Episode 4:
Coppelion, with the help of Denjiro Shiba, try to take down the B-2 bomber. After some struggle, Ibara finds the B-2’s blind spot and takes it down. It crash lands in the speedboat racing pool where they find containers of high level waste beneath the surface. In my last episodic write-up of this anime, I don’t know why I confused the B-2 bomber group to be on the side of the people.
It turns out that the B-2 group was actually with a company that supported the disposal of hazardous waste products and spent fuel – and took that responsibility on themselves just for money. Money…the root of all evil (they say). They figured out what groupo the B-2 party was affiliated with when Aoi found a yellow sticker that had the Yellow Cake pastry symbol of the group and the Vice President told them about it.
Denjiro Shiba resolved to commit suicide – that’s how I interpret it. He went into an area – highly contaminated – and removed the protective mask of the hazmat suit, exposing himself to the harsh radiation. Ibara found him then estimated that he had ten minutes max before his system shut down. I don’t really think that made much sense because of the many factors that Ibara would have to take into consideration: his prior exposure, health, his susceptibility to radiation. But I am not Coppelion. I have no training. But I can still speculate.
The Vice President got there just in time to save him and there were more tears.
Usually, the excessive crying irritates me (and personally, I hate the crying thing) but I dealt with it because these girls are coming to terms with these foreign emotions and I guess their first response to it is the waterworks.
Episode 5:
In this episode, the Vice President sends shelter choppers – new inventions from Tristate Industries – to take care of the high level waste situation at speedboat racing pool. After it’s all removed, they leave it in a big container at an intersection since the place is practically a ghost town and it’s assumed that no one’s using the road. However!!
Coppelion sees an overturned vehicle and go to investigate. Inside they find a man who tells them to rescue his daughter first who is in the back. I’m watching the episode, thinking I’m going to see a child – as is the norm. But they put in a pregnant girl.
How can she be getting busy in this time?? Who would want to even reproduce in this disastrous time. At least the hazmat suit stretches so she can fit that belly inside. Her name is Ibuki and she gasped out to Coppelion that a group was coming and had been the one to overturn their vehicle. The group appears, known as the ghosts of the 1st division self defense force.
Ibara engages them in battle and they open fire.
I can never understand how characters – ESPECIALLY IN THIS OPEN SITUATION – walk/run out into open fire without getting shot down. It hasn’t happened enough yet for my face not to twitch into a deadpan frown. However, after a cat and mouse chase, they finally get away when friends of Ibuki and her dad come along to rescue them.
The Prime Minister, a short, stubborn and spoiled brat, comes in in this episode. He’s afraid of the 1st division and orders Coppelion to get rid of them. Ibara shuts him down, telling him that they are not a fighting unit but have a duty to protect the people rather than to go out looking for a fight when they’ve already taken care of what’s necessary.
And to get back at them, like a child, he refused to send a support unit over to them – even with the knowledge that Coppelion had a pregnant woman in their care. That doesn’t matter though because Ibuki’s people bring Coppelion to their base – powered by hydroelectricity and solar energy – and show them the mass project they had been working on: A haven within the destruction about them. A little peace of hope too amidst all the disaster.
Taeko is recovering from her injuries after she took a bullet, protecting Ibuki when the 1st division came back to try and kill them. And since the Prime Minister is being a cunt, the Vice President decided to send in another student – from the fighting unit this time – to aid Coppelion.
Pfft, all cool.
This episode took on the government perspective of the three girls. Despite the fact that they are human, the Prime Minister and others are not inclined to believe so but think of them as government machines – as dolls, which they are. But quite frankly, Coppelion are a lot more human, than the humans themselves.