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Mar 8, 2019 5:07 AM
#1

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Nov 2011
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THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
----------------------------------------
Cool, Stella is back and I consider that to be a good thing since I find her to be a more appealing character in this show.

Looks like we got her squad visiting some kids and cheering them up. Also got to see more of Stella's past. The war doesn't seem like it's ending any time soon though and with just two more episodes left, I really wonder how they plan to wrap this up. Damn it, not their Captain :<

Stark700Mar 8, 2019 8:20 AM
Mar 8, 2019 8:48 AM
#2

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Apr 2010
9538
Well it was obvious from last week but not only Harold lost his life Gail being gone as well means that two very good characters are gone tho it might prove good for character development of the other characters.
That being said tho with only two episodes left it seems Yuuki's days are numbered or something big has to happen.
It also seems unlikely that Yuuki and Stella will meet right now.

Which is making me wonder about what's going to happen.
Mar 8, 2019 9:13 AM
#3

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Oct 2007
3499
Sad end for Gail. Well, he went out like a true man. The kids will miss him.

Stella really sad by loss of their commander.

Did not expect the empire to give a funeral for Harold.
Liddo-kunMar 8, 2019 9:30 AM
Mar 8, 2019 9:14 AM
#4

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Feb 2019
2385
I figured when I saw the explosion at the end of the last episode that Gale Owens got killed in that explosion.

They are certainly trying to mirror Stella and Yuki's lives it seems.

Both are orphans, although Yuki actually got to have Stella's mom as a caring guardian, while Stella chose to leave a family she felt she was burdening to live on the street and eventually join the military.

Both of them lost father figures on the same day, Harold for Yuki and Gale for Stella. Although Yuki's loss of Joshua seemed to affect her more than the lost of Harold, and about as much as the loss of Gale affected Stella.

Yuki has gone around trying her best to give everyone a reason to smile, but her efforts have been completely in vain, Harold's death and his parting words to her may have turned her to the idea that the only way to end the war is to fight with all her devotion. While Stella has gone through most of her life thinking that a fake smile could help her get through the bad times. Gale disabused her of that notion and now his death may have spurred her to begin thinking about her relationship with others instead of going through life thinking she is all alone.

I'm actually worried about the title of next week's episode "The Resolve of Two". I assume the two in question are Stella and Yuki, and while some may assume it means they will meet and become allies, their resolves can easily be counter to one another. The opening sequence where they hold hands and smile could easily be a troll, and they may both end up dead.

The pacing of the show makes it seem like a 2 cour show, it just seems odd that with only 2 episodes left, the two characters the show seems to have put on a collision course don't even really know anything about each other.
Mar 8, 2019 9:44 AM
#5

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3759
So when I said last week I wanted someone form Blue team to die...I didnt mean Gale. However it seemed pretty obvious that the commander was going to die in the end.

I'm only interested in two things now. The interaction between Stella and Leila, and the meeting of Stella and Yuuki.
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Mar 8, 2019 9:55 AM
#6

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Dec 2015
138
RIP Gail. I like this guy. Not just because he is badass and really good commander but also the whole orphans stuff. And good to see more emotions from Stella (even the sad one). And Lily is really a cutie.
Mar 8, 2019 10:11 AM
#7
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Mar 2017
1192
We return with Stella and her squad, in addition to seeing more about Stella's past and I repeat it again, the empire of Grandiga deserves death, their people are pieces of shit that only think about consuming for themselves and not helping a lonely and helpless girl.
Owens has a good heart when it comes to orphans, his good disposition should exist in more people of his homeland, but it seems that he is only a minimum exception.
I liked the part where Lily compares the squadron as if it were a family, tender detail, although Huey is still a scum without a heart.
Stella damages one of the vehicles and stays with Owens to repair it, there they have a talk about how she has changed in this war. We see that adorable image of Stella smiling as they go on their way to meet their companions, a moving moment before leaving for the battlefield.
Ohhh ... shit, so Owens was the one who faced Harold in the previous episode ... damn, has died one of the most human and respectable soldier of all the empire of Grandiga and he saved Stella from Harold's attack, this man has my respect. Owens' last words were so deep, a reminder to his subordinates before he died, plus that crying of pain from Stella hit me directly in the feelings.
An honorable detail of Grandiga doing a funeral for Harold, but they are still an empire of hypocritical batards.
That last memory of Stella where she sees Owens, it hurt, because we heard Stella in tears say goodbye to him.

Damn ... this episode was sad, Stella finally showed more emotions, besides that her bond with Owens became closer, but the tragedy had to come and we lost a character that was the most human and good, besides that he was the one how held Stella's squad steady. There are only two episodes left and I do not know what can happen now that things are so dark for both girls.
Mar 8, 2019 11:58 AM
#8

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So, how will the last 2 episodes unfold? I'm up for the ride that's for sure, I just want, like Gail said before dying, to witness the end of the conflict and whatever comes after that. There has been so much suffering already ;_;

That Stella true smile tho <3
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Mar 8, 2019 12:19 PM
#9

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May 2018
2190
2 more to go, don't tell me they'll be rushing this on the last 2 ep?????
Mar 8, 2019 2:20 PM

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JiangHaoyi1979 said:
2 more to go, don't tell me they'll be rushing this on the last 2 ep?????


Are you still waiting for this series to become yuri? As I see, you even made a recommendation, where wrote that it was yuri romance like Izetta, lol.
Mar 8, 2019 4:40 PM

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Apparently this series can't think of another way to humanize the characters from Stella's group than letting them interact with random war orphans. It didn't work the first time and it surely didn't work now.

I didn't expect Gail to kick the bucket. I thought Lily or one of the guys would and I would have preferred that to be honest.

Hopefully, the anime will change back to Yuuki's point of view in the next episode. And I'm curious how the anime will pull off the meeting between Yuuki and Stella in the remaining episodes.
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Mar 8, 2019 4:54 PM

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May 2018
916
RIP Gail
found it very insteresting it's the same battle from last ep, but this time from the blue guys' side

so uh two eps left
I'm really curious how this will all end
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Mar 8, 2019 6:02 PM
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182
The first half is a waste of time. They did this kind of episode last time...

Please be Yuuki's perspective for the rest of the show.
Mar 8, 2019 6:33 PM
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Death to the Empire !!!
Mar 8, 2019 6:58 PM

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13335
It seems that every episode, someone dies in vain of sacrifice for the greater good, and that someone is the Blue Team's Commander Gail.

More of Stella's backstory and past, that I give spite of circumstances, smile anyways.

Welp, 2 more episodes to go. Wonder how they will wrap this up.
Mar 8, 2019 7:38 PM
Overthinker

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Jun 2017
1019
Stella was really cute this episode, especially with the kids. I did feel bad for the commander but the death flags were there. What really got me was how Harold funeral was turned into Empire propaganda! It was just a small part of the episode but this one character I really liked got killed and now his death is being used for the enemy's political purposes. I don't see how but I want the Empire to lose so badly (but keep Stella's squad alive)
Mar 8, 2019 8:54 PM
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Jan 2018
9
Just finished watching. Who decided to make this anime so... sad? Like it was so happy and then suddenly Stella and Yuuki have everyone around them die and it's just getting so sad. No wonder its called the Cost of Smiles. Their smiles are literally disappearing.
Mar 8, 2019 10:47 PM
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Jan 2016
885
RIP Gail, he was a interesting character indeed!

Stella true smile and laugh was priceless!

Interesting to see the same fight from last episode in Empire side of view!

I wonder what will be in next episode because of title!

Mar 8, 2019 11:05 PM

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May 2015
1798
Another week of "We kill all of our most likable characters 'cuz why not?"
Man, I really wanted him to live on and go back to his orphanage. It sucks.
Mar 8, 2019 11:53 PM
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Solista said:
Like it was so happy and then suddenly Stella and Yuuki have everyone around them die and it's just getting so sad.


IMHO, its about time someone else on blue team died. They've only had 2 people died on their team while their personal unit have been decimating Yuuki's army and personal commanders etc, which was written horribly making Yuuki's army to seemingly lack any commander with knowledge of tactics or strategy. Its been pretty much a one sided war despite the writers trying to fool the viewers that both sides are suffering loses. Heck was it ep8? Where Yuuki's retreating army was basically ambushed and slaughtered all for her to see after getting a call to surrender by lady enemy commander? Yet, the writers tried to make the viewers feel bad about Harold's decision to reciprocate in return. Its pretty much BS imo.

Now onto ep 10 thoughts. Agreed that the 1st half was redundant since it was done before. I call BS that those civilians and orphans harbored no ill will towards the invading army. Usually in real life civilians would be scared shitless of an invading army especially if they loved their country and it's rulers.

Glad Gail, did i spell his name right?, died along with Harold. Now thats fair. Its been too one sided for me to care at all about blue team when they are winning the war. Very hypocritical for them to feel so much anger towards Yuuki's army when they've been doing the majority of the slaughtering despite the show claiming otherwise. Though it does paint the picture of both sides feeling anger for their losses, which is realistic. I'll give them that. Still dont care though since blue team's country seems like a shit place to be affiliated with.

Blue team is basically the archetype of "military academy besties" playing war. Especially Lily, her character and Yuuki's are definitely in the wrong anime.
Mar 9, 2019 12:51 AM

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Mar 2008
610
Gail may help war orphaned kids but it's hard for me to feel sympathy for him when he admitted they were the ones creating orphans.
Mar 9, 2019 3:29 AM

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Limaolc said:
RIP Gail, he was a interesting character indeed!

Stella true smile and laugh was priceless!

Interesting to see the same fight from last episode in Empire side of view!

I wonder what will be in next episode because of title!



I was sad he died. He was kind to children from his own country and also kind to the kids from Soleil. At least he managed to bring toys one last time to some kids before passing away.

Yeah, interesting to see. It was a hard fight for the empire troops too, with all the traps the kingdom setup in that area.
Mar 9, 2019 4:12 AM

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mcNosurge said:
Solista said:
Like it was so happy and then suddenly Stella and Yuuki have everyone around them die and it's just getting so sad.


Where Yuuki's retreating army was basically ambushed and slaughtered all for her to see after getting a call to surrender by lady enemy commander? Yet, the writers tried to make the viewers feel bad about Harold's decision to reciprocate in return. Its pretty much BS imo.


that was literally the lowest point of the anime for me. Then at that same episode, Yuki is saying their new artillery is ok to be used as long as it does not cause unnecessary deaths to the enemy. :(

Mar 9, 2019 7:10 AM
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Jan 2019
1009
What the hell happened to the animation? It was remarkable that it looked deformed, and it makes me a little angry, since it was a chapter, I think, important in the series.
Ray! Major Gale was one of the best types of this anime. It is / was my favorite character. It saddens me that he died. It was largely thanks to him that Stella changed her false smile and changed her for a more honest attitude about her feelings. DAMN!
The kingdom lost Master Harold and the Empire to Major Gale.
Mar 9, 2019 9:54 AM

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Jun 2015
21881
rip gail, not everyone lives and goes back to their orphanage of kids.
Mar 9, 2019 11:01 AM
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Jan 2016
885
Liddo-kun said:
Limaolc said:
RIP Gail, he was a interesting character indeed!

Stella true smile and laugh was priceless!

Interesting to see the same fight from last episode in Empire side of view!

I wonder what will be in next episode because of title!



I was sad he died. He was kind to children from his own country and also kind to the kids from Soleil. At least he managed to bring toys one last time to some kids before passing away.

Yeah, interesting to see. It was a hard fight for the empire troops too, with all the traps the kingdom setup in that area.


Yeah i am sad aswel, i think i felt sad for every single death in this anime!
Mar 9, 2019 6:32 PM

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Aug 2018
1351
Well, I think Gail's death was expected : characters too kind for this world don't stay up long... it became pretty obvious this event would occur after they killed Harold & Izana, important characters on their side.

Sad though, I found this episode good, especially with Stella's new face, a more human one. But it appeared to bright to be real, a bad thing HAD to happen. And yeah it did happen : probably the kindest & good-willing chief died, RIP.

And one thing I realized (actually it stayed hidden in my minds for a while), but the opening is a total bait lol, nothing shown inside is even close to happen (I mean, Stella & Yuki's united, hands in the hand ? Joshua being alive and fighting in his mecha ? None of these things will ever happen, I guess).
Mar 9, 2019 10:34 PM

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Oct 2008
13637
well i think this episode would even things out...but still very harsh...
4/5.


Mar 10, 2019 12:56 PM
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I can't wait for Stella to meet her Mother & Yuuki that is what I am most looking forwrd to
Mar 10, 2019 12:57 PM

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Jun 2010
485
I wonder if next weeks episode is going to focus on both sides, instead of just focusing on one, like it's been doing, considering the title.
Mar 10, 2019 7:21 PM

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Mar 2016
2990
Gosh, I guess I’m in the minority getting just more and more annoyed with these cheap ass deaths.
Mar 10, 2019 9:37 PM

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Ryuseishun said:
Gosh, I guess I’m in the minority getting just more and more annoyed with these cheap ass deaths.

It may look cheap but this anime has done a very good job of showing the harsh reality of war and how at any moment any one of them could die. Very few animes go this far and I appreciate it for taking that step.
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Mar 12, 2019 4:04 PM

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papsoshea said:
An anime about war without war...

Yup! This pretty much sums all there is to it. While its first episodes were ok, especially the second one which had a good cliffhanger, unfortunately, that's all there is to it. You have your average cute girls react to the "atrocities" of war, a war which you see too little to really care.

This anime fails in so many levels it isn't even funny. The action scenes end when they start getting good, the strategy "guerrilla" warfare is only seen twice in 10 episodes. The relationships between the characters are weird, the OST is nonexistent... but the most disgraceful flaw is that there is no war in an anime about war.

Now, don't get me wrong, you do get to see some battles, but that's the problem! You don't get to see the actual war. The epic battles that happen canonically are told. So, for example, you have this scenario: "The characters are on a skirmish prior to a big battle near a city or a key location. The skirmish ends. Our characters retreat to heal and get ammo... AND THEN WE CUT TO AFTER THE BIG BATTLE."

This happens so often that you really feel scammed. "Oh, the big city fell to the enemy", "oh we were ambushed last night and lost 2 carriers" You don't actually get to see that. I can go into more detail, such as the cliché of "I don't want to kill anybody" or "war is bad because", or the lack of character development we see in 10 episodes regarding our protagonist, but honestly it doesn't matter. And speaking about the protagonist, Yuki absolutely drives me insane with how idiotic she is, how naive she is. She is stupid beyond belief and her actions have caused the death of her own people and the very few likable characters. Terrible plot and unbelievable politics. Watching people tap on computers, act like assholes towards each other, and make a useless princess cry isn't really exciting. And the cherry on top is that the visual quality keeps dropping.


Funny enough, this show reminded me of Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu a little bit in regards to shifting focuses back and forth between both sides. While I can’t say I liked Ginga Eiyuu, it does the whole war, politics, and “no true villain” theme far, far better.

I’m totally with you here, and the “one ep, one major death” thing to try to act emotional value is laughable in the way it was portrayed, especially when those characters don’t really do much to make themselves memorable.
Mar 13, 2019 1:33 PM

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368
Am I the only one that is pleased when invading scum finally get killed off?

Also the character animation in this episode was amazingly poor.
Mar 14, 2019 11:18 AM

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HereticHunter said:
So, how will the last 2 episodes unfold? I'm up for the ride that's for sure, I just want, like Gail said before dying, to witness the end of the conflict and whatever comes after that. There has been so much suffering already ;_;

That Stella true smile tho <3


That's the question how can the make end in two episdoes? and if they do can the make them so people our satisfy. Right now I don't know, but maybe they make that life doesn't really end the way we want, so maybe that's how story will play out.
I really like this episode, sad the commander died, he probably one of realist, guys on the show!!
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Mar 14, 2019 9:25 PM
Cherry Thighs

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Apr 2013
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Not only has the story team given up on this anime but so has the animation team. It's a shame since this anime had potential to be good.
Mar 22, 2019 12:22 AM

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10873
More double perspective on the war. Nice.

RIP Gail.
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Mar 22, 2019 4:04 AM

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Ryuseishun said:
Gosh, I guess I’m in the minority getting just more and more annoyed with these cheap ass deaths.


Yep. Every single episode ends the same way. It's been pathetic for a long time, but they insist on ending every episode like this. It's so damn predictable and cheap.
Apr 26, 2019 9:56 PM

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And there he goes... the only character I found interesting enough in the Empire's side.

It wasn't the best episode if I'm honest. It felt forced how they tried to make me feel empathy towards Stella's group. I mean, they tried to humanize them again by making them interact with some orphans but it didn't work for me since I can't ignore the fact that they are the main reason of why those kids became orphans in the first place. Not to mention that I'm a bit disappointed that Gail was the only one who addressed that issue but well.

That said, there are just two episodes left and I don't really know how they will manage to wrap things up.
Mar 24, 2020 2:38 AM

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This episode ending with the other side's perspective of that fight from last time really juxtaposed the heartbreak of both sides in the drama and tragedy of this war.

I'm still baffled that such an amazing series, which has brought me to tears so many times, has such a low score. Maybe it could still screw the pooch in the last two episodes, but I doubt it'll end too badly. But the rest of the series so far has had such amazing and well-polished storytelling. The short form of this story means the only drawback is that I never really got to "live with" the characters for very long and get to know them really well, but even so the series has done a good job with the time they've had available.
GlennMagusHarveyMar 24, 2020 2:54 AM
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Jul 20, 2020 4:52 AM

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9959
So far I like Stella quite a bit more than Yuuki in terms of growth, Yuuki has somewhat stayed the same kid since her discovery of Joshua's death while Stella shows her emotions instead of fully hiding behind the fake smile. Really expected Yuuki and Stella to meet earlier on, but 10 episodes in and still no signs of them going to meet in some way. Pretty heroic death of Gail against Harold...

Feb 21, 2022 11:10 AM

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Feb 2020
71043
And yet another character died.

RIP Gail.

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