Plunderer

Episode 6

With this episode, our main couple is back together after a three-episode separation. Compared to the previous action-filled episodes, this one is rather low key—but in a way that tells us more about our main duo through a one-off side story.

Reuniting in a field off the beaten path, Hina confronts Licht about his running off after saving her. While she already understands why he did it—especially after the disastrous visit by Jail's squad in Licht's wake—she nonetheless demands he keeps his promise to eat a meal with her.

It's a flimsy excuse (given that her true reason to be by his side is her mother's last words) but one that she has chosen to put great meaning into. After all, if they eat together, then he never actually broke his promise to her—and if he never broke his promise then he remains a good person in her eyes.

As the pair get caught up in the troubles surrounding a young woman making an illegal flying machine, Hina gives Licht a chance to open up to her. However, he deflects the question by… trying to force open her legs and check out her panties.

While Licht's penchant for sexual harassment has come up again and again in the series so far, this scene makes it obvious that it is a defense mechanism more than anything else. He knows that, as a criminal on the run, his situation is dangerous and anyone involved with him will be caught up in it. So how better to keep everyone at arm's length than by promoting yourself as a sexual predator?

When Hina or Lynn (or anyone for that matter) tries to get closer to him, he goes more and more over the top to drive them away. This is likely so that the army hunting him won't view them—i.e., the people he sexually harassed—as his accomplices. His constant sexual harassment is to keep people safe—including himself on a more emotional level. After all, you can't lose those you love if you're never attached to anyone.

Of course, there is one glaring exception to all this—the one person he never tries to harass. NANA remains completely untouched by Licht's sexual harassment, even if a lecherous character might view her style of dress as an 'invitation' to do so. This implies that such harassment would serve no purpose. She clearly shares a history of some sort with Licht. She even knows his personality and thought process well enough to predict his actions and even find him in the wilderness.

But what's truly telling is that she has made it her goal to get Hina together with Licht. She's taken the girl in—fed her, sheltered her, and even brought her on a long journey just to reunite them. Why would she go so far? Because she has Licht's best interests at heart. She is his friend—perhaps his only true friend—and she believes that being together with Hina is good for him.

Their friendship is also why he doesn't harass her—or dodge her punches. She's a personal connection he knows he can't get away from no matter how hard he tries. So his defenses are down around her and his true personality shines through. Now the only question is how long it will take before Hina is in a similar boat.

The actual plot of the episode, on the other hand, shows us more about the deceptively dark nature of the world. The government has banned flying machines to the point where even researching them is a death sentence. Like with the army keeping radio technology from the public, the absence of airplanes is likely a form of control—a way of keeping the common man uneducated about the state of the world.

And then there is Pelmo. Pelmo's count is based on achieving her dream. Starting with a count of 10, she had 10 tries to achieve it. For those with a simple dream, this might have been plenty but her dream is to fly. Basically, she was going to die no matter what. She'd either be caught by the army or pulled into the abyss.

This is the first time we've come across a count that was completely ill-suited to the person it was attached to. Traveling doesn't bother Hina. Helping people is what Lynn loves to do. Even Licht wouldn't have any troubles with women if he didn't actively sabotage himself. But Pelmo shows us that, even beyond the police state and its rules, this world is far from fair on even the most basic level. It's a lesson that needs to be remembered going forward.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I wonder what other kinds of technology are being suppressed by the government besides radios and planes. I assume both the steam engine and internal combustion engine are as well—not to mention electricity in general. It's easy to suppress a population when your technology has them beat by several hundred years.

• Well, now we know what happens if you attack the abyssal hands: you get messed up.

• Licht would rather crush the dreams of a young woman than kill people—even if those people are the strong arm of a totalitarian regime.

• My favorite shot of the episode is the broken plane at sunset. Its shadow forms the silhouette of a modern jet.

• It really surprises me how much there is to say about NANA despite Licht, Hina, and Pelmo absolutely dominating the screen time.

• The next episode looks to be about cooking. Will we finally see NANA's count change?

Plunderer is currently streaming on FUNimation.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.