Hello brave sailors, and welcome aboard. We return at a moment of crisis, as the Yamato approaches the outer reaches of the solar system, inviting the wrath of the waiting Gamilans. Last episode, our heroes found a sober monument among the frozen moons of Saturn: a broken-down vessel, and the final resting place of Kodai’s brother. With great bravery and the timely support of Akira Yamamoto, Kodai and Mori survived this ordeal, and returned to a Yamato now fully stocked with Cosmonite 90 (you know, that stuff they needed to harvest out of a moon mine). With clear hearts and shining eyes, our intrepid explorers now turn their gazes outward, towards the far reaches of known space, and beyond. Friends and crewmates, let’s buckle in for another episode of Space Battleship Yamato!

Episode 5

We return to a classic episode-opening conceit, as we check in on the nefarious Gamilans at their Pluto base. Episode breaks always serve as good natural opportunities to jump between narrative perspectives, serving much of the same tension-resetting purpose that a chapter break might in a novel. On top of that, starting off an episode by focusing on the villains gives us a sense of tension and danger from the start, offering a ticking clock that keeps energy high when we return to the protagonists. Given all that, it’s no surprise how often anime episodes begin with a quick check-in to the villains, giving us an immediate gauge of the conflict to come

“This is a splendid opportunity for your inferior race, with its differently-colored skin, to demonstrate your loyalty to the Gamilans.” The Pluto crew are offering a clear demonstration in the fault lines of the Gamilan empire; as a colonial power, there are class distinctions between the pure-born Gamilans and their colonized servants, offering a potential point of weakness. In contrast, humanity has so far been characterized by resounding unity of purpose, like during the Yamato’s initial launch

The Gamilan language sounds a bit like the Ahb language from Banner of the Stars; I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ahb language was partially informed by this one

The Gamilans continue to have beautiful yet absurdly phallic architecture. This laser cannon is really something

Perhaps there’s some actual contrast that will eventually be drawn there, between the masculine and the feminine? The Yamato is on a quest to essentially reach a “galactic mother,” so I’m not going to discount the architecture as thematically insignificant quite yet

As with the Yamato’s hyperspace jump, the Gamilans’ laser array is given all the sumptuous visual ornamentation it deserves. I appreciate a space drama that can marinate in the sheer awe of science fiction’s basest fundamentals – the majesty of a ship in space, the complexity of aiming a laser at a celestial body, etcetera

Already, it seems like this honorary Gamilan commander is losing faith in his side

Before we cut to our actual leads, we stop in at the Yamato’s bridge, where several lesser officers are subbing in for Kodai, Mori, and Sanada. I feel deeply sorry for these folks; I assume everyone we’ve already met is more or less plot-critical for the moment, and so it seems like the show is intentionally humanizing a few of the lower crewmates, people we could actually spare to lose. An ensemble space epic is necessarily going to have some casualties, but you can’t really go around killing off main characters and severing their arcs pre-resolution; thus, you often end up introducing at least a few characters who are more or less Born To Die

Meanwhile, our main gang are poking at the cool robot they found

I’m liking Sanada more and more with his every appearance. He’s very professional, but also possesses a deeply deadpan wit, and has a lot more curiosity than he lets on. It’s nice to have a character that realistically guards themselves, and that you have to chip at to understand

Kodai saving Mori’s life has significantly improved their relationship, even if Kodai claims it was just his duty. I appreciate these very clean transitions across a variety of necessary check ups – the bridge alludes to Sanada’s investigations, where we follow Kodai and Mori into a private reflection on the mission, which ends in them reflecting on Yamamoto, leading us over to the consequences of her actions. When scenes are cut this well, you barely even feel the cut, since the next one is exactly where you wanted to go. Unless you’re going for some particular effect (like an ostentatious match cut, or deliberately discordant contrast), “so well-guided they’re invisible” is the sign of a perfect transition

Lieutenant Kato, our go-to character in the piloting squad, is still a little undefined to me. That seems like an almost inevitable result of his role in the narrative; the first mini-arcs had to establish the actual bridge crew, meaning Yamamoto and Kato had to wait a while to gain their texture

The splash of characterization we get here is “overprotective and quick to anger, but also willing to listen and admit fault.” He’s a hothead, but his heart’s in the right place, and he’s more passionate than belligerent

The captain’s righteous spirit has been ignited by the launch of another planetary bomb. They’re now going to eliminate the Pluto base with extreme prejudice

Their only defenses are the Wave Motion Shields, which can only be activated for twenty minutes. Now that is worldbuilding fitted to your format – what better kind of shield could there be than one that ticks down right alongside the episode’s running time? If I teach people nothing else, I’d like them to understand that no element of a fictional world is real or unalterable, and that worldbuilding should work in service of narrative, not the other way around

They propose a dangerous plan, wherein their fighter squadrons will attack first, and then be supported by the Yamato from above. Nanba offers a reasonable counter-proposal: why don’t we just obliterate the entire planet with the Wave Motion Gun? It’s not that far-fetched of an idea, but he pushes too far, and begins to question why the Yamato has a fighter squadron at all

Even at this early point, it’s clear that martial pragmatism versus human sentimentality is going to be an ongoing concern here. The Yamato has so much power that much of the conflict is centered on how to use it responsibly

Kodai takes command of the fighter squadron

Yamamoto wisely goes to Kodai directly with her request, but of course Mori sees them talking from a distance. They’re clearly seeding some love triangle shenanigans, but this is a pretty clumsy way to accomplish that

Ooh, I like this scene of Shima approaching the captain, and telling him he agrees with the plan. The captain has to carry a profound moral responsibility on his shoulders; he must be the one who weighs the scales, and decides when the Yamato employs its terrible weapons. Shima can’t take that responsibility from him, but he can signal that he supports his choices, and that the next generation will do their best to shoulder some of the burden

And it does seem like Yamamoto and Kodai are going to be experiencing some bonding, given they’re flying together

The resolution of Yamamoto’s transfer arc underlines something core to each of its participants: Kato can actually have his mind changed pretty easily, but Yamamoto is such a go-getter that she strong-armed her way into the fighter squad even without his help

I appreciate all these beautifully hand-drawn ships in their hanger, in spite of the use of CG models for their actual movement. I’m not really a robots guy, but I still mourn the death of mechanical animation; it was a truly unique artistic skill, and CG mechs will never replicate its appeal

Kodai’s request of all his soldiers is “don’t die out there.” This is not about revenge, this is about survival

CG or not, this fighter launch sequence still looks pretty great. They built some excellent models for this show

Even the Gamilan probes have a sort of organic, rounded look to them, complete with a variety of antenna that makes them look almost like spores – an appropriate choice, given their invasive terraforming

By deflecting the laser, the Gamilans are able to hit the Yamato well before it comes within sight of Pluto. Great use of these dutch angles and multi-level compositions on the bridge, visually creating a sense that everyone’s sort of tumbling into each other

The enemy Commander Shultz, as an “honorary Gamilan,” has none of his commanders’ bravado, and a great deal of tactical ingenuity. Their first genuinely threatening opponent

Both him and his subordinate formerly served under “General Domel,” presumably in the defense against the Gamilan empire

Real solid tactical fundamentals for this battle. The enemy has a clear, coherent advantage: their network of scanning satellites and deflecting arrays. Rather than framing the fight in nebulous terms like “power levels” or “piloting brilliance,” here we have a strategic puzzle to solve, where our heroes must first dispel the dramatic irony and learn what we know, then find a way to overcome these obstacles

And so they take another hit, sending them plummeting into the seas of Pluto!

And Done

God, what a chilling final image. No words at all, just the Yamato helplessly capsizing, and then sinking beneath Pluto’s frozen sea. This show never disappoints when it comes to the iconic, larger-than-life imagery, and this episode’s battle served as a satisfying first loss for our crew. The Yamato’s journey absolutely feels mythic, but it should not feel inevitable – like this team is destined for success, and that their enemies have no hope of defeating them. A brutal loss like this, borne out of a simple tactical ploy by the Gamilan commander, emphatically underlines the danger of their journey, and the fragility of their “superweapon.” Now it’s down to Kodai and his fighter pilots to show these Gamilans what humanity can do!

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