Space Battleship Yamato 2 09
Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2 Episode 09
宇宙戦艦ヤマト2 Ep. 09 (TV, Anime)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

The Earth Defense Force Chief receives Susumu’s latest communication and orders him to find out more about the enemy. Almost on cue, an enemy fighter-bomber craft is detected, so Susumu orders Kato to take out a couple of fighters to intercept. Saito punches Kato’s wing man and steals his fighter to prove he can do something. Naturally, he has difficulties handling the craft and after a time (as Kato has engaged the enemy), he manages to land a hit on the enemy. Susumu orders the enemy craft be brought in, but Saito rejects the order because it is an enemy and enemies must die.

Somehow, Kato gets the craft back with one of the two crewmen still alive. Sado-sensei has determined that the enemy are not just humanoid, but appear to be human save for skin tone. Sanada and his team do tests on the enemy craft and determine it to be the same kind of enemy that has been attacking. Susumu orders that the prisoner be interrogated by Yamada, which then takes place. On the observation platform, Saito is with others and not happy that they aren’t using stronger measures. Susumu puts an end to the harsh interrogation and acknowledges the enemy as a warrior, ordering his return to sick bay much to Saito’s irritation.

On the bridge, Yuki reports to Susumu that Sado-sensei and the prisoner are drinking. Susumu allows this to continue in the hopes the spirits will loosen the enemy’s tongue. After a heavy drinking session, Sado-sensei is out and the prisoner escapes, stealing a flight suit, helmet, and a cosmo gun. Susumu orders the ship on alert, but that the prisoner be allowed to escape. Saito won’t hear of that and orders his men to find the prisoner and beat him up. The prisoner eludes the goons and uses the cosmo gun to laser the cables holding his craft, where he escapes.

Saito storms to the bridge, demanding to know why Susumu ordered the prisoner be allowed to escape. Susumu doesn’t bother with an answer as he orders Yamato to follow the enemy craft. As Susumu wanted, the enemy craft takes them to an enemy fleet, lead by Commander Destar. The former prisoner reports that he has lured Yamato out and that the fleet can attack. Instead, Destar tells his former pilot that he’s no longer welcome since he’d been taken prisoner. Seeing that he will not be allowed to return to his fleet, Susumu sends a message to the former prisoner, telling him that he’ll have a home with them as a warrior. Instead, the man (Maser) does a kamikaze run on Yamato but rather than take out the bridge, crashes into the armored side.

Realizing that things could have been worse and that their former prisoner had been honorable, Susumu decides to avenge him by destroying the enemy fleet. Yamato is able to defend itself from all of the incoming fire from Destar’s fleet while its main guns take out the ships one by one, completely annihilating Destar’s fleet. This news is reported to Admiral Goland, who is not happy to hear that Yamato is causing him even more problems.

Thoughts/Review:

Why do they have a peanut brain like Saito around?

Saito (in moron voice): Duh, I big and strong. I fight. I in armies. I like guns. Fighter plane got guns, therefor I can use. I in arm-mees!

Susumu: Don’t you know the chain of command?

Saito: Duuuh, I lead my arm-mee. I make rule. I no listen to man with shag hair on sissy space ship. I in arm-mees! You make order that dumb. You let enemy go. Enemy must die. I in arm-mees so I know enemy must die. I in ARM-MEES!

Susumu: Whatever.

Seriously, Saito would be clamped in irons along with his men for being morons like that.

As to the episode itself, I actually got a chill when Maser made his kamikaze run. Remembering that it had only been 30-years or so since the end of World War II when this episode came out (exact number of years I haven’t bothered to calculate), I thought of two things — first, my grandfather speaking of fighting the Japanese during the war and trying to fend of kamikaze attacks. Second, the episode showed such an attack from the other side, allowing the Japanese audience to get a sense of being on the receiving end of such an attack. Throughout this, the respect to the soldier fighting and dying for his country (whether said country is right or wrong) is honored. It was a very poignant scene for me.

On the Yuki tip, on top of being an interrogation assistant, she is now the master of the art of quick-change. She enters sick bay in her yellow jump suit uniform, then one second later, she’s in her nurse uniform as she joins Sado-sensei and Susumu in the sick bay.

While not surprising, I’m kind of sad no romance sub-story is being explored between Yuki and Susumu.

So we have a mixed episode with Saito being an annoying gimboid git while at the same time, exploring a soldier’s life down to a suicide run.