Recap: After successfully engaging the Wave Motion Engine and jumping through time and space, the Yamato suddenly finds itself locked into Jupiter’s gravity, revealing a hidden Gamilas base established there. Time to test out the Wave Motion Gun.

Gee’s Thoughts:

Now things are starting to pick up. Predictably, the jump doesn’t go perfectly, and the Yamato gets dragged into Jupiter’s gravitational field. They end up discovering an artificial floating continent with a hidden Gamilas base stationed there. Thankfully, Captain Okita keeps his cool and they get out of there unscathed. Honestly, there isn’t much to say about this episode, but it was wholly enjoyable nonetheless. Yamato so far has tended to focus on the interpersonal relations and sprinkling in the fights in short intense bouts. It honestly works very well in Yamato’s favor and adds to the tension, even if deep down, we all know that there’s probably nothing that can stop the Yamato and it’s insanely powerful continent-destroying beam cannon.

However, it’s the subtext that makes this episode interesting, especially if you’ve done your history homework on Yamato. Originally created in post-war Japan, it’s interesting to see Captain Okita’s hesitance to use the Wave Motion Gun after seeing it’s disastrous capability. Almost paralleling the atomic bomb, Captain Okita, rather than be impressed by the power of the Wave Motion Gun, resolves to never use it unless it becomes absolutely necessary for survival. It’s a noble sentiment and we’ll see if he can stay true to his convictions or if the Gamilas will prove a big enough threat to require it often.

In addition, we see that the Gamilas (who are suspiciously very human looking) are not complete monsters, and the very least, one of their commanders has a daughter (who suspiciously looks a lot like Ranka Lee). Of course, this being fiction combined with him being a villain almost guarantees that no matter what, he’s going to die. That said, it was a nice touch and definitely adds a human element to the faceless enemy the crew of the Yamato had been fighting until now. It’ll be interesting to see how the dynamic develops as the plot progresses. I have a feeling the story of the Yamato struggling against the evil Gamilas isn’t going to be so cut and dry.