For everyone curious about the mech and other tech---

This anime takes place within the universe that Tsutomu Nihei (Blame! Knight's of Sidonia, Aposimz, etc) has created for his science fiction writing. The mech is actually proof of that.

If you look closely at it during some shots of the mech (most noticeably during the previous episode), there is an insignia on the side of it that kind of looks like a "t" shape. This is the brand mark for Toha Heavy Industries, which is responsible for the mechs and "high tech stuff" in all his other works. All the relics in this world are from Toha. Even the princess's necklace features the brand logo (it'll probably play an important roll soon). The laser cutting tool is no doubt from them as well.

This story is just another blip on Tsutomu Nihei's timeline. Don't know where, but probably after Knights of Sidonia since that establishes the point humans leave Earth. Based on the artwork in this story (I'm considering the enemy armor and how it was even referenced as a relic this episode), this timeline is probably after Aposimz (might also eventually need to consider its place in relation to Blame!). Aposimz is the name of the sister ship from Knights of Sidonia, but also the name of the planet that the story Aposimz takes place on. Aposimz was also a very cold place.

Back to the mech for a short bit-- they called it a Builder/Architect. That could be a tie in to his other work Blame! which also featured mechs of the same name. They acted on their own for the most part in Blame!, but were once directed by humans. The humans in Blame! once had what was called the "Net terminal gene" which allowed them to access a kind of internet world. However, when they lost that gene, they could no longer do so (which caused all sorts of problems and loss of ability to control "the builders"). So considering how the commander guy wears the skull to interface with the mech, and what we know about the old net terminal gene-- and assume the skull's lingering DNA contains that gene, and the screen is grafted onto the skull... the commander is only using the skull as a medium (which contains the gene) to access the device.

All of Tsutomu Nihei's stuff is tied together like crazy and references each other. Its a lore hunter's dream. Once you are more familiar with his other stuff you'll just start asking more questions.

Is anyone else thinking how much the snow looks like what remains when Guana breakdown in Knights of Sidonia? Or how the snow propulsion things kind of look like the same material as the Kabi from KoS as well? So many questions!

Wow! This is great insight and adds a solid base with which to speculate!

Thanks!

All the signs/billboards that have been collected as the "words" in this story are probably signage from the Toha Heavy Industries factory. That's why they are all so industrial looking. I think the very first episode one read something like, "Beware of falling objects."

That translation was again given when they started telling Yaona about the Signkeeper, likely cause they used the old scene.

Yes. It looks like Guana breakdown. After I knew that this is Tsutomu Nihei's work, all the designs immediately make sense to me.

I was about to comment, i felt similarities of Tsutomu Nihei, especially with whole Gun-dam/Guana. But his work is usually much better. O_O

Also laser cutter... reminds of Gravitational Beam Emitter!

damn didin't know it a shared universe, that's amazing

Considering everything is connected. Then where to start the whole story?
Or is it more a reference but not connected to the story at all?

I actually liked the blame anime movie.

I really liked the Netflix adaption too. It's certainly not canon, but it did a great job presenting the spirit and mood of the massively complex and confusing original work. There is so little dialog in the original work to explain what is going on. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there was more dialog in that movie than all the written volumes combined.

Ok... this episode got hella fucking trippy.

Let's start with the mech. To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to think of it. We just JUMPED WAY FUCKING HIGH in terms of technology.

The mech itself (the Builder as it was called, but I have also read that the name could be Architect) is a monster, but what I am more interested in is that HELMET.

The helmet you see tells us the following:
1. We had the capability to remotely operate in areas. Colonel Sanders here never once operated this mech with his hands, only with his eyes.

2. We could build on an astronomical scale. That interface looks hella sophisticated, and if our mech named BUILDER is as tall as a building, that would mean we needed to construct on that scale as well... Kinda puts that "Beware of Falling Objects" sign to shame, because whatever this Builder Mech drops... a hard hat ain't stopping that.

-

Also, we got a HUGE development from the Mech. You recall the part in this episode where Colonel Sanders here TOSSED A TREE ROOT at the princess?

This tells us something very big: WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF THE ORBITAL TREES IF WE HAD WISHED TO.

-

This next bit is a nit pick, but HOW WAS THAT MECH WALKING???? It's footsteps were making sound as if it was walking upon a solid surface...

This is probably just anime bullshit, but you gotta give me this one Studio. That's a Gundam, and even Gundams need wings to fly!

Probably just going to blow a raspberry and say "we ain't found shit!" to my question.

-

Secondly, Let's talk about the Ascender. For all those that were debating "What is the Snow Sea"...

Explain where that creature pulled that water from, because it looks like it came from the Snow Sea itself.

After they focused so much on The Ascender, my first thought was that the Ascender pulled the water directly from a Spiral Tree... but the Trees that are not the Main Tree have specifically been running out of water... And that wasn't a small amount to create that Water Slide with Googly eyes.

-

One last thing. I would recommend NOT launching Giant Sticks and Rocks at the village you want to steal water from. I'm no expert, but that sounds like a good way to containment the water...

Honestly, where the hell are you getting those rocks for the catapult? I haven't seen anything but snow, trees, and tree roots.

-

Honestly, this episode... has me thinking something crazy... Is there a living being/Artificial Intelligence inside this Orbital Tree? For the Green Thing to respond to the Princess at that exact moment feels too convenient.

Maybe when we do finally make it to the tree, this presence will respond to Kaina...

Maybe the machine is walking on those roots that Kaine and the prince was walking on when they went to rescue the princess?

Have anyone told you that you are by far the commentor with best analysis and theory in GoGo?

This Gundam has giant fucking legs, to the point where its torso is above the snow sea, and the bottom of its feet are touching the floor of the snow sea. Just like Zunesha from One Piece XD

My crazy no basis theory is:

The green thing is a holographic AI. The "Light" is the hologram coming from the small USB like necklace of the princess. When it went to the sea it contacted or hacked something to produce that column of water, maybe there is something beneath Atland that produces water out of the snow, hence why it survives compared to other orbital spire trees.

The "snow" seems a gas/liquid lighter than water so water should be on the bottom of it.
I too think that the light is artificial, i don't know if it's supposed to command a bigger machine under the sea or whatever but it seems to be connected with that pendant.
The light seems to have created a flood of water to respond to her wish either because it knows they're fighting for water (hence providing it would stop the war) or because he knows the machine is weak to its passive stance make me thing of the first.

Just spell checking for you. I think you meant to say contaminate and not containment.

Oh yeah EP 1 mentions something about ritual. When people read words out loud during ritauls, it grants them strength or something. and "Hand-holding ceremony" thing, assuming it was Kiana-Ririha holding hand, which we see a few times in OP. Ririha also mentions that according to legends sage can summon water. which remind me of the ascender.

also, that necklace on Ririha seems to be the "light" remote control.

I'm gonna laugh so hard, if the answer was lots of people holding hand together and pray was the ritual to summon water. Turns out the real sage was the friend we made along snow sea. probably not but would be hilarious.

and how are they going to wrap this up in one episode. there has to be a S2 right...

The helmet seems some sort of low-tech contraption to repair the original helmet; he's not moving a finger and he cannot read but the machine is understanding that he want to zoom, pick up things and throw them.
This make me think this was a builder robot mind controlled by this helmet.
It make sense as a builder robot the learning curve was small to none abling workers to use it without any training.

The mech seems to float on the water while closed so it may have some sort of "snowfoil stick" that allow it to stay afloat or it's just staying on a tree root.

The fact that old technology is coming up is great as it fell a sort of post-apocalyptic world as human clearly could not evolve in that place.

It could be both because of a catastrophy on earth or on a colonized planet but i'm more going on the latter as the trees seems some sort of tarraformation attempt and that builder robot may be fit for that role.

Lastly for water contamination it's a non issue: it's a well protected treasure and he needs to kill and scare the defendants so they have to use any way possible but i hope he misses the water supply as he didn't go that far from it.

Oculus Rift technology got us so far ...

Last episode next week and there are still a lot of mysteries, I'm kind of scared about this.

Oye, well said. I concur.

I think you pretty much covered the entirety of my brain drain and even going further down the rabbit hole during this hella-confusing episode. You raised some pretty astute points as I had not given it such careful considerations.

Seriously though, it had me at one point debating my reality; I was like🤨🤔😐😶😒 because I never knew it was possible to experience the five stages of grief during an anime show.

"Anime logic" would be the best and most accurate description to sum up the glaringly obvious plot holes that makes zero sense!

Valghia's second in command said that it was a relic from ancient times, so they didn't make it and from what I can see. Its not that far from land so it could easily stand up. Its large enough to throw a ship lol. I'm guessing the ascender is the great sage that can make water. It was probably showing it can make water so they would stop fighting but that didn't work.

But sea levels rise annually which is why there ancestors had an older "flag / map". So with rising sea levels it'd be logical to think that thing is somehow "magical" walking lol

Even when Kaina was walking on the roots they almost fell off, and they were at least a few hundred feet under. How massive of a builder machine are we talking if it's so big that it's entire lower torso can touch seabed floor and still be 33%+ out. That's like skyscraper heights...

AND it navigates the roots without having to raise those stilt legs over them? Without "seeing" them? I would still have to say he is traversing on the roots rather than through them along the sea floor.

What happened to the voice actor of the decrepit old man? He sounds like he's wheezing his last breath with each sentence

The helmet seems to affect its user. it's like the guys share his sensory with the mech.

I'm thinking it puts a large strain on the user mentally / physically

my thoughts exactly

Looks like the machine is powered by his lifeforce or something

You don't know the POWER of the bark side!

Wow dude, okay, well the Admiral is officially a shortsighted idiot who likely has used his own meat pinky to stop up the hole that MUST be in his head because all his brains have obviously leaked out somewhere never to be found again.

Too bad he didn't get the Syphilis that must be hidden in it discovered before he used it as a cranium cork as it has officially spread to his last remaining neurons!

We knew he was a villain and a tyrant, but throwing your own ships? And let's not even get started on taking note that what was just shown to you was water for the picking that required no conquering. OR even if nothing else if you are so equipped with a weapon that has destruction capabilities as accurate as the "builder", (used to be Architect) why are you wantonly and wastefully destroying so much without cause when you could be plundering it?!

Well, at least we now know there must be water hidden under the "snow" somewhere and the "lights" are key players in tapping or at least locating it.

The dude is a legit Capt Ahab gone full bloodlust craving loco.

Except in his case I think instead of hunting the White Whale... he escaped from it during one of it's wet dreams/nightmares......One thing is for sure, if that's the case, and I genuinely think it could be...He's obviously swimming in the wrong Ocean. XD

Yep

He is a warmonger. Sees conquest as the greatest and simplest solution to all questions. Need to get away? Go to WAR! Want to know pi to the 13th position? Die! Is there water that can be drawn without conflict? Who the Fudge-cookies cares!? War is the way!

I think you nailed it, that would explain why he's so war-m and friendly with all his troops in the war-st kind of way. XD

He only thinks of his own needs because he never tries to war-lk in their shoes. Still, eve from a selfish standpoint what a war-ste to needlessly destroy one of your own battleships with a smile. He's obviously got a very war-ped sense of humor. ;D

the dude is missing an entire right forearm, seems legit!

Unfortunately for him...there was no help during his era...he couldn't call an "armbulance"....but it's no major loss, as even.... unarmed.. he's a terror......even looking like a moldy mannequin left out behind the dumpster at Macys, the man still isn't lacking for ....hook ups. XD

i had suspicion but confirmed it today, it's apparently a work of Tsutomu Nihei. A bit sad that this is not as interresting as Blame! or Knights of Sidonia. But it shares a lot of elements from those works ;)

Aha! Thanks for the fill in, I've never seen KOS but I hear it's good and it's on my eventual watch list.

it's a must watch, it's a 9/10 on my list and i rarely give those numbers to any anime.

Whoa! Alright, duly noted Vovan! I'll respect that sincere recommendation. However, it will still have to wait a bit, considering it took me two weeks of work to get back here in time for new season eps, I'm still catching up LAST season eps I missed. XD

Alright, this anime is the hidden gem of the season. And what a beautiful gem it is.
I'm glad I gave it a try.

Also i'm still a sucker for that ending, that night sky scene with Kaina looks majestic af, ain't no way i'm skipping the ending.

lol next week is the last ep

Only 11 episodes?!

God of the snow sea LMAO.

Shingeki no Builder

Ascender did nothing just made a useless appearance and gave them false hope. well, I might be wrong to tho

The one who summoned it was staring blankly at it without orders. It's purpose is clearly not fighting but sourcing water.