Before we begin properly, Merry Christmas everyone from the Gundam Anime Corner.
It can be hard for a series with a near 50 episode count to maintain good momentum all the way from beginning to end. There are rare exceptions to this rule like Fullmetal Alchemist (the 2003 series or Brotherhood) and even the original Mobile Suit Gundam had a pretty solid run (save for one episode so infamously bad that Tomino refuses to let it see a US release). But filler is an eventuality. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t…and sometimes you get a storyline where Tiffa helps Echo the Dolphin save his family from pirates…NANI!!!!????
Yeah, Gundam X hit its first really big stumbling block following the supremely well done Fort Sevren storyline. There had to be better ways to get Tiffa to start opening up to Garrod and the crew of the Freeden besides getting them all into a new version of “Free Willy” except with Dolphins instead of Whales. I kind of get what they were going for with this mini arc: seeing the effects the war has had on other species on the planet and just how further intuned Newtypes are with just about everything compared to normal humans…but man this failed. It’s not only silly, it’s boring and head scratchingly bad. Nevermind that the villain of this arc is so instantly forgettable with Bond villain levels of attaining power on the high seas by harvesting Dolphin brains for his Newtype weapons…and I cant believe I typed that just now. Can we just forget this filler happened and move on?
Well for further proof that “Tiffa talks to Dolphins” arc was pointless, the next big story was a major recovery. Not only did we get a look into Jamil’s past, we also got more hints of what might be an actual endgame for the series and hey, better late than never. Last time, we saw that Mayor Nomoa was a former member of the Space Revolutionary Army (Zeon basically) and he was trying to use Carris and Tiffa to fuel his Newtype weapon revenge spree against the Earth. This time, we actually got to see what’s probably a rebirthed United Nations Earth (Earth Federation, more or less) trying to get their hands on a lost Newtype who’s power could act like a massive EMP. My theory is that both sides have slowly been rearming and rebuilding their forces since the war ended abruptly and without a true victor. As we get into the second half of the series, I think we’re gonna see the Freeden fighting to stop both sides from using Newtypes to nuke the rest of the planet until their long dead war has a victor. Ok…I can roll with that for now.
Back to Jamil’s story, the Amuro/Char hybrid finally opened up about his past as a Newtype soldier for the UNE. And, unlike Tiffa communicating with life under the sea, I was much more accepting of Lutil channeling her consciousness into Tiffa so she could talk to her long lost friend and his crew. Considering how much Universal Century I haven’t seen yet (Zeta, ZZ or Victory), I’m not sure if this was a first for the franchise but given the ever expanding abilities of Newtypes, I can accept this. It was sad that Lutil was only around for a couple of episodes and her final goodbye to Jamil was heartbreakingly effective. I’m glad the crew didn’t hesitate to lend Jamil their help, especially Garrod. Considering his love for Tiffa, he can appreciate Jamil’s feelings for his former cute superior officer. Probably one of my favorite moments of the series so far was Garrod handing the Gundam X Divider so he could lead the rescue personally. Garrod didn’t hesitate and never objected…God I love this kid. Plus it’s always a treat to see Jamil back in the saddle of the Gundam he used to pilot. Icing on the cake, Jamil got to plug into the X’s Flash System so he could remote control several Mobile Suits to even the odds of a massive battle…and then promptly blow them all to hell afterwards cause the world doesn’t need those weapons anymore…why the frak didn’t we start with this awesomeness and spend two pointless episodes on Flipper? Oh and while the animation hasn’t been stellar so far, it got a huge boon for Lutil’s rescue, looking almost like Nadesico for a few bits, awesome work Gundam X.
To close out this set and help things simmer a bit, we got to check back in with Ennil and wow this was a major turn around for her following her childish antics at Fort Severen. It helps that she was able to bond with Toniya, the Freedens scatterbrained beauty with a heart of gold. I believed the friendship forming between them as Toniya helped Ennil sort out her current situation…knowing full well it wasn’t going to end well once Ennil learned that Toniya is a member of the Freeden, the ship housing the kid who spurned her. I guess it was too much to ask that Ennil suck it up, forgive Garrod and join up with the Freeden’s crew as a Mobile Suit pilot. Well, at least she didn’t flat out attack and start whining about revenge. Her stare off with Toniya from the cockpit of her Mobile Armor, while Toniya silently pleaded for her friend to let this go was great. Hopefully Ennil wont revert back to her Fort Severen time when we see her again.
We still don’t have a confirmed destination for After War Gundam X. But after a massive stumble, it finished off the first half of its run with flair, drama and a nice amount of action and character work. Even though I may be frustrated by the lack of a big bad or a true goal of whatever evil is still out there, I’m enjoying the journey with Garrod, Tiffa, Jamil and their merry band of survivors. After War Gundam X begins it’s second half next on Monday, right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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