#cyros

The opening

So... I kinda really dig the opening song? Like I was not that into it at first but somehow it just grows on me with each time I watch/ rewatch an episode and now I’m like yeah, it’s pretty good, it matches with the shots and scenery and I just want to listen to it one more time. And oh, my favourite shot is of course this one :D 

One of those rare moments where bright, multi-colored clothes work so well and do not end up looking flat or just plain weird (you only have to recall the disastrous ending of the previous cour). And this is to Kato Kotono-sensei’s credits of course (this shot is a chapter cover), but the Blue Mosque architecture twin is a welcome addition as the backdrop of this splendid shot.

In no way is Altair’s second opening a marvelous feat of animation but well, it’s a marked improvement from the first one too. So I’ll take it  

The plus++

Niki:

The anime’s rendition of Niki is kept faithful to the source material, including her strong will, her vibrant demeanor, her youthful tenacity and last but not least, her violent outbursts and accompanied tonfa skills. Childish though she may seem at times, Niki is clearly shown as a young woman who stands up for herself and is fully aware of what kind of life she deserves to have, given her capabilities.

The animation for her tonfa-wielding scene is pretty awesome and smoothly done. That guy certainly got a good beating.

And I love the shots with Niki’s hair down.

I’m glad the anime kept Niki’s fondness for stretching exercises.

The meeting 

It was less elaborate than the manga version but luckily, the excitement didn’t dwindle too much. Mah-kun’s chain still made an appearance, Niki got to wield her tonfa and prove her determination in making something of herself, regardless of what Argyros people have to say. 

The cross-dressing

My heart could burst with anticipation at this scene - I just love this part so much! I can’t quite explain my fondness for this particular scene as well as other cross-dressing scenes in Altair. For me, it’s incredibly empowering to see males cross-dressing as females for a serious purpose and not as side gags or proof of the show’s or the characters’ perception of femininity as inferior to masculinity. Admittedly, Mah-kun’s disguise as Suleyman’s blushing new wife and Cyros’s cousin-of-Miranda-Lotto disguise were played for laugh but I would argue that the hilarity of the disguise and circumstances do not distract (at least for me) from the goal at hand. In Altair, it’s clear that donning on a female disguise is positively portrayed as a good way to get things done and run smoothly - from infiltrating the Araba’s camp, getting inside Buchak without notice to opening up a stall in Argyros. 

Of course, there is the issue of a privileged group (males) making use of an underprivileged group’s (females’) advantage, which is admittedly a hard trap to avoid even with the incredibly positive and empowering depiction of women in both the manga and anime versions of Altair, but I’d like to say that all of the cross-dressing so far has been done with respect towards notions of femininity and without attaching perceived inferiority to them. Cyros may be annoyed at having to disguise as women but merely as a sign of his own discomfort at being something he’s not, not because being women is stupid or demeaning. And I guess there’s not much need to talk about Abiriga’s affinity for this whole lark.

I suppose my understanding of cross-dressing in general and in anime is still very limited to Shakespeare’s plays and the few manga and anime I’ve read/watched that have cross-dressing characters so a lot of the more nuanced and complex implications might have escaped my notice. But I’d just like to say that (mildly spoilery) that so far, none of the female characters in Altair have had to resort to disguise as males to get what they want and do what they need to do. This is absolutely great to me because I’m just plain tired and bored with the whole trope of females having to pretend to be males in order to be seen as powerful and in control of the situation. 

Abiriga the gentleman:

This is just a small scene and it doesn’t really matter much in the grand scheme of things but it’s a nice human touch nonetheless. Niki was discussing with the trio about the snag with finding enough straw to line the boxes for the Venedik crystals. Abiriga poured tea (or a beverage of sorts) supposedly to everyone, but the on-screen moment showed him pouring specifically for Niki. I’m just glad it’s not Niki who serves the drink to others but Abiriga. For some strange reason, I find it incredibly sweet and genteel of Abiriga.

I like seeing Abiriga taking care of people - he’s so capable in many ways.

The scene in question from the manga.

The minus- -

Introduction of the setting

The decision to cut straight into the conversation between Mah-kun and Ramonov was rather ill-advised because it leaves out all the bustling trading atmosphere that gives Argyros its distinct flavour. We don’t get to see bazaars and scenes of thronging crowds (that are not armies fighting) in Altair that often. And for the rest of the episode, we don’t get to see much of Argyros itself that are not blurry stills, so I think this is such a missed opportunity. This is not to mention that dropping the audience into a new setting like Argyros without much of a preamble or explanation later as to why Mahmut would choose to go to Argyros of all places is quite remiss on the anime’s part as well.

To give y’all a sense/ reminder of what and why Argyros, of all places...

Just a short mention of the fact that Argyros is only 4 hours away from Liman harbour would have perfectly explained why Mahmut chose to come here first; after all as we would find out later, he came with tens of camel loads of jewelry from Turkey and it would not do to spend too much time on the sea with that much precious cargo aboard. And if you recall the scene of Beyazit’s childhood with the kamakuri and his sark yay from Cinili, and keep in mind Mah-kun’s desire to trade with Eastern Rumeliana and in particular, Cinili, it makes perfect sense to start somewhere close to Liman.

Argyros is Moscow but situated in Istanbul’s strategically significant location, liberally flavoured with Central and East Asian elements. 

#if you can fall in love with a city from a mere manga page

The thronging crowds that were sorely lacking in the anime. This certainly explains Mah-kun’s initial frustration at not having the permit to do trade here.

And of course it is always nice to see Mah-kun’s curiosity getting the better of him and pretty much just turning him into a country bumpkin again :-P

Last but not least, this splendid drawing of Argyros by night.

The grand scheme unfolding:

While Mah-kun and company’s meeting with the old man from Cinili, Master Wang, followed the manga material for the most part, with small reductions here and there, the rest of the episode from the snag with the lining straw to the ensuing conflict over the Salos/Tharros grain between Venedik and Balt-Rhein was animated with great rush, at the cost of much excitement loss in the form of the actual naval battle between Venedik and Balt-Rhein. For an episode that relies heavily on exposition and dialogues, a couple of minutes devoted to an action scene would have been much appreciated. And it was a fun battle too, with Captain Brega’s skillful manipulation of the winds to completely crush the Balt-Rhein’s ships.

This is literally the only shot we’ve shown of the actual scuffle. The anime then quickly cut to announcing the result of this skirmish and cut to Mah-kun and company receiving the news with joy and satisfaction. Though I suppose, at least they managed to show the discord among the different groups of the navy, which will lay the groundwork for future rifts, to keep things just mildly spoilery.

The bits that were left out

Niki’s wilder side

Come on, she even impressed Abiriga. That is literally a feat, yeah? 

And look at how many people were needed to restrain her afterwards.

This heart-breaking scene was included in the anime but it lacked the poignancy present in the source material.

And the depth of her anguish and fury is much more palpable in the manga, while the anime chose to portray as a mild form of despair, which somewhat took away the compelling force of Niki’s situation. 

Niki’s initial rejection of Mah-kun’s offer

I love that Niki didn’t immediately join Mah-kun so easily. 

Mah-kun’s adorable surprised face LOL.

On Turkish jewels:

I particularly enjoy Mah-kun’s elaboration on the sale of Turkish jewels, which greatly serves as a hint of the influence and authority that Mah-kun now holds, especially after his successful handling of the Civil War and in his position as the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

LOL, leaving it up to Cyros to point out the unfair competition. Mah-kun can be so sly - not much unlike his pasha rival. Love that “duh~!” expression of his at the bottom panel.

Cyros’ confrontation with Abiriga:

I think the pages speak for themselves without much of a commentary on my part. Just one thing though, Cyros is such a sweetheart.

Talking about interesting dynamics and motives.

I really wish this display of Cyros’ caution and mistrust of Abiriga was not taken out and merely replaced with the curt single-question of “how can you be so chilled about Venedik being taken for a ride” at the end of the episode. On a lesser note, I think it’s sweet to see Abiriga’s concern for Cecilia as well - who he probably considered as a mother figure in the place of those who sold him into slavery.

The naval battle:

It will be too long to post the entirety of the battle here so I picked the highlight - I think it would have been amazing if this battle had not been so redacted. Basically the Balt-Rhein wanted to crash straight at the front of Venedik’s ships to bring the battle to a melee but uhm, they definitely didn’t think like experienced seamen and of course could have achieved no other result but defeat  It was a short and sweet victory for Captain Brega, all to the genius of Kato Kotono-sensei.

The conclusion

I’m still not sure if I really like Abiriga’s response to Cyros’ question about his decision to let things unfold in an unfavourable manner for Venedik (which as I said above, is also not enough of a reaction from Cyros’ part himself). Such an answer lacks clarity in terms of his motive and mission given by Venedik, which, according to the manga, is to ascertain the capabilities of the newly-reinstated pasha Mahmut, who managed to manipulate the actions of both the Fox of Centro and Prime Minister Louis from the comfort of his chair.

To make things even more aggravating, Cyros’ comment “Well, that’s good” bewilders me even more. I can’t make heads or tails of it.

On a side note, I love how serene Mah-kun looks here. 

But then I suppose to say that Venedicians can appreciate a game well played even when they were the losers is not too hard to believe. If one views external affairs heavily in terms of commerce and business, then one should be able to accept losses from time to time and quickly adapt to the new situation. 

Last words before I get to move on to episode 15 - I think the Argyros material is rich in information and dialogues but also very dynamic as it involves many parties. However the full potential of this material was not fully harnessed and instead of a BAMF episode in which the audience is absolutely blown away by the scale and magnitude of events that happened because of Mah-mut’s few manipulations from so far away, we end up with a rushed, rushed account sorely lacking in imagination and investment of efforts.