Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the sun is shining, the birds are trilling, and Marika is instigating another pan-galactic political incident. Having apparently not contented herself meddling in the affairs of Serenity’s royal succession, she has now gone and instigated an interstellar trade war, by “kidnapping” the heir of the Hugh and Dolittle Interstellar Transportation empire. Meanwhile, her actual pirate crew are still recuperating from a bout of space pneumonia, meaning her ship is being staffed by a bunch of teenagers.

All of this would be cause for panic for any conventional high schooler, but Marika has proven she is far more than that. Marika is confident yet largely without ego, quick to learn, and blessed with just the right dosage of piratey madness. With Chiaki, Jenny, and Lynn at her side, she’s got a team that would be the envy of many a pirate crew, age notwithstanding. Having cut their teeth on a conventional piracy appointment, I’m eager to see Marika’s Irregulars handle something just a tad more ambitious. Let’s get back to the battle!

Episode 18

Gotta admit, while I’m quite happy for Jenny and Lynn, I’m now a little worried for Marika and Chiaki. Having heard praise for this show’s textually affirmed gay relationship, I’d kinda figured that referred to our two leads. But I suppose we’ve still got a third of the show for the two of them to figure their shit out

I mean, how could they not be, right? The two of them are literally based on the first famous fandom ship, the Star Trek characters who essentially turned shipping into a lifestyle. And unsurprisingly, it turns out a gender swap of the Kirk/Spock pairing possesses just as much chemistry as the original

Marika does seem a little surprised at the reveal of their relationship, so perhaps this is actually an instructive experience for her in another way

“What is the captain of the Bentenmaru, Kato Marika, asking them to do?” I appreciate that even the narrator is a little frightened of Marika by this point

The team seem far more comfortable in their roles as they emerge from hyperspace, with Gruier even manning one of the command stations. This brief sequence of admiring their competency essentially acts as a guidepost to the audience, quietly informing us that the axis of conflict has moved on from the yacht club’s suitability as pirates, which can now be assumed as we embrace a larger external conflict

Lynn and Jenny have a good rapport. I wish we’d gotten more material focused on the two of them back during the yacht club segment, but to be honest, the show already had to power through a lot of preamble before it got to the Bentenmaru, so I can understand why we didn’t. Every scene you choose to show means a thousand other potential scenes must be excised

The battleship Jabberwocky is pursuing them. This ship has two knife-protrusions, like some kind of space catamaran

Also, Japan really friggin’ loves Alice in Wonderland, huh? It feels like it’s one of the works of western literature with the greatest cultural penetration in Japan

Damn, Gruier has got nerves of steel now! Loving her calm command of the ship’s defenses as the enemy begins their bombardment

Love how this pan up Puppyhat lingers at her feet, revealing the giant box she’s standing on in order to reach the wheel. Savage work, cameraman

Marika is confident enough not to panic and return fire, knowing any damage to the enemy would hurt their position in negotiations

The Jabberwocky’s captain is Robert Dolittle. You can tell by his liver spots that he’s up to no good

As always, the black vacuum of space allows these CG ships to shine. It’s frequently not the fundamental aesthetic failings of CG, but how that CG contrasts against traditionally animated variables, that makes CG-inclusive compositions feel so disjointed and ugly. With nothing to contrast against but a black field with pinpoints of light, this CG feels far less obtrusive

Gruier’s as good at planning as she is on the monitors, leading their discussions as they formulate a counterattack

Apparently Robert wants to marry Jenny off to Juniph, a future politician in the transportation bureau

Gruier and Jenny agree that there’s something off about him, which Chiaki angrily counters is not an actual weakness

The princesses eagerly attesting to the skeletons hiding in any member of high society’s closet is a good gag. Also leans into Marika’s main style of gap moe, in that in spite of being a highly competent pirate captain, she’s also innocent and easily scandalized when it comes to matters of personal behavior

The showmanship Marika generally reserves for their pirate performances is also quite useful for rallying the yacht club members

Juniph’s ship is called “The Glorious Coolph.” I appreciate this author’s enthusiasm, but goddamn are they bad at naming ships

Their escape plan involves firing off two decoys of the Bentenmaru, then steering the actual ship directly at their opponent and engaging warp drive. It’s a fine plan, but I particularly appreciate how it’s clearly designed to highlight the specific competencies of the Bentenmaru’s new crew members: Lynn’s hacking, Puppyhat’s steering, and Yayoi’s mastery of the warp drive. A theoretical “best plan” in the abstract might not actually be the best plan for your particular story, given stories have so many contrasting dramatic needs; even if there were a “better” solution here, the structural need to illustrate her team’s growing competency is essentially the reason for this whole scheme

The original Bentenmaru crew sends over Hugh and Dolittle’s accounting records. Nice character animation for Marika’s moment of realization here, as she thinks fondly of her crew, then gets embarrassed by Chiaki’s snipes

Chiaki chooses a shrine maiden costume for their invasion of the Coolph, which feels very appropriate for her, given her personality and haircut and so on

Juniph is play-acting as a revolutionary, and Chiaki has had it. “Foul-mouthed shrine maiden berates you while firing an assault rifle” is a powerful aesthetic

Nice tricks of lighting as Robert suddenly arrives, with this austere backlighting emphasizing the time for games is over

Severe backlighting is a pretty easy shorthand for power, menace, or mystery – the more a person’s face is shrouded in darkness, the more ominous they become. In contrast, the full light beaming down on our heroes emphasizes their unguarded bravery, as well as their vulnerability

The hack of Hugh and Dolittle’s finances actually turned over something even more devastating than fraud: Robert has been supplying antigovernmental operatives with military hardware

As usual, the show’s resolution of this conflict feels oddly abrupt. The actual solution to their dilemma was discovered by the Bentenmaru’s usual crew off-screen, meaning this feels less like a victory for the young team than an affirmation of the old team’s competency

A cold splash of reality, as Jenny reflects on how her uncle’s power means he probably won’t serve any time. Capitalism never changes

Ahaha, the government actually gave Marika one of Robert’s illegal fighter jets. The yacht club’s power grows more fearsome by the day

And Done

And so the Bentenmaru secures another key victory! Though she only turned to the yacht club for reasons of necessity, Marika’s bold play has ultimately reaped incredible gains in all sorts of directions. She’s solidified her relationship with the princesses of Serenity, establishes key ties with some future economic heavyweights, drastically improved the confidence and competency of her backup team, and proven she can pilot the Bentenmaru even without its professional crew (or at least, with only a few cheat sheets for help). I’m really hoping that Chiaki, Puppyhat, and some of the other key additions stick around, but I’m also looking forward to seeing the old crew on top again. Not bad for a mission that was only intended to serve as a license renewal!

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