Marika’s understanding of the situation grows as she’s actually getting some useful information.
What They Say:
Marika struggles with her decision to become captain of the Bentenmaru. Her mom takes her out to the countryside and gives her a gun that can shoot through tanks, and an even greater power.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After a fun first episode that laid out some decent groundwork but didn’t get to the push point until the very end with Marika being chased after, Moretsu Pirates gets itself underway more strongly here with the second episode, though it does have some good quiet moments as well. With Kurihara spiriting her away, she’s able to fill in some of the blanks in a small way, pointing out who all it was that was in the restaurant and just how difficult of a situation she was in without realizing it. It all comes down to the main point though in that all these different groups are watching her to see if she’ll take on the role of captain of the Bentenmaru. She’s still not really up to speed on this part though and it hasn’t quite registered in a way that connects for her. But isn’t that what mothers are for?
And that is an amusing if understated series of events that unfolds as Ririka takes Marika out for a bit and explains to her about the fact she was a pirate, she was born in space and it’s a part of who she was at that point in time. And then, heaven help us, she takes her to the desert and opens up a huge trunk of weapons and proceeds to instruct her on how to shoot. Not just basic guns but some big things as well and goes on about the importance of what you do in a fight, especially how much of it is decided before the trigger is even pulled. It’s a good if simple exploration of what it means to be a (legal) pirate to some degree and there’s a bit of a thrill to be had as you see Marika take to the weaponry and the power that comes with it. It’s not done over the top or comical, it’s treated fairly seriously, and lends itself to how she’s capable of being a properly balanced pirate captain.
When it shifts to the school setting, it’s amusing in that the school has hidden deep below a pirate quality level ship of its own, with plenty of schoolgirls who seemingly know enough about it to man it well and go through the startup of it all. It’s fun watching all of this unfold and to see Marika taking a bit of a leading role in it as they gear up for a practice cruise without realizing what they’re really going to be in for. Similar to the first episode though, this one is largely a quiet affair as it deals with the characters and the situation of getting Marika to understand things but it also ups the ante a bit towards the end as we see Kurihara dealing with a mild electronic attack on the cruise ship itself that the school has. It’s just a lead in to what will happen next, and it does a good job of putting the two together again and showing what their capabilities are to some degree.
In Summary:
After two episodes, I’m still hard pressed to really heartily recommend Moretsu Pirates. It’s a show that I can definitely get into and enjoy but with the way most people want a show like this to just wow them out of the gate, it’s going to underwhelm. It has a very distinct pace and style to it due to its light novel origins and for me it works in its favor by drawing us in slowly and surely with each new bit. Whereas most shows would avoid dealing with Ririka much, we get some good quality time and education going on here. Marika and Kurahara aren’t best buddies from the start as there’s some underlying tension coming from Kurihara, but the two still work well together and are getting a good working relationship going. Each impresses the other in small but important ways. It’s not real world simply because of the compression that goes on with time, but what we get here is a much better approach and one that you can tell definitely comes from the pacing and structure of a novel, making for an engaging viewing even when little happens. Which is what these first two episodes are largely like.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
