#g gundam side story

[disasterbijupiter]

Aaaaah, the new G Gundam story's first chapter is here!!

Although I am not fluent in Japanese, I can speak and read/write it a fair bit, and so I decided I really want to try my best to make an English translation! ... I'm not sure if I will be able to keep up with it, but I'm going to try for now starting with the beginning/prologue of the first chapter! ^_^

(For anyone who doesn't know, there's a new written "side story" being published on the official website in honor of the 30th anniversary, written by the original director! Here is the actual link.)

Anyways, I wasn't sure what to expect for this, but so far it already features:

The whole gang immediately getting drunk together. Amazing.

Wong drinking wine and being pathetic. Yes, fantastic.

Martial arts giving people ridiculously over-the-top, unexplained super powers. Check.

So... It is already better than I thought it was going to be. 😂

Here is my translation of Chapter 1's first section! (I will be breaking it down into scenes/parts to make it easier.) Also, if anyone, especially any Japanese native speakers or anyone who's fluent, has corrections or suggestions, feel free to lemme know!

Episode 1:

— Long ago in Guyana………

Master: “Is the Gundam Fight the right path………?”

The voice echoes in the dark, like a faint guiding light amid the blackness.

Master: “I would like to ask you, siblings, for the answer.”

Two disciples sit before their master.

Elder sister disciple: “………………”

Younger brother disciple: “………………”

However, there is no response from the two disciples.

Master: “Many Gundam Tournaments have taken place……… I would have liked to have been able to find the answer myself, but………”

Interrupting the master’s sad murmur, the elder sister disciple replies.

Elder sister disciple: “In that case, Master, why don’t I become your eyes and take a look at the Gundam Fight?”

Those words are filled with love and determination to work hard for her master.

Master: “You will go for me?”

Elder sister disciple: “Yes.”

Younger brother disciple: “Well then, I’ll come with you.”

Elder sister disciple: “No, you stay here to assist Master.”

The older sister speaks kindly to the younger brother disciple.

Younger brother disciple: “But………”

The master smiles happily at the words of these two who care about each other.

Master: “Yes, I would appreciate if you could do that for me.”

Younger brother disciple: “Yes………”

The younger brother disciple shyly agrees… wishing he had been the one to take on the mission first.

Master: “Now, let me give you this………”

The master places his own fist over the fist of the elder sister disciple.

Elder sister disciple: “……… This is………”

Master: “It might be a bit soon, but it’s good to have this in order to navigate the world…”

The elder sister disciple’s fist begins to glow, and the younger brother disciple gazes at both of their fists with admiration in his eyes.

Younger brother disciple: “Ah………”

On the elder sister disciple’s fist shines the “King of Hearts” emblem.

(continue to next part)

[gundamfight]

[wordsandrobots]

There are many things I admire in Iron-Blooded Orphans (obviously), but its commitment to depicting relationships that are, at once, the best and absolute worst thing in the characters' lives is near the top.

Anyway, @trafalgarlog's fansubs for the latest side-story off the app are up, Almiria in Love, so it's time to once more talk about how the Gjallarhorn aristocratic system screws up everything it touches.

(Oh, a note: I've always written the pet-name Almiria gives McGillis as 'Mackie' because my instinct is to pronounce 'Macky' as 'MacKAY', not MacKEY'. This is a me-thing and liable to remain for the duration. I apologise for any inconvenience.)

We open some while before Almiria's debut in Season One, at the bottom of the Bauduin's garden where they apparently grow a variety of tea . . . varieties. Almiria is fretting over McGillis' impending return as she wants to make him the 'best tea ever'. Luckily, her maid is on hand to talk her through the properties of different kinds of teas.

I would remind you that at this point, Almiria is nine, which to my mind places the tea-making way beyond her age, on top of everything else. But here we are.

And there Almiria is, mentally wishing for Mackie to hurry up and come home! This transitions into the story of how they met.

It was when she was five years old, at a New Year's party on the Bauduin estate, the first time she 'debuted' in Gjallarhorn's high society. Her maid arranged her in a fancy dress, which Almiria thought made her look like a 'mature lady'. She was so happy that she could have run around, but this was clearly not the behaviour matched to her status.

In the main hall, guests remarked on her appearance, smiling and calling her 'cute', but quickly returned to their drinks and chatting, leaving Almiria quickly bored with the whole affair (kid, having suffered many a family wedding, I relate).

But then Gaelio called her over, telling her that it was time to meet her destiny. He led her to another young man, McGillis Fareed, who turned around to reveal a pretty face 'like a statue in a museum' (my gods, there's layers to that one).

We are then presented a screen of what I can only describe as 'McGillis and Gaelio: Twink Edition', resplendent in standard pale blue Gjallarhorn officer uniforms. Rank-wise, this would probably make them lieutenants at this point.

Gaelio introduced his best friend to his beloved little sister. This, he informed Almiria, was her fiance. Being, again, FIVE, she had no idea what that meant and Gaelio explained their father and the head of the Fareed family had made a promise that one day she and McGillis would be married.

This, as Almiria understood it, was when a man and woman lived together in the same house, ate together and went out together, and argued with each other once a month. A summary that has some *fascinating* implications for Lord Gallus and the so-far entirely unseen Lady Bauduin. But the main point was, she didn't know this man at all, and Gaelio assuring her it would secure the positions of both House Bauduin and House Fareed did not especially help. Probably because the nitwit chose to phrase it as a sturdy house requiring a human pillar, an ancient and terrible fate.

McGillis reprimanded him for being overly sarcastic and went down on one knee to introduce himself properly to Almiria, who once again noted his prettiness.

Continuing to be flippant, Gaelio pointed out this was his chance to run away and avoid being his sister's babysitter alongside all the normal hard work. Almiria did not take kindly to this and promptly ran for the garden.

She assumed, in that moment, McGillis must be the same as all the other adults, looking down on her for being a child. Fleeing to the south flower beds (where the tea was) in spite of a path made muddy by rain, she was surprised to find McGillis following her.

He remarked on the flowers and she stammered over how to properly address him. He told her to call him whatever she liked and said he wanted a chat, knowing she must have been confused to be told out of the blue that they were to be engaged.

Then he told her that it must be her decision. Yes, the marriage was for their families, but her feelings mattered most. He invited her to look at him with her own eyes, and call off the marriage if she found her disagreeable. Look and decide. Does she understand?

Having received a tentative, confused yes in response, he said they should return to the party. Everyone was lonely without Almiria there. He offered her his hand but she insisted on going alone, still caught up in feelings of inadequacy. And off the path she tumbled.

McGillis scooped her up, finding her muddy and scraped. She had better get cleaned up quickly. Luckily her maid arrived, taking over the task of carrying her inside. But McGillis held them back a moment, pointing them behind the hedge. After all, if they went straight inside through the garden, people would see the state Almiria was in. Is the maid trying to bring shame on a lady?

As the maid apologised, Almiria was caught up in McGillis calling her 'a lady'.

Later, at the front door of the mansion, Gaelio saw McGillis out. He paused a moment to ask if McGillis was really OK with the engagement. Almiria was too young to understand and the marriage was being forced on them by their parents. What did McGillis really think of it? (Gaelio, using flippancy to hide or deflect from his true feelings on something while actually having grave misgivings that point towards a fundamentally decent character beneath his foppish exterior? I'm shocked, shocked I say!)

McGillis, eyes shut, asked why he would underestimate his sister. Then, with eyes open, stated that she would make a perfect partner. He was happy to have met her (audible five-year-old step in the background). He would, in fact, be thanking god for it.

Gaelio turned to see Almiria hurrying towards them. Her scrape was all better and she wanted to know if 'Mackie' would be coming to play with her again some time? As her brother spluttered over the pet name, McGillis promised to come see Almiria again and the two shared in the sunset light.

Back in the present, Almirira reflects that it doesn't matter what others say. In front of Mackie, she becomes a lady. And the door buzzes, McGillis and Gaelio returning from their trip to Mars. She rushes to greet them, leaving behind a tray of tea things that she has meticulously arranging in anticipation of their arrival.

(Long, long sigh, and not because Tumblr nearly gave me a heart attack just now when I thought this hadn't saved)

So yes. This is how Almiria first found out she would be engaged to McGillis. And first of all, I need to go adjust my fanfic because I had revised Gallus and Iznario planning this up to when Almiria was seven, but turns out my initial dating of it to when she was four was actually bang on the money. Fire. Riots. Defenestration. Etc.

I appreciate the confirmation of what is 'merely' heavily implied in the series proper, which is that one of the reasons Almiria is so damn attached to McGillis is that he treats her as the lady society tells her she needs to be one day. Her rejection of her own childhood speaks volumes about what it is like to be raised in such an environment and to see that as the crux of their relationship from the start makes so many things click.

It is also grooming. As in actual, not-messing-around, trust-building-for-the-sake-of-certain-ends grooming. McGillis is cultivating Almiria's affection in ways she cannot and will not receive from those responsible for her safety. He has homed in on an aspect of her personality that can be used to make her loyal to him.

But at the same time, we know he knows what it is like to be pushed around by forces beyond your control or understanding. We *know* that when Gaelio asks him what he really thinks of the situation, Mackie is not going to be truthful. Because he isn't, ever. He can't be. What he's saying in that moment is clearly as much for Almiria's ears as her brother's. And yet, is his kindness really an act? Is he making a genuine connection here, to someone in a situation that is akin to his own, if dissimilar in class?

We'll never know. And Almiria, at nine, is just happy to have somebody in her life who treats her the way she wishes to be seen. True or false, it means the world to her and I can't help but think about how lonely she must be otherwise, being groomed for a role in Gjallarhorn's upper-crust and shunted around like a bargaining chip.

None of the questions here have easy answers, and I commend the writers for constructing this in such a ways to avoid giving any.

[holmslice69art]

(2022)

[sodasa-was-taken]

Why Suletta and Miorine's story is a romance: A Mobile Suite Gundam: The Witch from Mercury story structure analysis by Sodasa

So, I recently watched The Witch from Mercury, and I felt compelled to write an analysis of the show's use of the story structure of romances. I'm a hobbyist in the history of trends in genre fiction with a particular interest in romances. I thought it would be fun to use my area of expertise to talk about how the budding relationship between Miorine and Suletta is intertwined with the story of G-Witch.

Something particular about the romance genre is that, unlike other genres of fiction, it's mostly defined by its story structure. This means that just because a story is about two people getting together does not automatically make it a romance in the same way having magic in a story qualifies it as a fantasy. The flip side of this is that while you can't have a fantasy without fantastical elements, a romance can be put in any setting. As long as the story hits the required plot beats, it's still a romance. This makes Romance simultaneously one of the strictest and most versatile genres, as the plot can be anything as long as it ties into the main characters' developing relationship. Use this structure in a story about financial politics and mechs, and you get a story like The Witch from Mercury.

I think the show uses this structure very effectively. In my opinion, a great romance should, first and foremost, be an exploration of the part of the human condition where previous bad experiences make us reject intimacy. The romance story structure is designed to have the characters come face-to-face with their inner demons by giving them a reason to overcome them. Something that's a lot harder to pull off outside of romances, as not many things in life require us to overcome some of our deepest insecurities instead of just pushing them down.

G-Witch is a great show to use as an example of what makes a romance a romance as it follows the story structure almost to a tee, but it's also not the kind of story that most people usually think of when picturing a romance. I also believe that seeing the show through the lens of the romance structure leads to some juicy character psychoanalysis for Suletta and Miorine. I'll go over all the plot beats of a romance and explain how they apply to G-Witch and, if applicable, why I think you don't see those plot beats outside of romances. The names of the plot beats are taken from "Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels" by Gwen Hayes, which is also my primary source, along with my own extensive experience with the romance genre.

I hope someone gets something out of this. I have seen some excellent analyses and theories for this show, but they have been on things I don't know much about myself. Since the only part of story analysis I excel at is the structure of romances, I thought I'd lend my own area of expertise. I want to clarify that while I might sound matter-of-fact, this is just my opinion. I'm by no means saying that you have to think that G-Witch is a romance. I'm just arguing for why I personally consider it to be one.

[retro-friki]

Hey, I've seen many of you are starting to watch G-Witch, and that's great! :D I would recommend that while you're at it, also read "Craddle Planet".

It's a little side story written by the show's screenwriter and it's about Suletta's life in Mercury. It gives some insight about the motivations of Suletta's family and also how she was raised. There's not enough info about that in the series itself so, the story's a good complement.

It has no visible spoiler, I would recommend to check it out before watching the second cour of the series.

You can find it here:

There's also an audio version recorded by one of the VA's.

Incidentally this story was used as an inspiration for the lyrics of the first opening.

[ponett]

with the fallout of bandai namco's idiotic "it's up to interpretation" bs, do you think that it's possible to enjoy queer media made in a corporate environment in addition to independent works? is it even worthwhile to attempt making queer media in a corporate environment? i find it special how well the g-witch production team managed to tell the story they wanted even with the challenges and pressures they faced, but i have to admit that independent works like slarpg are always going to more completely tell queer stories. as someone who has resonated with both slarpg and g-witch, i was curious to know your perspective.

i'm probably less cynical about this than a lot of my peers are - not that i can blame anyone for feeling cynical about queer rep from corporate-owned media. (we've been through so many First Ever Gay Disney Characters at this point, and lord knows blizzard loves to tease that another overwatch character might be gay every year or so as a PR move.) unfortunately it's just extremely hard to get something like a full season of an animated series funded and produced independently, so the artists looking to enter these fields and pour their hearts and souls into meaningful queer stories as a full-time job don't have many options

going indie gives you theoretically endless creative freedom to tell your stories without corporate censorship, but it's also a massive gamble. only an extreme minority of indie creatives in any medium are actually able to make a living. the fact that i came out the other side of slarpg's development with enough money that i can keep being a full-time indie instead of being in massive debt makes me one of the lucky ones. and even with my modest success, i sure as hell don't have the money to hire a whole team, which limits the scope of what i can make. so i can't turn my nose up at the queer people writing disney channel cartoons where they can't say the word "gay" out loud. they have health insurance, i don't. for most people, what i do is simply not an option

with the corporate-produced Queer Stories i enjoy, i'm often able to squint and see what the creatives were trying to do, wishing that they could have done more while understanding that they probably had to fight tooth and nail for what's there

in the realm of children's animation in particular, i'm thankful that the people working at these studios ARE fighting for more, because it means that kids today have so many more positive queer stories to relate with. i didn't have a single gay character i felt i could relate to until i read scott pilgrim at age 16 and saw wallace wells. before that, i felt so alone in the world. i denied who i was for years because it felt like there would be no place for me. i didn't know anyone openly gay in real life, growing up in the south, and in fiction gay people either existed as the butt of a joke or not at all. the fact that queer kids are now able to see people like themselves in so many shows means something, even if we still have a long way to go and the big studios continue to be a major obstacle

on the subject of g-witch, i'm honestly unfazed by the statement from bandai-namco. i guess i wish they could've let suletta and miorine kiss, but like... the text of the show is extremely blunt about them being a couple by the end. it's not up for debate. and it's not like a gundam series having a meaningful story in spite of the wishes of the toy-producing overlords is anything new, this is just our latest example

all that being said, i do think people should branch out more and explore more weird indie shit if they want more wholeheartedly, openly queer stories. people gotta suck it up and embrace more outsider art instead of only valuing things with studio-level production values. start looking at ren'py visual novels, rpg maker games, obscure webcomics, zines drawn in sharpie, artists on bandcamp who aren't signed to a label, all that jazz. maybe part of the reason why i'm not more fazed by the state of affairs with corporate-funded fiction is that i'm constantly surrounded by furry artists who are telling their own little gay stories

[roguemaki]

I finished transcribing the the Ichiro Ohkouchi (G Witch series composition and script) interview included with the Season 2 Vol.3 Blu-Ray.

Here's a translation of the snippet about Suletta and Miorine's initial concepts:

Miorine, the deuteragonist, is a cool character. Did you mean for her to be a contrast to Suletta? Ohkouchi   Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury takes place on two main stages: the school and the corporate world. In the initial concept, Suletta was the protagonist of the school side, while you could call Miorine the protagonist of the corporate side. In those early drafts, Miorine stoically bore her burdens and was the mistress* of Suletta’s enemy – she was the direct opposite of her current character. The plan was to have Suletta and Miorine’s adverse circumstances reverberate against each other, until they finally meet and their destinies are transformed… something to that effect. But as we revised the scenario, we decided to place both of them in the school setting from the beginning. This way, the story became more straightforward and ignited more quickly – we could highlight their chemistry as soon as possible. Because we were writing an original series, instead of taking the audience’s attention for granted, we wanted to quickly start showcasing the story’s appeal. That's how we came up with the current version of Miorine, who has to take on the responsibilities of running a company while she attends the school. *TL Note: 愛人 (aijin); literal definition is “lover,” but its primary usage in modern Japanese is “a person, usually a woman, in a relationship with someone other than their legal spouse” aka “mistress”

Interesting that Mistress!Miorine was still a thing even after the pivot from the initial war-oriented concept to the school/corporate setting. The staff decided to make her a student character in order to bring Suletta and Miorine together earlier.

I will translate the rest of the interview as well but it's gonna take a while...

[the-eeveekins]

I'm going to spin this off into it's own post, hope you don't mind @incoherent-orca

So generally speaking, yes, other Gundam series do handle more complex themes like war and politics much better than G-Witch did. It's one of the reasons a lot of people found G-Witch to be disappointing.

What really sets G-Witch apart from other Gundam is that ultimately it's not about a war or the politics, a critique on capitalism or even the medical side of GUND: It was a Shakespearian romance and family drama, set in a Gundam universe. It really was just The Tempest in space with a side of Utena.

Which is a shame because in those respects, it actually executed it's themes pretty damn well, with it only getting a little rushed towards the end because they tried too hard to include the rest of the traditional Gundam stuff. Based on the interviews, it was never going to be a large scale conflict, it was never going to be a critique on capitalism or delve deeply into the political and business landscape. It was just supposed to be a love story and the tale of the Mercury and Rembran families, a small part of a larger world.

I don't know if it was executive meddling or just the staff getting a little too lost in the sauce. Probably a little of both. But we know they had tons of ideas for stuff they wanted to include in the show that they ultimately had to cut due to time constraints (mostly school stuff or additional duels). And IMO G-Witch's biggest issue was they tried to keep in a little too much of the traditional Gundam stuff (like all of episode 15) that didn't really matter to that main story, and the main story suffered as a result.

Whether or not that works for someone is going to vary. I personally don't care because when I watched the show I never expected it to or really wanted it to go deep into the Earth/Space conflict or any of the deep political themes, I was just all in on Sulemio and the story it was setting up with Prospera and Quiet Zero. But I know for many, because of how well they cooked on the background elements, and let them seep into the foreground sometimes, it was a disappointment that they ultimately never went into depth with it

All that out of the way, I will say that between the very vocal minority of haters and the (IMO) somewhat overblown criticisms of S2 being rushed, a lot of people have lost sight of the fact that G-Witch WAS positively received. Most people I talk to think it was good at least. It's going to vary depending on which community you're in, but it was overall well received and a massive commercial success. People claiming it was devisive or one of the worst Gundam series are usually arguing in bad faith to downplay the success of the show.

[janeyshivers]

how Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and SEED Destiny misunderstands eugenics (and how 0079, Zeta, and ZZ nailed it)

(note; unless i specify otherwise, i'm using 'Gundam SEED' as a catch-all for the combined 100 episode run of both Cosmic Era shows)

Gundam SEED is built around the idea of genetic modification on steroids, where huge populations of Coordinators (Spacenoid stand-ins, living in the Cosmic Era's equivalent of the Sides, the PLANTs) are genetically modified in-vitro to be immune to disease, to be stronger, smarter, and kind of better at everything than unmodified Naturals (Earthnoid stand-ins who are just normal-ass Earth people). i feel like this core setup, and the way the show handles it, falls into the trap of treating the arguments of eugenicists seriously, when there's absolutely no reason to give them an inch on anything, something that the early UC understood all too well.

for one thing, Gundam SEED fails to actually address any of the really pertinent questions gene therapy raises, especially since SEED doesn't just feature genetic engineering as a plot device like G-Witch and ZZ, it bases an entire faction around its use and makes it the driving force of the show's core conflict. the show does not, for example, broach the extremely thorny topic of how genetic modification will affect the marginalised. many current pushes for genetic modification are pushed by insane eugenics groups, and the show never addresses whether, for example, the PLANTs try to gene edit out autism, or screen for any kind of genetic markers for being gay or trans. it doesn't ask whether there is any validity to the search for genetic explanations for these things, as contemporary eugenics organisations such as Autism Speaks insist. would non-white Coordinator parents be pressured to bump their kid's skin up a couple of shades to reduce the impact of racism and colourism on their lives? we see from the forced-labour camps the Alliance sets up in North Africa during Destiny that the CE is a world where racism is still very much a cultural force, and yet SEED never addresses how that interacts with Coordinators, despite a lot of the roots of modern genetic research (undoubtedly something that has led to a lot of positive medical advances) nonetheless lying in the 'scientific racism' of the early 20th century. an unfavourable reading might even point out that since we never see any of this stuff addressed or treated as a problem (for example, we don't meet any queer or neurodivergent Coordinators), SEED accepts that these are indeed qualities for which there are genetic markers, and it's not worth examining that the PLANTs bin them. that is a slightly unfair reading because the lack of those kinds of characters among Naturals suggest it just wasn't something the writers felt they could include for whatever reason, but then I would argue that if you're not able to address these things then you have no business writing a science fiction story where an entire core culture is built around genetic modification in the first place.

i'm not arguing that any stories about genetic modification are, by definition, eugenicist; G-Witch features it in the form of Suletta herself, and Notrette's patented brand of Tasty Tomatoes. the difference is that the show doesn't feature an entire society built from the ground-up around genetic engineering, which makes the comparisons to fascists less immediate, and even then G-Witch takes the time to address that Suletta herself feels like her only value is as a tool, precisely because she was genetically engineered to fulfil a specific purpose. it comes closer to grappling with the real dark side of these ideas in a 25 episode run than SEED did in 100.

instead, the framing of genetic modification in SEED as creating people who are, unambiguously, better at absolutely everything, and whose main obstacle is jealousy from unmodified people, accepts at face value the premise that to be superior due to your genetics is possible. by doing this, and also ignoring any of the real concerns marginalised people had at the time, and continue to have to this day about the possible uses of genetic modification, the show comes off as validating eugenicists. while SEED hedges on the details, i would argue that by accepting this as a basic premise to begin with, the show has already validated an extremely noxious worldview.

that being said, the Coordinators do experience significant problems with fertility, with birthrates collapsing in the third generation and requiring interbreeding with Naturals to sustain their population. the show does not assert that genetic modification makes the Coordinators into flawless ubermensch, and clumsily attempts to argue for a middle ground between fascistic genetic purity and a degree of equality between Naturals and Coordinators. imo the issues the PLANTs end up having is because SEED isn't like, actively trying to write a treatise on why eugenics is good, instead, the writers chose a hot-button issue to address and then badly fumbled it, in the process treating seriously and partially validating ideas that are in the real world just a flimsy cover for racial hatred and other bigotries. to my mind, it's saying that eugenics works to a point and then starts to break down, but i think the idea that it can work up to any kind of point is giving it a lot more credit than it really deserves.

my core frustrations with that are a) that SEED is actually pretty good when it shunts that stuff into the background, e.g. in the first half of Destiny, and it's frustrating watching the show fall back into being about this shit and neglecting the stronger elements like the solid character work with Shinn and Athrun, and b) previous Gundam shows already staked out a strong position that what SEED takes as a given is actually total horseshit. the show's themes would be frustrating enough if they didn't exist as part of a franchise which has previously gotten this issue more or less right, with the highly combat-effective Coordinators being an obvious stand-in for the UC's Newtypes. the Zabis hijack the idea of Newtypes from Zeon Deikun and treat being a Newtype as a matter of genetics because it made their fascist spacenoid supremacy sound semi-legitimate and scientific. meanwhile, the text of 0079, Zeta, and ZZ insists that to be a Newtype is something almost impossible to define quantifiably. characters who are stated in-universe to be Oldtypes nonetheless experience Newtype visions, and the defining factor in developing Newtype abilities is nothing to do with being a pure-blooded Spacenoid, but about the simple fact of existing in space and allowing that to change the way you interact with the world. to my mind, the early UC's position is that while capable of providing miracles like the Sides, science is also too often invoked as a rhetorical device to retroactively justify existing dehumanisation and hatred by making it sound objective and logical, leading to Zeon seeing Earthnoids as so inhuman that killing billions of them in Operation British was acceptable to them. SEED doesn't just lack an interesting take on this core element of the UC (like Iron-Blooded Orphans' focus on how this creates avenues for labour exploitation through the stigmatisation of the Alaya-Vinjana system), it fails to understand it by accepting such a retroactive justification as part of its core premise, something that sticks out really badly because the CE shows are so interested in being a modern update of 0079 and Zeta.

my animosity towards the character of Kira in particular is that he's emblematic of these thematic and worldbuilding fuckups, cut as he is from the eugenic cloth. SEED Destiny's best moments were early on when Athrun seriously questioned Kira on his beliefs for the first time, after Kira insisted that Athrun betray ZAFT over nothing more than a hunch. and yet, Kira is vindicated, and his worldview of peace at all costs, while initially challenged by Shinn and Athrun in Destiny, is treated seriously by the show's end. Destiny's conclusion is that Kira, due to his superior genetics, simply knows better, and that we should sit down, shut the fuck up, and let our families be vaporised by nuclear murderbeams if that's what our genetically pure overlords think is best, even if the best evidence Kira has to support his worldview is little more than a hunch, wisdom granted by his superior genes. again, i don't think SEED understands that this is what it's saying; Kira talks the talk about equality between Naturals and Coordinators, it's just that the text of the show is so muddled and poorly written that it ends up saying the opposite. taken along with all of the other ways in which his character ends up screwing with the elements of SEED that i find legitimately compelling and interesting, it's difficult not to really hate him, and to find SEED as a whole deeply frustrating and disappointing.

SEED Freedom does so little to develop any of these ideas that it's honestly barely worth mentioning. having spent 100 episodes ceding ground to the eugenics shit, Freedom mostly just plays in the space that was created for it. it's much more concerned with bullshit comphet and assassinating the blackened, charred remains of Shinn's character than it is with grappling with the fact that "hey the show kept saying eugenics works do we maybe want to examine that a little in our legacy sequel". bad movie for a variety of reasons, but mostly unconnected from what im on about here.

[pencil-peach]

G Witch Onscreen Text: Episode 22

Welcome back to Part 23 of my Episode by Episode analysis of G Witch and its onscreen text. We're on Episode 22: The Woven Path.

<< If you forgot, Episode 21 will remind you of What You Can Do Now Or you can go to the Masterpost.

It's the dawn of a New World.

After Quiet Zero decimates the League's second attack, we get this brief display of it's current system report.

TEXT: (Lefthand side) - Link Strength with Aerial currently

(Middle) System Report -Permet Inversion Reactor STATUS:

Permet fluctuation reduced to [???]

Topological heat exchange catalyst replenished

Permet inversion reactor output decreased to 61%

Permet field stabilization in progress

(Righthand side) - Link Strength with Gundnodes currently

Lots of Permet based terms here that we might never fully understand...like what is "Permet inversion..?" Ahhh...I wanna know...

I wonder what the story is of the other staff members operating Quiet Zero are. Were they Shin Sei employees? I personally believe they were surviving members of Vanadis who were off base when the incident occurred like Bel, and who sympathized with Prospera's aims.

It's sweet of Guel to check up on Miorine, but I think even he knows he can't do anything for her now. She needs her wife....

The news report Rouji presents is from PNB, and the headline is:

Massive data storm, large number of GUND-type MS detected around mysterious Quiet Zero - Assembly League fleet devastated, evacuation warnings issued over wide area. - Suspicions that mastermind may be Benerit Group insider or [renegade?] "witch."

It seems that nobody is aware of who's really behind Quiet Zero, and a "witch" being behind it is merely speculative. That would explain why Shaddiq was able to take the blame for the crime in the Epilogue.

The bench where Suletta and 5lan have their talk (Left) is the same bench where El4n was supposed to meet her for their second date (Right).

We also learn in this scene that Suletta's wish list was actually just a bunch of stuff her mom suggested for her to do, and she just decided to go along with it for some reason. Even the things she "wanted" to do weren't wholly things she decided to do for herself.

Another thing that's interesting is that in this scene, wind is blowing. Asticassia is a closed environment, so there's no natural wind. It has to be produced by a strong force. In this scene, the wind begins blowing when Suletta affirms that she wants to stop Prospera and Eri, so I like to imagine that the strength of Suletta's will is what's causing the wind to blow.

I've already made a post discussing Guel and Suletta's final duel at length, but in brief, I think it's clear that at this point, Guel's duel with Suletta isn't about Miorine at all. I think it's about proving to himself whether he was truly a match for Suletta.

Guel and Suletta are rivals, in that they have the most onscreen duels with each other, and Guel's main motivation throughout the series is catching up with her.

But despite that, not a single one of their duels was ever fought evenly. One of them always had an unfair advantage, or there was some kind of outside interference on the outcome. And so, especially after the outcome of their last duel, Guel still isn't truly sure if he's caught up with her strength yet. And so this duel is the only one fought on perfectly even ground. No outside help, no interference. Just a pure one on one fight, to truly prove which of them is stronger.

And if you want to know why they chose fencing of all things, it's a reference to Char Aznable and Ray Amuro's fencing duel from the original Mobile Suit Gundam (Left).

On the whole, I can understand why some people might not like this duel (it's very out of left field) but personally, I like it, and I think it's an important conclusion to their rivalry, which was established in the first episode. I think it's just another victim of the absolute lack of time the series had to properly wrap up all its threads.

Suletta and Miorine's second heart to heart share some parallels/inversions to their first, so I will chronicle them here. (The first one is that their first heart to heart was in Episode 11, and their second is in Episode 22. Hehehoo !)

Firstly, the most obvious inversion is which of the girls is in pain. In Episode 11, it was Suletta, and now, it's Miorine.

Both girls believe, for one reason or another, that they've made a terrible mistake, and have receded into themselves as a result. Suletta believed that she was mistaken about her place in her friends lives, and should never have come to the school. Miorine blames herself for the tragedies at Quinharbor and Quiet Zero, and believes all of the choices she's made up till then were wrong.

In both cases, the other girl shares something personal about herself, and tells her that it's only because they met each other that that they don't have to keep running anymore.

At the end of their first heart to heart, Miorine refused to let Suletta see her cry, but at the end of their second, Miorine reveals herself to her fully messy and vulnerable, a sign of her complete trust in Suletta.

Their first heart to heart began with Suletta opening the door for Miorine, while their second ended with Miorine opening it for Suletta.

In the end, it's not violence that allows Suletta to rescue Miorine. It's love.

And while there (STILL!!!) unfortunately isn't an official release of EITHER track, the BGM that's playing during Episode 22's heart to heart is a soft piano cover of Season 2's opening, "Slash." This is a parallel to Episode 12's scene where Prospera manipulates Suletta, in which a soft piano cover of Season 1's opening, "Shukufuku" plays.

When Miorine and Suletta reunite with the rest of Earth House, the door they're standing in front of is numbered "7007." At the beginning of last episode, Felsi calls Guel about Petra from a similar looking hallway, and if you look closely, you can also see a door behind them with the plate number "7007." It's the same hallway, and I like to imagine the Earth House kids were there to see Petra, who might even be in that room.

Sometimes your father is a horrible terrible no good deadbeat sack of shit and you'll never forgive him.

And sometimes, he's still your dad.

Here's a quick visual reminder of the units at Plant Quetta that Prospera needs for Quiet Zero to operate at maximum capacity (Left). I wonder if these were internal or external units...probably internal.

It seems that Quiet Zero was being developed in (at least) 2 separate locations, and in their haste, Prospera and Godoy weren't able to retrieve the units before launching it proper. Hohn hohn hohn...

It makes you wonder though, what would Quiet Zero look like at full capacity? Probably woulda been scary.

Rolls up my sleeves

(Left, Top to Bottom) Quiet Zero - Current status summary

MOBILITY - After restart, movement velocity of enemy basepoint is predicted to increase - Velocity of each enemy MS also predicted to increase by average of 37% - Evasive Maneuvers of main unit will be complex

DEFENSIVE FUNCTIONS - Strong air defense barrier confirmed around Quiet Zero main unit, making it difficult to approach - Defense barrier strength 67942049 - Very difficult to invade domain while mutual defenses of basepoint and MS are linked

(Right, Top to Bottom)

WIDE-AREA DATA STORM CONTROL FUNCTIONS - Expands data storm domain and stabilizes it over a wide area - Domain is predicted to expand further in future

DATA STORM DOMAIN - 60%

PERMET DISPERSAL SYSTEMS - Permet dispersal index exceeds 200 - Permet density x 27.1 - Density increase is accelerating

REINFORCED LINKAGE BETWEEN QUIET ZERO MAIN UNIT AND GUNDNODES - Increases interconnectedness of overall enemy - Each MS appears to become a sub basepoint - Basepoint and all Gundnodes are linked - Link multiplexing confirmed, jamming impossible

A quick look into an analysis of Quiet Zero's systems. There's not much to say other than this really is an apocalyptic device. Interesting to note though is that even without the necessary units, Quiet Zero's capabilities are naturally increasing, presumably because Eri is slowly getting better at operating it.

In case you were curious, here's the description of the Demi Barding's Baori Pack, which allows it to operate without Permet Links

(Baori Pack) - Can be configured with various optional equipment evolved from the 'Daedalus' multi-tool system, an exclusive expendable stand-alone pack equipped with flight unit functions. - Can also be separated from the main unit...

The 'Daedalus' multi tool system...interessante...

In this scene, Guel expresses his concerns for Suletta's wellbeing to Miorine, only to be met with a confident gaze from her, an expression of her belief in and respect of Suletta's choice (Left). It's similar to the scene from Episode 9, where, in response to Shaddiq's concern, Suletta responds with a confident gaze of her own, affirming her belief in Miorine (Right).

When Miorine confronts Shaddiq, she asks him to believe in her, to which he breaks out into laughter. Maybe he's finally realized where he went wrong. Shaddiq cared a lot about Miorine, but despite it all, he never once trusted her. Not with her own company, not with her choice in Suletta, not with the future, not even with her autonomy.

If he had looked beyond his own ideals, if he had reached out and truly trusted her, saw her as an equal rather than something that needed to be protected, then maybe things would have turned out differently.

I won't bore you with transcribing the text from Suletta's flashback about uncovering the hidden message for Miorine from Notrette, but when Rouji decodes it, HARO uses the "Ytk-7791 Format" sequence to decode it.

Also, I'm a little obsessed with how Suletta is with Secelia and Rouji in this flashback. It occurred at some point within the ~10 days between Ep 20 - 21, and I wish we got an entire episode about it because I would love to know what lead up to this specific pairing...not to mention the dynamic....ARGH WHY DIDNT THIS SHOW GET MORE EPISODES FUCK !!!

Anyway, the interesting thing about the hidden message is that the Code actually follows a consistent pattern, so if you know the conversion rules, you can create your own messages. I'm sure it's already been done, but I went ahead and made a table deducing the conversions

I used the codes we see on the tablet and on the Quiet Zero terminal to intuit the letters we don't see.

The code is split between lowercase and uppercase versions of letters, starting with lowercase a as AAA.

If an acid sequence has a single asterisk (*), that means we don't specifically see that letter in the show, but was confidently intuited using the surrounding letters that we do now.

In the case of the punctuation, there was no real way to intuit the order, so those have two asterisks (**), indicating that I simply made my best guesses for placement.

'CGG' functions as a blank space between words.

So, for example, if you wanted to write, "I love you, Suletta." The code would be:

GTCCGGAGTATGCCCACACGGCGAATGCCACTACGGTCTCCAAGTCATCATAAACGT

In terms of numbers, we see on Rouji's monitor that the Number Table is separate from the Alphabet table, starting at 0 with AAA. (We know this because the screen shows both the Number Table and Prime Number Table, and by comparing the two, we see that AAG has to be 2.)

I think one day I'll try and code a tool that lets you convert messages to the code and vice versa, if you ever feel like letting your betrothed know you love them through. Nucleic Acid Sequences.

You don't need me to tell you how the scene with Suletta in Calibarn is a parallel to Elnora in Lfirth from the Prologue, but you might not have caught just how many of the shots are directly referenced.

But in the Prologue, Cardo Nabo refused to let Elnora make the choice to hurt herself for everyone else's wellbeing by raising the Permet Score, whereas Miorine, despite feeling that same concern, allows Sulleta to make that choice. (The moment when Suletta clears score five and Miorine bursts into tears...she was so worried...she was so afraid.......AGHHH)

Calibarn's entrance into Quiet Zero's data storm is a reference to Full Armor Unicorn's entrance in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.

Sibling fights....

It seems the end is nigh. Is love strong enough to overcome all adversity?? Who knows...

To find out, Click here to go to Episode 23 >> Or maybe the Masterpost could remind you.

[disasterbijupiter]

G Gundam side story English translation, Ch. 4 part 5 (end of Ch. 4!!)

(start from beginning) | (read previous part)

Click to view Ch. 4 content warnings!

Present Day

The Undefeated of the East and Domon listen intently to Lone Fox Seeking Defeat's monologue. 

Undefeated of the East: “I see……… So that's how you ended up having a disciple………”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “That's right… That time, when I saw him it reminded me that my life had meaning……… No, perhaps I learned the meaning of life for the first time.”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat reminisces happily.

Undefeated of the East: “And even without the intent to kill, to get you in the back with a branch……… That's a far cry from a some idiot disciple.”

The Undefeated of the East looks cynically at Domon.

Domon: “Uh………”

Domon is unable to respond. As if to gloss over it, he returns to questioning Lone Fox Seeking Defeat.

Domon: “But, where is that disciple now? Someone of such talent would have made their name known in the world of Jianghu martial arts.”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “He's dead………”

Domon: “What?!”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “Even thinking back on it now, I feel it's unlikely such a talented person will ever come along again……… He probably would have far surpassed me and your master, Undefeated of the East here……… and yet…… and yet, that fool!!”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat's sadness grows stronger.

The Past

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat and her disciple can be seen practicing diligently.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “As promised…… I allowed the boy to become my apprentice, and I raised him as part of the School of ‘Lone Fox Seeking Defeat’………”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat and the child grow more passionate in their training. Bringing their fists together, the two dance like flowing water as they perform routine after routine. They throw daggers at targets, flick pebbles to fell large trees, and train with a variety of melee weapons including using gun staves, swordsmanship, chuí hammers, whips, and rings.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “!!!”

Child disciple: “!!!”

The two's staves, clashing together, simultaneously break apart and snap with a loud noise.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “Hahahahahahaha!!!!!”

Child disciple: “!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Smiling, the two of them laugh together.

Before long, the disciple is no longer a child but growing into a young adult.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat (Present-Day): “I found out when I took him on as an apprentice, but he was born mute……… I'm sure that's part of the reason for his strength of heart……… In the end, I never once heard my disciple’s voice……….”

The young disciple silently smiles.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “And yet, I had the most amazing disciple ever, and I was living a truly satisfying life……… It felt unbelievable that I'd once been so hung up about the title of Master Undefeated of the East………”

Wearing white robes, the young disciple kneels before Lone Fox Seeking Defeat.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat (Present-Day): “However, one day……… when my disciple returned after being out traveling for a while………”

The young disciple presents a letter to Lone Fox Seeking Defeat.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “This is……… a Gundam Fight summons?!”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat becomes astonished.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “You accepted this?! Of your own free will?!”

The young disciple silently nods.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat (Present-Day): “I simply just couldn't believe my eyes……… Did this apprentice forget the tragedy that happened when he was a toddler? What happened to everyone in the village? To his own parents, probably his whole family? Despite that, he would participate in the Gundam Fight that was the root cause of everything?!”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat angrily takes up her white fan and strikes the young disciple.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat (Present-Day): “And yet, no matter how much I questioned him he never divulged the reason! At the very least, just this once, speak to me!! That's what I thought!”

Silently kneeling in kowtow, the young disciple gets beaten.

Young disciple: “..................”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “..................”

Finally Lone Fox Seeking Defeat stills her hand, and she stares indignantly at her young disciple.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “Well, fine! Do as you like!! However, as of this day you are excommunicated!! Get out, now!!”

Furious, Lone Fox Seeking Defeat disparages the young disciple.

Young disciple: “..................”

Kowtowing once more, the young disciple leaves.

Present Day

Domon: “The Gundam Fight??”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “Yes……… Like that, I once again became Lone Fox, and I spent that year in bitterness.”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat slumps her shoulders.

X X X

~Reminiscence~

Alone once more, Lone Fox Seeking Defeat trains day in and day out.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “......... You fool……… you utter fool!!!”

With lifeless eyes Lone Fox Seeking Defeat swings her sword against the red sky.

X X X

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “And then, when half a year had passed……… I received some news.”

Domon: “Which was……… You don't mean??”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “News of my disciple's defeat……… and death………”

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat tries to stay calm. However, she loses control of her rage.

Lone Fox Seeking Defeat: “And…… the name of his opponent in that fight was none other than Neo Hong Kong’s Gundam Fighter, Undefeated of the East!!”

Domon: “!?”

Domon is shocked.

Undefeated of the East: “.........”

Undefeated of the East gives a faint, ironic smile.

To be continued……

[gundamfight]

[wordsandrobots]

Well that was quick! Trafalgar Log has also added fansubs of the latest IBO side-story to their channel. This one is focused on Julieta and how she met ‘the bearded gentleman’, offering insight into Mikazuki’s would-be nemesis from Season 2. It’s the best thing out of this app so far, in my opinion, and if you’re in any way an IBO fan, I’d strongly recommend giving it a watch. Also Iok is here because even with all that said, we can’t have nice things.

I say that like Iok’s voice actor isn’t have a whale of a time, kicking things off as we find the Kujan’s tight-panted fail-son and Julieta in an Oceanian Federation spaceport, waiting to had over a suspicious attache case to an unknown recipient.

Iok is his usual irrepressible self and, as usual, Julieta is long-sufferingly putting up with him. From their banter, it seems this is a few days before the Seven Stars meeting shown in Season 2, Episode 1. Iok feels their mission is beneath him - it’s the kind of thing you’d send a child to do! He attributes this to Rustal Elion being distracted when giving it to them, rather than . . . you know . . . this being about the level you might maybe trust Iok not to completely balls up.

(By the way, I am seriously distracted by Iok’s outfit here. I don’t think we get this good a look at his civies in the series itself, but my word is he not doing anything to blend in. He looks like he’s about to spring on to the stage for a racy dance routine. But then, we did already know he was a complete peacock, with the brains to match.)

The identity of their mysterious contact quickly becomes apparent as none other than ‘Galan Mossa’ rocks up, resplendent in his mercenary duds and very happy to see his young colleagues. Or he’s acting that way - hard to tell with this manipulative jerk, isn’t it?

He greets them warmly, introducing himself with his new name. Iok is not happy to see him, having been previously established (in a chronologically future scene) to be quite severely intimidated by this ‘Bearded Gentleman’. We never saw them together in the show, so here we get to see what their dynamic actually was. Answer: the BG is the boisterous uncle Iok never wanted, accusing him of being underweight and then testing out his professed fitness training by means of several thwacks on the back that leave Iok wheezing for breath. It’s as hilarious as watching Iok get bullied always is e.g. the absolute least the twit deserves.

The BG recommends he eat more meat in future. As Iok limps away -- claiming to have urgent Kujan Family matters to attend to, clutching the remains of his dignity (and back) -- Julieta and the BG sit down for a chat. This is the last chance they’ll have for a while, as ‘Galan’ is headed on a new mission that he expects to keep him busy for at least half a year, probably more (this nicely underlines that Elion was setting up McGillis for a fall before Season 2 even opened).

Julieta laments having to babysit Iok all the time, before the conversation moves on to how Julieta has been test-piloting the new Reginlaze. She suggests the BG might be the better choice for the job. Didn’t his scores come out higher when he tested it?

The BG is a bit annoyed she knows he did, since he asked Chief Toka to keep it a secret. But it turns out Julieta knew based on smelling him in the cockpit afterwards. Which, OK, this is obviously meant to imply she’s familiar with his aftershave or whatever - reasonable given their implied closeness. However, it also feels like another parallel to Mikazuki, what with his well-established tendency to pick up on things via his ‘ordinary’ senses. It’s a nice touch.

‘Galan’ laments being unable to erase his existence as entirely as he would have liked, since it could cause problems on his new job. Julieta wonders why he chooses to live without a name -- couldn’t Master Rustal use him as a normal mobile suit pilot? He points out Rustal has her for that, to which she responds that she can’t hold a candle to him. The BG is unmoved: she might not yet, but with more experience, she’ll match him in no time. He’s had a feeling she would be the one who could ever since they met . . .

Flashback three years to a Gjallarhorn Mobile Suit Training Camp, somewhere in a deserted desert. The BG has arrived to inspect a group of cadets being directed in a mock three-on-three battle. And this is where this short hits us with the *really* good stuff.

You see, these cadets? They’re young people from ‘institutions under Gjallarhorn’s jurisdiction’ and the reason the BG is here is to select people to use in his undercover work on Rustal Elion’s behalf. Those picked are promised glory and honours, but the survival rate is hardly stellar, so it’s easier to pull from this pool rather than the official military academies.

So two things. One, we establish Gjallarhorn uses orphanages to source its cannon fodder. This is my shocked face. And two, it isn’t fucking McGillis who deserves the appellation ‘pied piper’. If you thought your opinion of the Bearded Gentleman couldn’t drop further below the bedrock, this short may just prove you wrong.

Anyway, Julieta is, entirely unsurprisingly, a bit of a problem child. She has been deployed three times only to be sent back because she is chronically incapable of not rushing off ahead on her own. A fact she is proving right now, leaving her teammates in the dust to take on the entire opposing team by herself. Which she does and wins, because it’s Julieta and position as the distaff!Mikazuki couldn’t be clearer. She wipes the fucking floor with the other guys, kicking up dust to blind them, using their own ‘suits as shields and performing a leaping take-down that would do Barbatos proud. All while wearing a slasher smile. Young!Julieta is scary.

She has also heard of the BG from the older cadets and marches up to him after the battle to offer her services. The instructor is incensed, both by her actions and her rudeness in addressing the BG. But the BG just laughs. OK then, why should he consider her for the job? Because, she proudly explains, she does not value her own life at all.

Intrigued, the Bearded Gentleman decides to fight her himself, borrowing an older Geirail since Julieta just trashed the other trainer Grazes. In the present, Julieta explains that she thought he was insulting her because an older ‘suit couldn’t be much of a challenge. Shows what she knows, as we cut to her worn-down after a long, drawn-out slugging match in which she’s clearly not been able to lay a finger on the BG.

Easily evading her attacks, he taunts her, asking if ‘Julieta’ is the name her parents gave her. She replies that it is: they gave her a name then threw her away. In her head, she’s starting to panic, clearly unused to being backed into a corner like this -- a point emphasised when the BG casually sends her axe flying and counters her retaliatory knee-strike by sending the Graze flying.

The BG explains that because she values herself so lightly, her attacks a correspondingly weightless. If she wants to work for him, she’s going to have to cling to life, kicking and yelling even when crushed into the dirt. Otherwise, if she sees herself as disposable, he’ll kill her right now!

Rallying with a cry that she’s not done yet, Julieta blocks his axe with the Graze’s entire arm and swings a final fist . . . which avails her not at all and she’s stomped under the Geirail’s foot. That was a good yell, the Gentleman tells her.

In the aftermath, Julieta asks what she should call him. It helps conversations flow better to have names to call people. He tells her to call him whatever she feels like, which leads to him coining the ‘Bearded Gentleman’ appellation. He’s not too thrilled but she explains it will be good to have a term that’ll last for years even as he keeps changing his name. Evidently impressed not just by her skills but also her presumption in assuming the outcome, the BG agrees to take her on as a student. The flashback ends with her agreeing that he’ll get to see what kind of pilot she’ll become.

In the present, Julieta wonders if she’ll ever learn his real name. He says “if the day comes that everyone is valued equally and treated right” and says until then, he’s counting on her to protect Rustal. He leaves her with the encouragement to eat plenty of meat.

Well.

So first up, if you have somehow come this far without having seen Iron-Blooded Orphans proper yet, I need to stress that the BG/’Galan Mossa’ is a manipulative arsehole who contrives the deaths of dozens of people, including a large number of literal children, in order to further Rustal Elion’s political goals. Anything he says needs to be accompanied by a massive pinch of salt. That being said, I buy he’s genuinely impressed by Julieta and I kinda sorta maybe believe he thinks working for Elion will lead to a better world. This would be broadly consistent with his actions and what little we know of their relationship -- it’s just, y’know. Totally fucked by ‘ends over means’ logic and the inescapable fact he’s funneling vulnerable people into risky, even fatal work because that’s easier than persuading someone with a decent life to take it on. I don’t think one can strictly take his comments that Tekkadan are as low as animals at face value because he says that to someone who already holds that view, but he seems to have no problem doing . . . well, any of this.

Julieta’s backstory is mostly what I got from the show: someone who starts out in the same boat as our protagonists before being taken in as a tool of the aristocracy. I like that the BG calls her on not valuing her own life: fighting for a purpose becomes the focus of Julieta’s character over the course of Season 2 and it makes sense with how she relates to it that she’d start out completely devaluing her own existence. She has her ambition in the flashback -- she’s cocky and obviously wants to move up in life -- but it’s at the cost of zero survival instincts. This is the counterpoint to Mikazuki coming into play: by the time we meet him, Mika lives entirely for Orga. Young!Julieta has a void where that kind of thing should go and fills it with something that is less a choice than the only available option. Remember, Mika actively believes in Orga, to the point of being the driving force in their relationship, and there lies the root of his determination. Julieta still doesn’t believe in anything yet. She’s just taking the next opportunity that comes along.

And yeah, we should probably dwell on how Gjallarhorn recruits unwanted children to its ranks. Again, not a huge surprise but interesting to have spelled out. Obviously not everyone is going to be a blue blood, yet I’m not sure anywhere else in the series implies quite this level of an underclass. On the other hand -- it’s a military. This is exactly what they do, generally speaking. I did kind of assume mobile suit pilots were somewhat more highly regarded in Gjallarhorn, if I’m honest, but I suppose there’s need for expendables even there.

Overall, I’m ranking this the best of the side-stories so far not just for what it provides (backstory Julieta probably ought to have had in the show, to more firmly underline her arc) but also because the animation is really good. It clips along nicely and the voice acting and sound work is fantastic, entirely compensating for the game-interface delivery outside the animated segments. My only compliant is that apart from a gorgeous deployment of ‘Battle of the Seven Stars’, the music recycled here feels distractingly Tekkadan and I wish there was something in the score that permitted the same ‘ordinary life’ feel from the Gjallarhorn side. But that’s a nitpick -- this is excellent stuff.

[by-ethan-fox]

So I saw Gundam Seed FREEDOM...

... and honestly it defies analysis.

I will avoid spoilers for major plot elements in this write-up.

I'm a huge Gundam fan. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has followed my work for a long time, as I frequently bring it up, even in entirely inapplicable situations.

But even though I've been a fan since the late 90s, I'd never had a chance to see any of it in the cinema - so when AllTheAnime organised a special short run of the movie for UK theatres, I jumped at the chance.

What I saw surprised me.

To clarify, I'm not one of those Gundam fans who hates SEED. Sure, I love the UC, but I'm not gonna lie, Wing was my genesis within the fandom so I'm as likely to watch G-Gundam as 08th MS Team, though I do lean towards the grittier side of the franchise, with War in the Pocket being my favourite entry.

But most relevant to this is that while I enjoyed SEED, I've always been critical of Destiny for some really bizarre plotting that, frankly, kinda left the CE timeline in a mess. Like many fans, with the show having been off the air for nearly two decades, I gave up on the idea the movie might exist literally years ago.

With all that out of the way...

The movie does exist. Finally. And is it good? Bad?

The weird thing is I don't know what to say, and that's weird for a writer.

It's awesome. It's terrible. It's goofy. It's clever. It's idiotic. It's bizarre.

But it's over 2 hours long and, honestly, I was never bored, which I guess is a success?

Perhaps most surprisingly, the movie expends ZERO ENERGY on helping you if you haven't seen the near-100-episodes of CE anime which came before this. Like, if you haven't seen SEED and or Destiny, you are just utterly fucked. The show wheels characters and plot-beats from the prior material in-and-out in a manner I could best call aggressive. I last watched Destiny about ~7 years ago, and I'm a self-admitted Gundam nerd; but even I had to look up a few things on my phone afterwards.

Then, fan-service. Of both kinds. All sorts of things get pulled out of cold storage for the movie... But it works. Though that also stands as a testament to how this is, in the truest sense, a 2004 anime throwback. I actually heard some people in the cinema groaning at some of the Gainax Bouncing going on; but then given the jiggly silhouette in EVERY OPENING TO SEED, frankly it would've been stranger if it had been absent.

I think the movie has loads of problems. Even by CE standards, some of the storytelling was really goofy and dare-I-say-it, "cringe". It recycles probably too much and certainly doesn't stand on its own as a piece of media (though that's not so much a failing as a clear, conscious choice).

Also... It has that "anime movie" thing where the plot feels a bit filler. The first time you have this new guy on the scene with shock-white hair, being all edgelord as he talks about war and destiny and fencing or some other weird metaphor you kinda see the entire movie unfurl before you. If you're a longtime anime fan this isn't so much your first rodeo as your daily commute.

From there, the story takes numerous predictable turns, dips liberally into melodrama, sets up some great Mobile Suit fights, with relatively few surprises (note, however, I'm not saying "no surprises", as there are some, and also, I'm not suggesting it's tedious).

And yet...

It's fun.

It's really, really fun.

That's the crux of all this. That's what really matters. And honestly, when that new theme comes out of the speakers, sounding in perfect key with the types of music that ran through SEED's run, and Kira's onscreen, and he's locking onto a dozen targets and beams are spamming everywhere and everything's exploding in that weird pink way that things in SEED explode...

Have you ever tried to play a videogame from the 90s that you haven't played in years? And do you know how touch-and-go that is?

Gundam Seed FREEDOM is, if I'm to compare it to anything, like that.

But thankfully, it's one of the times when your memories might have been optimistic, but they're not wrong. That game may be a bit crude, a bit rough around the edges, and have more boob and ass jiggle than you recall... But it's good. So good that you find yourself sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of your console, grinning like an absolute loon, until it's 2am and you can no longer feel your feet.

If you have fond memories of the SEED era of the Gundam franchise, don't miss it.

[sodasa-was-taken]

The interconnected story of Prospera, Suletta, and Miorine: An analysis of Prospera’s role within the story of G-Witch

Happy Suletta Sunday! In this installment of my now series of analysis on the romance of G-Witch I’m going over Prospera's role in G-Witch, particularly as it relates to Suletta and Miorine. As always thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

Prospera is arguably the character in G-Witch who has the biggest effect on Miorine and Suletta throughout the story. She's also a Faustian bargain of a character arising from attempting to combine a Char-clone with a romance antagonist. These two narrative roles have some overlapping but mostly different requirements. Like all antagonists, they need to make life harder for at least one main character but also have narrative functions that are unique to them. 

The most significant difference between the main antagonist of a romance and any other type of antagonist is that their primary function is to provoke the main characters’ central insecurities. After all, when it comes to the main characters of a romance, their darkest hour has to be self-inflicted. In this regard, the way Prospera is the main reason for Suletta's central insecurity and gets Miorine’s to flare up like crazy while never doing anything to tear them apart and even being responsible for the two of them meeting is immaculate. Suletta and Miorine's insecurities are the only thing causing a rift in their relationship; that's romance at its best.

Then there's the Char-clone aspect of Prospera’s character. She's mostly comprised of characteristics of the Char from Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. A self-righteous manipulator who’s willing to do some morally dubious acts to achieve their goal. Side note: Although it could be argued that some characters in G-Witch have elements of a young Char, none neatly fits into the role of Suletta’s rival. At least not if someone is to go with the dictionary definition of rival. No one wants to outdo her for the sake of it. Neither do they want something she has as she doesn’t have the political standing for her position as the Holder to do much, and the thing she does have is the adoration of a self-reliant Miorine, something no one else wants. Suletta is the only one who’s interested in Miorine because of her headstrong personality instead of despite it.   

The type of Char-clone that she is, along with being the main antagonist in a romance, means that her role in the story is to be a master manipulator who, through her manipulations, makes the main characters’ insecurities act up. It’s imperative that she’s not the direct cause of the rift in the heroines of the story’s relationship; otherwise, it wouldn't be a romance. Prospera only has the power over Suletta and Miorine that she does because they let her.

In order for the main characters’ insecurities to be passively provoked, those insecurities have to correspond to what the main antagonist is about. In the case of G-Witch, Suletta is overly reliant on her mother to the point Prospera consistently is the person Suletta goes to for emotional comfort. This only makes things worse for Suletta as Prospera keeps telling her that as long as Suletta listens to her mother, everything will be alright, which maintains Suletta’s dependency on her and instills the idea that she only deserves affection if Suletta does as she’s told. Prospera can take most of, if not all, the credit for Suletta taking the blame for Miorine breaking up with her because Suletta couldn’t be of more use to her. She’s been taught to see herself as an asset for her loved one instead of someone who can and should receive affection without needing to earn it. 

Meanwhile, Miorine starts to antagonize Prospera from the moment she discovers how much influence she has over Suletta. Miorine’s fear of how much control Prospera has over Suletta becomes the reason Miorine breaks things off with Suletta. Her desire to make her own decisions extends to Miorine wanting the same for her loved ones, which puts her at odds with Prospera. They have conflicting views on how Suletta deserves to be treated. This is made all the better by Prospera acting caring while using Suletta, while Miorine cares deeply about Suletta while initially pretending to use her. 

The most important elements that make up Prospera, Miorine, and Suletta’s three-way dynamic are their roles in the story, their characterization, and their motives. To simplify things regarding how they interact with each other specifically, those are as follows:

Suletta’s role: One out of two of the main characters in a romance.

Suletta’s characterization: Has a black and white morality and is a bit too willing to do what she’s told without question. Otherwise is loyal, protective, determinded, affectionate, easily excited, and loves doing acts of service. All in all has a personality not too dissimilar to a golden retriever.    

Suletta’s motive: To be with the people she cares about most and keep the people she loves safe.

Miorine’s role:  One out of two of the main characters in a romance.

Miorine’s characterization: Fairly deceptive, values independence to a fault, and doesn’t have the easiest time trusting others.  

Miorine’s motive: Making sure she and the people she loves, particularly Suletta, don’t do something just because they’re told to.

Prospera’s role: The main antagonist of a romance.

Prospera’s characterization: Overbearing, manipulative, and controlling, especially towards minors.   

Prospera’s motive: Doing everything in her power to get her daughter Ericht back and get revenge on those who took away her friends and family.

When it comes to which of these contributes the most to how their stories become intersected, it’s Prospera’s role and motive, Suletta’s characterization and motive, and Miorine’s role and characterization. The rest either is derived from or doesn’t affect that character’s dynamic with the other two. Suletta would have the same relationship with Prospera and Miorine at the start of the show, regardless of her being a romance protagonist. Prospera’s characterization stems from her role in the story. Miorine’s motive is dependent on her characterization and also her role, as without her feelings for Suletta, she would likely have the same amount of beef with Prospera as she has with Vim Jeturk. She clearly isn’t fond of him, but Miorine doesn’t tell him to stay away from Guel because he’s not one of her loved ones.         

The way these three characters' story gets intertwined starts with Prospera creating a repli-child of Ericht that becomes Suletta to help enact her revenge for the incident at the Vanadis Institute. Skip forward seventeen years where Miorine and Suletta cross path. Then, through Suletta being Suletta, she unwittingly gets the two of them involved. Through her relationship with Suletta, Miorine becomes acquainted with Prospera and learns about the influence she has over her daughter. Miorine, being who she is, of course, is having none of it and villianizes Prospera to the point of only making things worse for herself, which in turn solidifies Prospera’s role in the story. Lastly, learning just how far Suletta can go in order to keep her loved ones safe is what sends Miorine spiraling as she blames Prospera for the things Suletta did.

Prospera, Suletta, and Miorine’s narratives are extremely interconnected, which, for the most part, is a good thing. Having an interpersonal conflict that’s born from conflicting personalities and goals is gonna feel more natural and less contrived than a more situational conflict. It does, though, also mean that if someone wanted to change something in the story of G-Witch that involves these three without changing any other aspect of the characters or story, it’s going to be a bit of a pain. To complicate things further, this already applies when only focusing on Suletta, Miorine, and Prospera’s fundamental dynamic, but these three are a lot more intertwined than that. Each of their roles, characterization, and motive affects at least one other of either their own or one of the others and sometimes both.     

Now, to break this down. Starting with Miorine’s motive, if she’s not set on preventing Suletta from doing something just because her mother told her to, that would affect her characterization. If there’s any other reason she wants to keep Suletta away from Prospera, like actual mind control, that’s going to take away her fundamental insecurity. She needs to be wrong about the level of influence Prospera has over Suletta; otherwise, she isn’t being blinded by her insecurities she would just be right. This makes her a lot less flawed as it presents her deceptiveness as a purely good thing instead of something that every so often turns into mild paranoia. Furthermore, if Miorine either doesn’t have any central insecurity or it doesn’t have anything to do with the rift between her and Suletta, the story ceases to be a romance, which in turn affects all three characters’ roles within the story. 

Then there’s Prospera’s characterization, which is directly caused by her lust for vengeance and messes with the minds of both Suletta and Miorine, which is what makes her an effective romance antagonist. Without losing her friends and family, then most significantly, Suletta just wouldn’t exist, and Prospera wouldn’t have treated Suletta the way she did. This, in turn, would change some aspects of Suletta, that is, if she even existed and wouldn’t get Miorine’s, wouldn’t central insecurity get out of control, affecting her motive.

Lastly, there’s Suletta’s characterization. If she was any less unassuming Miorine’s central insecurity wouldn’t be acting up as Suletta wouldn’t do what her mother told her to with question. Also, if Suletta had a more nuanced morality than she does, she wouldn’t have been so unfazed by what she did at Quetta, which leads Miorine to think Prospera has a lot more control over Suletta than Prospera does. Suletta has been taught to think that her mother is always right, so if Prospera tells her that killing someone to keep other people safe is morally correct, she won’t see a problem with turning a guy into meat sauce. Prospera hasn’t allowed Suletta to develop a complex view of morality, which is a lot more messed up than if Suletta was some kind of sleeper agent or the like. Suletta’s unnerving in the same way a young child firing a gun without realizing that people could get hurt is. She is to blame for her actions, but the way she reacts to them is childlike, which showcases the way in which innocence can be terrifying. Suletta being a cinnamon roll doesn't crash with her willingness to kill someone it's why she's fine with it.

So there you have it. Why a character does something changes depending on the situation they do those actions in. This doesn't necessarily have to be a big deal as it mostly affects implications. If the circumstances change but the characters act the same, it can create some narrative dissonance.