Monday, June 20, 2016

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Part 2 Episodes 4-6


Shiro’s team is now a team…more or less.  There’s still the matter of Sanders’s curse and Eledore and Michel’s disastrous joy ride of base not making things easy.  Worse yet, the team stumbles upon a brand new Zeon mobile armor.  It’s called the Apsalis and it has enough firepower to take out Earth Federation HQ at Jaburo in only one shot.  On top of that, unknown to the team, is the identity of the pilot: Aina, the Zeon test pilot Shiro fell in love with in space.  It’s up to the 08th MS Team, undermanned and outgunned to put this weapon down. 

The “true enemy” has revealed itself to the 08th Team…kind of.  And she is a doozy.  No I’m not talking about Aina, I’m talking about the ginormous Mobile Armor cooked up by her brother.  What is it with Zeon and skyscraper sized mobile weapons?  I mean I’m sure the Apsilas could do some damage given its giant cannon but still…smaller and faster would be better right?  Anyway, moving on.

Shiro stepped up for everyone in a big way, multiple times this week.  He defended Sanders from physical and mental abuse because of his “third time jinx curse” and convinced Sanders to go for it, even against the Apsalis solo.  Actually, I really liked that moment a lot in particular.  The team hasn’t really been a team up until now, with initial friction and Shiro getting sidetracked by the Guerilla forces in the area twice.  Here, it felt like a team effort to back up Sanders and deal some damage to the Apsalis.  It was their first real victory as a unit.  Shiro also kept his cool better than most during the stellar desert episode.  Even in the heat, he still acted like a leader a guy could get behind…unless you were Michel and Kiki but I’ll get to them in a second.  And Shiro didn’t think twice to save Michel from the Apsalis’s second assault in the desert.  He’s a true Gundam pilot if there ever was one.

Onto Michel.  I mentioned last week how I was sure I wasn’t going to like him.  Well this week didn’t do him any favors to better him.  He’s a wuss, a liability and…oh for fraks sake why is he in this army?  He blows cover cause he’s scared of the Sanders curse.  Gets peer pressured into a trip that gets him captured.  And he calls out Shiro on being heartless when it’s clear Shiro isn’t into Kiki at all.  Rather than suck it up and improve, Michel just mopes and complains his way through every single episode.  It almost seems mean to say, but even though Eledore was being selfish this week, only thinking of himself and his music career, I was perfectly ok with him beating the crap out of Michel…the kid could use some sense being kicked into him.

A couple of nitpicks this week and they both had to do with animation more than the story, which continues to be tight and interesting.  Episode 5, Michel and Eledore’s disastrous trip off base seemed to take a dip in animation quality, or at least it didn’t measure up to the standard set by the first four episodes.  And while things looked back to normal in Episode 6, the use of CG decoy balloons seemed so out of place.  Was it a fluke, a last minute inclusion?  I don’t know but it definitely nags me.  Oh and as cute as Eledore’s song is, it still proves my point that he belongs in Macross more than here in Gundam.  Wonder if there will be a follow up masterpiece from Eledore.  He’s got time to kill now that he’s on medical leave.

Michel being the weakest link aside, this was a strong follow up week for the 08th Team.  They got a good victory and strengthened their teamwork, thanks to some great writing and pacing.  This is easily, so far, one of the best entries in the Gundam franchise for me…and it’s only at the halfway mark. 

Next week, Shiro and Aina reunite and I give some insight into an episode what was given a special “extended” feature during it’s Toonami run.

No comments:

Post a Comment