When Gundams battle in the frozen tundra, they know how to heat it up fast. While I’m still not sure where this overall ride is heading, Gundam X’s latest episodes benefited from a good look at a new supporting character while doing further wonders for Garrod’s character and Mobile Suit piloting skill.
Like Four Murasame before him turns out Carris was an Artificial Newtype with baggage he never knew he had until he met Tiffa and Garrod. Carris moved from terrifying adversary to sympathetic and likeable through his five episode story. What I liked most was how important of a role Garrod and Tiffa both played in getting Carris on the road to redemption. Something always told me that Tiffa was the real deal when it comes to Newtypes so it didn’t shock me as much as it did Carris when she revealed that to him. What was a shocker was Garrod’s understanding of the guy. Despite initially coming off as a villain, Garrod overheard the true intentions for Carris and tried to get him to change sides. Even when the bullets were flying and Garrod and Tiffa made their escape, Garrod still offered his hand to Carris. Garrod is easily becoming one of my favorite Gundam protagonists in the whole franchise, up there with Loran from Turn A Gundam. He used little violent intent to get through to Carris and showed he doesn’t have to be the weapon Mayor Nomoa wanted him to be.
This was actually one of two fronts for good Garrod development this time round. He got to see just what kind of “power” he could achieve doing things Carris’ way or Jamil’s. I was just as impressed as Garrod when Jamil took to the brand new Gundam X Divider to easily counter Carris’ funnel turrets and he wasn’t even using his Newtype powers (if he does he might do some serious damage to himself). Garrod and Carris both came to an understanding of their mutual need for power to change the world and the proper way to go about attaining it and putting it to good use. I couldn’t believe I was a little terrified of Carris last time. But here, I was worried he’d die and Garrod would be heartbroken over losing a possibly good new friend. BUT Carris is ok and I’m wondering if we’ll see him again before series end. And while I said Garrod used little violent intent to reach Carris, we did get an excellent Round 2 battle between them in their Mobile Suits.
The action continues to be a pretty strong element of Gundam X. Besides the aforementioned rematch between Garrod and Carris, the Frosts also showed up again because why not (more on that in a bit). But thanks to the newly upgraded Gundam X Divider and Garrod growing in skill, he was able to kick the crap out of both of these wannabe bad asses. Part of this was thanks to that kick ass new shield the X Divider has, able to function as both mega cannon on the front and booster from behind, it’s freaking awesome. Witz and Roy also got a chance to take a crack at Olba and Jamil did get to duel Carris in the X Divider, showing he’s been steadily working on overcoming his “Cockpit Phobia”/PTSD. Of course, nothing could prepare anyone for Nomoa’s ultimate endgame: resurrecting an old Space Revolutionary Army (the equivalent of Zeon I guess?) Mobile Armor, the Patulia…and it’s basically a Space Battleship Yamato looking monstrosity. Still, the Freeden crew did their thing and gave the made Mayor/Doctor of horrible acts the smack down he had coming to him for all he did to Carris and the people of Fort Sevren.
Gundam X is a fun ride so far but it’s a bumpy one in various places. Carris and Garrod’s character growth was very, very well done. Everything around them though was a mixed bag. I’m all for Jamil giving Garrod a tough life lesson, forcing him to retrieve the X Control Key from the middle of a frozen lake…but did he really have to make Garrod do it in the middle of another Frost assault on the Freeden? What if the ship and crew had been destroyed while Garrod was getting his mess sorted out? But my biggest gripe actually has to do with the Frosts. Nomoa was a decent adversary and ive praised the heck out of Carris. They were more than enough to carry the story but Gundam X saw it fit to send old foes into the mix for no reason…well they all had the same reason kind of: they all want a piece of Garrod. The Frosts still have this odd fixation with him but that might just be a cover for a mission we’re not fully aware of. Still, their roles could have been filled by a couple of Fort Severen throwaways if they wanted to give the Freeden Crew something to keep them occupied while Garrod rescued Tiffa. And then there’s Ennil. I liked her intro previously. But her motivations have become laughably immature. She wants to kill Garrod cause he accidentally shot at her (and missed) and now she’s pissed because she would become her new boyfriend or whatever? Idk it seems extremely petty and it’s pretty disappointing to see her heading down this road. Can we get a recovery on this? Lastly, Nomoa was a bit of a glimpse into a possible endgame for this series, being one of the remnants of this shows equivalent of Zeon (I think), the Space Revolutionary Army, that fought against the United Nations Earth (Earth Federation?). His searing hatred and insanity made him a decent villain…but he just kind of dies in the end. We don’t see him get caught in an explosion, we don’t see him kill himself, he kind of just keels over just like that one character in Gundam F91..that’s kind of a letdown.
Still, Carris is going to be ok and I think Fort Severen is going to be in good hands. Garrod and his new family went through a pretty chilly trial but came out better for it on the other side. Now if only we knew exactly where the heck this show was heading? Guess we’ll maybe find out on Friday when After War Gundam X continues right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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