Friday, November 4, 2022

FIF#170-Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Ad Stella 122.  Humanity has reached the stars and a new economic system has prospered from it.  The Beneritt Group runs the Asticassia School of Technology, where the youth of today train to use the technology of tomorrow, including new advanced Mobile Suits.  Hailing from the planet Mercury, a young girl named Suletta Mercury transfers into the School.  With her she brings a Mobile Suit once outlawed, the powerful Gundam Aeriel.  On her first day, Suletta saves a beautiful girl from an arranged marriage, only to become her new groom to be in the process…and take her first steps into a brand new world beyond the home she’s known.
 
Back in September, I looked at the Prologue for The Witch from Mercury and was very surprised.  With the premise seemingly being set around young pilots at a Mobile Suit Academy, I was worried the series would be veering into cutesy Reconguista in G territory with random cheerleaders popping in to do dance numbers and everything.  Much to my relief, the Prologue was very intense and pretty dark, a strong continuation from the last major Gundam TV effort, Iron Blooded Orphans.  It set the stage pretty well and made me really look forward to checking out the first episode of the series proper.  Well, that day has come.  The first new Gundam TV Series in seven years (that isn’t a Compilation or a Build Divers series), is here.  How is it?
 
(BTW if you want a refresher on my thoughts on the Prologue, you can check out that previous First Impression right here: http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2022/09/fif169-mobile-suit-gundam-witch-from.html)
 
We pick up with Eri Samaya, known going by Sulleta Mercury, about ten years after the Prologue.  Suletta is a wild girl in that she’s not feral but as nervous wreck.  I shouldn’t be shocked by this.  After the bloody events of the Prologue, Eri’s Mother has probably kept her under lock and key and done her best to educate her academically and in the art of Mobile Suit combat (apparently).  Much of Sulleta’s dialogue is constant stuttering, she’s clearly not used to anything beyond wherever her home has been.  In stark contrast, we have the more elegant and fiercely independent co-lead Miorine Rembran, daughter of Delling Rembran, aka the guy who ordered the mass slaughter of the Gundam test site where Eri’s father died…that wont make things awkward when that comes up at all.  Miorine clearly wants to take control of her own life and certainly doesn’t take mess from anyone, least of all her would be Fiancee’, Guel.  Miorine taking Sulleta’s Gundam Aeriel into a duel and failing miserably at it kind of reminded me of Sayla Mass’ disastrous first foray in the Gundam in the original series.  But Suletta comes to her aid and shows that despite her awkwardness, she’s still the pilot of a Gundam and you aren’t just given the keys to a Mobile Suit like this for no reason.  As for the fact that Suletta just inherited Miorine’s hand in marriage by freeing her from Guel…well that’s definitely a Revolutionary Girl Utena angle I never expected in Gundam.
 
We don’t get to learn much about the current state of the Ad Stella era but hopefully that will be given to us gradually in later episodes.  This first episode is about establishing Suletta and Miorine as leads, showing off the Asticassia School of Technology and, maybe most importantly, giving us some Mobile Suit combat action.  Gundam is one of the few Mecha franchises out there that has best incorporated the use of CG into their Mecha battles.  It never looks out of place and the mechs look gorgeous to boot.  The Gundam Aeriel is as fierce as they come.  It look like its retaining the more thinner, less armored look of IBO’s Gundam Barbatos, but it packs some serious firepower and a number of trusty funnels that can act of both offensive and defensive levels, it’s pretty sweet.  The big fight between Suletta & Miorine and Guel felt like something you’d see out of the Build Fighters/Build Divers eras of Gundam with a digital battleground and stats being posted for all to see.  Hopefully this dueling approach to battle doesn’t become the complete norm as I’m eager to see what larger scale battles like those in the Prologue look in the main series.  This is Gundam after all, if I want Fighting Game style duels, there’s the aforementioned Build Fighters/Build Divers series for that.
 
I was smiling at the close of The Witch from Mercury’s first episode.  There’s still some details to explore and directions I hope the series steers clear of (less School Drama, more War is Hell Gundam Drama).  But that doesn’t change that fact that Gundam has returned to TV Screens with a proper new TV Series in its near 45 year history.  It wasn’t the equally impactful follow up to the Prologue I wanted but there’s room to grow and I want to see this show grow.  It’s Gundam after all so of course I’ll keep on watching it.  Who knows, depending on how long it is, it might end up getting reviewed on this blog withing the next year or two (definitely by 2024…fitting since that will be the Gundam Anime Corner’s 10th Anniversary).

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