Vandread (Season Two)

Fleeing from the Harvester ships, the Nirvana comes across an escape pod with a life sign. Inside they find a survivor from Earth and a coded message. Will it give them the information they need to stop the Harvest?

What did you watch?

And I’m back with season two of Vandread for my A to Z Anime Challenge. It’s also worth noting that there are two movie formats where they have condensed the events in season one and two, so if you’re struggling to find the time to watch twenty-six episodes, you can always do that… Or, maybe you want to watch those too! I wouldn’t blame you… Anyhow, this is season two and it’s time to get back into this nineteen-year-old anime. There will, of course, be spoilers…

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What happened?

Inside the mysterious escape pod, they found Misty, a survivor from Earth and she instantly took a liking to Hibiki. This puts Dita on defence as the battle begins. Obviously, Hibiki is pretty much oblivious to the events unfolding. BC attempts to unlock the message in the escape pod but it releases a virus into the ship and renders it inoperative. During the power outage, Ezra is trapped in an elevator with Hibiki and Dita and goes into labour. With instructions from Magno and Duelo they manage to deliver the baby. Ironically, the sound of the baby crying unlocks the virus and proves that they are humans.

The Nirvana continues on its journey back to Taraak and Mejere, taking in a number of other planets affected by the Harvest. In one particularly vicious battle with a Harvester, Gascogne sacrifices herself to allow them to escape. The crew is devastated but must continue without her. As they arrive back in their home star-system, the Taraak defences activate forcing BC to give the code to deactivate them and reveal her true identity… or his true identity! Hibiki and Magno manage to convince the two planets to fight together to defeat the Harvesters that have come in full force to destroy them once and for all!

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What did you think?

This season continued to show the devastation caused by the Harvesters and the selective colonisation. The episode with the colony living on the planet that is incredibly harmful to them is particularly crushing, especially the time Bart spends with a terminally ill girl. It was a really sad moment and gave Bart a new outlook on life. The final battle was also worth mentioning here as it was epic and the revelation that the Harvest was so that the humans on Earth could continue, although they were far from human anymore.

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What was your favourite moment?

There were a lot of great moments and most of them involved Meia in one way or another. The episode where she was trying to avoid her surprise birthday party was a great one, especially as she ended up getting ejected in an escape pod with Ezra’s baby and was about to sacrifice herself for the baby when help finally came. Meia had another thoughtful moment where she offered Misty some advice after the crew had been watching the strange love triangle as if it were a soap opera. Of course, Meia was then heavily involved in the final battle along with Hibiki and Dita. Did I mention that it was epic?

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What was your least favourite moment?

Here’s a spoiler for you. Gascogne didn’t die. Not only did she survive but she was able to reprogram the Harvester ship and take control of it and the robots onboard. It definitely came in handy in the final battle, but I feel like having a character die and then bringing them back later really undoes a lot of the impact from when they died. I liked Gascogne. She was one of my favourite characters, but I did feel cheated when she came back. Sometimes, death has more meaning when it’s permanent.

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Who was your favourite character?

It was Meia again as if you couldn’t tell. She was her usual stoic loner who did her own thing and answered to nobody… well, almost. I love these types of characters and not just because I identify with them. All right, it’s mostly because they remind me of me and who I aspire to be, but that’s just the way it is. It’s always easier to like a character that you connect with.

I did also enjoy BC and was pretty surprised to find out that BC was from Taraak and had undergone gender reassignment surgery to become a spy. That is dedication to the cause and it was interesting that Magno knew all along and even welcomed BC back after all was done. Magno’s only request was that BC continued to use the voice they’d all become accustomed to. I think BC was glad to be able to return to the new normal.

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Who was your least favourite character?

I found the introduction of Misty to be annoying and I don’t think it really did that much for the story. Sure, it forced Hibiki to realise the situation he was in with Dita, but that could have been done without throwing another girl into the mix and having her instantly fall for Hibiki for no reason whatsoever. They really didn’t give Misty a chance, especially as everyone on the ship knew Dita and was obviously cheering her on. That’s what made Meia’s moment with Misty that much more powerful.

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Would you like some more?

So, this is the end of the story. The Harvest has been stopped and the planets of Taraak and Mejere were about to try to coexist with the members of the Nirvana acting as the test. I thought the ending was excellent with Dita diving to go down to Taraak with Hibiki. Sure, there are some interesting times ahead for both planets, but I think this is a great place to end it. It has been a lot of fun and I’m very glad that I discovered this one. Special thanks to Yomu for the recommendation.

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What have you learnt?

I think I’m going to talk about Gascogne’s death again. What she did was heroic and the sacrifice was felt by the entire crew. It really helped some of the characters to grow and become better people, so bringing her back at the end feels like a cheat. My gut on this is to avoid anything that might feel like a cheat. Any emotion felt by the characters and the viewers are important to the story and undoing something like that can leave an off feeling. There needs to be a really good reason to do something like this and this really didn’t work. Having the Harvester ship on their side was a big help, but it wasn’t necessary and as I said, it devalued her sacrifice.

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Other Posts in the Series

• A to Z Anime Challenge
  • Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
  • Blood-C / Blood-C: The Last Dark
  • Cat Planet Cuties
  • Dragonar Academy
  • El Cazador de la Bruja
  • Freezing / Freezing Vibrations
  • Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions
  • Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
  • Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon?
  • Jormungand / Jormungand: Perfect Order
  • Knight’s & Magic
  • Lord Marksman and Vanadis
  • My First Girlfriend is a Gal
  • No Game No Life
  • Outbreak Company
  • Punch Line
  • Qualidea Code
  • Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
  • Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign
  • The Testament of Sister New Devil
  • Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle

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