Destiny_Gundam wrote:Just to make sure I got this, the Capital Tower people are the 'bad guys' because gas prices are too high?
We don't really know if they're the "bad guys", but we do know they have an absolute monopoly on energy which they enforce for ideological/pseudo-religious, and other countries don't like it (implied because they feel it impedes their development and curtails their independence). Saying that it's because "gas prices are too high" mistakes a political issue for an economic one. We also can tell that this political tension is beginning to heat into conflict, and the Research Division of the Capital is either earnestly building a Capital Army for the sake of defence, or is using the convenience of these heating tensions to push an agenda. Of course, the fact that no one else knew an army was being built, amongst a bunch of other different hints (Bellri's mother making that comment about the Director of Research using her son's kidnapping) implies the latter. We for a fact know that the Research Division is the arm of the Capital that seems to conduct international relations (episode 2), and it's also implied the Research Division knows things that everyone else in the Capital does not, which may be because they do not disclose all their findings and activities. Now however, we find out that this agenda may not have to do with the other countries, but with something else, which Ameria seems to be aware of too. Given that we've just found out both Ameria and the Capital were essentially fighting for possession of one myseterious G-Self, that seemed to have appeared from space, and the fact that Ameria wants to capture the Capital Tower for their own space operations, it's implied that both countries could be worried about something else coming from space. So yeah, it's not necessary that the Capital is "the bad guy". The director of the Research Division seems to have the makings of a pull strings from the shadows villain, but maybe he's just a well meaning but secretive good guy. Or maybe not. There's still a whole lot we don't know about the primary conflicts of the show, but it's very apparent to me at least that they are building towards it.
Amion wrote:I agree that Aida shouldn't be a ball of angst, but I still believe something, even something as small as a slight frown or contained rage at Bellri. It's fine if she wants to put it past her, but I want to see her actually do it. It's a minor point for me now, considering she seems to be grieving in private. But there is still that oddness.
I'm really not liking Bellri, but neither do I hate him. His smart question dodgery was what clinched it for me. I have close family who are like that. They seem all smiles and passivity. But it's a mask. They're thinking and calculating while they smile.
Honestly, I'm going to reiterate what I said earlier: Point of View. Earlier Tomino shows delve into at least the MC's psyche. We know what they're thinking and what they're likely to do next even before they do sometimes. I don't recall even once getting a true internal dialogue from Bellri. Save the very first instance he meets Aida. After that he's been a mask to the viewer, and Tomino is in the process of unwrapping him.
There's a very accurate current world analogy I'd use, but it's sort of political. Even so, just imagine, say, that there's a war going on right now that while mildly worrisome, hasn't affected me directly. The news of violence is some vague, far, far away thing. But there is still talk about potential harm done nearby. Then out of the blue a military branch appears in my town that violates the laws and moral code I've always followed. Would I start decrying them as some kind of insidious EVIL? Well, I'd be very concerned, and would ask questions. And if I started seeing tank divisions and advanced weaponry moving about, I'd be even more concerned, but not anywhere near the threaten or shoot stage.
Bellri and everyone else react similarly to the Capital Army. It just pops up. These new guys calling themselves military personnel start unloading or moving these new Catsiths about, and talk about a war between Ameria and Gondwon that could threaten the tower. So they're going to defend it! Presumably...
Since an army is apparently a taboo in Capital Tower, the characters start asking how the heck these guys were organized or allowed to be created. Bellri learns his mother, the high official he trusts most, had no more prior knowledge of Capital Army than he, a lowly cadet did. The army is a direct contradiction of doctrine he's believed in without cause for doubting all his life. He's bound to want to know what's going on.
Then he meets Aida, who is totally different from what he expected of a pirate. She's not sorry for stealing batteries, and makes him think about what it might be like to live in a world where you might have Photon batteries withheld from you by the Tower. Obviously Aida believes in her cause. A contradiction to what the higher ups probably always said about them vicious space pirates.
By episode 3, Bellri was probably very confused, and suspicious after talking with his mom. Something stinks in the Tower of the Capital. So he goes and lets Aida hijack the G-Self, allowing her to take him directly to the people he's curious about, and may have answers: the space pirates! He dodges questions to avoid spilling info like a good soldier, while gathering his own answers by observation. When the Catsith attack, he states he wants to know more about the CA. Possibly hinting that he might not want to go back, given that the CA might just perform a takeover.
Possibilities, and we still don't know what his internal thoughts are. Hopefully we will soon.
As for the strange speech patterns...no comment. I'm not really seeing it. Though I admit they're not as focused as they could be.
I didn't really piece together Bellri's internal motivations nearly as well as you did
. I just figured that it would become more apparent as the series went on. Thanks for sharing.
As for Aida, I think her on and off reactions to Cahill's death helps characterize her. On one hand she's motivated by higher causes and broader goals, wants to move on, clearly wants to be a person that treats everyone well, and doesn't seem prone to being hateful. On the other hand, she's grieving, and a natural impulse is to hate the guy who took someone important from you. It's that internal tension that drives her behavior. Every time she's started openly grieving it's at some moment that Cahill does have some connection to. Her argument with Bellri about energy politics is tied to what Cahill's motivations were, and so when she thinks about that and Cahill springs to mind of course she's going to steer the conversation that way. When she arrives back at the Megafauna, the pain of loss probably strikes her again, because she's back in a familiar and comfortable environment, and it must strike her hard that this time Cahill isn't there with her. Finally, I think the complication that she's probably aware of Bellri's attraction to him (people being attracted to her seems like a common thing that she probably grew up with), and may in fact be slightly drawn to him, adds to her internal tensions. At the very least, she seems to appreciate Bellri as a person (much less what he did to her beloved Cahill though) and doesn't seem to hate him (not everyone wants to hate the person that took someone they loved away). I didn't think the ballet dance was a very unnatural thing to do if you wanted to flirt a little, and if you wanted to show know that you're going to be okay. Some people just have sparks of whimsy about them, but she could have been whimsical intentionally to communicate ease and comfort. At the end of the day I haven't found Aida's behavior strange at all. She fits into my experiences with people who have had to grieve while still trying to live their lives or have had lost ones far in the past but once in a while stumble onto a thought about them. In real life not everyone sinks into a depressive, angry, hateful and/or otherwise negative state.