As the Ultima Foundation continues to be out of touch, everyone is called back as the tension heightens.
What They Say:
A green universe filled with gas. This is the universe that I know. But I long to see the color of the universe as it appeared to the people of the past when they had gazed upon it. -Shima Katas. In 2167, the Earth was catastrophically damaged by a nearby supernova that had exploded. The explosion sent an electromagnetic wave of radiation that swept over the Earth. Now 186 years later, another more destructive wave, known as “The Second Wave”, is on its way to Earth!
15-year-old computer genius Shima Katase has been dreaming of going up into space longer than she can remember. So when given the chance to enter space piloting school she jumps at the chance. However, piloting is a lot more complicated than programming a computer. But what if she were to combine the two… Genius or troublemaker, Shima is certainly going to be making a name for herself among the faculty as the Second Wave approaches…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Stellvia won some major kudos from us with the batch of episodes with their way of bringing the actual Great Mission to an end halfway through the series when it could have easily run the entire thing, which means they managed to provide a really nice fake-out for what the series is really going to be about, at least beyond the character interactions and growth. This batch of episodes runs with that storyline by slowly raising the level of tension and uncertainty among the cast while we get some small glimpses of just what’s going on out there at Ultima.
Things kick off with Kouta and Katase returning from Earth together and becoming even more friendly as events roll along. Their return is met by Arisa who had stayed behind and she ribs the two continually about their relationship and just has fun with Katase in general, mostly because Katase is feeling so down and worried about what’s going on. The fact that she and Kouta were called back before anyone else but that everyone else is coming back for the emergency meeting has her really concerned about what’s going on. Especially in regards to Rinna since there’s no contact with the Ultima and her transport ship still hasn’t reached there on its forty-day journey.
While the small interpersonal events go on, especially as the others arrive and the relationships slowly seem to be growing more romantic between a few of them, we do get some inside glimpses into the upper levels of the administration of the Stellvia Foundation as they find their roles beginning to change. The idea of a nation being gone is discussed as there is evidence that they’ve simply been consolidated into Foundations and renamed instead and that with the Stellvia being the closest one to Earth, it has the responsibility to take a lead in matters since it’s the last line of defense for the planet. The discussions here are interesting as they go over the way things can potentially change if they just take the lead and do something without consulting the other Foundations. But with the potential of some of the Foundations going off on their own plans, that could reveal their hand too early.
Events do progress nicely here as both elements come together. The talk of what war is and what may be involved starts to filter down to the student level and other aspects of the Foundation are slowly changing as the possibility of fighting becomes more real. With the return of Rinna, we get some first-hand accounts of what’s happening at Ultima, and when combined with the raw visuals that almost feel like the classic footage of UFO’s with it being fuzzy and grainy, the mystery only deepens as the things that are all over it only add more questions than answers. The build-up along all of this is very slow and methodical but when combined with the varied and interesting cast and their own concerns and questions with what’s going on out there in space, it’s done just right so that the time is spent really building the tension and mystery.
In Summary:
Stellvia continues to be a fascinating series but one that is also frustrating. This round of episodes has some good character material across the board and all of the pilots are becoming much more interesting people as their choices are reflected in everything they do. Stellvia’s not the average kids in space series that I figured it would be and this only continues to solidify that opinion.
