GARGANTIA #12 - - Watch & Learn

| Sunday, July 7, 2013



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GARGANTIA #12 - - Watch & Learn



+500 XP to YotaruVegeta for calling the twist about Kugel.

Beyond the initial shock, it’s actually a rather heady twist. The
implication is that Striker’s “attitude motivator,” or whatever it’s called, has
essentially been re-animating Kugel’s corpse like a frog stuck up with
electrodes. At first, it may have seemed like a tactical mistake for Ledo to
step out of his mech and show these people that he was actually a human being
instead of, say, a mech god. He likely would’ve encountered less resistance during
his crusade against the Hideauze, wouldn’t he?

Now, it’s clear that Ledo’s decision saved both his corporeal and spiritual
life. There’s a pretty direct metaphor here about how emerging from Chamber
coincided with Ledo starting to make his own choices. The fact that this cult-leader
persona seems to be the warped creation of that “attitude motivator,” and that it
leads to Kugel’s hideous decay, is a rather extreme illustration of what would happen to Ledo if he didn't start thinking for himself. Push that metaphor on to the
cultists themselves, who aren’t thinking either, and a larger satirical point for
this series comes into focus.

== TEASER ==

(Also, I got to say - - the fake-out about Amy’s little brother
getting dumped in the sea was a heart-wrencher. I had to pause and logically
take myself through the steps of realizing it was an innocent who resembled
the kid, not the kid himself
).

Hard to believe we’re on the penultimate episode here. The show doesn’t
have actually have many loose ends left to tie up, but I’m unsure if it’ll be
able to tie them up satisfyingly. Ledo’s assorted visions of Amy brings up a
common problem for stories of starcrossed lovers. By nature of the plot, they
have to be separated from most of the running time - - but the longer they’re
apart, the more we lose sight of their connection as an audience.

Will their
(presumable?) consummation next episode seem like it was earned?

Watch this episode, “Moment
of Decision" here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the
previous episode here.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk







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