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Yellow encounters a mysterious woman. |
Genesis Climber Mospeada: Trap Reggae.
Original Air Date - Genesis Climber Mospeada: Jan. 22, 1984. Writer: Satoshi Namiki. Director: Mari Kobayashi.
Robotech: Metamorphosis.
Original Air Date - Robotech: June 17, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MOSPEADA:
Inbit patrols are growing heavier as the group nears Reflex Point. They find an abandoned naval base, which gives Stig a plan to get across the water. They set to work repairing three frigates. Jim, Mint, and Aisha transport their equipment in the ships, while the others draw the Inbits' attention.
The plan works, but Houquet is injured. They set down in the ruins of a beach resort so that she can recover while Jim repairs her fighter. Meanwhile, the rest of the group enjoys a much-needed beachside rest.
They are not alone, however. Yellow is enjoying an isolated bath in the river when he senses that he's being watched. He draws back, then jumps his attacker - only to find a beautiful young woman in a strange looking flight suit. When he tries to question her, she breaks free and runs. He pursues her to her ship: an Inbit mech.
By the time he reaches the group, they have realized that the Inbit are coming. Stig prepares a trap using the frigates, depending on the Inbit's usual response to HBT. But with these new, human Inbit pilots, Yellow knows that Stig's plan is doomed to fail!
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
Invid patrols are growing heavier as the group nears Reflex Point. They find an abandoned base from the Second Robotech War, which gives Scott a plan to get past the enemy. They set to work repairing three frigates. Lunk, Annie, and Marlene transport their equipment in the ships, while the others draw the Invids' attention.
The plan works, but Rook is injured. They set down in the ruins of a beach resort so that she can recover while Lunk repairs her fighter. Meanwhile, the rest of the group enjoys a much-needed beachside rest.
They are not alone, however. Lancer is enjoying an isolated bath in the river when he senses that he's being watched. He draws back, then jumps his attacker - only to find a beautiful young woman in a strange looking flight suit. When he tries to question her, she breaks free and runs. He pursues her to her ship: an Invid Commander mech.
By the time he reaches the group, they have realized that the Invid are coming. Scott prepares a trap using the frigates, depending on the aliens' usual response to protoculture. But with these new, human Invid pilots, Lancer knows that the plan is doomed to fail!
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Ray and Houquet relax, and flirt/argue, on the beach. |
CHARACTERS:
This episode is basically an ensemble piece. Yellow gets slightly more attention than the others when he meets Sorji, the female Inbit pilot, but his screen time isn't much greater than Stig's, Ray's, or Houquet's. The usually stoic Stig gets a chance to laugh and to be awkwardly uncomfortable in the water, and it's genuinely nice to see the characters enjoying themselves.
Aisha is more fully a part of the group than in earlier episodes. She helps out with the frigates, and she enjoys herself at the beach. Once again, she ends up sensing the Inbit. Since this has happened in fully half of the episodes since her introduction, I can only assume that the group's fondness for her is making them willfully block out the obviousness of a connection between her and the aliens.
This episode introduces two more humanoid Inbit: one male, Batra; and one female, Sorji. It's clear enough that both characters will recur as Mospeada moves into its final stretch, with Sorji emotionally torn after her encounter with Yellow and Batra staring disapprovingly at her in their final scene.
No character material is much changed for Robotech, so this all works equally well in both versions.
Advantage: None.
NARRATION:
Robotech starts without narration, jumping straight into the Invid Regess presiding over the metamorphosis. The narrator comes in after that scene to cover the introduction of the regulars, but this and the mid-episode recap are unobtrusive.
I wish I could say the same for the end of the episode. As transformed Invid Sera struggles with her emotions, the voice over helpfully tells us that she's... um, struggling with her emotions. Thanks for the heads up, Mr. Narrator. Then we get an overly dramatic closing bit informing us that the success of Scott's group will determine the fate of the world - which feels a bit melodramatic on the heels of a mostly relaxed outing.
Advantage: Mospeada.
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The group discovers an abandoned base. Robotech identifies it as dating from the war with the Masters. |
CUTS AND ALTERATION:
The Invid Regess Names the New Humanoids as Royalty: Both versions open with the transformation of two aliens into humanoids. In Mospeada, the Inbit consciousness names the male Batra and the female Sorji, telling them that they are "proof of superior life." This isn't sufficient for Robotech. After naming them Corg and Sera, the Regess makes clear that they will be a prince and princess within the Invid society.
The Assignment: Batra and Sorji are sent to a fort, with religious terms invoked in their assignment ("May the holy place be protected by your power"). In Robotech, the religious wording is removed, and the assignment is made more specific: The Regess wants them to find Ariel (whom the protagonists know as Marlene) and find out why she has stopped communicating. Though I regret the loss of the religious overtones, I actually like the Robotech version of the assignment, as it links the metamorphosis to the regulars up front and creates some tension.
Scott's Group Is Relaxing: Stig and the Mospeada regulars are preparing to cross into North America, with Stig and Yellow both wary of Inbit patrols. In Robotech, the group is already relaxing and exploring the island, though Scott continues to keep an eye out for the enemy since they're nearing Reflex Point.
The Abandoned Base Is from the Second Robotech War: The abandoned naval base is now leftover from the war with the Masters. Because this is the same show, honest.
The Regess Orders Her Forces to Destroy Marlene: Mospeada has the approach of the transformed Inbit play out with no dialogue. As usual, Robotech adds voice over of the Invid Regess giving orders. She repeats her order to make contact with Ariel (Marlene) and discover why communication has failed. She then adds a new order - If they can't contact her and/or fix the malfunction, they are to destroy her.
Removal of Nudity: Sorji, the transformed female Inbit, sees Yellow bathing in a river. He notices that he's being watched and hides, jumping her when she gets near. At the Act break, her struggles result in both of them going over a small waterfall - with Yellow seen nude as they fall. Robotech removes the waterfall, which makes for an oddly abrupt Act break but also makes use of the commercial break to completely cut around the nudity.
Lancer Is Flirtatious: Yellow is startled that Sorji is a woman, but he focuses on questions such as where she came from and the strange suit she's wearing. Lancer has the same questions, but he pauses to flirt about how "beauty is (her) weapon."
Rand Teases Scott with a "Swimming Lesson": Ray pulls a reluctant Stig into the water, only to realize that life on Mars has left him with no idea how to swim or even enjoy being in water. Robotech develops this further, with Rand teasing Scott by giving him an impromptu swimming lesson, with rules such as not trying to breathe underwater and watching out for waves. The dubbed over dialogue suits the animation well, and the bit is actually amusing, improving an already pretty good scene.
The Regess Directs the Battle: Mospeada only shows the Inbit manuevers, with the audience trusted to be able to interpret why the aliens take each action during the battle. Robotech adds the Regess's voice over, so that it's the Regess who detects Scott's trap - which takes away from the idea that the transformed aliens are more capable than their more primitive counterparts.
"A Beautiful Man": After the humans' escape, Sorji stares after them, feeling conflicting emotions. She recalls her run-in with Yellow and sighs that he's "a beautiful man." Robotech drops this line in favor of narration telling us that she's experiencing emotions. This is definitely not an improvement.
Annie Is Excited about Finishing the Mission: The final scene has the group approaching the coast of North America. Mint exults at the prospect of meeting "Yankee boys." Since Robotech has pulled back on the boy-chasing side of the character, Annie is instead excited at the prospect that they'll soon finish the mission.
Advantage: None. A few minor improvements are canceled out by a few minor annoyances.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Both scores work, with the Robotech tracks well-chosen both for the light character interactions and for the big action set piece.
Advantage: None.
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Two Inbit prepare for a metamorphosis. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE - NONE:
I like the idea of having the Invid specifically search for Marlene. It adds a bit of extra tension and makes her feel more important in the Robotech episode. I also found the Rand/Scott interactions in Robotech to be more amusing than the Ray/Stig ones in Mospeada.
These tiny improvements are offset by tiny annoyances: too much added chatter because Robotech can never be silent; the Regess detailing every move of the battle so that we don't have to actually follow it too closely; and the narrator breaking the atmosphere of the final scene with the female Invid. It all ends up canceling out, leaving the two episodes more or less equal.
OTHER MUSINGS:
In either version, this is an engaging ensemble piece. Good action bits at the beginning and end bookend amusing character moments, and every regular gets at least something to do. After the cracks revealed in the previous episode, it's nice to have the next installment show the heroes working well together and having some fun in each other's company.
I have no doubt that the two transformed Inbit, Batra and Sorji, will play a major role in the series' final third. I also wonder how much longer the series can keep the group oblivious to Aisha being linked to the Inbit. By now, she's anticipated their appearances and/or movements often enough that at least a few of them should be starting to ask questions - doubly so now that they know there are human looking Inbit. This is something that I hope happens sooner than later.
Overall, a good episode - and one that's equally good in either version.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Previous Episode: The Ballad of Breaking Up/Separate Ways
Next Episode: White Knight Serenade/The Midnight Sun (not yet reviewed)
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