My God was that one of the most nail biting, intense and amazing action spectacles I’ve ever seen in a Gundam show…and it’s only the halfway mark. Though not everything is wrapped up in a nice bow, (cause you know there’s still 20+ episodes left), the midseason finale of G Gundam brought everything to a boiling point and straight up delivered on all fronts.
It's good to see that amidst all the squabbling and face offs with the occasional demons of the past, the new Shuffle Alliance all did manage to complete their training and put it to the test against an all out assault from the Devil Gundam and DG Army, which now has units for land, sea and air. Seeing Chibodee, Sai Saici, George and Argo all set aside their rivalries to come to Domon’s aid was awesome. These guys have all become good friends during their time on this island and we’re all fighting for the guy who brought them together in the first place. Even the beautiful Russian Jail Warden, Nastasha, stepped up to pay her debt to Domon and Rain by coordinating the defense of the island while the Shining Gundam was fine tuned. It’s almost enough excitement to make you forget there’s a tournament going on and everyone had to be in Neo Hong Kong ASAP to compete in the Final Round.
Domon continued his heard headed approach to training…which meant a lot of shouting into the air. And at one point it seemed like he’d go the route of Shinn Asuka and let his anger consume him to the point of his own demise. But unlike my least favorite Gundam protagonist, Domon actually embraced the teachings and bonds of six important people in his life right now: The Shuffle Alliance, Schwarz and Rain. His friendly rivals fought for him, Schwatz took a near death blow for him and Rain battled a fever to fix the Shining Gundam for him, after all, it is “their Gundam”. Domon’s got so many people who care about and root for him to succeed it was great to see him achieve his ultimate zen like state and bring about the Shining Gundam’s true power. When he landed that killer punch to Master Asia’s face…that was cause for applause. Now, that Domon’s found inner peace, I wonder how long it will last (again, halfway mark, not the end).
Though we finally got to see the titular G Gundam (G short for God btw) arrive on the scene, we didn’t get to see it fully in action for more than a couple of moments. The Shining Gundam, however, got one of the best send offs any Gundam could receive. And even though the Devil Gundam and Master Asia aren’t quite as dead as we’d like them to be, it was good at least to see the Shining Gundam triumph over both. The excellent Mobile Fighter wasn’t even truly destroyed, it’s cockpit was just torn to pieces. I hope that means we could see it return before the series end. Considering Rain thinks of it as a shared Gundam between her and Domon, and we got that beautiful image of the G Gundam cradling the Shining Gundam, I think it warrants a reappearance so we can see Domon and Rain, two souls slowly finding each others hearts, fighting together properly.
I’ve gotta say, not only does the Devil Gundam’s “defeat” feel incomplete because this isn’t the end of the series, but I feel like Master Asia fell a few ranks in the bad guys department. Most of the time he was on screen he just continuously taunted Domon like he was a schoolyard bully who had all the power in his hands and could do whatever he wanted. Not quite the mature Martial Arts Master we’d come to know and kind of fear in earlier episodes, I think. Even after Domon totally trounced him, Master Asia was so mind blown that he got his ass kicked that he wouldn’t shut up about wanting to keep fighting until he won. It adds more to the satisfaction of seeing Domon smash his face in with the G Gundam while declaring, “I DON’T HAVE TIME TO PLAY WITH YOU ANYMORE!!!” Speaking of lacking baddies, what is Kyoji’s deal? He hasn’t really done or said much since Domon’s flashback. He’s only popped up on the Devil Gundam’s shoulder and laugh manically…that’s it. We don’t know his intentions or if he’s being controlled by the Devil Gundam itself…nothing. Even if his reasons are shallow, we know more about Master Asia’s motivations right now than Kyojis. I get a feeling though that our answers to any questions regarding him lie with Schwarz Bruder. Besides seeing a “familiar” upper face when part of his mask comes off, a key clue is definitely there in a scene Schwarz and Domon share where Domon feels more at ease than he has in a long time. Could Schwarz and Kyoji be one in the same and just separated? I’ll run with that theory for now.
We capped off the mid point of the series with, of all things, half a clip show followed by the official commencement of the “Final Battle” segment of the Gundam fight. It looks like we’ll be returning to G Gundam’s basics, just without the “hey have you seen the guy in this photo? If you have or haven’t we’re still gonna start a fight cause I’m mad” that was once driving Domon. New rules have been put in place including unlimited repairs and cockpit targeting now free game…yeah that’s not suspicious at all. Oh and Master Asia is back, ready to stir up more trouble and boast how he’ll become the Undefeated of the East, West Nor…you know what, the world, he’ll be come undefeated of the world. I’m starting to think the days of Master Asia being a truly dangerous foe are gone and he’s been replaced with a 70(ish?) year old man child who had a mental break cause he actually got his ass kicked by a Gundam pilot who actually learned something. Of course, there’s always the danger Domon will return to his angry phase if he keeps letting Asia push his buttons.
Right now though, I wanna know who gets to fight the Nether Gundam-The Gundam with a WINDMILL ON ITS CHEST or the Viking Gundam…the Gundam that’s a boat. Maybe we can get back to the wacky mecha designs and fun battles now that the Devil Gundam is taking a lava nap…not to say that this show hasn’t been fun, it’s been incredibly entertaining. But it looks like the first half of Domon’s mission is over. Now it’s time to win the tournament. Go for it man, we’ll see ya back here on Friday for more Mobile Fighter G Gundam at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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