ReviewsVOTOMS

VOTOMS Ep. 33: Showdown

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Summary

Chirico fires his bazooka at Ypsilon, and in retaliation Ypsilon digs into the Scopedog II‘s shoulder with his claws. Fyana fires at the attacking Standing Tortoises to provide cover for Chirico. Chirico dodges the attacks of the Standing Tortoises and faces Ypsilon again. In Sunsa’s orbit, the Schmitel twins monitor Ypsilon’s condition. They tell Futtor that Ypsilon’s hatred of Chirico and desire to kill him has gone beyond emotion and is now cold-blooded logic. Futtor orders them to perform a full examination on Ypsilon once he returns. Ypsilon attacks Chirico, and Fyana blows off Ypsilon’s right arm. Chirico tells her to get to the control room because he plans to lure Ypsilon in front of one of the engine nozzles. Fyana enters the ship once more and fights off the attacking Standing Tortoises. On the ship’s surface, Chirico runs out of bazooka ammo and also loses his left arm. He uses his punch attack to fight the Standing Tortoises. Fyana destroys the remaining Standing Tortoises and crawls through a narrow corridor to reach the ship’s control room. She turns on the monitors and watches the battle on the ship’s hull. Ypsilon attacks Chirico and knocks him off the side of the ship, but Chirico quickly recovers and turns to face Ypsilon. He slows walks backwards until he reaches the end of the hull. He jumps off the ship and tells Fyana to ignite the engine, but she hesitates for a moment before firing. The ignited engines drive the ship into the ground and cause serious damage to Ypsilon’s Strike Dog. Futtor orders the AT team to retrieve Ypsilon and retreat. At the Balarant command satellite, senior officers discuss the situation on Sunsa. Zanjeny orders several ships to be disguised and sent into the Nonaggression Zone to monitor the situation and provoke the Teltain to attack. On the Teltain, the Schmitel twins tell Ypsilon that he’s going to need a silicone treatment to treat his damaged skin. He demands to know when he can fight, and they tell him his Strike Dog is being repaired. They tell him not to repeat his failure and bring further embarrassment to them.

Fyana examines the results of a medical diagnostic on Chirico and is amazed that he can heal so quickly. She sees that he is gone from the infirmary and finds him outside working on the thrusters. She tells him he needs to get sleep, but he insists he is fine and asks her to help him with his work. While working, a blast of steam knocks Chirico off a thruster, but his safety line catches and holds him several feet above the ground. He tells Fyana that they are on Sunsa and that the barren wasteland surrounding them was once a great city. He says that someone who knew about his past deliberately brought them to Sunsa. Fyana tells him to forget about his past, but she’s interrupted when Chirico spots an AT dropship approaching. A group of Standing Tortoise emerge from the ship, led by Ypsilon’s Strike Dog. Chirico and Fyana return to the ship and prepare for an assault. As the Standing Tortoises land on the hull, Chirico fires the powered up verniers to destroy them. In space, a group of Balarant ships approach the Teltain. An officer suggests that they retreat, but Futtor orders them to battle stations. He has the Teltain hide behind the fragments of a ruined space fleet before emerging and opening fire. The Balarant ships counterattack, and Futtor orders Ypsilon to return. Ypsilon ignores his orders and enters Space Battleship X. Chirico sets the ship to self-destruct and tells Fyana to get ready to abandon ship. As Ypsilon and his men explore the ship, Chirico and Fyana load two Scopedog IIs onto an AT truck. Ypsilon hurries out of the ship as it begins to explode. Futtor blames the damage to the ship on Ypsilon, but the Schmitel twins tell him it’s his own fault for allowing the Balarant to provoke him. Chirico drives out of the hangar and heads away from the ship. Fyana says that they’re finally alone, but Chirico points out several armed trucks approaching them from ahead.

Commentary

Chirico’s finally back in action and is as resourceful as ever. His plan to kill Ypsilon would’ve worked if Fyana hadn’t hesitated at the last second. However, Chirico manages to use the same trick again to destroy a bunch of Standing Tortoises. We get to see some nice ship-to-ship battles, which we’ve never seen in VOTOMS aside from the opening prologue. The political situation looks pretty serious with the Balarant violating the Nonaggression Zone. It probably won’t be too much longer before the Gilgamesh get involved too. Chirico’s past is connected to barren Sunsa, which makes you wonder if the Red Shoulders were responsible for all the destruction.

Overall Rating
4/5

Armored Trooper VOTOMS Info

Director:
Ryosuke Takahashi

Writer(s):
Ryosuke Takahashi
Soji Yoshikawa
Toshi Gobu
Jinzo Toriumi

Mechanical Designer:
Kunio Okawara

Character Designer:
Norio Shioyama

Musical Composer:
Hiroki Inui

Format:
52 episodes; 4 compilation OVAs

Airdates:
Japan 04.01.1983 – 03.23.1984

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