Fall 2022 Impressions: Gundam – The Witch from Mercury, Housing Complex C, Golden Kamuy S4

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Short Synopsis: A transfer student from Mercury finds herself engaged after getting mixed up in the mecha duel-based hierarchy at her new school.

Lenlo: So I haven’t watched Gundam in like… 15 years. Not since Gundam Wing was on Toonami over on Cartoon Network. I don’t know what the past 2 decades have done to the series, I don’t know if it’s fallen like the Mecha genre as a whole, I don’t even know what the current lore and story is! But I do know this: I had a good time with Mercury. I’m a little blasé about the school setting, just seems a bit too modern moe anime bullshit for me. But everything else was just… Good. The gundams look and move well, actually getting 2D animation vs the 3D CGI we’ve seen in mecha for years. I absolutely adore the MC, Suletta, with all of her little stutters and ticks, and I’m looking forward to seeing how she grows in confidence via her interactions with Miorine. And on top of both of those, there were some really stunning shots spread throughout the episode that made me more excited for a Mecha series than I have for a long time. I have no idea if Sunrise can keep this up or if it will become a CGI fest down the line. But this first episode surprised me a lot, and I’m here for it.
Potential: 80%

Wooper: After watching the Witch from Mercury prologue episode on Gundam Info, my main reservation had to do with the animation designs for the non-mechanical characters. Their thin, swoopy lineart in particular felt insubstantial to me, creating a fear that the show would hyperfocus on the robots and leave the humans to rot. Now that I’ve seen the first episode proper, that fear has been greatly reduced – the show itself features a much wider range of colors than its prologue, which goes a long way in defining each character. That broad spectrum of color applies to the locations, as well, which stretch from the central school’s sleek facilities to its verdant campus and craggy dueling grounds, most of which look great. The duels themselves look great too, and their function as power-based arbitrations for all student conflicts gives the show a “battle high school” hook without being obnoxious about it. (In fact, its use of robot fights to determine mecha heiress Miorine’s fiance is strongly reminiscent of Revolutionary Girl Utena, whose student characters dueled to claim the hand of the Rose Bride.) It remains to be seen whether head writer Ookouchi can successfully connect that premise to the off-campus politics we glimpsed in this premiere; after a casually-ordered and conveniently-retracted assassination attempt on the school’s principal, we’re not off to a great start. But it’s still early days, and the first episode was certainly entertaining, so I’m in for now.
Potential: 70%

Housing Complex C

Short Synopsis: Strange bad events happen to the small town when a group of foreign workers show up.

Amun: This isn’t my normal genre, so take this with a grain of salt (I also don’t really love dubs). I’ve only done a handful of horror-ish shows (Another, Shiki, and recently the first half Summer Time Render), but from what little I know, Housing Complex C seems to start off well. We have some spooky foreshadowing, a cast of decent (and expendable) characters, plus our main lead who is oblivious and happy. There are some funny jump scares and a creepy basement – what more can you really ask for? Also seems to be a lot of falling, judging from the ED. The framework of the show and the “rules” of the world seem pretty straightforward, so it’ll be interesting to see which side each of the characters are on (I guess it depends on their past life?). Or it would be interesting if I had any intention of watching anything further – however, that’s the genre, not any complaints on quality or execution.
Potential: 0% (but that’s me, not the show)

Mario: There are only two notable things about Housing Complex C you need to know – and none of them have to do with the show’s quality itself. First is that for some odd reasons (most likely because of Adult Swim), it’s in English dub. And second, the character designs are handled by none other than the great Yoshitoshi ABe. Both elements don’t really enhance the viewing: the dubbing is uncanny in a bad way, and ABe’s designs are just so-so. In addition, Housing Complex C aims squarely to horror’s zone, but so far it’s more spooky than outright horror. The tone is over the place as they try to mix the normal, uplift conversations from the town villagers to the uncomfortable feeling of having complete strangers swarm over the town. There’s so much inconsistencies in the characters so far (this by design) that it’s hard to get invested in them: Kimi talks to the “invisible Mom” with an extreme closeup to her face. The big guy is likable but we do get the opening scenes of the citizens trying to kill him off. My guess for now is that it’s the village who holds a dark secret full of rituals and Cthulhu and all that. With only 4 episodes, this should be a quick watch, but then again, I don’t see it appealing to anyone but horror fans who want to enjoy a goofy anime this Halloween.
Potential: 10%

Golden Kamuy S4

Short Synopsis: The gang gets ambushed by a mysterious sniper.

Lenlo: Finally, some good fuckin food. Golden Kamuy has come back just as strong and hilarious as it’s always been. In a single episode it manages to reestablish our lead relationships, introduce 2 separate plot threads, introduce Ogata as a main antagonist without him ever setting foot on screen and give me a hilarious interaction between a mute russian and a guy who mere seconds ago wanted to kill him. Maybe it’s because I’m predisposed to already enjoy the show, but this is easily the most fun I’ve had yet with season premiers. I know some people don’t find the humor up their alley, but at this point they probably tapped out of the series a long time ago. If you are still watching 4 seasons in, then not only do you know what Golden Kamuy has to offer, you bloody enjoy it.
Potential: 90%

Mario: Yeah, that was a great episode. Golden Kamuy has an astonishing ability of placing a humorous scene right in the middle of a climax and still feels like the most natural thing in the world. The credit here should be given to its masterful buildup and then release with a middle finger to your face. In this episode alone it happens not only once but twice, for great effect. In addition, the show introduces some new faces and they are just as interesting as the main cast, as though they were the main characters of their own stories. Can’t wait to see what obstacles Sugimoto and Asirpa are gonna face next.
Potential: 75%