Yamato 2199 Group Watch – Episode 22

 

Episode 22 – The Star That is Our Destination

2199 has had many “before the battle” episodes, but this is the Big One.  Yamato‘s crew and the Gamilas leaders both know this is the final turn of the cards…

Hit the jump, and let’s get ready for the final battle!

The episode begins with Captain Okita narrating the disappointing results of a conference with the Gamilas rebels…  The goals of the two side are simply too divergent.  And once again, he suffers from an attack of some kind.  He’s seriously ill, but cannot give up his mission.

Gamilas Side:

The Gamilas side of the episode is mostly about politics and personalities….

Norran now knows the truth…  But he doesn’t care.  His mission is to protect an individual, Yurisha/Yuki, and he intends to carry out that mission.

Dessler now knows too…  But he doesn’t care.  Yuki is a pawn in a larger game, and if he can use her, he will.  Which is interesting, most Gamilas worship the Icandarians, but the leadership is much more cynical.

I’ve always found this brief sequence of Dessler and some kind of pet bird to be chilling…  The bird eagerly hops onto his hand, and he kills it.  We know he has little compassion, but why such a fit of naked savagery?

Yamato Side:

The narrative on the Yamato side centers around three threads…  The first, that their goal is not to conquer or destroy Gamilas but to reach Iscandar.  The second, planning for ramming through the defenses in order to reach that goal.  The third, debating over whether or not a Yuuki should be rescued.  Many of the crew think she should, but Kodai (despite his personal feelings) regards this as a diversion from their primary goal.

But there are some interesting character moments as well…

If Melda is to fly the captured Gamalas fighter alongside Yamato‘s fighter group…  It will be in her signature color.

I’ve always loved this.  Not only because we see a crack in Melda’s normal hard-*ass persona…  But also because “humans find alien food questionable/disgusting” is such a common trope in SF.

But the fun and games must reach an end…  It’s time for the crew to make ready for battle.

Captain Okita makes an inspirational speech as we’re treated to a montage of Yamato‘s crew at the ready.   It’s an old standard, but I still like it and especially the upbeat instrumental version of the OP in the background.  (And I now realize I haven’t said anything about the OST and it’s many cool pieces over the run of the series.)

After the warp – Melda confirms it.  They’ve arrived at their destination…

Only to be greeted with an incoming attack from a massive Gamilas weapon.

Fade to black, and roll the credits…

Yamato 2199 group watch:

Other Participants:

– Mechanical Anime Reviews: Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Episode 22: Out of the frying pan

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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.