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A collection of thoughts before watching the 5th episode

[or a jumbled mix of rants about the anime so far, the 4th episode and Lyr Esnaf]

Once again, I was not in time to put together these thoughts much, much earlier to the real-time showing of the 5th episode, even though there was a pretty big break of 2 weeks in between the 4th and 5th episode. As usual, life, a regular job and a common cold get in the way. And more importantly, procrastination, the bane of my existence.

Note #1: Mild spoilers here and there of the manga (most of them are more or less vague, except for the Oasis chapters in Volume 2).

Note #2: Why am I still not done with this post???? *multiple headslam* (dated 21.08.2017)

Note #3: Episode 6th is like early morning tomorrow. F. F. F. (25.08.2017)

So, after rewatching the 4th episode, I was struck by several realizations, as well as some observations.

I’ll start with my realizations first, for they prompt the subsequent observations. For such a niche historical fiction series like Shoukoku no Altair (Altair, for short), fans are few and precious but are often of the extremely devoted variety. Which is fair, since Altair is so well-written, and has such fascinating, coherent and well-developed plot that plays out so beautifully against the backdrop of engaging and concrete world-building. With such a charged group of fans, it’s easy to fall into the all-too-familiar tendency of judging the anime adaptation by its loyalty to the original material at the cost of judging the adaptation on its own merits.

This is not to say that I am better than anyone. I also have the same tendency when I watch adaptations of insanely well-thought out series. I’m disappointed with several of the changes to the manga material in the Altair anime. Notably, I’ve made my opinion clear regarding the anime decision to change the circumstances and scenes of Mahmut’s discovery of his dead mother and the destroyed Tughril village (if you are interested, please read what I have to say here) and how it lessens the evocative power and depth of Mah-kun’s traumatic childhood.

Nonetheless, and perhaps more importantly, I also want to posit the possibility that a major change/omission to the story aka. the Oasis Arc/ Lyr Esnaf has not made the anime/story worse for wear, something that I came to realize while reviewing the coherence and cohesion of the story telling in the 4th episode. Long story short, I think the show transitions smoothly enough from episode 3 to 4, thanks to the direct connection in the story line (Mah-kun’s awareness of Zaganos’ spy network and decision to embark on a world exploration journey, both realized in the 4th episode). If this link was interrupted by the Oasis Arc, as wonderful as it is, the coherence and flow of the story line would be much compromised. So as attached as I am to Oasis Arc (which I will go into lengths below), I am now on board with the director’s decision to not have the Oasis Arc here (it seems likely that Oasis Arc is gone for good but nothing is yet set in stones - perhaps the Lyr Esnaf would make a later appearance).

Anyhow, if anyone is reading (much appreciated), buckle up cos this is one long ride.

1. The disappointments

Others have mentioned that the little details that really enliven the story like the fatherly vibe of Khalil Pasha towards Mah-kun (with sentimental hugs and everything), the touches of humour here and there (Mah-kun’s weakness against kara koyunlu, and the spitting), were cut out. I totally agree - these details give the story that needed breath of fresh air; otherwise the show would become overly serious (which did happen at various places in the 1st and 2nd episodes).

Compared with the manga, the fight scenes against Rod Orm at both Hisar and Tughril village were much shortened, thus lessening their intensity. The manga does sell Mah-kun’s fighting skills pretty solidly right from the start and so far, I’m not so impressed with his performance in the anime. Seriously, before that fancy jewellery chain is broken into pieces at Yeni Tughril village battle, it was pretty useful and Mah-kun actually handled it well enough in the battle against the Rod Orm guy at Hisar.

And of course, it goes without mentioning that the complete lack of bloodshed, generally speaking in the case of injury-incurring violence, as well as in specific scenes of more graphic kills, is just aggravating.

Exhibit 1 of Mah-kun’s mad chain skilz: Mah-kun’s bloody strangulation of the Rod Orm guy at the Hisar rebellion

Look at that blood-stained SFX. And what looks like fresh blood splashes from his neck’s artery/vein on Mah-kun’s scarf.

Exhibit 2: Mah-kun’s rather cold-blooded and violent attack on the band of thieves in Oasis, though sans the mad chain skill.

Those birds are so not merciful. Also the eeriness of the scene makes them look more like ravens, Poe’s bird of doom, rather than eagles.

Combined with the jerky, break-neck pacing in the first 2 episodes, less in the 3rd and more in the 4th, these changes make for some truly unsatisfying moments of viewership. The script manages to convey the main events so far with some measure of coherency but sorely lacking in cohesion. These really-not-worth-it changes mar my enjoyment of the show, which is quite a shame because the rest of the package, though it’s not the top of its game, is still pretty amazing. I mean, I’ll never get over this awe-inspiring, uplifting sensation of picking up this awesome manga a year ago and then a year after, it gets turned into anime. In spite of everything, I’m still tremendously glad that Altair is now not just an obscure historical manga series (though it seems to slowly become an obscure historical anime, judging from the still rather limited attention that it draws, but whyyyyyyy).

2. Lyr Esnaf: With or Without You

This short but memorable story has such a special place in my heart because of the wonderful, talented and hard-working women featured in the Lyre Guild, in addition to Shara. Kato Kotono’s female characters are a lot fewer than male ones in Altair, however most of them are well-developed and given meaningful roles, with independence and agency of their own. So to have a troop of women living the nomads’ way and making a living out of performance art is absolutely amazing. Also, Shara is part of the troupe, which gives her character that grounded feel - you know, like she’s not just some random belly dancing dancer, she actually has a career and a place where she belongs.

The gang introduced:

Exhibit 3: The ladies of the Lyr Esnaf aka. the women who totally passed the Bechdel test.

Therefore, I really, really looked forward to seeing them in the anime. Naturally, when that didn’t happen, I’m bummed. What’s amazing about the Oasis Arc is its whole-hearted devotion to world-building, from the bazaar shown in the beginning pages, different forms of story telling (more like news telling), to the audience’s reaction, the atmosphere of an entertainment and cultural space, and the thieves themselves. These are like the spices and flavors that really bring out the depth and breadth of Katono's verse. If Oasis Arc was not taken out, the anime-only audience would be in for a treat, and a nice break from the more plot-heavy previous episodes.

Exhibit 4: The variety of entertainment shows in Oasis. And I still absolutely love that Mah-kun got shows dedicated to his (mis)adventures. Shows because of what happened at the end of the Arc :D

Nonetheless, as I've already said above, I understand the rather pragmatic decision to go directly to Tughril village right after Hisar. Mah-kun was somewhat lost after the loss of his position but Khalil, and particularly, Zaganos has given him enough support, drive and direction for him to carry out his exploration trip. And where else to start his journey but to return to his homeland to bolster his determination and give him some kind of closure prior to his trip? It honestly makes perfect sense to me.

Some fans argue that the Oasis Arc is important for the plot later (because of the Lyre Guild’s later secondary-role reappearance) and for Mah-kun’s character development. So I went back and looked through the Oasis chapters to make my own mind. And to these comments, my response is “not quite”.

To be very very fair, the omitted Oasis Arc has very little that is essential to the overall plot (up to the latest scanlated chapter of SnA). The Lyre Guild could still be introduced later, albeit in a much less natural manner. In said scenario, they would definitely function as more of a plot device, rather than as an already existing, previously introduced world-building layer. It’s not awesome, granted, even rather crude of an insertion but mmm, not all hopes are lost. As long as the anime can show however briefly, the influence of these shows upon the mass and how they also can serve as vehicles of conveying information, that should suffice.

Exhibit 5: The moved Mah-kun. I love how he instantly recognised the power of theatre and was able to immerse himself in it.

Regarding Mah-kun, it’s true that he gets quite a bit of character development here. The thief story allows for Mah-kun to show off his deduction skills to figure out the situation (like he did back in the first episode with the fake Turkiye’s arrow) and capture the wrong-doers, as well as allows for further expansion of Mah-kun’s more artistically-inclined side, as shown through his fascination with the world of theatre. Not to mention before getting to solving the mystery of the play, Mah-kun’s more innocent and generous side comes out when he gets surrounded by street vendor kids, all soliciting for his patronage. But most importantly, in my point of view, is that we get to see the businessman and trade-savvy side of Mah-kun right in the very first scene of the Oasis arc, when he tries to fight for fair trade at the bazaar on behalf of a customer by pointing out the seller’s dubious pricing. This really primes readers for the whole economic and diplomatic manipulation affair that Mah-kun pulls off much later to strike at the Empire. Uhm... is that too much spoiler-y? Oops. Sorry.

But it’s not like the Oasis Arc is the only place where you can find those character development moments. We knew of Mah-kun’s artistically inclined side through his poetry writing in the first episode. His innocence, naivete and generosity will all come into full play in Phoenicia and Venedik. And we will see glimpses of his business-savvy through his interactions and dealings at the Sultan states.

So I’m definitely sad for the absence of the Oasis Arc, but in the scale of things, there are bigger and more crucial things that the show needs to get them right. Which leads me to episode 4, which I initially thought was somewhat crappier than it should but later changed my opinion after my rewatching.

3. The Eagles’ Joint Struggle

That dream sequence with the freaky hollow-eye-socket not!Mah-kun double and the transformation of Mah-kun’s body into tree roots... Urgh, freaky as fuck. And so not ... to my taste. I prefer the milder version in the manga, where he did toss and turn about his powerlessness, but sans the creepy factor. Then comes the fight between Suleyman and Mahmut against the Rod Orm is just unsatisfactory, much more so because of the way Mahmut was [portrayed when he got the sheep’s blood thrown on him. Okay it is silly but dammit, Barbaros didn’t have to step to chase the birds away and chastise him for not being able to make the birds go away, something along the line of “you handle birds right, why would you be attacked by them”. Like I get it, it’s quite ironic but I’d much prefer for just Suleyman blowing the whistle and rescuing Mahmut. And the fight was ended in such a rush, without that lovely bit of Suleyman being the senpai and passing on to Mah-kun the know-how about where to find updrafts, and the Rod Orm was shown more or less unscathed in spite of the eagles’ vicious attacks. Ridiculous.

So went my reaction at my first watch. A mixed bag of feelings as usual. But I got over some of the post-watch reluctance and watched it again. Somehow the experience gave me fresh eyes and got me to really appreciate the good bits more this time.

Take the dream. I still felt it was unnecessarily overdone. Like overcooked dried out American steaks, when it should be medium or medium rare instead, pink inside a la Masterchef (sorry if you’re a vegan or vegetarian :D). OK, aside from the weird analogy that signifies my intense steak craving, I want to pick up on a few details that really jumped out, like the shot of the stars aligned in the shape of 2 birds twirling around each other, which then transitions to the image of Mah-kun’s chain linked with Zaganos’ pyramis. It didn’t really strike me back then but I think the birds signify Mah-kun and Suleyman, the 2 surviving eagle handlers. The connection that both have with Zaganos and his spy network is later revealed in the episode, which is quite a neat piece of set-up.

I really like the bonding moments between Suleyman and Mah-kun. It’s one thing to read them in manga and another to see all of that playing out on anime. My occupation with the more recent chapters and events in the manga makes me temporarily forget how important Suleyman is to Mah-kun. He’s the brother, the family member that he lost but now regained. He’s the mentor and most reliable partner to Mah-kun at the most pivoting Arc of the story. So it’s so nice to hear Suleyman calling Mah-kun “kyoudai”. It definitely warms my heart down to the cockles. The anime got the atmosphere and mood right, including that sense of lightheartedness, though not at the kara koyunlu drinking moment, but at how Suleyman laughs at Mah-kun sulking at being regularly outdone by Zaganos.

With the goth-ragged hem of his black outer jacket, he almost looks like an exorcist straight out of D.Gray-man’s Black Order.

The scenes between younger Suleyman and younger Zaganos were nicely handled, too. Zaganos did look younger for real, and his animation as well as his voice acting fittingly reflect his age. The underlying ice is already there, along with the haughtiness but there is something youthful about him, perhaps from the passion when he shared his ambitious plan to set up the spy network across the continent with Suleyman, from the looks in his eyes that are closer to ‘mischievous’ than ‘glacial’ or ‘condescending’.

Exhibit 6: 14-year-old Zaganos, with more facial expressions available.

And the next one is my favourite :D.

Exhibit 7: The hair twirl, a much welcome invention, courtesy of the anime.*lol*

One thing still remaining true is the fact that I’m still pretty pissed at the fight scenes *sigh*. The manga makes them quite dramatic and the evolving fighting dynamic between Suleyman and Mah-kun much more tangible - much more “show”, while the anime version feels more like “tell”. The rushed pacing of this episode really doesn’t allow for much more than that, sadly.

Nonetheless, I’m still happy with the way Suleyman takes care of his kouhai.

Exhibit 8: Senpai Suleyman and his adorable kouhai

Mah-kun still has so much to learn about teamwork, a subject that was touched upon in previous episodes. Particularly telling are the flashback showing his failure at an exercise at military school for lack of understanding and cooperation with his peers, and his not-very-pasha-ly decision to just rush to Hisar by himself to save Ibrahim. Without Shara’s capable assistance, he would not really get out of that mess safely. The anime’s decision to focus on teamwork is worth praising, and this really shows in the advice that Suleyman gave Mah-kun prior to his departure.

This particular line is another invention by the anime and I must say I’m impressed. It neatly ties everything from the past 4 episodes together - this is a much, much bigger picture than what Mah-kun has previously seen till now. He definitely needs to get this straight before embarking on his adventure.

Regarding the animation, the backgrounds are splendid, as expected. There are some really good detail works in this episode, imho.

For example, look at the carpet in this shot of the pyramis. If you’ve touched or seen a handmade carpet up close, this shot will make you feel like you can almost touch that slightly coarse, woolen texture. And the pattern is quite spot-on for Turkish carpets, if memory from my week-stay at Ankara, Istanbul and Capadoccia serves me well. So yeah, colour me impressed. Quite impressed.