Well…here we go again. And I’m not gonna sugar coat it people: I think this is where Gundam AGE is going to start getting really, really bad. We’ve reset the board and jumped another 25 years into the future for what should be the beginning of the end. Unfortunately, Arc 3 is off to a pretty terrible start for a number of reasons, the chief of which is the premise of AGE has kind of worn out its welcome. This might not have been the case if this new opening had been stronger…but it’s by far the weakest beginning, even more so than the classic Gundam opener formula we saw in Arc 1.
Let’s start with our final Asuno in the mix. Kio is Asemu and Romary’s son and…he’s kind of just here when honestly, he doesn’t need to be. I get that AGE has been trying to cater towards a younger demographic than usual when it comes to Gundam (the brighter colors and the child friendly character designs). However, while there’s nothing really wrong with Kio, he doesn’t need to be in the story really. Arc 2 ended with Asemu and Flit settling in on their reasons for fighting and they couldn’t be further apart. I imagine Kio is meant to be the balance between Asemu’s more protective nature and Flit’s “All Vagan’s must be exterminated” mindset. Kio’s first foray with the Gundam does stay unique to him alone, just like his father and Grandfather. In this case, Flit gave Kio a battle simulator to play with and has been subtly training him to pilot the Gundam AGE-3 since he could walk. Even with that though, Kio’s pretty meh to be honest. I’m more interested in the inevitable idealistic showdown between Flit and Asemu than starting a new pilot on the “War is Hell” tutorial for the third time in a row.
I do have one question: If Flit is so gung ho about his wipe out all Vagans crusade…why does he need Kio involved at all? And no, Kio inheriting Flit’s X-Rounder powers doesn’t count because Flit still has his. One reason I feel Kio’s story isn’t off to a good start is because Flit is literally backseat driving the bulk of it. He rides with Kio, telling him how to operate the AGE-3 when he really could’ve just piloted it himself. And then, Flit more or less takes command of the reactivated Diva, but this is both a good and bad thing, more on that when I talk about the new cast. Flit has apparently been retired from his Earth Federation duties for a while and yet he still has a ton of pull to get his Grandson a posting aboard a ship that has probably been out of service for a while. Flit is a legend in the EF and he’s using that legendary status to his advantage, almost selfishly really. Time hasn’t dulled his hatred of the Vagan, nor do I get the sense he’s a better Grandfather for Kio as he is a Father to Flit. Even when Kio was allow to cry at the loss of a friend who turned out to be a spy, Flit’s responses to Kios questions were more cold than caring. Flit might’ve started as the first hero of Gundam AGE but he is anything but now in Arc 3 and this show will have to work overtime for me to care about him when really I’m still waiting for Asemu to deck him.
Speaking of, the breakout hero of the Asuno clan, Asemu, is MIA…probably not dead but he hasn’t been around since Kio was born. I really, really, really don’t want to hate Asemu but where the hell is he and how dare he leave the adorable baby Kio so soon? I’m sure he’ll be back eventually. In the meantime, let’s talk about the new cast. The new crew of the Diva is both pretty effective and pretty dull. They can run the ship on their own just fine but seem like such a lazy bunch at the same time (why the hell is there an officer always eating even in the middle of battle). And then…ugh…there’s Natola Einus who might be one of my least favorite characters in all of Gundam right now. I know there was a mass invasion of the Earth to deal with but come on, there were no other competent officers that could take command of the Diva? And this isn’t like Bright Noa or Murrue Ramius being forced into the Captains position and taking it in stride, they threw in an officer who claims to have taken command courses. But the second Einus sits in the Captains chair…she is useless, utterly useless. It’s why Flit is so quick to take command and while I’m not a fan of her bridge crew, they can do their job just fine without her. As much as I detest Flit, I’m actually on his side when it comes to berating Einus. Crap, Seric Abis (who the hell is coming up with these stupid sounding names?), the leader of Kio’s Mobile Suit Team, would be a better Captain because he’s the new character with the most promise because of his Sherlock Holmes level of deductions. Einus shouldn’t be in command and she might be the one who get the Diva blown up in battle. I know she’s a little older but if Flit can take command, why couldn’t Millias? Where the hell is she?
So yeah, there’s a lot of blame to go to the characters and their poor writing for dragging down the Arc 3 premiere. Which is a shame because the Vagan Invasion of Earth feels like a big deal. This has been a plan in the works for literally decades and now the Vagan have a pretty firm foothold on the planet. They even took out Big Ring, that battle station Asemu and friends worked so hard to defend, in one shot from a new superweapon they’d been towing to Earth for a long time now. From sleeper agents hiding on Earth, to spies within the EF itself, to bringing back Zeheart (now more of a Zealot than ever), the Vagan definitely caught the Federation with their britches down. You’d think Flit would have the military far more prepared than this but I guess he was more focused on making sure his Grandson would be ready for the fight than anyone else. Also, Flit seems to be good at guessing strategies with little clues. He couldn’t guess that Vagans were hiding out on Earth with fully functioning Mobile Suits? I’ll admit, the sight of Vagan Mobile Suits popping up across the planet had shades of a similar sequence from Gundam Unicorn, that was kind of cool. In any case, Planet Earth became the battleground for this set but it looks like just as quickly as we reached the planet, we’re heading back into space. Maybe we’ll spend more time there from the Vagan perspective as they seek to complete this mysterious Project Eden.
My expectations for Gundam AGE have dropped to a new low. Kio Asuno doesn’t get the most memorable beginning because his Grandfather has hijacked his story and the crew he’s been saddled with just left me saying in no simple terms: the Federation is so screwed. However, given how zealot like the Vagans are, I expect their overconfidence will be their undoing. I could imagine them losing to the first two generations of Asunos. The third though? If the Vagans mess this up they deserve their defeat.
Couple of extra notes: We’re going to be packing things in pretty tight over the next couple of reviews. We’ll be looking at the complete second half of Arc 3 aka Kio’s arc tomorrow before closing out Gundam AGE by the end week with all of Arc 4 followed by the Memory of Eden movie on Monday right before we start After War Gundam X. Who knows, maybe Gundam AGE can pull a miracle and finish off on a satisfying note…wow, why don’t I believe that? See ya tomorrow everyone.
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