It is the year 122 of the Ad Stella Calendar. A young girl from the planet Mercury,
Suletta, has come to the Astacassia School of Technology to begin her education
in Mobile Suit Piloting. Here, she meets
Miorine Rembran, an heiress determined to travel to the Earth. Mirone becomes Suletta’s guide to the
cutthroat and dangerous world of Astacassia, where the offspring of leaders of
Megacorporations fight to uphold the legacies of their families and their own
honor. In a world where only the strong
survive, the seemingly meek Suletta brings with her the Aeriel, a Mobile Suit
whose power quickly catches the eye of everyone in and outside of
Astacassia. For this Mobile Suit bears a
resemblance to a weapon long ago banned and outlawed, a Mobile Suit called
“Gundam”.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a big deal
for the Gundam franchise for a number of reasons.
For one, this is the first true to form
original Gundam series (not a Compilation Series or Build Divers sequel) since
2015’s Iron Blooded Orphans.
It’s also
the first ever story to have a female lead character at the forefront.
As we’ll get into, there’s more to the
uniqueness of G Witch but those first two aspects are definite cause for
piquing interest, more so when it comes to Suletta and her being positioned
with a beautiful love interest in Miorine.
Heck, I’ve been excited to get to this one for a while myself.
I had originally planned to look at G Witch
first in November 2023 after it had finished its original airing, then moved it
to January 2024 before finally settling on now because it’s April, Gundam’s
Birthday, and it’s the 45
th Anniversary of the entire
franchsie.
So, enough gabbing.
It’s finally time for the Gundam Anime Corner
to tackle as Peter Cullen said about Gundam Wing on Toonami, “a new chapter in
one of greatest Anime sagas of all time,” Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from
Mercury.
Anyone who might’ve been worried about the heavily
promoted High School setting of Asticassia in the lead up to G Witch’s premiere
mustve been happily shocked to see the special Prologue that aired a couple of
months in advance.
The Prologue does an
excellent job of setting up the tragic events leading into the series proper
and also delivering some incredibly beautiful looking Mobile Suit combat.
It also helps establish some of the rules and
lore of this new Alternate Universe just like any proper Gundam series should:
most importantly that Mobile Suits were once used to treat those suffering from
living in space before their tech was adapted to military use and that began to
mess with the minds and bodies of pilots something fierce.
I can see why that would cause some caution
and commotion from the prominent Mobile Suit Industrial Complex.
But authorizing the extermination of an
entire staff along with their data?
It’s
a bit of a harsh overreaction but I’ll get more into that when I talk about
Delling later.
Still, the action and
animation are up to the tight standards of Gundam, same with the “War is Hell”
storytelling motto.
It doesn’t get any
more tragic or heartbreaking than seeing little Eri gleefully pointing out all
the pretty big lights without realizing she just used the Lfirth’s Funnels/Bits
to wipe out Mobile Suits and their pilots.
Yes, there are High School elements to this series but it is still
Mobile Suit Gundam and when it wants to break your heart, it will.
In a way, the decade plus skip to Asticassia is a bit of
a nice pallet cleanser, even if some fans don’t want this to be your High
School Moe/Slice of Life Anime.
Believe
me it’s not.
If I were to give the
Asticassia School of Technology a banner slogan, it’d be “Where you can learn
how to be a business person who can build, pilot and sell your own Mecha”.
Indeed while there are always tensions
between Earth and the Space Colonies, G Witch centers much of the tension on
competition between Mobile Suit Development Industries, all under the same
umbrella.
How strong you are in your
sales determines whether or not you will stick around under Delling’s Benerit
Group.
This standing extends to the
major houses withing Asticassia itself, making this feel almost like a Game of
Thrones type setup as these houses clash for power of a different kind than
simply controlling the Earth or what not.
Heck, disputes between students are settled through school sanctioned
Mobile Suit duels that are a cross between Thunderdome and Highlander (there’s
even a Student Council dedicated to overseeing these bouts)
I’m not gonna lie, it’s an interesting
direction to take with a Gundam storyline and its very welcome.
And where do our two leads fit into all of this?
Well first there’s Suletta.
She’s not the usual angsty youth who hates
adults and the war theyre fighting like past protagonists.
Suletta’s shy, awkward, prone to a lot of
stuttering and signs show she’s been sheltered beyond belief.
Given her origins seen in the Prologue,
that’s understandable.
However, Suletta
is a very capable pilot with a very unique relationship with her Gundam, seeing
it as a living, breathing sibling.
Suletta also seems to be capable of instilling new, hopeful points of
view for whoever she meets…so yeah it’s no wonder all of the guys immediately
want to hook up with her after she kicks their asses in a duel.
However, Suletta’s heart seems destined for
her polar opposite, the fiercely independent and no nonsense Miorine.
The girls got looks and presence but she also
lives under the thumb of her Father, Delling, who seems to have his daughters
life already planned out for her.
I like
the back and forth between Suletta and Miorine, their clashing personalities
and upbringings giving them different perspectives: Suletta offering Miorine
hope that her dreams can come true and Miorine grounding Suletta and easing her
into life at Astacassia.
I can see why
these two have become such a beloved pair not just in the Gundam community but
in the wider world of Anime too.
Have I mentioned how freaking gorgeous G Witch is?
Sunrise is clearly throwing their all into
their first traditional Gundam series in a while and the animation shows.
In an age when all Mecha are needlessly made
into CG abominations (which thankfully Gundam has avoided becoming with their
entries), G Witch is sticking with a lot of hand drawn techniques and the
results speak for themselves.
One need
look no further than the Aeriel’s first sortie in Suletta’s duel with
Guel.
Not only does the Aerial look
phenomenal for a starter Gundam (I’m guessing it’ll get upgrades later), but I
like the digital lines in its design and it continues the same skinny yet built
tough outer design shared by the Barbatos from Iron Blooded Orphans.
Oh and the Music?
Frak, Takashi Ohmama did a great job with the
Prologue’s tragic OST but big theme when Aerial defeats Guel is one of the best
tunes I’ve heard in all of Gundam, backed by gorgeous vocals fitting for this
female driven power house of a Gundam.
Before I close out this Premiere Review, I’ve gotta touch
on Delling.
While I do think the
cutthroat nature of Mobile Suit Industry has plenty of promise, Miorine’s
father does not.
He gives off a very
authoritative aura in the Prologue but when we see him again in the main story,
turns out this guy is just a big bully playing by King of the Playground
rules.
When Miorine confronts him about
arresting Suletta on suspicion of owning a Gundam when Suletta has become her
Groom by his rules, Delling just says “Well I’m changing them because I’m the
King here and I can do whatever I want”.
Even the way he talks to his own daughter makes him seem more childish
and immature.
The sneaky and
unpredictable nature of his fellow Mobile Suit Company peers make them seem
like more of a threat than Delling and it’s amazing more assassination attempts
haven’t been made already (and for some reason haven’t succeeded). Oh and
Suletta’s mother has evolved into the Char Clone of this series, yeah she’s
gonna be way more trouble than Miorine’s spoiled brat of a father.
A disappointing potential big bad aside, Mobile Suit
Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is off to an incredible start.
They’ve changed storytelling tactics while
also keeping a lot of familiar Gundam tropes (including Haro’s for everyone at
Astacassia).
The animation is dazzling
and the Mecha shine with a classic, non CG flair.
And while Suletta’s nervousness is dialed up
to 11, she and Miorine’s chemistry make them very promising leads in a
franchise that lacks such girls as the main stars.
This is definitely a series off to a solid
beginning and all of this month (most of it anyway) we’ll be digging deeper
into it.
Keep an eye out for TWO REVIEWS
a week with this one.
Which means we’ll
see you right back here on Friday cause Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from
Mercury, is just getting started right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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