Returning home has its own special difficulties to deal with.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After bringing to resolution the events with Gruier and her sister and the whole Ghost Ship, Moretsu Pirates gets a chance to settle down a bit as Marika and the crew make their way back to the Sea of Morningstar in hopes of having a little down time. Marika in particular wants this since things have been a bit involved and got big in a rather surprising way when you consider what was involved with Serenity and the two sisters. Of course, quiet time is going to be hard to get in some ways as the two sisters are now enrolled at school there in hopes of having a bit more life experience before their positions take them further into control of where they’re from. Amusingly, the only place Marika gets any sort of quiet is when she’s working her maid job, which she has still kept even through all the changes that have gone on.
Having Gruier on the planet isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it continues more of some of what Serenity has gone though with its politics and changes over the years and just how much more is in store for them with the return of the Golden Ship. There are some neat little moments to it which do seem a little unusual coming out of Gruier’s mouth, but she also has a fun revelation for Marika when she returns the administrator’s ring she used to take control of the ship, which has its own origins that are certainly surprising to Marika. With Gruier having known her father, it’s another small piece of the puzzle of her personal life that may not fit exactly into place but at least offers up a few more ideas and thoughts about him.
Because this is essentially a break episode, where there’s little in the way of main storyline material going on, it has an even more laid back feeling than we usually get. There are some fun moments as those on board the Bentenmaru continue to be surprised by the changes Ririka has gone through since leaving the ship and we also get both of the sisters spending time with Marika, individually at times and together as well such as when both show up at Marika’s house. There are some sweet moments where we do see them act more their age, but they’re generally just so careful about how they carry themselves that it does keep them from being accessible. Which is what this kind of episode is supposed to do, in softening them up a bit. It does do all the right things, but they still just don’t click well for me and really haven’t since the start.
In Summary:
As much as I do like Moretsu Pirates, the show is somewhat uneven in some ways because of its approach to pacing and storytelling. I generally do enjoy it and even this episode has some good things about it, but it’s also something that doesn’t feel like it’s really working itself like it should. We get a lot of small resolutions to things here that deals with the first half of the series in full and we get a small nod at the end towards what’s next. But I’ll admit that if this was an actual “ending” episode with a big enough break before more that it wouldn’t be enough to really draw you back for more. It’s a good show, but not the kind that just grabs you hard.
Grade: B-
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.
