APRIL 6
Impressions of the first 13 minutes of Chapter 3
See the original post here
I watched the first 13 minutes of Chapter 3 of REBEL 3199, so I’ll write a review of it this time.
First of all, I was surprised to see that the Dezarium people have settled on Earth and are enrolled in a normal elementary school. They are not supposed to be fertile, so they probably won’t marry Earthlings and have children. But if a Dezarium child comes into contact with an Earthling child, could that change human relationships and change the future? If you think about it that way, the Dezarium people are probably not Earthlings from the future.
Also, some Earthlings will not be happy about the Dezarium people settling there, so some will try to kill them with terrorism. Will the Dezarium people kill Earthlings in retaliation? If these things could be resolved peacefully, there wouldn’t be so much conflict in Palestine either.
In the future, when the Dezarium fleet retreats from Earth and the Dezarium home planet is destroyed by Yamato, the Dezarium people left behind will be massacred like the Yuan army left behind after the typhoon of the Koan War.
Nobuno Todo and Kozo Nanbu will also be accused of being traitors, and since they no longer have the backing of Dezarium, they may be killed before they are arrested. Here, they’re trying to make it seem like “Dezarium people are just like Earthlings,” but humans are not the wisest of creatures.
Dezarium is trying to use the children to promote a reconciliation policy, but since children say whatever they think, it seems likely that they will cause friction by saying “Earth is a backward country and Dezarium is better.” A teacher would have no choice but to say, “I want you to get along” and, “I want you to understand each other,” and he would have a hard time with the government’s nice words forced onto the field.
On board Yamato, Kodai is analyzing Grodez. In the original, Grodez was a mecha that didn’t have much of a chance to shine and was easily defeated, but it seems it will likely become a rival to Yamato. Judging from the jacket he was given, Kodai will probably be transferred to the air force.
Yamanami prioritizes going to Dezarium’s home planet over rescuing Sasha and Kaoru. Well, that’s a natural choice for a commander. He led a large fleet in 2202, but now he’s the captain of only the Yamato, so doesn’t he feel a bit intimidated in terms of military strength?
And so Yamato decides to head for the subspace gate. If they go straight for the space-time node at the center of the galaxy, they will have to pass through the Bolar Federation, so the plan is to use the subspace gate and head straight to the center. But Ambassador Barel was kind enough to give them permission to use the subspace gate.
Since the Earth government is trying to assimilate with Dezarium, which destroyed the Garmillan home planet and massacred 70% of the Garmillan people, wouldn’t it be surprising if Gamilas was not only concerned, but also declared war? I’m sure Ambassador Barel understands Earth’s position, but I think he’s forgetting his position as ambassador and siding too much with Earth.
I think Dessler probably doesn’t approve of this and will engage his fleet at the subspace gate. But this battle will probably be like Mazinger Z vs Devilman, where they will understand each other right away and fight together. As an aside, I’m sure kids went to see that movie were excited, thinking, “Mazinger Z and Devilman are fighting. Who’s stronger?” But I don’t think it would have turned out like that.
If they did the same thing now, I think they’d be called a “fraud” and criticized to death on social media. They’d make up quickly anyway, so I don’t think there’s any need for a scene where Dessler and Yamato fight.
Domon wonders if he has any right to say anything about Kodai, considering he too had a grudge against Kodai over his father’s incident. Kodai is trying his best, so why not just watch over him kindly? In that respect, Ageha is the adult. I thought Ageha was a bit too cool and I didn’t like him, but that line really made him stand out.
In the Orpheus sector, a fleet led by Ranbel is lying in wait. What’s more, Ranbel tried to attack Yamato unilaterally, taking Sasha and Kaoru hostage. Why are the Dezarians so underhanded? Aren’t they just petty, lying about being Earthlings from the future? What’s more, it’s hilarious that Yamanami could see through the ambush.
If Domon is so bold as to call Kodai’s analysis a “delusion,” he should have offered an alternative. I thought Domon had finally gotten better in the second half of 2205, but in 3199 Domon is so annoying that it’s frustrating to watch.
The video ends with Ranbel’s fleet, having seen through the ambush, being surprised by the Cosmo Tiger Corps. I’m starting to hate everything about Dezarium. In the original, I liked Lieutenant Alphon, but in 3199 I don’t. It’s a big difference from the Bolar Federation, which is becoming so much cooler in the remake. I hope that in 3199 all the Dezarium people are wiped out by the Hyper Desler Cannon.
I wish it was next week already. I’m really looking forward to the screening of Chapter 3!!
APRIL 13
Chapter 3 Review, Part 1: Overall Impressions
See the original post here
Yesterday, I watched Chapter 3 of REBEL 3199. There are six months until Chapter 4, so I’m planning to cover some of the details, but first I’ll write my overall impressions.
Yamato, having predicted Grodez‘ movements based on Kodai’s report, makes an appropriate attack and tries to lift Grodez from subspace with a rocket anchor. In response, Grodez cuts off part of its armor like a lizard’s tail and escapes. This series of battles was really interesting.
At school, Fleur tries to distribute buttons, which allow her to hear Mother Dezarium’s voice, to the elementary school students, but she is almost bullied by the older students. Tsubasa saves her. Tsubasa is really cool this time.
Fleur’s drawing of Tsubasa is really unique, and because of this incident, Tsubasa and Fleur become good friends. It’s natural that the children are innocent, but I can’t help but think that Dezarium is using the children as bait to win the hearts of the Earthlings. Well, there’s no doubt that Tsubasa is a good kid.
Nanbu and the Yamato crew bombard the Grand Reverse from the Arizona in dock and infiltrate the Grand Reverse. There, Kozo Nanbu and other important people from the financial and political worlds are gathered, trying to build a cooperative relationship with Dezarium. I wonder why these people were so easily fooled.
Hoshina says to burn the painting, and I also think it would be better to burn it. I do think it’s a valuable cultural item, but it can’t be prioritized over the survival of humanity. After all, it’s an object that only exists because of human life. I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing your life to protect it.
Meanwhile, Dezarium reports that the Garmillans have carried out a terrorist attack in retaliation for the destruction of their home planet. Of course, this is a plot by Dezarium to drive a wedge between Earth and Garmillas.
I think the Earthlings are foolish to be fooled by something like this and start a movement to expel Garmillas, but when I look at Americans and the people of a certain prefecture, I think humans are foolish after all, so maybe it can’t be helped.
As Yamato enters the subspace gate, an episode about Domon and Ageha is told. My impression of Ageha, who I had always thought was cool and unpleasant, improved instantly. Just like Black Takizawa in Flame of Recca, when a character who had a bad impression until halfway through does something good, they suddenly seem like a good person.
After passing through the subspace gate, the Garmillas fleet is waiting. There, the stealth-equipped Grodez fires its Infinite Beta Cannon. Mistakenly believing that it was a Wave-Motion Gun, the Garmillas fleet begins attacking Yamato.
Captain Dagon is in command of the fleet aboard a ship of the same type as Deusula III (it’s not clearly stated, but I don’t think it’s Deusula III, so I’ll call it the “Dagon ship” for the time being). Compared to General Dagon in Yamato III, his face resembled Gale’s and looks a bit goofy.
When the Earthlings assimilate with Dezarium and start a campaign to expel the Garmillans, Captain Dagon is furious, and despite Keeling’s warnings, he attacks Yamato. I thought this concept was clever.
However, this battle is still the same “VS fraud” as Mazinger Z vs Devilman. When you watch the trailer, you can’t help but think that Deusula III and Yamato are fighting and Dessler is saying, “Garmillas will never be defeated by anyone again.” Furthermore, having the grown-up Sasha and Dessler standing next to each other made it seem like Yamato was fighting the Deusula III, with Sasha aboard. I totally thought so.
However, Yamato uses an asteroid ring to prevent the Dagon ship from firing. Just as Captain Dagon is getting the Dessler cannon ready to fire, Frakken, who had rescued Domon and Ageha from the Cosmo Hound, orders Captain Dagon to stop the attack. Strictly speaking, however, Frakken and Dagon belonged to different units, so Frakken is exceeding his authority and this order should have been issued directly by Dessler or by Admiral Gaidel, Dagon’s superior officer.
Yamato contacts Dessler and decides to stop at the Galman home planet. Next to Dessler is a grown-up Sasha.
Earlier, Berger received an Earth-style distress signal while fighting the Bolar Federation, and rescued a capsule containing Sasha. Sasha is probably able to transfer her consciousness into a spare body and act in the same way as Major Alphon.
Now this is just my speculation, but I think the crucial difference between Major Alphon and Sasha is that Alphon can only transfer his consciousness into mechanical bodies, but Sasha can transfer her consciousness into flesh and blood bodies. Isn’t this the Iscandar technology that Dezarium desires? Perhaps Dezarium wants to master this technology and transfer consciousness into an Earthling in order to obtain a flesh and blood body? That’s why they’re taking control of Earth in a near-bloodless occupation, avoiding harming the Earthlings’ bodies.
I’ve briefly written my thoughts on Chapter 3, but what made the biggest impression on me was Dezarium’s underhandedness. They use tactics to drive a wedge between Earth and Garmillas, and the things they do are so petty that it makes me sigh.
Also, I think the Showa era method of having someone die and then making people cry is outdated, so I want Sasha, Domon, and Ageha to survive. Even if Saito and Kato in 2202 couldn’t be helped, I don’t think they’ll let these three die.
APRIL 20
Chapter 3 Review, Part 2: About Dezarium
See the original post here
To sum up my impressions of Chapter 3 in one sentence, it is that “Dezarium is too underhanded.”
Their actions, such as faking a Garmillan terrorist attack and faking Yamato‘s attack on the Garmillas fleet, are so petty that they bring tears to my eyes. If you think about it that way, Gatlantis in 2202 had the aura of being the ruler of the universe, and was a good enemy.
If Dezarium wanted to take over Earth by force, they could easily do so, but I wrote about why they don’t in a previous blog. With that in mind, I’ll add my thoughts after watching Chapter 3.
In Chapter 3, we learned that Major Alphon has multiple mechanical bodies and can transfer his consciousness into them. In other words, with this technology, humans don’t have to die. Although it was not clearly stated in Chapter 3, Sasha probably does not grow to 17 years old in a year like in the previous work, but has a spare “flesh body” somewhere and can transfer her consciousness to that flesh body.
Dezarium technology can transfer consciousness from machine to machine, but transferring consciousness to a flesh body is only possible with Iscandar technology, right? Is that why they’re trying to capture Sasha and obtain that technology?
The Dezarium people want flesh bodies, not machine bodies, and the human body is the best fit for that. So, in order to obtain human bodies unharmed, they disguise themselves as humans from the future, minimizing bloodshed and taking control of Earth.
Next, they detonate the Grand Reverse to initialize the human brain, but since they do not have the technology to transfer the Dezarium people’s memories to an Earth body, their next plan is probably to capture Sasha and obtain Iscandar’s technology.
If you think about it, Starsha has had the same body since Dessler was a child. So maybe she had a number of spare bodies and transferred her consciousness between them? As mentioned in Galaxy Express 999, humans live their lives to the fullest because they have a limited lifespan. The Iscandarians who were given eternal life became lethargic, and eventually even their bodies became unnecessary, and they began to live in their memories in Sanctel. Perhaps only the royal family of Iscandar continued to live forever as caretakers of Iscandar?
Let’s get back to the topic of Dezarium.
The Dezarians say that they will do their best for the future of Earthlings even if it means their own annihilation. If you were told, “if one of you were to sacrifice your life, you can stop World War II and save tens of millions of lives,” some people today might do so.
However, if you had to sacrifice your family, the lives of your school or company, or the people of your country, more and more people will think, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to” as the community grows. Isn’t a leader who believes that the past should be saved, even if it means forcing death on people who don’t want to die, unfit to be both a religious leader and a politician?
Even if that is Mother Dezarium’s true feeling, do all the citizens of Dezarium, including Maxim and Fleur, agree to sacrifice their own lives to save the Earthlings? If she was trying to force her ideas on people and sacrifice the lives of all their citizens, she’d be a wicked dictator, worse than Hitler or Stalin.
I can’t believe there are people on Earth who would take something like this seriously. If it were me, I’d be suspicious and ask, “Isn’t that story too convenient? Aren’t they just saying nice things and plotting something behind the scenes?”
Dezarium may say nice things, but behind the scenes they are manipulating Earth and Garmillas to cause a conflict between them. They’re so two-faced that I can’t help but feel disgust. Don’t you think what they’re doing is on the level of a small-time villain?
I’d like the anti-Dezarium faction to hang Skaldart. I’m also offended by Kozo and Nobuno, who were fooled by Dezarium. Can’t they understand that people who always say nice things always have an ulterior motive?
APRIL 27
Chapter 3 Review, Part 3: About the Earth Federation
See the original post here
Nobuno Todo and Kozo Nanbu are really terrible. They take Dezarium’s words seriously, allowing the Grand Reverse to descend to Earth and station Dezarium troops there. Even if Dezarians are real Earthlings from the future, why do they need to occupy Earth militarily? Why do they need to colonize it with Dezarium people? I think doing this will only cause a conflict between Dezarium and Earthlings and worsen their relationship.
Skaldart says that it’s okay for them to disappear, but can you trust a leader who is trying to save the past at the expense of his own people? They say nice things but are the kind of people who station their troops here, so I think any normal person would suspect they’re up to something behind the scenes.
The Earth government has been manipulated by Dezarium to the point where the military can’t function anymore, so isn’t it a bit lame to just create an air force as a countermeasure? Surely they should at least round up all the soldiers who’ve been manipulated by Dezarium. It’s a crisis that threatens the survival of the nation.
The soldiers who’ve been manipulated by Dezarium are still soldiers, so even if Dezarians are humans from the future, isn’t it strange that they’d agree to use force to take over Earth? Isn’t it the military’s job to protect present-day Earthlings? If Dezarium wants to join hands with humans from the past, all they need to do is make peaceful contact, so doesn’t it seem strange that they’re taking over militarily?
In my opinion, there must be a good reason for humans to cooperate with Dezarium. I thought the explanation was that Dezarium is the descendant of the Martian government, and that the remnants of the Martian government that surrendered to Earth sympathized with Dezarium and rose up.
Or, Dezarians are Earthlings from a parallel world who continued to use dimensional faults, and as a result, human bodies and the Earth itself were eroded. So I thought the reason was that they wanted to use the Cosmo Reverse to take back the original Earth. However, the fact that there is no such explanation at this stage makes it highly likely that Dezarians are not Earthlings from the future, but aliens.
When it is discovered that Dezarium is alien, a war will break out between Dezarium and humans. Even if Dezarium is driven off Earth, a hunt for Earthlings who cooperated with Dezarium will begin afterward. I think a dictator like Stalin will appear, loudly calling for the discovery of those who cooperated with the enemy, and an era of great purges will begin.
If, after all this, it turns out the Dezarium people are actually aliens, then the people who were deceived would be weak-minded idiots. So I personally think it would’ve been better to make them survivors of the Martian government or Earthlings from a parallel world. Well, let’s keep an eye on Chapter 4 to see how that will play out.
Also, at the end of Chapter 3 there was a scene where it was revealed that Seiya Kitano is a spy, but while they made you think, “Did Kitano betray us?” I feel like he was actually just pretending to cooperate with Dezarium under Todo’s instructions. I think that in this way, Kitano’s role is to cooperate with Dezarium while stealing its secrets.