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GARGANTIA #3 - - Watch & Learn
Again, I’m a little hesitant to attribute too much of this show’s
plotting to Urobuchi when there’s an entire writing staff contributing, but I've quickly come to associate the guy's name with shows that’ve clearly been crafted by somebody who’s consumed and scrutinized a ton of
stories…
MADOKA MAGICA felt like a concise, if Byzantine, tapestry tying
together the nooks in a hundred SAILOR MOON episodes. PSYCHO-PASS felt like a
scientific answer to explain the buddy formula of a thousand cop movies. Now,
GARGANTIA presents a very entertaining, and to-the-point, realization of your
typical battle thread question. How would one Gundam unit fair against some
roving marauders from FIST OF THE NORTH STAR? Well, it’d be a hilarious lopsided
duel, and the people involved here recognize that.
The fact that such a… thought experiment proves to be something
so tight, crisp and charming (instead of a boring, LODOSS WAR-like recitation
of rules) is an impressive feat in itself. Actually, it’s doubly impressive considering that we’re three episodes
in, so far, and everybody has proven to be a laughable threat to our lead. The
pirate queen and her lobster mech gave him a bit of a fight, sure - - and she was
quite fun while she was putting up that fight, too - - but Ledo’s
more-or-less invincible at the moment. The only conflict he’s got to struggle with,
right now, is how to better communicate with the nice people hosting him on
this barge.
And honestly, the “communications” about necessary force and the like
have proven to be just as fascinating as the mecha battles. If I were to
attribute another quality I’ve enjoyed about shows Urobuchi’s involved with (with
the exception of PHANTOM, though), it’s that the intellectual conversations
feel like they’re coming from a place of practical experience instead of being vaporous, G.I.T.S.-like abstractions-unto-abstractions.
Ledo’s little dialog with Amy about
the fish they’re eating is a sharp example of that…
Watch this episode, “The
Villainous Empress" here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the
previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number
of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
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