Aldnoah.Zero: The Boys of Earth (Unexpected reunion of 2 people)
August 17, 2014 7:31 AM - Season 1, Episode 7 - Subscribe
Femianne continues attacking with her kataphrakt Hellas. Inaho decides to take a gamble and join forces with Slaine. Saazbaum discovers Slaine is headed to Tanegashima. Meanwhile, Magbaredge and her crew make a surprising discovery in Tanegashima. Asseylum makes an important decision.
Some bits and bobs regarding the episode and the series so far:
Tanegashima was where firearms were first introduced to Japan. It is also the home of Tanegashima Space Center.
The flying ship is called Deucalion, based on the sign in the bridge. In Greek mythology, Deucalion was the son of Prometheus. According to Wikipedia, Deucalion was also used in an anime series as the name of "a massive ship that was intended to take the upper class of the galaxy away to a new space where they believed they could escape the growing revolutionary movements rippling through the galactic government."
Cruhteo's kataphraktos is called Tharsis, which is also the name of a volcanic plateau on Mars. So far all Mars kataphraktos have been named after locations in Mars. As Cruhteo also calls for a sky carrier, it probably can't fly.
Inaho has finally figured out the Vers kataphraktos tend to have one very strong power but also have a fatal flaw.
Femianne must have been a Shin Mazinger fan - BIG BANG PUUUUNCH
A/Z script covers - yes, Femianne gets mixed up with the names of the individual rocket punches.
Orange! Bat!
posted by needled at 9:42 AM on August 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by needled at 9:42 AM on August 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Inaho has finally figured out the Vers kataphraktos tend to have one very strong power but also have a fatal flaw.
I thought he had that figured out from the beginning.
Femianne's "motherly" love for her attack fists made me sad that she was such a thin, cliched character.
I was surprised that Inaho was so conniving as to simply use Slaine, who is clearly a limited foe (if a foe at all), then discard him after his one application was through. Why not see how useful Slaine could be? Was it because the earth force had their own airship now?
Despite all that, I still get wound up a bit by the battle climaxes. I'm simple like that.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:00 PM on August 18, 2014
I thought he had that figured out from the beginning.
Femianne's "motherly" love for her attack fists made me sad that she was such a thin, cliched character.
I was surprised that Inaho was so conniving as to simply use Slaine, who is clearly a limited foe (if a foe at all), then discard him after his one application was through. Why not see how useful Slaine could be? Was it because the earth force had their own airship now?
Despite all that, I still get wound up a bit by the battle climaxes. I'm simple like that.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:00 PM on August 18, 2014
This episode had the Korean anime boards exploding, as well as the Japanese ones, according to people who follow them, with analyzing the Inaho-Slaine exchange at the end.
What we know is that while Slaine is a pretty capable soldier, he loses his head when Hime-sama is involved. Inaho is somebody who doesn't let down his guard easily, and he wasn't going to be all buddy buddy with Slaine just because they fought off some robot fists together. Right from the beginning Inaho says "Even if the enemy of my enemy is not my friend, he might still be useful." To Inaho Slaine remains the enemy until proven otherwise.
I thought it was a nicely paced episode, like watching a mini-war movie.
We got the "dark" ending song, which seems to be used when things continue being grim in the next episode. The episodes that end on a hopeful note seem to get the "light" ending song with the animation of the princess.
posted by needled at 8:28 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
What we know is that while Slaine is a pretty capable soldier, he loses his head when Hime-sama is involved. Inaho is somebody who doesn't let down his guard easily, and he wasn't going to be all buddy buddy with Slaine just because they fought off some robot fists together. Right from the beginning Inaho says "Even if the enemy of my enemy is not my friend, he might still be useful." To Inaho Slaine remains the enemy until proven otherwise.
I thought it was a nicely paced episode, like watching a mini-war movie.
We got the "dark" ending song, which seems to be used when things continue being grim in the next episode. The episodes that end on a hopeful note seem to get the "light" ending song with the animation of the princess.
posted by needled at 8:28 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Umm, does anyone know what Slaine is talking about the "macromolecules" and fists working? I still don't understand it despite re-watching the scene again.
posted by chrono_rabbit at 8:42 PM on August 18, 2014
posted by chrono_rabbit at 8:42 PM on August 18, 2014
My understanding is that when in closed fist mode the rocket punch is one giant molecule, and a molecule that would take a lot of energy to break the molecular bonds which would cause the fist to be damaged or destroyed.
Inaho hypothesizes that when the fist opens it is no longer a giant molecule, and can be destroyed or damaged with the firepower they have. Even in closed fist mode, the rocket punch is vulnerable from the back or rocket side.
posted by needled at 9:16 AM on August 19, 2014
Inaho hypothesizes that when the fist opens it is no longer a giant molecule, and can be destroyed or damaged with the firepower they have. Even in closed fist mode, the rocket punch is vulnerable from the back or rocket side.
posted by needled at 9:16 AM on August 19, 2014
Yeah, the brief dialog about the flying fists was a potted explanation to cut short any "why didn't they just..." arguments later. Although the Martian weaponry seems to have that single-large-molecule armor as a rule; I recall it being an attribute of one of the earlier mecha too.
> Femianne's "motherly" love for her attack fists made me sad that she was such a thin, cliched character.
I was kind of hoping for more too, since she was the first female Martian besides the princess who wasn't a bit character, but her job was to be the monster of the week*, and so the stomping was inevitable. *(fortnight: The evolving pattern is: indomitable weapon introduced in one show, and cleverly overcome in the next.)
posted by ardgedee at 9:58 AM on August 19, 2014
> Femianne's "motherly" love for her attack fists made me sad that she was such a thin, cliched character.
I was kind of hoping for more too, since she was the first female Martian besides the princess who wasn't a bit character, but her job was to be the monster of the week*, and so the stomping was inevitable. *(fortnight: The evolving pattern is: indomitable weapon introduced in one show, and cleverly overcome in the next.)
posted by ardgedee at 9:58 AM on August 19, 2014
What I want to know is what happens to Femieanne's landing castle. I'm assuming she has one because she's dressed in similar fashion to Saazbaum and Cruhteo, who are counts and have landing castles of their own. Based on feudal society, if she has no direct heir to inherit it's either the emperor's to hand over to another vassal or it's free for the taking for any nearby noble who dares.
posted by needled at 5:47 PM on August 19, 2014
posted by needled at 5:47 PM on August 19, 2014
I think this is one of those series that for me actually benefits from being on every week as opposed to being finished and binge-able.
If all 24 episodes were up on Crunchyroll right now and I was watching a couple a night, this is about the place I'd go from two episodes a night to one episode a night and probably just drop the show unless something changed in the next couple episodes. It's not that it's bad or that I don't enjoy it, but I'd do the math and realize how many hours of my life would go into finishing the series and what else I could be doing with the time.
But because it's still coming out, it's much easier to say "It's 23 minutes a week! You can watch it over dinner!" etc. Also, of course, it's nice to have some TV here in the dog days to actually look forward to and anticipate.
Needled (or anyone else), do you know where I can get a copy of the "happy" closing theme, "A/Z"? I know there are places out there for that, but I don't know where to look. Weirdly, YouTube doesn't even have a video for it, just some guy playing drums over the closing credits. So maybe that means it hasn't been released?
Finally, of interest perhaps to people who've been following Aldnoah.Zero: Kotaku's Japanese Viewers List This Summer's Most Popular Anime. Anything else on there worth checking out?
posted by Ian A.T. at 8:21 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
If all 24 episodes were up on Crunchyroll right now and I was watching a couple a night, this is about the place I'd go from two episodes a night to one episode a night and probably just drop the show unless something changed in the next couple episodes. It's not that it's bad or that I don't enjoy it, but I'd do the math and realize how many hours of my life would go into finishing the series and what else I could be doing with the time.
But because it's still coming out, it's much easier to say "It's 23 minutes a week! You can watch it over dinner!" etc. Also, of course, it's nice to have some TV here in the dog days to actually look forward to and anticipate.
Needled (or anyone else), do you know where I can get a copy of the "happy" closing theme, "A/Z"? I know there are places out there for that, but I don't know where to look. Weirdly, YouTube doesn't even have a video for it, just some guy playing drums over the closing credits. So maybe that means it hasn't been released?
Finally, of interest perhaps to people who've been following Aldnoah.Zero: Kotaku's Japanese Viewers List This Summer's Most Popular Anime. Anything else on there worth checking out?
posted by Ian A.T. at 8:21 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm enjoying watching this as the episodes come out because I can also read the comments and reactions on anime boards as it's happening. So it's a different enjoyable experience from binge-watching 24 episodes long after the show aired. I think one notable example of how one's perception of an anime series differs between weekly watching and binge watching was Guilty Crown - people who watched it weekly were drawn in by the soundtrack and the gorgeous production values, but people who binge watched it found it to have an incoherent plot and not many likable characters, and a waste of the high-quality animation, OST, and voice actors.
The Aldnoah.Zero soundtrack as well as "A/Z" is scheduled to be released on Sep. 10, so it will probably be easier to find online after that date.
From that Kotaku list, the ones I've been watching are Free! Eternal Summer and Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun. I really enjoy Nozaki-kun, because it reminds me of the particular way that high school age kids can be hilariously weird, and it feels like a more realistic depiction of high school life than shown in typical shoujo manga. That last point is kind of funny given that Nozaki-kun is all about spoofing shoujo manga tropes. Free! is a very cute sports anime, but I've noticed male anime fans in the West seem to have a real problem with it. I remember the Kotaku anime reviewer complaining about the characters spending so much time shirtless in the first Free! series. I guess he forgot the anime is about a high school boys' swimming team. Terror in Resonance has had good buzz, but I haven't felt drawn to it. I might watch it later in the year, as the Fall 2014 lineup doesn't look very interesting to me, other than Psycho-Pass 2 and maybe Fate/Stay Night.
posted by needled at 9:24 AM on August 21, 2014
The Aldnoah.Zero soundtrack as well as "A/Z" is scheduled to be released on Sep. 10, so it will probably be easier to find online after that date.
From that Kotaku list, the ones I've been watching are Free! Eternal Summer and Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun. I really enjoy Nozaki-kun, because it reminds me of the particular way that high school age kids can be hilariously weird, and it feels like a more realistic depiction of high school life than shown in typical shoujo manga. That last point is kind of funny given that Nozaki-kun is all about spoofing shoujo manga tropes. Free! is a very cute sports anime, but I've noticed male anime fans in the West seem to have a real problem with it. I remember the Kotaku anime reviewer complaining about the characters spending so much time shirtless in the first Free! series. I guess he forgot the anime is about a high school boys' swimming team. Terror in Resonance has had good buzz, but I haven't felt drawn to it. I might watch it later in the year, as the Fall 2014 lineup doesn't look very interesting to me, other than Psycho-Pass 2 and maybe Fate/Stay Night.
posted by needled at 9:24 AM on August 21, 2014
Today's Aldnoah.Zero wild speculation: the ability to use Aldnoah power renders you sterile, unless you're of the Emperor's bloodline. This could explain why Femieanne referred to the flying fists as her children, naming each one of them. Also, what crash-landed in Tanegashima 15 years ago was a refugee ship from Mars, and a kataphrakt chasing after them or escorting them. First generation Mars colonists who had direct experience of living in modern democratic societies on Earth may have been unhappy with the feudal Vers Empire and tried to flee. Getting an Aldnoah drive-powered ship from Mars to Earth would require the cooperation of at least one Vers noble, and some kind of heads-up to the Earth government so they wouldn't be shot down on sight. Something went awry, hence both sides shushed up the whole thing.
posted by needled at 9:35 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by needled at 9:35 AM on August 21, 2014
I really liked this episode, but the one thing that struck me as a little rough was how much happened in the cutaway from the folks on the ship. The fight was entertaining and I was glad it took the time that it did, but I thought it was kind of abrupt to go from the captain et al. looking down inside the hangar and saying "what is that??" without showing the audience, cutting back to the fight, and then at the end the crew comes out with a Gundam-style high-tech flying battleship that looks like it's powered by the princess.
I assume they'll be looking back at that in this week's episode.
Weirdly, YouTube doesn't even have a video for it
I don't know if the ending theme is the same licensor as the opening (Sony Music), but if it is, they've been extremely aggressive about take-downs. I really like the opening theme and every time I found it on YouTube the video would last a few days to a week and then get taken down.
posted by Kosh at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2014
I assume they'll be looking back at that in this week's episode.
Weirdly, YouTube doesn't even have a video for it
I don't know if the ending theme is the same licensor as the opening (Sony Music), but if it is, they've been extremely aggressive about take-downs. I really like the opening theme and every time I found it on YouTube the video would last a few days to a week and then get taken down.
posted by Kosh at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2014
> I thought it was kind of abrupt to go from the captain et al. looking down inside the hangar and saying "what is that??" without showing the audience, cutting back to the fight, and then at the end the crew comes out with a Gundam-style high-tech flying battleship that looks like it's powered by the princess.
Yeah, that was awkward. I'm hoping they backfill the gaps in that sequence during this week's episode.
Am I the only one to notice Slaine's name is one typo away from "saline"?
posted by ardgedee at 4:34 AM on August 22, 2014
Yeah, that was awkward. I'm hoping they backfill the gaps in that sequence during this week's episode.
Am I the only one to notice Slaine's name is one typo away from "saline"?
posted by ardgedee at 4:34 AM on August 22, 2014
Ep. 8 preview - ah don't tell me Slaine's been left to drown?!?
posted by needled at 7:37 AM on August 22, 2014
posted by needled at 7:37 AM on August 22, 2014
And like he's never mentioned again but in one scene he's out there floating face down and that's it...
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:49 AM on August 22, 2014
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:49 AM on August 22, 2014
" Finally, of interest perhaps to people who've been following Aldnoah.Zero: Kotaku's Japanese Viewers List This Summer's Most Popular Anime. Anything else on there worth checking out?"
Eh, I say it really depends on your personal preferences, because it's a challenge to point of specific series unless you dislike specific genres and I can tell you which ones to avoid orz. This season I'm following Free:Eternal Summer, Terror in Resonance, and A/Z. I did end up dropping a P4:G because it got boring fast.
Fall 2014 is going to be exciting line up because a lot of major sequels will be released around that time. Most of the time I prefer to go with animation studio>character design>VAs>storyline>overall length. OK, I admit it may be considered shallow because I know many series don't always get the best studios yet a respected studio will gain a lot of followers from a PV.
posted by chrono_rabbit at 3:43 PM on August 23, 2014
Eh, I say it really depends on your personal preferences, because it's a challenge to point of specific series unless you dislike specific genres and I can tell you which ones to avoid orz. This season I'm following Free:Eternal Summer, Terror in Resonance, and A/Z. I did end up dropping a P4:G because it got boring fast.
Fall 2014 is going to be exciting line up because a lot of major sequels will be released around that time. Most of the time I prefer to go with animation studio>character design>VAs>storyline>overall length. OK, I admit it may be considered shallow because I know many series don't always get the best studios yet a respected studio will gain a lot of followers from a PV.
posted by chrono_rabbit at 3:43 PM on August 23, 2014
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posted by ardgedee at 8:54 AM on August 17, 2014