Mobile Fighter G Gundam Part 6 Episodes 26-30

After weeks of battles across the Earth, the Final Battle of the 13^th Gundam Fight Tournament has begun.  Domon Kasshu just barely made it in time and stands ready with his fellow fighters: Chibodee Crockett, Sai Saici, George de Sand and Argo Gulski. Though friendships have formed, they’ll be put to the ultimate test as they face each other for the grand prize.  Shockingly, Master Asia and a slew of defeated opponents appear to take part in the epic bout.  How is this possible and what could the devious Master be planning?  And how will Rain react when Domon begins to form a bond with Neo Sweden’s beautiful Gundam Fighter Allenby Beardsly?

You know, I never knew how much I missed earlier elements of G Gundam until I got into this latest set of episodes.  With the Devil Gundam off the table (for now), it was time to kind of get back to basics while also advancing the plot and maintaining established character development.  Thankfully, save for a couple of small slip ups, G Gundam continued strong and showed that things weren’t going to be fully reset to factory settings like some long running mecha Anime like to do at the mid point *COUGH COUGH CODE GEASS COUGH*

We’re now back to the Fighter of the Week formula we saw in the beginning.  And that means the wacky and sometimes bonkers Gundam designs returned along with them. Now some Gundams like the Saint Seiya looking Zeus Gundam and Bull Gundam I could see making it as far as the Finals.  But when you get to the more bizarre models like the Nether Gundam (aka Windmill Gundam), the Mermaid Gundam or the Cobra Gundam…you’re imaginations gonna be stretched a little bit.  Still, I missed these crazy designs that made G Gundam so unique and fun in the first place.  It’s refreshing to see Domon and his friends face off against the best of the best in the Gundam Fight after spending a hefty amount of time fighting Devil Army cannon fodder.  Also oh my God was that a Wooly Mammoth Gundam I saw in a flashback?  Looks like we got a secret Gundam/Power Rangers crossover and never knew it.

I was worried that Domon would revert to his factory settings after seeing Master Asia suddenly appear at the start of the finals, that he would forget the lessons learned at the Guyana Islands and just go back to being angry all the time.  But holy crap, Domon proved me wrong.  Sure he might’ve impulsively picked a fight or two but this was an almost completely new Domon walking the streets of Neo Hong Kong.  He was more laid back and relaxed and prone to being a people person…more or less.  He was much, much kinder to Rain (who even the kids want to hook up with him like crazy), accepted help from Chibodee, Sai Saici and Argo with various fighters, and even found the friendship of an elderly fisherman and his two grandchildren who are allowing Domon to stay on their boat while he fights in the Final Battle (cause Domon prefers it rugged compared to a hotel room).  Domon was able to escape several scrapes with his new Zen frame of mind and quickly got the hang of his awesome new God Gundam in the process.  Domon’s boast that he’d win all his fights just to kick Master Asia’s ass again seemed like a step backwards and if this were first half of the show Domon, I’d say he had no chance.  But this is second half Domon and his prospects are looking bright.

Domon didn’t get all the screentime.  Sai Saici was given a solid story that saw him fall in love with the younger sister of the pilot of the Mermaid Gundam.  It’s good to see Sai Saici mature a bit and fight for what his heart wants beyond the tournament.  Plus he got to show off his killer cooking skills (kid makes you want to eat fried rice all the time).  There was also the introduction of Allenby Beardsly and this is gonna be a girl to watch out for.  Not only is she the first female Gundam Fighter (officially, sorry Rain but she’s actually trained), but she’s someone who can actually go toe to toe with Domon himself.  Yeah she had that crazy and unneeded berserker system installed by her evil overlords.  But after Domon helped her overcome it, Allenby was still ready to face Domon.  This is a girl who never wanted to be a Gundam Fighter.  But now that she’s met Domon, Allenby’s seeing it in a whole new light: as a fun game she can play with a kindred spirit…yeah Rain’s in for some trouble on the romance front.  And yes, Allenby has a Gundam that looks like it was modeled after a Sailor Moon Sailor Senshi…and I think it’s one of the better designs of the series.

There were missteps in this new beginning.  I wasn’t a fan of Domon nearly having his Gundam stolen by a bunch of kids.  While I liked the outcome of the episode, the episode as a whole felt like the first (and hopefully only) one you could skip over and not miss a thing.  Then there’s Master Asia again.  He’s calmed down from his “IVE LOOOOOOST!!!!” freak out and is now helping Neo Hong Kong Prime Minister Wong maneuver the Gundam Fight like a chess game…literally, Wong has a chess board with Gundam figures on it.  All of their scenes arrive at the same time of every episode theyre in and become so repetitvive you could skip them after the first time: they schedule the match, Wong things Domon will lose, Asia thinks otherwise, they see Domon wins and comment, onto the next episode. Again, at least Asia is crying like a wimp anymore. 

Mobile Fighter G Gundam surpassed my expectations with a strong new beginning for the next chapter of the series.  The Mobile Suit designs are crazy but awesome, the characters continue to grow and the fights continue to astound.  I’m really liking this show a lot and cant wait to see what fights await Domon and the G Gundam at the Gundam Fight Final Battle continues.  See you for another bout on Monday.