Yamato 2199 Groupwatch – Episode 10

After last week’s deep and thoughtful episode, it was back to solid drama and sci-fi adventure this week.  Hit the jump and let’s dive right in!

This week, 2199 combined two old SF staples to make one sturdy tale…

The first staple was “something drops the ship out of warp (hyperspace, jump)”.  This happened on any number of Star Trek episodes, and it’s a staple of print SF as well.

The second staple was “having to work with enemies to survive”.  Not as well known as the first, but not uncommon either.

One of the reasons this part of the episode worked is because they’ve humanized the Gamilas.  Rather than being simple cardboard cutout villains, we’ve seen a variety of personality types.  The loyal Shultz.  The political opportunist and all-around slimeball Goer.  This week, we meet the honorable Captain Lars – willing to strike and keep a deal with the enemy, even at the cost of his own life.

We also get a hint that all is Not Well within the Gamilas Empire…  And later in the episode, one of the crew shoots and kills the object of derision.  Supporting his Captain?  Hating the Imperial Guard that much?  Both?  They never tell us…

This is a first for the crew of Yamato as well.  The first time any human has seen a true Gamilas, living or dead.  To their surprise, the Gamilas aren’t actually literally monsters.  Though the Gamilas android should have been a clue in that direction…

And we learn that there’s some disagreement over just how the war started…

There’s a lot to digest in some of the side stories and toss-off lines.  That’s one of the things that makes 2199 so freakin’ good.

And what’s going on here?  They’ve shown us the autonomous navigation system and it’s armored and locked door several times.  While they’re in the dimensional rift, it’s briefly open – and something comes out…  and then it’s locked and closed again.  A mystery for a future episode.

A bonus shot of the Engine Room…  And something I haven’t really brought up before, the incredible level of detail in the backgrounds and settings.   They really put a ton of effort into these, throughout the series the production values remain insanely high.

And the now traditional ending card…

Also, came across this last night – the Kancolle opening animation combined with 2199‘s theme music.  Kinda interesting.

Anyhow, that’s it for this week, what are your thoughts?

Yamato 2199 group watch:

Other Participants:

– Mechanical Anime Reviews: Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Episode 10 – Frenemies

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You can see the all the postings in this series by visiting the Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 Group Watch category page.  If you want to participate, this post has all the information you need.