Ginga Kikoutai: Majestic Prince - 07
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I think I might have got a handle at what Majestic Prince is trying to be. That does mean I haven't been attentive enough.
More than any other series that started airing in Spring, Majestic Prince hasn't been up front with what it wants to be. What started off as a spoof of the mecha genre quickly developed into something serious - comedy is still there, just not as misplaced and awkward - and only now is it more clear what it's aiming at; the superhero genre.
Hiding right underneath my nose? In all honesty, Majestic Prince hasn't been the easiest series to get a read on. It's because of its constant shifts in themes and atmosphere that made seeing it as an attempt at the superhero genre a little harder. Izuru's constant ramblings only distanced me from coming to that realisation, because I always assumed he was not meant to be taken seriously. Now that things have calmed down, it's more likely that we're headed towards a traditional superhero story.
The introduction to the antagonists was certainly a hint of what's to come. Self-obsessed, narcissistic hedonists make for an odd enemy to say the least. Oddity aside, they do invoke feelings of hate and detest as believers of taking anything you want - the speech about taking anything was unusually disturbing. We don't get to learn much about them, save the ending where we see them gearing up for battle. I reiterate, a very strange group to serve as the antagonists of the series.
Besides the introduction to the new, Nordic-looking enemy there was another close look at the main characters. This has become somewhat of a regular fixture in the episode, and it continues to explore the main characters' psychological states. This time it was taking a look at the main crew's social awkwardness outside of interacting amongst themselves, thus bringing in the pit teams into the spotlight - not a big one, but at least puts them on our radar. As Izuru points out, superhero's without families - young mecha pilots also - are a dime a dozen. A tried-and-true background story for a number of scenarios. Even so, Majestic Prince makes it work.
The characters aren't developing at warp speeds, so this comes as a nice 'next step' in their development. What makes this next step work is how earnestly Majestic Prince approaches the issue of superhero kids fighting to save the world, when they themselves don't have a real home to return to - also pointed out in his conversation with the pit crew. I definitely like the idea of the pit crew being a "family" to the main cast, because it's something that applies to a lot of situations, including the superhero genre. It also gives Team Rabbits an external support system, free from any judgement.
Next up, it's back to the battlefield. Jiato makes his move and mentions the elusive Theoria once again. He's revealed to be the fighter we saw during Team Rabbits' first failure and now he's going back for round two. The pace is picking up once again after another calm episode.
Ginga Kikoutai: Majestic Prince Episode 08 Preview
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