#Range Dubrisko

[gremoria411]

The poor decisions don’t stop, since I decided to start Gundam Ibo Urdr Hunt while watching 0079. (Though realistically, it seems I’ll just end up putting 0079 on the back burner for a bit). This was motivated by Four Factors:

The announcement that they’re actually going to do something with the series going forward (I’m *hoping* for a full series or compilation movie, but I can’t guess at how practical that’d be, since I don’t know what the series is like yet). Regardless, I felt I should at least watch the series so I have an opinion on it. EDIT: I’m betting a compilation movie, there’s a lot of reused animation, and a lot of the parts lacking animation are conversations.

I already bought the model kits of both the Marchosias and the Asmoday purely on the strength of their designs, and I kinda want to decide if the Hajiroboshi or Cyclase’s Schwalbe Graze are similarly worthwhile (I’m slowly coming around to the Graze), since now’s probably the best time to go for them.

I kinda really want to know what’s going on with Cyclase Mayer. I really liked Mcgillis, and so I’m interested in seeing what a similarly designed character is going to be like in Post Disaster (plus, he’s a serious-faced man in a business suit, so he’s probably going to be fun to watch just from a broader perspective, given what characters in this universe typically have to deal with).

I haven’t actually been that excited about it, which annoys me. Maybe I didn’t see much hype, maybe it’s too close to Witch from Mercury/ the SEED Movie, or maybe I’d just gotten a little too settled in Post Disaster

Also, I just watched the opening for the first time and feel like I should jot something down;

Do each of the rings come with a maid? And Cyclase has two of them? Is he just trying to put a maid household together by collecting all the rings?….…….is this a Gundam harem anime? (I mean I know they’ve been trying to diversify lately, but still….)

Obviously it isn’t, but the thought did briefly cross my mind as I watched the opening.

*the following contains spoilers for the first four episodes of Gundam Ibo: Urdr Hunt*

I’ve watched the first four episodes, as of writing, so I’m just going to jot down a few thoughts;

I like how each of the maids is shown to be different in personality. Berose’s so obviously unhappy with her posting and Parstai actively manipulates things to get a better owner for the Urdr hunt ring (granted it didn’t take much). And then Korunaru’s just cheery by comparison.

I kinda expected the Zan Brothers to be a comedy side-act - a duo of bumblers pursuing the Urdr hunt, based on their aesthetics (very flashy). As such, Rome murdering a human debris for failure and Aiko barely concealing his hostility toward his idiot brother were both very surprising, and a welcome addition.

I didn’t expect I’d like Range’s suit, the Enzo, as much as I did. It feels like someone took the Hexa Frame used by the Hugo and made an actually solid mobile suit out of it - Range loses because he’s outclassed, not because the design is lacking in any particular way. It’s balanced, well armed and has a neat aesthetic. Good job guys.

Similarly, I really like the design of the Monkey Rodi’s. So sleek.

Alright, so I’m assuming the Chairman of the Board for the Omden Colony Company is Torrado Omden? Regardless, absolute peak character design. Man looks like an overgrown toddler and I hate him for it. It really sells him throwing away resources and lives on this thing as…… sorta casually despicable? Like it’s a bad financial quarter?

Overall, I’m really enjoying it. But I do have two criticisms I want to note at this juncture. Though I’m reasonably certain that it gets addressed later, Wistario Afram (is it Afram or Afam? I think it’s Afam, but Afram just rolls off the tongue better) is just kind of the least interesting of the Urdr Hunt participants we’ve seen so far. Like, he wants to use the money to rebuild the Venus Colony into a major tourist attraction. That’s a solid, achievable goal, and the way he talks and acts makes me feel like it’s less about “can he do it” and more about “how will he do it”. I don’t mind that angle, but it’s very different from everyone else around him. Range is trapped working for a company that will cut him off for any perceived failure, and he’s grappling with the fact that it’s not the solution he thought it would be and that he’s got more in common with Afam than his employers. It’s a good angle, as he slowly re-examines what his place in the world, and the crushing pressure exerted by both the Colony Company - a very powerful organisation, as evidenced by the fact that they consider the grand prize of Urdr hunt to be pocket change; and that exerted by the Hajiroboshi itself, a Gundam from the Calamity War. Meanwhile, 598 is enamoured with the idea of becoming like Tekkadan, showing the far-reaching influence they have, however, he’s forced to re-evaluate his own actions and who they’re truly for - in doing so, he can realise who his enemies are and actually take steps to free himself from their control, and from there take’s the first step to becoming like his idols in Tekkadan. They’re both very compelling characters, and it’s just unfortunate that Wistario can’t seem to eclipse that. It could be that we were just told how bad the situation is in Venus, rather than shown - a few shots of the prison’s might have helped, or showing how they affect the populace.

That said, now that I come to write this all down, both of their origins are somewhat similar to Tekkadan (598’s for obvious reasons) - it’s possible that I’m only rating them as highly as I am due to the familiar elements. With that in mind, it is possible that Wistario may offer a fresher perspective on the world of Post Disaster.

My second criticism is one I’ve mention before, regarding Noisy Fairy; Don’t call someone “character A” it’s stupid, because the message it sends to me is “this person isn’t worth caring about”. If a character is worth caring about, they’re always called “mysterious girl” or “???”, so “Girl B”, “Mercenary A” and “Board Member C” are just worthless. Does it cost more to give them names? Do named characters denote different rates for their voice actors or something? It’s just really immersion-breaking, because it creates the sense that named characters are the only ones that matter.

(Also Radonitsa Colony being essentially a prison colony is great, because it roughly parallels the real- life British Empire’s treatment of Australia, though granted without any natives).

[gremoria411]

Damn, I really like the idea of “N” being Nemo Baklazan, particularly since we now know there’s a movie in the works - There’s likely going to be a couple of new mobile suits for that, like the custom Reginlaze from the trailer, and Gundam’s are normally a pretty safe bet for this sort of thing. Furthermore, I think the only Seven Stars missing from points on the Urdr Hunt were the Baklazan’s and……. The Fareed’s, I think? (It goes Elion, Falk, Bauduin, Kujan, then skips one to go to Issue, right?)

What’s also interesting is that the Baklazan Family Gundam is the only remaining Seven Stars Gundam Frame we haven’t seen yet, almost like it’s going to play a part in something.

There is also the point of it being missing from Vingolf, but a) it’s *possible* that that is an animation error and b) it seems that the Issue Family Gundam, the Zagan, is kept in Ratatoskr, so there’s no garuntee that every Seven Stars Gundam is stored in Vingolf (maybe the Issue’s had special privileges, being the head of the Seven Stars and all).

But I do like the idea of the other two Seven Stars Families having stuff going on.

(Also, props for describing Range as “kind of a chump” because that is an excellent description and I love it)

Thoughts on the Urdr Hunt (Eps 1-5)

As of writing, five episodes (each in two parts) of the Iron-Blooded Orphans tie-in game campaign ‘Urdr Hunt’ have been released on the Iron-Blooded Orphans G App. This is currently only available in Japan; I’ve been watching it subbed by Youtuber Trafalgar Log. I thought I’d summarise my impressions so far, since we’ve now had every character who shows up in the opening sequence appear at least once. Spoilers etc below.

Keep reading

[gremoria411]

I’m currently at Episode 22 of Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt, I’ve got about two episodes left and since it seems to be a two-episode finale kind of deal, I figured I’d take a break and note down some thoughts up till now, then maybe do another post after the finale. Though I haven’t really arranged these, so I’m probably just gonna ramble.

*The following contains spoilers for episodes 1-22 of Gundam Urdr Hunt*

I’m liking a lot of the Mobile Suit Designs, Gundam and Grunt. Plus, it’s nice to see old favourites again, like the Grimgerde and Hyakuren. However, I do feel like some could be better utilised - The Asmodeus is a cool design, and it works as a lancer to the Hajiroboshi, I just feel like it could have been used more.

Similarly, is is odd how a lot of the major threats are lead-from-the-front characters, since obviously they have to function as bosses. I dunno, it’s just strange compared to all the non-action opponents from the original series.

I really enjoyed Range and Katya’s inclusion as characters, since they’re just sitting there providing a good general basis of what the average citizen of Post Disaster knows - Katya knows a lot of insider knowledge of Gjallarhorn for example, which the others remark on regularly. While Range is sceptical of the existence of mobile armours and views the Asmoday as just a particularly strong mobile suit. So they provide different ends of the same spectrum, I suppose.

I like how each of the maids/guides has their own personality, and I like seeing how they interact with each of their charges. But I do wish we saw more of them. Part of its because they feel like they have that potential to shine very well, and it’s also quite a large cast, so not everyone gets an equal share. I also found it interesting that they were all stated to have been “bought”, so they’re all former Human Debris. Unfortunately, Parstai (blue, with Foundling) is the only one it really comes up with, but presumably the others had full and interesting lives beforehand. You get hints of it with Batch and Tagging (the two that go with Cyclase), with Tagging being an excellent mobile suit pilot, and Batch having experience in ship command and a cautious bearing, but we know very little of the others prior lives.

I didn’t expect to vibe with the Zan Brothers as much as I did, that was weird.

Kouzou Mendou’s pretty rad. A genuine Archeologist, hoping to reveal the causes behind the Calamity War, and just generally seems to be a decent fellow. He does admittedly score points because he very clearly understands how dangerous Mobile Armours were/are, and is the first character to really articulate that. I kinda wish he’d told us, the audience, some new information about the Calamity War, but that’s not really a criticism at all.

Cameos from other Ibo Characters - mostly I can take or leave them, but I’d be lying if I didn’t get pumped when Mcgillis (as Montag) showed up in the Grimgerde to fight Londo Bron. I also loved seeing Isurugi going around, being generally competent.

Actually yeah, Londo Bron. For my talk about Cyclase Mayer at the start of this, I found myself really enjoying Londo Bron, surprisingly so even. He’s a good pilot, he has noble intentions, and he feels like a really good example of an Antagonist, but not a villain. He’s only really opposing Wistario because he wants to restore the Issue Family, and Katya is the best way to do that (I might do a proper post on him some other time).

Another character I really like, despite their short screentime would be Major Bradley. He’s essentially the perfect picture of a colonial administration officer - he’s corrupt, he’s unreasonable, he’s pretty solidly classist, and it all just works. He’s not even cartoonishly evil, he’s just the sort of corrupt Gjallarhorn Official that illustrates the failings of the organisation. Obviously he shares a lot of DNA with Coral Conrad, from the original series, but the boredom, the arrogance with which he carries himself just makes him memorable. Plus he just looks obscenely British, furthering the colonial parallels.

I am absolutely loving the fight scenes in this. Yeah, a lot of the fighting is supposed to be for the in-engine graphics, so they could have totally phoned it in. But they didn’t. If only other shows that cut out background, story, plot and characterisation to ostensibly focus on the fights *cough* *cough* Build Divers *cough* could do that.

I do love how absolutely shameless Cyclase is. Just like “Oh boy, how do I get out of this one? I know, Betrayal!” It works into his character and it’s really fun to watch, but it’s just kind of hilarious how he makes at least like five betrayals in the space of the show. Very efficient.

Character Designs’ still top-notch. I don’t really have any specific examples that I haven’t already mentioned but yeah. It’s good.

Ah, I mentioned that I was considering getting the Hajiroboshi kit? The thing is, a lot of the time I can really like a character, and that can end up selling me more on their mobile suit’s model kit. This is the first time that’s ever happened with a mechanic. In brief; I don’t want the Hajiroboshi because it’s the mobile suit Wistario Pilots, I want the Hajiroboshi because it’s the mobile suit Denmer maintained all these years.

I do have two more points - one positive, one negative, but I’m gonna pull those out as separate posts, simply because I want to consider them separate from everything else, and I feel like I’ll want to follow them up separately after the finale.

In a nutshell, I’ve generally liked Iron Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt - it gives a good showing of the world of Post Disaster besides what we’ve seen with Tekkadan and Tanto Tempo, and a lot of the side characters are interesting. The only issue is that some characters and mechanics feel somewhat under-utilised.

(Though maybe that’s my own fault for hyping myself up for the Asmodeus).

[gremoria411]

Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Urdr Hunt Part 3 - Wistario and the rest of the Cast

I think that it’s overall a good cast, but I definitely found some characters better than others - 598, Range and Katya all have actual arcs, which results in them changing as people throughout - I’ve said prior that I found both 598 and Range genuinely compelling characters. I also found a lot of characters, while not fully developed, had enough going on that I was interested in them - Tamami, Mendou, and above all, Denmer (honestly I would love to see more of him). The only characters I find lacking are Wistario and Korunaru, which, again, would be fine if they weren’t ostensibly important. I wish the guides had more focus in general to be honest, since the only ones who get really any focus are Slice and Parstai (who get an episode at best).

Denmer Kitaco Jr., though. It genuinely bothers me how little we know about him, because it just all feels so tantalisingly close - he’s (presumably) a Venus resident, who has enough street smarts in the Era of Post Disaster, and presumably passed these on to Wistario (since I don’t really see how else he could have picked them up). He knows some form of martial art, enough to take on numerous Gjallarhorn Officers. He’s got a referenced history that Dexter and Sinister routinely bring up, he’s MISSING AN EYE, which I was initially willing to write off as a way to make him seem grizzled, but the more I think about it must be relevant in some way, considering that Wistario’s parents seem to be dead. And, as I’ve said before, he’s INHERITED A GUNDAM FRAME, which, from the way he talks and acts about it, is almost certainly something that was impressed upon him a great deal - he’s not casual or dismissive about it, this is something he’s carefully and meticulously maintained for most of his life, and he understands, on some level, what it is and what it represents. I’d wager he has his own suspicions about its past, given that he seems to have inklings but not the whole picture. And it makes it all the more significant when Wistario uses it to fight - it’s their family’s past and ancestry, but for Denmer, it’s also their families future. How must he feel, when Wistario risks his life over and over again, in a machine that he allowed him to access? And the way he interacts with Wistario- it’s obvious he cares for him a great deal, and besides Sprah, it seems like he’s been Wistario’s primary carer for pretty much Wistario’s entire life. There’s so much good stuff there, but it all feels just out of reach.

So, my love of Denmer established, what about his young charge? Well, I still think Wistario lacks a strong character, but I feel a lot more of him coalesces nearer to the end of the series. However. The central theme of Wistario is family, not Venus, buying Radonitsa is just his immediate expression of that goal. But because of the early emphasis on the Urdr hunt it’s muddled. When you look at the series through the lens of Wistario building a family, his “character” makes a little more sense. But because he’s not setting out to build a family, it’s not obvious. I’m genuinely not really sure. Either, the central theme of Wistario is buying and doing up Radonitsa Colony, and he acquires a found family along the way. Or; the central theme of Wistario is Family, and buying and doing up Radonitsa is just his early expression of that goal. I feel like I could argue for one or the other, since neither theme is strong enough for me to come down on. Because he slowly befriends every single competitor in the Urdr Hunt other than Cyclase, so if any of them win, it feels like they’ll give at least a portion of the money to Wistario, since he has the “best goal”, so to speak. Even Cyclase doesn’t really seem to care about the prize money, since he seems to be more interested in the chance of finding a mobile armour during the Urdr Hunt.

Wistario and Katya - hm. Feels more like an exploration of what Katya wants, as opposed to a genuine romance. Thematically it’s similar to Wistario’s interactions with Range and 598. He gives them autonomy since that’s an aspect of his dream? Or just because he believes it’s the right thing to do? Yes, Wistario cares for Katya, but him rescuing her feels more like he’s granting her the power to make her own choices, like he did by telling 598 about Kimball and extending an offer to Range. If it’s meant to be a straight romance, then it feels token, but “ensuring the freedom of others from a bad situation”, as I think he’s doing, doesn’t really tie in with Wistario himself at all (unless it’s about the greater economic freedom of Venus, but that feels like I’m reaching).

Another thing about Wistario; Somehow the moment where he thinks Londo Brom’s about to kill him gave him more characterisation than half the series. Here, in this moment, he comes face-to-face with death. He’s a child, a young boy, who’s carrying the dreams of everyone around him, who just really wants to save his friend, who’s about to die. Despite his competence and piloting skills, he is still a child, and this moment showcases that vulnerability. Hell, the only reason he survives is that the Zagan gets struck by lightning and 598’s able to pull him clear just in time. He gets outclassed and barely survives, sure he manages to pull himself together and fight the mobile armour afterwards, but I’d wager that he’s going to have some rough nights ahead of him.

In fact, that might be it with Wistario. While his character is tied to the aftereffects of war (the economic depression, and effects of colonial administration), there’s kind of no connection between him and mobile suits. There’s no “reason” for him to be as good a pilot as he is, there’s no real sense of mobile suits being a part of his life before this. Yes, he wants to buy the Radonitsa colony, but he is just essentially fighting - and killing, for a big pile of money. And it’s an active choice on his part. But we’re not really shown the sort of person that would take the decision to fight for money - pretty much every engagement Wistario enters is the result of another party attacking him first. So there’s this disconnect between who Wistario is, and what Wistario does.

I don’t really think that he’s a *bad* protagonist per se, he just feels a little half-baked, and I feel that, for being the protagonist, we really don’t know a lot about him.

[wordsandrobots]

IBO reference notes on . . . pilot ability

I was typing this up as an author note on the latest chapter of Wishing on Space Hardware and it overflowed any sane word count for such a note, so I'm pulling it out as its own thing.

Basically, when thinking about how good a pilot is in the Iron-Blooded Orphans setting, I tend to group them into one or more of the following categories:

Also-ran. The jobbing pilots, like the Dort and SAU workers or the pirate grunts Shino and 598 beat up in Urdr Hunt. People who have some ability and maybe a little bit of training but don't necessarily know much more than a few basic moves.

Formally-trained. By this, I tend to mean formal military training, though not necessarily training in a military context. Just that they've been explicitly taught to fight in an organised manner. Almost everyone in Gjallarhorn is in this bracket, along with the Turbines, much of Teiwaz, probably a lot of the Dawn Horizon's better pilots, and the non-augmented people in Tekkadan.

Expert. While most of these are not intended as tiers by themselves, this group extends out of the previous one. These are people who've really dedicated their lives to perfecting their piloting ability. I tend to take Amida as the high end of this category, though McGillis is also a good example. Lots of experience and theoretical understanding to go along with their basic skill-level, which makes them extra dangerous on the battlefield.

Gifted. The people who, for whatever reason, are innately talented when it comes to flying mobile suits. There's not much more to say about them; whatever you need to operate one of these machines, they have it in spades, even without formal training.

Augmented. And finally, of course, you have the people who use the Alaya-Vijnana (or AV-adjacent technology). Obviously this creates a massive starting advantage, allowing most people with whiskers to easily out-match any also-rans they fight and even a considerable proportion of trained pilots, simply because they can react faster and more instinctually. However, it's not an automatic win. Season 1 Shino vs Ein is my go-to example for this: Shino has a lot of advantages from his A-V system but Ein is able to neutralise them via his greater training and experience.

And that's where the ranking comes into it. When I'm making claims about someone being 'a good pilot', in response to what's on screen or while developing a fanfic character, I'm positioning them within one of these categories and then seeing how things work out if you match them up with others.

Let's have ourselves some lists. Some spoilers to follow.

Also-ran

Range Dubrisko ([from the Urdr Hunt game] a former pirate so I'm guessing he falls here; also he's not exactly brilliant at this stuff)

Argi Mirage ([from the Moon Steel manga] I feel Argi epitomises a 'good' also-ran pilot: he starts with no mobile suit training and learns rapidly on the job)

Wistario Afam ([the main character of Urdr Hunt] at least, this is where Wiz *should* go based on his stated mobile suit experience, and yet he's able to out-fight veterans. He's probably therefore a case of also-ran+augmentation but explanations are still pending on that)

Formally-trained

Iok Kujan (regrettably I must concede that he has to have had *some* training; clearly it didn't take and he represents the nadir of this group)

Hush Middy (a bit unfair to place him right after Iok since he's leagues better, but he's a trainee pilot throughout the entirety of Season 2 and is a more realistic 'low end' of the category)

Orlis Stenja

Coral Conrad

Major Bradley ([from the Urdr Hunt game] places higher than Coral on the grounds of lasting slightly more than five seconds)

Coriis Stenja (he at least survived multiple attempts to fight Tekkadan so he's got to be better than his brother)

Ein Dalton (does nothing all that special until Events Transpire and then he changes categories entirely; however he does handle a Schwalbe Graze right off the bat which is meant to be tricky)

Crank Zent

Isurugi Camice

Carta Issue (I place her higher than the rest because I assume she'd have received more training by virtue of her position; she's just kind of hamstrung by lacking practical experience)

Tamami Rokou ([from the Urdr Hunt game] a Turbine, and she does pull off some fancy moves)

Londo Bron ([from the Urdr Hunt game] I figure Londo is probably more driven than Carta when it comes to learning to be a good pilot; he's likely near the top of this group and I'm only not placing him in the next one because he doesn't seem especially inventive)

Cyclase Meyer ([from the Urdr Hunt game] possibly the most capable pilot I'd hesitate to call an expert, although it is a little hard to gauge where his ability actually lies. However, he does wipe out numerous Graze squads and Omden grunts single-handed, in a notoriously hard-to-use machine, so he's got to be pretty capable)

Expert

Azee Gurumin (somewhere on the cusp of formally-trained and expert, leaning towards the latter)

Galan Mossa (seems like he really knows his stuff, although he doesn't get to show off much in the show itself; expert by dint of being a veteran, I would say)

McGillis Fareed (I tend to see him as being driven to learn how to be a good pilot rather than naturally gifted; eventually expert+augmentation, which explains why he can take on an entire fleet's worth of mobile suits by himself)

Amida Arca (I'll always stand by the claim Amida is the best pilot in the show, simply based on how thoroughly she out-classes the people she goes up against. She might be expert+gifted to some degree, but I honestly prefer to think of her as just having years more experience than anyone else.

Gifted

Gaelio Bauduin (yes, really -- my view on Gaelio is that he's a gifted pilot whose innate talent led to getting lazy on the formal side of things, which is why McGillis runs rings around him. Ultimately boosts himself with augmentation to make up the difference)

Lafter Frankland (given her initial fighting style, I feel she fits here; gifted+formally-trained)

Julieta Juris (the poster-child for this group; she's obviously also gifted+formally-trained but it's plain from her side-story that she was supremely good at piloting from the get-go)

Augmented

Eugene Sevenstark (Eugene doesn't actually ever get to pilot a mobile suit with his A-V since the King's Throne doesn't have one, but the implication seems to be he's kind of crap at it)

Elga

Embi

Hirume

Trow

Takaki Uno

Ride Mass

Chad Chaden

Dante Mogro (these aren't really rankings at this point; this is just where most of Tekkadan falls)

Aston Altland

Derma Altland

Masahiro Altland

598 ([from the Urdr Hunt game] seems pretty good at this and also like he's been flying a lot longer than most of Tekkadan have; same with the Brewers kids listed immediately prior)

Norba Shino (Shino's skill level rises notably as he gets more training but he remains third in the pack by a long chalk)

Akihiro Altland (augmented+formal-training, and he doesn't know what to do with his life except work and train so he gets really, really good at it)

Mikazuki Augus (the nuclear option of augmented+gifted, where 'gifted' equates to 'a horrifying capacity for violence owing to a really screwed-up sense of his own worth')

Now, obviously this isn't an exhaustive list. But you get the idea. Someone can be in a category where you think they'd have a natural advantage, yet be out-classed by someone at the very top of another. By rights, Julieta should be much, much better than Mikazuki, since she has a lot more formal training. However, his A-V system and greater sacrifice in using it means he's able to pushing himself much further than her. Similarly, Amida being vastly more experienced out in the real world means Julieta comes up short against her. Conversely, while Argi lacks the grounding to be a good pilot, he is dogged enough to power through against Gjallarhorn-trained pilots, in a machine that is a cut above theirs.

(That's another big factor in deciding the outcome of battles. Having written quite a lot of fight scenes over the years, I can safely say it helps to have in-built factors that can assist you in getting the outcome you want and the individual capabilities of mobile suits is a great one. Especially you can twist it around to show that a really skilled pilot can make a less powerful machine work for them. Galan's Geirail thwomping Julieta's Graze in her side-story is a perfect illustration of this technique.)

Anyway, I don't have any deeper conclusions to draw from all this, I just thought it might be interesting to explain what's behind my reasoning. To bring a long, meandering point to a close, this is where the Goibniu Unit test pilots fall:

Kipchoge Ordsley (original flavour) -- formally-trained (mid range)

Mackenzie Croft -- formally-trained, (high end)

Pele Torvalds -- expert (high end, veteran)

Lowri Lin -- expert (high end)+gifted (low end)

Ahmed Fahim -- gifted (high end)+formally-trained (high end)

Norba Shino -- augmented+formally-trained (mid range)+expert (broad experience)

Other reference posts include:

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (Part 1)

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (Part 2)

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (corrigendum) [mainly covering my inability to recognise mythical wolves]

IBO reference notes on … three key Yamagi scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Shino scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Eugene scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Ride scenes

IBO reference notes on … the tone of the setting

IBO reference notes on … character parallels and counterpoints

IBO reference notes on … a perfect villain

IBO reference notes on … Iron-Blooded Orphans: Gekko

IBO reference notes on … an act of unspeakable cruelty

IBO reference notes on … original(ish) characters [this one is mainly fanfic]

IBO reference notes on … Kudelia’s decisions

IBO reference notes on … assorted head-canons

IBO reference notes on … actual, proper original characters [explicit fanfic – as in, actually fanfic. None of them have turned up in the smut yet]

IBO reference notes on … the aesthetics of the mobile frame

IBO reference notes on … mobile suit designations

IBO reference notes on … the Gundams (part 1)

IBO reference notes on … the Gundams (part 2)

IBO reference notes on … the Gundams (part 3)

IBO reference notes on … the Turbines, or ‘Tekkadan done right’

IBO reference notes on … the Gundams (Addendum 1)

IBO reference notes on … deals with the devil

IBO reference notes on … odds and ends

[gremoria411]

Ah. A thought has occurred.

I did basically binge the series over the time period of half a week, so it’s possible that has affected both my sense of pacing and time passing in-universe.

I’m currently at Episode 22 of Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt, I’ve got about two episodes left and since it seems to be a two-episode finale kind of deal, I figured I’d take a break and note down some thoughts up till now, then maybe do another post after the finale. Though I haven’t really arranged these, so I’m probably just gonna ramble.

*The following contains spoilers for episodes 1-22 of Gundam Urdr Hunt*

I’m liking a lot of the Mobile Suit Designs, Gundam and Grunt. Plus, it’s nice to see old favourites again, like the Grimgerde and Hyakuren. However, I do feel like some could be better utilised - The Asmodeus is a cool design, and it works as a lancer to the Hajiroboshi, I just feel like it could have been used more.

Similarly, is is odd how a lot of the major threats are lead-from-the-front characters, since obviously they have to function as bosses. I dunno, it’s just strange compared to all the non-action opponents from the original series.

I really enjoyed Range and Katya’s inclusion as characters, since they’re just sitting there providing a good general basis of what the average citizen of Post Disaster knows - Katya knows a lot of insider knowledge of Gjallarhorn for example, which the others remark on regularly. While Range is sceptical of the existence of mobile armours and views the Asmoday as just a particularly strong mobile suit. So they provide different ends of the same spectrum, I suppose.

I like how each of the maids/guides has their own personality, and I like seeing how they interact with each of their charges. But I do wish we saw more of them. Part of its because they feel like they have that potential to shine very well, and it’s also quite a large cast, so not everyone gets an equal share. I also found it interesting that they were all stated to have been “bought”, so they’re all former Human Debris. Unfortunately, Parstai (blue, with Foundling) is the only one it really comes up with, but presumably the others had full and interesting lives beforehand. You get hints of it with Batch and Tagging (the two that go with Cyclase), with Tagging being an excellent mobile suit pilot, and Batch having experience in ship command and a cautious bearing, but we know very little of the others prior lives.

I didn’t expect to vibe with the Zan Brothers as much as I did, that was weird.

Kouzou Mendou’s pretty rad. A genuine Archeologist, hoping to reveal the causes behind the Calamity War, and just generally seems to be a decent fellow. He does admittedly score points because he very clearly understands how dangerous Mobile Armours were/are, and is the first character to really articulate that. I kinda wish he’d told us, the audience, some new information about the Calamity War, but that’s not really a criticism at all.

Cameos from other Ibo Characters - mostly I can take or leave them, but I’d be lying if I didn’t get pumped when Mcgillis (as Montag) showed up in the Grimgerde to fight Londo Bron. I also loved seeing Isurugi going around, being generally competent.

Actually yeah, Londo Bron. For my talk about Cyclase Mayer at the start of this, I found myself really enjoying Londo Bron, surprisingly so even. He’s a good pilot, he has noble intentions, and he feels like a really good example of an Antagonist, but not a villain. He’s only really opposing Wistario because he wants to restore the Issue Family, and Katya is the best way to do that (I might do a proper post on him some other time).

Another character I really like, despite their short screentime would be Major Bradley. He’s essentially the perfect picture of a colonial administration officer - he’s corrupt, he’s unreasonable, he’s pretty solidly classist, and it all just works. He’s not even cartoonishly evil, he’s just the sort of corrupt Gjallarhorn Official that illustrates the failings of the organisation. Obviously he shares a lot of DNA with Coral Conrad, from the original series, but the boredom, the arrogance with which he carries himself just makes him memorable. Plus he just looks obscenely British, furthering the colonial parallels.

I am absolutely loving the fight scenes in this. Yeah, a lot of the fighting is supposed to be for the in-engine graphics, so they could have totally phoned it in. But they didn’t. If only other shows that cut out background, story, plot and characterisation to ostensibly focus on the fights *cough* *cough* Build Divers *cough* could do that.

I do love how absolutely shameless Cyclase is. Just like “Oh boy, how do I get out of this one? I know, Betrayal!” It works into his character and it’s really fun to watch, but it’s just kind of hilarious how he makes at least like five betrayals in the space of the show. Very efficient.

Character Designs’ still top-notch. I don’t really have any specific examples that I haven’t already mentioned but yeah. It’s good.

Ah, I mentioned that I was considering getting the Hajiroboshi kit? The thing is, a lot of the time I can really like a character, and that can end up selling me more on their mobile suit’s model kit. This is the first time that’s ever happened with a mechanic. In brief; I don’t want the Hajiroboshi because it’s the mobile suit Wistario Pilots, I want the Hajiroboshi because it’s the mobile suit Denmer maintained all these years.

I do have two more points - one positive, one negative, but I’m gonna pull those out as separate posts, simply because I want to consider them separate from everything else, and I feel like I’ll want to follow them up separately after the finale.

In a nutshell, I’ve generally liked Iron Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt - it gives a good showing of the world of Post Disaster besides what we’ve seen with Tekkadan and Tanto Tempo, and a lot of the side characters are interesting. The only issue is that some characters and mechanics feel somewhat under-utilised.

(Though maybe that’s my own fault for hyping myself up for the Asmodeus).