Episode 17 –
I guess I should give credit where credit is due, and note how Mouretsu Pirates this time around did a terrific job with quickly building up tension in the atmosphere. The transition from the goofy first half to the serious latter half of the episode was executed well, and really gave a good sense for the large (and frightening) implications to the situation at hand. One thing that jarringly stood out, though, was just how simplistic the actual decisions made by Marika have been. Her choices have been surprisingly simple-minded and straightforward, something that I feel is very unfitting of a captain responsible for the lives of her entire crew.
This is clearly evident in how she nonchalantly took up the mission to “kidnap” Jenny based on the consensus of her current novice crew. Her off-hand decision was extremely reckless and poorly thought out on Marika’s part, a rare messy decision from the young pirate captain. She didn’t think about the possibilities of being attacked, losing her piracy license, and heck, she seems to have barely thought out the possibility of severe injury or death amongst her crew. The main flaw to her decision is that she can’t see this mission going bad, so she seems to have not seriously thought about all the consequences.
While this is poor decision making on Marika’s part, I have to admit that it does make for a rather entertaining plot. After all, Marika and her crew are now the indisputable underdogs against the monolithic corporation that is pursuing them. The inherent appeal to underdog stories is that the underdogs need to find some creative, roundabout ways of dealing with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, something that Marika can hopefully pull off in this high-stakes cat and mouse game.
One thing that really stood out, though, was just how simplistic Marika’s strategy for dealing with pursuit has been. To put it simply, her “strategy” for dealing with opponents is to merely jump into “faster than light speed” and run away with all her might. She has no real strategy to contend for pursuit, nor does she consider if the opponent ships can outspeed her, etc. Her strategy is very easy to read, and something that makes her rash decision to help Jenny seem even more outrageous. I cannot stress enough how Marika made some wild, emotional decisions this week that are unfitting of a captain that is supposed to be the rational, responsible guide for the ship and it’s crew.
The reality of the situation is that Marika has never actually failed any of her piracy missions, and thus, has no frame of reference for just how bad a situation can get. It’s an issue that becomes explicitly noticeable this week, where it almost appears as if Marika expects everything to work out somehow in the end. Unfortunately, knowing the story to Mouretsu Pirates so far, everything will probably indeed work out somehow (which would only serve to validate Marika’s status as a Pirate captain). I really hope this arc can seriously challenge Marika and get her to question her own responsibilities, something that Chiaki seemed to have understood far more than Marika.
Overall Enjoyment: 3.0/5
P.S. I guess I should be happy that this episode finally exposed some of Marika’s flaws as a captain (finally!). My main grievance is that Mouretsu Pirates, so far, has told it’s story in a way so that everything works out in the end with little to no serious introspection on the character’s part. Perhaps this is just an inherent dynamic to the story due to the peaceful times in which the story takes place.
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 