The confusion is still there, but two nice little arcs focus more on story and emotions than characters, and the improvement is there for all to see.
What They Say
The Amaterasu arrives on Shi and the crew bask in their fame as a result of being on the galaxy's most popular show. However, revolutionary forces stage a coup and take the crew hostage.
The Review!
Audio:
For this review I listened to the disc in Japanese. Both English and Japanese tracks are in the standard 2.0 format, the audio in both languages however is crystal clear and couldn’t fault any problems within the transition. Like with other MVM releases, you wonder if the extra mile could have been added with some 5.1 however with the reality show elements (even if their own sound effects) the audio does the job of some excellent background effects and gives that element of believability being on a ship in space.
Video:
Starship Operators is a joy to view, in combining the widescreen effect with CGI and colour, the detail in showcasing some of the visuals gives you an idea of what life could be like in the 2200s with the detail to the computer imagery, the battleships, even things like the high-tech mobile phones. The panning/wide screen effect seemed to enhance the video quality on my screen, making it’s a pleasure to view. There was no timing off with the subtitles or with the on-screen signs in English or Japanese making it a very fluid transition to DVD.
Packaging:
No packaging was supplied with this test disc.
Menu:
Looking rather good with the Sinon/Dita combo on a starry background, the menu is fairly straightforward as per the previous disc, the menu selections on a computer-esque green background – each of the menus show different stages of the cast, from the Primary and Secondary Bridges, to the Tertiary Bridge. Pleasant enough to look it, albeit basic and stationary. No problems with navigation when changing languages or selections.
Extras:
For extras, we get the TVCM Collection, a.k.a the TV Commericals from Japan which show in two bursts of 2 15 second commercials and 2 30 second ones. There is also a promo video specifically for live events which is similar to the US Trailer but with more shots and explanation. It finishes off with another round of trailers, this time for Black Lagoon and Shana.
Content:
I was a bit disappointed with the first volume of Starship Operators, because whilst the reality show twist was a unique spin of a sci-fi drama, the sheer amount of characters and lack of focus on any bar Sinon and to a less extent Miyuri, Sanri and Takai, made it a confusing show to really enjoy and with just 12 episodes, they really needed to somehow change things around. Fortunately, volume #2 does that to some extent, focusing on 2 arcs and rounding out the characters you need to focus on, and it becomes a lot more enjoyable.
The Amaterasu lands on a neutral planet known as Shu for refuelling and restocking. Since they are now all big TV stars, the planet is delighting in setting up a welcome ceremony for the guys and girls of the show. The focus however seems to be on two girls who got little attention in the first disc, Akiho, a cute young bubbly lady, and Renna, a silent like girl who seems to be hiding something. It’s Renna who realises something is not right, and with guards watching over, she figures out there is a spy among the Shu guards. Renna kicks a little rear during this which was a nice change of pace considering the intergalactic intelligence and blowings up so far, where Akiho turns into a Renna fangirl, asking how she knew about the sabotage, to which she replies, ‘She’s the real thing.’ When this gets to Sinon, she blames herself but has a plan as Renna explains to Akiho that she is also a spy for Kibi, but after being impressed by the crew of the Amaterasu (especially Sinon) she changes her mind. Meanwhile, to escape a possible riot as the Kingdom declares war on Shu, we finally get an establishment of what seems to be the main core of characters, those being Sinon, Miyuki and Alley go in disguise to escape, whilst Renna and Akiho head back to the ship…
…in the next episode, Dita shows some backbone and joins the three main bridge girls in their plan to escape, as the crew are threatened to hand over the general Miyama and his niece Mio to the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Renna and Akiho return back to the ship but Renna fears she will be shot if guarded. She has a little pep talk with Akiho before heading out herself to try and get on board – she is attacked but because she doesn’t want Akiho to feel the horrors of blood on her hands, she kills the guards but not without suffering a wound herself. Sinon plans to destroy the power supply as Sinon/Alley and Miyuri/Dita split up with a quite obvious tribute to the Great Escape (episode 5/6 called The Great Escape: Part 1 and 2 respectively). It’s quite a well-animated and exciting sequence as they plan their escape via air using flames they created from the runway, but to the shock of Sinon and the others, Renna indeed dies when she returns to the Amaterasu. Unlike the nearly afterthought deaths in disc 1, this was touching as you didn’t expect this developing badass Renna to bite the bullet so quickly, Akiho’s scream was heart wrenching and the network doesn’t help matters by trying to take advantage of the situation, and Renna’s last words to Sinon via her phone/message was the first true time I really sat down and find myself enthralled by the series.
After one good mini-arc, the final two episodes fit another one in as we return to the skies as after saying goodbye to Renna, we meet up with another new character, Captain Wong of Shu with his shop the Shenlong who is willing to fight alongside the Amaterasu against the Kingdom. However, Sinon shows she’s not as strong as she appears to be, hiding her tears where her two closest comrades Alley and Miyuri can see all. Cutting to the Kingdom villains, we again see Elroy being the one person being overcautious and respectful to the Amaterasu whilst the others ignore him and completely underestimate the ship. They sent out 4 warships to attack the Amaterasu/Shenlong combo as Sinon tries to focus a way to somehow defeat them. One thing that was a little disappointing by the end of the ep was the fact that it was obvious Sinon was affected with another death earlier in the episode, and this could have been a good way to see how it affected her decision making, but by the end, it seems she’s shaken it off and ready for battle. However, the battle in the end between the ships (and Sinon’s nicknames for them!) makes up for it. It’s a combination of Sinon’s timing with the Shenlong’s decision making, acting as a decoy against Sinon’s wishes to save the Amaterasu where both are against the experienced Elroy and the overconfident officers of the Kingdom. Combined with some great CGI affects and detailed animation, it’s a close encounter which causes the destruction of the Shenlong at the hands of Elroy’s Conquistador. Whilst slimeball Peter wants them to fight, Sinon wishes to escape. When she learns who sent them to battle, she gets angry, but the consensus allows them to warp…only we don’t know where…
Whilst this disc was very enjoyable, there were still a number of problems regarding the cast. In episode 6 for example, there is a very brief romance showing in the form of a kiss between Rio and Shinto, but after it happens it’s not even mentioned in passing. Also, the Sanri/Takai relationship that was one of the enjoyable things about the first disc is again pretty much put on the backburner. The two arcs definitely warranted those things to be put back, but when you have a plot running, you think there should be at least a passing mention, especially considering the kiss in Rio’s case. And the build up for Renna’s death was a shame because it lasted half of episode 8 after a decent build up for yet another character to die in such a short series. However, it did bring more characterisation in Sinon, who is the only character in the series that you have a complete focus on, and the 4 girls escaping the planet with their plan, and the Shenlong’s sacrifice were moments that certainly got me hooked and gave this series more than a second chance.
Summary:
A marked improvement over the first disc due to focusing on specific characters in two separate arcs, combined with excellent visuals, vocal work and scenes which truly captivate you. However, the huge cast again weighs it down that whilst the focus on a few characters is good, there are so many you still can’t name and brief moments of plot focusing on them vanish quickly to the wind. With Starship being such a short series, there are reasons for this, and hopefully everything will come to a head when the finale comes up. A definite improvement and I am looking forward to the end.
Features
Japanese 2.0 Language, English 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, TV Commericals (Japan), Promo Video for Live Events
Review Equipment
Toshiba 37C3030 - 37" Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV �" Tangent Ht-50 Home Theatre System Multi-Regional DVD Players/Speakers �" Tangent Subwoofer 50-150 Hz, Impedenced 8 OHM.
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