How did the children get the Jaynas back in episode 23 of "Galactic Drift By Pham," written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama? [Nostalgic Anime Retrospective #91

Sunrise's official YouTube channel began streaming "Galactic Drift By Pham" (1983). Thirteen children are evacuated from a colony planet due to an attack by mysterious aliens. The children travel through space to rescue their parents, who have been taken away by the enemy, while steering their own training ship, the Jaynas. Episode 23, "Jaynas is Our Ship! A New Departure" is the turning point in the 46-episode series. The charm of the first half of "Byfam" is condensed in the 23rd episode, partly because it is followed by two episodes in a row of compilation.
The scenario is written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, the famous scriptwriter who added a delicate and lyrical mood to the world of robot animation in "Mobile Suit Gundam" (1979), including episode 27 "Female Spy Infiltration" in which Kai becomes friendly with Michal, and "Mega Zone 23" (1985), which depicted the frustrations of adolescence. Let's take a closer look at episode 23 of "By Fam".

Characters move characters like poking billiard balls.

Earth-side reinforcements led by Colonel Roden have arrived on the Jaynas, and the ship is controlled by adult soldiers. However, the children, who have been steering the Jaynas without the adults, return to their work when the supply convoy arrives and the enemy attacks. The highlight of episode 23 is the resilience of the children, who easily take the jobs of the professional soldiers.

At the beginning of this episode, Colonel Roden has this conversation with a group of soldiers sitting on the bridge.
Legionnaire A: "It's amazing that such an old ship is still working."
Colonel Roden: "They carried out things on that old ship that would have made an adult look good."
Legionnaire B: "You mean that they destroyed the relay station?"
Colonel Roden: "Yes. That's part of it, that they've moved this Jaynas so far on their own."
Now, cut to this. Remember that the camera moves so that the four soldiers sitting on the bridge are slowly captured by the PAN and finally Colonel Roden is shown.

Next, notice how the characters move.
The one who appears on the bridge, where the soldiers are lined up, is Scott, the most senior man on the Jaynas, who has been acting as captain. When Scott is spotted by the soldiers, he smiles shyly and says, "Just out of habit," while Colonel Roden smiles and says, "Leave this to us and get some rest.
Later, when Scott shows him the remains on board the Jaynas, Colonel Roden softens his attitude, saying, "This is your ship, don't be shy.
When Scott hears that the second supply convoy is coming, he steps over to the console where the servicemen sit and says, "This is the switch over here. Fuel is easier to use in hangar 1 than in hangar 2. The military man scowled at him. However, Colonel Roden follows Scott's advice and gives the order to "guide them to hangar 1. Scott involuntarily replies, "Yes. At first Colonel Roden says, "Leave it to us," but then he gradually allows Scott to intervene, and it is clear that the process is constructed naturally and without strain.

Inertial speed" and "output gauge" ...... casual technical terms increase the persuasive power.

Then, when the children learn that the enemy is approaching, they all rush onto the bridge at once. Fred, the younger one, says, "That's a habit," and shows the soldier how to press the switch.
Military man C says, "Shut up, every time. Is it broken, this switch?"
Fred "No, it's not broken, it's out of tune, that's it. You have to push it as if you were going to hit it. No, no, no, just push it over there."
Military C. "Tsk. ...... like this?"
Fred "See?"
Fred smiles smugly. There is an indescribable sense of touch to this childlike explanation, which seems to be a bit clumsy and somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
Colonel Roden declares on the bridge, "Let's get a hand" and "Jaynas, the children here will do it for you. The children joyfully raise their hands in the air with a "wow" and the cheerful theme song begins.
Claire, the leader of the girls, says to an adult soldier, "Excuse me, that's my seat. On the other side of the table, Pench, who is a little younger than the others, says, "Excuse me, I'm used to it," and asks to switch seats with the other servicemen.
Claire "Pench, check the inertial speed of Jaynas."
Pench "Yes, sir."
Claire and Pench exchange auns and auns. Sharon and Maki also take their places and look at the console.
Maki "Sharon, the course seems to be stable.
Sharon: "Okay. ...... sorry for a minute."
And then, with a small accent, she notices the adult who has given up his seat to her.
Sharon: "Hey, you're off by five nanoseconds. Who programmed it like this?
Katya soothes an exasperated Sharon with "Sharon" (because the military man who programmed it is still standing right next to her).
Next, the camera PANS to the side and captures Pench, Claire, and Fred, in that order.
Pench: "Hey, what's this?"
Claire "Sorry, I sent the output gauge."
Fred: "It's gone negative, put it back."
Colonel Lowden said to the soldiers, who were taken aback by the children's rapid and jargon-laden conversation, "What are you just standing there like a bunch of idiots? Colonel Roden shouts to the soldiers, "What are you just standing there like a fool? This cut shows the same camera work as near the beginning of the film. The camera pans to the right and finally shows Colonel Roden. However, the people sitting in front of the console are no longer soldiers, but children. Because of the same camerawork, the change in situation is directly conveyed.
The beautiful scenario unfolds in such a way that Scott, who first intervenes between the adults, shoots off one or two small fireworks, and the children who come back scatter en masse and let the fireworks bloom here and there. I can't help but listen to the realistic conversations that play like a game of catch ball over and over. This is a must-see episode when it is released.

(Text by Keisuke Hirota)