Short Synopsis: Gundam goes Macross as the Ptolemy needs to escape last episode’s battlefield.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 (Excellent)
Haha! I knew it! Sunrise is really planning to make this the next Gundam Wing: a coup d’etat is brewing inside A-Laws, and the way it looks like it’s actually going to be well executed. I remember how the rebel forces in Gundam Wing came from bloody nowhere, but in this series it’s instead carefully introduced, before it finally can hit its climax. At this point, I can only wonder how the creators can bring back Marina Ismael to the Relena-clone that she once was…
This episode was also great in terms of original content. I like the added bit of irony that Ribbons was the one who scouted Setsuna in the first place, and made him a Gundam Pilot. That also just show that innovators age a bit different from normal human beings. Either that or Rivonze was a very gifted child…
Then there’s of course the Macross-ish singing, which for once didn’t save a good guy, but rather kept a villain alive. I’m really not a fan of the invisible speakers that Marina somehow managed to conjure out of nowhere, but he idea is nice and I wonder how far the creators can bring it. At the moment, the Gundams are at the top of their abilities, and I don’t think that they’re going to get much stronger than they are now, so it’s now up to A-Laws (and the future rebels who plan the coup d’etat) to catch up with them in terms of technology again, and this episode showed the first steps to it, in terms of Mister Bushido’s new mobile suit. I have a strong suspicion that he’s one of the people planning the Coup d’etat, especially because of his connections with Zechs.
Also, there seems to be indeed a spy on board of the Ptolemy, but it doesn’t seem to be Anew Returner. It’s probably someone who’s been in the shadows for a while… how about the new girl who replaced Lichty in the second season?
As expected, this episode showed the new OP, while we have to wait an episode for the new ED. And as expected, it’s a nice song with nice visuals, but nothing really special. It’s a pity, since Gundam Wing was the one with the best OPs of any Gundam I’ve seen so far.
Sumeragi, where are you in the OP! waa
Arghhhh, I was about banging my head against the keyboard when Marina started singing from her gigantic magical invisible speakers. I don’t need this shit again. You are not Lacus Clyne! Setsuna is not Kira Yamato! I don’t need any more of this love and peace faggotry in my war animu! D8 The episode was so good up to that point. Arghhhh. Ali Al-Saachez just needs to die already, fuckkkk.
why the singing? whyyyyyy?
I dunno if you guys realize this but there were no hidden speakers. Remember a few episodes back when 0-raizer was introduced and setsuna went into trans am mode? He could somehow listen to stuff that wasn’t possible before and so do the ones’ that are close in proximity to 00. This is the same case.
@hawkeye: So, like. All the random soldiers and such suddenly, randomly have this ability also?
Man, I wanted Setsuna to kill Ali, but Marina just had to use that moment to make her musical debut…
Yeah this is starting to become Gundam Wing, people are going to start switching sides now that Pang and Sergei are going to stage a coup.
@Kiri The GN particles produce the ability so it didn’t affect just Setsuna. Notice that in Episode 12, it affected everyone out in space who was within range of Setsuna’s particles. Andrei also mentioned to Louise that he heard the voices.
I am not sure about the comment about the informant on the ptolemy since it was mentioned earlier that other innovators could “sense” Tieria’s presence.
Didn’t one of the Innovators send quantum brainwaves to Anew Returner in episode 11 and that is how they found the location of Celestial Beings base and the Ptolemaios?
@Robyn: I guess that works out… All the more reason they should be called GM particles instead. God Mode particles! Yay! 8D
I guess most people don’t realize this because they haven’t watched the original Gundams. What’s happening is basically that human beings are developing a light form of telepathy to cope with the prospect of living in outer space. That’s what Newtypes in Mobile Suit Gundam worked, and they’re definitely bringing the concept back.
I could actually excuse the singing here because there was valid reason.
1. Marina wrote the song to cheer up the children. She wouldn’t have gone out and sung if the kid hadn’t suggested she do it. Also, she sang it with the kids so she wasn’t really out to make a spectacle of herself. It wasn’t a “hey, listen to me!” song. More like, “I’m thinking of you as I sing this even if you can’t hear it.” You know, like how you sing for the hell of it, because you feel like it or, in this case, because the kids felt like it. Just her luck that everybody heard it thanks to GN particle telepathy.
2. She wasn’t singing for the sake of fanservice unlike Lacus and Meer did. It’s a plot point that’ll sort of lead Setsuna back to her.
She is definitely not Lacus. She’s more like a mature, pessimistic, cautious version of Relena. She’s also genuinely kind. I have no idea how she doesn’t go nuts around so many kids. Honestly, I haven’t seen her do one wicked thing in the whole series. As far as I know, she’s only smiled twice and one of those times was in Setsuna’s dream in S1, Episode 21. She’s also more patient than her Wing counterpart. Relena slapped Mariemaia and that was just one seven-year-old. Granted, the kid was a megalomaniac but still… xD I doubt Marina could bitch slap anyone. :p
@keith: Explanation accepted. I really need to rewatch MSGundam because it’s been more than a decade since I’ve seen it. 🙁
@Robyn: I thought it over and decided that Marina is indeed more like Relena than Lacus (at least Lacus could command a battleship), but I don’t accept the adjectives “mature, pessimistic, and cautious.” I don’t view her as mature because of her amazing naivete during the first season. Of course, maturity doesn’t necessarily coincide with naivete, but I think to some extent, it’s valid. I also don’t feel like it was mature or responsible of her to take the children outside to sing in the middle of a battlefield. I just see that as weak-willed, which was also evident when she was letting herself be puppeted around as the Princess. I don’t view her as pessimistic because I view her as an idealist because I view most pacifists as idealists. And I don’t view her as cautious because of her aforementioned naivete and lack of responsibility.
I guess my association of Marina with Relena is pretty superficial though. I find them both annoying and mostly useless. D;
Anew Returner is the spy she’s an innovator! think about it all d innovator names has like a certain words like the innovator that just got killed Bring Stability
@Kiri Actually, Lacus commanding a battleship permanently turned me off her. I just don’t see a pop star plausibly doing that. I couldn’t suspend disbelief even if it was anime. And where’d she get the skills to do that? The all-mighty “she’a coordinator” explanation felt contrived, an easy way out. I would have liked it if she’d LEARNED how to command which is why I could respect Cagalli but not Lacus.
As for Relena, we saw that she was educated. She never did command a battleship but, if she did, it’d be a lot more plausible than Lacus. Why? The pacifist academy. Sure, they learned all the peace stuff but they were also learning arts of defense (fencing, etc.) I think they’d also study war strategies. Knowing what you’re advocating against makes sense.
I do accept your views on Marina and I admit my mistake. Wrong choice of words. Looking back, she isn’t all that mature. Relena was sort of a wild child. Marina’s more of the innocent, stubborn type, one who refuses to see the world crumbling around her and constantly clinging to hope. Could be good, could be bad… It’s a good contrast to Setsuna. Setsuna is an old soul in the body of a child. Marina is childlike. Mind you, not childish. Relena was childish and slowly graduated to childlike then, thankfully, mature by Endless Waltz. Childish is more on just intent on getting one’s way. Childlike is more on having an indomitable spirit even when the deck is stacked against you, hoping for a win even when a loss is sure, doing what little you can even if you know it’ll have little to no impact just so you can feel useful (i. e. Marina singing).
And actually, it wasn’t out on the battlefield that she took the kids. They were a bit far-off. Of course, I won’t say that wasn’t risky. It was. But again, she wanted to feel useful, to comfort the kids. Again, childlike. She didn’t see the big picture, just wanted to do what she could.
People complain that she’s useless but it’s not really her fault that the plot pigeonholed her. She’s doing what little she can and gets bashed for it. It’s hard for her to let go of her optimism. Will probably take a huge disaster to crack her. Th Prototype ED has her shielding the kids from an explanation so…hopefully foreshadowing? I’m evil and sort of want her to take the route Louise did. :p
As for Marina being weak-willed, won’t argue with you there. At least Relena wasn’t the sort to let herself be controlled once she found out they were trying it. Romafeller couldn’t keep her mouth shut, she resigned rather than to continue being a puppet. Even Noin couldn’t get a handle on her. She raged in front of aristocrats despite Noin telling her not to. Again, Relena was a wild child. Marina is a distilled, weaker form. I really look forward to the day she grows a spine. I think that’ll most probably happen if the kids are massacred. I so want to see Marina go Euphemia on the A-LAWS. xD Knowing Sunrise, a child massacre is possible. :p
@Robyn: Well, I would assume that Lacus would be reasonably educated as well and might have picked up some leadership skills from her father. She also ran around with a rebel faction for a while before taking command of the ship and acted as more than just a symbol amongst the men. I do agree that they pulled many “SEED-mode” hacks during the course of the series, but that’s a complaint directed more toward Kira than Lacus, I think.
Marina is a good contrast to Setsuna, but I really feel like they’re both pretty flat and uninteresting. I’m with you in hoping there’s some kind of huge disaster that’ll transform her (or Setsuna, for that matter). I really can’t see Marina pulling a Euphie at any point (considering that Euphie didn’t even do it on purpose ;3), but if say… whatsherface, her former-assistant lady were killed, I wonder if Marina would be able to assume some sort of leadership role within the rebel faction since she is supposed to be a leader.
@Kiri
Lacus is pretty young though. Pop star career plus a decent education? A lot of celebrities nowadays don’t have the time but I guess her father would have placed value on your studies. Again, coordinator explanation. Doubt she’d have been able to half of what she’s able to do (education, pop star career, etc) if she wasn’t a coordinator. Kira…that was just a sign of writers getting lazy. They made him oh-so-special without wanting to go into complex explanation. That’s one thing I can admire about 00. Pasts area lot more fleshed out and the meisters, except maybe Tieria and the Trinities, trained to be as skilled as they are now. Even Allelujah, despite being a super soldier, had to have trained for the job. Heaven knows, Soma had to have a lot explained to her in the HRL.
Marina and Setsuna are a tad dull. Maybe because the cast around them is so neurotic and colorful? Contrasts again. I also think they’re trying to make up for the overemoness of the Cosmic Era. Marina and Setsuna may be often…depressed but they only really cry when the situation calls for it. I can even forgive Marina crying in S1 about Azadistan since Shirin told her off about it and her reasons were damn valid. Who wouldn’t crack sometimes from being a female leader of a Muslim nation that’s on the verge of collapse? I also liked her reaction to when Azadistan fell. She didn’t sob hysterically, just fell to her knees, a good metaphor for a once proud nation brought to its knees, not too dramatic since she was in public… She cried to Shirin in private later. At least she has the good mind not to show the people around her the true extent of her devastation. What would the Katharon members have thought if she’d burst into tears?
Ah, yes, if Shirin dies. They say when a character gets taken out of the OP or ED, there’s a big chance of death. In Wing, they took Treize out of the Rhythm Emotion OP and, a few episodes later, he was dead. Mu wasn’t in Find The Way didn’t have Mu, and Murrue was crying in that ED. Lo and behold, Mu died (until damn Destiny.) Nichol was also taken out of the OP before he bit the dust. Looks like a lot of 00 characters are up for possible death. Shirin, Klaus, Sumeragi, Kati… demmit, I’ll have a fit if they kill Kati. Euphie didn’t go about it on purpose but it’d still be cool to see Marina with a machine gun. xD
@Robyn: That’s true, and you’re right, I really do appreciate that 00 inserts some kind of military training for almost all of their significant characters which makes their abilities much more believable (notch another complaint towards Jesus-kun and three of the five boys in Wing). The thing that bugs me most about 00 is exactly everything revolving around Veda, the Innovators, Tieria, and the Trinities. They’re taking their damn sweet time delving into all these relevant topics and I’m losing interest fast in the meantime. I still feel as if the series could have legitimately ended with the first season (is splitting series into two seasons the new “in” thing now?) if they had explored the plot points instead of investing so much time in the Saji/Louise subplot which I still see as an irrelevant drama.
Shirin, that was her name. Hm, funny, I noted Sumeragi’s absence from the OP but totally didn’t connect it to Sunrise’s usually not-so-subtle death sentences. Then again, as far as Sunrise and deaths go, I’m thoroughly jaded. I’d say Shirin and Sumeragi are definitely killable right now. Shirin would be the easiest way to inspire a change in Marina aside from Setsuna, and Sumeragi’s death would be a huge blow to Celestial Being considering they had to drag her back against her will because they needed her that much (Katagiri also tore up that picture, more foreshadowing?). If they kill Shirin, I don’t think they can kill Klaus without Katharon partially collapsing, but if leave Shirin be for the moment and kill Klaus instead (likely since he’s going off to meet the coup de’tat group), that may also inspire change in Marina. I don’t see Kati dying just yet because I’m not sure how big of an impact that’d leave, and she and Patrick make for some rare comic relief (I mean, that’s the only reason Tamaki didn’t die in Geass, right?).
It would be cool to see Marina with a machine gun. XD