Moving up to S1E23: The Cruel Verdict Since E19, Manabu's bonds with his team -- and the other major platoons of the SDF -- has grown tighter. Sirius, Spica, and Vega Platoons vow support each other on the missions following their long holiday.
However...Manabu's suddenly given an offer to join the Space Panzer Grenadiers -- the military unit his big brother was part of. It's an elite, highly sought-after ranking, and Manabu agrees to run through boot camp to see how he fares. And though he passes with very high marks and praise, Manabu in the end decides to go back to Sirius Platoon, citing his need to learn more from his team (his family, really) and that he'll have as much pride with them as he would with the SPG. After all, either position, he's still fighting to save lives and keep the peace.
Rejoined with his team, Sirius Platoon is given a special mission under the charge of a special officer from HQ. He's brash, stubborn, and rubs everyone the wrong way, but orders are orders and rank is rank. They track down a distress signal leading to an abandoned city where they discover Leafle-- an alien woman claiming to be from an entirely other universe. She explains that her peace-loving world was invaded by powerhungry conquerers who forced them to create terrible weapons, weapons which are also being used to poke and prod in this galaxy (these are in fact the same invaders who attacked and forced Manabu's father to sacrifice himself more than ten years ago, but they don't know it yet).
Her appeals are earnest, but the HQ officer brushes it off as a trick. Just then, the team is attacked by the very invaders Leafle warned of. During their escape, she is fatally injured protecting Manabu, and she passes over a piece of alien technology she urges them to use to fight back. Again, the HQ officer in charge adamantly refuses and bids them escape on their own capabilities.
Big One, the train they crew, is nearly destroyed before Captain Bulge finally defies the officer and commands his team to use Leafle's technology. It winds up saving them from near-death, but Leafle herself dies along the way and Manabu's crewmate Louise is badly injured. And, amid the high tensions, Captain Bulge loses his cool and punches out the HQ officer for insulting Manabu's father and dismissing Louise's condition, effectively saying she's going to die anyway and not waste time on her.
While Leafle's technology saved them from immediate destruction, Big One is so badly damaged that they're forced to make a crash landing on a nearby inhabited planet. Low on medical resources, Manabu and his partner Bruce have to rush to the nearest city to retrieve blood and supplies to save Louise's life. Along the way, they intercept a vehicle where a woman's been kidnapped by would-be gangbangers and rescue her. She turns out to be a nurse, and she's able to direct them to the nearest hospital...and notice that Bruce, himself, is injured, having received ricochet damage from the shot that took Louise down. He agrees to stay and get patched up while Manabu goes on ahead with the supplies and the vehicle to go save Louise.
Thankfully, Manabu makes it back in time and Medic Yuki is able to successfully operate and stabilize her. All that's left is to wait for Bruce to catch up in a civilian vehicle...
He never makes it, though. The gangbangers he and Manabu beat up earlier intercept him at a gas station, shoot him, and vanish into the night. Bruce dies alone, not found for hours.
This takes us to Episode 23. The funeral service is held promptly back at HQ, and the team -- especially Manabu and Louise -- are wrecked with guilt. Bruce died alone, and he was Manabu's partner. Had Louise not been shot...
Orders from up top have stripped Sirius Platoon. Captain Bulge is suspended immediately for assaulting a commanding officer, and the rest of his team are conscripted to the Spica and Vega Platoons. They can either join, or they quit the SDF entirely.
The days following are hazy and miserable. Manabu can barely focus, constantly seeing and hearing ghosts of his dead partner, shaking his concentration, leaving him in a fog of despair. Despite trying to keep up with the Vega Platoon, Manabu just can't focus, and it's only until he and Louise revisit Bruce's grave, seeing their captain's coat draped over the headstone, that the start to have a little bit of faith that things might turn around. Maybe the Sirius Platoon isn't over yet. Manabu and Louise grip each other's hands to reassure themselves that they're still in this for the long haul.
Manabu will be returning shortly after this, in uniform and now in possession of his partner's harmonica -- a trinket he now carries with him everywhere, same as his father's sidearm and his family photo. He's still the same age, but he's grown quite a lot in this short span, that much loss and new revelations to danger really sobering him out of his usual hotheaded impulses
CANON UPDATE: 11/2017
Since E19, Manabu's bonds with his team -- and the other major platoons of the SDF -- has grown tighter. Sirius, Spica, and Vega Platoons vow support each other on the missions following their long holiday.
However...Manabu's suddenly given an offer to join the Space Panzer Grenadiers -- the military unit his big brother was part of. It's an elite, highly sought-after ranking, and Manabu agrees to run through boot camp to see how he fares. And though he passes with very high marks and praise, Manabu in the end decides to go back to Sirius Platoon, citing his need to learn more from his team (his family, really) and that he'll have as much pride with them as he would with the SPG. After all, either position, he's still fighting to save lives and keep the peace.
Rejoined with his team, Sirius Platoon is given a special mission under the charge of a special officer from HQ. He's brash, stubborn, and rubs everyone the wrong way, but orders are orders and rank is rank. They track down a distress signal leading to an abandoned city where they discover Leafle-- an alien woman claiming to be from an entirely other universe. She explains that her peace-loving world was invaded by powerhungry conquerers who forced them to create terrible weapons, weapons which are also being used to poke and prod in this galaxy (these are in fact the same invaders who attacked and forced Manabu's father to sacrifice himself more than ten years ago, but they don't know it yet).
Her appeals are earnest, but the HQ officer brushes it off as a trick. Just then, the team is attacked by the very invaders Leafle warned of. During their escape, she is fatally injured protecting Manabu, and she passes over a piece of alien technology she urges them to use to fight back. Again, the HQ officer in charge adamantly refuses and bids them escape on their own capabilities.
Big One, the train they crew, is nearly destroyed before Captain Bulge finally defies the officer and commands his team to use Leafle's technology. It winds up saving them from near-death, but Leafle herself dies along the way and Manabu's crewmate Louise is badly injured. And, amid the high tensions, Captain Bulge loses his cool and punches out the HQ officer for insulting Manabu's father and dismissing Louise's condition, effectively saying she's going to die anyway and not waste time on her.
While Leafle's technology saved them from immediate destruction, Big One is so badly damaged that they're forced to make a crash landing on a nearby inhabited planet. Low on medical resources, Manabu and his partner Bruce have to rush to the nearest city to retrieve blood and supplies to save Louise's life. Along the way, they intercept a vehicle where a woman's been kidnapped by would-be gangbangers and rescue her. She turns out to be a nurse, and she's able to direct them to the nearest hospital...and notice that Bruce, himself, is injured, having received ricochet damage from the shot that took Louise down. He agrees to stay and get patched up while Manabu goes on ahead with the supplies and the vehicle to go save Louise.
Thankfully, Manabu makes it back in time and Medic Yuki is able to successfully operate and stabilize her. All that's left is to wait for Bruce to catch up in a civilian vehicle...
He never makes it, though. The gangbangers he and Manabu beat up earlier intercept him at a gas station, shoot him, and vanish into the night. Bruce dies alone, not found for hours.
This takes us to Episode 23. The funeral service is held promptly back at HQ, and the team -- especially Manabu and Louise -- are wrecked with guilt. Bruce died alone, and he was Manabu's partner. Had Louise not been shot...
Orders from up top have stripped Sirius Platoon. Captain Bulge is suspended immediately for assaulting a commanding officer, and the rest of his team are conscripted to the Spica and Vega Platoons. They can either join, or they quit the SDF entirely.
The days following are hazy and miserable. Manabu can barely focus, constantly seeing and hearing ghosts of his dead partner, shaking his concentration, leaving him in a fog of despair. Despite trying to keep up with the Vega Platoon, Manabu just can't focus, and it's only until he and Louise revisit Bruce's grave, seeing their captain's coat draped over the headstone, that the start to have a little bit of faith that things might turn around. Maybe the Sirius Platoon isn't over yet. Manabu and Louise grip each other's hands to reassure themselves that they're still in this for the long haul.
Manabu will be returning shortly after this, in uniform and now in possession of his partner's harmonica -- a trinket he now carries with him everywhere, same as his father's sidearm and his family photo. He's still the same age, but he's grown quite a lot in this short span, that much loss and new revelations to danger really sobering him out of his usual hotheaded impulses