Captain Harlock (1978) 1.09

The Fearsome Plant Life Form

Doctor Zero finishes his examination of the Mazone. They are humanoid plants. The plants on Earth that most closely resemble the Mazone are found in South America, South East Asia, and along the Nile. There seems to be some connection between the Mazone and ancient ruins.

Captain Harlock sends Daiba, Kei, Yattaran, and the robot to Earth to retrieve the Flame Vessel from the Federation Museum. He believes it will help them gain a better understanding of the enemy.

The Museum is closed. Daiba breaks in and tries to reason with the museum's director only to discover that he is a Mazone in disguise. There are Mazone throughout the museum. Daiba and the others get the Flame Vessel and escape with it back to the Arcadia.

They experiment with the Flame Vessel. It contains an ancient piece of circuitry which overwhelms the Arcadia temporarily. Captain Harlock and has the crew fly to South America once the power is restored.

Daiba and Captain Harlock see what they can find in the jungles of South America. The trees turn out to be Mazone. The two men are quickly surrounded. They are overwhelmed by the Mazone but they are saved in the end by Yattaran who drops a cold bomb on the jungle. The Mazone fear the cold and quickly revert to their plant form giving Captain Harlock and Daiba the chance to escape.

Thoughts

Commander Kiruta is in this episode but only very briefly. Some of his men notice the Arcadia returning to Earth, early in the episode, and hide the fact from him.

Captain Harlock refers to the Flame Vessel as coming from the Jomon period. The Jomon period lasted from 14,000 BCE to 300 BCE in Japan. Pottery which are called flame vessels date from 3,000 to 2,000 BCE. They are elaborately decorated and were probably used for cooking and storing food. 

Captain Harlock and his crew continue to learn about the Mazone. I don't really know how much longer this will continue to be the focus of the show.