Nobunagun
Gun No. 7: Musashi Wonder
Well with last week’s glimpse into the daily lives of the First Platoon, it’s time to switch focus back to our friends in the Second. It’s back to business as usual when some Invasion Objects decide to go for a little joyride across the high seas, their destination: humanity’s end…Too dramatic? Regardless, it would seem that the old adage “Dead men tell no tales” might not be entirely true…
We begin the episode with a trope that has permeated anime, and more, throughout the ages: everyone outside of the main cast is useless. In this case, that duty falls on the American Navy. When Invasion Objects unite and raise the Musashi, an old Japanese warship, from the depths of the ocean, panic is the general consensus. However rather than call DOGOO, the organisation specifically created for such a task, the US Navy would sooner engage in thermonuclear combat. You know, to save face. Not the smartest move, not by a long shot. I guess the series just wants to remind us just how much of a threat these Objects are and why DOGOO is necessary. Wouldn’t be too compelling a story if just anything could beat them now would it?
Before the Second Platoon launches their attack on the ship (Codename: Musashi Wonder), we get to witness a smidge more of Galiko’s power. For recon purposes she is able to launch four spheres, uncoincidentally named after the four Galilean moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. However, though she collects the data, it is Vidocq who devises the plan of attack. Something he seems incredibly proud of. Though little of Vidocq’s nature has been revealed, we now know that he takes joy in his schemes, flashing a devious smile whenever he reveals a key component that somebody has overlooked. He is also able to utilise his power as a DOGOO operative rather efficiently, requisitioning an entire US Navy tanker for his plan.
Though nowhere near the focus of the episode, it is revealed that Nobunagun has greatly improved her skills. Designated the mission’s gunner/sniper, for obvious reasons, she has no trouble hitting her target, a moving vessel, from a moving vessel. Though I’m sure Galiko’s visual uplink aided in the aiming process, the sheer fact that Sio wasn’t a focus of the mission proves that progress has been made. It is also in this mission that we learn, despite their colossal destructive power against Invasion Objects, AU weapons barely dent conventional armours. Though it is explained no further as of yet, this limitation may have been imposed by DOGOO (the alien) in order to limit damage in the vicinity of an Evolutionary attack. Probably why all of Sio’s missed shots to date didn’t decimate the environment, that would’ve been bad.
More than anything, this episode gave Sio’s military otaku personality time to shine. I mean, it was a case involving a revived Imperial warship, what’d you think would happen? Though played of for laughs, her knowledge is considerable, allowing her to differentiate between hte Yamato and Musashi (both sunken ships) based on nothing more than a video feed. It is also this knowledge that gave her a certain sense of intuition that the other characters appeared to lack. With everyone so focused on how to stop the Musashi, very few wondered why they revived an Imperial ship and even fewer wondered how. Sio’s contemplation on the Invasion Object’s ability to replicate the Musashi’s functions, along with desire to personally put the ship to rest, led her to a strange discovery. It is her hypothesis that the Objects somehow tapped into the memories of the long dead crew and reshaped the Musashi to their will. If this is indeed the case, it opens up a bevy of possibilities for the series. Perhaps the Objects will decide to utilise their parasitic nature and simply control humanity. Remember, not only did they harness the desires of fallen soldiers, they also directly piped information into Sio’s brain. So at the very least we know that their ability works on the living. And if E-Gene Holders are susceptible, what of the civilian populace? More than that, how would E-Gene Holders combat fellow humans? Or is it possible to take another path? Can Invasion Objects be molded into thinking a certain way? Into becoming allies of humanity? But I digress.
So, with their mission completed, the Second Platoon earned a little R&R and decided to visit the beach. Cue mischievous behaviour. Poor Sio is more than a little embarrassed about her school swimsuit, especially since Jack was there. What, you thought that the sexual undertones had dies down? Please, this is Nobunagun we’re talking about. You could cut the romantic tension with a knife. A big one. Anywho, with the Second’s time in the sun officially begun, it’s time once again for the First Platoon to report for duty. I wonder who’ll have more fun?
Check out more Nobunagun Impressions HERE.
