Episode 04 –
And once again, the main problem that has plagued this series so far doesn’t show signs of going away. That is, the pacing to the story is so absurdly slow that it actually severely detracts from the viewing experience. The benefit to this slow pacing is that the excessive amounts of dialogue allows us as viewers to get some strong insights on the personalities of the main cast. We see though the dialogue that Kato Marika, the main heroine, is surprisingly meticulous with planning. Also, the dialogue shows that she makes some rather bold decisions at times. I’m normally perfectly fine with such character development, but when the story is this slow, it becomes much more difficult (if not painful) to become engaged with the story in the first place.
I mean, after all, what exactly happened in this episode again? Oh yea, Marika realized someone was tailing their ship, and so she made plans to counter any surprise attacks from them. Episode 03 even touched upon the elements to this episode’s story, which made this episode feel even more uneventful. To be fair, it looks like the story next week might finally be getting around to some actual warfare that you’d expect of a space pirates anime, but as of yet it has yet to materialize. I appreciate the character exploration, but when the story is painfully slow paced, it becomes tough to maintain any interest in the characters. I really hope the next week or two changes that for me, or else I will strongly consider dropping this series.
Another thing that is a flaw here is how the show seems to really like to throw around “technical terms”, such as “electronic warfare”, “legal pirates”, etc. The terminology is unnecessary in many ways, and adds a layer of unbelievability to the story at hand. This is probably my bias with regards to this show kicking in, but I find the usage of “electronic warfare” laughable at best. Aside from how the show is promoting completely newbies to the idea of defending against cyberspace attacks, the constant reuse of the terms makes them almost feel childish.
In the end, Mouretsu Pirates certainly is not living up to the “Bodacious” part to it’s english title. Rather than a high-energy, goofy pirates anime that I had initially expected, instead we have a show all about exploring the characters via a slow-paced story and a ton of dialogue. I personally feel that a lot of the dialogue is superfluous and doesn’t add much to the story, as well as makes the story itself unbearably dull to watch. Nevertheless, the show has maintained it’s quality so far, with not many noticeable dips in animation quality or other production values. Mouretsu Pirates needs to seriously up the ante soon and improve upon the story, or else I will drop this show.
Overall Enjoyment: 2.9/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. I feel that the slower pace is better for this show for a few reasons. One, we get to see how Marika is a viable option for the role of Captain for the Bentenmaru. Also, based upon the OP, we can also see how the students in the yacht club are fit for the role of crew on the Bentenmaru. Secondly, we also get to learn about how pirates, in that era, do not just go up and plunder but have a skill set of tactics upon which they go on using such as “electronic warfare” or jamming the communications.
I do understand that the series is building up Madoka and the crew, and for that I am very appreciative. It’s a level of character building and buildup that’s rare in anime nowadays. Yet at the same time, I feel that this series is taking far too long to delve into anything of interest, and can capture my attention.
The key detail I was expecting was not only intelligently portrayed characters, which Mouretsu Pirates has, but a mesh of good characters with an eventful, interesting plot. This series, so far, is highly imbalanced towards the character side of things. It allows for some superb characterization, but plot suffers immensely.
You can dial back plot in exchange for improved characterization, but a lack of balance makes it tougher to get into a story. Rinne no Lagrange, the other sci-fi anime being directed by the same guy behind this, has a much better mix of characterization and plot. Does Lagrange have better characters? In some ways yes, in some ways no.
But does it have a more engaging plot? Oh heck yes. And note, “engaging” plot does not necessarily equate to a “good” plot.
I diagree with some things in this post as well. The reason they use those terms (EW or legal pirates) is because they correspond to real world terms. They just use those words because that’s more or less their definition, not anything qpecial. Complaining about it is like complaining about people using the word “high school” in a high school anime.
As for the episode itself, it was equal part about the characters as it was about describing the technical abilities as well as preparations used in a space conflict. In fact, if you had paid attention, the last three episodes more or less describle the options available to pirates in order to attack another spaceship or do their job in the more general sense.
Meh, I guess I am being too picky in some ways. But the terminology usage does seem a bit excessive, where it almost feels like an anomaly of sorts. You know, it’s a term that defines a concept with no concrete set of rules. The creators could literally pull things out of thin air and term it “electronic warfare”. That’s the big problem with terminology without context; it becomes a plot device that can be abused if not used carefully.
As for the episode itself, I will agree in that the show has done a superb job with intelligently developing it’s characters. That being said, character development does not have to come at the expense of having a slow-moving, unengaging plot. It’s very possible to have both, and a balance of the two is key to having a great story. Mouretsu pirates, as of now, is too imbalanced towards the character aspect, while the plot suffers from being too slow and non-eventful.
That being said, I do realize this will probably change up in the next episode. It’s just that, up until now, Mouretsu pirates hasn’t done anything to address the issues I had with the show.
Actually, Electronic warfare is a real tearm already defined:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_warfare
I liked this episode the most. The stuff and talk was actually quite interesting.