APRIL 5
Chapter 5 Review (Part 8):
On Ram Ra-Jendora
See the original post here
I believe that 3199 is not only the finest entry in the Yamato remake series, but also the greatest anime I have watched in the 21st century.
What I find particularly outstanding about 3199 is the appeal of its characters. While few people would likely become fans after seeing Ram, Boroze, or Bemlarze in Yamato III, in 3199, every single one of them is captivating, so much so that I imagine a great many viewers will become their fans.
Among them, Ram’s contributions truly shone in Chapter 5. After all, he successfully persuaded Bemlarze to bring the Bolar Federation into the war against Dezarium, playing a decisive role in paving the way toward victory. I was certainly surprised by the revelation that, despite being of royal blood, Ram was a fellow revolutionary comrade of Bemlarze in the past. However, we must not overlook the magnanimity displayed by Bemlarze in heeding Ram’s impassioned plea.
If they succeed in defeating the “Witch of Uralia,” an adversary they had been unable to vanquish for a thousand years, it would undoubtedly yield immense political dividends for the Bolar Federation, while simultaneously sending Bemlarze’s own authority skyrocketing.
Concurrently, Ram, who advocated for the Federation’s entry into the war and personally led a fleet into battle, will surely see his own standing rise as well. Ram is bound to garner significant public support. Indeed, he may well surpass Daria to become the de facto number two figure within the Bolar Federation.
There is, of course, a possibility that his fame could grow too great, much like the historical figure Han Xin, leading to his eventual downfall. However, given the bond of friendship he shares with Bemlarze, I imagine he will remain safe and secure for as long as Bemlarze remains alive.
Then again…considering just how incessantly Bemlarze smokes those cigars, there is also a distinct possibility that he might meet an early demise. In that scenario, backed by overwhelming public support, Ram might very well become the next Supreme Administrative Chairman. Daria would likely oppose this, of course. However, she would no longer has Bemlarze to serve as her political patron. Conversely, by defeating the Witch of Uralia, Ram would likely secure the support of not only the general public but also the military establishment.
For the Bolar Federation itself, having Ram, a citizen of a vassal state, ascend to the position of Supreme Administrative Chairman would serve to instill hope in the populations of other vassal states. It would demonstrate that even a citizen of a vassal state can rise to become the second Supreme Administrative Chairman.
Furthermore, should Ram assume the chairmanship, it is anticipated that he would implement more lenient policies toward non-Bolar ethnic groups. This would undoubtedly prove advantageous from the standpoint of governance.
Naturally, some backlash from the Bolar ethnic majority is to be expected. To mitigate this, Ram could seek to appease the Bolar faction by appointing Boroze, the man who brokered the direct meeting between Ram and Bemlarze, as his second-in-command, while simultaneously promising him the seat of the third Supreme Administrative Chairman.
Rome expanded its empire by assimilating even those tribes it had defeated in war. In contrast, Athens and Sparta clung rigidly to a doctrine of ethnic purity, a choice that ultimately led to their conquest by Rome. I firmly believe that establishing a hegemonic power requires a mindset open to assimilating other tribes and peoples.
The Garmillas Empire, having suffered a catastrophic decline in population, should likewise abandon its obsession with ethnic purity. It ought to assimilate other tribes, encourage interbreeding, and thereby forge a citizenry that is physically robust and resilient. After all, it is said that 70 percent of major IT companies were founded by immigrants or second-generation immigrants. I am convinced that any nation destined for enduring prosperity must be one capable of embracing the diverse ethnicities and varied values of the world.
I always appreciated the Soviet-esque atmosphere of the Bolar Federation in Yamato III, but I found the characters themselves to be rather lackluster, little more than generic background figures. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that these characters could be imbued with such depth and charisma, or that their story could evolve into something this fascinating. I much prefer the Bolar Federation in 3199 to the one in Yamato III. The characters in the 3199 version are simply irresistible!
Seriously, why is 3199 so incredibly entertaining? It has already cemented its status as the best anime of the 21st century. Now, if only Sasha, Domon, and Ageha manage to survive, I think it will go down as the greatest anime of my entire life.
I’m really looking forward to Chapter 6!
APRIL 12
Chapter 5 Review, Part 9:
On Chef Rebarus and Jerba Gudan
See the original post here
Boroze, who originally followed the standard career path for a Governor of Planet Galman, and who even played a pivotal role in brokering the conquest of the “Witch of Uralia,” is now undoubtedly the frontrunner to become the next Supreme Administrative Chairman.
Rebarus, who had been demoted after getting caught in the fallout of Boroze’s disgrace, now stands a real chance of becoming the Bolar Federation’s number two figure, serving as Boroze’s right-hand man.
Back when Boroze was serving as Governor of Galman, Rebarus also adopted a rather haughty demeanor. However, what makes Rebarus truly admirable is that, even after Boroze fell from grace and became a drunken wreck, Rebarus never abandoned him. Instead, he faithfully looked after him.
Under normal circumstances, most people would have simply cut ties with Boroze and tried to claw their way back onto the career ladder on their own. Despite having a gun held to his head and being threatened by the very man to whom he had shown such unwavering loyalty, sticking by Boroze turned out to be the absolute best decision Rebarus could have made.
Jerba Gudan
If Boroze assumes the position of Supreme Administrative Chairman, it is highly probable that Gudan will become the top-ranking officer, the head of the uniformed services, within the Bolar Federation military. Perhaps it is actually for the best that he is the type who refrains from making unnecessary remarks. It likely keeps him from getting entangled in the political infighting so common in communist states.
Moreover, his capabilities as a military man appear to be substantial, making him, in my opinion, a truly fitting choice to lead the uniformed services. Gudan likely wasn’t originally on a fast track for promotion, but his quiet diligence in performing his military duties, never uttering a single complaint, even when serving under a drunken political commissar, must have ultimately worked in his favor.
When you think about it that way, and not just in terms of career advancement, it really goes to show that you never know what small trigger might end up completely transforming a person’s life. Most Yamato fans probably never gave it that much thought, but the characters of these two men truly encapsulate a microcosm of human life itself.
I hope you all make sure to watch 3199!
APRIL 19
Chapter 5 Review: On Sasha
See the original post here
Today, I’ll be writing about Sasha. Some of the content here will overlap with my previous article regarding Mother Dezarium, but for the sake of readers who may only be seeing this specific post, I will explain my predictions from the very beginning.
When I witnessed Mother Dezarium rewriting the memories of the Dezarium people, with the exception of Alphon, it struck me that the very memories held by the Dezarium people – specifically, their belief that they had traveled from Earth 1,000 years in the future – might themselves have been fabricated and implanted by Mother Dezarium.
Even if this is an anime, if humans could simply hop back and forth between the future and the past with ease, the story would lose all sense of consequence, and anything would become possible. I suspect that what the Dezarium refer to as a “Space-Time Node” doesn’t actually serve to bridge the future and the past. Rather, much like a sub-space gate, it likely connects distant regions of the universe, or perhaps even links to an entirely different universe.
My personal theory is that Mother Dezarium failed to properly control Phase Energy, triggering a cosmic cooling event that began to chill the entire universe. Since the Dezarium people could not physically withstand this extreme cold, they likely chose to transfer their consciousness into mechanical bodies. Consequently, their initial plan was likely to capture the planet Iscandar and utilize its “Cosmo Reverse” system to restore both their home world and themselves to their original, organic forms.
However, that plan was thwarted when the planet Iscandar self-destructed.
Thus, as a “Plan B,” they are now attempting to occupy Earth, seize the bodies of Earthlings, overwrite those bodies with Dezarium memories, and thereby resurrect themselves as a new form of life. Furthermore, while Dezarium technology is capable of uploading memories into mechanical bodies, it appears they lack the means to directly imprint memories onto organic, biological bodies.
It seems, however, that the Iscandarians possess the unique ability to imprint memories onto organic bodies. This would explain how Sasha’s memories, those of a two-year-old child, could be successfully imprinted onto the organic body of a seventeen-year-old. Along with them, false memories were likely implanted to make her believe she had spent the intervening fifteen years living on the Dezarium home world.
Moreover, I suspect that imprinting memories onto any organic body, other than that of an Iscandarian, is an impossibility without the aid of a “Pure Wave-Motion Core.” I believe Dezarium’s true strategy involves deliberately allowing Sasha to “escape,” ensuring that she boards Yamato, and then orchestrating a takeover of the ship in order to seize that Pure Wave-Motion Core.
The incident in which Yamato supposedly arrives in Earth’s past, two hundred years prior to the present timeline, is likely another Dezarium manipulation; a ploy designed to rewrite history, to convince the Yamato crew that they must “correct the timeline” and guide history back onto its proper course – thereby inducing them to submit to Dezarium authority and, ultimately, surrender the Pure Wave-Motion Core.
However, let’s imagine for a moment that, 200 years ago, the location of the home planet Galman had been revealed to the Garmillas Empire, thereby saving Earth. In that scenario, Iscandar would have had no reason to provide the Cosmo Reverse System to Earth. Consequently, Earth would have been unable to repel the Gatlantis invasion and would have faced total annihilation.
Therefore, the conclusion reached would likely be that, even if 70% of the human population perished during the Gramillas invasion, this was the only path that ensured the survival of the remaining 30%. Faced with this reality, the choice would inevitably be to refuse to submit to Dezarium.
Returning to the subject of Sasha: given Starsha’s enigmatic line, “But that child…”, I believe there is a strong possibility that this theory holds true.
Speaking personally, I’ve always felt that, among the original Yamato series, Be Forever and Series 3 were somewhat lackluster in terms of storytelling. However, 3199 seems to be addressing those shortcomings, shaping up to be a truly magnificent production.
In the original series, Sasha lived for barely a year. Yet, her mother Starsha uttered the cruel words: “She must make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of Earth.” To my mind, the true nature of motherhood lies not in telling one’s daughter to die for the sake of the planet, but rather in wishing, above all else, for that daughter’s own survival.
Following Farewell to Yamato, the original series adopted an increasingly blatant narrative formula: killing off characters solely to tug at the heartstrings and elicit tears. That is why, for 3199, I hope to see a departure from that “Showa-era” storytelling sensibility, a story in which Sasha survives and finds happiness.
Since Kodai already has Yuki, I personally hope that Sasha will instead emigrate to the Galman-Garmillas Empire, become Mrs. Dessler, and serve as a symbol of the Garmillas people’s restoration.
I do not blindly wish for the new series to adhere strictly to the original storyline. Rather, I hope they have the courage to change whatever needs changing. The alliance formed between the Galman-Garmillas Empire and the Bolar Federation to fight against Dezarium is a truly fascinating development. That’s why, not just for Sasha, but for Domon and Ageha as well, I sincerely hope that they all survive, resulting in an anime that leaves the audience with a truly satisfying and uplifting feeling.
I truly have high hopes that 3199 will make that a reality!!
APRIL 26
Chapter 5 Review: On Alphon
See the original post here
At first, I didn’t really care for Alphon. However, after he saved Tsubasa and the others in Chapter 4, my opinion of him improved significantly. By the time I watched Chapter 5, he had become one of my favorite characters.
In anime, it’s common to find plenty of appealing characters even among the opposing forces, but with the exception of Alphon, Isidore, Maxim, and Fleur, every single member of the Dezarium comes across as thoroughly unpleasant.
Perhaps that’s why Alphon, who actually shows goodwill toward Earthlings, stands out and looks so good by comparison.
According to the official website, Alphon was caught in the explosion of the Digablas, fell into a coma, and subsequently lost the ability to hear the voice of Mother Dezarium. I suspect this event will lead him to question Mother Dezarium’s actions and ultimately prompt him to cooperate with the Earthlings.
In the original series, one could only interpret his cooperation with Earthlings as stemming from a personal affection for Yuki. As a narrative motivation, it always felt a bit weak to me. Of course, given that the original was a feature film, the limited screen time likely meant there were aspects that simply couldn’t be helped.
I have a theory, somewhat reminiscent of the Blue Noah storyline, that the Dezarium people’s current crisis of extinction was triggered by a critical error in judgment made by their leadership. Specifically, I imagine Mother Dezarium occupies a role similar to Zaitel in Blue Noah: she discovered “phase energy” and rejoiced, believing it to be a revolutionary breakthrough that would save the Dezarium people, only to discover that it was, in fact, a toxic energy source with harmful effects on the human body.
Consequently, the Dezarium people were left with no choice but to transfer their consciousness into mechanical bodies.
While the Dezarium homeworld itself is presumed to exist either in a distant corner of our universe or in an entirely different dimension, they likely stumbled upon, or perhaps developed, some form of technology akin to a sub-space gate. Upon learning of Iscandar, they attempted to capture Iscandar and transport it back to Dezarium with the aim of using the Cosmo Reverse to restore Dezarium’s environment and return its people to their original biological forms.
However, since this plan was thwarted by Iscandar’s self-destruction, it appears that Mother Dezarium subsequently attempted to execute “Plan B”: taking over the bodies of Earthlings.
It seems that, despite Dezarium’s advanced technology, while they are capable of uploading memories into mechanical bodies, they lack the ability to do so with biological ones. Since this process cannot be achieved without obtaining a “Pure Wave-Motion Core,” it is believed that Mother Dezarium must capture Yamato intact, without inflicting any damage upon it.
I suspect that Alphon, now liberated from Mother Dezarium’s thrall, will become aware of this situation and step into a role akin to that of Hegeler in Blue Noah: acting to put a stop to Mother Dezarium’s rampage.
Well, I can’t say for certain if my prediction is accurate, but regardless, I have no doubt that Alphon will, in one way or another, find himself in a position to halt Mother Dezarium’s destructive course. All eyes will be on Alphon’s exploits in Chapter 6!