Zeon is back baby. The next generation of Gundam’s first evil faction made their grand entrance into the story of Zeta Gundam and they did not disappoint. As if the Titans weren’t enough of a problem, now a group of pissed off Spacenoids with eight years worth of pent up aggressions is now ready to challenge the AEUG…kind of.
The Axis Zeons (as we’ll call them for now), aren’t a full fledged faction ready to wage war (yet) but are still seen as a pivotal ally who could change the course of the war for either the Titans or the AEUG. I find it a little jarring that the Titans were made to stop a force like Zeon from rising in space (something they ironically became) and yet want to forge an alliance with them. But hey, every little bit helps. Plus between Jamitov and Scirocco, someone will be ready to issue the double cross orders when they feel Axis has served its purpose. Oh boy, they sure as hell aren’t ready for Haman Kahn. Beautiful, confident and ruthless, this is a bad girl with cool purple hair and a glare that could stop your heart. Scirocco might think he has the “ultimate plan” mindset, but even he cant account for whatever wild card scheme Haman has in mind. Let me put it another way: when the normally calm and collected Char Aznable cant keep his cool for five minutes before saying Haman has to die…you know this chick is a problem.
Haman isn’t the only girl making trouble for the AEUG though. After several episodes of dreaming of Scirocco, Reccoa finally made her choice and did her best to abandon her allies in the middle of a battle. She did succeed though we the viewers are the only ones aware she’s even alive. Reccoa’s betrayal cuts pretty deep even without Kamillie and company knowing yet. She was one of the first good guys introduced back in the beginning of Zeta, which goes to again show how different this show is from the original Gundam series. The crew of White Base would never turn on each other by this point. But this is a darker Universal Century and people are far more complex. As to why Reccoa made her decision, you could chalk that up to Char being a less than accommodating sort of boyfriend or Scirocco’s hypnotic words and Newtype pressure. Whatevers the case, Reccoa’s crossed over to the side of the Dark Side and I get the feeling she isn’t coming back.
All of this was good stuff but once again, getting there was something the could’ve taken one episode rather than two. Instead we got Kamille having a chat with Sarah about her eternal devotion to Scirocco and how she claims it ruined her chance to be friends with Kamille…yet she still serves Scirocco without question so…pointless chat? Then we got angry Titans ace Yazan making yet another random pass at the Argama while the AEUG tried to slow down the Titans from reaching the Axis Zeons before they did. I wouldn’t harp on this so much but this is twice in two sets of episodes we’ve halted good progress in favor of…well what kind of feels like pointless filler. I’m glad Zeta Gundam got a full 50 episode order to tell its complete story. But I feel like the original Gundam is still stronger because it lacks filler like this due to its forced conclusion pressuring Tomino to tighten things up. It didn’t help that AEUG benefactor Wong Lee spent every second of his screentime nagging at the crew over every little thing because he’s in charge and everyone should do what he says. He may help fund the freedom fighters but he isn’t a military man or a leader of any kind…that’s Bright’s job and it was nice to see Bright tell Wong to sit down and STFU while a battle was in progress.
I’m surprised we ended this set with the start of a new arc for the Zeta saga: an all out assault on the Titans base at Kilimanjaro. Kamille and Char, both stewing over the apparent loss of Reccoa, had further tension thrown between them when Kamille discovered Four was alive, albeit she’s been factory reset and no longer remembers Kamille. She is back in the cockpit of a brand new Psycho Gundam though. Char never knew about Kamille and Four cause he was off on another mostly offscreen adventure way back when. But now he’s freaking out because he sees Four as another Lalah Sune and he knows that can only mean bad things for Kamille in the end. After all, he and Amuro are still dealing with Lalah so many years after they both had a hand in causing her death. We left the Kilimanjaro battle at a stand still so I guess we’ll see how this all resolves tomorrow.
Couple of side notes before we wrap up. First, little Mineva Zabi. She looks more like the inspiration for Mariemea Kushrenada from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz and feels like the same puppet she was. Mineva’s a far cry from the heartbreaking bad ass she is in Gundam Unicorn that’s for sure. It was good to see Kamille and Char go through a rough patch following what they think is Reccoa’s death but how long will it last? Will Kamille’s continuing questioning of Char’s motives and blame be one of the reasons Char turns down the road that leads him to Char’s Counterattack? And speaking of Char, I love Kamille’s reaction when Mineva outs Quattro as Char. Seriously, anyone who’s surprised by this point is kind of an idiot…except for Bright, he gets a pass cause he’s Bright Noa. Lastly, good to see Amuro, if only for the tail end of the Kilimanjaro attack. I’m glad he’s continued fighting alongside Hayato and Karaba but will he be coming back to space for the final showdown?
Whew, a lot of questions and a lot of developments. Here’s hoping tomorrows set just gets right
to the action without any filler getting in the way. Believe it or not, tomorrow we reach the
beginning of the end of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam right here at the Gundam Anime
Corner. Hope everyones ready for it.
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