An act of terrorism leads to war between two of Earth’s
factions: Arbrau and the Strategic Alliance Union (SAU). With Chad and Makinai both in intensive care,
Takaki is left in charge of Tekkadan’s Earth branch and must lead his young
recruits team into battle on Arbrau’s behalf.
Little do they know, Takaki and his men are merely puppets being guided
by unseen forces that seek to undo all the work Tekkadan and McGillis Fareed
have accomplished up to this point. And
while he rushes to save his friends on Earth, Orga learns that there are even
those within Teiwaz itself whose jealousy could mean the end of Tekkadan’s
status as a prominent force on Mars.
While this set of episodes felt like a step from the
last, I have to say, I’m a little worried about Iron Blooded Orphans.
By the end of this set, the endgame might
very well be mapped out for both Tekkadan and McGillis main goals, where they
both wish to be when all is said and done.
And yet, for all the good character works that’s done with the
supporting cast, I cant help but feel Orga and McGillis are being blinded by
foolish ambitions.
This goes double for
Orga because if he’s gung ho about McGillis’ offer, Mika and the others are
going to follow him without question, not knowing what kind of a hell storm
they’ve just walked into.
I wonder if
this could have been avoided if Biscuit was still around.
The first half of this set wrapped up the debacle
unfolding on Earth.
While I doubted
Takaki’s skill as a leading man, he probably had one of the most emotionally
charged arcs of the series.
I don’t
think Takaki wasn’t cut out for command but I do think that he shouldntve
trusted Galand and Radice as much as he did.
One was a total unknown Tekkadan should’ve dug deeper into and the other
showed clear disdain for the young men on several occasions.
And yet, cut off from contact with the
members who knew better on Mars, Takaki had to work with what he was given and
it would’ve ended in tragedy were it not for the arrival of Mikazuki.
Heck, Takaki almost tried to take out
McGillis because he had no idea what the hell was going on anymore (cudos
though for managing to damage McGillis’ suit, that isn’t easy).
Still, Takaki is probably the only character
so far to endure such a gruelling experience and still gets to leave Tekkadan
without any blowback.
It’s funny, I’ve
been expecting many of Tekkadan’s younger members to bite the bullet due to
their overeagerness and general disregard for their own safety (Ride is still
at the top of that list).
But I’m with
Mikazuki.
It was a relief to see someone
get the possibility of getting a happy ending in spite of what was lost.
I hope Takaki has a good life with his sister
(speaking of, is that it for him or will he be back before the end of show?).
Considering the damage they’d done to Tekkadan on Earth,
so much Tekkadan packed up it’s Earth Branch entirely, Galand and Radice needed
to pay and man did they ever.
This
season is chalk full of despicable douchebags with overinflated egos and
generally unlikeable personalities.
And
while I hate to think that Iok and Julietta will be around for the long haul
(arguing like competitive siblings while looking down upon others for no
reason), it’s actually nice to see the bad guys get their comeuppance.
Galand’s speechifying did little against
Akihiro, who wrecked his butt something fierce.
As for Radice, it sucked to see Takaki put in the position but he
accepted responsibility as acting commander of Earth Branch and ended the
squirmy traitor by his own hands.
My
only complaint about this is…how the hell did Hush survive any of this?
This guy is near the top of the “Not making
it to the end of the Series” list more than ever because he’s so obsessed with
beating Mikazuki that he’s become his subordinate who wont leave him alone for
more than 2 seconds.
I don’t get why
Mika keeps him around, calling him a “Pest” pretty frequently actually.
Once the matter on Earth was concluded, IBO threw us into
“here’s the situation so far” mode and while that meant a lack of action, it
enough to paint a pretty clear picture: things don’t look so good for
Tekkadan.
Teiwaz isn’t thrilled with how
things went on Earth and there are members who think Tekkadan has risen too
prominently and are even less thrilled by McGillis offering Orga a chance to
rule over Mars as a Soveriegn once his Coup against Gjallarhorn and the Seven
Stars is complete.
Orga is on shaky
ground with Teiwaz and even Naze tells him that he cant protect Tekkadan if
they mess up big again…which judging by the end of this set that’s gonna happen
real soon.
Meanwhile, McGillis is
dreaming big with no way to see them through other than trusting Tekkadan.
Don’t get me wrong, the boys have impressed
me and I root for them all the time (mostly).
But McGillis is still trying to snag power away from an organization
that has a lot more firepower and manpower than he does.
Even if he does do what Vidar believes and try
to slay the Mars Mobile Armor to get the title of Supereme Leader of the Seven
Stars (or something), that can only give him so much power.
Between Rustal and Teiwaz’s scheming second
in command, Jasley, I think things are going to go from bad to worse without a
chance of anything getting better.
Right, let’s talk about Mobile Armors.
We haven’t seen them yet in Iron Blooded
Orphans and, as we come to learn, that’s for a good reason.
Apparently, Mobile Armors started the
Calamity War and were the reason it got that name.
Unlike previous Gundam iterations, Mobile
Armors are fully autonomous and capable of widespread destruction with minimal
efforts.
McGillis and Rustal both shared
that Mobile Suits (Gundams in particular) were created for the sole purpose of
destroying Mobile Armors.
Tekkadan found
one in a crater a few episodes back, unaware of what it was…and Iok’s idiocy
just woke up the damn thing because apparently Mobile Armors activate when in
close proximity to Mobile Suits.
Yeah
that “don’t screw things up again with Teiwaz” warning…yeah that’s about to
become reality and there’s no way Orga will be able to talk his way out of it.
I didn’t get a good look at the Mobile Armor,
called the Hashmal, but I’m sure I will in the next set and I’m expecting it
looks just as fierce, if not fiercer, than other Mobile Armors in the
past.
If it is as dangerous as its been
hyped up to be, it would explain
their
normally monstrous presentation being taken to a whole other level.
Some odds and ends before we close this one out.
Hush is a neverending source of torment for
Mikazuki, so I can only imagine how Gal…er I mean Vidar feels about
Julieta.
The girl just boasts and whines
and brags about being the best…and yet she cant even remember the name of the
man who trained her?
Yeah apparently
Galand taught her Mobile Suit combat and yet she just keeps referring to him as
“The Bearded Man”.
Clearly she reveres
him but cant take the time to learn his freaking name?
She’s such a crappy character.
Romance is in the air for a couple of
pairings beyond Mikazuki and Atra or Kudelia.
Chad, who thankfully is ok after the bombing (so’s Makinai), found out
that Yukinojo and Merribit are an item now and apparently was the last one to
find out.
It’s ok Chad, I didn’t see
that coming either.
What I did see was
Lafter growing to like Akihiro, regardless of being with Naze.
They had some good moments in Season One but
who knows if Akihiro would feel the same way, not that the Tekkadan boys aren’t
interested in girls (save for Yamagi who’s in love with Shino).
Lastly, I got a very eerie chill hearing Orga
think about McGillis’ offer and say “We could live like Kings, the ultimate
finish.”
Honestly, if that’s not a bad
omen of things to come for Tekkadan, I don’t know what is.
Also, also, what the heck is this “Beal” that
little McGillis said he wanted in a flashback.
When we come back tomorrow, like I said, things go from
bad to worse as we see Tekkadan face off against a Metal Gear…I mean Mobile
Armor…ok you know what most Mobile Armors remind me of Metal Gear and it
wouldn’t shock me to read Hideo Kojima got some inspiration for those fearsome
mechs from Gundam.
Anyway, more Mobile
Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans is on the way tomorrow right here at the
Gundam Anime Corner.
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