2012-02-03
More on why the Moretsu Pirates zero-G problems annoy me
In response to my entry on zero-G in Pirates, Author noted that problems with zero-G are pervasive and pointed to an example in Rocket Girls (and noted that he's learned not to be bothered by it).
For me, Pirates is different from something like Rocket Girls in two ways. First and most important is that the zero-G mistakes in Pirates are so obvious that I've actually noticed them. I am not an alert watcher for technical details; I'm generally happy to get carried away without worrying about the small things (and the zero-G issues in Pirates are a small thing). It takes a fair amount to make me go 'wait, what?' while I'm actually watching the show. Zero-G in Pirates managed.
(I never noticed the zero-G issues in Rocket Girls, for example.)
Second, using zero-G is an actual setting choice in Pirates. Something like Rocket Girls intrinsically requires zero-G; you cannot have a modern era show in space with helpful artificial gravity. But artificial gravity is a common cliche in future space settings and Pirates could have used it without anyone blinking. When an anime does something through choice instead of need I generally hold it to a higher standard.
(For example, if an anime includes a generic camera I will ignore unrealities about it that would irritate me if the anime is clearly trying to show a specific camera but getting it wrong. You could phrase this as 'if you're going to put in details, get them right'.)
PS: note that Author is in fact more technically correct about the situation than I am. He's using the correct technical term 'microgravity', where I've gone for the slightly inaccurate pop culture label 'zero-G'.
2012-02-01
My issue with the zero-G sequences in Moretsu Pirates
Pirates has made the unusual decision to not use artificial gravity in the sole spaceship that we've seen; instead all of the areas of the ship we've seen so far have been in zero G. (It's possible that part of the living quarters have gravity from spin, but the bridge and main ship areas don't.)
Unfortunately there is one bit of how Pirates is handling the zero G sequences that gets to me. It's not how everyone's skirts are apparently nailed down (yes, the schoolgirls are still wearing their uniform skirts in zero G); as noted, this is not that sort of show, and I'm perfectly willing to accept that.
What gets to me is how people maneuver in zero G. Pirates has repeatedly had people floating still in the air, not in contact with anything, and then had them just start moving again without pushing off anything or otherwise having some source of thrust. Sometimes people have stopped in midair (not coasted to a stop, just stopped). It's as if Pirates is treating people in zero G just like people walking along the ground, except they can coast and float and move in any direction.
(Unfortunately this isn't the kind of thing that can be illustrated without an animation clip of some sort.)
Pirates doesn't do this all of the time; a lot of the time people do push off things and stop themselves on things. But not always, and the exceptions make me twitch. I wish that Pirates would either commit wholesale to real zero G or just give up and give the ship artificial gravity.
(Perhaps the clearest example of this happens during parts of the spacewalk in the third episode. I'd try to handwave that as their suit backpacks having some sort of maneuvering thrusters if it wasn't for all of the other times this happens.)