#ANIME - Suisei no Gargantia

Suisei no Gargantia is an anime that starts off first in the future. Humans in mecha suits fighting against giant squid-like crustacean alien creatures. The synopsis for this anime on the website was a bit misleading.

The story begins in the distant future in the far reaches of the galaxy. The Human Galactic Alliance has been constantly fighting for its survival against a grotesque race of beings called "Hidiaazu." During an intense battle, the young lieutenant Redo and his humanoid mobile weapon Chamber are swallowed up into a distortion of time and space. Waking from his artificially induced hibernation, Redo realizes that he has arrived on Earth, the planet on the lost frontier. On this planet that was completely flooded by the seas, people live in fleets of giant ships, salvaging relics from the seas' depths in order to survive. Redo arrives on one of the fleets called Gargantia. With no knowledge of the planet's history or culture, he is forced to live alongside Amy, a 15-year-old girl who serves as a messenger aboard the Gargantia fleet. To Redo, who has lived a life where he knows nothing but fighting, these days of peace continue to surprise him.

So I thought it was a story about a young pilot who was thrown out of time and space into the future, not needing to fight the squid creatures and learning to live a happy peaceful life. Boy was I wrong about that. This is one of those animes where you find yourself expecting pointless episodes after another only to find yourself drawn by the twists and turns of plot development. There are of course, the episodes where everyone's all laidback and having fun with not a care in the world. But like new anime these days, happier moments slowly turn to something more grim and even shocking. I quite like the fact that this anime surprised me and had me wanting to see the next episode because the ending ends in a cliffhanger.

Liking it:

Mecha. I love mecha. Well, most mecha-related shows. It's a bonus because the character develops and grows over the episodes and there are some issues here that can relate to real-time and not just some future fantasy. Illustration-wise, I guess you can say that it's easy on the eyes. The characters aren't drawn too badly, the mechas look reasonable enough.

Not liking it:

Maybe I wish the villains were drawn a little less cuddly. I know they're squids and all but maybe a more fearsome-looking squid? Less like snails, more like the Kaijuu in Pacific Rim. Another thing that struck me as just a little dubious is how I don't know how a mecha that was designed to work in space would be able to function and fight underwater. That's two completely and vastly different environments. Wouldn't water get into the parts? I'm also unsure as to how this mecha is powered or what it is powered by. In the future where electricity and advanced technology seems sparse and difficult to come by, there has to be something that's needed for the mechs to be able to function and move. Then again, I don't think anyone else is concerned with the technicalities. So let's just focus on the plot.

Conclusion:

Having just completed the series I can say that the ending, though a little too convenient, did manage to wrap up the anime. The series isn't long, about 13 episodes long and managed to cover and close the main plot decently enough. There's a valid explanation as to why the lead is unable to return home and why he chooses the path that he does at the end. Following which, it also successfully managed to wean him off the dependency of a mecha (sad because I kinda liked Chamber's personality, even for AI) and eventually have him lead a normal life - one where he makes his own decisions and is able to satisfy his needs and desires.

Rating: 3/5