Before I get started, I should apologize for this
delay. Last Christmas I was set to
review Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn right to the end of the year. But then it became possible that I would
acquire the second half of Ghost in the Shell Arise. And since I had just seen the sequel movie to
that, I was tempted to review Arise instead.
Well the second half never came but im hoping to rectify that in a
couple of weeks during my trip to Katsucon.
So for those hoping to have seen my complete series review of Unicorn
last year, I’m sorry I didn’t plan better.
Still, chopping both shows in half was a pretty good Plan B I
think. Anyway, let’s continue shall we?
Gundam Unicorn returned to start it’s second half with
new revelations, more whinning and some really pretty fight scenes. When we last left Banagher, he was still
crying over the Neo Zeon pilot he couldn’t save, held at gunpoint by Riddhe and
there was a black Unicorn Gundam dropping in.
That was quite the cliffhanger to leave things on last year. So how do we continue from there? With a lot of reflection and pondering,
that’s how. This was very much like a
mid semester look back at everything learned so far. It showed how far Banagher, Mineva,
Zimmerman, Riddhe and others had come and how far they’ll need to go to settle
their own conflicts.
Banagher and Mineva’s scenes really stood out. Though parted for so long, they’ve changed
since the last time they saw each other.
They’ve both been on both sides of the Laplace Box hunt, getting to know
both Federation and Neo Zeon forces pretty well. Banagher found a strong mentor in Zimmerman,
even if Zimmerman won’t openly admit it.
Mineva has seen the evil of both the Vist’s and Full Frontal and how
giving either of them the box is a bad move for everyone, not just Neo
Zeon. I pegged Banagher and Mineva’s
romance as forced at the beginning of the series. Seeing them together now, however, their
dialogue seems more natural, more hopeful.
And damn is Mineva going to be a fine leader for Zeon should things turn
out ok for everyone.
Banagher still has a ways to go before he finally stops
whinning, but he’s getting there. This
is definitely thanks to some awesome chats with Bright Noa. Bright has been at the center of growth for
every Gundam pilot that has come before Banagher. So he knows what to say to get a pilot
motivated and it shows why he’s earned the rep he has in this franchise. Also, my favorite moment of the series so far
has to be Bright talking to his photo of Amuro in his office. That’s just freaking awesome. If you’ve watched the Gundam saga from the
beginning and remember how Bright and Amuro first met, then this tiny moment
was a big win. I wonder how Amuro would
have worked with Banagher. Heck it
stands to ask where Kamille Bidan and Judau Ashita might’ve been during all of
this and if they could have leant some Gundam wisdom to the kid. Still Banagher’s getting better and his
wishes are more clear than just helping Mineva.
Zimmerman probably came out the best from these couple of
episodes. He finally reconciled his
hatred for Earth and allowed his love for Marida to drive his actions. Likewise, Marida’s struggle to regain her
identity from the Vist Foundation led to a strong moment for her and Zimmerman
AND her and Banagher (I wish she could give me a hug like that.) And finally, we got some clarification on
just how twisted Frontal really is. He’s
going after the box for absolute power, with the full intent of a third Neo
Zeon War. As Mineva notes, this is the
exact opposite of Char who, despite his destructive methods, wanted humanity to
move into space and seek change. I never
liked Full Frontal from the beginning and now I’m glad I was right to think
that way. As for Riddhe…ugh. He was never a well defined character to
begin with. He started out as a gifted
ace pilot who then hated Mineva, then liked Mineva, then PROPOSED to Mineva
(all in the span of two episodes btw), then found out what the box might
contain and suddenly hated Newtypes.
He’s all over the place. And now
it’s hard to tell if he’s just out to destroy Newtypes out of fear or because
Mineva chose Banagher over him. Either
way, as we head into the finale, Riddhe is officially my Graham Acker of this
series (not sure what that means? Check
out my full series review of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 from last summer and expect
a lot of hilariously angry rants).
While this series has been heavy on character, that
doesn’t mean the action took a back seat in events. The clever joint operation to rescue Mineva
was a lot of fun. Not only did we get to
see Bright pull Zimmerman and his crew into things using Kai Shiden (his
crewmate from Mobile Suit Gundam) and Beltorchika (Amuro’s love interest from
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam), but it was hilarious seeing Otto’s reaction to
getting his orders from Bright.
Seriously, Otto is one of the best captains ever. He freaks out quite a bit but is a tough as
nails captain who stands his ground, a great successor to Bright. Anyway, was got a lot of Macross style fly
around on Earth and it looked amazing.
This really is the best looking Gundam series to date. Episode 6 did take down the action quite a
bit following the opening. The tense stand
off in the docking bay of the Nael Argama was nice though. Now I’m wondering if that Unicorn will
actually use all of that heavy artillery it’s been strapped with for the final
battle.
Well we’re now one episode away from the end. With the location of Laplace’s Box revealed,
it looks like we’re going back to the beginning. Will Banagher and Mineva beat Full Frontal to
it? Will Riddhe finally get the ass
kicking he so desperately needs? Will we
see Bright again before the end? Will we
see Amuro or Char in some way? And, for
frak’s sake…WHAT’S IN THE F***ING BOX???!!!” Sorry, had to go for full Brad
Pitt Seven effect there. Whatever is
inside, it had better be one helluva reveal after all this build up.
See ya next week for the double length conclusion of
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.
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