1 Just think of it as a simulation of the old 300 baud days!

...no, maybe not.

2 Heh. It got a little angsty -- and then jumped right off the deep end of absurdity, which resulted in a literal LOL moment.  It's not like any of us weren't thinking that, after all!   No further spoilers...

3

You know what? Eris really is an outstanding diplomat. It's easy, early on, to dismiss her as a bimbo, but it's not true. She is immensely competent, enormously brave, and tremendously resourceful.

Boobs, brains, and guts are great combination, and she's got 'em all. She is about as far from being a bimbo as she can be.

4 You forgot her other defining characteristic:  She's incurably nice.  She just does not have a jealous, vindictive, or mean bone in her (rather outstanding) body.  That seems to be a characteristic of the Catians in general, though -- their only black mark seems to be their reaction to the early Assistaroids.

For instance, the Christmas present went way above and beyond what they could or probably even should have done -- especially given that a number of Earth governments were actively conspiring with the Dogs or being duped by them. It's a huge game-changer for Japan and the Earth in general.

5

It certainly seems to be a trait of the Catheans in this particular ship, but it's a diplomatic mission and I would think that being like that would be a requirement to be permitted on the crew.

For first-contact specialists like Eris, that would especially be the case.

The Christmas Present is unquestionably a very nice gesture on the part of the Catheans. But it's also a diplomatic game changer. The Catheans are determined to open friendly relations with the Earth, and the Present will substantially aid in that effort.

I was just thinking of something, and I believe I'll make a post about it.

6 Here it is.

7

Sounds awesome!  Unfortunately, techno-illiterate that I am, I have to wait three more days to watch this on Crunchyroll.

Grrrrrrrr...................

8

I saw something that I know was a reference, but I don't know what it's a reference to.

I'll speak obliquely because I don't want to give away spoilers: When the three of them went out for the dogfight (heh) the suits they're wearing, and the surfboards they're fighting on, and the weapons they're using, and in particular the combined attack at the end are clearly a reference to something.

Anyone have any idea what it is?

9 From another forum I got that it's "Tekkaman Blade".  I've never seen the show myself.

10 I'll be a little overprotective here. If you'll notice, the saucers the Dogians use are VERY similar to the saucers the final Neuroi used in Strike Witches 2, that is, a saucer with a distinctive cylindrical wall in the upper hull, and four globes on the underside.  It's from a classic Sci-Fi series, "The Invaders".

And then I'm really surprised the rich girl didn't ask to be turned into a Cathian.  I'm also surprised that the solution to the computer issue wasn't simply to turn the bell over to the second in command.  And Thirdly, I thought his battlesuit hasn't been "Tuned" yet.  But perhaps that happened offscreen while they were prepping the ship.

11

This is not a show where the story is water tight. It's partially governed by the "Rule of cool" and partially governed by the "Rule of Funny".

Remember in "Who Frame Roger Rabbit?" there was a scene where Eddie and Roger were handcuffed together, and eventually Eddie is trying to cut it off with a hacksaw. At which point Roger pulls his hand out of it. Then puts his hand back in.

Eddie says, "You mean you could have gotten your hand out of it at any time?" And Roger says, "No, not any time. Only when it was funny."

That's the Rule of Funny: you can violate the laws of physics and causality if it's funny. (That's why the Coyote only falls once he realizes he's going to, for example. The law of gravity only kicks in when it's funny.)

The Rule of Cool applied in this, too. There were several places where things happened which were cool beyond belief, but which didn't really make a whole lot of sense. (Like the final daring rescue. How, exactly, did he get there?)

I think the Cathean Assistaroids are primarily governed by the Rule of Cool and the Rule of Funny. It explains most of what they do and what they are.

12 I just saw another example of the same saucer, in a "Movie within the movie" in DuRaRaRa 12.5.