Patapata Hikousen no Bouken Episode 26 Discussion

epidemia78 said:
Great ending! it honestly made me tear up a little. Overall this show was unexpectedly good. Even though it was not without its share of flaws (mainly the repetitive soundtrack and predictable story) the positive outweighs the negative. I rate it 9/10.

Anyone who likes this should also check out Future Boy Conan.

Recynon said:


What was predictable and cliche about it?

epidemia78 said:


Was anyone surprised that William turned out to be the bad guy? All of the bad guys were obvious because of the way they look. Also, the outcome of all of the little mini-stories along the way. When the lady on the train coughed, I knew she was going to become ill and Jane was going to help save her.

syncrogazer said:
It's like the inverse of Nadia in that it's actually good: drain the ocean and put the characters on the sandy bottom. A very modern story (like the desert of an post-eco-collapsed earth) that actually has something to say about the technology that drives it. There's a falling from prestige and comfort into despair and peril when mechanization begins...Neo City is itself a machine that only exists to create more machines by using people as parts to make a larger system, in the same way an army is a machine, or a country. And maybe that's why one of the few major problems I had with the series was how Barsac and co. were portrayed as pretty much the good guys, even though as an arm of a colonial power they would just as quickly execute a deserter for the good of the system as Neo City would. But in the end, the moral of the story is rather simple: good or bad lies in the compassion (or lack thereof) of the person wielding the tool. Of course it is black and white, it is a kid's show. And as show for kids (or families), rather than being bogged down by stuffy old-school anime baggage (it's not 70s in the 90s anymore) it's an adventure that is appropriate for its time. Great characters, real emotion, and lots of fun and variety.

However, the episodes in Neo City did get a bit tiresome near the end. It became a loop of capture and escape. And the big reveal to Jane that Harry is actually William was rather unremarkable and a tad disappointing. Also, the destruction of Neo City left a bad taste in my mouth. Not just because of William's derangement and cruelty but because it felt like the show had set it up as karmic retribution for the workers and the greedy citizens. Put it in William's hands, and not George's, that way they don't look bad when doing what's necessary. Feels shitty. Juxtapose this black and white perspective with the rather sophisticated, and emotional, introduction. Because of this William's insanity felt a bit like a cop-out.

Jane finally going up into the sky of her home, and seeing most of her family there, still got to me though.

Recynon said:
In order to create such a perfect world, there was no way that sacrifices didn't have to be made by other people

syncrogazer said:

From George's perspective before the truth is revealed to him, I can definitely agree with this. But William was manipulating him from the beginning. And William didn't seem to be interested in the idea of 'utopia.' Perhaps as a result of his complete dominance, a few people were able lead a non-life of fighting over stolen treasure, but it is never the utopia that George believes it is while being kept up in his tower. It perhaps would have been interesting if George had reluctantly agreed to use slave labor in the mines, thinking that would eventually lead to world emancipation or something, I dunno. But all that is why I keep going back to the idea that it is a city built for the machines, rather than for the people. Their only industry is in the 'Floating Liquid', which has no use outside of the machines, which are then only used to wage war. It's also interesting to note that the series has almost nothing to say about the environment. Which is weird for anime.

Morilire shouldn't have died either lol

Recynon said:
Overall I'm confused as to what the issue is