Pumpkin Scissors: Episode 2
Impressions:
Orlando, the former 901-Anti-tank Trooper, probably the most interesting character in the series so far. His past is still quite mysterious and I wonder if he was always this gentle or if it was a result of the war. As for the blue “will o’ the wisp”, I believe it’s something that reminds Orlando of his cause (to defeat the enemy) which allows him to switch to Terminator mode. Of course, this might be wrong and the little blue lantern is actually something supernatural which brings out the ATT’s hidden powers. I don’t like that idea though, as I like Pumpkin Scissors for its realism – realistic weapons, realistic wars, realistic corruption, realistic oppression etc. I wonder if Orlando will be able to ‘unlock’ his powers and be able to become the ultimate tank killer without the lantern. Hang on, maybe he doesn’t really need to use it and just switches it on as a warning or something. Hmm…more speculation: Orlando is the first success (or one of the successes) of top secret experimentation on superhuman strength. Maybe we will meet other ATT’s like him…kekeke.
I’m glad Pumpkin Scissors manages to throw in some light moments as well, which goes to show it is not all war and seriousness. Mercury or Mer-kun is a perfect example of this, as well as Alice’s wacky personality which is always apparent. I say wacky because normally, soldiers do not behave like her and neither do princesses, which apparently she is. Heh, a princess who works as a soldier; I wonder how that came about. Maybe she just wanted to be justice and do the world a favour. I suppose this makes her past mysterious as well…man I love mysterious things. I just hope that these questions ARE actually answered in the series (stupid Higurashi no Naku Koro ni…made me read half a dozen pages of TIPs and almost 100 combined pages of forum topics on Animesuki…) Anyway, just as a side note, I thought that this episode’s quality is slightly lesser than the first episode. That probably happens quite a lot anyway, where the first episode is made really well to attract the audience, then the animators can relax a bit as they cruise along till near the finish.
Plot Outline:
- We see three chained people running out in the desert
- The three are killed by two unknown men in a tank
- At Section 3 HQ (where the Pumpkin Scissors unit is), Alice and her team are awaiting the arrival of their new recruit, Orlando
- After some difficulty at the gates, Orlando manages to find his way to Alice
- The unit (now of four people) drive to a town where the lord is supposedly abusing his power
- After gathering some information, the four confront the noble and ruler of the town, Viscount
- Viscount and his butler were the ones in the tank at the start of the episode
- Alice threatens him for killing off his own people as a game to see if they can survive against his tank
- Reluctantly, the maids support Viscount by pointing their guns and Alice and the others
- Alice is given a view of the battlefield where Orlando and the other two are thrown on to take on Viscount’s tank (another game)
- The three manage to break free of each other as they had been chained together
- Alice discovers it was the maids who sent word of Viscount’s tyranny to her unit
- The maids say they cannot point a gun at a noble which is why they cannot go up against Viscount themselves
- Alice reveals that she is actually royalty and declares that the maids can point their gun at nobles, because they are doing it to her
- The maids are convinced to rebel against Viscount and start firing on them, but the bullets do nothing against the tank
- Ignoring them, Viscount drives off to kill Orlando and the others
- When the other two run away, Orlando takes on the tank by himself, taking tank shells but not going down before getting close enough to kill the driver, Viscount’s butler
- Before Orlando can kill Viscount, the tank hits a bump and flips over
- Orlando is sent flying but Alice manages to break his fall by catching him (sort of)
- Viscount reasons that capturing him wouldn’t do the town any good, but the maids from before will no longer listen to him anymore and help with the arrest
- Back at HQ, Alice gives Orlando a lesson in life: to not look too far into the future and just worry about what’s in front…and from there will be the meaning of their battle
Preview:
Popularity: 2% [?]
4 Comments so far
Leave a reply
Please use the <spoiler> </spoiler> tags for spoilers.
Loading ...
dloading teh sub…
The fact that she’s a princess does explain her, seemingly rash, energetic attitude. Her little speech to Orland in the first episode about helping the villagers, and her reaction to the Viscount in the dining room does show a sense of justice. And her sword swinging in the beginning because Orland was late is probably some outcome from being a princess and people catering to her whims. Not to mention that she was lecturing Machs and Oreld. That was funny. But then this is all just speculation too.
From the scenes shown during the opening song (specifically, where Orland is shown undergoing some sort of medical experimentation) and the comments from the various characters during the first two episodes, I believe there is no mystical or supernatural component involved with the members of the 901 ATT. Rather, it seems that the members of the unit appear to have been deliberately trained to experience a sort of “controllable insanity” using the activation of the lantern as an almost post-hypnotic trigger.
The whole “they shall come with the blue of the will-o-the-wisp” mantra that both veteran tankers in the first episodes quoted matched exactly, even though there’s no reason to believe they were members of the same unit. This suggests to me that the fear engendered by the 901 was deliberately intended by those who came up with the 901 unit in the first place; both because the fear and panic produced in the tank crews would lead to mistakes that give the 901 trooper a better chance to get into point-blank range, and it would act as a looming threat to keep potentially rebellious tank crews in line in the first place. The fact that Orland doesn’t RUN at the tanks he faces, but just trods slowly as if to say “I don’t need to hurry because you can’t stop me” would also fit this theory if it were also specifically taught to the members of the 901.
seems 901 ATT were created as a sort of “antitank berserkers”, and the entire “justice madness” from Alice reminds me of certain other princess from a long-gone sword-and-sorcery series… a cookie to someone who will remember that one