Episode 2 – Nebula Soldiers
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We, the bearers of the Psychokinetic Mega-God Photon Armor, are the only ones who can protect the Earth from Nebula's invasion.
Questions of the Day:
1) When will Souya get the meat he desires?
2) What do you think about the conflict between two different Nebula sects and the humans? Which side are you rooting for?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!
by Shimmering-Sky
14 Comments
**Rewatch Host who really needs to read Mizukami’s other works sometime**
[Welcome back, everyone!](#michaelwink)
—
– [Nezuya’s dedication to the chuuni poses is impressive lol.](https://i.imgur.com/zq9DI1Z.png)
– [The mask](https://i.imgur.com/vT7ql6j.png) and [cat face](https://i.imgur.com/q9A7AOq.png) censoring is funny enough on its own, but [Sensei just having the cat face censor when it’s *his damn face* absolutely sent me ahahahaha.](https://i.imgur.com/cfOCvBE.png) [](#laughter)
– [Makes sense.](https://i.imgur.com/N5fPt4s.png)
– [Pffffff.](https://i.imgur.com/siXVatn.png) [](#azusalaugh)
– [Takashi makes an ominous statement about his goals](https://i.imgur.com/DN2NlN4.png), but then [gets cut off by the scene transition](https://i.imgur.com/Gi5a36w.png), amazing. [](#trololol)
– [Later spoilers]>!<
– [So this is definitely about Takezou, right?](https://i.imgur.com/jQV6BeQ.png) [](#kukuku)
– [Of all the odds…](https://i.imgur.com/EKMjpj2.png) [](#crazedlaugh)
– [Later spoilers]>!<
– [This is certainly also a unique design.](https://i.imgur.com/Qof5AAG.png)
– [lol, RIP.](https://i.imgur.com/UpYuBdD.png) [](#toradorasalute)
– [Souya certainly sounds a lot less hesitant this time.](https://i.imgur.com/6v3ZDCi.png)
– [Heh.](https://i.imgur.com/LpRNkk0.png) [](#kukuku2)
– [Of course they weren’t gonna just sit back and do nothing while Souya fought their allies this time.](https://i.imgur.com/MFUeGVA.png)
—
Day 2 of me noting some of the little things Mizukami added when he wrote the manga:
– There were name cards in the manga for all of the Grand Paladin members, not just the Nebula Weapon/Nebula Soldier/Grand Paladin ones that were in the manga.
– Instead of the funny censors like the anime had, [Torai thinks he saw a regular-ass cat instead of Sensei](https://i.imgur.com/sqI4rlq.png) in the manga.
– [This was a funny bit](https://i.imgur.com/bEwx1GW.png) from directly after Takashi named Grand Paladin in the manga.
– [This “People die when they are killed”-esque line from Souya lol.](https://i.imgur.com/2WoUNfn.png)
– [An extra bit after Miu started leading them into battle.](https://i.imgur.com/cru8LgK.png) Takezou is a funny old man.
– The manga had some *really* neat symbolic visuals while Ginko explained the Sealing vs. Pacifist factions to Souya in the manga instead of having their talk be over the first part of Miu’s fight. [Said visuals include a piece of foreshadowing not present in the anime so I will spoiler tag it] >!< [Future spoilers]>!<
– And for another “Which version do you think looks more intense?” question, [Anime](https://i.imgur.com/CSLImdc.png) vs. [Manga](https://i.imgur.com/w1lk59S.png) for Takashi’s last line. [](#ama)
**First timer, subs**
* [They Have Charts!](#drunkhisone)
* Oh god, they’ve figured out how to use sprays.
* My Old Man faith has paid off!
* Is the animal theming going to pay off with the vegetarianism?
* 300$ of steak isn’t *that* much.
* Ginko is much less in control than I thought she would be.
* Man, there are other benches. Don’t be one of those.
* 100% something happens when he finally gets meat. This isn’t enough for a gag by itself.
* They’re like randomly generated mobile game assets.
* That’s a surprisingly straight forward explanation.
* I don’t think she took her lesson as well as last time.
* I can’t tell what Haru is supposed to be. She looks like a bear. Is it Dog?
* Can’t help but wonder if we get any back and forth with the magic item possession.
**QotD:**
1) Episode 10.
2) I love faction play, but I don’t trust Ginko to be being 100% honest right now. Right now it seems mostly zoo vs pets, which, again, fits the animal theming.
**Rewatch Soldier**
—
[](#laughter)
This episode was funny as hell. There’s a bizarre tonal dichotomy going on here; on one hand there’s Souya’s whole revenge story going on after his home~~town~~world was destroyed and everyone he loved brutally murdered… but on the other hand he’s on a bizarre quest for meat. This felt really on display today. [Miu says this cliche-ass villain line](https://i.imgur.com/w4LsQlV.png), just to be [immediately shot down](https://i.imgur.com/9CYGEDu.png). Torai tries to remember what the enemies looked like as really dramatic music plays and they talk about how they messed with his perception, [but it looks like this](https://i.imgur.com/io4BdFI.png). Takashi [dramatically declares he will lead humanity](https://i.imgur.com/f55txpe.png), just for it to be instantly undercut by [his dad’s flirting.](https://i.imgur.com/qhCMI6j.png) In fact, Sensei’s very existence is the biggest display of this. How can you take Souya’s fight with him and Ginko seriously with him around? He looks so dumb! It’s easy to ignore it, but a crown-wearing maid and a giant humanoid cat sitting around at a regular lunch table is a pretty absurd sight.
This makes it really difficult to really gauge what tone the show is going for here. It’s a very thin line you have to walk, but it *is* possible to dramatize comedies without devaluing either side – Senyuu comes to mind. But I don’t know if that’s the goal here.
If anything, the dramatic moments feel pretty weak so far. Torai’s illusion in the previous episode was certainly functional, but Miu’s in this one was just… eh. As far as dramatic resolutions go, this one-an-episode structure with characters we barely know does not really work.
[](#hardthink)
—
> Checkmate. Don’t mess with humanity.
So that ending was pretty interesting. I think we were all fooled into thinking we would be facing one of the heroes at a time, but that might not quite be the case? For everyone to converge on Souya like this so quickly was quite surprising. More surprising than that, is Takashi the maybe-not-actually-a-dragon.
He’s the biggest incognita right now. My subs translated his line after the meeting as “I will be humanity’s leader”, which… isn’t wrong, but could be interpreted as something villainous. As if he wants to *rule* humanity. But the word he used, “導く”, actually has a positive connotation. It has the meaning of “guiding”. Saying he’ll become humanity’s leader is *technically* correct, but the phrasing has a different nuance than something like “I will lead humanity”, which would be closer.
We now know ~~the Anti-Spiral~~ Nebula is trying to stop humanity’s evolution, but Takashi wants them to evolve further. So, like… they *are* the heroes.
[](#schemingsaten)
Also, he’s apparently human? If he’s Takezo’s son then either he’s human, Takezo fucked a dragon, or he’s not *really* his son and is just messing with his perception. Either way, Takashi loves humanity, and Nebula is trying to stagnate them. Takashi is humanity’s hero, but he’s using whatever despicable thing those little powders are. Souya is trying to avenge his fallen people, but he’s bottlenecking humanity in the process. To bring back the line from the ED, “Within our own justices, we all lose sight of justice”. Looks like it’ll be hard to have a side to root for.
**First Timer**
Twintails, your hands need to cover your mouth if you wanna do [](#gendo-pls) right, fix that.
Not much changed from episode 1 structure-wise although I will say that due to Miu being more of a presence across the whole thing her whole flashback bit worked out a bit better overall compared to the one we had last episode. I actually do overall like her, kinda reminds me of a less insane Mudo: All of the self-confidence, slightly less of a psycho. Plus hey, it seems her boss pays her well if she can just constantly ask for 30000 yen at any time she wants… unless that’s just Not!Jinun doing his dad a favor.
The Nebula stuff is all decent enough, basically just there to foreshadow later stuff I assume, although I do wanna say I’m glad that Torai is still in the show in spite of losing his powers. That makes me assume that a big part of this show which, hey, certainly seems like a sorta interesting storytelling engine to have, although that does make me wonder if having all those illusions *here* is the best idea (IE: At the start of their hypothetical arcs) rather than doing it at the end. It’s still early on though so I won’t harp on it too much.
**First timer**
– [Makes pairs in case they get jumped, immediately leave the old man behind.](https://c.tenor.com/Mu2zfBKErTsAAAAC/tenor.gif)
– [What in the jimminy cricket are those designs! Someone thought of this!](https://imgur.com/a/SLbfB3C)
– [I don’t think pacifists normally ambush and beats people.](https://imgur.com/a/UGn2aSv)
– It’s gonna keep up this translating bit for the entire runtime, isn’t?
– [But have they really though if they need a special mcguffin to utilize whatever power they have? Wouldn’t going after the source that allows for the manifestation of said powers be enough?](https://imgur.com/a/2JN7N0T)
– [That’s nice and all, but like, space travel and nuclear power are a thing.](https://imgur.com/a/vItxrt2) *Guys, we did it, we’ve prevented humanity from developping super powers! Wait, what’s that vessel flying above the sealing faction doing? Hang on, something just shot out from it. Oh god…*
– [Also, how are they gonna do that if our trio of misfits take away humanity’s only mean to fight off the invading faction?](https://y.yarn.co/00324d18-d06e-4aab-8037-61c45bd4fc90_text.gif)
—
**QotD**
– Soon^tm
– Lame. None.
**First-Timer**
Alright, episode 2 and we already have the MC falling directly into a trap because of his hotheaded refusal to listen to orders, good. Getting this out of the way quickly. Over under on Ginko having a smoke bomb in addition to whatever anti-memetic magic she pulled to blank their faces?
I feel justified in my lack of trust for Mr. “I will be humanity’s ruler” after he said that.
I wasn’t sure if the cotton puffs were just a thing for last episode’s Nebula or not, but it seems like they’re just made of cotton. As are the Grand Paladin’s suits, someone pointed it out yesterday but today I noticed as well.
My gut instinct is to reference the Watanagashi Festival from Higurashi (do not look that up if you don’t know what I’m talking about), but that isn’t a real-life thing so probably not.
Anyway, what sort of psychopath makes vegetarian tonkatsu? Is it even tonkatsu at that point if it doesn’t involve pork? What’s the prefix for vegetarian..
Questions
1. End of episode 11.
2. I am rooting against the Genjuro cosplayer.
**First timer – Subbed**
*Planet Without Meat*
It’s nice being able to write up a good high effort post on the weekend, with plenty of time to spare before the thread goes up. I haven’t been able to do that in some time. Are you enjoying it? Well **TOO BAD** , I’ll be going back to low effort, late to party posts come Monday when the work week consumes every part of me.
– Dragon CEO dude is huge.
– God, I love a good ensemble.
[](#concealedexcitement)
– Now Torai has amnesia about the attack? Interesting.
– Grand Paladins of the Lore Dump
– I’m afraid there won’t be enough time to develop everyone in 12 episodes, but if we’re going to see their individual traumas, that seems like a shortcut to some kind of development.
[](#mug7)
– Ah, so the old guy is Dragon CEOs dad. And he wants meat. I’m seeing a theme here.
– GET THE BOY SOME MEAT
– More Biscuit Hammer pantsu; what is Sensei’s deal?
[](#sideeyes)
– Those clogs look miserable, absolutely zero arch support.
– Torai seems like a genuinely good dude, what the heck did he do to get our boy Soya so upset?
– Another UFO. Good god. Who’s making these ugly things?
[](#why)
– Bean bun?! GET THE BOY SOME MEAT!
[](#wallpunch)
– Did the old guy eat all the meat within a 200 mile radius? Is this some kind of meatless curse that only affects Soya?
– The sound design here is still phenomenal. I can feel the bass in my bones.
– Ah, so we’re doing Miu’s trauma now? I like her, she reminds me of Subaru from Biscuit Hammer.
– Maybe the core isn’t protected by an idealized version of your trauma, but rather wish fulfillment? Closure?
[](#attentivenote)
– Never getting over the whole Sensei eating you transformation.
– Still loving these mech designs.
– Miu’s power being taken was genuinely sad. Poor girl…
[](#manly-tears)
– The #SQUAD are back to take on Soya, dude’s gotta be more careful if he’s going to be playing the role of villain.
Can’t wait for my expectations to be subverted as we learn more about why things are the way they are.
First Timer
The heroes have a really fun dynamic going on in their group. Definitely seems like they’ll be really fun antagonists.
We learn a bit more about the invaders and their intentions. One thing that I think is interesting is that while the sealing group and the pacifist group are at odds, the sealing group doesn’t seem too malicious. I mentioned it yesterday, but the fighter pilots just got sent home peacefully while the illusion the heroes were trapped in were somewhat kind. It seems to be a situation where Nebula, especially the sealing group, sees humans as maybe like an endangered species. We need to be controlled for our own sake; they see themselves as above humans but think its their responsibility as ones above us to manage us for our own sake. Not exactly dignified, but it’s more interesting than “alien invaders trying to take over the world because [insert random explanation that doesn’t make sense but also doesn’t matter here].”
Our MC is an alien too. That’s interesting. That explains why he had a past where a giant dragon destroyed the city he was living in and yet the people of earth were surprised at the Nebula Weapons. He also seems to have a grudge against the maid and sensei for bringing him here, though he will still work with them for his revenge. He also seems to have been cursed by a witch to never eat meat. Poor kid.
The leader of the heroes, I wonder what his deal is. He seems to be related to that dragon somehow, hence why the others have powers related to that dragon, but he’s also pretty all-in on the HFY train. Does the dragon want to protect humans? Did he somehow inherit or steal the powers of the dragon? He does have a human father. Though, maybe the old guy isn’t human. Might explain why he’s able to eat steaks so quickly and in such quantity. He’s also a good boss to his employees and won’t blame them even when they lose. Very nuanced for the person who’s being set up as the primary antagonist.
And here’s where my theorizing comes in. The true villain of the story? The old man, pretending to be human. How do I know? Because the MC wants to eat meat, but can’t even get a pork bun, while the old man regularly cleans out the stock at steak restaurants. The complete contrast between them in this regard is proof. This is the kind of subtle and nuanced character writing you’d expect out of a seasoned writer like Mizukami.
1. The last episode after he defeats the final boss, pervy grandpa
2. It’s very interesting and nuanced. I feel like I have to learn more about the source and nature of the human’s power before I can really decide. I’m leaning towards the pacifist faction though.
**Rewatcher**
### Nebula Soldiers: [Planet With a Twist](https://imgur.com/oBm0PN6)
The previous episode is great, but it’s the first two minutes of this that sold me on the series. More than that. After watching it, I had to go grab a couple friends and make them watch the show, too – and not halfway through episode one, one of them says “wait, is this by Mizukami? I don’t remember this manga…”. That’s certainly a distinctive art style! And that’s how I was introduced to one of my favourite mangaka. We kick off the episode with a double-twist opening, building on the original twist that our protagonist is here to *stop* the heroes that defend the Earth. But that aside, it sure seems like we’re setting up to take down the team in a half-season series of fights. So, obviously our protagonist will only have beaten the weakest grunt among the heroes, right? Wrong, that was their strongest. But we’re still power-scaling, then? Nope, they’re all pretty close actually. Also Torai’s not *gone* or anything! He’s right there! Jeez people, have some tact! He’s not even *fired*, what, do you think they’re stupid or something? So. What next, now that they’re planning to pair up and avoid the obvious danger of getting picked off one by one?
Well, [some](https://imgur.com/Byqmhi9) [absolutely](https://imgur.com/xpL4RVK) [lovely](https://imgur.com/FTljA1E) [character](https://imgur.com/PCm2D5J) [moments](https://imgur.com/Xty3UAE), [that’s what](https://imgur.com/B4NQJcx). And [absurd physical training](https://imgur.com/A8206ba). And the reversal of dramatic irony: during episode 1, we could reasonably guess that Soya’s dream was his lost memories. Now, he seems to remember more, but isn’t sharing with us. Then there’s another round against a Nebula Weapon – we’re getting more clues on how they work, and exposition of the state of play from our cute and good :3 girl. Seems complicated! Finally we get our first true mech fight, and it’s great. Straightforward three-beat on [Miu’s](https://imgur.com/mUGytnx) [called](https://imgur.com/4U89gco) [attack](https://imgur.com/tcCC34T). [Glorious smug](https://imgur.com/SE7AdWK). Haru [has her head on straight](https://imgur.com/rlr8jR5). [Miu not so much](https://imgur.com/1ZYvHIM). Then, [literally the whole gang shows up](https://imgur.com/05dwiAo). “I always wondered why people don’t just use their strongest attack right at the start” – Takashi, presumably.
[](#hypeeyes “Cliffhanger! Were you surprised that we got it after the fight, not before?”)
**Rewatcher**
So they’re thinking that the floating thing works together with Souya. Whatever Souya and co. are using to disguise themselves is peak technology. 30’000 yen is a lot to spend at a steakhouse. Their leader seems to have humanity’s best interest in mind? Well, his dad has other interests.
Souya’s search for meat is still ongoing. Despite him regaining his memories, outside of his wish for revenge, he doesn’t act that much different from the last episode. There seems to be something Ginko and Sensei are hiding from him. Despite hating them Souya still stays with them to have his revenge. While Souya and Ginko are fighting, Sensei is interested in the ‘Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer’ figurines. Souya has some damn nice shoes, I’m getting jealous.
They must be living in a small world for Souya and Hideo to be meeting each other again. More importantly Hideo has what Souya desires even more than revenge. That’s right, MEAT!!! We get a very wholesome moment, where Hideo shares some food. Hey, Hideo complimented Souya’s footwear. Cool.
I really like the designs of these floating monsters. Too bad Souya’s denied his meat. Again. Oh, so they *are* actually part of Nebula, just like the ‘Grand Paladin’ guys suspected. Different factions tho. The monster is part of an extremist group out for all humans, while Ginko’s group just wants to confiscate Grand Paladin’s powers. Miu and Haru seem to have a past together. They both did Judo in the past. Miu manages to defeat the monster and its illusion.
Souya attacks Grand Paladin again. This time he sounds more self-assured then last episode, despite him being against 2 opponents this time. Sensei knows Judo, apparently. Spiral break? That sound like an attack name from Gurren Lagann. Miu and Haru are a good tag team and they’re here to avenge Hideo (who’s still alive). But Souya still manages to get Miu’s source of power, and he’s hungry for more. Hungry for a fight this time though. But fighting against all of Grand Paladin will be difficult.
Trivia time: Did you know that the soundtrack for this anime is provided by the legendary [Kouhei Tanaka](https://myanimelist.net/people/6055/Kouhei_Tanaka)? He’s mostly known for the music he provides in One Piece. That’s right, we’ve got the guy doing ONE PIECE’s music here. He has also done the music for some well-known older mecha animes like G Gundam, GaoGaiGar, Gunbuster and Diebuster. His work on Planet With is really good IMO, and if anyone wants to listen to the OSTs you can find them on [youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30DVg7D8FKU)
>When will Souya get the meat he desires?
Let’s hope soon. The boy needs his nutrients. Hideo already mistook him for a middle schooler because of his lack of height.
>What do you think about the conflict between two different Nebula sects and the humans? Which side are you rooting for?
Pretty interesting conflict I’d say. As of now, we barely know anything of the factions, so it’s hard to choose a side. Well, since I’m a rewatcher I kind of know what’s gonna happen but I’ll refrain myself from saying more.
**First Timer**
I knew instantly that when Souya got that meat bun that its not going to be meat. My poor boy just wants some meat. I really liked the fact that humanity’s greatest heroes actually used their brains and not only started to go out in pairs and wisely waited for Souya to ambush them after the fight to corner him. They can’t be the bad guys, they’re too smart. They also seem like total bros.
Pretty good episode. Not much else to say except I’m eagerly waiting to watch episode 3.
1. Either during the epilogue or he needs a big power up and eating meat provides that before the final battle.
2. Until more info I’m on the humans side. I guess pacifists sound like the *good* nebula faction but they still sus.
**First timer**
A more straightforward episode this time: the first half effectively being an epilogue to episode 1, and the rest being a MOTW-type battle that followed the same formula as last time. The actual fight scene was decent enough, but I don’t know if I really care about going through another five random hero backstories (assuming that the series actually follows that track after the cliffhanger ending). The ~~white~~ pink rabbit of Inaba was decently fun at least.
1. Presumably it is going to be a running gag throughout the series that he doesn’t. Also I expect that they’re vegetarian for something like Buddhist reasons.
2. Well I’m still not convinced that our guys are the good guys. It also seems strange that they called themselves the ‘pacifist’ faction of Nebula, considering that the UFO things seem a lot more peaceful than the Sensei mech.
**First time**
I’m having trouble connecting to the show so far. I can’t tell how anyone relates to each other so I have no investment in what they’re trying to do. Half the time I can’t even tell how/if one event is supposed to have caused the next. I’m fine when worldbuilding takes its time, but stuff is happening *as if* I should be invested already. Also I think every piece of information we’ve gotten has been from one character lecturing another.
– [lmao](https://i.redd.it/cjhjuh1wyvkd1.png)
– a very pro-meat show
– what’s the history on the kind of standing up magic-space-cockpit mechs that we get here? They showed up in the Kannazuki no Miko rewatch too.
**Rewatcher: Planet With the Brisk Plot Progression**
“he was the weakest after all”
“The strongest, actually”
“He’s sitting right there you know”
What a ridiculous triple combo to start with
The cat face sticker to hide Sensei’s face is funnier than it has any right to be, I haven’t read the manga (yet) so seeing the difference there that the OP showed is great. Not sure which I prefer to be honest.
Cool logo, who’s the graphic designer of the team I wonder
Does anyone do the rag tag group of misfits better than Mizukami? No, the answer is no
The Mysterious Floating Object design rules, all friendly hands, smiling mouth and listening ears… only well, wrong, very wrong
Norio freaking Wakamoto as Sensei, who only makes cat-like noises is pretty funny casting* (edit: it’s not, it’s Koyama Rikiya, my ears and memory are playing tricks on me.)
Oh no Torai rules doesn’t he? RIP to him (he’s right there, he’s fine)
Mecha judo throws, this too is yuri
Ginko a cute
Seriously, I want to find the sound designer who was like “trust me bro, boost that bass way up” and shake their hand
Checkmate
1) When will Souya get the meat he desires? I’m rewatching so: [full series] >!I don’t remember! !<
2) What do you think about the conflict between two different Nebula sects and the humans? Which side are you rooting for? yes