Thoughts on the Russian Arc

[rebina]

I pretty like most of the Russian Army dogs even if they were being cruel since they were raised that way but my favourites from the troop will be Viktor ngl even though his personality is pretty shit and Lydia as well since who knows she turned out to be a really sweet girl

[MasterOfCider]

I quite liked what I could read (thanks a bunch to the lovely translators) of it. It put Weed in a position that made him appear selfish and imperfect and had enemies that could actually stand against the Ohu army. They felt like a legitimate threat. The Russian army was highly skilled, intelligent, and powerful. They weren't noble, but they were pretty dang successful. In comparison to them, Hougen's army just felt like they got lucky, because a lot of soldiers were spaced far apart at the time...also Kaibutsu.

[Wolpard]

It was an interesting read! Definitely not my favorite arc, but the Russian Army prove to be pretty terrifying and a difficult enemy to handle.

[Spirit Tree]

I think the Russian Arc is pretty good. It’s not the best, but just good.

Even though Lydia was an enemy when first introduced, it was good to see Jerome meet her and grow close to her as time passed. It was sweet to see them fall in love with each other as Lydia expressed feelings for Jerome and chose not to kill him. It was because of Jerome that Lydia unlocked something within her mind and saw a different side of things. It was heartwarming to see them together and become husband and wife at the end. Although it was sad to see Lydia and her brother Maxim depart from each other. Lydia found a better life, though.

It was a little interesting to see Weed declining to go to war against the Russian army so he could spend time with Koyuki. Of course Kyoushiro did not take too kindly of that. But all it took was for GB to convince Weed to put his quality time with his wife on hiatus and join in on the war to help his father and other comrades. GB’s motivation to Weed was a turning point in this arc, in my opinion, because if it weren’t for GB, the Ou soldiers would have been lost, perplexed, or immobile without their leader’s presence and guidance.

One of the most disturbing moments in Ginga takes place in this arc: seeing mothers and children committing suicide by falling off a cliff to avoid capture by the Russian soldiers for sexual purposes or getting executed by them is horrifying. Just sad, dark, and terrible.

I can’t even imagine how the Ou soldiers trapped in that ravine would survive for so long until Weed’s group showed up. They certainly had strong spirits. And Moss’s death was painful.

I don’t like Viktor. He’s such a cowardly bastard. He’s always running away when he sees that he and his men are losing. He even sends his men to fight the Ou soldiers while he just sits back and watches and not do anything. And when his men get beaten, he runs away like the damn coward that he was. Even when things aren’t going his way. He hardly stands up and fights like a better man. He only does so when he’s forced to, though, which makes the situation awkward. But if there’s anything positive I can say about Viktor, he’s clever and tricky with his schemes and tactics. Although it was sad to see Aram sacrifice his life to kill Viktor, I’m still glad he ended that bastard’s life.

Speaking of Aram, he was an interesting character. Even though he was siding with Viktor, Jerome, Lydia, Maxim, and a few other dogs (I think) were able to get through to him and convince him that there’s a better life than life with the Russian army. Therefore, I liked the fact that Aram supported Maxim and the Ou army, even when he was very reluctant to follow Viktor’s orders. In the end, Aram had a proud and honorable death. He was a dog who had a better conscience than Viktor.

[Nerdykestrel74]

I really liked how high the stakes and tension were for this arc despite me feeling that the Russian army was a bit too overpowered at times (I already explained this in the Pet Peeve's thread). It actually felt like the Ohu Army was in a very sticky situation and would have lost if GB hadn't finally talked some sense into Weed, which is what Gin should have done at the very beginning of this arc. It also introduced us to best girl Lydia, who's character development I absolutely loved in this arc. Moss's death made me cry so hard. Ngl though, I found myself really hating most of the Russian Dogs at first considering that they slaughtered children and their mothers without seeming the least bit remorseful about it. I liked that they eventually realized that they shouldn't have been following Viktor's orders though, especially Aram who's design I really enjoyed.

[Dragon]

One of my favorite arcs! It's dark but very suspenseful (for Ginga standards). The Ohu army finally met threatening opponents that were a huge challenge. It's too bad we couldn't see their full feelings about almost losing to a pack with less numbers than theirs. Usually it's Ohu that is the underdog in numbers.
The arc showed a lot of unique struggles in war settings too. I feel like my least favorite part of the arc was Weed finding 1,000 pet dogs willing to fight a war they have no clue about and somehow making it there in time to save Gin. Also the Ohu army not being torn up at any point like Hakuro's army did. Limbs were torn in Hakuro's army but it's not like they're marshmallow dogs while Ohu dogs are rocks LOL so... kinda lame power imbalance there, but whatever.

[Gingaddict]

I have big mixed feelings towards this arc because I sometimes think it got too dark with its mother and puppy suicides and multiple killings in Hakuro's pack and the way it tried to portray Weed as having some sort of a Messiah complex.

I mean their excuse for not being able to grow a big pack to fight alongside Gin and the rest was that the young dogs did not want to fight if Weed was not there. I found that to be a bit stupid because Weed is just a puppy still at this time and it's not like he could just walk in and everyone just stops fighting. Also how do the background dogs know Weed is in a relationship? They're not his closest friends or anything and yet it seems every dog knew he was hanging out with Koyuki? Seriously who is the one who spreads rumours about the Ohu dogs when no one's looking?

I also found it hard to forgive some of the character's actions, mainly Maxime. I could never forgive him for what he did to Hakuro's sons and the fact he did nothing to stop Victor and Aram from killing families. Lydia was the only one of the Russian dogs that I liked, the rest of them are disposable for me. It really felt like some big deal crimes went on here and some of them got off a bit too easily, especially Victor, he should've been made to suffer for all that he had done, drowning was too good for him.

I mainly had trouble with the fact I felt the arc overstayed its welcome, mainly when it kept going on and on with the gorge battle, it was taking ages for Weed's pack to arrive so we were just stuck there going nowhere and it got quite frustrating with its repetitive dialogue and constant need to put Gin into trouble and characters near death.

Let's just say if Ginga Weed becomes an anime again and they leave this arc out, I won't be losing any sleep over it.

[TheHowlingWolf94]

I liked the Russian Arc,not my personal favorite but it's up there. I really liked the reunion of Gin and Daisuke.

[Troyo7]

I liked the Russian bow although it was a misfortune what happened to the Hakuro herd but those who remained from the Russian army saw their mistake and regretted what they did.

[nakkiperuna]

I loved it. So many good moments but RIP to my favorite guy