Gate – 04
A bath every day…
Episode four of Gate takes a break from the action.
The Magician’s Apprentice
She’s a fast learner.
No invading armies or fire-breathing dragons this time. Gate instead focuses on the refugees as they get used to life in the JSDF base. So far, I have to say that I am really impressed by Lelei’s behavior. After getting abruptly thrust into a situation that would understandably intimidate most others, she instead takes the initiative to facilitate interactions between the people of both worlds. Like Itami, she keeps a level head and makes decisions with the well-being of the refugee group in mind. First, she starts to learn the Japanese language. This is something that will surely become crucial in the near future, as the language barrier is the biggest obstacle standing between the Japanese soldiers and the people of the other world. Lelei even goes the extra mile and imitates some Japanese culture she observes, such as saying itadakimasu before a meal. This starts to address the cultural exchange aspect of the show, which I hope to see more of instead of the political bullshit that’s happening on our side of the gate. Then, the sorceress in training goes out and surveys the land surrounding the JSDF base (fully equipped in hazmat gear to hilarious effect). Which really impresses me that such a young girl is doing so much to look out for her group when none of the others seem to be doing anything in that way. I mean, she even comes up with a scheme to sell the scales of the fallen imperial dragons so that the refugees can properly pay for their “stay” with the JSDF. This smart young lady will no doubt become a power player in brokering a relationship between the two worlds.
Delusions and Denial
Siesta time~
On the other hand, we have Chuka, the elf. From the flashback to the day when the fire dragon attacked her village, she appears to be pampered and protected. It’s strange that she would be taking a nap in the middle of the day instead of doing something for a living, especially considering the kind of world that she lives in. Perhaps she is of some sort of noble birth? Anyway, I don’t have a particularly good impression of the elf girl from her stay with the JSDF so far. It’s understandable that she’s in shock and going through a hard time thanks to the destruction of her village and the death of her father (which she is in denial of). But the human villagers have been through just as much as she has, and we don’t see any of them in such a despondent and delusional state. The girl is literally wasting valuable resources because she is convinced that her father is still with her. Whatever happened to the stereotype of elves being wise? Oh, and speaking of elf stereotypes, I recently found out that she’s actually 165 years old. It’s fine and dandy that she only appears to be ~16 years old since that’s in line with the whole elf aging thing, but shouldn’t she be a lot more mature thanks to having lived for so long compared to, say, Lelei? I know it’s harsh to say this, but Chuka really needs to pull herself together and face reality. Otherwise, she just comes across as the weakest link beside a resourceful and intelligent loli sorceress, a goth loli apostle of death, and a goofy but savvy JSDF officer.
Extras
Trouble is brewing as Itami and co. head to town to sell the dragon scales as per Lelei’s suggestion. We see that the emperor’s daughter is heading that way as well, with her “order” in tow. And the next episode preview suggests a less than diplomatic meeting between the two groups, in contrast to the peaceful trading experience that Itami was hoping for. More significantly, we also learn that the one slightly more intelligent general from the allied nations did survive his charge on Arnus Hill (despite being blown up), and is now furious at the emperor’s betrayal. Perhaps this hints at an uprising against the empire to come? I’m certainly not opposed to that.
What will Piña do?
About Sumairii
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I’m beginning to think the three fantasy ladies of this show are serving duty as more than just characters. With Rory’s religious connotations, we might have the spirit of the land. With Lelei we get the brains of the outfit. With Chuka, we see something broken that we very much want to see fixed; with her sleepy nobility being a clue?
But, I love episodes like this. Sure we could have had a bitchin’ elf maiden riding a dragon storming castles, Lelei throwing down the lightning, and Rory being the best murder machine in the business. But we need to see what make’s em tick. Then the badassery!
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Umm, you’re being kind of hard on Chuka, aren’t you? A girl being pampered and protected by her dad is not a bad thing is it? And even at 165, who knows if that’s even an adult in elven culture?
And why is it strange to take a nap in the middle of the day? I do it a lot. Maybe she’s sick, tired, was working the night shift, was taking some time off, was on her time-of-the-month, had just eaten a large meal, there are simply countless reasons more than she’s “noble”.
Also, if I’m not mistaken, when the troops came upon the dragon destroying the village, they were just about to find a place to camp for the day, indicating that it was the end of the day. So, shouldn’t she have been resting?
Also, as to her attitude, well cut her some slack. It was only a few days ago that she lost her only family and everyone she ever knew over more than a century, in a single moment. That’s a pretty hard thing to deal with. And then to be trust into a bunch of strangers, that are pretty much aliens to you, while you’re dealing with all that grief? That would be a hard blow for anyone. Also, considering the chief’s response to taking in an elf, and how the two villages stayed separate, it could be that the elves and humans stay mostly to themselves. For her to suddenly be among them, with not one of her kind around, would be pretty weird and awkward. Like being a single female in a group of guys you know nothing about, you feel secluded and on your own.
Anyway, my defense of Chuka done, I liked this episode and I can’t wait to see with Peina’s response to meeting the JSDF will be. It’s amazing what Japan has been able to accomplish in such a small amount of time. To set up a permanent base so quickly, and they must have had linguists working around the clock for them to have studied the language enough that they could create a phrasebook for it. And a language that has not basis in any of our own? And only in a few months? That took nothing short of a miracle. I like that our main character continues to stay on task, and that our three females aren’t there just be a harem. I have little patience for harems and would rather see the politics and social aspects instead. It will be interesting to see the continued interactions between them all.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
First of all, I explicitly state that I am indeed being harsh with Chuka. That said, I don’t really understand the argument that 165 years old not being an adult in elf culture justifies her being immature. Even if she looks young and someone continues to call her his kid (the latter is true regardless for humans), she has lived for 165 years. Typically, living long is how one gains experience and wisdom.
As for my guess that she is privileged, I would think that in the kinds of society on her side of the gate, most people would be out and about doing something at that time of day. Instead, Chuka was at home napping in the afternoon. As you say, one can always argue that there are many explanations for her lack of work. But the most obvious one to me is that she simply does not do anything for a living and depends on her father. Of course, this is only conjecture on my part.
You aren’t mistaken about Itami’s squad coming across the dragon at what appears to be dusk. But you forget about the very scene in which Chuka was napping and her father came rushing to find her, where it is clearly depicted as afternoon. The two different times of day seem to imply that the dragon attacked all afternoon into the evening. Or perhaps the smoke from the burning village blocked out the sun. Or this might just be cinematography painting a convenient time of day to dramatize the flames.
As I had said in the post, I understand that Chuka is going through a lot with the destruction of her family and home, and is being thrust in the midst of unknown peoples. But as I also observed, the same is true for all the other refugees, and none of them are behaving as despondently as someone so much older than they are. Though I admit this might not be surprising for the very young children, as they might not fully understand what is going on.
You do bring up a good point that as an elf, Chuka may feel more uncomfortable among humans than the human villagers. But her attitude seemed to be more brooding over her father than being weirded out by the people with short ears. She certainly didn’t seem to have a problem touching a human child in the bath. Anyway, the way she started to latch onto Itami (and his squad) as her savior only made me further suspect that she was dependent on her father and is now looking for a replacement.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I must defend the elves, it is in my nature. 😉
However, I’m just thinking that I didn’t really find her immature much at all, especially if she was very close to her father, which many a daughter (including myself) are.
Sure, she will require time to get over her grief, that’s a given, and get used to this new environment. But I don’t think that constitutes her as being immature, just because she didn’t get over it as fast as others.
Also, as for age and maturity, that’s a strange thing to deal with with elves. I mean, Legolas for example, was centuries old, and he didn’t act as if he was some wise ancient sage for having lived so long and supposedly seen, so many things. He still acted, like a 20-something human. So, that’s neither here nor there.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I understand, the need to defend elves. When I was playing Dungeons and Dragons quite a bit, I always defended the gnomes. Now it’s LOLi. Things just don’t change.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I thought the amount of brooding that Chuka did was ok. It wasn’t like she was completely despondent and unresponsive. It was more that she was not really volunteering to do anything, and was trying to reserve resources for her father, due to an inability to accept that he was not going to be there. It’s also possible that there’s a culture-clash reason for her to do so. It’s not like the other refugees know a whole lot about elves.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I want to stress that I don’t hate Chuka. I just think she has plenty of room to grow, and needs to do that sooner than later to remain relevant. Which is honestly kind of a given, considering she is a main character.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Unsurprisingly, the People’s Republic of China potentially has evil designs on the Gate and its fantasy world too. (>__>”)