Here's a collection of a bunch of short explanations and observations that I found interesting enough to put on my page, but not long or exciting enough to give them their own full page. Someday I might expand on some of these, but for now they are collected here.
The importance of what Gamlin did in episode 28
In my opinion, this is one of the most important moments in the show for Basara.
This is the only the second time within 28 episodes, which span across many months in-universe, that Basara started to lose passion and became uncertain of himself. It’s also the first time we see him being this deeply affected by it. Once again like with all distinctly upsetting moments for Basara, the way his eyes are drawn and animated during the scenes in this episode makes his inner pain and frustration abundantly clear. He lost inspiration and didn’t feel connected with his songs at the start of the episode. He found Sivil and thought he could wake her up with his songs, but she didn’t budge. She didn’t react at all. Adding that to his already fading passion, he fell deeper into darkness. When Gabil and Grabil attacked, Basara has already been so shaken that his singing and piloting were at a much lower level than usually, and he kept being beaten down, while constantly repeating for the Protodeviln to listen to his song in act of utter desperation, and most likely in an attempt to pump himself up. As that didn’t work, he caved under the pressure of frustration and did the unthinkable; he fired the missiles. That was the lowest point for Basara in this entire series. He gave up. But then, where should the sudden and very powerful encouragement come from, if not the most unlikely source; Gamlin. Gamlin who used to be furious, even hateful towards Basara Gamlin who used to be clear about his dislike for Basara’s music Gamlin who so obviously did NOT understand Basara Except now he did. Because just like in episode 3, Basara didn’t reach his intended audience, but he did reach SOMEONE. His music moved someone who used to be so determined not to move. And that’s why it was Gamlin’s encouragement that fired Basara back up and reminded him what it was that he had to do, and that’s why Basara expressed his gratitude at the end of this episode the way he did. This high five is one of the most openly expressed gestures of affection that Basara does in this entire series. This is him acknowledging that Gamlin understands him. Gamlin, not Mylene, was the first person to truly understand. |
FOReSHADOWING IN EPISODE 1
In the very first episode, Basara's ability to awaken those who lost their spiritia is clearly foreshadowed in one scene;
At the end of the episode, Gamlin approaches the de-spiritialized Docker and calls to get his attention. Docker seems to respond, moving his head slightly towards Gamlin, but on the next screen we see that it clearly wasn't Gamlin that Docker was looking towards, but Basara, who was singing at the time. As early as in episode 1, we see the protodeviln victims react to Basara's song.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT BASARA REMEMBERED WHEN HE CRIED
I think the two moments Basara remembers right before he cries are very interesting and meaningful and I wanted to just quickly explain why, in case anyone didn't catch on to that.
The first memory, of Gigil in a ball of light, is the moment Basara hears Gigil sing. That was the moment Basara most likely truly realized what he was looking for - or at least finally got an answer to a question he's been shouting into the galaxy for a long time. He doesn’t want the protodeviln to just listen to his songs - he wants them to understand them. He wants them to understand his message of love and longing and happiness. And Gigil got it. Gigil understood, and utilized it, and Basara was overjoyed in that moment, because that was it, that was the epiphany. The second memory, of monstrous Gigil looking down, is the moment Gigil knew he will die. It’s a silent response to Basara yelling at him to stop doing what he was doing, because Basara realized what will happen if Gigil goes on. That was Gigil telling Basara that he accepts he’s going to die, while Basara was yelling and practically begging for him to live. Basara remembered the moment of unparalleled victory, which was promptly followed by a moment of devastating loss. It's hard to truly feel accomplished about achieving something you were chasing after for god knows how long, only for it to instantly be followed up by the death of a friend. The friendship between Gigil and Basara was definitely one of the highlights of this show for me because Basara was truly shining in it, taken out of his everyday life and experiencing something different, but also something that completely matched his philosophy of there being no enemies. Seeing Basara break his neutral exterior is always very intriguing for me but I have honestly never even considered a thought that we might see him cry. That single tear really put an emphasis on a friendship that never got a chance to really take off. |
GESUNDHEIT!
In episode 14 there’s a scene of Milia and her adviser talking about Basara. That scene is then instantly followed by one of Basara yelping after he spilled coffee and burned his hand.
It might appear as if there's no rhyme or reason to this scene, since the title screen comes immediately after, and then we return to the main plot.
It might appear as if there's no rhyme or reason to this scene, since the title screen comes immediately after, and then we return to the main plot.
We never really see WHY he spilled his coffee, so the scene might be a bit confusing as to why it's even there, but I am here to explain it with two short words: He sneezed.
In Japan, they believe that if people are talking about you, you will sneeze, and having a cutaway to a character sneezing when someone else is talking about them is a joke that I've noticed in several other anime, but it took me a while to notice it here, because the actual sneeze was not shown - however it's consequences are clear. Basara, saviour of the universe, sneezes and spills hot coffee on his hand.
In Japan, they believe that if people are talking about you, you will sneeze, and having a cutaway to a character sneezing when someone else is talking about them is a joke that I've noticed in several other anime, but it took me a while to notice it here, because the actual sneeze was not shown - however it's consequences are clear. Basara, saviour of the universe, sneezes and spills hot coffee on his hand.