Overall Review: Suisei no Gargantia

Though I ended up a bit disillusioned by the end this is tentatively still my favorite Urobuchi work to date.

To start with, I realize I've been using Urobuchi's name in a negative light for most of Gargantia's run, and I want to point out that no, I don't hate Urobuchi Gen nor his works. In fact, I've always enjoyed his series, but even so, I've never been fully captivated by them. They're far too lacking in the character department for my personal preference, and though that ends up working fine in his shows, I can't help but wistfully wonder just how nice it might be to see an Urobuchi work with fully developed characters; can you imagine how much of an impact that would have? That being said, Suisei no Gargantia is ostensibly his best shot at bettering this issue. Perhaps that has to do with the fact that Murata was at the helm with him, or that Gen hoped to make this a less depressing work than usual, but either way, something started out differently, and I loved that.

From the first episode to the fourth, Gargantia was a beautiful show. It was intelligent, it was thoughtful, the characters felt like real people, and the atmosphere was generally just very pleasant and held a heavy sense of realism. From the language barrier to Ledo's slow integration into the fleet, everything felt very well-written, very introspective, and a lot like Urobuchi learning how to address a situation with more finesse and less overt despair. Then the fifth episode happened, and though there were a lot of things that didn't sit well here, I felt I could forgive a beach episode. And then the sixth episode happened, and while that had redeemable qualities, I started to think things weren't proceeding as smoothly. I'm not fond in the least of some of the messages portrayed through those episodes for one thing, and for another, I had to wonder if that time could not have been spend more wisely on world and character building instead.

Unfortunately after those two episodes, it didn't quite feel like the Gargantia I was so adamantly in love with for the first half of the season. It's not a bad story by any means, but my one overarching issue is that it becomes more trademark Butcher than anything else in the show. The whole truth about the Hideauze and the way that Ledo and the others deal with leaving the Gargantia and this threat starts feeling markedly more forced than natural, and there are certain developments, particularly on the part of character like Amy and Pinion, that feel either off or flat. It's an interesting narrative, there's no doubt, but that gorgeous, almost magical feel of the first few episodes is all but gone at this point, and for all the good things about Urobuchi's writing, I can't help but feel a tad regretful for the loss of that magic.

As it is, not everything changed for the worse. Ledo in particular is fairly consistent in terms of how he develops, which makes sense considering the writers wanted this to be a story to appeal to young Japanese people who don't feel as though they fit in the current strata of society. His "fish out of water" situation is usually elegant and poignant, and he faces a lot of realistic challenges in terms of his PTSD and upbringing as a soldier of the Galactic Alliance. I feel that he comes to terms with his changing perspective a bit too fast, though that may have to do with the shortness of the series. In general though, I'm fine with his role as the focus of attention.

Chamber too, as a sort of addendum to Ledo's dilemma, works well, and especially so because he's exactly the sort of mouthpiece Urobuchi needs to partake in his usual philosophical dilemmas. Bevel is even better, though not quite the sort of character the Butcher tends to deal with, which is a shame since Bevel is easily the best character and the series would have benefited greatly from a stronger presence. In any case, while I'm sure many viewers were hoping for a more Urobutcher styled show and were happy when they got it, I can't help but feel a twinge of sadness at what could have been. This series had so much potential to be more than just another anime, it had all the makings of a classic, and while it did well for itself in the end, it just feels a bit regrettable that those elements weren't quite milked for all they were worth.