1 If the other students at the school are leery of the Yacht Club now, how will they feel after the Yacht Club commits piracy?  I can just see their next recruiting drive:  "No, we're really a safe club!  Why, we haven't seen any real combat since spring break..."

2 There's going to be an interesting scene when Marika and Chiaki explain to the Yacht club that it's all by arrangement, that the shipping companies invite them, and that the insurance companies pay them to do it.

3 I remember what I was in high school. The thought of piracy would not deter me. I built guns, an in my country it carried a 5 year prison sentence, in a rather uncomfortable camp! Girls were more timid, I imagine, but I'm sure some were adventurous. I rather expect the parents of those students disagree.

4

Recruitment: I think that once this is over, and word gets around, the sheer coolness of it will be overpowering. What the students are going to hear is:
1. It's completely legal.
2. It's totally safe.
3. It isn't really robbery; those being robbed are cooperating.
4. It is actually a form of theater.
5. It's a way of doing interstellar travel, without having to pay for it. Marika is paying all the bills.
And then you'll get a swarm of girls joining, in hopes of being involved the next time -- except that there won't be any next time.

5 @Siergen

I laughed hard at that.

On the upcoming arc:

Don't we also get Misa chasing around a bunch of animals on the Bentenmaru?  I thought I saw that somewhere.

I do think they'll probably skip the armaments, as I'm not sure where they'd find those quickly.

And I look forward to more Chiaki-chan and her parfait desires. 

6 Maybe they'd do better if they renamed the Yacht Club to be the Pirate Club.

7 "Legal & Extra-Legal Activities Club" probably doesn't sound as good, I think.

1

Two interesting little snippets this week, both involving Ririka:  First, when she and Marika were talking about het finding a new job, she makes the comment that her daughter's maturity makes her want to "fight even harder."  When Marika questions the word "fight," Ririka says it's nothing and quickly changes the subject.  Second, later on, when Misa's on the bridge talking about how much Ririka had changed to become a good mother, she then ends with "However...I think it's almost time."  Time for what???  Seems to me it's hard to keep a good pirate down.  (And I'm still not totally convinced Dad's dead and gone.)

2

About Ririka, my money's on her joining the crew of Barbarossa.

But what I'm afraid of is her trying to join the crew of Bentenmaru. That would be a mistake for both her and her daughter -- but that doesn't mean the writer won't do it.

Regardless, I'm not expecting any development in this regard for quite a while. At least not until book 3 is done.

3 On Ririka:
She wouldn't be getting a license for a ship if she's going back to being a Pirate.  She's been, mostly, straight for a while, so I imagine she'll want to captain some commercial ship.  After more than a decade in the type of job she had, I imagine she has connections all over the place.  It shouldn't be hard for her, given her experience & connections, to land a captain slot with the appropriate commercial licenses. 

The conversation also hinted that Ririka would be leaving, given the "support" context.  Which also harkens back to the discussion about keeping a steady income as a pirate.  Now that she doesn't need to support her daughter directly, she can go back off and do what she really enjoys: blowing things up. 

At least her cooking is better, now.

I'm still curious what Ririka pulled to get the "cease fire" around Marika.  Maybe that was part of the reason she settled there in the first place.  She'd eventually be able to wring a deal to protect Marika, as she knew this would eventually come about.  Which leads me to believe that the old cook is the real power on the underworld of the planet.

On the crew:
Ah, no more Kane-sensei or Misa-sensei.  Though we do now know why Kane was drinking so much while at the school.  He really couldn't stand to be teaching High School, haha.

Oh, and I SOOOOO want to see Schnitzer as a PE Teacher. 

Gruier:
Getting both princesses out of the system is probably the best idea available.  They took a lot of tensions and pretty much pushed them almost up to a shooting war.  Good thing Jean T. Marika was there to solve the problem.

That ring pretty much says Gonzaemon is alive.  There's pretty much 0 reasons to ever give anyone that ring.  Having that out of your control is practically a death sentence for a ship like that.  That'll probably be part of the major storyline to end the series, I imagine.  (I'm just speculating, obviously, as I don't know).  Still, that's a monster exposition drop.  And it'll be really important later.  They didn't spend that long talking about it without a reason.  Not in this series.

4 sqa:  You may be right about Ririka going another route, I was thinking that too -- on the other hand, didn't Kane say something at one point about having a large ship license?  In the very strange quasi-official environment in which the privateers operate, you may actually NEED a license to pilot a pirate ship.  I mean, they file navigation plans and everything (at least for some missions).  Who knows????

5

Re ceasefire: The government of Sea of the Morningstar is, and has always been, very motivated to keep Bentenmaru as a pirate.

When Ririka became pregnant with Gozaemon's baby, that was cause for quiet celebration in certain quarters; it meant the line wasn't going to end with him.

But a pirate ship is no place to bring up a child, so once she made the decision to have her baby, then pretty much everything else follows.

The government's hands are all over this. They probably found that house. They paid to put armor plate in all the walls, and to fit it with a world-class security system. They allowed her to keep a private arsenal. They've been making sure that nothing bad happens, ever since Marika was a baby. Though she hasn't been aware of it, I have no doubt that she's been covered by security people her whole life. Not to the level that Gruier and Grunhilde are, of course, but they haven't been ignoring her either.

And when, after Gozaemon died, Marika decided to take up the family trade, there was more, less quiet, celebration. Yeah, the paperwork hurdles for her getting her Letter of Marque were a pain. But the government dispatched a helicoptor to pick her up, and considering all the red tape it really did go pretty fast. When's the last time you ever saw a government finish any bureaucratic action in an afternoon? 20-some agencies, and every one of them was ready for Misa and Marika, and got them back out again in minutes.

So when it comes to things that relate to the government, or which the government can influence, just keep in mind that there's a Fairy Godmother in the government, keeping track of Marika and doing as much as possible to help her out.

Because the government of Sea of the Morningstar really, really wants her out there, doing exactly what she's doing.

It's already paid off for them. The Golden Ghost Ship job was a big deal, obviously for Serenity. But it was a big deal for Sea of the Morningstar too. Having their girl (and their pirate ship) be the one to save the day is good for prestige. Plus there won't be disruption of trade between the two systems, and now that Gruier and Grunhilde are going to school on Sea of the Morningstar, the relationship between the two systems will be close and friendly -- and that's a major win.

The Fair Godmother (or Father) is going around to all his bosses saying, "See? I told you she was going to be amazing! Didn't I? It was all worth it!"

6 About the house: It's not out of the realm of possibility that Ririka's house was custom built for her. It's a nice looking place, but I bet it's armored like a fortress. And that little hidey-hole full of guns in the garage can't possibly be usual.

Ririka has (had) a job, and it's a good job, and she works hard, and she's getting paid well. But I have no doubt she was also getting money from Bentenmaru Inc, and I wouldn't be surprised if the government was chipping in, too, at least indirectly. They may have outright given her that place.

Not soon, but there will come a time, maybe ten years, when Marika is going to start feeling pressure to find herself a man and get pregnant. Which will be interesting, because she'll have to keep making pirate raids while she's knocked up. I suppose she could let someone else lead the boarding actions...

7 I think Steven is on the right track here.

Coming off way too many series without even basically thought out world building (I recently watched all of Guilty Crown... ugh), that we need to respect the brilliantly detailed world that Moretsu Pirates is built upon.

Which means there's a whole lot more behind the scenes than we've been told yet.  Which means that Ririka & Marika are actually under the protection of the planetary security/defense ministry.  Especially given the fact that the Captain's family line has to run the ships was a bureaucratic way to keep them around after the war ended 100 years before.  The Bentenmaru is pretty much a space based PMC merged with a private intelligence firm for the Sea of Morningstar.  That makes them really, really important.  Especially given how the GU likely limits most of the military force they can have.

It also just dawned on me: the reason the school has the Odette II is that it's actually Ririka's ship. Theorycrafting: she wasn't the direct descendent of the ship's Captain (maybe a cousin or something that would be "next of kin" but not enough to keep the Marque independently).  So when she retired from pirating and left being under Gonzaemon's banner, she couldn't legally operate the Odette II as a pirate ship.  This would also explain a bit why Blaster Ririka leading boarding parties is shown a lot (aside from not showing Gonzaemon).  It further explains why all of the Odette's systems are still up to full spec.  They're really not that old.  Further, Ririka pretty much ran Ops at the Space Port, which means the ship could be easily be protected.   Because, really, there's no other reason for an all-girl's school to have 1 of 7 original pirate ships.

I came up with that idea because Ririka was picking up the license that I think Kane mentioned for the Yacht Club, so the ship could be taken out.  Kane having pilot licenses makes sense (he'd have had them before taking a position on the Bentenmaru), but if Ririka plans to do things a little more "legit" for a while, she'd probably want that on hand.

Just speculation, but it would make some sense for the world. 

8 Jeeze, I love series that make ya think this much, especially when the show ends up being worthy of all the speculation, as I'm pretty sure this one will.  (Counter-example:  Gosick.  Starting out seeming deep and complex, ended up -- not so much.)

9 Yeah, I gave Gosick my "Worst of 2011" award just because of that.  Although I still wonder if I should have given it to Rio: Rainbow Gate.  Kind of hard to give it to a show that made my brain do a belly-flop after half an episode.

What worries me is that we're building castles in the air for this show; it may still disappoint us yet.

10

Rio wasn't pretentious, the way Gosick was.

...but let's not derail this thread, shall we?

11 I foresee Grunhilde getting a cutesy nickname in the future, inside the Yacht Club.  That could be great.

12

No, I don't think they'll do that. They've been teasing Chiaki, but that's because they're trying to get her to loosen up. The princesses are a different matter; they're entitled to be just a bit stuffy, after all, and indeed they're being surprisingly accessible, such as being addressed by name without any honorific at all.

Also, it wouldn't really be fair to pick on her. Most of the girls there are 5-7 years older than she is.

I don't even expect any -chan for her.

Grunhilde was a little bit withdrawn on her first meeting with the group, but I fully expect her to lighten up later, and I think the older girls will fully appreciate that and not hassle her.

13 Considering that almost everyone in the club seems to be a cut-up to one degree or another, at some point they might start giving her a little ribbing -- of the gentle kind -- just to make her feel included.

1 She said "練習航海" ("renshuu koukai"): "practice cruise".

2

OK, Railgun ep 3, 17:40

"kore dakara Tokiwadai no renshuu wa"

They translated it to "This is why I hate you Tokiwadai people". Which renshuu was this one?

3 I found a site that had a working stream, and she says "renchuu": é€£ä¸­ = "colleagues; company; a lot; those guys".

-j

4 OK, I can believe that. Thanks.

1 Apparently there's a series of 90-second episodes (33% song) and a series of 4-minute episodes (50% song). Went through them, those SAN points will not be coming back...

1 1/2:  I'm sure there are relief personel. Schnitzer in particular has a crack team under him, any number of those might have manned the weapons console. I'm guessing you're right and he was in the CO's chair.

3: Behind the captains platform.

4: Probably just modified for quick donning. She said that she was going to fix the uniform to make it easier to don and doff.

5: Yes

1 I figured we could pencil you in for Nyarlko.  A loli-version of a Lovecraftian Elder God?  What possibly can't go wrong with that setup? haha

I give most everything at least 1 episode.  If for no other reason than to know what others are chatting about.  I've come across a few series I rather enjoyed doing that.  And seen bunches of things I'd like to forget, as well, haha.  (Ayashi no Ceres, may you rot in hell)

2 Okay, I turned off the bolding and it returned when I hit send.  I don't know how that happened.  Comment box no baka!

3 The connection with Beyblade makes me want to watch Naruto SD much less, and I already was cold on the trailer (which did not feature any tops, however).

4 I've given up even trying to watch the current season.  I get 4-6 episodes in then life catches up with me and I miss the rest of the season.

Think I'll watch K-On!! and Ano Hana, then maybe Strike Witches.

1 Disagree strongly on that last.  The story of DE/MC is A little girl's search to understand her father, and why he left her behind while he went to space. The POV necessarily switched to Lyar for the last episode, but she was not the main character.  For Lyar to have the main character slot, she would have to have undergone the challenge/change/growth cycle, which she did not to the extent that Misaki did.

2 Homura is the main character of Madoka Magica, but that seems intentional.

3

You've mentioned before that MSLN isn't about Nanoha.  (First two seasons, anyway.)

Hell Girl generally isn't a story about Enma Ai. Two of the three seasons are really about investigative-journalist guy and his kid.

Dennou Coil, perhaps.  I think the main character is only obvious early on when you rewatch it.

4 Again, not anime, but an example of this phenomenon is Heroes, s1.


You only really realize that Nathan Petrelli is the true main character of the show in the very last episode.  Sure, its a big ensemble cast with everyone doing something, but more than anybody else, its his central moral journey that drives the plot, and its outcome.

5 I disagree on Haibane Renmei. Rakka and Reki are both the main character. The series tells us the part where their respective stories overlap. One does not work without the other.

6 Careful about spoilers, please.

7 On the stuff I've recently watched;

Honey & Clover:
The story really became about Yamada & Shuuji and their respective takes on life. And mental disorders. This series was chalk full of them.

Naruto:
The first 2 story arcs and around 150 episodes of the first anime, the main character is Sasuke. It isn't until the "time skip" that Naruto actually becomes the MC. It's enough that, in the anime, they actually changed the series title when the MC changed. So the anime "Naruto" is about Sasuke. Naruto Shippuuden is about Naruto.


Suzumiya Haruhi:
It's been pretty obvious for a while that it's really Kyon's story. Though how much of that is really a shift or intentional or just the framing of the first series that confuses you.

Thinking on a few other series, it's more than just "title switched" characters.  Like some aren't the title characters, but the story revolves around them the whole time.  I.e. pretty much every Mecha series that is named after the Mecha but the MC is the pilot or someone involved.  Which can be a little confusing.

And doesn't this type of thread require the obligatory NGE reference that no one can really answer?

8 Ah yes.  Like how Pen-pen was really the main character of NGE.  It was all about how he got the humans to supply him with ice and beer while hanging out in Tokyo.

9 Actually, Pen-pen is God.  Literally.

10 NGE's ending, the Godwin corollary for Anime.

Told ya it was obligatory. 

11 Wonderduck, I disagree.  Pen-pen was a Time Lord.

12 Oobs, the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.