Suisei no Gargantia Episode 5: Calm Day

‘I repeat. Query: Why is this necessary?’

Summary: It’s a calm day and life is good. Ledo can’t get a job, Pinion is throwing a party and bikini’s are in abundance. Ledo is sent on a mission to receive the devious special source for the meat party, Chamber becomes a grill and Amy wins a race against her friends. Fun times for everyone in episode 5!

 A couple battles later and here we are… in some cultures I hear that they call this kind of episode… fan service? I’m find with it being a fan service episode though, because you know what? It was a good one! Hell, I didn’t even realize that it was a fan service episode until Ledo was stripped down and his six pack was showing… a scene which my father walked in on me viewing… thanks for that Ledo and your damned six pack! How does he even have a six pack? He sat in a robot all day playing what was pretty much real life, deadly video game… He shouldn’t have a six pack is all I’m saying!

 So before I get down to what little plot there was I think we should take this review on a different route… BIKINI REVIEW TIME!

 With this episode being primarily bikinis and other comical quirks, I figured that it would be best to take a new approach on reviewing this episode. So here we go! The contest to see who will become… Miss Gargantia! Let’s judge out contestants:

 I think we should begin with main character and female protagonist Miss Amy! Amy is wearing a revealing and saucy red bikini in episode 5, a bikini which, might I add, fails to grab Ledo’s attention. It’s a very befitting bikini and goes well with her now generally accepted color scheme. I think it’s safe to say it goes well with her eyes. In this episode Amy doesn’t get much character development (hence the title fan service episode) and she only serves to ‘serve’ the viewer. She showed great determination in the race and her innovative thinking allowed for her to reach the top of ‘the sprinkler’ first. Nice work Amy! Oh! And let’s not forget how she tried to help Ledo to swim! Bonus points for caring! OH! And she ALSO tried to help him find a job! Cute! More bonus points!

Amy: 8/10 7/10

 Who’s next? Who could possibly follow up on our nicely proportioned, bright eyed brunette? Well our small child like Melty of course! Now we don’t usually get so see much of Melty, I mean, usually she just sits in the background commenting on how cute Ledo is, but in today’s episode she played a more prominent role. One thing (or should I say two things) that isn’t/aren’t prominent however are her breasts! Yeah girl, I went there. It’s cool if your into the child like body sort of thing but to me that’s a no go. Mix that in with trying to get onto Amy’s girl and you’ve got a girl who’s losing points by the second! She did redeem herself (ever so slightly) however by being cute and by helping make women everywhere more self conscious about their weight. YAY! Melty’s and her bikini receive:

Melty: 6/10

 And who, you ask, can possibly follow up on our child like beauty with the child like body? Why her best friend of course! Maybe Saaya should be telling Melty to eat more so that her chest can grow a bit eh? It’s alright Saaya, I don’t think you need to lose weight! You’re beautiful as you are! Saaya, like Melty, doesn’t usually receive a lot of screen time and even in this episode she still took more of a side role even in comparison to Melty but one thing that doesn’t take a side role is that vibrant yellow bikini of hers. Anyone else think that brown and yellow is a good mix of colors? Her hair and her bikini are perfect and so Saaya recieves a:

Saaya: 7/10

 AND WHO, you ask, could possibly follow up on our big breasted and cute brunette? Why Bellows of course. Bellows LOSES points for not helping Ledo get a job BUT she doesn’t lose too many because in reality it’s not her fault that Ledo didn’t go to school and get some grades. There’s a life lesson for you all! Go, study and get a good job or else you’ll end up shoveling cow shit like Ledo. Bellow appears in her usual revealing attire and intrudes on the party with a whine and a moan at Pinion. Boo! But I digress, Bellows is usually a lovely character, with a lovely bikini top and in this episode she just didn’t have the same impact as she did in her previous appearances… shame really. Bellows receives:

Bellows: 6/10

AND WHO?!?! You ask can follow up on consistently revealing Bellows with the skimpy shorts? Good question… I joke! That would be seemingly frumpy Ridgett who turns out to not be as frumpy as we thought! Bonus points for a plot twist! Ridgett strips down to a dare purple one piece that goes well with her black hair. I’m glad that everyone’s bikini’s match their color scheme. Although I’d expect no less from a character designer who has worked many a time in the hentai business! A particular favorite of mine is Hanaharu Naruko’s ‘Love, Breast Milk, and Yamada’s Juices‘, yes this is the woman who designed these characters. Quite the woman eh? So yeah, Ridgett has surprised us all with her daring outfit and therefore I give her a:

Ridgett: 7/10

 I’m done with this ‘and how’ gimmick, let’s just get down to business. Ledo. Yes, I’m judging Ledo but not because I’m gay! But so that I can appear fair and appeal to all you white haired boy loving ladies out there. With some blue boxers and six pack abs Ledo has surprised me, the man who conquers pirates and the guy who can’t find a job, Ledo, has a six pack, large muscles and a lack of interest in girls. The guy was surrounded by women in their bikinis, all of whom were fawning over him and what does he do? He goes and makes out with transvestites?! You have brought shame upon your family and all the world Ledo. Remeber that. But I digress, I’m guessing that all that ladies were loving Ledo’s appearance and so I can’t help but give him a:

Ledo: 9/10

 I should be done right? WRONG. There is one other, a man/woman of great beauty and valor. His/her’s muscles put Ledo to shame, his/her’s breast size even puts Melty to shame (which isn’t hard, let’s be honest). His/her’s way with words makes me wonder if this is this worlds version of Shakespeare. I can only hope he/she didn’t die when the stairwell. collapsed… which brings me to another point… why did Amy only save Ledo? Those poor men/women probably died because she left them hanging from the about to fall bridge! You know what, I’m going to go back now and deduct a point from her for assisted murder (I say assisted because it was obviously the person who built that stairwells fault that they died). And so unnamed man/woman receives:

Transvestite: 10/10 for excelling in all things manly and womanly

 Therefore the winner of this years Miss Gargantia is… the transvestite! Enjoy your prize, a.k.a Ledo.

 But I digress, let’s get down to the serious stuff. The episode. The reason I love this anime is much is because Gen hasn’t killed everyone off yet it’s light hearted and awesome! It doesn’t matter that it’s a fan service episode because the same feel from the last three episodes is still there! With that being said, I wouldn’t mind another action packed episode with more pirate deaths and plot progression y’know? I was really enjoying the flashbacks and character development and it all came to a halt this episode (a part from at the beginning where Ledo is trying to play his ocarina/flute) so that they could cook meat on the most powerful war machine new Earth has ever seen… It wasn’t like I hated the episode or anything, in fact I would say it’s quite the opposite, but I’m hoping that they get ‘back to the point’ next episode. And no Gen, that doesn’t mean you can start killing people because the show has reached the peak of carefreeness. Jut saying.

 It was nice to see all of the characters getting along so well and I love the character interactions now the Ledo is finally beginning to refine his Japanese. Ledo is changing and it’s becoming more and more evident with every episode. Last episode he cried and in this episode he smiled. He smiled! Ledo is finally beginning to see life for what it really is, it’s not all just war and killing. Fun, friends and sun, that is the meaning of summer life. Now that Ledo is finally beginning to enjoy life I hope it isn’t snatched away. Live. Live for me Ledo and be happy! Get a job, stay with Amy, JUST LIVE MAN! And no, I’m not saying that because I’m gay and I want to see your six pack some more… yeah, I know what you’re thinking you perverts!

 So let’s wrap things up. Suisei no Gargantia is becoming a more enjoyable experience with every episode and now that it’s turning into a light hearted slice of life I can see Gen mixing things up a bit next episode. With this episode it was the little things like watching Bevel build the automated fan over several scenes and watching Ridgett literally jump back into the ocean after the part was over. When life goes to shit in the next few episodes I’ll think back on this episode and remember the happy times. This episode will be my comfort. Whenver the character smiled and were happy I found myself saying over and over again ‘you’re all going to die’ and I just can’t let it go! I don’t care that it seems like that isn’t going to happen because SOMETHING has got to happen. So far no real plot has been delved into and that can only mean something bad is coming. I don’t really know for sure or anything and I don’t want to seem like a cynic, but it’s just the way I feel! So yeah, good episode, good bikinis and great humor… I just don’t want it to end.

 P.S He smiled!