinhard and his admiralty as human shields/buffers between them and the FPA’s invading forces. Presumably they’d be aiding him only as much as they’d have to for him to do what they want. Now that Reinhard has made his way up the ladder, they want to gamble on using him and disposing of him before he gains any more power. But it’s a pretty dangerous gamble that relies solely on the incompetence of the FPA. Hm, then again, maybe it’s a pretty safe bet.
Of course, the biggest event here is the introduction of one Andrew Falk, an young officer with ambitions and a one-sided rivalry with Yang. He wants to garner the same praise Yang has, but he’s not nearly as gifted, even if he did well academically. He drafted the plan to invade the Empire, but it’s a pretty nebulous plan in terms of strategy. It seems like the FPA military is so confident in their win with Iserlohn, that they’ve gotten ahead of themselves. Yang is always pretty oblivious to any specific person who isn’t within his circle, so he doesn’t really care about Falk as much as he cares that they’re charging in on a dubious plan. Unlike Falk, Yang doesn’t care about glory or military rank, but the FPA thinks they can capture more lightning in a bottle by letting one of his peers plot the invasion. Almost as if they’re saying to Yang, “You’re not so special, look at what this guy with GOOD grades can do.”
Reinhard plans on luring the FPA into Imperial territory until they overextend their supply line and he can cut them off and crush them. It sounds like it would work, but more to the point, the man to his side is no longer Kircheis, but Oberstein. Kircheis has always been right by Reinhard, but now that he’s one of Reinhard’s admirals, while Oberstein is his staff officer. While obviously Kircheis is both closer to Reinhard personally, and outranks Oberstein, Oberstein now has Reinhard’s ear more than his red-headed friend. It’s worth noting the shot of Mittermeyer looking suspiciously at Oberstein as he walks up to explain the deployment, followed by Kircheis stoically staring. Obviously Kircheis trusts Reinhard more than anyone, and while he has his doubts about Oberstein, he will do his duty. The others, however, are more suspicious of Oberstein, despite Kircheis having more reason to be. It’s almost like Mittermeyer is being suspicious on Kircheis’ behalf.
Anyway, it’s a good episode, but it’s not nearly as the political cynicism of the previous episode. It’s basically a set up for the next battle. And that’s okay. As long as the final episodes are full heat, that is.
Overall Score:
3.5 out of 5
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These can be watched on Crunchyroll.
Reviews
Lupin III Part V Episode 11 Review
Episode 11, “Get Pablo’s Collection”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Lupin is eyeing the Pablo Collection, the treasure of a South American drug kingpin. Trekking through the jungle, they’re pursued by Pablo’s ex-lackeys, but manage to find his loot: a collection of classic cars. But suddenly, Lupin’s challenged to a race from a Pablo himself, and things don’t go as planned. With the military firing cannons at them, can the Lupin gang avoid being blown apart? Friendship is challenged in this spirited safari!
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 09 Review
Episode 09, “Each Person’s Star”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: On Heinessen, the High Council of the Free Planets Alliance debates the pros and cons of launching an offensive into Imperial territory. The majority, reacting to their sagging poll numbers, approve, as a military victory will bolster voters’ opinions. Meanwhile, Yang Wenli’s letter of resignation is turned down on the basis of the need for competent officers and the possibility of the 13th Fleet breaking down. Yang and Julian have dinner with Frederica and her father, Admiral Dwight Greenhill, who discuss Julian’s accolades in school and the general political mood. On their way home, Yang discovers Jessica Edwards has been elected for political office on an anti-war platform. On the planet Phezzan, Adrian Rubinsky manipulates the economies of the two warring nations.
Lupin III Part V Episode 10 Review
Episode 10, “Thief and Thief'”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Politics make for strange bedfellows, and even stranger team-ups, as Lupin and Albert agree to cooperate to retrieve the black notebook from Jose’s gang of killers! But that association of assassination proves to be a continuing challenge, even with Jigen and Goemon close behind. Who will finally retrieve that ledger of liars, Lupin, Albert, or Calvess? Lupin writes his own message in this explosive conclusion!
Lupin III Part V Episode 09 Review
Episode 09, “The Man Who Abandoned ‘Lupin'”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Lupin reels from his loss to Albert, barely escaping with his life, but the DGSE director is himself immediately targeted and the notebook is stolen by assassins. However, instead of turning it over to Guillaume, the band of butchers instead hand it to a right wing politician running on an anti-immigration campaign. Despite losing the notebook, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon are relentlessly pursued by the killers. Both Lupin and Albert decide taking the initiative, coming face to face at Guillaume’s residence, where their goals overlap. Have they gone from rivals to associates or is this team up temporary? It’s an explosive chase for Lupin that tests his limits!
Thundercats (2011) Episodes 1 and 2 – A Cold Omen?
To be diplomatic, a word that could be used to describe the reaction to the upcoming ThunderCats Roar is… spirited. For the majority part it is negative in outlook, but like any cartoon final judgment ought to be made once episodes premiere. Another major consequence of this news is the pining for the 2011 iteration of the franchise, cancelled before its story completed, like other unfortunate Cartoon Network shows Sym-Bionic Titan and Beware the Batman (although unlike them, it wasn’t written off). Now the outlook on THAT show is the diametric opposite.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 08 Review
Episode 08, “The Castrop Rebellion”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Reinhard von Lohengramm assembles his admiralty of several talented officers, and assigns Rear Admiral Kircheis a task for which he would earn a promotion. The mission is to put down a rebellion from a hoarding aristocrat, Maximillian Castrop. Kircheis takes a small fleet to subdue the rebellion by luring the overconfident Castrop into a trap. Reinhard’s other subordinates are impressed. It’s then that Reinhard is visited by Paul von Oberstein, who fled from the battle at Iserlohn, and will be court martialed for desertion. Oberstein proposes to help Reinhard overthrow the royalty, and while initially suspicious, Reinhard relents to helping the dour man, exchanging a favor owed for a pardon. Reinhard plans on using Oberstein as he is being used by him.
Lupin III Part V Episode 08 Review
Episode 08, “Who Has the Black Notebook?”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: At Gaston’s grave, Lupin and Jigen meet Camille Bardot, a retired detective with photographic memory. He reveals that he was the one who commissioned Gaston to copy the original black notebook. However, a group of assassins target Camille and Lupin, and the detective is gunned down. Lupin sets up a meeting with Albert to hand over the book, hoping to outwit his old nemesis with a few tricks. However, he underestimates his opponents’ powers of observation. Is Lupin’s showdown with Albert a bridge too far? Watch out, Lupin!
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 07 Review
Episode 07, “The Capture of Iserlohn (Part 2)”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Walter von Schönkopf and the Rosen Ritter, disguised as Imperial soldiers, are welcomed into Iserlohn Fortress. After a couple of close calls, they’re brought to meet Admiral Stockhausen. After reminiscing on his past in the Galactic Empire, Schönkopf succeeds in taking the admiral’s gun and holding him hostage. After sleeping gas is pumped into the air vents, the rest of Yang’s fleet enter as conquerors, and use the fortress’ Thor’s Hammer cannon to destroy most of the previously deployed garrison fleet. The Imperial forces withdraw and Yang’s gambit pays off with the Alliance’s ownership of the station. The Dominion of Fezzan, and its leader, Adrian Rubinsky, take notice of this event.
Comments:
Completing the adaptation of Chapter 5 of the first novel, this episode sees the FPA’s 13th Fleet successfully carry out its mission to seize Iserlohn Fortress. It’s a pretty straight forward adaptation, too, with very few changes or embellishments. The biggest departure is that the Rosen Ritters are taken directly to Admiral Stockhausen in the book, who is already so frustrated that he’s let his guard down immediately when told that the fleet that went out was destroyed. Also in the book, Schönkopf brought in a ceramic gun, bypassing the only detector check, rather than a full body scan in this episode. Amusingly, the forged IDs he made were never even checked.
The OVA has the soldier Schönkopf is playing as so injured that he’s rolled in on a gurney for added effect (that also has weapons hidden in it). Iserlohn’s commander surrenders almost immediately, rather than needing additional cohersion via the Seffle Particles. Also, there’s more activity throughout the fortress, like a scene with the city section of Iserlohn and a rather bloody battle scene with axes. I guess the staff wanted to make it seem like there was a little bit more of a struggle to take the place. At the end of the OVA episode that covers this, Yang tries to resign, but is rejected, as the newly formed 13th Fleet needs him.
What we do get in this version of the story is the introduction of the Seffle Particles. They’re multi-use combustable particles and they’re often deployed to prevent the use of energy weapons in a closed area or redirect objects in space. The Rosen Ritters use them to prevent the firing of guns in the control room of Iserlohn (though that kind of makes Schönkopf’s use of the commander’s gun sort of pointless). It reminds me somewhat of the Minovsky Particles of Gundam‘s Universal Century timeline, which are mainly used to block radar. I wouldn’t quite call either special technology McGuffins per se, since neither franchise has stories revolving around them, but they are interesting story conveniences. They don’t seem overly contrived in either case, but I just like to draw parallels. Maybe Tanaka was inspired by Gundam? I know a lot of people were/are.
Even though it’s only a short scene and we barely get a sense of the characters, we finally get to Phezzan, where we meet Landesherr Adrian Rubinsky and his aide, Nicholas Boltik. The Phezzani are, uh, a bit like the alien Ferengi from Star Trek, dialed down a little. They’re consummate merchants who take pride in free trade and self-determination. They’re the ultimate “the free market will solve everything” libertarian-types. Hopefully we’ll see more of that in later episodes. It’s interesting how they changed Rubinsky’s character design, with a thinner, tanner face and those long sideburns (despite being otherwise bald). Boltik looks older than in the OVA.
This was an excellent episode, though much of the quality was because of the core novel material and not necessarily this particular production (though I loved seeing some parts of Iserlohn we never saw in the OVA, and Schönkopf’s flashbacks to living in the Empire). Yang and Schönkopf’s plan to take Iserlohn without losing a single man works and is an impressive feat. It’s always exciting to see the Thor’s Hammer fired off, too. No wonder so many of the FPA’s attempts at taking the base failed. Yang’s plan managed to lure out the fleet with one move and infiltrate the base in another. Unfortunately, now that he’s famed, he’ll find it harder to walk away from the military life he dislikes.
Next episode looks to return to the Empire, where Oberstein will plead his case to Reinhard and Kircheis will show off his competence. We’ll probably get some actual dialogue for Reuenthal and Mittermeyer!
Overall Score:
4 out of 5
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These can be watched on Crunchyroll.
Lupin III Part V Episode 07 Review
Episode 07, “His Name is Albert”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: An old acquaintance of Lupin’s, an art forger named Gaston, hires him to steal a work from a collector known for hording masterpieces. The painting in question is a fake, as Lupin confirms with a seller named Aghion, but the DGSE are eager to retrieve it. Within the canvas is a ledger that pulls Lupin and Jigen into increasing danger, and a couple of shocking discoveries has Lupin unsettled. It’s suspense you can’t fake in the next big chapter of Lupin and the gang’s antics!
Comments:
As I suspected, the Pink Jacket adventure from last week was a little breather before the next multi-part story arc, and here we have it! It’s good to have a little variety, and I’m curious as to what the next one-off episode will be. However, at least in this series, I rather prefer the story arcs, and this one seems like it’ll be a doozy, as it hints at Lupin’s past dealings with this guy, Albert.
In Part IV, there was an episode where Lupin was determined to steal the Mona Lisa and replace it with a well done forgery, but there was another copy as well, and there was a whole mix up about which was which, that ultimately ended in Lupin’s favor. Little did he know that one of those paintings was actually painted by a cloned Leonardo da Vinci himself, and as the second one was the Isleworth Mona Lisa, all three were from the original Renaissance Man. But here, Lupin and Jigen track down a forged Picasso that Lupin’s friend Gaston had sold to a collector which seems to garner the attention of men in black. Unlike in Part IV, this painting is definitely not real, but hides a valuable, and deadly secret.
There were a few really clever elements in the scheme transpiring here. One was that the painting was intentionally sold to an art hoarder to ensure its easy retrieval later on, with no fear of it being resold. The second was Lupin’s plan where he had Jigen pose as him while he waited in that intelligence officer’s car to get the skinny on the true purpose of the artwork. What it ended up being was that within the canvas, there was a list of all the dirty dealing and detailed crimes and corruption of the French police, presumably with names, dates, and times. Something worth hiding in plain sight and potentially extremely valuable. French Intelligence, DGSE, was definitely interested in getting the notebook before it could be leaked or used for blackmail, but the guy posed as Gaston had confidence in Lupin’s curiosity.
Now, presumably, the guy named Albert, whose hobbies include watchmaking, is the puppeteer in this affair. He’s described in in official descriptions of this series being in law enforcement and as a figure in Lupin’s past. His last name is d’Andrésy, the maiden name of Arsène Lupin’s mother. He seems to be the one leading Lupin and Jigen around. But if he’s already part of the DGSE effort to obtain the notebook, why did those other agents take on their own initiative to get it? Is Albert possibly playing for his own side in this? He certainly seems to think of this as an interesting game, and I’ll be interested in learning more aout him. It’ll be monocle vs monocle!
Overall Score:
4 out of 5
Lupin The 3rd Part 5 can be watched on Crunchyroll.