Author: Juu-kuchi

SPOILERS

This is peak Gundam space battle episode here. Intense combat abounds as everything blows up and gets killed, with Tekkadan and McGillis struggling as best they can given the onslaught of a superior force. This episode pretty much lays threadbare how on a knife’s edge they are all on at this point, and with an opposition like Rustal Elion, one wrong step and SLICE.

Speaking of Rustal, he is the star of this episode, and is quite the Big Bad in terms of last space battles in Gundam. Sure, we’ll probably see McGillis and Bael be the endgame boss, yet in older Gundam shows he’d have already been against our heroes at this point and be the one bringing the pain. However, all we get is Rustal Elion and quite frankly it’s a breath of fresh air. Endgame space battle Gundam villains usually run the gamut from Hitler-esque (Gihren), bellicose (Gyn Ghingham), to sadistic psycho-bitchy (Katejina). Rustal looks to be the more normal out of all of them, since he doesn’t embody much of those character traits, and if he does it’s very tapered down by sheer force of discipline. Also, the rather solid character design that does not reek of bishounen malevolence or a hideously ugly mug that screams “I’M EVIL” helps too. read more

The reason for the article title is predicated on how unhinged Macky acts throughout the episode. If it is not using his mastery of Bael to force the non-aligned parts of Gjallarhorn under his thrall, it’s being able to unflinchingly prevent a despairing Almiria ready to turn a knife on herself after botching her childish (I don’t mean this as an insult, she’s still young after all) attempt to kill Macky. The scary part is I do not even know where the play acting stops and the craziness begins, since Macky is so dedicated to his craft. Does he WANT them to think he’s crazy? Or is it his true honest form? read more

SPOILERS

For the first time, I couldn’t really find ONE good image from this episode. So like I did with Escaflowne, here is this episode’s Four Perfect Shots. Seriously, it’s really goddamn pretty. In fact, those aren’t the most perfect of shots. Also no, don’t get mad that one of em is Galli-Galli, you pretty much knew the moment he spoke under that mask Vidar was Galli-Galli. The true pleasure though, is what happened to him during the interim between seasons.

So Macky’s plan to seize Gjallarhorn’s HQ goes off without much of a hitch, with the help of Mika and Barbatos Lupus-Rex-Ou-Rey-Roi-King. It has been a long time coming, and this episode doesn’t mince about delaying his movement too much, not only in his coup but also in FINALLY revealing his past. It is as dark as you would expect given his chibi-self’s dourness and implications of abuse. In the latter’s case, boy he has had a lot. There is no innocent, young, rogue in Macky’s past who was slowly driven to the dark side, but somebody who was already there and just moved deeper and deeper into it as time went on. One would wonder if it wasn’t for their friendship with each other, Orga and Mika would have ended up the same if they were on their own. However, this question is neither here nor there in the long run, since we are at the beginning of endgame, and they are where they are, and Macky is where he is. It’s not exactly the most original out there (I was thinking of Griffith throughout his flashback), but it is effective, and very welcome that we now know what makes Macky tick. read more

SPOILERS

You know an episode has it in for its protagonists if a catharsis one has been hoping for such a very long time does not come to fruition. Yes, Iok is not dead yet. In fact he is as alive and chipper as his usual annoying self is, and thus we all must wait once more for his demise. The only consolation we can seize from this is Rustal is rather blasé about this whole thing, and did not adulate the slightest bit towards Iok’s decision.

Sadly, the aforementioned is one of only two consolations to seize from this week. It is not enough for Gjallarhorn to have the bodies of Naze and Amida, it is Jasley fishing for outrage from the remaining Turbines and Tekkadan during the funeral. McMurdo remains steadfast in his respect for Naze, but now that he’s gone, Jasley is more open in his ambitions to wipe Tekkadan out. It is not shocking in any way, but it is good to see it finally coming to fruition after being already established so long ago… read more

I found out what the show was clogging the turbines with for this episode…

…It was using soggy biscuits.

UNEXPECTEDLY, as if the last episode did not imply it in any way, shape, or form that something would happen, we finally get our first few major deaths of the season. Yeah, maybe Aston’s death is kinda tragic, but we only knew him for about seven episodes and were more inclined to feel bad for Takaki. Here? We have some Season 1 veterans biting the dust: Naze and Amida. The entire situation they are in is rather predictable, but as always it is the execution that matters and this episode does it so darn well. read more

This series is currently a bit of a tease and I am unsure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. It almost seems as if Mika, Akihiro, and the rest of Tekkadan would really go full force against the Mobile Armour in an arena-like battle this episode, nevermind Macky and Isurugi against Vidar/Galli-Galli. Yet nope, Tekkadan is relegated to strategery once again this episode, thanks to an unanticipated safety precaution in the Gundam Frames, and Vidar instead leaves, delaying the face off against Macky for another time, but not without making his existence known to him. In fact the true final battle with the Mobile Armour will take place next week, alongside the results of its fallout. read more

Before I allow you all to kick my ass for such an article title, that’s shorthand for:

Mobile
Armours’re
Great
Again

When was the last time a massive mobile suit/mobile armour in a Gundam series generated such a sense of ominous dread? I mean yeah, Build Fighters had the Giant Zaku, but nobody was gonna die from that; Gundam SEED Destiny had an alright thing going with the Destroy before it became a mass-produced grunt unit alongside other Earth Alliance MAs; Ein was only fine in the first season of this; and Gundam Age. read more