The review assumes that the reader is familiar and has seen the main series. These special episodes give us short glimpses on some of the side characters backstories. The first episode is set somewhere in the parent show’s middle-to end bit (since Chamber is still alive, but Ridget is already the commander. Also, Ledo is still struggling with the language a bit). It follows the cast encountering and exploring an abandoned fleet, supposedly riddled with ghosts. Spoiler alert: no ghosts were to found, except for the ghosts of past. The episode is alright, and it was nice to see some depth to Ridget’s character. However, Ifelt like the story was incomplete, and I was left wishing for more. What happened to the characters from Ridget’s past? Where did they go, and why did they have to abandon the ship in the first place? I feel like there was enough material here for a short movie even, so simply cramming the content into a single episode felt a bit rushed.

TL:DR. (it wasn’t even that long, sheez.) A nice little episode for the fans of the show. Nothing new, and you won’t miss anything even if you skip this, but if you grave for more Gargantia and have time to kill by all means, give it a watch. 6/10.

The second episode centres around Kugel, the Galactic Alliance colonel the main show portrays as the antagonist, and his companion Pilot Guidance System, Striker. The episode follows their landing on Earth, their encounter with a pirate fleet and Kugel’s rise to power as the fleet’s commanded and as an emissary of god. The story is interesting, and it brings depth to Kugel’s character, something I felt was missing from the original show.

Like the first special episode, this one too felt a bit rushed. A lot of material was covered, but since the entire episode had this backstorey-feel to it, this didn’t really matter, and was pretty much expected. Some things were left annoyingly open, like for example the pirate fleet; why had he pirate girl’s father left power to the youngest daughter? Why did the others have such animosity towards her? Was it just rivalry between siblings, or something more? A short explanation would have been nice. Or maybe I just missed it? :P

TL:DR. A good addition to the main series, finally shedding desired light on the main antagonist’s motivations. I would recommend everyone who saw the original show to watch this for the full experience. 8/10.