Suisei no Gargantia Episode 6: Carnival

“How are you supposed to trust someone who doesn’t even know what he wants?” -Pinon

Summary: It’s time for the requisite festival episode on Gargantia this week, and while Ledo tries to figure out how to spend money (lemme show you how that’s done boo), Chamber tries out fishing to mixed results. Even though our two space travelers continue to struggle to fit in, they’re both also learning and growing. Too bad that Ledo just has to encounter a very unwelcome guest while doing his first real job as a salvager for Bellows.

Impressions: Ah festival episodes. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live with out ’em, am I right? (Actually I’m pretty sure that if I never saw another festival episode again, it would be too soon but that’s neither here not there.) I gotta level with you guys: the last two episodes of Gargantia have left me feeling a bit cold. One of the things that was working in the shows favor for me was this romanticism of humanity returning to a planet after having been gone for centuries and then finding out that it’s their “home”. There’s a great sense of wonder and nostalgia that comes with that theme, and Gargantia was really working it for a while there. Seeing Ledo’s amazement at this world he’s been dropped in that’s so different from his own was fun and engaging. But that sense of wonder has taken a serious dive the last couple of episodes, as the focus has shifted from exploring this new life to more T & A, less story and character development. We’ll see if Gargantia can pull itself back up again, since I know that shows often lag a bit through the middle, but as of right now, I’m a little underwhelmed and frankly bored, especially with this episode.

So this week, Ledo struggles with how to spend money. Having lived a life where things like good food, nick-knacks, and other “splurge” items are nonexistent, Ledo has trouble trying to figure out what exactly could warrant him giving out his hard-earned cash. It’s funny that he mentions that other that oxygen, he can’t really think of anything he would have to spend money on. Imagine having to pay for air. Crazy, right? While he’s trying to figure that out, Amy’s busy getting ready for the Carnival, a celebration held in honor of the many fish they’ll soon be catching at the so-called Galaxy Loop. Apparently this means a lot of belly dancing in scanty costumes. I’m not the target audience for the fanservice dancing bits, but even if I was, I think I would be rather unimpressed by them. I mean, holy cow, sometimes the animation was bad. Nothing about that looked sexy or graceful or attractive in any way. I’ve seen fish flop around with more style than those scenes. Even Amy’s private dance for Ledo at the end failed to do anything for me. Instead of feeling even just a little bit romantic (which is what I think they were aiming for? I hope?), it just felt slightly weird and creepy. Or maybe it’s just that having a swimsuit/beach episode followed directly by a festival episode is too much for me.

Anywho. Seeing Ledo not only wrestle with the idea of spending money on leisure items, but also with piloting the Yunboro without a computer was funny. Not laugh out loud stuff, but still humorous. He’s come a long way, but he’s still very much a fish out of water. Even just learning the difference between food and food is a big deal for someone who up until now has probably never put much though in to how something tastes, looks, smells etc outside of just “hey I need this to keep my body working.” Pinion raises a good point in that Ledo can’t expect to learn how to fit in and connect with people by just watching; he needs to get out there and try things for himself! Figure out the things you want, really want, and don’t just settle for something that’s just okay! Eat that Chief’s special (just don’t blow it up because it looks like your monster nemesis)!

Chamber also had some adventures, and like Ledo, has trouble understanding the concept of fishing. It’s a little more understandable since Chamber is a robot, and so I’m more inclined to believe that he wouldn’t understand that even though ground up fish will still give you the same nutrients as a whole fish, most people prefer it to not look like cat food. I am glad thought that in the end Ledo and Chamber had to work together again in order to successfully catch the fish. There’s been rift growing between them since they crash landed on earth, with Ledo becoming less and less useful as Chamber took on all the work and I didn’t want it to turn into some kind of huge dramatic issue with Ledo falling into despair that he’s unable to do anything. So I’m glad to see that while the two separately are alright, together they’re still the best team. It’s also good to see Ledo choose a job working for Bellows, who I think has much more to offer than Pinion. Hopefully the story will move along a bit now that Ledo has encountered a Hideauze. Will it prove to be an enemy? Or (and this is my personal theory) are they really a more peaceful species that future humans have been brainwashed into fighting in order to perpetually be at war? While my interested in this show is waning a little, I’m hopeful that next week will bring us more story to focus on. Once that happens I’ll be a happy camper once again.

Final Thought: Wow…That’s just…wow.