Short Synopsis: A-Laws prepares for the next wave of attack.
Highlights: Ooh, more background.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10 (Enjoyable)
You know, in a way I’m glad that the creators decided to wrap up Saji’s story in this part of the story instead of waiting for this until the end, but really: it has to stop somewhere. He was the most annoying character in the second half of the first season, and as much as I hate to admit it, he’s also the most annoying character of the second season. I don’t mind how you can have a character like him on the show, but the creators are really giving him way too much airtime.
Every episode I keep thinking that the guy has learned his lesson, and for every single episode so far he’s proved me wrong. Okay, so he sees that he screwed up big time in the previous episode; He wants to help; that’s good. Unfortunately, the episode ended at the point where he was about to shoot down Louise, something which will make him even more emo than he already was for goodness’ sake!
Okay, so those were the bad parts. The rest of the episode was pretty enjoyable, to say the least. “Mr. Bushido” seems to be finally coming into action, and I’m interested in what he can add to this archetype. The overall episode was a good aftermath that did let the deaths of the previous episodes sink in. I’m also glad that Setsuna has grown up really much, and didn’t just try to get to Ali as soon as possible (like he would have done in the first season). The guy knows his priorities, and overall he’s turned into a capable main character for this series.
Meanwhile, I was pleasantly surprised when this episode showed some of Sumeragi’s past. She had this whole life as a soldier behind her, explaining why she knows so much about tactics, and why she fell into a slump after the end of the first season: she already had lost some of her loved ones at one time, and she tried to use the Gundams to forget about these times, but that pretty much failed after that final episode. Then Billy took care of her for the next four years, which also wasn’t the smartest thing to do because he kept reminding her of her past.
I’m also warming up to that silver-haired official, thankfully. His big disadvantage is that he doesn’t have the season worth of build-up like the other characters have, but he works very nicely against the other, more moralistic characters. I still think that the military people act a little bit too sentimental, considering how they’re supposed to be rigorously trained and should be used to the fact that anyone of them might die, but this is just me being nitpicky.
I find Saji to be one of the most satisfying characters in the show. I mean he represents something important to the story: the civilian. He, like most people in today’s world, never thought that anything happening in the world was actually happening to him.
When the war affected Louise, he could only distance himself from it. He’s terrified of war and refuses to acknowledge it as part of his life. That is, until he indirectly causes a massacre.
Saji acts the same way any average young adult would and for that I see him as an essential character to the story.
On a side note, I see the sentimental military characters as an expression of the fact that everyone is fighting for their own personal reasons, not just the meisters. It’s also a direct throwback to Zeta Gundam (A Laws = Titans, but I’m not sure if you ever saw that show)
Me and my friends are split over Mr. Bushido’s popularity.
We find him cool.
The other half wonders how a blond non-Japanese character obsessed over a Middle Eastern (non-Japanese) rival suddenly becomes… Mr. Bushido. o_O;
He’s an interesting character, but the name remains very strange, yes. You’d think that if he was just called Bushido-san, you still could attribute it to a translation or something, but the “Mr.”…
The Japanese really have a strange obsession with english words…