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VOTOMS Ep. 39: Perfect Soldier

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Summary

Rochina asks Chirico when the rematch with Ypsilon will occur, and Chirico says he’ll tell him in due time. Rochina wants to be sure nothing stops them this time because he’s been waiting to see their battle. Chirico asks Rochina if watching him and Ypsilon fight is amusing, but Rochina says that’s not the right word. Chirico doesn’t believe Rochina wants to watch them fight just for his own pleasure. On the Teltain, the Schmitel twins watch Ypsilon take a jijirium shower and note how calm he is. Fyana pleads with Rochina to not make Chirico and Ypsilon fight, but he says they have to. He tells her he doesn’t care about her feelings, and he says everything will be decided by the outcome of the next battle. Chirico works on his Scopedog II, and Fyana hugs him and says she’s scared. Chirico mentions what Ypsilon said about him and Fyana being two of a kind. He tells her he has to fight Ypsilon, but he’s not sure why. Against orders, Ypsilon steals an AT Landing Craft and heads for Sunsa. Futtor yells at the Schmitel twins for letting him escape, but they say Ypsilon can’t be stopped. They leave the ship in a small shuttle to watch the battle on Sunsa. On Melkia, Gilgamesh Chief of Staff Arus Karmeny briefs Battentain on the situation on Sunsa. He explains that the Balarant are there, led by Rochina. He also notes that the stolen Teltain is fighting the Balarant. Battentain is shocked that Rochina defected to the Balarant. Karmeny orders Battentain to dispatch a fleet to Sunsa to confront the Balarant and capture Rochina. Balarant technicians load Chirico’s Scopedog II onto a truck. Chirico descends from the Balarant ship in a hover platform, followed by Fyana and Rochina in a truck. Chirico takes control of the AT truck and leads them to an enormous crater created during the war.

Chirico takes off in his Scopedog II and tells Rochina not to have his ATs interfere during the battle. Rochina agrees, and Chirico climbs the rock face and descends into the crater. The Schmitel twins send a camera pod into the crater to watch the battle. Chirico approaches the AT dropship and is knocked away when it explodes. Ypsilon emerges from the flames firing his bazooka. Chirico quickly dodges and fires back. The two circle each other and trade shots. Chirico blows off the Strike Dog‘s right arm, but at the same time Ypsilon blows off the Scopedog II’s left arm. Fyana worries about Chirico, but Rochina says that Chirico is a Perfect Soldier. Fyana doesn’t believe that and says that Chirico doesn’t need jijirium, but Rochina counters that being a PS is about ability, not jijirium. Ypsilon fires several bazooka rounds at Chirico and sets off a large explosion. He moves closer to investigate, but Chirico emerges from the smoke and fires at Ypsilon, knocking him to the ground. Ypsilon stands up, but Chirico fires into the cockpit and mortally wounds Ypsilon. As he moves in closer, Fyana uses a Fatty to shoot at Chirico’s direction. She begs Chirico not to hurt Ypsilon and tells him he’s a PS. Chirico doesn’t believe it and says he can fight Ypsilon only because of his special mission disk. Fyana says that even with a disk no human has the reflexes to match a PS. Chirico ejects the mission disk from the drive and sees that its burnt out. Rochina thinks that right now as he is Chirico won’t believe the truth. Chirico pulls Ypsilon out of the Strike Dog, and Ypsilon says Chirico is a PS and that they really are the same. He tells Chirico to accept the truth because his pride won’t allow him to die at the hands of a normal man. Ypsilon dies, and Fyana believes that in the end it may have been she who killed him. The Balarant fleet returns to space, and Chirico launches in a small shuttle. He heads for the planet Quent, where Rochina promises that he will find proof that he is a PS.

Commentary

The Sunsa arc ends with the final showdown between Chirico and Ypsilon, along with the revelation that Chirico is a Perfect Soldier. The news that Chirico is a PS isn’t exactly a shocker. Throughout the whole series, he’s been able to take on any opponent and come out on top. He’s fought against Fyana and Ypsilon, the only two Perfect Soldiers. He’s demonstrated an inhuman ability to heal faster than a normal human. The real question is, how can Chirico be a natural Perfect Soldier without cybernetic enhancements and jijirium? Rochina claims that the answers lie on Quent, so he obviously knows much more than he’s letting on. Once again, the cast is separated with Chirico heading out on a solo journey to Quent to find his destiny.

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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