Galilei Donna

How does it feel like to be related to a celebrity? Awesome? Annoying? Well, how then would it feel to be a descendant of one of the greatest people on Earth? Maybe an inventor or a philosopher? I’m sure it has its ups and downs but for this anime concerned, Galilei Donna, we have descendants of the great Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei! How cool is that? You can brag and tell to your friends that your great-great-great-great grandpa was the father of science. Cool, huh? So cool this guy that there is a Japanese rock band named after him and even Queen had a line in Bohemian Rhapsody going “Galileo, Galileo! Galileo, Galileo!”. Oh yeah. Don’t you just love that song?

But it is not so rosy a picture in this original anime. Set in the near future of 2061, we have 3 sisters who are supposedly the descendants of the great Galileo. However they have different personalities and are somewhat at odds with each other. In other words, they aren’t really getting along well. Heck. Seems their entire family is going through a rough patch. Even worse, the sisters aren’t really interested in upholding the great legacy of their ancestor. Of course when they are being accused as terrorist, they have to put aside their differences to work together and go on a world journey to unveil the secrets left behind by Galileo. A treasure that seems everyone is willing to kill them for it. I guess it is such time you’d wish that you weren’t a descendant of someone so great.

Episode 1
Mechs are seen dropping down into a construction dome, stealing methane hydrate cartridge crates before blowing everything else up. Meanwhile Hozuki Ferrari doesn’t know why she is being chased by a weird ship. When it corners her in a plant, she takes out her stun laser cannon and fires it to bring it down. Kazuki Ferrari is drunk and depressed. Something about college fees and credits. At the toilet as she freshens up herself, a guy gets rough with her. She starts threatening him about sexual harassment lawsuit and suing but does he care? Her friend smashes a bottle on his head and he hastily withdraws. Similarly, Hazuki Ferrari is faking illness, playing truant at the infirmary just to avoid a group activity in class when a man comes in with a knife on her neck. She kicks his crotch but he flees through the window. So the sisters are at the police station and the police chief, Cassini is baffled a kidnapping incident occurring at the same time. Not happy too is their mom, Sylvia. She lectures them about being irresponsible and skipping classes. Oh, here it comes… Another lengthy reminder that they’re the descendants of the great Galileo Galilei. The sisters don’t seem to be interested in upholding that greatness… Their dad Geshio (hippy guy?) is also here and rushed from his lab after he heard the incident. The police couldn’t understand the fuss about this Galileo Galilei thing and will have 2 cops station outside their house. But as pointed out they may need more than that as they all live separately. Hozuki is to go live with mom so she goes off to her lab to feed her goldfish before deciding what to pack. This may take a while. As the rest waits, an explosion blows apart the wall. Cicinho and his men walk coolly into the place. He’s making himself home. Seems he wants to know where the Galileo relic is but Sylvia doesn’t know what he is talking about. He thinks she is pulling a fast one. Hozuki sees this commotion and goes back down to her lab. Kazuki tries to be some sort of prosecutor thingy but Cicinho doesn’t give a damn. He is going to show them his gorgeous mecha, Black Ganymede but everyone is surprised the ground is shaking. Then bursting out of the ground is a goldfish craft with Hozuki and her talking AI pet goldfish, Grande Rosso as the pilot. Cicinho orders for this joke to be taken down however the goldfish packs a punch and with enough firepower to do serious damage Black Ganymede. Cicinho decides to let them go for today and will be back. Kazuki still want to persecute him someday? Tell him that when she’s become a full-fledged lawyer. From afar, Anna Hendrix notes she has found the Galileo sisters.

Episode 2
Everyone marvels at this craft that Hozuki built. She found blueprints in the attic and started building it 3 years ago. She wanted to fly to Japan and armed it with weapons in case she encounters air pirates. She’s put a lot of thought into it, huh? Hozuki remembers her pet goldfish and goes back into her lab to get it. However she is met with Anna who says she is here to save her. She brings her see her family being taken away by Cassini. So the police is on this too? Anna introduces herself as a fan of Galileo. She mentions about the 6 sketches he drew when he observed the moon but there is a rumoured seventh one. It is believe he left clues in the sketches that would lead to the discovery of something grander than the heliocentric model. That discovery is what people are calling Galileo’s relic or treasure. Anna wanted to write a book in it but got attacked by men in suits. Not just them. From air pirates to even the police as she just witnessed are trying to find Galileo’s treasure. She believes Galileo’s discovery will bring benefit to mankind and should be shared instead of being monopolized or kept hidden. The rest of the family are thrown in prison but only Sylvia is released on bail thanks to her company president, Francesco. Think he is a kind man? Yeah. He asks her, wait for it, where is Galileo’s relic. Geshio is visited by a strange guy, Roberto Materazzi (folding a paper crane?). He too would like to know the whereabouts of that damn relic. However Geshio doesn’t. Not a single bit. It is Sylvia who is a direct descendant and their family hasn’t been on good terms for a long term.

Anna wants Hozuki’s help to save her family but the latter doesn’t have the confidence. She doesn’t feel they’re a family as they’ve broken up. However the thought that they can get along like they use to serves as motivation. First Anna distracts the dumb lookout cops to retrieve Galileo (the official and nicer name for her goldfish craft). Then with Hozuki piloting a mini goldfish mecha, she burst into the underground prison to go save her family. The police can shoot all they want. No bullets are going to penetrate the metal. Roberto is in cohorts with Cassini and is not afraid to get blood on his hands if he doesn’t get what he wants. Of course this is put on hold when Hozuki goes on a rampage. After freeing her family, Roberto and the police confront the mecha. He is impressed with her talent. Unfortunately, it was a decoy because Geshio is piloting it. He wanted his daughters to go solve the mystery of Galileo before other parties could. Riding up to the rooftop, Cassini thought he could stop the girls by himself. Kazuki judos the fat ass. Out in a single throw. After they fly off in Galileo, Roberto calls his adopted father, Francesco who is Sylvia’s boss that things aren’t going as planned. Things are not going well on his side too because looks like there is blood all over Sylvia.

Episode 3
Roberto’s dad is giving a press statement about air pirates frequently raiding methane hydrate mines around the world. His company, Adnimoon is the only stable energy supplier left and vows not to let that supply be destabilized. Although Sylvia is alive, she is in coma and has amnesia. Curiously her knowledge and scientific expertise remain intact. This works well in their favour as they plan to use her for you-know-what. Geshio has escaped and in hiding. He sends a short message to the girls to signal that he is alright. Hazuki isn’t interested in finding the relics and more interested in taking down Adnimoon, their perpetrators. But Anna notes that it is not Adnimoon that she should be targeting but Messier, a top secret branch under Adnimoon that does all the dirty work. Hazuki can’t work on an empty stomach but there is no food around. Kazuki hates this place because it reeks of oil and wants to go home. Hozuki hopes everyone would stop using their handphones because it has been tapped and could be traced. They can use the communicator she made. Yes, she even made those. But Kazuki is reluctant to give it up. I take it there are pics of her boyfriend inside? Before they could go stock up on food, Grande Rosso tells them that they have become international wanted criminals. This serious? Kazuki is having some serious dissatisfaction. The toilet is her place of refuge? She thinks Hozuki is doing this without thinking about them but Hazuki disagrees and shows her around the very well built Galileo. There are 5 sets of everything and this shows Hozuki was thinking about her family when she made this.

Suddenly Galileo is being attacked by Roberto’s Branding Iron mecha. They can’t escape in time and fall into his grasp. At least he has a good point: He doesn’t beat around the bush. So where is the relic? All that shaking and crushing must have loosened some parts. Anna finds a moon sketch inside the pipe. Convenient? The girls think of using this to their advantage. However pessimistic Kazuki wants to hand it over so they can go home and live their normal lives. Hazuki argues it isn’t going to be that simple. Think they’ll let them go just like that even after the handover? Kazuki enters a nervous breakdown, accusing Hozuki of doing all this just to show off. She runs away. Where can she run to? Feel better after breaking plates? Nope. But thanks to the arrival of Black Ganymede, Cicinho attacks Roberto as the tussle for the sisters begin. It is during that confusion that the sisters use this chance to escape. In the aftermath, Hozuki checks out the sketch. Sounds poetic like a love letter. Anna and Hazuki discuss about Adnimoon using Messier to seize resources from competitors to enlarge their market share. Therefore obtaining Galileo’s relic is the fastest way to foil their plans. But how are they going to get information on other sketches? Perhaps something trivial that all Galileo’s fans know? Did you know he studied music when he was young? Speaking of which, Hozuki notices there are musical bars in the sketch.

Episode 4
One of the notes contain the map of Germany. This might be where the next sketch is. But it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Are they going to find every tree in this park? What more, sulking Kazuki won’t help. And all they find is a homeless man who won’t let go of Hozuki’s feet! Maybe he is hungry so they feed him with their little provisions back at his makeshift home in the woods. Hozuki notices his micro doctor invention. Herman Hans was once an engineer and had a daughter Hozuki’s age. She had a rare disease that conventional surgeries cannot cure. Although micro doctor was a failure, he improvised and perfected it. However it was too late. He felt his life wasted when he couldn’t save her life. Hazuki and Hozuki disguise themselves to go get some supplies in town. I’m sure they look even more suspicious. Especially the couple of Ganymede pirates who instantly recognize them. Thankfully, they’re goons. The duo make a run for it. Entering buildings, jumping from buildings. Don’t try this stunt. When Hozuki jumps, because she wanted to save those newly bought plates, she slipped and fell. She landed hard on the pile of junk below. I don’t know how Hazuki brought her back to Galileo but Hozuki is in a lot of pain. They can’t go to a doctor or they’ll be turned in. Kazuki remembers Hans and goes to plead to him to save his sister. Despite all that hatred, she still cares for her sister. I suppose the please-save-my-family rings a bell in him so he agrees to help.

However Cicinho had to pick a nice time to attack them. Because Hazuki and Anna are at a lost, Kazuki takes control. She even reads the manual on how to start up Galileo and fly it! But the bumpy ride means Hans cannot start his operation using micro doctor on Hozuki. Hazuki is so pissed that she had to hail Cicinho and scold the hell out of him. Like he understands what is happening. Kazuki then changes Galileo into battle mode. The goldfish transforms into its assault mode, so cool that its claws can slice missiles! When Cicinho hears from one of his men who chased the sisters in town and that one of them fell and got injured, he feels guilty and beats him up. He decides to withdraw for today otherwise he can’t look at Hazuki in the eye. He wants to take it fair and square? Oh sure, like everything he did was. The surgery on Hozuki is successful. As they send Hans home, they lament about not finding the sketch. Seems Hans has it. He was using it as a mat! Desecration of a national treasure! Yeah. Anna fainted. When this park was built 5 year ago, the trees were cleared. At that time he quit his engineer job and made this forest his home. He found the sketch in a broken fish statue. He gives it to them since they have done a lot for him. Continuing their journey, Kazuki continues to put up a tough front, like as though she doesn’t really care. Really? Then why glue back all the broken plates together despite it’s a horrible shoddy job?

Episode 5
Their next journey brings them to Netherlands. Similarly, the local bandits called Blue Hawk ambushes an Adnimoon’s cargo. The girls land in a ghost town and are surrounded by Blue Hawk members. Their leader, Ludger Verhoeven welcomes them since they’re both wanted criminals. Technically. Back at their train station base, Ludger brands Adnimoon the villain because they have been cutting off energy supply to smaller towns like this one for prestigious and rich cities. It’s discrimination. However Kazuki still wants to argue the proper channels to voice complaints and all. As said, they’ve been cut off so Adnimoon doesn’t care what they say. At this rate everyone will die and they have no time or money to go through proper channels. Hozuki befriends a boy, Theo Escher. As they share the same interest in engineering, they quickly click. He also shows her a telescope he made. She notices a name Karen carved on it. She is Theo’s childhood friend. Later Hozuki talks to Karen. She knows she likes Theo. She knows it’s her birthday today. Wow. She knows everything. Meeting back with Theo, he shows her the perfected lens he got to complete his telescope. When he mentions he got this lens from the church, Hozuki wants to know where the church is. It’s right in their base. The church was transformed into a train station before the town was abandoned. Hozuki sees the goldfish in the glass and uses it like a sundial to pinpoint a secret trapdoor on the floor. Seriously, nobody noticed this? I guess everyone was busy surviving or rebelling. Underneath is a giant abandoned cathedral and they find a sketch. Theo wants to show this to Ludger and believes he will give it to her since he is a generous man. When they go see him, Branding Irons are seen floating in, ready to destroy the place. Seems Ludger has sold everyone out. He fires his gun at them but it accidentally hits an inflammable tank. Somehow Hozuki’s goldfish hourglass pendant absorbs the explosion. Ludger flies away as Theo signals Galileo to retrieve Hozuki. He is going back to save Karen. Speaking of which, she is still at the base, holding on to the telescope. She couldn’t leave his treasured telescope behind although it was supposed to be his birthday gift to her. They can’t make it out in time since the blasts shatter the glasses and Karen’s leg got done in. They cuddle together in their final moments as the Branding Irons blow up the place. Distraught Hozuki wanted to go save them but Grande Rosso moves into auto pilot mode to steer them away and escape. Otherwise they will be shot down too. 99.8% for sure.

Episode 6
When Roberto was celebrating his 11th birthday, there were homeless people outside begging for food. His father went to gave all they have to them because he believes those with plenty must share. That is the duty for those blessed with abundance. Roberto quickly believed in that till one day a freak hailstorm hit his town. Buildings were destroyed. His parents pinned under the rubble. He went to seek for help especially those homeless guys hanging around. However they don’t remember who his father is and to make things worse, they steal his mom’s necklace before leaving without a care. So much about loyalty. Short memory. The building crumbles and a slab falls on Roberto. So can you blame Roberto why he is such a cold guy? Meanwhile Hazuki is sick. They don’t have medicine and they’re desperate enough to go steal some at the hospital. Who knows, Ganymede pirates are there and holding the people hostage because they want to repair their engine by using parts of the hospital for their ship. Triple unlucky because Roberto is also here for the same reason. The goons are no match for him. Only Cicinho can stand up to him. Roberto gives up when he is outnumbered by Cicinho’s men pointing their guns surrounding him. Then more bad luck as the power runs out and is running on backup generator. How long will that last? Several patients complain to the doctor about preferential treatment. Because those in the upper floors are in critical condition, so energy is directed towards keeping the equipment running. They are not happy half dead people are given preferential treatment and the rest will just freeze to death. This makes Roberto remember part of his past. He lost his right leg since that incident and at the orphanage, that’s when Francesco saw him. He liked the look in his eyes and made him his son.

When Cicinho learns that Kazuki is sick, he orders his men to help the sisters deliver the medicine. They wonder why they’re being so nice going out their way despite being injured. It goes beyond just boss’ orders. They are ready to give their lives to him. Everyone in Ganymede came from the orphanage. Adults bullied and mistreated them just to show who is superior. They withstood the abuse till Cicinho came along. He gave those mother*ckers a piece of his mind. Ever since they followed him and to reciprocate their freedom, they obey his commands. Kazuki thinks they’re still wrong as pirates but they tell her back that they didn’t pay for the medicine either. They know how this harsh world works. There are not enough resources for everyone so they can’t survive without taking from others. People do it because they have no choice. Hozuki feels sad thinking the same thing about Theo’s fate. Suddenly a gunshot is heard. Roberto shoots and kills all those selfish complainers!!! It makes no sense for them to live. Cicinho doesn’t like the way he decides who lives or dies. But Roberto gets honest. There are too many people in this world. The population far exceeds the world’s capacity. He considers himself as the world’s spokesperson and his action are salvation. I don’t know why Ganymede lets him shoot those he wants and just standing there. I know he is holding a comrade hostage but she too got shot eventually. And they didn’t fight back… Hozuki cannot take anymore of this and ‘tackles’ Roberto. He misfires and hits a tank. Boom! That’s when her pendant works up. Like a mini black hole it swallows the explosion and emits a warm ray of light. I’m not sure if this light stopped the blizzard since the weather is fine now. The girls wake up and return to deliver the medicine to Hazuki. Roberto is about to kill off unconscious Cicinho. However he ran out of bullets. Lucky? He watches Galileo fly away as he notes he has found Galileo’s treasure. Yeah, how come nobody noticed it was that pendant hanging around her neck all the time? Maybe it was the light.

Episode 7
Here is another revelation: Anna contacts Roberto and her task is to keep an eye on the sisters till he gets there! Anna realizes at this rate, the girls will be murdered. She then returns to the rest and discuss about Hozuki’s pendant. Hazuki has come up with a conclusion the reason Adnimoon is pursuing them. If Galileo’s treasure is an energy source, it is all the reason why they are desperate to get their hands on it. Anna seems to know about this but why didn’t she tell them? Not to put pressure on them. Are they prepared to take responsibility and save the world? For Hazuki, she intends on doing that because she’s going to be the world’s greatest lawyer. As for how Hozuki found it, it was in the attic with the sketch and she had no idea it was this valuable. Of course they don’t want to let this fall in the hands of Adnimoon because if it does, they won’t share it and monopolize it all for themselves. Later Anna talks to Hozuki who is in a little dilemma. The world’s problem is too big for her and all she wants is just to find the sketches. Anna says that people value things differently. Like herself, she is doing this because of love. Yeah. There is some guy she likes (guess who) however it is unrequited love. She was saved by him and admires his strength. Galileo is travelling through the Caspian Sea when they are being bombarded by depth charges. It’s Roberto and his Branding Iron again. Back so soon? Because they cannot transform into assault mode, they are forced to surface. However whatever weapons they throw and attack at Branding Iron, nothing happens. Roberto is far superior to the point Galileo takes heavy damage and crash lands.

In a desperate move, the girls climb out as Hazuki tempts and provokes Roberto to get the pendant himself. It worked. But if Hazuki thought she could bait him close enough to stun him with the stun gun, she is sorely mistaken because he saw it all coming. He gives her to knockout punch. He is very well about to shoot her when Kazuki throws the pendant to him. Take it and leave. Leave us alone! He might have shot her too if not for Anna telling him that he’s got what he want, so go home. After he leaves, it’s sullen mood for the girls. Hazuki is frustrated that they lost because of difference in strength. However she won’t give up and will continue to find remaining the sketches. If it leads to another treasure, it might turn the tables to their favour. Of course Kazuki is not happy. She doesn’t care about saving the world. All she cares is her sisters’ safety. And so Hazuki and Hozuki follow the clues of the sketch and find a statue with a goldfish logo on it. Coincidence? Convenience? Luck? Hazuki vents her anger and kicks to break open the statue! I know resorting to violence is faster but this is your future lawyer we’re talking about… And their mood is lift up again when they find another sketch. But even happier for Hozuki because the next journey will bring them to Japan!

Episode 8
Hozuki wants to take a detour to Kyoto and meet her grandpa first. Grandpa is delighted to meet his granddaughters and welcomes them. Though his humble home may not be much and due to energy shortage, the heater is usually turned off and it’s almost as cold as hell (oh, the oxymoron). But he’s used to it. The sisters venture into their father’s room and finds his photo album. They are shocked to see he was once a punk rock band member!!! KISS?! Oh, there are other many jobs he did before he settled being a hippie. Could he have picked a better one? Is that even a job? They also see pictures of their parents spending time together during their younger days and it led to their marriage. Feel the warmth in your heart? Hozuki notices an energy converter sketch and uses it to fix the real one outside grandpa’s house. Time to get her hands dirty. Meanwhile Anna contacts Roberto that everything is going according to plan. She is appalled to hear that once he has all the sketches, he will eliminate them. He let them go then so that they could run around and find the remaining sketches. So once the collecting is done, contact him. Hozuki needs some parts for the machine. It’s also a little excuse for them to go sightseeing. Hozuki loves Japan so much that she marvels at everything. Yup. Even geishas. The sisters split up to do their own stuffs and meet back at a certain time.

Hazuki had to get lost. Conveniently that’s when she bumps into Cicinho. Suddenly he feels like a stalker, eh? He is glad she is back to her usual self and came to see her because he heard she was almost killed by that Messier bastard. He wants her to join him so he can protect her. Hazuki laughs. And then agrees to let him protect her. Wait. That easy? Even Cicinho thinks she should take some time to consider that. Hazuki has learnt some things on their journey. She doesn’t have the right to talk about justice seeing the danger she put her sisters in. She feels ideals aren’t enough to protect what is most important. He replies that it takes power to uphold an ideal. But power must not be given to those who do not want to uphold it. There is no need for her to change. She is fine the way she is. She thanks him for being a nice guy. Once they’ve gathered the treasure, he’ll come get them. And her. Back home, the sisters show grandpa the converter sketch. Then Hozuki starts up the machine. She has made some innovation so that it keeps energy losses to a minimum. Now the place is warm and they can even have steaming hot nabe. Time for Anna to have some reflection of her heart. Because grandpa is grateful for her travelling with his granddaughters and hopes she will continue to look after them. Then the sisters had to gate crash in while she’s bathing and in the already small and cramped bathtub, they give their thanks from the bottom of the heart that it made her cry. Touching. Back to business, the girls find the fifth sketch in some tomb deep in the mountains.

Episode 9
In the dessert of Libya, the girls find the last sketch. However with it seems to be a regular telescope. Hozuki wanted to ask Anna about the rumoured seventh sketch but Grande Rosso detects the enemy coming. It’s that heartless bastard. How did they find them? Hozuki feels something amiss about Anna because she is acting quite guilty. Furthermore, they can’t fly away as they are low on fuel. When both sides confront, Roberto throws back the pendant to Hozuki because he has no need for fakes. He gets straight to the point. Hand him all the sketches. Hozuki won’t. So he tells her if those sketches contain blueprints on how to make proper use of vast energy source, even if Hozuki deciphers them, she needs vast amounts of money and infrastructure. There are things she cannot learn from books like battle experience and trials of desperation. Anna suggests to hand over the sketches at it is not worth their lives. Roberto tells her to drop the bad act. What does this mean? Confession time. Anna admits she is a spy for Messier and approached them to make them collect the sketches. She was the one who drained their fuel. She thought being descendants of Galileo would make them efficient but she is sick and tired of their petty sisterly quarrels. Makes her feel glad she doesn’t have any. Anna thought this would be the end but it seems Roberto wants her to finish the sisters off with her own hands as they know too much. Can she shoot them? This is serious. Anna may be a spy but she’s not a killer. With her shaking hands, she points the gun back at Roberto and tells the sisters to run. She also tells them where she left the fuel. At the same time, Black Ganymede attacks and Cicinho is not very happy that the bastard hurt his woman. One of his men even got the cheek to note that maybe they’ve fallen for the same woman. Haha. As the sisters run back to Galileo, Hozuki takes out her mechanical pet goldfish and this is where she kept the real treasure. She pours it back into the hourglass and the explosion around makes it start up. In the flash of events, Hozuki suddenly realize time has stopped before she gets warped into some wormhole.

She falls out from a stormy cloud and crashes onto a guy flying his ancient wooden flying craft. Too bad it got destroyed when it crash landed. He isn’t really happy about it. All the time and money spent on making this. How is this girl going to pay? Then he notices her pendant pulsing with the storm cloud. He thinks she must have come from there. Hozuki panics that she needs to get back but he calms her down. Based on his observation, the same phenomenon will happen again in 23 days and by that time he needs Galileo to fly them back up. Wait. Galileo? Hozuki is surprised to learn he is the real Galileo Galilei in person! Blast to the past, I suppose. He plans on being the first person to make a functional airplane. Back at his home, Galileo explains this phenomenon was regarded as bad omen to the locals and they hid inside their homes. However he has never seen such a peculiar storm and observed it. He shows her the other many objects from the future fallen from it. Each time the pendant was activated, it sucked in something, right? So this is where it went. He also shows her his chart of observation of the flashes and its peak. If they head back up to the sky at its peak, she may be able to go back. They both make blueprints of the airplane but Galileo is amazed at Hozuki’s innovation and improvise that makes his airplane much more efficient and aero dynamic. You don’t say… Then they build it from scratch, even have time to paint it like a goldfish and make a mini one just to test it. However come next morning, it’s raining. Maybe it’s because of the teruterubouzu she made and hanged up. Looks more like a curse to him. How can a person of science believe in such unscientific charm? Of course the rain has to stop and when it does, it’s a beautiful weather to test fly.

Episode 10
The first flight… Failed. Second, third, fourth… All failed. It took them till evening to figure out what is wrong. By that time, they notice the storm cloud approaching. He predicts it will be here tomorrow evening so they have one more day to fix whatever is wrong. That night when Hozuki can’t sleep, she sees him observing and sketching the moon on his rooftop. He explains that he doesn’t believe about the current belief that everything revolves around Earth. However he has no evidence to back his theory. So people will quickly discredit him and anything that goes against accepted beliefs because they are afraid of new things. But he isn’t. That’s why he wants to observe, test and prove. From his observation, he deduces Hozuki is from the future. She admits and tells him the future world problem of energy shortage, the painful, sad and happy journey with her sisters. She wants to get back in time and he assures she will. Later Hozuki looks at his sketch but it lacks all the poetic love words in the ones she has. Who was that love letter meant for? She also notices a newly built world globe in the corner. Next day before liftoff, Hozuki gives Galileo her mechanical goldfish as thanks. She really enjoyed spending time with him. As they take to the air, Galileo cannot contain his happiness that he sees with his very own eyes the round horizon. Now he is damn sure that the world is round and supports his theory of Earth rotating on its axis, etc. Now that he has seen the proof, he won’t waver anymore and will walk his path with full determination.

When he was young, he wanted to do all this but whenever he spoke to others, they dismiss him as crazy and a weirdo. Because he didn’t want people to look at him that way, he stopped talking to people about his ideas. He had given up on finding someone who understands him till he met her. Then it hit Hozuki. The words he says sound very familiar in the sketches. Then she realizes to whom that ‘love letter’ was directed to. Hozuki also says she is quite similar to him. She couldn’t tell the people around about her thoughts nor find the right words to express. But she is no longer alone now. She is confident he will find somebody who understands him. Well, didn’t he already? Galileo then has this strange feeling overcoming him. He wished he could fly like this forever with her. Hozuki too. As they head into the storm cloud, Hozuki remembers more of the love letter words. Definitely, it was meant for her. Inside the storm, Hozuki’s pendant activates and she gets sucked away. Like lovers being forcefully separated by the force of nature. She returns to present time and it resumes back as normal. Thanks to Cicinho’s protection, the sisters are able to run back to their ship and take off. However it is short-lived since they are shot down again. This time by the Interpol who wants them to surrender.

Episode 11
The sisters are thrown back into the cold prison in Italy. Back home after their whirlwind adventure, eh? Francesco sees them personally and gives them one last chance to hand over the treasure. Since Hozuki will not, they can spend the rest of their lives in prison after they have been found guilty in the trial of the century called Galileo Trial. Meanwhile Anna is locked separately but someone frees her and leaves her a message. The sisters are appalled at their lawyer: A frail old dude who could kick the bucket anytime! They’re goners… However he hands them the sketches and the hourglass (they were supposedly in Roberto’s possession) because he was told by a woman to hand it over to them. Hozuki goes through the sketches and among the lines she read include some purification formula he is unable to complete but is confident Hozuki will succeed. Hozuki reveals she moved the treasure into her other goldfish at Germany because Grande Rosso caught Anna searching suspiciously through their stuffs. She didn’t tell them because Anna was always with them. And then Hozuki has figured out the puzzle. The Ferrari sisters are in a live court session. Adnimoon’s lawyer goes on the offensive and accuses them of being violent, showing the very first footage of how they broke into the police station. Hazuki becomes the defence lawyer since the old geezer is just nodding off…  Of course Adnimoon’s lawyers twist the facts to paint the sisters as violent pirates. They also make it as though the devastating attack on Netherland’s Blue Hawk’s base was from them. There are also witnesses called in to pinpoint the blame of the sisters’ violence against them but of course nobody sees it as the sisters did so to defend themselves. Hazuki sees an important document inside the old lawyer’s suitcase. It contains secret information about Adnimoon’s Branding Iron and proof that they have been raiding methane hydrate sites and blaming it on air pirates. Francesco claims he doesn’t know all this. Furthermore, Adnimoon’s lawyer argues all these are irrelevant as this is a trial to judge the Ferrari sisters. The judge agrees.

Sylvia as the final witness is called in. She apologizes to everyone about Hozuki’s unparalleled talent being used for criminal activities. She wants her to be punished for her crimes. Kazuki stands up against her mother. She of all should know Hozuki isn’t like that. She might be weird but she built something that protected them so many times. So how can she say that about her? Adnimoon’s lawyer rushes for a verdict when Geshio barges in. He gives Hozuki the telescope. Sylvia then changes tune. She believes in her daughters’ innocence because they are also the descendants of Galileo. Francesco is troubled at her argument basis but Sylvia needs no such basis to trust her family. She then hands the judge data and solid authentic proof of Messier and the crimes they do on behalf for Adnimoon. How did she do all that? When she got injured, she thought that she needed to remain inside Adnimoon to reveal the truth and thus pretended to have amnesia. In the end, Francesco is arrested but as he is taken outside the courthouse, Roberto shoots him! Then he gets arrested. WTF?! A bad deed deserves another? The Ferrari family rejoice at their reunion. While the sisters are away globe throttling, Geshio secretly helped Sylvia. But they couldn’t have done it with Anna’s help too (Geshio was the one who freed her). Hozuki uses the telescope to look at the sketches. She finds formulas hidden in the dark side of the moon. She thinks Galileo’s treasure is not complete and realized that when the chemical reactions that occur when it’s activated caused a certain phenomenon. It’s a reason why Galileo didn’t announce his discovery and only left them a small amount. Then the old lawyer takes off his mask and reveals himself: Cicinho! And you thought where that guy was hiding all the while. He steals Hozuki’s hourglass as repayment for everything and escapes with his men. Hozuki isn’t pressing the panic button yet because the sketches contain instructions on how to make them. The sisters search the ruins of their home for the rumoured seventh sketch. Hozuki finds the globe and is certain about it. Kazuki kicks open to reveal a sketch but it is a sketch of Hozuki and her with Galileo riding the plane! It dawned to Hozuki that she has been building her Galileo ship from sketches just like these. The family flies to Japan to see grandpa again as they vow to complete Galileo’s treasure.

The World Is Not Enough
Happy ending? Well, as long as the Ferraris are back together again as one, I think this is what matters. The world can go fly kite and fight among each other for limited energy resources for all they care because all they need is each other. They are each other’s energy supply and source. Although I feel the ending was a bit rush just to wrap up everything, I think it is overall quite a nice and entertaining anime. After all, it is about the sisters on a journey not to find the treasure but to discover themselves. Being family. That is the ultimate treasure. Thanks to being branded a terrorist, they get to travel the world together and do things that they don’t do together and learn to love each other. Heck, I believe that prior to this, they have not spent such a long time together with each other. So you see, when something threatens your family, you get to stick and go through it thick and thin.

Though, there might be a few things that raise an eyebrow or two because despite this show being sci-fi fantasy, suddenly you see the sisters who have never gotten along well for a long time to work together so fluently and smoothly. Like as though they’ve been on good terms for a long time (exception of Kazuki’s pessimism). The girls are seen piloting or using Galileo like as though they have been using it for years. I understand that Hozuki made it but this is the first time that she actually flew the thing so her inexperience in piloting it should show. Heck, how the hell did she build something so big underneath the lab without others even getting suspicious? Furthermore, she wrote a thick manual on it and only bookworms like Kazuki (assuming she is one) can read and understand it in one go. Ironically Hazuki who wants to be a lawyer is no good with such thick books. Does she know how many references of cases she has to make? Also, with the sisters on a world tour (nicer to say that than cat and mouse game), they get to play detectives too and solve the mystery of the sketches. Feels pretty rushed when they seek for the clues. Wait, no. There isn’t actually much mystery written into the sketches’ puzzle. So instead you see the girls in some sort of (mis)adventure while they’re at it and when it’s over, they conveniently find the sketch or Hozuki giving some explanation that I don’t really fathom. So it’s like cute girls doing cute things but not exactly in a cute way?

When Hozuki was flung back into the past, suddenly I had this feeling that they were going to do this time paradox thingy and true enough, something like that came about. Had not Hozuki met Galileo in the past, he probably would never have written those love letters intended for her. Then there is the goldfish emblem that Galileo uses in his designs and left clues behind with. Was the goldfish idea from him or Hozuki? Because Hozuki adopted whatever blueprints left behind by Galileo, which was only possible because she came to the past. Hozuki imparting her scientific knowledge to Galileo to make his craft more efficient, was it because of her science from Galileo or Galileo learning from her? See? Isn’t this confusing? Besides, the clincher was when Hozuki gave her mechanical goldfish to him. He keeps it for centuries and guess where it ends up in whose possession? However a few mind boggling questions. How did Galileo travel around the globe and put his sketches into goldfish memorials? He must have really have lots of free time, huh? Transport then wasn’t as easy as today. Breakfast in New York, dinner in Tokyo. It takes months just to sail to the other side of the world. Especially when you talk from Italy to Japan where one of the sketches was. So how the heck did he travel so far and put up those stones? Also, how can Galileo create some kind of solution and energy source assuming he doesn’t really fully understand the energy crisis in the future? I mean, in those days, electricity was unheard off, right? So how did Galileo actually extract whatever power source and perhaps the mysterious treasure of this series? Oh… Hozuki? I think she may have shown him bits of it. That’s why it’s somewhat incomplete. Of course this anime had some liberty in portraying Galileo because as far as I know, he wasn’t one who created a flying craft. Wasn’t it Leonardo Da Vinci?

Hozuki initially lacks the confidence for the things she does and also a quiet and reserved girl. Just like the rest of her sisters, the hostility may be just the surface because deep down she too loves her sisters very much. For a young girl to be strong and brave in the face of adversaries, I’d say she is quite commendable. The only eyebrow raiser I have about Hozuki is about her forte in making all those stuffs. Don’t get me wrong here. Science and engineering are definitely her strong subjects and what I mean is that for a little girl, it feels odd that she has made tons and giants of robots and whatever gadgets. How odd? Because she doesn’t look like she has the hands or the looks of a hands-on person. I know looks can be deceiving but the way I see it, how come her hands are always clean? Shouldn’t it be rough after all the fixing? Certainly fixing a ship like Galileo takes many strong men to tighten the bolts, screw in the nuts, solder the iron, don’t you think at least she would have some sort of dirt? If Hozuki can actually do such a good job, she might as well be qualified to work on Star Trek’s USS Enterprise! That’s why I thought it was somewhat a little unrealistic to see her so clean like a natural little girl. When you go to the car workshop, you can see all those mechanics and their dirtied hands, right? And I believe technology even at this level is not that advance that you can just wipe dirt off your hands and leave it clean as new because still, Hozuki should have developed some biceps and muscles had she been putting together real steel of Galileo.

Kazuki was seen initially as a negative and pessimistic person. The kind who doesn’t really want to play along and had to just because she lost out to democracy and majority. I wouldn’t really blame her for not wanting to go along because sane person could tell you that hopping from country to another with bad people chasing you is very dangerous. They’ve brushed close with death several times so it’s natural that she is scared. Underneath it all, she is the most sensitive among the sisters and blurts out her objections because she really cares for them. Sometimes her actions make her feel a little like a tsundere. Jealous of Hozuki over her brilliant science talent, gradually she comes to terms and accepts her little sister. One thing still bugs me is about her boyfriend picture in her handphone. Who is he really? He made a cameo appearance in the final episode at the trial. He had this guilty look in his face when their eyes met. At the end of everything, it’s like Kazuki didn’t need his picture anymore and dumps her handphone down with the ruins. Hazuki as the eldest sister seems to be a lot carefree and frank. She seems to be ‘unable to function’ on an empty stomach. It is odd that despite wanting to be the world’s greatest lawyer, her grades in law school are low. Well, at least she gets to play one at the end. Sylvia and Geshio had been missing for most parts of the series (the middle) and to a point that I was wondering if they would play some sort of pivotal role in the end. And so they did. They weren’t just hiding or sitting around and let their daughters do all the work. Conveniently, what we don’t see them do, is the evidence that they gather to bring down Adnimoon since Francesco was so obsessed about chasing the sisters and getting the treasure that he didn’t see something lurking beneath his nose.

Roberto is easily hated as a villain thanks to his cold and heartless ways. I feel the flashback of his sad past was a way to soften our stand against him and understand why he acts in such a manner. The words he says about the world has not enough resources to sustain the human population rings very true in reality. In fact, it is happening right now. It’s cruel. It’s the bitter truth. The dog eat dog world out there. Survival of the strongest and fittest. Only death of half the human population can ease this problem (an issue also seen and put to use in the anime Shingeki No Kyojin). But still, it still doesn’t justify in him playing God and kill all those he deems unworthy. In that case, everyone should just be killed, right? The odd thing I find about him is that if his hands aren’t doing something like killing, he would be folding his origami paper crane. One at a time. I am not sure the significance of him doing this if this is his hobby or he has got to many ‘free time on his hands’ since a lot of things in this world are on autopilot. There’s this Japanese myth that if you fold a thousand paper cranes, your wish will be granted. What kind of wish does he want? To bring back his parents? I am sure that a realistic guy like Roberto isn’t the kind who is stuck in his past. Or is he? I just don’t understand why he shot his adopted father in the end. Maybe that’s his love for him. Anna as a spy didn’t come across as surprising because there were several hints that show us her shady side secretly communicating with the other side. In this world when everyone is against you, it would be totally odd for someone to just come up to you and claim to be your ally for a common goal, right? Of course the more Anna spends time with the sisters, the more she gets attached to them. So in the end she too had to pay for her part of being Messier and goes to do time.

There seems to be hints of romance blossoming between Cicinho and Hazuki since Hazuki herself indicates that she is willing to be with him. Notice how she gradually doesn’t consider him a stalker each time he appears before the sisters? But in the end there wasn’t anything conclusive about it because that pirate goes back to his usual self of pirating. Didn’t he say he will get her once he gets the treasure? And then he takes off alone. Maybe he realizes the fear of what it means to be committed. Oh yes. Men fear that word. Might as well return to his carefree and independent pirating ways. This is so much better. Ironically for an air pirate, Cicinho shows much more humane side compared to those big wigs in Adnimoon. Probably why Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates and other similar pirate crews have this similar feel. The good guys are the ones who are the villains, vice versa. Though it’s sad that Hozuki and Galileo didn’t end up together but imagine the confusing time paradox thing it could create if they had actually been together. Might give rise to that ending scene in Terminator. And because they are from centuries apart, can you say that their love withstood through time? Literally. Star-crossed lovers too? Literally. The thought that Galileo fell for a 13 year old… Could he be a lolicon? Unless he was around her age but my instincts tell me he isn’t. Finally, I heard that Sylvia and Geshio were divorced. Now things are back to a-okay, will they get back together again or remain just as friends?

The art and drawing quality of this anime is quite good. Well, it’s the future so there has to be some futuristic stuff like the mechas. I’m not really a mecha fan so I can’t really give my in-depth comment if they are cool or generic. But I think they try to give some unique features to Galileo the ship and Black Ganymede which I thought resembled like a lion fish. As most of the scenes in the anime are at cold places, whenever the characters talk, you can see the vapour of their breath. Cool. The character designs seem to be typical Japanese anime standard so much so at the start it never occurred to me that they were in futuristic Italy. I thought it might be some made-up city. Oddly, Sylvia and the sisters are supposed to be direct descendants of Galileo who is a Caucasian and yet they look so Japanese anime-like. Unlike Geshio with his hippy-look, I would have believed him to be the descendant of Galileo instead since Geshio doesn’t have that typical anime look. Roberto on the other hand looks like a zombie and robot. Well, given that he has no heart or feelings whatsoever… One thing that boggles my mind but somewhat answered halfway through the series: The reason why Anna has 2 big hair curls. That’s where she keeps her secret handphone! Gosh. I wonder if she keeps her other stuffs in there too because the loops of the curls are big enough that it makes you feel like putting your hand through.

The action seems pretty decent with enough mecha battles to warrant it as a mecha category but nothing that hardcore mecha fans would find. Seriously, I can’t think of any other skills that Galileo the goldfish ship in its assault mode can do besides shooting out claws. From other mechas like Branding Iron and Black Ganymede, all I remember is that they constantly fire a rain of missiles. It’s like the supply of missiles are cheap and the ship is filled to the brim everywhere. I guess it’s to showcase the cool explosion impact. And strangely enough, I anticipated there would be some sort of final mecha action but the final battlefield turned out to be a courtroom drama. Although it’s to bring back the sisters’ parents, in a way it shows that the sisters still need to rely on their parents to get out of a fix. Which isn’t entirely a bad thing but it could have been sweeter had they pulled off the biggest frame up themselves against a giant corporation. To paint a grimmer and a more realistic picture of the series, deaths are incurred. Especially the shocking one where Roberto just outright shoots and kills the selfish hospital patients with his ‘salvation’ act. Then there is Theo and Karen’s sad case like as though they want to stir a little emotion in us by killing them off. I just wondered what happened to Ludger after his betrayal. Where did he disappear to? I am sure that a guy like Roberto won’t let him live despite making a deal. He was after all going to kill the sisters despite handing over what was necessary. One of the few events that weren’t explained in-depth was the freak hailstorm (or was it some sort of invasion or attack?) during Roberto’s childhood. It was as though that scene was just a setting to tell about Roberto’s origins and in a way it felt a little rush.

The voice acting isn’t too bad either although it is nothing very extraordinary. Like Hiroshi Kamiya as Cicinho, his trademark liveliness reminds me of his role as Mephisto in Ao No Exorcist or Erec in Ixion Saga DT. Then there is Rina Hidaka as Hozuki sounding very much like her other cute loli girls she played such as Shizuka in Campione, Silica in Sword Art Online, Anko in Tamako Market and Hideyoshi in Sengoku Otome – Momoiro Paradox. Other casts include Kei Shindou as Hazuki (Kuro in Kodomo No Jikan), Rumi Ookuba as Kazuki (Chinatsu in YuruYuri), Marina Inoue as Anna (Laura in Infinite Stratos), Taiten Kusunoki as Roberto (Rock Bison in Tiger And Bunny), Houko Kuwashima as Sylvia (Sango in Inu Yasha), Rikiya Koyama as Geshio (Kiritsugu in Fate/Zero) and Yuuki Kaji as Galileo (Alibaba in Magi). The opening theme is Synchromanica by Negoto while the ending piece is Innocent by Earthmind. Both don’t sound too bad actually.

Despite this anime’s theme really isn’t focusing about the energy shortage, but I think that is the subtle highlight that they want to make us aware about. For years now, lots of research and development have been put into green technology and finding renewable energy sources. Are we near anywhere there yet? Something tells me that at this rate, global warming will catch up pretty fast without us knowing from under our very own feet. The use of big evil corporations masking as a socially responsible corporate in the eyes of the public isn’t anything new or original in stories but once again, it’s probably trying to subtly hint to us the possibility of that happening because when fossil fuel like gas and oil become very scarce in the future, guess who we will be at the mercy of? I better drop this now before I get some unwanted attention and being treated as a fugitive…

Speaking of fugitives, I guess if you’re lucky like the Ferrari sisters, you get to travel the world and do some sight-seeing. Just don’t get caught. If Galileo had done more sketches or split them into many smaller parts, I guess we will see the sisters journeying to more countries that will last perhaps more than 2 dozen episodes. More of the same thing. Boring. I read from comments from many who have watched the anime started out promising and had lots of great potential but the ending was somewhat a let-down. Some blame the lack of character development and it was just the sisters in focus. Heck, perhaps only Hozuki because one was a pessimist who had a boyfriend whom we all don’t know (or even care about in the end) and the other was some sort of lawyer wannabe but felt like a law school dropout. Then they get into some messy cat and mouse game whose one-dimensional villains (evil corporate big wig, the emotionless hired assassin, the corrupted cop, it goes on..) and so much about everybody else who wants to get the treasure but has no idea what the heck it is. So you don’t know if it is trying to be a sci-fi action, an adventure, a family bonding show or even a mystery-cum-detective genre. But really, if this is a show about sisterly love, then there is something (gold)fishy about it… To be fair to this show, I did enjoy moments of it since well, I’m not a smart person so I didn’t really have in-depth analysis of everything I had seen. Now, if they make a story about descendants of Copernicus… It could be revolution-ary (pun intended, sorry couldn’t resist it!). But then again, animes about descendants of great minds? Me? Never mind!