Events like this one get me so invested back into the lore and story of AL. They really killed it with this one imo. Thanks a ton for doing these arc/event recaps by the way, they really help to patch up some stuff that I was missing from the story or events that I had just forgotten about or not immediately noticed! You explain things super clearly and well.
My personal theory since Parallel Super Imposition has been that the sirens are trying to find a way to fight Richard/Laviathans by using their reinacments and other tools, that they aren't the villains, instead just Finding a way by any means necessary, and no matter the cost, to save humanity, even if that means destroying it in multiple timelines, it doesn't matters how many timelines they doom as long as humanity survives in at least one of them. I also think that the Black Cube is supposed to create a shipgirl as powerful as Richard that the sirens have control over to deal with her and Leviathan/X, which would have worked great with an idealist like Bismarck but Akagi with that power would just make a second Richard, which is a MAJOR problem. I'm sure there's a lot of holes in this theory, but i like it so I'm sticking to it for now. Also i love your theory about the Ashes/Framework spit between Aoste/Anzeel's ideals, i am so excited for where this story goes!
tbh now I think as Richard wants to destory both shipgirls and sirens, (and as we learned siresn kinda stand for humanity I guess? and purifire even let go once the shipgirls so she can deal with Richard) and META seems able to control itself to some degree, what if META phenomenon is somewhat degeneration of shipgirl that may lead it to being violent (like our submarine that tunred meta for some time) and richard tries to make meta shipgirls violent that will try to destroy anything because richard was corrupted herself by X/Leviathan [sub theory, what if leviathan could also do some actions across mutiple timeliens like the sirens, as if sirens that seems to be unable to defeat X can jump to different timelines why not X]
I quite agree, everytime we seem to have one on one time with the sirens they aren't villainous they just seem like programs trying to troubleshoot a problem
Richie and Jean Bart together again is something I have been waiting for... for a long time. I loved it, and that art! I do really like in the port event stuff for the banquet mini event, JB is all flustered and running away from Massachusetts, that was super funny.
The scenes with the orthodoxy members fighting together made me a bit emotional with the music. I'm happy they didn't ruin the Iris plotline and I think Clemenceau is a good addition to the sisters especially when you compare her to Richelieu. What is bit disappointing is that the fight of Kersaint's fleet against Trento META was forgotten it seems ? And it would have been cool if they added how Marco and Clemenceau became friends. I mean the post cutscenes felt a bit short and explaining why the friendship with Marco Polo was so important for Clemenceau would have made sense.
I did find that very odd. Trento META's fight was all but left out... Also I think the sisters round each other out. The very forward and authority figure in Richelieu. The reserved, but agressive tomboy Jean Bart, the scheming and teasing shadow-dwelling Clemenceau
They're talking about how Clemenceau sent Kersaint's fleet to intercept and disable Trento Meta right before she turned on Marco. There wasn't a scene showing or referencing the fight after. @@pineapplekun8769
@@pineapplekun8769 Marco Polo announced the birth of Flandre to Clemenceau just before the betrayal. She said Trento META was coming with Flandre to help Clemenceau fight against the shipgirls in the World expo. The thing is Clemenceau called Kersaint's fleet just after her conversation with Marco to intercept Trento META and use Flandre to incapacitate her.
One of my favourite moments was actually a very early one; when Marco Polo's speech occurs and we see the brainwashing happening in real time, particularly with Memphis. It was a proper "oh sh*t" moment and I think set the tone of something BIG happening. One of the things that keeps me hooked in AL is the writing. There seems to be a very long-term view when it comes to the story arcs, we'd been seeing flashes of Heirophant V for a few events now and build up and foreshadowing is a big part of story writing. I've been playing for nearly 4 years and I certainly did not expect the writing to be genuinely brilliant in my shipgirl waifu game!
Yeah... no, the story and writing is terrible The only reason it seems like there’s even a semblance of long term views is because the events take so long, if you were to condense it all, it wouldn’t be impressive at all Hierophant took ages to appear, because it took ages to get to this event, not because it was built up Comparing it to many other gacha games like Genshin Impact, Girls’ Frontline, Punishing: Gray Raven The story just doesn’t compare, if you can even call it a story as it’s so broken up, they’re more separated, with each event being it’s own story Sorta like Fate’s multiverse, but worse
I do hope MP gets a happy resolution like most of the other girls did and not be stuck in a coma remembering all her faction friends not trusting her and her only real “friend” calling her a joke and stabbing her in the back
ngl I loved this event, however Parallel Superimposition still stayes as my favourite. I am curious about relations of shipgirls and sirens, maybe they will be allies 1 day when Deus X will show itself. The META division caught me off guard, and ofc I am scared what shipgirls will have to face with bon homme richard Still I need to know what is happening at Samos Island, maybe next big event will show us.
@@Hawk2zer0 Tbh I have crazy theory, as commander learns more and more about sirens and meeting hierophant that can be reasoned with, what if commander at some point will have such knowledge about sirens and maybe meta that at some point naval hq would deem commander not sane and relive him of duty. Then commander may ally with meta. Given that Smith like this could end in commander behaving kinda off and (yes ik it does not work like it cause commander is not kan-sen) could be called then commander meta? He could work closely with Helena and Memphis meta as well maybe with enterprise meta Ik this is wild theory but given stranger and stranger events happen in commander's presence and he gets more inside knowledge of sirens then....
That's a great summary, and you opened my eyes with the Aoste/Anzeel and Ashes/FoL parallels. Gathering around every faction including the META's, this was truly the ebst kind of Global server anniversary event we could have gotten. I also really enjoyed to see Meta ships showing more emotions out of being secretive and solemn. (Pointing at Hiryuu cracking jokes to kill time with Ark Royal META, and Showing geniune concern for E and Memphis etc.) If you haven't fgigured out by now, Hiryuu is my numero uno waifu and I really enjoyed the screen time LOL🤍🖤
Not gonna lie, I LOVED this event. I was not expecting it to be That Great. Really love AL lore so far, and this event just makes me even more hyped for the next one, specially because it will be a UR one. Seeing how things went in the last years, we might not get Yamato but another UR, Yamato might only come next year, but I do wonder if the next UR will be a new shipgirl or Amagi's come back as a UR CV, which would be my dream for it currently. As for the lore, I think it will have an interesting twist soon, but I don't think we will have Siren girls in our docks anytime soon, maybe in a few years though. I'm quite happy with Iris reunion in this event, really hope to see more Iris ships in game soon.
@@neelkanthgajarmal939 we already have one exactly as SSR, but we know that rarity in AL don't mean a lot in terms of IRL achievements unfortunately, since we have girls like Fletcher having very low rarity. But I agree, I hope to see more Unryuu class in game soon.
I really hope that the livestream mention months back of a "new faction" is the devs reorganizing Iris Orthodoxy as one faction, and reworking every french ship's skills to actually work in tandem with one another instead of being split between iris libre and vichya dominion with very few overlaps as it stands.
@@glauberglousger6643 The new faction mention was a mistranslation as technically Tempesta is a new faction and they will likely get a new member this Oct
@@PhyrraFaefiel No Flying Dutchman coz urban legend at the time, also absolutely NO Black Pearl! Whydah (Black Sam Bellamy) Satisfaction (Sir Henry Morgan) Bachelor's Delight (William Dampier) The Golden Hind (Sir Francis Drake), should she ever clash with DR Drake Happy Delivery (Henry Fowler) Adventure Galley (Captain Kidd) Fancy (Henry Every) Golden Fleece (Joseph Bannister) La Reine des Indes / The Indian Queen (Olivier "La Buse" Levasseur) Royal James (Stede Bonnet) Fancy (Edward England) Royal Rover (Walter Kennedy) White Seahorse (Grace O'Malley) Rising Sun (Christopher Moody) Speaker (George Booth and John Bowen) Mashouda (Barbary corsairs) to be continued
Well, that part about Aoste and Anzeel mirroring the Ashen and Framework's ideal is an eye opener to me, never would've made that connection myself! Another excellent lore video, Hawk! Thanks! As for favorite moment, well, truth to be told I might be one of the few who weren't all that interested in the World Expo arc. I'm much more looking forward to the continuation of IB and Sakura Empire's story. I'm much more touched by the U-556's METAmorphosis story arc than the whole thing with the Richileu sisters. So I know I'm gonna get smacked by everyone for this, but I guess my favorite moment of this event and the arc as a whole is that it is over. Well, Marco's chibi getting Bullied by Conquest would be a close second, I suppose :D If you want to ask for the third, I guess how the whole event seems like an unholy union of current Blue Archive story and Azur Lane mythology, with a dash of Earth Defense Force 5 for some reason. With the colosseum getting smashed from above ala Sanctum Tower, and alien abomination hell bent on eradicating man made structure with their gut contents like the Primers in EDF. That legit gave me a chuckle when I'm playing though the whole thing.
Hello Hawk, loved this event and your coverage of it! I have two questions 1. Who do you think the mysterious windchime girl in the dream dimension is? (The one who saved Zuikaku, SKK and Shinano). My immediate guess would be Amagi, but it's not the first time the game has used her as a red herring. 2. I forgot what I was going to ask ahaha. Uhhh... Who's the cutest Siren in your opinion? 3. I remembered. You think there's any significance to Trento META not appearing in the event at all?
Sorry I didn't see this comment. Let me give you my answers here: 1) They have done this before with bamboozling us on this. Jintsuu Meta coughing in Musashi's event tricked us. That aside, IT IS possible an Amagi META can exist. The circumstances around it would vary greatly..but..it wouldnt be impossible for sure. 2) uh...good question...I do like Tower...and Purity is also hilarious. Probably Tower. Devil get honorable mention for that happy smile in Yorktown II's event. 3) Unsure. It was definitely brushed aside which has me worried, but I'm hoping something came of that.
Great video! I hope you plan to make another 'Lore summary' vid in the future that continue your previous 3 hours vid (I only start to play AL in 2021 so that vid has been a hugh help to me. That vid absolutely enlightened me from a caveman who knew nothing about AL's lore to someone who have a big picture of what has happened and keep up to date with the game's lore.) Thanks a lot!
Wow, as always Hawk donning the superlore-man cap. Thanks for that man. As for my theory, as the antiochus were created to counter Leviathan, they leaped back in time, appearing as gods and leaving the OOPArts (crown, watatsumi, the cross where Marco saw the Hierophant , etc.) to accumulate data and stir humanity. Finally after appearing and starting war (that we know is the greatest source of technological and weapons progress), analyizing, acting reenactements to see if they can change the future between multiple options and branches to reach a final one where humanity could win against Leviathan. And that is where the commander (us in game) appears to be the decisive factor that set our branch apart, even gaining attention from BHR meta (god i'm so afraid of that mad KANSEN). Perhaps the netx big event will see the conclusion from the musashi event, maybe Yamato (at last) regaining control of the Sakura Empire as their leader with her 2 sisters being the upper echelon, and we will see if Akagi's vision for the SE is the same as Yamato's (and that could be the main plot of said event). What could be? idk, but i have faith that the future will see a reunited azur lane with the commander as the leader, gaining support from the Metas and Antiochus to fight against Leviathan. How many years will we need to see that? I hope many, to have this fantastic game and great community for as long as possible. I hope this loooong ass banter is readable (english is not my first language) and thank anyone who reads and shares his/her thoughs, and of course to Hawk for another great video!
I didn't see this video until now what the hell. I was thinking to myself "Hmm wonder when HawkZero0 will talk about The Fools Scales" Turned out you already did 2 weeks ago! Thanks RUclips. But seriously this event was by far, without a doubt, the most satisfying conclusion to all the storylines that were wrapped up. It also had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I just kept wanting more and more. Richelieu was without a doubt my favorite character during this event. Her significance in the greater story for the past year was something I immediately took note of all the way back in February during Revelations of dust. When she got permanently added I didn't care how many cubes I wasted, I needed to get her. The Iris reforming under her leadership had me literally standing up and shouting in excitement as the crowning ceremony scene unfolded. The Fools Scales was the embodiment of everything I love about storytelling, and everything I love about Azur Lane. And its why I will continue to play it for as long as its story continues. Also QE retrofit when lolololol.
You've made a quite good review of current event with theories and some well placed references to past ones. But there is one thing that bugged me throughout this whole ordeal: Tribunal's Mechanicus Confessors, the fleet under Clemenceau's command. If I remember correctly from "Revelations of Dust" only ONE was ever created and was destroyed in the Great War, but now they have the entire fleet of them?! Not only that, but they were to be used to, quote-unquote, "smite" everyone at World Expo, US INCLUDED (a.k.a. "Commander"), during the fighting. Even though in the end it was just a setup made by Clemenceau to keep Marco Polo in the dark, I can't shake out the filling that Naval HQ had them in store for this particular reason. And not just the Tribunal. Remember "Epimetheus", Alicorn-like submarine and EU Federation ships from "Parallel Superimposition" event? I know, kinda-far-stretched, but I wouldn't be suprised if EU had that advanced naval force at their disposal in this timeline. I believe it's for homeland defense against Siren incursions, but if there was other purpose for them. As for other faction, we didn't see anything of sort but the glimpses (like IB's Floating Fortress etc.). I can only assume each faction have some elite force on stand-by in case of emergency or special purpose. And that objective in the future may be the elimination of Commander and extermination of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis as they are. The whole Marco Polo Incident proved that KANSEN's cannot be 100% controlled or trustworthy, so I wouldn't suprised me if top-brass decided to look at "alternative solutions and strategies". Like high-end mass produced ships and Priority Ships with "Gascogne-type-like-personality". So the current "status quo" ends obsolete and all that's left to rewrite the rules of engagement... and dispose any and all "refuse" from the past as the Commander has the largest fleet comprised of KANSEN's in the world, but NOT the strongest yet. But I don't believe Naval HQ and factions in general will brand them as traitor. Perhaps posthumously will be announced as mankind's hero, martyr and victim of "KANSEN's rebellion" that was stopped before it may have made some serious damage, or at least that's the way of thinking that makes most sense if I were in the position of Naval HQ. It'd be quite interesting scenerio, Azur Lane fighting against the people they are supposed to protect, especially if the enemy commander/main antagonist would be another Priority Ship or maybe even ANOTHER HUMAN. *_But this is just my theory based on the informations we got so far._*
I mean...that's because Tribunal being a Shady organization hid a lot of information from Richelieu and maybe others. Horseman of Conquest was another. They were more like a "pretend to have them surrounded" Ironblood is still the more advanced faction for many many reasons. "And that objective in the future may be the elimination of Commander and extermination of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis as they are" Nah...None of the factions would do this...save for Ashes (META girls) maybe. All of the factions realize how important the Commander is...so any plans against him would be frowned on with ALL factions (Crimson Axis or Azur Lane). "The whole Marco Polo Incident proved that KANSEN's cannot be 100% controlled or trustworthy, so I wouldn't suprised me if top-brass decided to look at "alternative solutions and strategies" " Possibly, but no one honored her...no one was willing to give her a chance except for Clem...who really wasn't in the end. However, this is an issue the Sardegna have...with the senate. The Senate want next to nothing to deal with the Kan-sen.
I am most likely wrong but I found it interesting that Hierophant split herself to seemingly kidnap the commander to show us that cutscene with Aoste or whatever it was. It was probably more likely she just split herself to leave, but my immediate thought at the time was that the whole event was so she could get close to us.
Anzeel and Aoste, at least the versions here, don't seem to be enemies since well, regardless of the answer you give, they seem to have authority over Hierophant. ....And, I feel like Hierophant here was less Deus X, and more acting under the Doctors' orders at the end, considering what she actually did at the end and what we experienced. Definitely a LOT going on tho.
@@Hawk2zer0also I watched both choices In the scene with the 2 choises with hierophant watching iirc they a different reaction, if u support Aoste, hierophant stays silent and continue slowly observing, but if u choose anzeel’s route she seems to emanate a glint of light in a manner that I don’t know seems to me that she was happy that we choose ainzeel’s answer which is weird
So is it fair to say still that Marco Polo was lead astray by what started as honest ambitions? Really don't like the idea of one of my favorites actually being evil.
Either that or could have been under influence of someone else. The beginning of the event showed everyone really getting into the Expo...and acting very unusual from their usual selves.
Arkansas (BB-33), New York (BB-34), Ward (DD-139), Somers (DD-381), Bagley (DD-386), England (DE-635) the submarine hunter, Block Island (CVE-21), Augusta (CA-31) and more REALLY missing KAN-SENified US Navy ships first before the Einstein and Oppenheimer biz
Akron (ZRS-4) and Macon (ZRS-5), both experimental aircraft-carrying airships in the 1930s and US Navy registrants Wyffels (DE-6), Reuben James (DD-245), Guadalcanal (CVE-60), Midway / St. Lo (CVE-63) who is not the Midway Mk II that you see perma-anchored, Thresher (SS-200), Gato herself (SS-212)...
It's becoming increasingly clear that we've only just scratched the surface of how many META factions there are out there and how they all interact with each other. After all, La Galissonnière META claimed to be with the Ashes, but is listed as Cinders of Hope (Possible Queen Elizabeth META lead faction?) in-game.
I don’t think the meta skill tells us which META sub-faction she belongs to as Helena META has the ashen might skill but is with Yorktown META’s group, I think it’s just a categorization thing done for the players sake
@@Sathzur that doesn’t seem right as she states she’s loyal to the commander when we first meet her in New Jersey’s event a trait belonging to Yorktown META’s faction. To add further when we see her talking to Yorktown META in one of the extra cut scenes of that same event Helena META makes it clear she doesn’t want to remember her time with the ashes stating that the old her (from when she was an ashes) is dead.
I was so hyped for the Iris reformed under the Orthodoxy. Finally, the girls don't have to fight one another. That being said, we got some nods that there's still things going on in the background with some of them and most likely will come to a head eventually.
Three things (plus some lengthy extras). One, sorry for the massive wall of text below. Two, I really enjoyed this event story except for one element... Clemenceau. I try and mostly succeed to love and trust all my shipgirls. Even the ones that seem a bit sus at first. Especially those ones, because they seem to need it most. But attempting to turn those same shipgirls against me is where I draw the line. And yes, I get it, she was just trying to light a fire under Jean Bart's shapely stern. But that doesn't mean the way she did it wouldn't have consequences, especially considering how... impressionable a number of shipgirls can be. What if someone took her lie, and decided for herself that it was truth? I have my own theory that a shipgirl oathed is a shipgirl saved, basically their feelings for us are proof of humanity rather than just being weapons that'll keep them from being decommissioned and scuttled like their real life counterparts (or serve as justification to rebel against Naval HQ if they try it anyway), and how much of that would've been undone depending on how far other shipgirls took Clemenceau's manipulation to heart? No harm no foul for the most part, but she's gonna need a serious redemption arc if she wants her promise ring anytime soon. Three, regarding what you said about the Sirens... there was actually evidence that they were acting in humanity's best interest, albeit through harsh and cruel methods that ultimately do more harm than good, as far back as Ashen Simulacrum. They're threatening humanity and provoking wars, but they're doing so to artificially force survival of the fittest. The weak elements are eliminated, the strong elements survive. And all to face an even bigger threat that we thought was Antiochus at first, but now seems to be Deus X, assuming Deus X won't give way to something even bigger. I'll leave a related theory I posted to Reddit once below, as I think you'd be interested in reading it. Keep in mind, I wrote this a year or two ago. But TL;DR, I think it's possible that SKK is a benevolent Siren (or Siren adjacent), and that eventually we'll get a Siren event that'll let us pull for Sirens as they get pulled into the greater fleet. "I know that these 'the hero is the villain' theories are a dime a dozen on the internet, but I actually do think there's some solid evidence worth considering here, especially since it might help chart out where the story and some future events are headed. But before we get to why I think Shikikan is a Siren, I wanna go over what we know about Shikikan. Which isn't much, and for obvious reasons, he's the player insert. Where he does have an active character, it seems to be more on the "generic anime harem protagonist" side (with a hint of sharing Akashi's greed if the DOA collab is anything to go by). We do, however, know that he exists outside the Siren's simulation (we'll get to that), and that there's some backstory to him that's yet to be fully revealed. It's also heavily implied that another version of him was closely involved with future Enterprise, and that the loss of him provoked her into becoming Code G or Ash or Enterprise Meta or whatever she wants to call herself. Now let's go over what we know of the Sirens. We know that they're provoking wars among the factions so that they can see who wins and preserve those elements, repeating the process over and over again until peak strength is reached (there's probably already a name for this, I'm gonna call it 'Artificial Darwinism'), all for the sake of facing Antiochus, an upcoming Thanos-like big bad. They manufacture mock versions of the shipgirls on both sides to use in their own combat, they can time travel and run simulations, and there also may be some infighting. Now to answer the big question: why do I think Shikikan is a Siren invention? Well basically... everything the Sirens do, the player does as well. We force our shipgirls to fight so that they can face stronger threats, we time travel to already completed levels for grinding and ship drops, we eliminate weak and unnecessary elements in ship enhancements and limit breaks. We even compete amongst ourselves for the strongest fleet (that is, if you take PVP seriously). So are we the bad guys? ...not really. Like I said, the Sirens are motivated to get strong enough to face an upcoming big bad, and that's why they're provoking all this fighting. But it was Einstein that once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. Shikikan represents a different approach. An approach that strengthens the weak elements rather than cutting them off. As cheesy as it sounds, the power of unification through love. I think the plan of him was to insert him into Naval HQ, bearing resemblance to a significant positive figure from the shipgirls' lives, and have him act as a single point for all the ships to gather around and dedicate themselves to fight for willingly. Like a sun in a solar system. He's meant to bring all the pieces together, and converge them all into a force that brings down this upcoming threat. And it'll... almost work. It's clearly the better method, how many times have the Shikikan and his fleet won victories against the Sirens? But we've seen one of Shinano's visions in Dreamwalker's Butterfly where the exact type of Endgame scenario I've described above happens... and they lose. Badly. Which brings me to a prediction of a future event. If this theory is true, then one day we'll get an event where the truth comes out. Tension will be had between Shikikan and the fleet, but it'll ultimately drive home the game's message of everyone joining together and moving toward the future, whatever happened in the past and whatever may come in said future. But more importantly, it'll allow the player to recruit shipgirls from a faction that wasn't part of Shinano's vision. One that might help tip the scales. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be able to pull for Sirens. And I know there are some of you that absolutely want Purifier in your fleet. If the story doesn't go that way, then whatever. Honestly, it's still just a lot of fun thinking about how this all fits together and guessing where it's gonna go. Which I guess is why I'm so interested in the lore. But honestly, I'm kinda hoping it's true. Not just because it provides an explanation for certain gameplay mechanics, but also because of the possibilities it opens."
That’s uhhh, over complicating things that really shouldn’t be As for Clemenceau, well, it’s not really her fault that good plans are apparently hard to write these days, Unless apparently like Marco Polo, she was being mind controlled or something (which is even stupider) The idea of her seems to be capable of doing what was needed, taking on the burdens of an entire faction, to protect those she loved, all while being shady and "neutral" But the writing kinda... failed at that, (also the fact that she was originally referenced as an Iris Libre ship, someone forgot about that I guess...) And yes, Jean Bart does have a Shapely Stern
@@glauberglousger6643 To me, it seems more like they were trying to make a Makima-like shipgirl, without realizing that that type of personality doesn't really fit the shipgirl framework. What they were going for with Clemenceau, I think Friedrich already did better. As for the "overcomplicating" thing, if you're referring to my reaction to Clemenceau, I get how it can seem that way, but I say all that as a guess to how some future event will go. One that might turn our waifus against us as some shipgirls question whether or not we can be trusted. My fault for being unclear, my apologies. As for the hypothetical event, I know that sounds cool on paper, but I get enough of that nonsense in Arknights. Real life's got enough strife, let the port of Azur Lane be our oasis. If you're referring to my "shikikan is a siren" theory, maybe I am overthinking that stuff, but something tells me that later down the road I'll be proven right. Anyway, I only included that because I legitimately thought Hawk would be interested.
I'm wondering if the next story arch will put us at an area shipgirl wise in which we start seeing early cold war ships, and guided missile conversions (and dare I say, the all illusive angled flightdeck). I personally feel like we're getting to that point, and great story arks from there, especially as some are museums now.
the ships of this event is kinda meh, but the lore entry is delicious, it's so nice to see all the small story build up into this one... although design wise, Hierophant look more like Empress than Empress herself did.. i keep thinking that she is Empress in the whole event and her mannerism certainly doesnt help...
We know that Hierophant manipulated Marco Polo into doing her things though but it just leave even more questions. We don't know if Clemenceau is even aware of it while deciding to sabotaging Marco Polo's plans, it was like doing Order 66 in HoI4 as she told her goons to immediately subdue Marco Polo's allies when they receive the signal. One particular event is about Trento Meta, Clemenceau already assigned Flandre and Kersaint for that but it was offscreen and we never see what happen next, Flandre never make an appearance. Is the Hierophant and by extent the Devil rogue Sirens, or is this another Hijacked by Ganon case of Sirens just manipulating the factions? The Devil sure have unique drones that other arbiters don't, but the Hierophant is something else entirely, are those Nurgle or Beast-infected ships she is using? Is She from another timeline, as she is less mechanical than the others, and appearance wise she looks more like a Kantai Collection Abyssal than Siren. Are the Sirens now beginning to target Blueprint Ships? And even if she has been manipulated, what the hell is Marco Polo trying to accomplish? Is she trying to get Holy, Roman, and an Empire achievement or something?
Marco Polo didn't like the super slow progress of defeating the sirens...so she wanted something stronger...an enemy of the sirens even...if it had existed. What she didn't realize is that it was X (aka Deus X on EN) and that the situation is more complicated than what is presented to them since the enemy of the sirens is also the enemy of humanity (the real one that even the sirens are trying to stop). In her own delusions...she ended up summoning something that would have completely destroyed their world. It's likely she was under the influence of it...if we followed the idea of embracing the concepts (as shown in Revelations of Dust).
I mean I understood practically non of it. Its not because of you its azur lane's story in general makes very little sense to me. The only question I have is what are these "META" ships?
There's still a lot of information to be gained, but I can somewhat give an answer here. META Shipgirls are Kansen (Shipgirls) that were severely affected by corruption. The nature of this corruption is unknown, but there are many sources of it (Black Cube, Bon Homme Richard, these mysterious black shadow like creatures, etc). The exposure can be somewhat controlled and to a degree reverted, but once it passes a threshold...They will be transformed into the META variants you see in the game (this process is called METAMORPHOSIS)
@@Hawk2zer0 So it's like in Honkai Star rail when someone is affected by mara, and go insane. Except not all META ships lose their mind, but some end up like BHR....interesting.
Yeah, the story kinda... falls flat, but as for the META No one has a clue, there are many theories, none being right or wrong (a result of the vagueness), it initially was, they were created, then they were from alternate universes, then transformed, then just evil, then different factions and relations, then corrupted, then good At this point you could claim they’re aliens and get enough evidence for that And since a random theory is going to be true (considering the devs don’t steal ideas), it’s really anyone’s guess what they are
Really great video! Just a couple questions: Was it really "X" or Hierophant that the Commander was speaking with in that scene with Aoste and Anzeel? And if it's "X", was it using Hierophant as a...vessel to communicate with the Commander because, as Aoste puts it, she can be used as a mediator? To maybe understand what the Commander is trying to achieve? I mean, "X" went through all this trouble to arrive in this branch, came into contact with the Commander, and then just...left.
@@Hawk2zer0 Trento META "fight"? We didn't see anything, like it went completely unnoticed. But that brings up another question: Why was she even with Marco on this? It just seems odd for a META to go along with this whole "summon God" plan. Part of me wonders if she's actually with BHR and knew that if "X" was summoned to this branch, BHR would be able to find it.
12:17 I actually gave my thoughts about this to a Reddit post on the matter they’re (Helena META and Memphis META) lying to avoid having to go back to the ashes since we don’t know how that group handles deserters.
@@Hawk2zer0 yes but those circumstances were different as Gneisenau META was never an ashes in the first place they sent Scharnhorst META to locate her and convince her to join, Helena META and Memphis META are ex-ashes as we see them at the ashes failed assault on zero’s mainframe. This tells me those two don’t want to go back to the ashes for some reason best guess is Takao META likely takes desertion very poorly while Enty META at least will respect the choice( basically if Helena and Memphis go back to the ashes they can likely expect Takao META to wipe the floor with them)
@@Hawk2zer0 That's what I'm hoping, it's just that the last command we heard before falling unconscious was "Clone". Then it ends with us being alone, holding a possibly different crown, and saying to ourselves that we should answer that call from the ship girls.
favorite: jean bart and richelieu moment, anzel and the ending. most stupid: clemenceau. i havnt seen a more stupid plan than her whole thinking in a long time. every part fails, beside her strike on marco polo. when i exclude (wouldnt change anything) her from the story then this event is a 9/10. next: i think we will go sakura. was a long time since we heard anything about it. thanks for the recap.
@@Hawk2zer0 i wouldnt say she played with fire: she played with the end of the world and the death of many people. i could make a list with ca 10 points where her plan fails and i think for THE big tactician of the france faction this event dosnt serve her justice. i mean i get what her plan was aiming for, but the part between start and end is so abysmal. where i get a little angry is, that at no time - so far - she takes a ounce of responsibility for her doing. and what saved her was no part of her plan, it was the luck of the commander.
@@glauberglousger6643 yes, that's the only part i mentioned that didnt fail. BUT it was horse boy who did it and then disappeared from the story to not be relevant at all (why is he even here, when his only action is: hit marco polo once? couldnt a BB just do it? wasted potential). so you could replace this with: marco polo slipped from her throne because of bad luck...
@@easlyth251 True, but that’s beating on Marco Polo too much, perhaps have a META do it, or Clemenceau herself, so she at least does something risky (And not plain stupid, also)
Fav moment? Hierophant Least favorite? Richelieu. Every scene she is in. As for what’s next? Idk, this event was cool and all but it left me a bit empty I guess? This arc was a year in the making and now I’m just left wondering what’s next? How are they going to top this and Rhondo?
That's a good point...we did just finish this arc. So...who knows what's next...but it's gonna get intense...because now a bigger threat is aware of us.
Despite having the worst writing of any Azur Lane event I’ve seen so far, a very strange attempt at being an all faction yet French event, some questionable additions to what remains of the lore, and a combination of two small scale events and their ships from different factions, and a changing Clemenceau into a Vichya ship, and a few other things This event didn’t suck in terms of hilarity, and stuff that didn’t make sense
My favourite moment is probably the crowning scene. The Napoleon reference gave me a good chuckle
Events like this one get me so invested back into the lore and story of AL. They really killed it with this one imo.
Thanks a ton for doing these arc/event recaps by the way, they really help to patch up some stuff that I was missing from the story or events that I had just forgotten about or not immediately noticed! You explain things super clearly and well.
My personal theory since Parallel Super Imposition has been that the sirens are trying to find a way to fight Richard/Laviathans by using their reinacments and other tools, that they aren't the villains, instead just Finding a way by any means necessary, and no matter the cost, to save humanity, even if that means destroying it in multiple timelines, it doesn't matters how many timelines they doom as long as humanity survives in at least one of them.
I also think that the Black Cube is supposed to create a shipgirl as powerful as Richard that the sirens have control over to deal with her and Leviathan/X, which would have worked great with an idealist like Bismarck but Akagi with that power would just make a second Richard, which is a MAJOR problem.
I'm sure there's a lot of holes in this theory, but i like it so I'm sticking to it for now.
Also i love your theory about the Ashes/Framework spit between Aoste/Anzeel's ideals, i am so excited for where this story goes!
tbh now I think as Richard wants to destory both shipgirls and sirens, (and as we learned siresn kinda stand for humanity I guess? and purifire even let go once the shipgirls so she can deal with Richard) and META seems able to control itself to some degree, what if META phenomenon is somewhat degeneration of shipgirl that may lead it to being violent (like our submarine that tunred meta for some time) and richard tries to make meta shipgirls violent that will try to destroy anything because richard was corrupted herself by X/Leviathan
[sub theory, what if leviathan could also do some actions across mutiple timeliens like the sirens, as if sirens that seems to be unable to defeat X can jump to different timelines why not X]
@@hoennsceptile6437BHR is the way she is because of a modified Cube she picked up, not anything to do with X.
I quite agree, everytime we seem to have one on one time with the sirens they aren't villainous they just seem like programs trying to troubleshoot a problem
Richie and Jean Bart together again is something I have been waiting for... for a long time. I loved it, and that art!
I do really like in the port event stuff for the banquet mini event, JB is all flustered and running away from Massachusetts, that was super funny.
I'm glad someone actually bothers with the lore on youtube.
Waifu > meta
Story > min-max
The scenes with the orthodoxy members fighting together made me a bit emotional with the music. I'm happy they didn't ruin the Iris plotline and I think Clemenceau is a good addition to the sisters especially when you compare her to Richelieu.
What is bit disappointing is that the fight of Kersaint's fleet against Trento META was forgotten it seems ? And it would have been cool if they added how Marco and Clemenceau became friends. I mean the post cutscenes felt a bit short and explaining why the friendship with Marco Polo was so important for Clemenceau would have made sense.
I did find that very odd. Trento META's fight was all but left out...
Also I think the sisters round each other out. The very forward and authority figure in Richelieu. The reserved, but agressive tomboy Jean Bart, the scheming and teasing shadow-dwelling Clemenceau
What's this about Trento meta fight? I don't remember this when did it happen? And what was it about?
They're talking about how Clemenceau sent Kersaint's fleet to intercept and disable Trento Meta right before she turned on Marco. There wasn't a scene showing or referencing the fight after. @@pineapplekun8769
@@pineapplekun8769
Marco Polo announced the birth of Flandre to Clemenceau just before the betrayal. She said Trento META was coming with Flandre to help Clemenceau fight against the shipgirls in the World expo.
The thing is Clemenceau called Kersaint's fleet just after her conversation with Marco to intercept Trento META and use Flandre to incapacitate her.
They kinda did ruin the Iris plot line by rushing things, nothing really felt deserved,
One of my favourite moments was actually a very early one; when Marco Polo's speech occurs and we see the brainwashing happening in real time, particularly with Memphis. It was a proper "oh sh*t" moment and I think set the tone of something BIG happening.
One of the things that keeps me hooked in AL is the writing. There seems to be a very long-term view when it comes to the story arcs, we'd been seeing flashes of Heirophant V for a few events now and build up and foreshadowing is a big part of story writing.
I've been playing for nearly 4 years and I certainly did not expect the writing to be genuinely brilliant in my shipgirl waifu game!
Yeah... no, the story and writing is terrible
The only reason it seems like there’s even a semblance of long term views is because the events take so long, if you were to condense it all, it wouldn’t be impressive at all
Hierophant took ages to appear, because it took ages to get to this event, not because it was built up
Comparing it to many other gacha games like Genshin Impact, Girls’ Frontline, Punishing: Gray Raven
The story just doesn’t compare, if you can even call it a story as it’s so broken up, they’re more separated, with each event being it’s own story
Sorta like Fate’s multiverse, but worse
I do hope MP gets a happy resolution like most of the other girls did and not be stuck in a coma remembering all her faction friends not trusting her and her only real “friend” calling her a joke and stabbing her in the back
another hour long lore video mash up when?
ngl I loved this event, however Parallel Superimposition still stayes as my favourite.
I am curious about relations of shipgirls and sirens, maybe they will be allies 1 day when Deus X will show itself. The META division caught me off guard, and ofc I am scared what shipgirls will have to face with bon homme richard
Still I need to know what is happening at Samos Island, maybe next big event will show us.
Originally, they were allies...from what I understand story wise...though I'm curious if that'll maintain in the future...but it's likely.
@@Hawk2zer0
Tbh I have crazy theory, as commander learns more and more about sirens and meeting hierophant that can be reasoned with, what if commander at some point will have such knowledge about sirens and maybe meta that at some point naval hq would deem commander not sane and relive him of duty.
Then commander may ally with meta. Given that Smith like this could end in commander behaving kinda off and (yes ik it does not work like it cause commander is not kan-sen) could be called then commander meta? He could work closely with Helena and Memphis meta as well maybe with enterprise meta
Ik this is wild theory but given stranger and stranger events happen in commander's presence and he gets more inside knowledge of sirens then....
That's a great summary, and you opened my eyes with the Aoste/Anzeel and Ashes/FoL parallels. Gathering around every faction including the META's, this was truly the ebst kind of Global server anniversary event we could have gotten. I also really enjoyed to see Meta ships showing more emotions out of being secretive and solemn. (Pointing at Hiryuu cracking jokes to kill time with Ark Royal META, and Showing geniune concern for E and Memphis etc.) If you haven't fgigured out by now, Hiryuu is my numero uno waifu and I really enjoyed the screen time LOL🤍🖤
Not gonna lie, I LOVED this event. I was not expecting it to be That Great. Really love AL lore so far, and this event just makes me even more hyped for the next one, specially because it will be a UR one. Seeing how things went in the last years, we might not get Yamato but another UR, Yamato might only come next year, but I do wonder if the next UR will be a new shipgirl or Amagi's come back as a UR CV, which would be my dream for it currently. As for the lore, I think it will have an interesting twist soon, but I don't think we will have Siren girls in our docks anytime soon, maybe in a few years though. I'm quite happy with Iris reunion in this event, really hope to see more Iris ships in game soon.
unryu should ssr right cause they were mass produced carrier response to essex class
@@neelkanthgajarmal939 we already have one exactly as SSR, but we know that rarity in AL don't mean a lot in terms of IRL achievements unfortunately, since we have girls like Fletcher having very low rarity. But I agree, I hope to see more Unryuu class in game soon.
Finally!!!! Please do more Lure videos. I love your content so much!
i too was lured into watching this by the title
@@complex136same
Ong
I really hope that the livestream mention months back of a "new faction" is the devs reorganizing Iris Orthodoxy as one faction, and reworking every french ship's skills to actually work in tandem with one another instead of being split between iris libre and vichya dominion with very few overlaps as it stands.
I've heard it might be Tempesta.
Tempesta needs Queen Anne's Revenge and the Flying Dutchman represented @@Hawk2zer0
@@Hawk2zer0 That would be very strange as they’re already a faction, and I’m not sure what sailing ships are going to do against Sirens,
@@glauberglousger6643 The new faction mention was a mistranslation as technically Tempesta is a new faction and they will likely get a new member this Oct
@@PhyrraFaefiel No Flying Dutchman coz urban legend at the time, also absolutely NO Black Pearl!
Whydah (Black Sam Bellamy)
Satisfaction (Sir Henry Morgan)
Bachelor's Delight (William Dampier)
The Golden Hind (Sir Francis Drake), should she ever clash with DR Drake
Happy Delivery (Henry Fowler)
Adventure Galley (Captain Kidd)
Fancy (Henry Every)
Golden Fleece (Joseph Bannister)
La Reine des Indes / The Indian Queen (Olivier "La Buse" Levasseur)
Royal James (Stede Bonnet)
Fancy (Edward England)
Royal Rover (Walter Kennedy)
White Seahorse (Grace O'Malley)
Rising Sun (Christopher Moody)
Speaker (George Booth and John Bowen)
Mashouda (Barbary corsairs)
to be continued
Well, that part about Aoste and Anzeel mirroring the Ashen and Framework's ideal is an eye opener to me, never would've made that connection myself! Another excellent lore video, Hawk! Thanks!
As for favorite moment, well, truth to be told I might be one of the few who weren't all that interested in the World Expo arc. I'm much more looking forward to the continuation of IB and Sakura Empire's story. I'm much more touched by the U-556's METAmorphosis story arc than the whole thing with the Richileu sisters. So I know I'm gonna get smacked by everyone for this, but I guess my favorite moment of this event and the arc as a whole is that it is over.
Well, Marco's chibi getting Bullied by Conquest would be a close second, I suppose :D
If you want to ask for the third, I guess how the whole event seems like an unholy union of current Blue Archive story and Azur Lane mythology, with a dash of Earth Defense Force 5 for some reason. With the colosseum getting smashed from above ala Sanctum Tower, and alien abomination hell bent on eradicating man made structure with their gut contents like the Primers in EDF. That legit gave me a chuckle when I'm playing though the whole thing.
The thing that still makes me wonder why the Dragon Empery left earlier the World Expo? As if they knew something might happen.
I want to say coincidence.
Devs had no idea what to do with them, and they usually don’t do much anyways, which is... unfortunate
Or something was going on in their homeland
Peace with sirens = bigger harem. 🥰
Seeing that all the events during this arc was a link together is shocking and for the side I pick Anzeel
Hello Hawk, loved this event and your coverage of it! I have two questions
1. Who do you think the mysterious windchime girl in the dream dimension is? (The one who saved Zuikaku, SKK and Shinano). My immediate guess would be Amagi, but it's not the first time the game has used her as a red herring.
2. I forgot what I was going to ask ahaha. Uhhh... Who's the cutest Siren in your opinion?
3. I remembered. You think there's any significance to Trento META not appearing in the event at all?
Sorry I didn't see this comment. Let me give you my answers here:
1) They have done this before with bamboozling us on this. Jintsuu Meta coughing in Musashi's event tricked us. That aside, IT IS possible an Amagi META can exist. The circumstances around it would vary greatly..but..it wouldnt be impossible for sure.
2) uh...good question...I do like Tower...and Purity is also hilarious. Probably Tower. Devil get honorable mention for that happy smile in Yorktown II's event.
3) Unsure. It was definitely brushed aside which has me worried, but I'm hoping something came of that.
Great video! I hope you plan to make another 'Lore summary' vid in the future that continue your previous 3 hours vid (I only start to play AL in 2021 so that vid has been a hugh help to me. That vid absolutely enlightened me from a caveman who knew nothing about AL's lore to someone who have a big picture of what has happened and keep up to date with the game's lore.) Thanks a lot!
I got one question why are all arbiters named on tarot cards
Wow, as always Hawk donning the superlore-man cap. Thanks for that man.
As for my theory, as the antiochus were created to counter Leviathan, they leaped back in time, appearing as gods and leaving the OOPArts (crown, watatsumi, the cross where Marco saw the Hierophant , etc.) to accumulate data and stir humanity. Finally after appearing and starting war (that we know is the greatest source of technological and weapons progress), analyizing, acting reenactements to see if they can change the future between multiple options and branches to reach a final one where humanity could win against Leviathan. And that is where the commander (us in game) appears to be the decisive factor that set our branch apart, even gaining attention from BHR meta (god i'm so afraid of that mad KANSEN).
Perhaps the netx big event will see the conclusion from the musashi event, maybe Yamato (at last) regaining control of the Sakura Empire as their leader with her 2 sisters being the upper echelon, and we will see if Akagi's vision for the SE is the same as Yamato's (and that could be the main plot of said event).
What could be? idk, but i have faith that the future will see a reunited azur lane with the commander as the leader, gaining support from the Metas and Antiochus to fight against Leviathan. How many years will we need to see that? I hope many, to have this fantastic game and great community for as long as possible.
I hope this loooong ass banter is readable (english is not my first language) and thank anyone who reads and shares his/her thoughs, and of course to Hawk for another great video!
I didn't see this video until now what the hell. I was thinking to myself "Hmm wonder when HawkZero0 will talk about The Fools Scales" Turned out you already did 2 weeks ago! Thanks RUclips. But seriously this event was by far, without a doubt, the most satisfying conclusion to all the storylines that were wrapped up.
It also had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I just kept wanting more and more. Richelieu was without a doubt my favorite character during this event. Her significance in the greater story for the past year was something I immediately took note of all the way back in February during Revelations of dust. When she got permanently added I didn't care how many cubes I wasted, I needed to get her. The Iris reforming under her leadership had me literally standing up and shouting in excitement as the crowning ceremony scene unfolded.
The Fools Scales was the embodiment of everything I love about storytelling, and everything I love about Azur Lane. And its why I will continue to play it for as long as its story continues.
Also QE retrofit when lolololol.
You've made a quite good review of current event with theories and some well placed references to past ones.
But there is one thing that bugged me throughout this whole ordeal: Tribunal's Mechanicus Confessors, the fleet under Clemenceau's command. If I remember correctly from "Revelations of Dust" only ONE was ever created and was destroyed in the Great War, but now they have the entire fleet of them?! Not only that, but they were to be used to, quote-unquote, "smite" everyone at World Expo, US INCLUDED (a.k.a. "Commander"), during the fighting. Even though in the end it was just a setup made by Clemenceau to keep Marco Polo in the dark, I can't shake out the filling that Naval HQ had them in store for this particular reason. And not just the Tribunal.
Remember "Epimetheus", Alicorn-like submarine and EU Federation ships from "Parallel Superimposition" event? I know, kinda-far-stretched, but I wouldn't be suprised if EU had that advanced naval force at their disposal in this timeline. I believe it's for homeland defense against Siren incursions, but if there was other purpose for them. As for other faction, we didn't see anything of sort but the glimpses (like IB's Floating Fortress etc.). I can only assume each faction have some elite force on stand-by in case of emergency or special purpose. And that objective in the future may be the elimination of Commander and extermination of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis as they are. The whole Marco Polo Incident proved that KANSEN's cannot be 100% controlled or trustworthy, so I wouldn't suprised me if top-brass decided to look at "alternative solutions and strategies". Like high-end mass produced ships and Priority Ships with "Gascogne-type-like-personality". So the current "status quo" ends obsolete and all that's left to rewrite the rules of engagement... and dispose any and all "refuse" from the past as the Commander has the largest fleet comprised of KANSEN's in the world, but NOT the strongest yet. But I don't believe Naval HQ and factions in general will brand them as traitor. Perhaps posthumously will be announced as mankind's hero, martyr and victim of "KANSEN's rebellion" that was stopped before it may have made some serious damage, or at least that's the way of thinking that makes most sense if I were in the position of Naval HQ.
It'd be quite interesting scenerio, Azur Lane fighting against the people they are supposed to protect, especially if the enemy commander/main antagonist would be another Priority Ship or maybe even ANOTHER HUMAN.
*_But this is just my theory based on the informations we got so far._*
I mean...that's because Tribunal being a Shady organization hid a lot of information from Richelieu and maybe others. Horseman of Conquest was another. They were more like a "pretend to have them surrounded"
Ironblood is still the more advanced faction for many many reasons.
"And that objective in the future may be the elimination of Commander and extermination of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis as they are"
Nah...None of the factions would do this...save for Ashes (META girls) maybe. All of the factions realize how important the Commander is...so any plans against him would be frowned on with ALL factions (Crimson Axis or Azur Lane).
"The whole Marco Polo Incident proved that KANSEN's cannot be 100% controlled or trustworthy, so I wouldn't suprised me if top-brass decided to look at "alternative solutions and strategies" "
Possibly, but no one honored her...no one was willing to give her a chance except for Clem...who really wasn't in the end. However, this is an issue the Sardegna have...with the senate. The Senate want next to nothing to deal with the Kan-sen.
my favorite moment
"i used to be a rider until i took arrow on the knee"
marco polo 2023
I loved Marco Polo being even crazier than before in this event
Looks like The Fool's Scales is the Closure for the French event From Iris of Light and Dark to Skybound Oratorio and Anthem of Remembrance.
No, this was an all faction event, and the ending was a bit bleh for it to be a closure
@@glauberglousger6643 yup since fools scales was an unison event for all factions, but it was a closure for Iris Libre and Vichya I mean.
@@senormichalecenera4654 for a closure it still leaves a lot unresolved for both French factions though
ummm hawk you forgot to summary Confluence of Nothingness?
I'll get to it. With this one out, I wanted to do this one first.
More lore! please do more of these, i can't watch the enitire 4 hour live streams. Looking forward to Bismark/Ib!
What was the commander up to during this event
He was the commanding officer for everyone there. He led all the factions not led by Clemenceau and Marco Polo
I am most likely wrong but I found it interesting that Hierophant split herself to seemingly kidnap the commander to show us that cutscene with Aoste or whatever it was. It was probably more likely she just split herself to leave, but my immediate thought at the time was that the whole event was so she could get close to us.
Anzeel and Aoste, at least the versions here, don't seem to be enemies since well, regardless of the answer you give, they seem to have authority over Hierophant.
....And, I feel like Hierophant here was less Deus X, and more acting under the Doctors' orders at the end, considering what she actually did at the end and what we experienced.
Definitely a LOT going on tho.
Yeah...you can argue both are responsible for the creation of the Arbiters. Aoste created them...based on concepts from Anzeel's work.
@@Hawk2zer0also I watched both choices In the scene with the 2 choises with hierophant watching iirc they a different reaction, if u support Aoste, hierophant stays silent and continue slowly observing, but if u choose anzeel’s route she seems to emanate a glint of light in a manner that I don’t know seems to me that she was happy that we choose ainzeel’s answer which is weird
So is it fair to say still that Marco Polo was lead astray by what started as honest ambitions?
Really don't like the idea of one of my favorites actually being evil.
Either that or could have been under influence of someone else. The beginning of the event showed everyone really getting into the Expo...and acting very unusual from their usual selves.
Now all we need is for the Eagle Union to develop nuclear tech.
Arkansas (BB-33), New York (BB-34), Ward (DD-139), Somers (DD-381), Bagley (DD-386), England (DE-635) the submarine hunter, Block Island (CVE-21), Augusta (CA-31) and more REALLY missing KAN-SENified US Navy ships first before the Einstein and Oppenheimer biz
Akron (ZRS-4) and Macon (ZRS-5), both experimental aircraft-carrying airships in the 1930s and US Navy registrants
Wyffels (DE-6), Reuben James (DD-245), Guadalcanal (CVE-60), Midway / St. Lo (CVE-63) who is not the Midway Mk II that you see perma-anchored, Thresher (SS-200), Gato herself (SS-212)...
AHHHHHHH, MARCO POLO IS NOT IN THE BOX! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE HAWK!? YOU HAVE DOOMED US ALL!
It's okay...she's in a coma now.
It's becoming increasingly clear that we've only just scratched the surface of how many META factions there are out there and how they all interact with each other.
After all, La Galissonnière META claimed to be with the Ashes, but is listed as Cinders of Hope (Possible Queen Elizabeth META lead faction?) in-game.
I don’t think the meta skill tells us which META sub-faction she belongs to as Helena META has the ashen might skill but is with Yorktown META’s group, I think it’s just a categorization thing done for the players sake
@@TankofdarknessHelena META is an ally of Yorktown's group but is still a member of the Ashes.
@@Sathzur that doesn’t seem right as she states she’s loyal to the commander when we first meet her in New Jersey’s event a trait belonging to Yorktown META’s faction. To add further when we see her talking to Yorktown META in one of the extra cut scenes of that same event Helena META makes it clear she doesn’t want to remember her time with the ashes stating that the old her (from when she was an ashes) is dead.
I was so hyped for the Iris reformed under the Orthodoxy. Finally, the girls don't have to fight one another.
That being said, we got some nods that there's still things going on in the background with some of them and most likely will come to a head eventually.
Three things (plus some lengthy extras). One, sorry for the massive wall of text below.
Two, I really enjoyed this event story except for one element... Clemenceau. I try and mostly succeed to love and trust all my shipgirls. Even the ones that seem a bit sus at first. Especially those ones, because they seem to need it most. But attempting to turn those same shipgirls against me is where I draw the line. And yes, I get it, she was just trying to light a fire under Jean Bart's shapely stern. But that doesn't mean the way she did it wouldn't have consequences, especially considering how... impressionable a number of shipgirls can be. What if someone took her lie, and decided for herself that it was truth? I have my own theory that a shipgirl oathed is a shipgirl saved, basically their feelings for us are proof of humanity rather than just being weapons that'll keep them from being decommissioned and scuttled like their real life counterparts (or serve as justification to rebel against Naval HQ if they try it anyway), and how much of that would've been undone depending on how far other shipgirls took Clemenceau's manipulation to heart? No harm no foul for the most part, but she's gonna need a serious redemption arc if she wants her promise ring anytime soon.
Three, regarding what you said about the Sirens... there was actually evidence that they were acting in humanity's best interest, albeit through harsh and cruel methods that ultimately do more harm than good, as far back as Ashen Simulacrum. They're threatening humanity and provoking wars, but they're doing so to artificially force survival of the fittest. The weak elements are eliminated, the strong elements survive. And all to face an even bigger threat that we thought was Antiochus at first, but now seems to be Deus X, assuming Deus X won't give way to something even bigger.
I'll leave a related theory I posted to Reddit once below, as I think you'd be interested in reading it. Keep in mind, I wrote this a year or two ago. But TL;DR, I think it's possible that SKK is a benevolent Siren (or Siren adjacent), and that eventually we'll get a Siren event that'll let us pull for Sirens as they get pulled into the greater fleet.
"I know that these 'the hero is the villain' theories are a dime a dozen on the internet, but I actually do think there's some solid evidence worth considering here, especially since it might help chart out where the story and some future events are headed. But before we get to why I think Shikikan is a Siren, I wanna go over what we know about Shikikan. Which isn't much, and for obvious reasons, he's the player insert. Where he does have an active character, it seems to be more on the "generic anime harem protagonist" side (with a hint of sharing Akashi's greed if the DOA collab is anything to go by). We do, however, know that he exists outside the Siren's simulation (we'll get to that), and that there's some backstory to him that's yet to be fully revealed. It's also heavily implied that another version of him was closely involved with future Enterprise, and that the loss of him provoked her into becoming Code G or Ash or Enterprise Meta or whatever she wants to call herself.
Now let's go over what we know of the Sirens. We know that they're provoking wars among the factions so that they can see who wins and preserve those elements, repeating the process over and over again until peak strength is reached (there's probably already a name for this, I'm gonna call it 'Artificial Darwinism'), all for the sake of facing Antiochus, an upcoming Thanos-like big bad. They manufacture mock versions of the shipgirls on both sides to use in their own combat, they can time travel and run simulations, and there also may be some infighting.
Now to answer the big question: why do I think Shikikan is a Siren invention? Well basically... everything the Sirens do, the player does as well. We force our shipgirls to fight so that they can face stronger threats, we time travel to already completed levels for grinding and ship drops, we eliminate weak and unnecessary elements in ship enhancements and limit breaks. We even compete amongst ourselves for the strongest fleet (that is, if you take PVP seriously).
So are we the bad guys? ...not really. Like I said, the Sirens are motivated to get strong enough to face an upcoming big bad, and that's why they're provoking all this fighting. But it was Einstein that once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. Shikikan represents a different approach. An approach that strengthens the weak elements rather than cutting them off. As cheesy as it sounds, the power of unification through love. I think the plan of him was to insert him into Naval HQ, bearing resemblance to a significant positive figure from the shipgirls' lives, and have him act as a single point for all the ships to gather around and dedicate themselves to fight for willingly. Like a sun in a solar system. He's meant to bring all the pieces together, and converge them all into a force that brings down this upcoming threat. And it'll... almost work.
It's clearly the better method, how many times have the Shikikan and his fleet won victories against the Sirens? But we've seen one of Shinano's visions in Dreamwalker's Butterfly where the exact type of Endgame scenario I've described above happens... and they lose. Badly. Which brings me to a prediction of a future event.
If this theory is true, then one day we'll get an event where the truth comes out. Tension will be had between Shikikan and the fleet, but it'll ultimately drive home the game's message of everyone joining together and moving toward the future, whatever happened in the past and whatever may come in said future. But more importantly, it'll allow the player to recruit shipgirls from a faction that wasn't part of Shinano's vision. One that might help tip the scales. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be able to pull for Sirens. And I know there are some of you that absolutely want Purifier in your fleet.
If the story doesn't go that way, then whatever. Honestly, it's still just a lot of fun thinking about how this all fits together and guessing where it's gonna go. Which I guess is why I'm so interested in the lore. But honestly, I'm kinda hoping it's true. Not just because it provides an explanation for certain gameplay mechanics, but also because of the possibilities it opens."
That’s uhhh, over complicating things that really shouldn’t be
As for Clemenceau, well, it’s not really her fault that good plans are apparently hard to write these days,
Unless apparently like Marco Polo, she was being mind controlled or something (which is even stupider)
The idea of her seems to be capable of doing what was needed, taking on the burdens of an entire faction, to protect those she loved, all while being shady and "neutral"
But the writing kinda... failed at that, (also the fact that she was originally referenced as an Iris Libre ship, someone forgot about that I guess...)
And yes, Jean Bart does have a Shapely Stern
@@glauberglousger6643 To me, it seems more like they were trying to make a Makima-like shipgirl, without realizing that that type of personality doesn't really fit the shipgirl framework. What they were going for with Clemenceau, I think Friedrich already did better.
As for the "overcomplicating" thing, if you're referring to my reaction to Clemenceau, I get how it can seem that way, but I say all that as a guess to how some future event will go. One that might turn our waifus against us as some shipgirls question whether or not we can be trusted. My fault for being unclear, my apologies. As for the hypothetical event, I know that sounds cool on paper, but I get enough of that nonsense in Arknights. Real life's got enough strife, let the port of Azur Lane be our oasis. If you're referring to my "shikikan is a siren" theory, maybe I am overthinking that stuff, but something tells me that later down the road I'll be proven right. Anyway, I only included that because I legitimately thought Hawk would be interested.
I'm wondering if the next story arch will put us at an area shipgirl wise in which we start seeing early cold war ships, and guided missile conversions (and dare I say, the all illusive angled flightdeck). I personally feel like we're getting to that point, and great story arks from there, especially as some are museums now.
What was the deal with Marco Polo in the end? I missed the event due to kinda falling off with AL so I have no clue what happened.
the ships of this event is kinda meh, but the lore entry is delicious, it's so nice to see all the small story build up into this one... although design wise, Hierophant look more like Empress than Empress herself did.. i keep thinking that she is Empress in the whole event and her mannerism certainly doesnt help...
Since SMS event the story really gives Perimeter impressions.
We know that Hierophant manipulated Marco Polo into doing her things though but it just leave even more questions. We don't know if Clemenceau is even aware of it while deciding to sabotaging Marco Polo's plans, it was like doing Order 66 in HoI4 as she told her goons to immediately subdue Marco Polo's allies when they receive the signal. One particular event is about Trento Meta, Clemenceau already assigned Flandre and Kersaint for that but it was offscreen and we never see what happen next, Flandre never make an appearance.
Is the Hierophant and by extent the Devil rogue Sirens, or is this another Hijacked by Ganon case of Sirens just manipulating the factions? The Devil sure have unique drones that other arbiters don't, but the Hierophant is something else entirely, are those Nurgle or Beast-infected ships she is using? Is She from another timeline, as she is less mechanical than the others, and appearance wise she looks more like a Kantai Collection Abyssal than Siren.
Are the Sirens now beginning to target Blueprint Ships?
And even if she has been manipulated, what the hell is Marco Polo trying to accomplish? Is she trying to get Holy, Roman, and an Empire achievement or something?
Marco Polo didn't like the super slow progress of defeating the sirens...so she wanted something stronger...an enemy of the sirens even...if it had existed. What she didn't realize is that it was X (aka Deus X on EN) and that the situation is more complicated than what is presented to them since the enemy of the sirens is also the enemy of humanity (the real one that even the sirens are trying to stop). In her own delusions...she ended up summoning something that would have completely destroyed their world. It's likely she was under the influence of it...if we followed the idea of embracing the concepts (as shown in Revelations of Dust).
_Stories told along the waaay_
_Tales of loss and fire and faaaith_
this is great! I was in need of a channel that could compile the lore from events. Hope to see more in the future.
I have a feeling that next new event will involve BHR coming
Now waiting for wat Sakura event gonna be maybe it connected to the Yorktown 2 event or NP
I mean I understood practically non of it.
Its not because of you its azur lane's story in general makes very little sense to me.
The only question I have is what are these "META" ships?
There's still a lot of information to be gained, but I can somewhat give an answer here.
META Shipgirls are Kansen (Shipgirls) that were severely affected by corruption. The nature of this corruption is unknown, but there are many sources of it (Black Cube, Bon Homme Richard, these mysterious black shadow like creatures, etc). The exposure can be somewhat controlled and to a degree reverted, but once it passes a threshold...They will be transformed into the META variants you see in the game (this process is called METAMORPHOSIS)
@@Hawk2zer0 So it's like in Honkai Star rail when someone is affected by mara, and go insane. Except not all META ships lose their mind, but some end up like BHR....interesting.
@@lucasyamashita5998 That's not too far off. It's more like they can eventually go insane...sometimes they can avoid it or control it (Vestal).
Yeah, the story kinda... falls flat, but as for the META
No one has a clue, there are many theories, none being right or wrong (a result of the vagueness), it initially was, they were created, then they were from alternate universes, then transformed, then just evil, then different factions and relations, then corrupted, then good
At this point you could claim they’re aliens and get enough evidence for that
And since a random theory is going to be true (considering the devs don’t steal ideas), it’s really anyone’s guess what they are
Ah OK I see now thank you good people.
*Ahem...*
LET'S GO RICHELIEU YEEEAAAAHHHHHH
Really great video! Just a couple questions: Was it really "X" or Hierophant that the Commander was speaking with in that scene with Aoste and Anzeel? And if it's "X", was it using Hierophant as a...vessel to communicate with the Commander because, as Aoste puts it, she can be used as a mediator? To maybe understand what the Commander is trying to achieve?
I mean, "X" went through all this trouble to arrive in this branch, came into contact with the Commander, and then just...left.
Not sure. It likely could be...but hard to really say for sure. Really would like more into this...
Same as the Trento META fight.
@@Hawk2zer0 Trento META "fight"? We didn't see anything, like it went completely unnoticed.
But that brings up another question: Why was she even with Marco on this? It just seems odd for a META to go along with this whole "summon God" plan. Part of me wonders if she's actually with BHR and knew that if "X" was summoned to this branch, BHR would be able to find it.
12:17 I actually gave my thoughts about this to a Reddit post on the matter they’re (Helena META and Memphis META) lying to avoid having to go back to the ashes since we don’t know how that group handles deserters.
I don't think they'll be too angry about it....they weren't upset at not being able to get Gneisenau META from the Ironblood...so who knows...
@@Hawk2zer0 yes but those circumstances were different as Gneisenau META was never an ashes in the first place they sent Scharnhorst META to locate her and convince her to join, Helena META and Memphis META are ex-ashes as we see them at the ashes failed assault on zero’s mainframe. This tells me those two don’t want to go back to the ashes for some reason best guess is Takao META likely takes desertion very poorly while Enty META at least will respect the choice( basically if Helena and Memphis go back to the ashes they can likely expect Takao META to wipe the floor with them)
Hey, are we sure we got the right commander back at the end of this whole thing?
As far as I'm aware...there's really only one of us.
@@Hawk2zer0 That's what I'm hoping, it's just that the last command we heard before falling unconscious was "Clone". Then it ends with us being alone, holding a possibly different crown, and saying to ourselves that we should answer that call from the ship girls.
favorite: jean bart and richelieu moment, anzel and the ending.
most stupid: clemenceau. i havnt seen a more stupid plan than her whole thinking in a long time. every part fails, beside her strike on marco polo. when i exclude (wouldnt change anything) her from the story then this event is a 9/10.
next: i think we will go sakura. was a long time since we heard anything about it.
thanks for the recap.
Yeah...Clem really played with fire in this event...she's lucky it didn't end up as bad as it could have been.
@@Hawk2zer0 i wouldnt say she played with fire: she played with the end of the world and the death of many people. i could make a list with ca 10 points where her plan fails and i think for THE big tactician of the france faction this event dosnt serve her justice. i mean i get what her plan was aiming for, but the part between start and end is so abysmal. where i get a little angry is, that at no time - so far - she takes a ounce of responsibility for her doing.
and what saved her was no part of her plan, it was the luck of the commander.
Clemenceau did change something by striking Marco Polo though?
@@glauberglousger6643 yes, that's the only part i mentioned that didnt fail. BUT it was horse boy who did it and then disappeared from the story to not be relevant at all (why is he even here, when his only action is: hit marco polo once? couldnt a BB just do it? wasted potential). so you could replace this with: marco polo slipped from her throne because of bad luck...
@@easlyth251 True, but that’s beating on Marco Polo too much, perhaps have a META do it, or Clemenceau herself, so she at least does something risky
(And not plain stupid, also)
Marco Polo = A Clown with The Crown
Clemenceau: You are not a clown. You are the entire circus.
In which event was that attack on Observer Zero happening/was depicted? I can't seem to remember seeing.
Pledge of the Radiant Court Chapter 6 I believe
@@Hawk2zer0 Thanks, it was indeed that chapter. Also, great video! Should have said that in my original question :)
My need the iron blood more information about the others blueprint ship ,they have the most blueprint ship is my question.
My only thinking about this is the completely ironblood flett gets a hull update to be more resistant about arbiters/others threats effects.
*why
Fav moment? Hierophant
Least favorite? Richelieu. Every scene she is in.
As for what’s next? Idk, this event was cool and all but it left me a bit empty I guess? This arc was a year in the making and now I’m just left wondering what’s next? How are they going to top this and Rhondo?
Morning starting a after event from this more lore stuff.
That's a good point...we did just finish this arc. So...who knows what's next...but it's gonna get intense...because now a bigger threat is aware of us.
Despite having the worst writing of any Azur Lane event I’ve seen so far, a very strange attempt at being an all faction yet French event, some questionable additions to what remains of the lore, and a combination of two small scale events and their ships from different factions, and a changing Clemenceau into a Vichya ship, and a few other things
This event didn’t suck in terms of hilarity, and stuff that didn’t make sense
Lore yey~
[Edit] Honestly thank you for the summary as it was confusing some of us who were not paying too much attention.