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VOTOMS Phantom Arc Ep. 6: Infanti

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Summary

Gilgamesh and Balarant fleets face each other in orbit of Nulgerant. One of the Balarant officers suggests landing on the planet’s surface, but the fleet commander says he doesn’t want a repeat of what happened at Quent three decades earlier. Elsewhere, Peple Vartla receives a static-filled message from his father Vanilla. One of his sisters suggests using the equipment at the radio station to get better reception. Deep inside Nulgerant, Chirico and Shako speed through a mysterious tunnel of light. Shako is pleased to see that Juno is safe, and she hops onto the hand of his Berserga. They stop when they reach a large chamber, and Juno is surprised when she sees light from the surface. Chirico suggests that Shako take Juno to the surface, but Shako insists on staying with Chirico. Shako speaks briefly to Juno, and she begins climbing to the surface. The Berserga and Scopedog are prevented from proceeding farther by a force field, and only Chirico is allowed to pass on foot. Chirico is teleported away in a flash of light. In space, Montwells’ ship arrives at Nulgerant, but the Gilgamesh commander decides to ignore them, saying that the church’s influence has declined following the “Shimmering Sunstroke” incident. The Balarant commander also ignores Montwells as the ship approaches the planet. On the surface, Vanilla and the others sit down to eat and plan their next move. Juno spots them and speaks to them, but they can’t understand her. Vanilla thinks she’s a beggar and gives her two loaves of bread, but a Quentian server explains that she’s speaking on behalf of Shako. Vanilla asks for a translation, and the server tells him that Chirico is safe and they’re coming back with the baby. Vanilla sits Juno down at the table, and she tries to learn the word “thank you” from Zophie.

In another part of the city, the Quentian priest greets Montwells after his shuttle lands. One of Montwells’ men trips the priest so that Montwells can walk by first. Montwells walks up to Gomor Tower and proclaims that he seeks an audience with God, and the entrance begins to glow and transports him somewhere deep in the tower. Montwells says that he’s heard about God’s successor being born, and he would like to have the honor of raising the child. Montwells is then struck by energy and teleported to the chamber where the Child of God is inside a cocoon. Rochina watches from a nearby corner and wonders if Montwells wants to become the child’s guardian so that he can restore the power of the church. Wiseman speaks and says that he can’t make Montwells the guardian because he’s already picked one. Montwells asks who it is, and Wiseman says that to make a god who surpasses men, he needs a man who surpasses other men: Chirico. Montwells points out that it was Chirico who killed Wiseman and brought down the church. He says that he refuses to bow down to Chirico after all the bloody sacrifices he’s made, so he’ll get rid of the child. He pulls out a gun, but Chirico teleports in behind him and grabs it. Montwells breaks free and fires several shots, which ricochet around the room. The Child of God causes all the ricocheting bullets to hit Montwells, and his final shot bounces back and goes through his head, killing him. Wiseman then says he’s been waiting a long time to meet Chirico again. Chirico comments that he’s still alive, and Wiseman explains that his system and consciousness was teleported to Nulgerant just before Quent exploded. His system has been restoring itself for the last 30 years, and now he wants Chirico to raise the child as his successor. He says that the child will eventually rule the Astragius Galaxy, and Chirico comments that neither of them have changed. He agrees to raise the child, but not in the way that Wiseman wants. He starts to unplug Wiseman’s system, and Wiseman asks him to stop. The Erdspinnes materialize out of the walls and start firing at Chirico, but he fires his gun at the Erdspinnes’ cameras, hitting the pilots in their heads. He easily takes out all three and breaks through the cocoon to reach the baby. The goo from the cocoon surrounds Chirico and the baby and lifts them out of the chamber. Rochina teleports away just as the chamber starts to explode. On the surface, Vanilla and the others watch as Gomor Tower explodes. Coconna wonders what will happen to Chirico, but Vanilla has no doubt that he’ll make it through. Shako escapes from the tower, and the pod carrying Chirico and the baby shoots into space. Coconna comments that the destroyed remains of Gomor Tower look like a flower. Elsewhere, Chirico and the baby travel deep into space. Vanilla and Coconna’s children come to Nulgerant in a spaceship to pick everyone up. Coconna wonders if they’ll ever see Chirico again. Two men at a space station discuss the news about a ship picking up a man and baby traveling in green foam. Zophie returns to Sunsa, but now she has Juno with her.

Commentary

This OVA series serves as the conclusion to the saga of Chirico Cuvie, but honestly I’d have to say the ending is kind of disappointing. We end up with an exact repeat of the TV series’ climax: Chirico rejects Wiseman’s offer of power and unplugs his system. I don’t know why Wiseman expected anything else. Thirty years may have passed, but Chirico spent most of that time in cold sleep. From his perspective, it hasn’t been that long since his first encounter with Wiseman, so naturally his attitude now wouldn’t be any different. I was glad to see Montwells die, but his actions don’t make much sense. Brilliantly Shining Heresy establishes that the men of the Secret Society who were working for Wiseman were considered heretics cast out of the Church of Martial. But here Montwells casts the church as though it had always been a dutiful follower of Wiseman. Given that he seems to be half mad, it could just be that he’s pandering to accomplish exactly what Rochina assumes. It also seems like Takahashi was trying to cram too much of a story into just six episodes, given this rather abrupt conclusion. It was nice to see the first two episodes focus on Vanilla, Coconna, Gotho and Shako, but they pretty much take the backseat from episode 3 on. I guess this is a better ending for Chirico than Brilliantly Shining Heresy, which had him wandering alone after Fyana’s death. Now he has this child to raise, and maybe it’ll grow up as an abnormal survivor and blow up lots of stuff in an OVA like its foster father. Of course, this isn’t the last we’ll see of Chirico, since Phantom Arc is being followed by Chirico’s Return, an OVA set between Brilliantly Shining Heresy and this series. I also don’t understand the reasoning behind that backwards release schedule, but hey, more VOTOMS is more VOTOMS.

Overall Rating
3/5
Phantom Arc Info


Director:
Ryosuke Takahashi

Writer:
Fuyunori Gobu

Mechanical Designer:
Kunio Okawara

Character Designer:
Norio Shioyama

Musical Composer(s):
Hiroki Inui
Yasuaki Maejima

Format:
6 episodes

Video Release:
Japan 03.26.2010 – 10.27.2010
U.S. 07.23.2019

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