The Banquet Begins (開宴 Kaien) is episode 13 of the Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There! anime.
Plot[]
In the Imperial Capital, Zorzal has sex with Tyuule on his bed, though he is unsatisfied with her giving up so easily. He dismisses her just as Marcus comes in. Marcus is unnerved by Zorzal's taste and speaking to him without wearing clothes. In his haste, he tells him that the enemy is "buying" Senators off them. Zorzal asks him why Molt isn't aware of this, and Marcus tells him that he is the crown prince after all.
Elsewhere in the capital, a private party hosted by Pina is attended by a group of Senators and their families led by Lord Cicero. Cicero and his fellow Senators are taken to a secluded area where they watch JSDF soldiers use the Type 64 Rifle. Cicero begs Itami to sell him some, or at least tell them how to make it, but Itami refuses to. Marquess Dussie asks him how many of these rifles they have; Itami replies that they should assume each soldier has one, greatly shocking the two Senators. Itami then shows them the 81mm mortars.
The JSDF soldiers fire one shell from the mortar, making impact at the target zone. The Senators are greatly shocked by the range of the mortar. Cicelo and the other Senators realize that if they continue the war against Japan, they would be completely destroyed. Dussie asks Sugawara what Japan wants for peace. Before Sugawara is able to respond, Itami is informed by Archer that five cavalrymen are heading towards their location. Itami tells Archer to monitor them and evacuates the Senators to the southern gate (red-light district) to avoid detection.
Zorzal arrives to the party and wonders where the Senators and enemy diplomats are. To quell his curiosity, Piña offers him some Ma Nuga meat with mustard. Zorzal shows an initial lack of interest on the mustard, claiming that it doesn't look good. Regardless, he takes a bite, and his eyes widen as his taste buds explode from the flavor. He decides to take some of the meat and drinks to go with his lackeys.
Piña informs Sugawara of the events after Zorzal leaves, which she interprets as a warning from Marcus. Sugawara tells her that he wants to advance the negotiations before the pro-war faction can make their next move. Piña tells him that she went cold from the money they had to pay, as the Empire was not wealthy enough to pay 500 million swani, though Sugawara tells her that it is simply an opening offer, and will lower as the talks continue.
Back at the capital, Marcus informs Molt that Zorzal was supposed to go to the party to investigate, but only brought back food. Molt allows Marcus to do whatever he wants, as long as the Empire is not defeated.
The rest of 3rd Recon are set up at the capital's red-light district. Chief Nyuutabaru introduces himself to the company, and asks if Kurokawa is the officer with a nurse's certification. Nyuutabaru has Kurokawa work immediately after setting up. Misery is the first to arrive, asking Kurokawa if she could buy "it". Misery thanks Kurokawa for such a great product, as the prostitutes can't work if they're knocked up. Misery tells Kurokawa that the JSDF area is safe, informing her of recent events. Bessala, one of four crime lords in the district, attempted to attack the JSDF with his gang, only to be massacred by them. The remaining leaders divided Bessala's money and land, realizing that fighting the JSDF would be folly, so they decided to work with them. Misery is pleased that everyone is getting along so well, though she is unsure to why the JSDF men are not doing business with the prostitutes. Behind Kurokawa is a pamphlet on STDs of the Special Region.
In the Alnus base, Yao asks Myuute about Itami, though she fails to get any answers. Tomita and Kuribayashi stay in Piña's palace for the night. Back in the red-light district, someone knocks on the door; Kurokawa answers it, to find Misery and the other prostitutes outside. Misery asks Kurokawa if she and the prostitutes can come in, as they need to talk. Nyuutabaru asks Tyuwal, one of the prostitutes, what the issue is. Tyuwal tells him that a volcano is erupting in her homeland, and when it does, it means that an earthquake (which the Special Region inhabitants call an earth-shake) is coming. Nyuutabaru looks at another prostitute, noticing that her ears are twitching. He recalls that when he was deployed to Kobe, the animals there panicked just before a major earthquake occurred. Acting on this intuition, he sends out a warning to Alnus and the inhabitants of the capital city.
The inhabitants of the city are confused as to why they are waking up early. They are informed by the JSDF to extinguish any active flames and evacuate to the fields as soon as they can. Piña asks Itami why she had to wake up earlier than expected. Itami notices the tremors and asks Tomita if he is feeling them too. Tomita confirms it and Piña starts noticing that the ground beneath her is shaking. The earthquake then hits the capital city.
Anime-Manga Differences[]
- In the manga, during the firearms demonstration, the senators are allowed to try firearms to shoot at clay barrels in a secluded area to know the power of modern firearms. In the anime, the JSDF soldiers perform a live-fire demonstration, to make it more persuasive and realistic as the bullets easily shred the primitive armor into bits.
- In the manga, when the horrified senators imagine the terrible consequences of continuing war with the JSDF, they only imagine the battlefield. In the anime, only Cicero imagines the consequences with a clearer outlook as he imagines the carnage on both the battlefield and the capital city.
- In the anime, when mentioning about the expensive cost of compensation, only Piña freaks out with the money they needed to pay, while in the manga, the senators also panic with her.
- While running away from Zorzal, the pro-peace senators are loaded in the sealed military truck, unlike the manga, they are loaded in the open-hooded Humvee which accelerates at a fast speed, scaring them.
- In the anime, Zorzal is seen trying Ma Nuga meat with mustard, while in the manga he also tries ice cream and cream soup.
- Bessala's fate in the manga is slightly more graphic as he and his family are killed by assassins from the other crime lords and displayed naked; in the anime, his family is not seen, and Bessala himself is killed by a grenade. The other three crime lords are also revealed in the manga.
Trivia and FYI[]
- The Empire's entire wealth is only worth Japan's annual budget for the government; showing a distinct lack of wealth in the Special Region. Though the difference is more likely due to the fact the Special Region is over two millennia behind Earth in politics and technology, thus severely limiting their wealth due to outdated methods.