Recap: Captain Okita decides that they cannot allow the Pluto base to continue bombarding Earth unhindered and orders the Yamato to launch an attack on the Gamilas forces stationed there. In the midst of a daring plan to catch them off guard, the Gamilas see through the ruse and launch an attack on a vulnerable Yamato.
Gee’s Thoughts:
This episode is a great example of how you can have a show bring the tension without a lot of action. The Yamato crew decides to have its fighter squadron assault the Gamilas base while the Yamato keeps the main forces busy in a classic pincer maneuver. However, the Gamilas’ planet bomb launching system, which utilizes mirror satellites, catches the Yamato completely off guard without an air force to defend it. By isolating the Yamato and showing the disastrous effects of the laser against the Yamato’s armor, I’m already on the edge of my seat. Sure, I know that the Yamato will probably be fine, but their complete inability to fight back against the unknown enemy makes them completely vulnerable in a way that I wouldn’t expect from a ship previously shown capable of destroying an entire continent on its own.
Speaking of the Wave Motion Gun, it’s interesting to see how the crew don’t necessarily see eye to eye on its usage. While some of the crew advocates using it at any given moment to utterly devastate the Gamilas, others in the crew advise caution and moderation in the face of such a destructive weapon. Once again an allusion to the atomic bomb, it’s kind of wonderful to see the varying viewpoints on the Wave Motion Gun and the kind of prudence expressed by the crew.
An equally interesting subplot going on is the apparent racial divide amongst the Gamilas. The ones we’re currently seeing are apparently part of some inferior caste compared to their superiors. So not only do we see them fighting for the sake of their children, but also for the desire to elevate and transcend the racial barriers their very own society has set against them. I suppose it’s going to make their inevitable demise that much more bittersweet.
Overall, a good episode of Yamato 2199 and clearly the first of a two-parter. It’ll be interesting to see what the Yamato does to get itself out of such a disadvantageous situation.
The Glorio Blog 
This cast system among the Garmillas (as they’re now called in the official english translations) not only makes sense in a interstellar empire which has incorporated onto itself other races, but also comes out of the necessity 2199 producers had to fix a massive plot hole from the original show. Innicially the Garmillas were, as you noted in episode 3’s review, very human like. In order to make them more alien, the decision was made to make them blue (-ish). At that point the show was already in it 9th episode. At the 10th episode they show Desler, which had so far apeared with pink skin, like those at Pluto, walk down a corridor during a ceremony and, by changing the lighting, he shifts from pink skin to blue. So we’re supposed to assume that in the previous episodes he was pink because of the lighting… yeah! By making Shultz and those at Pluto members of the Zaltz race, rather than pure-blood Garmillans, they keep their original look while retconing it. The cast system will also play a major role in Garmillas politics as the show advances as some in positions of power believe in erradicating all those not of pure-blood and blue skin.
Ah, I wasn’t aware that was the origins of the Gamillan blue skin. An interesting workaround to say the least. With what I know about this show now, I definitely see a lot of that racial tension abound in the show, it’s done quite well and it almost made me want to root for Shultz. He’s just a guy doing his job, even if his own people treat him like trash.