Suisei no Gargantia - 4

"The Flute of Recollection"

The fact that I'm already emotionally affected by the final scenes of this episode goes to show what a fantastic job it's doing.

It's really quite vexing having Urobuchi be behind the writing of this series; the thing is, every episode of Suisei no Gargantia has been more wonderful than the last, and it's excruciating wondering just when things will snap into far more familiar territory for Gen. Though he's stated that he's trying to do something different with this project, it's hard not to worry that sooner or later he'll reach his limit. At the moment, however, it's hard not to be struck dumb by the plain beauty of the first four episodes, beauty that comes through in every element but the CGI. The character designs and color palette are gorgeous, the characters are wonderful and individuals in their own right, but most of all, this is an intelligent series. This is Urobuchi Gen without obvious distaste for humanity, Gen with a focus on the simple act of living and the philosophical conundrums that follow, and I have to say, I like this Urobuchi more than anything he's created up to this point.

There is a stroke of realism in this series that continues to pervade its very core, and it's no less visible than in Ledo himself. We've seen the child soldier motif tackled again and again since time immemorial, but for it to be handled with this sort of tact and sensitivity is really quite astonishing. Ledo is a real soldier, not just a normal boy in a fantastical situation. He's been culled his whole life to think and act a certain way, and all he can do is think in terms of efficiency and usefulness, as is proper for a soldier of his Galactic Alliance. He has no concept of family or idleness, and the Gargantian's concepts of living together for the sake of living on baffles him. It isn't until he talks to Amy's brother, Bevel, that he finally understands; living is the simple act of living, and there's no more purpose to it than what you assign to it yourself.

The idea that Gen's works are at their best when two parties sit down and talk remains true here; a lot of very poignant themes underlie this fundamental conversation, and really it comes down to Ledo being something of an extreme PTSD case. He can't cope with emotions and peace because he simply can't comprehend them anymore, but it doesn't mean he's an emotionless vessel either. His flute, which he's been working on for episodes now, is a symbol of his own motivation and individuality, but it's also a link to some long forgotten past, where a relative, presumably his younger brother, was disposed of when he became too weak to function as an asset to the Alliance. It's tragic and quite heartbreaking to realize that Ledo's conditioning even robbed him of this memory, enough to make him shed genuine tears when he otherwise has no understanding of their meaning. It's the first time I've really connected on a fundamental level to Urobuchi characters, and for the sake of this work, I really hope this is only the first instance of many to come in the remaining eight episodes.