Here are all are. The one portion of Urobuchi December for a show that he only wrote the first and last episode of. I would think that he was a supervisor behind the whole project, but I did not see any proof of that happening. Combine that with Aldnoah.Zero where he was behind the first three episodes, it was an era where Gen Urobuchi’s name brought views and attention to a project. For good and bad I would think. I mean, an anime would have to be sold to people somehow, right? Why not the guy behind Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero? Gargantia is good, so it is worth watching.
Suisei no Gargantia starts off as a larger space opera. Our protagonist Leto and his Unit the Machine Caliber (with an A.I. called Chamber) are members of the Galactic Alliance. That group faces off against the Hideauze or Squid like aliens who have been an enemy of man kind for who knows how long. Well, dimensional weapons where used and eventually Leto and Chamber end up at a mysterious planet of water. A planet where people live on fleets of ships and survive in whatever way they can. A completely different from the system from the very streamlines and “whatever we need to live” Galactic Alliance.
The world of Gargantia is so vast and interesting. It’s a water world with people living on ships. Such a cool location for this entire environment to happen. From the surface to the underwater, there is so many cool locations to visit and are visited. Especially when the reveal comes in. The character designs are from a guy who worked on hentai, and you can tell but they work for the very tropical world the show is in. Mecha design, from Chamber of outer space to the water-based ones are just so cool as well. I just have nothing to say against this show visually because the animation is so good. Its Production IG.
Once again, Suisei no Gargantia is about Leto’s discovery what it is to live like a human being. Yeah, it’s very similar to Expelled from Paradise but a lot more time to do everything in a thirteen-episode series. I find the first episodes so intriguing because its people trying to communicate with each other. Not just a language difference, but a culture difference to. Leto being alone with an A.I. as is his own sense of familiarity and can translate the language of the mysterious water planet is helpful in some ways, but he is still heavily outnumbered by hundreds of people who think he is weird. It is very believably written is all.
The appearance of the extremely outgoing Amy adds a lot of light into Gargantia as well. As the person that spreads mail across Gargantia, she is the ultimate extroverted person who is helping the ultimate introvert in the name of finding some sense of humanity and a place on the Gargantia fleet. Through Amy’s brother and Leto creating flutes with bones and his laser to discover more about himself that he’s been hiding behind it too. The advantages of those cultures combining in so many ways. Its very Star Trek in some ways. Some of the best sort of stories in it.
Plus, the appearance of Leto really does affect the culture of the Gargantia fleet in ways that were unexpected for so many people. Gargantia does have a living and breathing economy and way of life. A lot of characters in the show have very defined personalities and jobs for the whole thing. So, the appearance of Leto and Chamber from space break into the economy of this world because it is too powerful. It can kill everyone and anything in seconds. Nothing is a threat, and it changes power scales and I like seeing that power scale happening to see that merging of things and culture exchange.
So yeah, all of that writing and cultural exchange with so many things is why its so good. The second half is good but its not as great as it could be. It is just Leto’s story taking over again. He did not escape the system of the galactic alliance. Even if he changes for the sake of Garagantia’s survival according to him and he has been trained to react one way, but him not listening to the people he has been around because they do not know better in their world. I am just saying that I get why Leto is doing what he is doing and it is annoying for a reason. Still does not make it better.
What makes the ending worth is when the influence from the first half of Gargantia finally effects the choices Leto makes in the second half. Its because he finally got it. Finally knew that just believing in a system just to believe it and understanding what the people around him need. The need for a person to self-determinate is something that a person needs to decide for themselves and finally, Leto does that in the end. His last attachment to the Galactic Alliance disappears and he finds his spot on the Gargantia to live further.
Suisei Gargantia is a good show. Possibly great. For me, the very cliched but still very well executed second half of the show dragged it down from a solid to a good because it was lacking something for me. It is still very character focused and all the decisions that each character makes do make some sense on some level according to their point of view too. The second half’s main motivation for Leto feels unnatural to me in a way that it feels so forced. It was worth the experience of rewatching again. It is a little mecha show that survives just so I can point it out to people who think mecha anime is one thing or just want a very decent story. It is a good one after all and I highly recommend it.
Mechanical Anime Reviews 
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