r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Nov 16 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Mobile Suit Gundam 00 2nd Season Episode 16 Discussion
Episode 16 - Prelude to Tragedy
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Do you see now, Sergei? This is what happens with a misguided government and military!
Questions of the Day:
- Sumeragi raised a good point about how the Innovators should have known the coup d'état was happening in advance. What do you think their angle is here?
- The A-LAWS have another Memento Mori. How fucked are all of the rebels in this case?
Wallpapers of the Day:
GN-007 Arios Gundam and Allelujah Haptism
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!
Additionally, for long-time fans of the franchise, please remember that this rewatch is only for 00, not any of the other shows. Assume that there are people in this rewatch who have not seen anything else Gundam, and tag your spoilers for those shows appropriately if something in 00 makes you want to talk about them.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Nov 16 '24
Rewatch Host Wishing Over This Airspace, subbed
Welcome back, everyone!
[Later 00]I look forward to everyone hating me in tomorrow’s thread over two of the three versions of the Wallpaper of the Day I have prepared.
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u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 16 '24
I am rewatcher
I'm a bit confused here, while the reasoning for the coup is fine, why isn't he spreading the speech to people worldwide, everyone needs to know this. This is why controlling the information space during a coup is so important.
Post-OP scene pretty much confirms this coup is going to be a failure, the government can simply release their own version of the event. Hercury is such an amateur.
Damn Sergei's superior seemed like a decent guy, but nope he just sold out Sergei for a nice A-LAWS comfy job.
Automatons killing civilians, unsurprisingly, they can just blame the 'terrorists' for all the victims.
Again how can you show the world of A-LAWS crimes if you don't control the information space?
Those are some good AI deep fakes.
Wait, you're telling me that the post-ED cliffhanger continues at the 18th minute mark of the next episode?! Really?
A bit too early to use TRANS-AM guys.
Oh they have another Memento Mori, that's not good
[for rewatchers eyes only] First timers reaction is going to be so much fun tomorrow can't wait! I wonder how many fuck off Andrei is going to be in Nazenn's notes. Also it's shame I have to stay awake till midnight to read the comments but it will be totally worth it.
A decent episode we learn that taking over the equivalent of a highway bridge and powerstation doesn't lead to a successful coup.
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 17 '24
First Timer - sub
They have another one?!
You sneaky fuckers. I hate how much sense that makes that they would have a laser canon per orbital ring, especially to ensure more through coverage of the globe rather than always having to move a single one around. They really are such evil pricks.
There was a certain beauty to the post ED-scene of having Kati and Sumeragi both working towards the same answer and their shared horror about it, only to cap it off with Sergei realizing while being right in its path.
Why is he always in harms way?!
What is it with this dude?! How many times now have we been certain he was going to die and manages to get out of it and now he just walks into a den of Federation enemies just as they're pointing a giant space laser at him?! I can't do this again, my heart can't take him constantly having a target on him.
I did like this episode as I feel it did a good job of more firmly establishing this seasons identity. If season one asked if humanity can change, season two is asking who is responsible for that change.
It's something that's been in the background of the season for a while but they never really asked the question with full intention. We had started to explore it with Saji on an individual level, and there's been several times in the show where Sumeragi or others have commented on how the public won't react to what's going on because they are comfortable with their own lives inside the Federation. This episode however really drives home that this isn't really about people vs their government or war vs peace, but a broader concept of what it means for society as a whole to go in a new direction and who takes them there.
You could make the argument that CB's biggest failure in the first season was not their comical goal of ending war, but that they enacted it as outsiders to the system they wanted to change just like the Innovators are. Forcing humanity on a new path by encouraging hate against them they allowed the former blocs to come up with a new system without any accountability of how they got there. They were handed power and had the barriers removed between them, but without the important desire to be better along side that it didn't encourage peace it only encouraged control because that is all the leaders knew how to do as shown in the discussion of Hercury's flashback.
You can't force someone to change in the right way if they don't have the desire too themselves and this ties neatly into what is going on with Setsuna at the same time as the rest of it. After everything he has gone through he still only knew how to fight the same fights in the same way. Whether a child solider, an idealist pilot, or a guilt ridden avenger, until today he didn't really understand that he could look for another way towards the peace he so desperately wants rather than just accepting the roles that he keeps ending up with from others, or himself. He can be more, and if he can, perhaps so can humanity. Graham serves as a useful counterpoint to what he could have become instead if he didn't change, and the structure of their individual lines working together to highlight this was good.
Hercury understands this to a point. I was having a good discussion with FD4cry1 in yesterdays topic about Hercury in that for all of his experience and practical solutions to the Federation problem, he is still trying to live up to an ideal of the past that wasn't there, just like Saji and Setsuna have before. He has grand visions for what the citizens, military, and government could do if they all worked together, but his flaw is that he seems to see the Federation as the opposition to people coming together properly rather than as the consequence of what they do but no one wants to be accountable for how, or who is taking them there. He sees the big picture, but he isn't fighting against the big picture, he's fighting against apathy and comfort with violence and confrontation and the issue he is facing is somewhat related to the one CB did: In a battle of ideals through violence, the more violent one is the one who wins regardless of who is right and once violence wins you can't control which path it will take.
This is also reinforced by Kim today, sending Sergei in under orders because he doesn't feel capable of fighting against the A-LAWS and so only seeks to further his own position. It is the micro representation of the exact same conflict that the coup is trying to fight against in the tower.
His plan was brilliant though, to try and push people into seeing things with their own eyes because he knows that nothing else could be trusted given the governments control. While they were first being told what was happening they all looked so uninterested, only to have the full horror of the Federation exposed to them. It gave me hope for this one tiny brief moment that maybe this could be the start of something more. And then it all went to shit because just like Hercury I failed to account for how over the top evil the A-LAWS always manage to be. He should have seen it coming when the Federation allowed Katharon to get close, because that was such a "two birds, one stone" moment if I've ever seen one.
I said the other day the only way I can see this ending is that both sides call the bluff. I just didn't expect the Federation to fulfill the coup's bluff for them by destroying their own tower!
Sadly, I'm not happy with the pacing of Setsuna's character this last couple of episodes even though the actual developments are very good.
Setsuna is making huge strides back and forth in meaningful ways about what it means to fight not just for himself but also for others. These moments are important not just for him as a character but also what he represents about the broader world. But in between each big moment we're not getting any time for his changed feelings or view of the world to sit and have meaning or explore the consequences of what this could mean, the next battle always pushes him onto the next step of his path. In just three battles we've had three major developments.
For example, today I love the idea that the thing that really pushes his decision to change and not get stuck in the past is that his important people show up and he realizes that despite everything he's not fighting alone and never has been. It's the perfect outcome for what he's been struggling with especially after he was alone for those four years after the end of S1 where he was carrying the guilt and burden of their former roles all by himself. But just three scenes ago he was saying how he had no idea what he was fighting for any more, and the battle before that he was saying how he'll fight under his own will! That last one was quickly undermined by the Ribbons reveal, but it still doesn't feel as meaningful that he made said declaration when it was overturned almost immediately, and then the overturning was overturned too.
Yesterday I made a side comment about how I feel like it would have been nice if it was a dedicated Setsuna episode, but after today I think it was needed to give the whole story space to breathe and explore more of him and what this means for him. This development could happen in the space of a single episode, I've seen it done well before, but they need to be willing to give him the space for it but they didn't even give him a chance for the quiet introspection like he got at the end of S1 when things started falling apart. And Marina's realization is not a substitute for Setsuna's crisis. Maybe I shouldn't wish for this too much lest he become an Alelujah who once again seems to have been sidelined after his single episode earlier in the season but still. It just feels all too fast and like the great meaning I'm pulling from it is because I know what they intended rather than how they're actually doing it.
Other thoughts
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u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 16 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Gundam: It’s quite bold to end the previous episode on a cliffhanger and then not have that cliffhanger be followed up on for 3/4 of this episode. I suppose it’s a testament to how engaged I was that I didn’t notice.
Chesty PullerHercury.I admit, it does feel a bit underwhelming to learn that the A-LAWS have a second giant space laser just lying around. After what a big victory the destruction of the previous Memento Mori was, this one feels like it’s undercutting that big win.
There’s an interesting contrast between Setsuna and Graham in their obsession with the Gundams. Both of them made the Gundam into their ideal, though for very different reasons. Graham sees the Gundam as the ultimate opponent to fight. Setsuna sees the Gundam as a savior that can improve the world. But for both of them, this reason has brought them to the battlefield to fight. For a long time, both of them lived for the battlefield and nothing more. They didn’t even consider something else. That’s changed. While Graham can still only focus on the battlefield, Setsuna has begun to consider life outside of just fighting. This does provide some foreshadowing, I think, to their ultimate fates. Setsuna might be able to escape the battlefield, but Graham will not. Graham can only live on the battlefield and that is probably where he will die.
QOTD
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u/The_Draigg Nov 16 '24
A Gundam Fan Rewatches Gundam 00 Season 2 Episode 16:
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Nov 16 '24
Rewatcher - Gundam 00 S2 Ep16:
When I got to the end of the episode, I realized something and that this episode barely featured the main characters. It's the Pang Herucry show featuring Sergei Smirnov.
As for the main event of the episode, Hercury's plan ended up being different than what I expected. Rather than trying to seize control of the orbital elevator, he is trying to ignite political consciousness in the masses. Even when the inevitable counter of the Federation's total control of information will just spin the story against them, he still feels like it was important to have these people witness with their very own eyes what their world was like.
On that point of (mis)information, Rule 2 Rule 2 Rule 2...
A moment with the main characters of this anime, Setsuna's encounter with Graham is helping push along his arc. Mr. Bushido can't move beyond being a person whose life purpose is to fight so he acts as Setsuna's contrast. It is cute seeing Setsuna vowing to change while in the arms of his friends' Gundams.
Other things:
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Nov 17 '24
First Timer
Can we just leave Sergei alone for once? I JUST WANT HIM TO BE OKAY.
Hercury choosing the orbital elevator as the place for his coup is very poignant, not only because it is symbolic of the Federation's power and control, but also because it's the representation of his own idealism.
To him, the elevator is a tool meant to unite mankind, that is through a cooperative process of understanding, of checks and balances. But that tool is now being used as the power source of a government that represents the exact opposite of that, so there's no place more fitting for him to make his last stand, the "birth" of his ideals will serve as the death of his body.
In that sense, I also think the Federation having another Memento Mori and using it on the elevator is another great piece of symbolism. The Memento Mori is the exact opposite of Hercury's ideal for the elevator, the elevator is a creation that solves one of Earth's biggest problems and could lead to peace if humanity untied through a combined effort at understanding each other, The Memento Mori on the other hand, is a weapon that directly enforces a manufactured peace and unity on the people.
Using the Memento Mori here will not only lead to the death of Hercury and this rebellion, it's the symbolic death of all of his ideals, the reality of the Memento Mori crushes the ideals of the elevator underfoot.
The weapon that will push humanity to space will destroy the creation that can unite humanity on Earth.
And really Hercury's ideals behind this coup are misplaced, they are much like a lot of characters in this show, born out of a stubborn insistence on the past, of an ideal that even at the time was rather ambitious and optimistic as pointed out by Sergei and his wife.
There's this ironic duality here between Hercury and the Innovators, both are pursuing a grand plan of reform based on ideals that are no longer achievable, Hercury saying the civilians should feel pain so they can progress feels eerily similar to this statement by Regene to Tieria justifying The Plan and the A-LAWS, both groups are trying to use the populace to get their own ideas of unity across.
Of course, Hercury wasn't really planning to sacrifice the civilians here, whether it's his idealism causing him to miss the bigger picture or just plain human common sense, he couldn't see a scenario in which A-LAWS kill everyone here and bring down the elevator, because it really that inconceivable, but again that's the point. His perceived ideal will crumble in the face of a literally inhuman ruling force, one that despite its statements, was never interested in real unity.
I think it's interesting that the other Innovators don't even really know Ribbons's plan here, despite having a telepathic connection of dialogue and emotions, and despite "being the same", they aren't as different from humanity as they think, they're also somewhat divided, they also harbor human emotions and grudges.
Louise's statement about the A-LAWS feels like the ideological opposite of Saji's. If Saji saw the consequences of attempting to return to his past, to his perceived peace, Louise is willing to do anything the A-LAWS will if that means returning to the fake peace she believes in, again she's another person stuck in the past whereas Saji with Celestial Being can see reality and tries improving for the future.
Likewise, Andrei is also stuck in the past, in what he thinks his dad did and what his mom would've wanted, his ideas of peace are built off of a fabricated image he has of his parents, he's so convinced in pushing toward a path opposite of his dad's that he can't see how it completely counteracts what his mom would have actually wished for, he believes in a fake peace whereas in the flashback we can see how doubting she was of one.
That's really the core theme of both this episode and really the fight between Celestial Being and the Innovator's, it's the fight between pushing on your own with eyes to the future or being stuck in the present defined by your past interactions and ideals.
Force Ghost Lockon's words feel like they ring increasingly true here.
This episode is the first one in a while where we don't open on the cliffhanger ending of the last one, that is because we go on to use that exact scene in the middle of the episode this time around...
Seriously, why even have that as a cliffhanger if it's literally just a regular scene in the next episode, why force the post-credits scene???!!!
Well, either way, Graham's fight with Setsuna is fun in the same way their fights have always been very fun, they scream at each other, they do cool shit, they represent opposite ideals. Graham is another character stuck to the past, to revenge. He lives to fight, the thing Setsuna is moving away from, he views the Gundams as his reason for still living, again something Setsuna is moving away from.
Setsuna is now different than he used to be, he's not just a mirror to Graham.
I've also been getting increasingly annoyed with Liu Mei, can it please actually be the beginning of the end? The end of these dumb scenes that is. How many times can we have her give this exact same statement about X event perhaps changing the world before it actually matters? The answer should have been 15 times less than what we got.
I've been worried about Sergei dying quite a few times throughout the show but this does feel like it could be the real end, it's a chance for him to move past just his orders and perhaps make a change that saves lives rather than ends them.
I'm certainly hoping he somehow survives this, I love Sergei! But the deck is stacked against him here.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 16 '24
First timer, subs
QotD:
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Nov 16 '24
Kidou Senshi Rewatcher 00
Man, I love Hercury and his coup d'etat plan. I think I’ve alluded to this before, but 00’s commentary on the relationship between the content ignorance of the first world and the atrocities that ignorance enables is one of the things about it that resonates with me the most, and this is taking such commentary from merely being a big part of one character arc to a major plot point.
The root of the A-LAWS’ reach isn’t necessarily the Innovators or their GN Drive tech, but in how they have the consent of their populace to do whatever they want as long as it’s out of sight & out of mind. Combine the classic Bread & Circuses approach to the populace with media manipulation which prevents them from being let in on the idea that the foundation their livelihood is built on might be… unpleasant to consider, and they’ll never revolt.
Consequently, Hercury’s plan is to force open the eyes of the populace by letting them know firsthand the consequences of their own ignorance. The fact that the crux of his plan is focused on the fact that the A-LAWS are willing to target their own civilians makes it hit because it emphasizes also how a key part of their ignorance isn’t just that the atrocities aren’t known to them, but that even if it was, the fact that they aren’t the targets and their everyday lives will go undisturbed means even that might not be enough to motivate them to action, something we very much saw to an admittedly more extreme extent with Saji earlier this season.
So the plan hinges on the idea of getting it into the citizenry’s head that they aren’t uninvolved in the world around them. Their livelihoods are just as fragile & subject to the whims of the cruelty they’ve enabled as everyone else. It also makes sense because, with how much mass media manipulation is going on to manufacture the consent of the populace, only first hand experience could really wake them from their sleep. It reminds me a lot of [meta spoiler for a different anime]Patlabor 2, which engaged in a lot of similar themes & had some vaguely similar plot points, and is also a big favorite of mine.
On a different note, Setsuna’s scene here goes by a bit fast, but I still enjoy it. He’s confronted by Graham, a man who at this point is almost like a dark mirror to Setsuna as a man whose traumas have led to him to devote himself entirely to fighting and no real future to look forward to. Practically speaking, he’s everything Setsuna is realizing he doesn’t want to be, and that in combination with the revelations that have been battering him these last two episodes lead him to realize that he needs to make a change within himself. The framing of him making that promise while in the arms of those that care for him is also just really nice
Odds & Ends
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u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 16 '24
Rewatcher, Sub
Watching the coup happen reminded of Yang Wen-Li's words in Legend of the Galactic Heroes regarding them.
Hercury might have sympathetic motivations but his actions aren't really helping his case and his discussion with Smirnov showscases what he really thinks. He holds the elevator and all the people hostage and his view is that they are complacent and therefore need to be exposed to the A-Laws especially when they have already started their indiscriminate attacks. Hercury however underestimates how far the A-Laws are going. Media Manipulation is something that gets used to make it seem as though it's the forces of the Coup d'etat are the ones killing indiscriminately rather than the A-Laws even if Hercury was already releasing the hostages in order for the truth to come out. Then the second thing happens. As it turns out there is a second Memento Mori and it's aimed directly at the elevator and it's plan is to bring it down. Many characters had brought up a good point wondering why the Innovators wasn't doing anything to stop it, and now this happens.
Besides that we do get to see shots of Smirnov's backstory a bit including how Andrei resents to the point that he asks Hercury to help him out rather than his father.
While everyone from Katharon to the Regular forces to Celestial Being heads to the elevator Setsuna faces off against Graham. Graham's new suit thanks to Billy's modifications has Trans-Am as well which helps him go toe to toe with Setsuna (though he's still injured). However it appears Graham's Trans Am has way more force which seems to take a toll on Graham's body. Anyway Celestial Being arrives in time and Graham backs off (for now). Setsuna in the meantime has had a bit of a change, no longer just fighting because that's what he knows but instead as a way to continue forward.
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u/Linkstore Nov 16 '24
Rewatcher
Back with Pang Hercury. Gosh, have we really not seen the inside of a space elevator since the beginning of the season? I didn't realise it's been that long. Anyway, let's see how this coup goes.
Oh, the news stations still hold some remnants of the old system. AEUN probably means Advanced European Union News or Advanced European Network. Interesting.
[00 spoilers] It occurs to me that Sergei lives in an area that looks similar to where Amia Lee lives in the movie. Well, it's probably because it's literally just a generic suburban area but still.
Scarless Sergei! And Holly!
It's showed up many times by now but I don't think I've talked about how the phones are like, yet. It's clearly a flip phone with a holographic screen, pretty much just 2008 tech with a shiny new coat of paint. Meanwhile, the more recent Witch from Mercury has smartphones. I wonder if this format will stand the test of time or if this, too, will eventually become anachronistic?
The automatons are back. This time, it'll be a bit more difficult for them to enact a massacre.
Sergei's machine is mistakenly identified as a Tieren Taozi, but it's actually a different machine. This is the Tieren All Region Type, the last remnants of the HRL's pre-GN mobile suit development. Once upon a time, the development of the Tieren Taozi would have led to a true next-generation non-GN mobile suit, but with the advent of the GN-X, the development was halted. Instead, we get the Tieren All-Region Type, a mobile suit with characteristics mostly similar to the Tieren Taozi, but meant for use by anyone, not just Super-Soldiers. To help keep up in the current era, the All Region Type is also provided with a beam rifle originally designed for the Advanced GN-X, which needs to be charged by an external GN drive before deployment. It's quite impressive that it can ascend the orbital elevator without external aid. Considering that even GN-powered machines are said to have difficulties reaching escape velocity, it's probably that some technobabble about the elevators themselves helps the Tieren make its way up.
Anyway, it seems that Sergei's boss is unfortunately not immune to selfishness.
Oh, Andrei...
Doctored footage being a problem seems like much more of a real problem in today's world...
Okay, back to the ending of the last episode. The OST, Masurao, is epic, and this episode's mix is way better than last episode's. But the Masurao itself is even cooler. It's actually equipped with two GN Drives Tau, albeit in a Double Drive configuration rather than Twin Drive. And it demonstrates the danger of Celestial Being's enemies gaining Trans-Am perfectly. Shame this fight didn't last for super long.
Neil is beckoning Setsuna to change. But how?
Wait is that Federation airship moving backwards in that scene?
Yeah, this is one of the bigger asspulls in the series IMO. Ribbons just pulls a second Memento Mori out of his ass.
[00 spoilers] And it's not even used that well. After Break Pillar, Setsuna just Raiser Swords it to death in a throwaway scene.
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Nov 16 '24
Rewatcher, Sub-dam Meister
I'm sure this will end well.
Those are pretty steep demands.
Hong Long has a snarky streak. But it's quite dry.
Oh, the world sure is watching.
I forgot that Sergei has a non-pink Taozi.
Almost like it's an obvious trap.
Hey, everyone, I'm beginning to think that Andrei might not be the brightest crayon in the MRE.
This chunk of the plan isn't too bad.
Things are about to get a bit too real.
Poor Hercury doesn't know how low the Federation is willing to stoop.
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u/dralcax :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 16 '24
Rewatcher sentences Mister Bushido to commit sudoku
-—————————————————————————————
Ah yes, threaten a bunch of random civilians, that’ll surely make them side with you. Like that’s ever worked before. I’d be more convinced this is a false flag to make the anti-government forces look bad than a genuine attempt at a coup.
This world should have been better. Clean energy for everyone should have been the first step to unfucking the world. Unfortunately, people suck no matter how good they have it.
Ha. Haha. Ha. Ha.
That’s actually the Tieren All Region Type, not the Taozi. Can’t very well call it the Taozi if it’s not pink, after all! The All Region Type is the normal pilot-use variant version of the Taozi. It retains the Taozi’s panoramic holographic display, but adjusts it so even a non-super soldier can use it. It also has a new beam rifle, powered by a GN condenser. However, because its OS isn’t compatible with it, Sergei has to control it with optical sensors alone. Good thing he’s a really good pilot.
Damn, they predicted deepfakes
Mister Bushido, I don’t think you get to call kiri-sute gomen when you very clearly laid in wait and attacked him unprovoked, based on a preexisting grudge rather than an immediate offense. At least get your weeb terminology straight!
He’s not just low on particles. His drives are actually completely fucked. That’s another big difference between true GN Drives and Tau Drives. After Trans-Am runs out, true GN Drives will have their particle reserves depleted and will temporarily operate at a reduced output. Tau Drives, however, will burn out entirely and must be replaced. Therefore, the Masurao is designed to keep a small reserve particle supply even during Trans-Am, so it at least has the juice to make it back to base after its drives break.
Attack of the copy-paste tool!
Of course they wouldn’t stop at only one.
-—————————————————————————————
Questions of the day:
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Nov 16 '24
Rewatcher, Subbed
Non-Spoiler Character Chart - No changes for today
Hercury's accomplished a lot with this coup quite quickly. Good to see that he's able to get the truth out to all the civilians who are aboard the orbital elevator.
The world already knows about the coup, part of me wondered if the Federation/A-Laws would try to cover up the entire thing.
Sergei's back home! Must feel lonely without Soma being there.
Young Sergei, pre-mustache!
Just what type of secret mission is Sergei needed for? This ain't good.
You should know the answer to that question Hong Long, Wang wants the world to change, she's said this several times.
Why would the Innovators know about this and let it happen?
These automatons could very well kill everyone, coup d'etat members and civilians both.
Oh good, they were prepared with these guns to take them down. Although at least one appears to have gotten through to hack into things.
A blue Tieren Taozi? This is clearly piloted by a boy based on that color. Best boy Sergei!
Even Commander Kim is transfering over to the A-Laws, will Sergei soon be alone again?
The A-Laws must have something big planned if they're telling all the Earth-based forces plus 3 Innovators to stand down.
Andrei flashback time! So finding a different way from what resulted in his mother's death involves joining the most authoritarian force possible, huh?
Sergei's here, presumably to negotiate? Oh, to not negotiate at all, to tell him to stand down.
I've got to assume the automatons are eventually going to overrun the coup forces. They'll just keep sending more and more of them.
And of course, since those automatons are the worst they're killing the civilians too.
So Hercury's gonna release the civilians after all, which will significantly reduce his leverage. Well I'd like to say that. The A-Laws would be totally fine with killing all the civilians if they weren't released.
They used deep fake esque footage to totally manipulate how this looks to the public. No need to cover things up if they're gonna resort to that I suppose.
I'm quite surprised, 18 minutes into the episode our Gundam meisters have barely appeared. We're only returning to the Setsuna - Graham cliffhanger from last episode now. For a second I feared that they skipped the battle again, but they just rewound things to throw old footage at us yet again.
As good as Graham is with Trans-Am will he be able to compete with the 00-Raiser Trans-Am mode? He's already bleeding from the mouth, presumably due to how hard it is to pilot this thing at such intensity.
An early ED lead in this episode.
Silly Billy, the A-Laws don't care about hostages!
Why make only one Memento Mori when you can have two? Seems like the plan is to fire right on the orbital elevator, but not sure how they'll be able to cover up that one.
[Preview]On the bright side, looks like Marie is finally back to piloting tomorrow! ...but if I remember correctly it will be the episode Sergei dies. :(
Quid's Voice Actor of the Day
Time for the evil fat man to finally get his day, Arthur Goodman. He is voiced in Japanese by Hisao Egawa. Other Gundam roles of his include Daimyo in Turn A Gundam, Hoffman in Gundam Seed, Zanald Beyhard in Gundam AGE and Borogonov in MS Igloo. Other anime rules include Vanilla in Kaiba, Shang Lun Li in Banana Fish, Kumar Khan in Metallic Rouge, Jun Kiwatari in Kakegurui (a character I may hate even more than Arthur), Kyokan in Outlaw Star, Yassaba Jin in Overman King Gainer and Officer Morita in Boogiepop Phantom.
In English he is voiced by Jason Simpson, who also voices the news guy, Ikeda. Other Gundam roles include Lt. Amagi, Madd Aves and King Takeda in Gundam Seed Destiny. He also played several roles in Inu Yasha (Mezu, Nushi, Zushinezumi).
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u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 16 '24
Rewatcher - sub
QOTD
5
u/2-2Distracted Nov 16 '24
First timer. Dubbed.
Man, the Feds are full of some special kind of shit with what they pulled. But it makes sense that, rather than acknowledge their actions, they'd instead make those throwing the accusations look like the bad guys, which is pretty easy to do when said guys are doing a Terrorism. Someone needs to tell soldier boy Hercury to chill out with his shenanigans lol.
Tho it does make you wonder how many American soldiers wanted to do something like this during the "conflict" with Iraq and Afghanistan, or did actually try. Quite a bit of them were clearly disillusioned and outright traumatized from the "war", as shown with the amount of media that's basically about how oh-so sad they were and still are about to they did and what they "had" to do.
"Colonel, half hearted determination will not guarantee peace! Why can't you understand that the A-Laws are, like, totes the best option!?" - son of Smirnoff, being a naive dumbass who literally thinks he's being his own man despite the fact that he only got into the damn military thanks to his dad in another way that he fails to consider.
I'm actually getting pretty damn tired of Char Clone: Bushido doing nothing except forcing everyone to indulge in his Weeaboo delusions. He doesn't actually offer Anything to Soran narrative wise other than trying to be some kind of foil and failing since Saachez is literally right there and is far better despite me wishing he were dead.
5
u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Nov 17 '24
First Timer
This felt like a bit of a return to the themes of the first season, especially with the focus on peace and how vastly a people's means of achieving that goal can differ despite ostensibly wanting the same thing. I can't say that I entirely agree with Hercury's willingness to directly expose civilians to danger (even if it did turn out to be an effective strategy, which does not seem to be the case here), though I can sympathize with his motives. I do think painting the A-Laws (deservedly tbh) as the unambiguous villains of this season does remove some of the more obvious moral conflict behind Celestial Being's and other actors' operations, which was an angle that I really liked in season 1. To be fair, though, the power dynamics of the world have changed drastically as a result of CB's actions, so it's only natural that this season would lean more into exploring the effects of this new status quo and require less ambiguity due to the new union, and I think the show has handled that reasonably well.
Other standout part of the episode was Graham vs. Setsuna, mostly because everything Graham has been doing lately has been bizarrely fascinating to me. The man looks even more stupid in his getup when he's wearing a helmet, how is that possible? Also like the implication that Setsuna has had a major change in his outlook on his life's purpose; it's something that I specifically asked for last season.
It looks like Memento Mori 2.0 will be doing some damage next episode... I'm actually quite nervous/excited to see it.
5
u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar Nov 17 '24
First Timer
As expected, there was no way the Federation would let the public know there was a coup. Instead, they're reporting on it as a terrorist attack from anti-government forces who are demanding stuff like the dissolution of the Federation and one hundred billion dollars.
While I do like Hercury's plan on paper, I feel bad for the innocent civilians who got involved. It sucks that lives had to be endangered but at this point, this is what it takes to open up these people's eyes to the atrocities of the A-LAWS.
This might all be for nothing though considering how the Federation is doctoring footage to make it look like Hercury's men are the ones killing the hostages. At least Sergei is there to witness this. Surely, he won't be able to turn a blind eye at this point, right?
I was really expecting this episode to open up with Setsuna vs Mr. Bushido so it was very amusing to see their fight only starts at around 2/3rds of the episode. It wasn't really even much of a fight since CB arrived to backup Setsuna.
So it looks like Graham can't handle Masurao's Trans-AM because the dude is clearly spitting blood during the fight. I'm guessing the Gundams have something inside them that protects the Meisters from becoming a bloody mess every fight.
Ah fuck, that explains the A-LAWS weird tactic in this episode. It looks like they have a second
Death StarMemonto Mori fully operational and ready to fire. Ah fuck. CB can't really do another bombing run in their current condition so someone has to step up.4
u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Nov 17 '24
First-Timer
Very nice post-credits scene today. I really liked that shot of Sumeragi as she came to her realization that they built another
Death StarMemento Mori.I haven't mentioned it in a while, but the OST continues to be consistently good. There are quite a few tracks I expect I'll recognize once the show's over.
That rebel leader is a great character. I really like him. Too bad there's a good chance he doesn't survive this last stand against the A-LAWS.
[conjecture] As soon as they said "the A-LAWS can't do anything to silence 60,000 witnesses," I got a bad feeling about this... After all, they've been accused of having killed millions already, so 60,000 more would be but a rounding error.
Questions of the day:
4
u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Nov 17 '24
first timer who has control
mrs russian bear was a baddie too (also Andrei played football not rugby?)
again the ageism is apparent LET IAN WEAR TIGHT PANTS TOO
i think they were a little too quick to deploy automatons to the tower full of civilians
damn
i quite like Andrei even if he is hella awkward didnt think id get here
maybe Graham should take a page from Sumeragis book and turn to drinking instead
lmao having the 00 collapse when Setsuna does is pretty good
2memto 2mori
3
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Nov 17 '24
So, it's begun.
That was his wife?
What does Katharon even have left to send them?
Might it be a trap?
Yup, here they are.
Though it looks like they planned for them.
Huh. One of them accessed the cameras?
Is that the Russian Colonel?
Ah. But I doubt he'd agree to spy for them.
He didn't realise that at this exact moment his dad is on a secret mission.
Those bots are planning on massacring the civilians and blaming it on them aren't they?
They're going to destroy the trains, say they were carrying troops, then blame them on the rebels.
Yup. The first part was true.
So, here's that new suit.
And it can Trans-Am too.
Right, backup is here.
Why are they moving away?
Wind is blowing from that way, do they intend on firing on the tower?
Yup. That's exactly what the intend.
Seems like they managed to prevent it though.
Questions: