After a failed training session, Hisone grows frustrated upon realizing she's in the shadow of her predecessor, "Forest" Moriyama, whom Masotan seem to prefer.
Having been promoted to airman 3rd class, Hisone is set to begin flight training. Remi also explains to the pilots that they'll continue working during an upcoming festival.
The men make sexual jokes about Hisone, ignoring her cries and saying Moriyama, TAC name Forest, who Remi says was Masotan's previous pilot, dealt with their words. During her training later, Shingo Maezawa (Kyle Hebert) chastises her for being too slow, and her attempt to correct this causes her to launch at two other pilots. With the training a failure, Maezawa further explodes about Hisone's positive reinforcement suggestion, and Remi laments that things don't look good. Low on fuel, the pilots are unable to even practice for the festival, so Maezawa tells them to land, and orders Hisone to pick a TAC name. Masotan warns Hisone about a problem with the plane, but as she can't understand him, she decides to speak with Moriyama, and realizes her suit is disintegrating, causing her to come in for a rough landing.
Hisone later finds Nao sewing a doll for the festival; the girl refuses to say what it's for other than that everyone needs to contribute, even if they're not part of the show.
An attempt at praising Nao for this thinking instead insults her, and when Hisone asks about the previous D-pilot, the girl says she doesn't know or care about the "quitter." Haruto hasn't been around long enough to have known her either, but Masotan reacts when he and Hisone use the pilot's TAC name "Forest." Haruto and Nao explain it's sort of a nickname the higher-ups choose, and she realizes that "Forest" is English for part of her name, "Mori." She realizes Masotan only reacts to the TAC name, not "Moriyama" or her own name, and Nao suggests they have her TAC name be "trash." Hisone goes to the male pilots for help, and though most only describe Moriyama's body, a few explain she was a D-pilot who flew off one day and never returned. Though Hisone tries to ask another question, the pilots become preoccupied discussing what they should do at the festival. She instead takes her suit to Ikushima, who marvels at how well it dissolved, and as he confirms her measurements again, she asks about Moriyama. He recalls an "unfortunate event," but it turns out he simply means he designed her a great suit and it completely dissolved. Nao enters with her doll, overjoyed when he deems it merely passable for their means, and Hisone is left alone again as they plan for the festival. To Maezawa's irritation, Remi takes a personal call and justifies it as necessary to talk to her former junior. He mentions that she, now a civilian, could've returned, and another officer notes the loss of her skill in handling transport aircrafts. Back in the hangar, Hisone becomes annoyed by again confirming Masotan only reacts to "Forest," wondering who the past pilot was.
Later, people attend the festival in awe, with photographers snapping photos, and Hisone again insults Nao by wondering how she thinks her doll contributes anything.
A woman whose son recognizes the doll as a pilot hears Masotan and as Hisone wonders if she's related to someone on the base, a pilot arrives needing her help. He reveals to the crew that another pilot can't fly that day and his plane is damaged, so Hisone has to fill in for him; Sosoda explains it's because of her issues flying earlier. Ikushima continues that, due to the OTF's increased temperature and slipstream pressure, it's amazing the engine of the pilot's plane didn't fail immediately. Hisone realizes this is what Masotan tried to tell her, and though Maezawa is horrified, Sosoda suggests she take responsibility, and the others encourage her. She adamantly declares she'll fly as the face of Gifu, but to everyone's surprise, Masotan doesn't exit his pool when she approaches in her suit. The pilot with the ruined plane cries that his love came to see him, but his tears stops when the woman from before enters and Masotan comes out as she calls "Oscar." She expertly calms Masotan, whom she calls cranky, and talks to Zaito by name; he doesn't recognize her until she says her name, Moriyama. Everyone is shocked due to her changed appearance, and after she says she expected Remi, her senior, to tell everyone she was a mom, the colonel explains she brought the former pilot in so she could meet Hisone. The pilots decide to get started and she laughs at the lost possibility to ride Masotan again. Hisone, oddly angry, suddenly demands to know how to get him to swallow her. She goes on a rant about the simplicity of "Oscar" and how he's been so difficult with her, even about the plane, but he cuts her off by swallowing her, to her confusion. As everyone prepares, Moriyama agrees to give Hisone a TAC name, and Sosoda points out it would look strange if their dummy cockpit were empty, so the doll is put in. Though everything seems all right, the crowd outside causes issues, forcing Hisone to make a desperate plea to her OTF, and later she finally gets her TAC name.
It's been so long since I watched this series that I'd honestly forgotten a bit how charming and calming it is!
This episode was a lot of fun and helped me get back into the series, though I do honestly still have a hard time remembering character names. Continuing this show's trend to have problems not based around some big villain, this time around it's focusing on Hisone's struggle to get out of Moriyama's shadow. It's already been established that Hisone is a rarity on this base, as Masotan hasn't let anyone pilot him in three years, and is difficult to deal with. Yet despite having the ability to pilot him, Hisone is now dealing with apparently not being entirely good enough for him, as he misses his old pilot. In her mind, they've already connected, so it's a crushing blow to realize he only cares for his old pilot's TAC name and still sometimes refuses to listen. This is coupled with the pressures from her coworkers, as she is struggling to improve and causes problems that hold the others back. Hisone already had a massive outburst back in episode 1 to finally say she's just been forced into this position, and now she's trying to make the best of it. As someone who's dealt with self-confidence issues, it can be stressful to be put in a situation like this, and struggling to keep up can make you feel down on yourself. Hisone essentially feels like the only people around who are her friends are Haruto and Nao, despite the latter being a bully, so it's easy to feel alone. Her higher-ups forced her into a position and hardly listen to her, her coworkers seem to see her as not good enough, and Masotan doesn't even fully accept her. Now that she's hearing about Moriyama, there's even more pressure, as she's following someone considered beautiful and incredibly skilled. Despite this, she manages to mostly stay positive and keep trying, which is rather impressive, and continues being her outspoken self to solve problems. By the end, the situation has becoming a learning moment for her, as she has faced the pressures of following another, and in the end what she needs to do is make the position her own and be her own person, rather than meekly following Moriyama. As always, the sound design for this episode is fantastic, and the art is gorgeous, especially, like in previous episodes, at the end, when we get some incredible views. There was a fantastic moment as the festival began where there was a shot of the airbase and the crowd, and it is beautiful. Everything from the buildings to the roads are well-designed, and the way everything worked together honestly had me pausing just to take it all in, due to the sheer amount of work that must have went into the single shot. This series continues to charm as a simple, enjoyable way to relax, and based on the sneak peek after the credits, I'm thinking we're about to meet another big character.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
April 2020
Categories
All
|