Moretsu Pirates 5 ~ like the scent of a blooming flower
February 5, 2012
The teachers watch as the situation spins out of control.
In episode 5 of Bodacious Space Pirates the girls are attacked, but things don’t go quite as expected, and they soon find themselves the target of an energy cannon. Also Chiaki makes a big announcement.
Members of the Odette II crew respond as the situation evolves.
The plan goes about as well as it could have, but their attackers refuse to become victims to a counter-attack, pull their systems offline, and start hitting the Odette II with an energy beam cannon, using optical targeting systems. Defenseless the girls start to panic, but Marika’s calm thinking keeps them from making a fatal blunder, and she reveals the Odette has one final “secret weapon”. By focussing the solar sails on one point they essentially blind the attacking ship, denying them further opportunities to attack.
The yacht club vice-president leads the electronic warfare attack.
Something interesting that I didn’t quite understand was the use of poetry during the electronic warfare section. The ships were apparently passing poetry back and forth.
Chiaki makes a shocking confession.
Arguably the most important moment of the episode was when Chiaki confessed her true identity. She is actually the daughter of Kenjo Kurihara, the captain of the space pirate ship Barbarossa. This explains a lot, as Chiaki obviously had plenty of inside information, and it was clear she was hiding something. Now that Chiaki’s identity is revealed, and the Odette II’s flight is over, Marika has also decided that she will become the captain of the Bentenmaru, and we can look forward to meeting the crew next week.
Abandoned Factory Anime Review 
February 5, 2012 at 10:04 am
I think the poetry was pass-codes being used by the two ships… I think. Maybe some type of anti-intrusion system being used by the enemy?
I really liked the hard sci-fi usage of the sun’s radiation to “hide” the enemy ship from the Odette’s radar, and the way they mention that the ship could also be hiding in the planetary “shadow”; both very much legitimate usage of science. By the way, it’s true that you can’t use active scanning radar to study the sun; solar observatories use passive radar instead.
I also like the way they blinded the enemy’s optical targeting. It felt like the Odette was saying, “Young punk, even unarmed you’re no match for me!” Ship is at least a century old and still kicking butt and taking names.
All I can say is: I’m so happy to see a true sci-fi pirate series, rather than the overused space-opera type.
February 5, 2012 at 11:00 am
I’m really enjoying the series as well. I thought this first arc was an interesting idea, and it gave a good taste for what lies ahead, without completely spoiling the surprise.
February 5, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Heh! Combat poetry! Definitely a Japanese thing!
This is a series that, if you tried hard enough, you could probably poke some holes in the science — but that would really be throwing out the baby with the bath water. This episode did an excellent job of conveying the feel of a high-tech space battle, while also keeping it very exciting and entertaining.
It’s also interesting that it was her first taste of combat that convinced Marika to take on the job of Space Pirate Captain. Must be in the blood! Speaking of which, did you notice that at the very end of this episode was the first time Marika called her Mother “Mom,” instead of her actual name — and her reaction to it. Rireka(?) was actually a little shocked! Some very interesting character dynamics going on there.
February 5, 2012 at 7:18 pm
That was interesting, and I almost commented on it. I’m sure that was a major moment in their relationship. I guess she was accepting her heritage, since her use of “mom” was paired with the decision to accept command of the Bentenmaru.
February 8, 2012 at 12:13 am
FYI, over at Chizumatic one of the people who actually does the translations for Crunchyroll made the comment that the poetry during the electronic warfare battle was not in the original script, but was added at the last minute. Don’t know what that means, but I thought it was interesting.
February 8, 2012 at 11:12 am
That’s strange. It seems a really odd choice to make on their own.
February 8, 2012 at 2:28 am
I’m impressed at how intelligent and prepared the girls were for an attack of that nature, especially since they’re merely club members going out for their first cruise. Pretty amazing they were able to do all that with virtually no combat training (besides the hacker). Makes sense now why they have legit pirates scouting them along with Marika.
Will be interesting to see what happens to Chiaki from here on out after what she revealed to us in the last episode. Did see her in the preview for the next episode so she won’t be going away anytime soon which is nice.
February 8, 2012 at 11:21 am
Yeah, I hope we get to see more of Chiaki as well. I like her no-nonsense attitude. I was very surprised to find out who she really was. I guess she is like the opposite of Marika, who was raised as a normal kid, and had no knowledge of the responsibility that would one day fall on her shoulders. Chiaki seems like she was raised on a ship (never got to eat choco-parfait) and didn’t have friends her own age.
February 8, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Considering how prominently Chiaki is featured in the opening and closing scenes, I don’t think she’s going anywhere. I think the relationship between her and Marika is going to be a big part of the show. My guess is that Marika’s brown-haired friend from school (can’t recall her name — the “grounded” one) is also going to play a continuing role…though probably to a lesser degree.
February 8, 2012 at 5:40 pm
I certainly hope you’re right.
February 9, 2012 at 10:40 pm
One last little interesting thing. I just rewatched the episode, and they changed the President’s message to the attacker from the original “fools” (or whatever it was) to “Nuts!” A clear and appropriate WWII reference. Neat!
February 10, 2012 at 12:50 am
Interesting. Whose translation is that? I’m pretty sure the one I saw said, “Fools”.
February 10, 2012 at 12:14 pm
On Crunchyroll. According to their translator (posting on Chizumatic again) originally there was some kind of a mix up. It was always supposed to be “Nuts,” but a Quality Control person who didn’t get the reference changed it. So they went back and fixed it on Crunchyroll’s feed after-the-fact.
February 10, 2012 at 5:53 pm
Thanks, that is very interesting. If it is in the original, I assume that means the author of the source novels structured the exchange intentionally, which is a pretty good sign, I would say. Instead of being a product of whimsy, this show has a very good chance of being informed by actual historical precedent. We have already seen a preference for strategy over flashy battles.