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Argentosoma Volume 5: Our
Memories (DVD)
Things getting interesting enough for you? Ryu’s traumas are bubbling to the surface – will this allow him to heal into his new persona or does this mean that he cannot be either person anymore?
Episode 19: Crimes and Punishments
With the discovery of Frank’s sentience, as well as the discovery that the SARGs were built from alien corpses instead of reverse engineered from technology has left a bad taste in the pilots mouths, especially Sue who continues to express a fear of using a SARG ever again. Ryu continues to suffer from constant nightmares, especially ones where his past is perverted into beliefs that Maki didn’t love him at all. Making things more confusing is the burgeoning relationship with the healing Guenevere who is pleasantly surprised by Ryu’s new actions towards her and has made her feelings for Ryu known. Despite this pleasantness, Ryu is having trouble differentiating between Hattie and Maki in his mind; especially whenever Hattie is speaking to Frank now that she is trying to teach Frank how to speak.
On the main plot, Sue and Dan have been ordered to retrieve a piece of a defeated alien that was picked up by farmers underneath a battle zone. Upon arrival at the site, the home owner had been murdered and Sue and Dan were fired upon by a sniper. Although they discovered the item that they were going to recover, due to the intense sniper fire, they were forced to abandon the site without the alien piece. Although the piece was not recovered, Sue noticed that the piece might not have been alien in origin because of it’s resemblance to a ring including writing and a date on the inside perimeter of the ring. Just to make sure that everything couldn’t get any more hectic, another alien arrives and the entire FUNERAL team is dispatched.
Episode 20: Punishments and Awakening
So much going on in this episode, it’s easy to get lost. Upon arrival at the forward base, the FUNERAL team with Frank is not sent out to engage the alien but instead watch as a new alien fighting team is activated – complete with the black SARGs that attacked Ryu and Frank earlier. With the revelation of the new SARGs, Ryu realizes that his spying was so competition to FUNERAL could be created and that his revenge was merely used to keep him pliable towards the needs of the long-haired man. These new SARGs ruthlessly attack the alien, blowing off all of its limbs until the alien activates its motor which allows it to fly many times faster than the SARG units and move unfettered towards the Pilgrimage Point. At this point, Frank is dispatched to fight the invader and is dragged all the way to the Pilgrimage Point before defeating the alien. During the battle between Frank and the alien, Ryu kidnaps Hattie and also reveals his true identity to all FUNERAL members present. Flying after Frank in the Pilgrimage Point, Hattie and Ryu witness the destruction of the alien and then the subsequent dissolving of Frank’s left arm to reveal a giant ring exactly like the one that Dan and Sue saw on their last sortie.
When Hattie asks Frank if is alright, Frank reveals himself to be Yuri Leonov (a Russian cosmonaut that served on the spaceship Odysseus… one of the fabled spaceships that Rick and Takuto spoke fondly of).
Episode 21: Awakening and the Truth
The first half of the episode is a retelling of Yuri Leonov’s last flight – a married man working in the UN flight program who leaves his wife for another mission only to be unintentionally sacrificed for science when his flight was sent to investigate a gravitational anomaly. He claims that his last memory was of seeing the anomaly up-close before returning to Earth in the form of the alien invaders. The flashback includes some other interesting developments – the long-haired man who turned Ryu into a spy was Yuri’s mission commander on Earth named Colonel David Lawrence who also was a close friend of Yuri (and was coincidentally against using Yuri’s mission to investigate the anomaly).
The second half of the episode provides that massive surge of energy that Argentosoma has become well known for. With the revealing of the true nature of the invaders and Frank, the military decides to let the latest surge of aliens reach the Pilgrimage Point and then annihilate the point with thermonuclear devices. But before that, Yuri reveals that the point is actually his home and wants to see his wife, only to find David Lawrence there. David reveals that Yuri’s wife was actually killed by the invaders during the initial attacks, which has the effect of reducing Yuri to tears.
Episode 22: Truth and Destruction
The final episode on disc 5 continues the tradition of drilling home the massive plot twists.
After returning back to base with a comatose Yuri, the FUNERAL base is seized by the new invader fighting group (the ones piloting the newer SARGs) and Commander Ines is removed, but not before the other traitor is revealed (don’t worry, I won’t reveal it… it’s just too damn good). With the capture of the FUNERAL personnel, the high end staff members are being transported to another base for interrogation; but the group discusses the known facts and are able to trace the extent of influence that this new group has had, running back to their interference with the original creation of Frank at the research facility. Thankfully, David Lawrence shows up in a SARG unit to force down the transport, but his news isn’t good. David tells the FUNERAL staff that another invader is approaching Earth… one that’s over 8,000 km long and possesses enough mass and magnetic forces to destroy the planet.
With another strong ending to a disc, I can’t wait for disc 6 to be released in December. Absolutely great series!
- Tazman
(November 9, 2003)
"Man, I'm torn between my love of the gloops and my love of killing… Ok, let's grease 'em."
