Hello everyone, and good to see you back at Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to Bodacious Space Pirates, as it feels like we’re at last settling into the daily rhythm of Marika’s new life, and thus have finally been assigned a mission outside of the usual smash-and-grab performances. Well, I say “assigned,” but in truth Marika’s actually dealing with a stowaway, a young girl who apparently smuggled herself off the last cruiser full of under-stimulated vacationers. But either way, her arrival likely marks the end of Marika’s transition phase, and the beginning of her true captaining career.
It certainly seems like the right time to me. These last two episodes have been greatly instructive in terms of fleshing out the day-to-day nature of pirating in Marika’s universe, but they haven’t given Marika much of a chance to express her own approach to captaining, or given us all that much insight into Marika’s new teammates. Bodacious Space Pirates’ ability to lightly build up an ensemble cast through bridge chatter is one of its strengths, but I’d like to see Marika actually developing some trust with her crew, and this seems like a fine opportunity. Whatever challenges await, the bay doors are opening, and the sea of stars is shimmering ahead of us. Let’s get to it!
Episode 8
This episode’s extended cold open, summarizing the history of pirates in relation to Sea of the Morningstar, essentially confirms that we’ve completed Marika’s orientation phase
The Bentenmaru’s look kinda reminds me of the Outlaw Star
Apparently their stowaway had a connection with Marika’s father. A smart choice; his personality is one of the show’s greatest mysteries, and learning more about him is essential for both Marika’s emotional journey, and also her process of learning to command the Bentenmaru. The crew have largely avoided comparing Marika to her predecessor, but this young, desperate girl will likely be far more willing to tell Marika how she doesn’t measure up
“I am Princess Gruier Serenity.” Well shit, Marika’s about to cause an interplanetary political incident
Apparently her royal family is quite prestigious. Having finally plotted out the finer points of Sea of the Morningstar interstellar politics, we immediately seem to be leaping up to the stage of the Galactic Empire itself. I imagine the empire is far less amenable to local pirates stowing away galactic princesses than it is to them taking bored nobles on pirate-themed amusement park rides
Ooh, I love this beat where Misa makes a general call to the bridge for anyone who might have up-to-date information on the Serenity family. Frequently, stories will fall into a trap where it seems every single character is working off the same base of information, because ultimately they are – they are all expressions of the author’s knowledge pool. But for effective characterization and sturdy worldbuilding, you want characters who only know as much as they “would” know, with diverse knowledge pools and personalities that, when combined, output into diverse perspectives and contrasting opinions. Misa’s statement here is a very characteristically Bodacious Space Pirates flourish, emphasizing how even assembling their collective information is an active task that requires collaboration across the team
“Get that information quickly.” This show’s signature strength seems to be that it never shorthands anything – we never jump over steps taken resolving a conflict for the sake of dramatic expediency, and as a result, it feels like we’re really there, witnessing the unvarnished complexity of managing a spaceship
Marika’s casual affectation, the tone that Chiaki frequently misinterprets as a fundamental lack of seriousness, is here already proving its worth, as she effortlessly establishes a rapport with the princess
Gruer’s formal introduction is accompanied by an appropriately prim, delicate piano and violin duet
She sends Schnitzer to give Gruer a tour, and he politely reminds her that he is an eight foot tall cyborg with a skull for a head
Ahaha, Schnitzer saying “I refuse” and turning away in a huff is adorable. Of course the giant skull guy would turn out to be moe as heck
Gruier apparently comes equipped with her own ambient glitter supply
Gruier is actually kinda helping Marika through their formal introductions. Lucky for her that her first time dealing with royalty, it’s a young woman who already seems to like her
Clever trick here – we finally get the formal introductions of the bridge officers, but it’s through Marika introducing them to Gruier. Exposition successfully baked into the narrative!
Misa chides Marika for revealing she’s a trainee, but Marika responds that they shouldn’t hide things from an important guest. Misa’s perspective makes sense – showing weakness in front of a powerful figure is generally a terrible idea – but Marika’s unique strength is her ability to speak frankly with others, and win them other with her sincerity and willingness to engage with others’ perspectives
The princess’s lipstick looks a little odd, considering these character designs don’t have lips
She wants them to find the “wandering golden ghost ship.” A QUEST!
And just then, we learn the princess has been reported missing
“Did you see the princess in the middle school?” Oh my god, they just enrolled her at Marika’s school. Well, I guess this is one way to keep Marika’s school life relevant: keep assigning her employers who still haven’t graduated from high school
Marika’s school is incredibly nice. I guess pirate captains can afford to send their daughters to the finest boarding schools
The storyboards here are doing a fine job of emphasizing the physicality of the school, with lots of shots designed to capture multiple floors of their cafeteria at once
Misa tells Marika that they’ve received notice from the Serenity family’s political operatives. But the notice itself is less important than the timing – too soon after they contacted the company that assigned them their prior job. Thus, either someone inside is leaking to Serenity’s officials, or Gruier’s presence here is part of a larger, already-planned political action. They really move through this drama quickly, putting a lot of faith in the audience to pick up Misa and Marika’s inferences
Marika is really settling into her role as the long-suffering captain with remarkable speed. It’s understandable that Chiaki initially pinned her as frivolous, but she’s actually something very different – she’s extremely mature for her age, and already comfortable handling both massive responsibilities and difficult conversations, to the extent that she can still maintain her usual, approachable attitude even through extraordinarily difficult circumstances
She’s also quite perceptive. Rather than being dazzled by the princess, she recognizes that the princess is laboring under heavy responsibilities, as well. Confidence without ego – Marika is a powerful leader
Of course her mom, knowing exactly what her weak points are, freaks her out by suggesting they invite Gruier over for dinner
The team gets a last-minute job, and the princess tags along. They probably shouldn’t be taking a princess on space pirating missions, but on the other hand, if Marika develops a genuine friendship with this girl, then it’ll likely be useful to have a galactic princess on your side
Their mission is to identify an unknown ship at the edge of their Tau system, which Gruier states is a Serenity vessel bringing information on the ghost ship. Once again, Bodacious Space Pirates mines conflict out of an area most similar shows disregard as insufficiently flashy: the complexity of navigating territorial sovereignty between powers without anyone losing face. Here, Serenity’s “intrusion” into Tau space is essentially laundered into a harmless, random incident by using non-government officiated pirates as the intermediaries
Gruier wants a pirate suit, too!
And the ships arrive! Five Serenity combat vehicles, the front vessel having already taken serious damage. The mission begins!
And Done
Yep, Marika is certainly into the swing of things now! I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard some version of Misa’s final “believe in Marika” line here, but in this show, that expression of faith feels hard-earned and deserved. Bodacious Space Pirates has pulled a neat trick with Marika’s characterization. By initially presenting her as a happy-go-lucky girl in a relatively carefree environment, the show offered plenty of reason to underestimate her in the way Chiaki initially did. However, as her story has continued, we’ve learned that Marika’s greatest strength is her unerring composure; even if she comes off as “flippant,” she maintains that attitude while acting with consideration, a cool head, and the necessary degree of boldness in every possible situation. Rather than rising to become a capable pirate captain, Marika is consistently proving that she’s been a natural captain all along – and I can’t wait to see her handle her first genuine space battle.
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