Now allied with Teiwaz, Tekkadan continues its journey to
Earth with added protection. The deeper
ahead they forge, the greater the trials become. A band of vicious Space Pirates using Human
Debris Children for their attack forces challenges the young men from Mars,
among them Akihiro’s long lost brother.
After the dust settles and the dead are buried, it’s time for a visit to
the Colonies…where Tekkadan finds itself in the middle of an uprising and
Biscuit finds himself betrayed by a close friend. Luck has gotten Tekkadan this far but can it
get them past this dangerous battle…and eventually get them to Earth?
I’m starting to see why this kind of a Gundam series
hasn’t been seen in so long.
A 50
episode series might have room to breathe but unless it gets rolling fast and
moves fast, it’s not gonna make a lot of headway in the new day and age of
Seasonal Anime.
And yeah, Iron Blooded
Orphans was aired as two separate seasons but I still feel like it’s proceeding
like every Gundam series before it when it comes to pacing.
I think IBO should be a lot further along
than it is, heck I think Tekkadan should certainly be to Earthy by now.
But those thoughts and complaints are also
balanced out by the good amount of character work and world building going on
in this set of episodes.
Betrayals,
funerals, and even a little romance but IBO was definitely not skimping on the
chaos, the carnage or the death.
If
Reconguista in G was Gundam playing it uncharactarisically safe, then IBO is
the exact opposite, going back to the series roots and not treating war with
kid gloves.
A major theme in these five episodes revolved around
siblings.
Both Akihiro and Biscuit had
run ins with family they hadn’t seen in a long time, either because of tragic
circumstances or different directions taken in life.
And yep, both encounters ended it proper
Gundam tragedy.
Akihiro’s brother (whose
character model felt like he was plucked from a Leiji Matsumoto Anime), had
lost almost all faith in a better tomorrow having been treated harshly as Human
Debris, a disposable tool for the Brewers.
It was heartbreaking to see him reject his brothers offer to save him
but at least he kept Akihiro safe from a death blow.
As for Biscuit, I can understand where his
big brother is coming from, trying to avert a potential massacre in the Dort
Colonies.
But sacrificing an innocent
girl for that goal?
It’s unforgivable
and Biscuit was able to rightfully stand up to the sibling he used to idolize
to keep Atra safe, even if it means dooming the Colonies.
Speaking of sibling betrayals, Fumitan
finally came out as a spy for Kudelia’s nefarious benefactor, Nobiliss, and had
to break poor Kudelia’s heart just after Kudelia told her she thought of
Fumitan as a sister.
Even if Fumitan did
own up to her mistakes, I don’t think she is going to make it out of Dort with
Kudelia.
This set of episodes also gave us deeper insight into
life in the Post Disaster Era, from a day in the life of a Human Debris to life
in the Space Colonies and even a glimpse at the high life of a Gjallarhorn
officer on Earth.
While Akihiro’s
brother didn’t make it, many of his fellow Human Debris brethren in the Brewers
were offered a place with Tekkadan by Orga.
In spite of the fighting, Orga welcomes the Brewers survivors with open
arms, understanding they were being forced to by their masters before but now
they have a choice and a chance at a better life than before…it’s a prospect so
life changing it makes the kids cry, the Post Disaster Era is certainly cruel
when you’ve been denied a choice for so long the mere idea of having one can
make you cry.
Looks like the Colonies
and Mars have a lot in common.
They want
their own independence from Earth based overseers and are willing to start an
armed revolution to do so, using Kudelia as their inspiration.
Somehow I don’t think Kudelia will be onboard
for that idea being the pacifist she is.
Finally, we got to see how the bulk of Gjallarhorn live on Earth, high
and fancy like you’d expect.
We also got
to see McGillis interact with his 9 YEAR OLD FIANCEE!!!!
Seriously, that is beyond gross and even Char
wouldn’t stoop that low…and yes I know he had his own hang ups with younger
girls.
Is McGillis really ok with this
arrangement?
It’s hard to get a read on
him and his goals, especially when he went to Dort without telling Gaelio AND
finally sporting his version of a Char mask.
The hell is he up to?
The Tekkadan boys definitely got put through the ringer,
losing many of their own to The Brewers in space and in hand to hand
combat.
Even Mika’s mindset was
challenged when his opponent claimed Mika enjoys killing.
Mika seemed to shrug it off like he does most
things but seeing him shake when trying to eat one of his Mars Plums shows
others.
Oh and he kissed Kudelia…which
apparently wasn’t as big a deal for him as it was for her (she totally freaked
out).
I know I have issues with how he
conducts himself sometimes but I can see Mika growing from his
experiences.
He’s even supportive of
Biscuit trying to reconnect with his brother so as to hopefully not experience
what Akihiro went through losing his own brother.
I did expect to see more of Mika going all
one man army slaughterhouse on the men who kidnapped Biscuit and Atra,
especially after he saw how badly Atra got beaten.
Side note: How the hell do Gjallarhorn and
the Dort Colony not know what Kudelia looks like?
She’s a pretty prominent figure and if
Nobliss is fanning the flames of revolution from the shadows…you’d think he
could hand out pictures or something.
Anyway, all of the fighting and losses allowed the Tekkadan boys to
experience their first funeral, made to be a beautiful lights display in space
(something Gundam does pretty well actually).
They may be fighters but these are still kids.
They needed a chance to let off some steam
and cry if they had to (even if they tried their hardest to “be cool” for their
fallen brothers).
Hmm, I still have my issues with how slow the story is
progressing but I guess I did have a lot of praise to give Iron Blooded Orphans
for spending that time rather wisely.
Still, it’s time to get to Earth and have Kudelia figure out how she’s
going to accomplish her big plan…after she figures out what that plan is.
But before then, the stage seems set for a
ton of tragedy when we return tomorrow.
Uprisings, Gjallarhorn stepping in to quell said uprising and probably
another tragic fate, this time for Fumitan.
We might lose our first main character when Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron
Blooded Orphans continues tomorrow, right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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