Captain Harlock (1978) 1.23

Yattaran, Song of a Plastic Model Fanatic

The Arcadia engages the Mazone fleet in battle. A squadron of fighters from the Arcadia are sent out. They do battle with a squadron from the Mazone fleet. The Mazone have the upper hand at first but Captain Harlock makes all the difference. He gives new orders to Daiba from the bridge of the Arcadia which turns the tide and the Mazone retreat.

First Mate Yattaran is captured as the battle is winding down. He is taken to the Mazone flagship. It doesn't seem to phase him. The Mazone think they can learn about the Arcadia from him.

Doctor Zero, back on the Arcadia, tells the others about Yattaran's past. Doctor Zero and Yattaran knew each other when they were young. The Arcadia was broken when Yattaran joined the crew. He fixed the Arcadia.

Elza, one of the Mazone officers, is assigned to get the secrets of the Arcadia out of Yattaran. She attempts to do so by giving him a model kit of the Arcadia. He puts it together but the real Arcadia finds the Mazone fleet and attacks before she can get the secrets of the Arcadia from Yattaran. Yattaran is rescued and the fleet is destroyed.

Thoughts

This is the first episode that I watched on Amazon. I used to watch this show on Crunchy Roll for free but they put up a pay wall. I would have to get a monthly or annual membership in order to continue watching this show there. I'm paying for it now but I think it will cost me less to watch in on Amazon than on Crunchy Roll.

This episode served mostly to provide some more backstory for one of the crew members. Yattaran's love of a model kits played a part in the story but it didn't feel quite as central to the story as I thought it would be.

Yattaran is probably supposed to be the primary character in this episode but he spends most of it focused on models. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of a character moment for him because he is so focused on models.

There are a couple things about this episode that seem ridiculous when stop and think about them. they both have to do with plastic model kits. It seems to be implied that Yattaran gained the knowledge to fix the Arcadia from his facility with plastic models. That seems a little far fetched. I also think it is funny how the Mazone have a model kit of the Arcadia and give it to Yattaran in the hopes that they can learn all about the Arcadia's weaknesses by having him assemble the kit. Where did they get the kit in the first place? I know this is a cartoon but sometimes my mind goes to places like this.