July 25, 2015
DRAT...
...DRAT!
A THOUSAND TIMES DRAT!
Those weren't accessorized ears.
It was just a damned HAT!
From episode 4 of GATE!, which, in a completely unexpected development, manages to work in an onsen scene. This, however, is not one of THOSE shows as this remarkably non-gratuitous interlude makes clear. This brief scene moved the plot forward in a number of ways, provided significant character development and remained Comics Code Compliant throughout. The above scene of Leili (left) and Mercury (Right) washing the orphan's hair is as risque as it got.
After the events of last episode, 2nd Lt Itami took his recon force and the refugees back to the main Japanese base much to the dismay of his immediate superiors who are appalled that he has brought all these orphans for them to take care of. The general in charge of the operation however, is impressed both with Itami's initiative and humanity and puts our hero's unit in charge of getting the refugees situated.
...and our hero in charge of filling out the requisite paperwork tsunami.
The aforementioned bathouse scene is actually part of a montage of the refugees (and Mercury who is examining the Japanese of her own volition) reacting to such wonders as backhoes, prefab housing, field kitchens, and canned food....
Along the way, we do learn that Leili has a knack for languages. She can speak Elvish and is picking up Japanese very quickly...rather more quickly than the Japanese are picking up the local tongue. She is exceedingly smart as befits a mage and we learn a little about her past. It seems Leili grew up amongst nomads before she arrived in the imperial village, so this is not her first experience with a huge technological and cultural shock.
Or learning to use new kit.
Chika, the Elf, is still traumatized by the recent loss of her entire town, which, even amongst the elves was a somewhat insular tribe with an obscure dialect. She is in mourning for her father and seems to be taking double rations to make offerings to his memory. Having lost everything she owns she is also concerned that she and the other female refugees will be forced to sell themselves in order to repay the kindness they have received...or, barring that, simply to survive in the world.
Meanwhile, Itami is tasked with taking his unit to reconnoiter a nearby town called Italica, but that won't happen 'till next week.
No action to speak of, and our heroes didn't go anywhere, but this episode moved the story forward quite a bit.
This remains a very entertaining and intelligent show. it is just full of win right now, you should definitely be watching it.
UPDATE: There is an extensive discussion of this episode regarding combat engineering over at Chizumatic.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
06:30 PM
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I'd been wondering why Leili was wandering around in a MOPP suit as it didn't seem to add anything to the story, and your image under the first spoiler tag gave me a clue: the smell on that battlefield after all this time must be... unimaginable. In fact, it somewhat begs the question as to why the JSDF didn't clean it up. Far enough from their perimeter for them to just not care?
Posted by: Clayton Barnett at Sun Jul 26 02:38:23 2015 (lU4ZJ)
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