User blog:Angel Emfrbl/Blue Sub 6

Since I have nothing else to write blogs about I'll write about an anime I've watched once a week or something. Spoilers ahoy matey's leave the good ship "Ending Approaching" if you don't want to know more. So I didn't see the need to write another article on this, its more of a ramble and a nod to what I consider THE most beautiful moment in ANY anime. The anime Blue Submarine No. 6 claims the prize for this.

Youtube Videos
For those wanting to look this show up:

[Episode 1 part 1] [Episode 1 part 2] [Episode 1 part 3]

[Episode 2 part 1] [Episode 2 part 2] [Episode 2 part 3]

[Episode 3 part 1] [Episode 3 part 2] [Episode 3 part 3]

[Episode 4 part 1] [Episode 4 part 2] [Episode 4 part 3]

Its a great little mini-series and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Verg and Mutio
Verg is portrayed as a merciless monster often taking great pleasure in killing humans and like OP's Arlong cannot accept human existence. When we are first introduced to him, he just won a victory over humankind again and soon afterwards reports this to his "papa" (Zorndyke). To his dismay, Zorndyke wouldn't give Verg the signal to burn humanity to the ground and inside simply says that they will pray for his return. He sends the rest of the mini-series hunting Blue 6, the submarine that escaped him in episode 1 and the one he seems to consider as a flag ship to the Blue sub fleet.

I'd like to point back to the moment though he stops talking to his papa, he immediately turns to take out his rage on the female mermen around him, most flee except one known as "Mutio". Now at this point, Mutio, who we were introduced formally (but remains unnamed) is the only one to flee. Mutio is dealing with her own problems, just the previous episode she was sparred from death by a human (Hayami) and later after the fight finished went to rescue another of her sisters. Sadly, she had died in the attack, which had caused her t have a mental fit over coming THAT close to death and what she had been taught to fear sparing her life. Verg however is at the time simply looking to take out his rage on someone and he uses the fact she was touched by a human as a justification for abusing her of all her sisters.

This is significant because later when the human who spared her is left adrift at sea, she rescues him in return in what appears to be an act of favor. When they next appear their together on a floating piece of drift metal from the sub sub base, which Verg had destroyed in the previous episode (at this point we're on the third episode by now). She keeps her distance but still feeds Hayami. Eventually, she takes shelter from the sun under a shade he had constructed, he begins to ask questions. But their peace is disturbed when Mutio's sisters appear demanding blood. While Mutio pleads with them, it eventaully comes to the point where her pleas fall on death ears and they go to kill him. At this point the mutant Red Spot (a large mutant type called a "Musaca") comes in and Mutio's sisters sing then disappear. Red Spot speaks to the two while he carries them and Mutio sees first hand that Hayami isn't to be feared, in fact he asks many questions.

Sadly, Red Spot is killed when he attempts to return Hayami to his people, Blue 6 attacks and kills him. With his dying breathe, he tells Mutio that it no longer hurts, he has lived his life with no regrets and knew he was only a prototype and was never meant to leave more then a short lifespan. Mutio mourns his death and is unable to leave him, even though Verg is calling him.

Back at Verg's side (now episode 4), Mutio refuses to swear vengeance upon the humans nor continue to associate herself with humans ever again she and remains both silent and defiant. Verg really takes out her anger on him, because unknowns to him, Mutio has been through much already and her experience with Hayami has made her no longer see why humankind should be feared. In his rage at her, he simply banishes as punishment and leaves her to her sisters to deal with.

Well next time we get to see them both, Mutio is being held back by her sisters, unable to act while Verg attacks the Blue subs, primary after no.6. Unfortunately he falls prey to a trap and his ship is taken out.

And Now that Moment
Verg returns to his people and finds them mourning, fearing the worst he rushes over to find the one who has died is his papa. He cries out that his papa promised to teach him more words when his returned. He now looks to take out his pain and sorrow on someone, Hayami and a woman (Kino) he guesses who was responsible for his papa's death and runs other to take out his papa's killer in revenge. Unfortunately, Hayami at this point no longer wants to fight, he has spoken to Zorndyke and listened to what he had to say. Verg fights and beats him, but no matter what Hayami refuses to fight back and much more to his annoyance Hayami even mentions his papa by name. Hayami tells the rampaging mutant that they were told to try and talk to each other, Verg accuses him of lying.

What was so important about this moment is until now we presumed Verg was nothing short of a monster. We get his reasons for his actions, he just wanted to see his papa smile since humans had made him sad (they killed his real family in a racial purge which led Zorndyke to create the mutants in the first place). He lases out because he cannot accept that a human is anything less then what he believed in. Kino is left next to Hayami after she tried to fight and cries in fear. Verg takes a tear and tastes it, spitting it out. Most people say it is because he didn't see humanities sympathy, for me it was that he WANTED the humans to be different he wanted to continue viewing them as he had done until now. At this point all he wants is revenge and the fact the human responsible isn't even fighting back, thus giving him a reason to at least justify his views of humans, has gotten to him. In an end all statement Verg removes the device allowing him to communicate with humans and tosses it aside.

The viewer is suppose to connect with Verg at this point, perhaps feel sorry for him and this is when the most beautiful thing happens in any anime. Verg is in the swallow waters of the sea crying out, he can't get revenge for the one person who mattered in the world to him, his papa has died before fulfilling his promise... He lost his war against humanity just moments ago, his ship and possibly his crew are gone. He has at this point lost all reasons to live and the monster who we see as ruthless as they come throughout the series is crying like a baby. Verg's character is completely turned around, his world is upside down and yet amongst it all, he sees someone who he himself had misjudged waiting for him when he needs it himself. Just when it seems all is lost, he stops crying and opens his eyes to see Mutio; Mutio who he had abused for being touched by a human, Mutio who he had punished for being with a human, Mutio who he'd banished for not swearing to avenge Red Spot's death. That same Mutio had returned to his side once more; of ALL the people she had been the one who DIDN'T leave his side even now. At this point, he simply gives in and collapses in her arms while she drifts with him into the sea.

That to me is one of the most beautiful touches to any series. There were a lot of things that they could have done differently, but none would have had the same impact as that. Even if you don't like how the fight with Haymai and Verg went, or the talking done between Zorndyke and Hayami before that, that cannot be denied as one of the nicest touches ever done in any show. Even OP has nice touches, but its yet to compete with this moment. I've not known any other show who turned a character upside down even at their core level, their mentality and gotten away with it in the same way. Whenever I wish to justify anime, I point to Blue Sub 6 as one of the primary examples of what anime can be when it wants to be great. The show that introduced me to Anime was Beyblade, but its never been my favorite, the show I'm watching now OP is one of the best, but can't do the same as Blue Sub 6 does in 4 episodes. This is how powerful this scene is, from start to finish.

I actually don't care much for the humans in the show, Zorndyke himself though was driven by the death of his own family in genocide, is about it. The humans in the story are a little two cliched for my liking. In fact the whole thing was cliched from start to finish story-wise, yet all this can be ignored because like many animes while it did have a cliched moral ending, its been done in a way like few others. To make another comparison to another show, I've watched the ending of Escaflowne, which carried a similar message but fails to deliver it as anymore then "average" in comparison. The message of that (look away now spoiler haters) was something like "Nothing can compare to the significance of the feelings between two hearts". But it took 26 episodes and didn't pull any significant turn arounds while ending its show, nothing we weren't expecting (Verg's and Hayami's meeting wasn't what I expected) the show spent 26 episodes telling us Hitomi Kanzaki and Van Fanel were going to end up together in the end that was too damn obvious.

Some people have cribs with the ending being a let down, but I look at the symbolism shown in about 5 mins of anime that no other can compete with.

Final Note
I keep expecting OP to make a reference to this show sooner or later, unless one slipped by us already without us knowing. It was a cult classic in its day (1967). I know the storyline but if the live action movie goes ahead like they announced, I'll see it again. I want to compare the two versions... If only the manga could be found that would make 3 versions to compare with, oh wells.