When fellow fans pushed for me to check out Turn A
Gundam, I had no idea what to expect when I actually sat down to watch it. In truth, I didn’t know much about the series
besides the titular Mobile Suit and what Loran Cehack looked like. So this is very much a going in blind kind of
experience. While Turn A Gundam doesn’t
flow like a typically fast paced Gundam show, I am still pleasantly surprised
by what ive seen so far. Yes, there are
things I cant particulary stand or am still trying to figure out. But if I had to give a one word description
of Turn A Gundam after just 10 episodes…it’s “fascinating”. And I say that with great respect…even
considering the fact that in this set I got to see a Gundam being used for a
hard days work setting up a farm. That
kids is something you don’t see everyday in a Gundam series.
Action seems to have taken a very comfy back seat in Turn
A Gundam as the human drama has been at the forefront of a lot of this set of
episodes. The introduction of Queen Dianna
opened up some doors that have been creaking open for a little bit. It’s strange to think such a pure woman
(especially in Loran’s eyes, Dianna might as well be GOD), could authorize such
a vicious attack on the Earth. I really
had to think back on that actually. Was
the plan always a full on invasion? Did
one panicked Moonrace pilot (Ensign Poe) really just jump the gun and the Dianna
Counter advance force is just rolling with it?
And then there’s Corin, the purely insane pilot just out of cryo freeze
who probably should have been left there.
His Ape like mannerisms and childlike behavior never struck me as
entertaining but hiding something far more sinister. What the heck is going on up on the Moon that
even Dianna isn’t aware of? Is Dianna
the sole leader of the Moonrace or are there others in charge above her or
beside her? I feel like im asking all
the right questions at this juncture and yet im not worried nothings getting
outright answered yet. After all, this
is a 49 episode series, there’s room to breathe.
Loran continues to surprise me as the main
protagonist. He feels like a culmination
of every Gundam lead up til this series.
His optimistic pacifism is his greatest asset but Loran wont sit back
while the Moonrace pesters civilians or the Militia tries something
underhanded. In a way, Loran feels like
a basis for other Gundam pilots to come after Turn A Gundam (such as Kira
Yamato from Gundam Seed and even Setsuna F. Seiei from Gundam 00). One of the strongest episodes yet came from
this set, where Loran and his friends aid a group of Moonrace civilians in
setting up a farming home on Earth. Loran has to face both Moonrace and Earther
interference and actually reveals he himself is from the Moon. I was wondering just how long Loran was going
to be able to keep this important part of his character a secret. It surprises me more that his “secret
identity” as “Laura, pilot of the White Doll”, is still intact. True, Harry seems to be onto the ruse but
come on…how has no one put two and two together on that yet? If nothing else, we got a nice diversion with
Loran having to dress up as “Laura” to attend a dance hosted by Dianna. For a show without a lot of Gundam action,
Turn A knows how to make what could be a boring premise entertaining and a bit
of fun.
Loran’s reveal did have some fallout to it, particularly
on Sochie’s end. Sochie hasn’t gotten
any better as a character, in fact she’s gotten a bit worse since the
premiere. At first she was a spoiled
rotten and bossy rich girl…now she’s that plus a full on racist against the
Moonrace with a drive for revenge. The
way she belittles Loran, both before and after he outed himself, makes me wish
someone would actually slap her Relena Peacecraft style and tell her to shut up
and listen to…well anyone with common sense, mostly Loran. Sochie’s foolhardiness got her into a couple
of scrapes that, big shock, Loran had to bail her out of. And she STILL gives him grief cause he’s from
the Moon. Ugh, I cant stand single
minded characters like Sochie. Fairing
better was the unexpected and instantaneous bond formed between Kihel and Dianna. I didn’t expect Dianna of all people to go
right for the “hey let’s trade places and see if we can get away with it”
approach so quickly. But it worked so
well. Both girls picked up on each
others mannerisms and customs quickly and it gave us another powerful moment
when Dianna, disguised as Kihel, tearfully pays her respects to the grave of
Kihel and Sochie’s father. If there’s
any chance of peace that can come between Earth and the Moon, Dianna is going
to be the one to pull it off.
However, it feels like war is inevitable at this
point. There were a couple of small
skirmishes in this set, from the attempted assassination of Dianna to Corin’s
senseless attack to lure out Loran and the Turn A. The Militia is getting sneaky with it’s
movements too, not that Guin is doing much to dissuade them (seriously that
guys got a power trip agenda underneath his high classmen façade I just know
it). I will admit, all of these battles
did give us the chance to see more of what the Turn A could do (and have Corin
reveal it actually is a Gundam). We got Beam
Sabers and a Battle Mace (the latter found in a subterranean chamber with a
crap ton of weapons…more Dark History stuff?).
As cool, if a bit brief, as there battles were, I have to wonder which
side is going to blow things out of proportion first? Personally my money is on either a
manipulation by Guin, Ensign Poe freaking out over Earther Savages again, or
Corin doing something devastatingly nasty to civilians. Either way, Loran and everyone involved in
this story is sadly helpless to stop it.
No matter how different Turn A Gundam is, it’s still a Gundam
series…something bad always happens when you least expect it. I guess we’ll find out what that might be on
Friday as Turn A Gundam rides on.
No comments:
Post a Comment