Now if you are wondering if Gen Urobochi can really write a story like this.
Suisei no Gargantia is the answer to it.
There's a reason why Gen Urobochi is one the most popular writers right now. It’s because he knows all of negative things in this world (well if not, almost all) and that's the very reason why he can write great stories. Now what's the connection of this to healing-type stories?
It’s because he knows how to correct all of these negative things.
I'm writing this review to make Suisei no Gargantia receive the credits that it should deserved. It got a lot of messages, it got a lot of lessons and I think it’s time for Gen Urobochi to be known as one of the best story writers, not just because of his dark twisted plots but simply because he's great in telling a story.
This is my first review and I'll try what I can so I won’t spoil the story as much as possible.
Suisei no Gargantia starts off with space battle between Mechas and space living creatures they called Hideauze. So you'll get this feeling "What the hell is happening in here?” There's no background what is this war about. You got flying mechas with a lot of lasers, thousands of enemies that look like snails and octopus. Both sides are killing each other with all they have. The script even feels forced just to make the battle make sense. But all of these are part of the grand plot of this anime. You've got Silver Link, Xebec, JC Staff, Studio DEEN, Gainax, and Production I.G. With the biggest companies in anime collaborating in this series, you know what to expect. They'll give you the details of what is happening to the last drop. Vivid colours, detailed information + smooth animation. You can't ask for more.
Had you ever seen how marvelous nature is? Burning sunset dyed with many shades of red, crystal ocean that clearly reflects the surface above it, Auroras dancing in the skies with its brilliants colours.
Suisei no Gargantia represented all of it, right in front of your eyes. Add the ambiance of water then put a background music on it, when the story flows you'll find yourself inside the setting itself to the point you can feel the waves of the ocean as if you're in a ship.
Ships? Oceans? Why are those things in here?
After that what-the-hell-is-that-war-for, Ledo the male main character our story encountered a problem in entering the portal while they are trying to retreat and because of that he was warped in a completely different place with his Mecha, Machine Caliber K6821, Chamber (remember his name well). And their destination would be, Earth
To those who we're able to watched Water World, a film from 1995, you'll see many similar things in here. The Earth had become a planet completely submerge in water. The people who remained in this planet now live in ships. Since resources are very limited, they help and support each other. With the biggest one at the center, ships are linked to each other forming a fleet, this is the Gargantia. Ledo and Chamber were saved by the people of this fleet.
So we got a space kid who knows nothing except war, in a big ship where everyone treats each other as a family. This is where the story starts and it will begin from scratch. The language space people are using is entirely different from the language of the residents of Gargantia. And since they can't understand each other, hostility was the first answer that Ledo found so he can ensure his safety.
In front of other people you know nothing of, who is showing resistance as well as you do. What is the right thing to do?
If you have something to protect, and if you want to draw the line so others would respect what is important to you, what are the things that you can do and the things that you can't?
Ledo only knows how to follow orders and execute them, at first he can't fit at all with all these new rules. And as he slowly learns their language and adjusts to this new environment, he questions the system of Gargantia because the only conclusion he can draw on how the people lives in this fleet is inefficient. This is one of the best parts of the series as Ledo experiences the things that he wasn't able to when he was in space. And by doing so he discovered something so important within himself that he had lost a long time ago.
What it means to be a leader, governing all the people who appointed you in that position. How will you lead them so they can feel safe and keep the group going? There’s a limit to what a single person can do.
As the story unfolds it will boil down to where it all began. Ledo discovers the very origin of their enemies, the Hideauze. And it’s is far way off to what he thought. The things that he has been doing in space, the reason why he is fighting, the things that he thought are right. Everything came crumbling.
Now that everything has gone wrong, what is he going to do next? Can he still correct the things that he had done? And what will be the price of it if he wants to?
The answer to all of these. Is in this series.
A grand 10 out of 10 for story no question about it. A lot of things in here can be connected to our society.
Music, I'll use comparative rating in here by basing the perfect score to the best I know (Kajiura Yuki, and Jun Maeda composed) and I'll give Gargantia 9 for their music.
Animation, Chamber himself is drawn to the finest detail and the gigantic fleet of Gargantia has a very complex design. Just imagine a birds-eye-view overlooking a town while everything is moving. Suisei no Gargantia offers the best view points as you explore each section of the fleet with all the details on it. What more could you ask for if there’s a battle scene, a perfect 10 for the animation.
Characters, once again I'll use comparative rating, it’s true that Suisei no Gargantia only has 13 episodes and compared to other anime exceeding hundreds of episodes it got very limited time for character developments but hey don't forget that Gen Urobochi is here. The characters struggles in finding the answer was so much, it’s enough to make their beliefs turn upside down when they found the truth. And once they have this new found answer, they’ll push through and pick a decision, and that decision is the right decision. For the characters of Suisei no Gargantia, 9 out of 10.
Enjoyment, from Ledo's broken Nihongo, Chamber's all reasonable insulting comebacks, the peaceful days they spent in Gargantia, to the point that they might lose everything they have. Suisei no Gargantia will make you fully appreciate how great things would be if we are all just working together because it will show you how bad it could get if we are not. I'll rate it 10.
Overall, I'll give 10 for Suisei no Gargantia. My first impression about the 1st half of episode 1 completely changes when I repeated it. I was trembling and nearly cried because now I know the reason why they are fighting. From creating something you knew nothing of, support that you receive while you are trying to build it and when you finally find something precious that you can protect, someone will trample it and this someone is a person similar who you used to be. The Legend of this Verdurous Planet is one of the best stories that I know.
The series was aired in Japan from April 17 to June 30, 2013.
For those who wasn't able to watch it yet. You don’t want to miss this series. I'm suggesting you follow the 3 episodes rule for the first three episodes, after that you can stop at any episode but once you got to episode 9, finish watching it up to the end. I'm highly recommending the translation works of UTW-Vivid.
Thank you for reading and I'll try to write a review for the OVA of Suisei no Gargantia next time.
I hope you'll enjoy the series~!
