Suisei no Gargantia - 05

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After four weeks of fantastic plot and character-driven episodes, Suisei no Gargantia has a beach episode.  Not what I was expecting to say the least...

Maybe it's because Gargantia has had a peerless four episode run - best in the season without a doubt - that this latest comes as a bit of a disappointment.  At its core its a swimsuit/beach episode you get with more than half the anime airing today, which definitely puts a damper on things.

It's a detour that gives Gargantia the opportunity for some light fan service and silly antics.  I'm sure a number of you won't complain about all the swimsuits - Ridgett, Bellows, Amy and her friends, there's something for everyone - or about Ledo's little misadventure with the okama and finally Chamber being used like a cheap grill.  Nothing to jeer at whatsoever but nothing that was exceptional.

Because of the pace and style of Gargantia, the episode works.  Much like the name of the episode, the series up until now has been "calm."  So far the series has progressed at a nice pace, and whilst it's covered a significant portion of character development and build-up, it hasn't done anything out of left field - yet.  A part of me is still waiting for the big twist/development in the series, and seeing as how we've yet to witness it, an episode like this isn't uncalled for.

Do I wish the episode was different? Yes, because I was hoping to see the story continue from where it left off last week.  Do I hate it? No.  It's an episode of harmless fun that's nice to watch once in a while.  It felt like a Gargantia swimsuit episode which means the atmosphere was maintained and even if it was a pit stop for the story, it was done well.