After four episodes full of rich character development intertwined with a classic adventure setting, this second installment of "Nadia" relegates character to the back burner to make room for the show's complex plot. The show only offers a glimpse this dynamic in episode four's battle between Gargoyle and the Nautilus. However, in shifting focus to the heart of Gargoyle's operations, "Nadia's" creators steer their piece into a more mature, sometimes macabre, terrain that tackles issues like the abuse of technology, the brutal enslavement of people and man challenging god.
The down side to this narrative re-focus is explaining why story muscles out some confounding behavior. Such as, Marie snapping back so quickly after being told that her parent's have bought the farm, and Gargoyle's guards being so even-tempered when Grandis, Hanson and Sanson - prisoners at the time - attack them in the quarry (or, the three of them even attacking armed guards in the first place when they know they're surrounded). To fill in the gaps, characters, even when alone, will awkwardly vocalize their logical process. The wider scope of the story shoves aside physical logistics as well. How is it that Jean and the goons survive a close proximity blast from a weapon whose firing required an evacuation of all Gargoyle's personnel? How, in an active base festooned with armed guards, can Jean just slip on through so easily? Do these kinds of questions matter? Not really when the show is so ambitious, socially conscious and driven by a vibrant, multi-dimensional cast of characters.
The other characters already fleshed out in the previous volume, this set of episodes focuses on Gargoyle and what he represents. A calm, placid man who claims to not be human, Gargoyle offers a refreshing contrast to the cackling world dominators that plague other anime. He's more of a dry, calculating world dominator, who only cackles once, and does it at an appropriate time, well, as appropriate a time as a villainous cackle deserves. Compelling about Gargoyle is that no matter how evil he might appear, his goals seem to preserve the beauty and life that mankind has set to destroy. One of his accomplishments is developing flowers and trees that are immortal and can withstand industrial development. He calls for a united world in a speech to his brethren right before their weapon of destruction is tested, hardly the ravings of an inherently evil person. His brutal methods and cold demeanor keep him firmly rooted in the antagonist camp, but at least Anno shapes his villain with intrigue. But the first time he really begins to self-aggrandize and brag about these stellar accomplishments, Anno cleverly cuts to a shot of Nadia trying to tune out his voice. We hear a voice-over of Nadia's thoughts in the foreground as Gargoyle finishes his speech in the background.
Gargoyle and his warped vision have to be considered in the context of the nineteenth century when technology advanced rapidly as a result of episodic wars all over the world, especially in Europe. The driving force of technology, then, is destruction. Director Hideaki Anno, on a political level, develops this entire show around that premise in the hopes that from our vantage point, over a hundred years later, we can consider the consequences of our technology. But, taking this for granted, Anno pours into "Nadia" issues and imagery that questions the very identity of man, primarily in his relationship to God, a subject seldom breeched in a show intended for children.
Gargoyle's troops wear military green uniforms and pointed hoods over their heads, making them look like a cross between the Ku Klux Klan and the Third Reich. Visually, they represent the epitome of twentieth century hate, universally loathed in proper ethically discourse. But throughout the twentieth-century, nearly every country, including the US, engaged in comparable activities (especially in the pursuit to develop the atomic bomb). In effect, Gargoyle represents the height of what world governments were trying to achieve.
Contrasting this demonic pall, Anno impresses Nadia and her allies with religious imagery, which is ironic considering Gargoyle himself proclaims himself a new god when he boasts of the raw destructive power he can rain down on the cities of the world. Yet, when displaying Nadia in an attempt to lure Jean out of his hiding place, Gargoyle straps her to a cross-like object, her arms outstretched. She is the martyr. But this is not a biblical story - it is a story about technology and man. The image of Nadia crucified preys on an illogical fear of religious imagery that pervades Western society. Anno creates an image that subverts conventional notions of the relationship between God and man, borrowing from accepted Christian imagery and creating a different context for it in the story of "Nadia." Just as Gargoyle challenges the idea of God in the modern world, so does Anno.
Now, as over-intellectual and pretentious as this analysis might be, hopefully it will at least attest to the depth of this series and the myriad interpretations and meanings that can precipitate from it. The beauty of the series is that no matter how layered it gets, Anno never forgets that it's an anime and imbues it with all the charm, slapstick and child-like wonder that makes anime so enriching in the first place.
