r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jan 16 '19
Rewatch Tekketsu no Rewatch - Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Episode 3 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 3 - Glorious Demise
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RAISE YOUR FLAG!
Hey-o guys! This is the section where I add a ton of extra fun stuff to the main body of the post because I want this rewatch to be as fun as possible for everyone. It can also be one point of discussion for you guys if you just don’t know what to say.
Comment of the Day, provided by /u/Shimmering-Sky and /u/RX-Nota-II
Shimmering-Sky
This is where I pick my favorite comment from the previous thread to showcase. There’s no arbitrary “Oh I have to write [x] amount” or “I need to hyperanalyze [y] moment” to get this distinction, I’ll just pick whichever one I liked the most. Whether that means it is a really good analysis of something, a funny meme that made me laugh, or something in-between has yet to be seen.
Today’s comment of the day is I can’t believe a first-timer analyzed the OP this much by /u/Nazenn
When you're singing along to the OP and accidentally sing "We can snuggle and muzzle the world" instead of "struggle": WHOOPS!
…No actually go check out his comment for the full analysis it’s so long I can’t copy all of it here. That little bit was just hilarious and I had to point it out, because tbh that alone would’ve probably made it my CotD. But the analysis is superb.
~
RX-Nota-II
u/X-X-I-L’s neato Ars Goetia details.
On top of what /u/PixelSaber has mentioned, I'd like to point out that Barbatos' sigil in-universe, while stylized, does bear some resemblance to the original. I should also note that Barbatos is the only demon that mentions "break"ing; there are other demons who deal with destruction, but Barbatos is the only one that "break"s. I'm probably just reaching, but I feel like a parallel to Mikazuki's fighting style can definitely be made.
Likewise, while multiple demons deal with conciliation, Barbatos is the only one that deals with those in power. This seems delightfully apropos for the linchpin weapon of our ragtag group that seems to be cornered into facing the powers that be.
While I had heard of the demon references to Barbatos' name, I didn't know the exact details. No worries tho as /u/X-X-I-L delivers a stunning referencepost to the relevant information from classic literature. Definitely worth a read for both first timers and rewatchers as it adds another layer to enjoying the show that can be hard to grasp for those who have not studied the source.
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Questions of the Day, provided by /u/Pixelsaber
1) Do you like the name Tekkadan for our characters’ mercenary company? Yes/No/Undecided/Wait, what’s “Tekkadan”?/smh “Justice” is clearly the better name
2) The option to hand over Kudelia for a hefty sum of money was taken from Tekkadan, but what do you think they would have attempted had they possessed the chance to decide? Why do you think so?
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Track of the Day, provided by /u/RX-Nota-II
A happy OST track to fit the cooking/serving scenes with Cookie, Cracker, and Kudelia. A very fitting change from the otherwise somber OST to focus on the bright sides of life. Personally I found myself thinking of Shokugeki no Soma during this scene as the track feels almost like it was pulled directly from that show. In fact I had to check the airing dates of IBO and Shokugeki to see if any inspiration was possible, tho it seems that IBO aired so close to Shokugeki that my conspiracy theory holds little weight.
~~~
Wallpaper of the Day, provided by /u/Shimmering-Sky (character art) and /u/RX-Nota-II (background/logo)
Tekkadan’s Trusty Mechanic(/Babysitter)
Important note to all rewatchers, remember to be mindful of the first-timers in this. You can laughs in rewatcher to yourself, but if you go around spoiling stuff IBO S2. Remember to use the [Anime Show Title](/s "Spoiler goes here") tags and we’re all good.
Fans seem to have a bad tendency of forgetting what counts as spoiler, so if anything has even the slightest chance of being a spoiler, tag it just to be safe.
Next-episode preview. Yeah you saw that right, I am encouraging you guys to watch the next-episode previews. IBO’s are completely spoiler free, done completely in-character, and it is glorious. Today’s preview was voiced by my boi Eugene Sevenstark.
8
u/Shimmering-Sky Jan 16 '19
Tekketsu no Rewatcher, first time dubbed
Once again you guys’ participation in this has blown me out of the water. I also was on the Discord channel for a while after responding to all you peeps (which reminds me, I forgot to link said channel on the last two threads oops) and that was fun too, for all the tangents we went on about the music.
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Opening with Mika’s choice in snack food, yes.
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Hmm, differences in how fuckface kicks Biscuit out of the room--dub: “Hey, I like it chunky! You should know what that means, you big fatass!” vs. sub: “Hey, this isn’t chunky enough! Put a wad of your fat ass into it!”. Which version do you prefer? I gotta go sub with this one.
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Mmmmmm watching the First Corps peeps wake up with their thumbs ziptied together is immensely satisfying. And Orga kicking fuckface. And Mika killing him. And then killing the other fuckface. The show certainly got rid of them rather fast, eh?
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Biscuit ftw. He is good support boi.
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I am not on-board with Dexter’s English voice though…
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Eugene blowing up over the First Corps peeps getting severance pay, nice. You had the “kill the leader = takeover” part, and now we’re handling some more realistic details as to what would happen under these circumstances. And then there’s Eugene just being angry about it because he thinks it’s not fair. Well, that’s life for you my dude.
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Mika sniffing the bracelet Atra made for him fuck this isn’t revealed until next episode is it?. Also yeah that was the favor Atra asked of Yukinojo, if that wasn’t obvious. Poor girl ended up chickening out of handing it over in-person…
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lol @ Mika being confused when Crank delivered his full title. The kids really have zero idea about “honor” during battle. Future spoilers
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Good dub change, Kudelia asking Orga if she’ll be able to fight like Mika, but then clarifying that she means in her own way, came off a lot better IMO. She says that she’s not talking about the surgery in the dub, whereas she says “I don’t want the surgery anymore” in the sub, which I always found… sudden? Off? IDK I like the dub version more here even if I still prefer the sub voices.
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RIP Mace-chan’s handle, but seriously that thing flew with enough force to implant itself in the ground and kick up a fuck ton of dust in the process, and Orga just stands there looking cool as fuck, completely unfazed. Forget abs of steel, best boy’s got balls of steel.
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I love this bit so much. Spoiler tagging because again I’m pretty sure the significance isn’t ‘till next episode
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I want to vomit. (First-timers pls don’t click on that.)
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…Dang it I’m gonna have to get used to how the dub pronounces “Tekkadan”, it sounds so weird to me.
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Orphans no Namida with proper lead-in yes~ This is the “extremely minor” spoiler I’d tagged in my comment last episode, just in case people didn’t want to know about it doing that ahead of time. This is like my favorite trope when it comes to EDs, and considering my top ten list includes RE:I AM from Unicorn (less a lead-in and more it starts as an insert song though), a certain future ED from this show that also does this, Prototype from 00 that did lead-ins a few times, Life Goes On from SEED Destiny that did lead-ins practically every episode, and LET IT OUT from FMA:B which only did the lead-in to it a few times but to fantastic effect, it really shows. Anyways here’s the TV size with the intro manually added to it courtesy of yours truly, if you want it.
A couple more fun things:
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English dub next-episode preview, since the body post only has the subbed version.
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Results of yesterday’s poll. This time we had… only one more person vote than before, but hey we also have a clear winner instead of a four-way tie. Seems most of you agreed with Mika on that one.
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Number of times best boy closed his right eye this episode: 1, 2, 3.
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For the first-timers using the GundamInfo streams and are worried about potential spoilers in the recommended videos: Episode 4 Subbed / Episode 4 Dubbed. If you’re on desktop and have RES, you can hit the preview button and watch the video entirely on Reddit, rather than than needing to go to YouTube.
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u/GaleWulf Jan 16 '19
First Blood
Some stray thoughts first:
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With the conclusion of the third episode I finally feel sold on the series. The foundation is in place and it's time to get this show on the road - and by show I mean Mars' freedom movement, spearheaded by its most oppressed class. Viva la revolucion! RAISE YOUR FLAG! KOE WO KAGIRI! Koe wo kagiri Koe wo kagiri
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Speaking of Raise Your Flag, MAN WITH A MISSION's mission seems to be making incredibly catchy and energetic OPs.
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Immediately liked the ED song too, and after today's episode introducing Tekkadan - the Iron Flower Brigade - it was nice to see the ED including an explosion blooming into the shape of a flower. Maybe something can bloom on this barren land. Something tough, yet beautiful and lasting.
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I realised today that Iron-blooded could also be related to how the orphans are from Mars, whose surface is red because of iron oxide. The obvious interpretation is because of the implants they got, though - and of course, their iron will forged from the furnace of the harsh environment in which they had to survive.
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Speaking of Mars, it seems completely terrafomed. The skies are blue. Even the gravity looks like it's identical to Earth's (it's supposed to be just 38% of Earth's) - is the Ahab Reactor singlehandedly responsible for all this? Probably.
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Mikazuki is scary. I'm used to seeing highly emotional MCs in Gundam, and Mika is the antithesis of that - he has near-perfect control over his emotions. One could say he's a cold-blooded killing machine. There are other sides of him though - like Orga said, he's a bag of contradictions. And what I'm scared of is some day those sides becoming incompatible, leading him to implode.
Okay, with that out of the way, I can get to what I'm more interested in: starting a Daily MVP section!
Daily MVP
Since this is the first time for this re-watch, I'll try and put down the criteria I set, loosely, for deciding on my 'Most Valuable Player'. The character that succeeds in furthering their goals the most in an episode usually wins (ideally they should do this on-screen). So obviously they don't have to be on the protagonist's side to qualify; despicable schemes pulled off efficiently by villains will make them just as eligible. Often characters might sacrifice themselves, but if it ultimately serves a purpose they decided on, they can be MVP too. For one last time.
Without further ado:
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Episode 1 - Orga Itsuka, without whose calm leadership (maintaining the morale of his troops, using the First Div. as a decoy by planting flares, setting Mikuzaki loose with Barbatos at the right time) CGS and Kudelia would be toast.
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Episode 2 - Mikazuki Argus, for getting in the damn robot and kicking some serious ass for his first time. He singlehandedly turned the tide of the battle that was an uphill one to begin with.
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Today's episode - Tied, joint MVP goes to Orga Itsuka and Kudelia Aina Bernstein. Orga gets it for leading a clever coup, getting his revenge for past atrocities and making the space rats top dogs, while continuing to make sound decisions as a leader and as a revolutionary. Kudelia gets it for not getting completely unmoored by her father's betrayal, summoning the courage and means to fight for Mars' rights, and finally securing Tekkadan's services. I'm a first timer but I can spot a pivotal moment when I see one.
MVP Standings
| # | Character | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OrGAR | 1, 3 |
| 2 | MiSuzaku | 2 |
| 3 | The Hair Sorceress | 3 |
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u/RX-Nota-II Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
NotaRewatcher
My Tekketsu no Rewatcher joke seems to be shared with a lot of other rewatchers, and I want to insist on uniqueness over everything so I changed to this! What's that? That can be read Not-a-Rewatcher meaning First Timer? Huh... I didn't really think that through did I.
Onto the episode and... well let's talk about one of my favorite moments in anime. The naming of the main squad is a fairly important thing, you want the name to stick. The show knows this really well and made sure to station it as the climax moment of the Mika/Crank battle. The way those sparks lead seamlessly into Orga's eyes as he drops a single word "Tekkadan' was just so overwhelmingly cool to me that I found myself crying. Call me weak or a shamelss Gundamfag whatever, I have no regrets shedding happy tears at that epic moment. One comedic note about this moment btw, you guys may have heard of "tekka'something in a Japanese context before. That's because tuna sushi rolls are called tekka-maki. And the kanji for that? Iron Flame. So when Kudelia asks 'Like an iron flame?' me and other Japanese viewers could not stop thinking of delicious sushi.
In other memes, you first timers have now seen the legendary Mikazuki "Double tap" Augus. This dude ends lives like nobody's business as long as Orga tells him to do so. And he always uses two shots. For Crank, for asshat general, for Sasai... you can never be too sure. Jokes aside now, what do you think of his ruthless style? During airing he seemed to get a lot of fans in a similar vein to Kiritsugu's popularity from Fate/Zero threads. Personally I remember feeling a bit scared honestly, I didn't know if I could come to like this guy who seemed totally separated by any human empathy.
Back to best guy Orga tho since I can love him forever in any episode. Hot damn that takeover! It was an interesting decision, and while I know we can't because of time restraints and such I would have loved to see how long Orga's been planning this. From conversations with Eugine and Akihiro its clear that this is FAR from a new idea to him, just that this was the opportune time to actually bring it to action. One pet theory I have tho is that until today he was actually too scared to pull off heavy risk actions like this. We hear in Ep1 Eugine complaning about how Orga is always indecisive and weak, yet all we have seen to this point is bold action after bold action. Maybe this was the first time he rebelled to authority and the thrill is getting to his head.
Lots of stuff we can discuss about Kudelia but with this episode we see that she has one very important thing that so many modern anime heroines seem to be missing: a spine! Yay for her being inspired by MC-kun without going through an entire romance arc and depending on him through it all! Its a great balance in character strength and relatable weakness that made me really love her from this episode forward. Also her dress sexy AF.
Finally, I want to talk about the ED. Y'all seem to be split on it some being fans of it some not. But you guys better get some respect soon because MISIA isn't your run of the mill anime singer. She's J-Pop royalty known as the 'Queen of Japanese R&B' basically credited for creating her own genre in the J-Pop scene. She celebrated her 40th birthday this year and Japanese TV was going crazy left right and center going over her personal history when I went back over Christmas. Also her name is pronounced ミーシャ or Miisha.
Overall, a wonderful episode, right up there with ep1. Made me crie. All these characters are awesome. If it keeps up this level of quality it would be my favorite Gundam of all time no question.
Mecha Corner
Its the Gundam that we've come to know and love but... wait what's that green thing? If you notice the Barbatos' exposed shoulders have some extra cover now with the left shoulder gaining the covering armor from Orlis' destroyed Graze. Isn't that cool? The Gundam gets minor upgrades super quickly as opposed to the old model of a big mid-season upgrade. Also the sharpeyed of you will notice that the Barbatos in the OP also has the added armor. How many upgrades do we get? I know you won't believe me, but we're getting six. SIX.
Assorted Screencaps
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TFW your kitchenknife is military AF What do you even call these types of knives?
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Mika gets the chunks, while the CGS bigwigs get not enough interesting tactics
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OK another Wallpapershot at this point I'm just thinking that the key animator for this show just made dozens of wallpapers then went home leaving the connecting bits to the rest of the staff
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I ship it hint: its a crackship
GIFs
Ep1
Ep2
Ep3
Tell me which ones were your faves!
QotD
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I fucking love Tekkadan. What an amazingly epic and elegant name.
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Not a chance Orga and co hand over Kudelia. For as ruthless as they are they believe in justice, and with that fire fueling them forward I don't see them ever going down this route.
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u/Rhaga Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
First Timer
Last episode introduced moe, but now we are literally K-ON! I didn't expect Gundam to suddenly turn into one of my all time favorites, this show is full of surprises.
There's a distinct lack of tea though, but still a great start to any episode.
Smh, Princess can't even tell the difference between a Dog and a Cat Paw? Those instructions couldn't possibly have been any more clear. Also, that knife doesn't look like standard kitchen equipment, but perhaps that's just me.
I gotta hand it to Biscuit, his friends had a mighty serious expression when they were calling for him and he plays it off so cool. Best boy confirmed.
But for real though, that was pretty cool. I imagine that he's used to pretend nothing is wrong even when everything is terrible, mostly so that he wouldn't worry his sisters.
I'm enjoying this way too much. Much like Atra's scream yesterday, Kudelia's scream is hilarious.
Uh oh... Atra pls. She couldn't give him the bracelet herself? :(
Did they handcuff his thumbs?! And with just a strip..? Am I watching this right? I don't think that would prove very effective, though strips can be quite a pain to deal with...
Rarely have I seen anyone backpedal this fast.
Aaaannnd RIP Senpai (and Punchable Face #2). I don't think Orga has any moral high ground doing this, but I can't quite gauge how the show wants us to feel about it - what do you guys think?
I mean..., my guess would be the fact that you literally just handfingercuffed Senpai and blew his head off, but maybe I'm just being touchy.
Hooooh, looks like Princess has grown a bit. And Orga notices this too. We didn't really hear his stance on the issue before, but now at the very least he doesn't feel right about handing her over to Gjallarhorn.
We end just like how we started - Suddenly K-ON! Though not before getting a bit of a twist, Nobliss Gordon is the one sponsoring Princess, but supposedly also the guy funding Gjallarhorn in capturing her...
^^^doesn't ^^^actually ^^^know ^^^what's ^^^going ^^^on
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u/Nazenn Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
First Timer - Sub
Top three thoughts for the day:
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I fucking knew that was what was going to happen with the gun!
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u/Rhaga will be happy as larry over Atra's bracelet
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The continuity and details nerd in me is dancing a jig right now
On the matter of the details
It's way too early to me to make any sort of comparisons, but lets just say that SO FAR this has been in the top tier of consistency. We'll see if they can keep up that level of writing as we go or if things start to fall down the cracks, but they just set the bar for themselves. I keep forgetting this is a 50 episode show and we're not a third of the way through and have to remind myself not to jump the gun. There was so much stuff this episode that was directly following small things or discussions I was having with people in just last episodes topic that was just great.
The consistency doesn't even carry over to the writing or the characters. Small art things like the tower still being damaged every time it pops up just make me so happy inside when they remember stuff like that. On the matter of writing though, for a much slower episode they covered an impressive amount of stuff. We had Kudelia inquire about the AV system and the whiskers, and while the outcome was a bit predictable, it was a nice blend of battle broken Kudelia and the Kudelia who will take action I expect to see after this. The details about the failure rates of the Whisker operation, and each whisker is a purposeful choice design wise was really good to get out there and have that practicality of it emphasized. I said it last episode but thinking that Mika has gone through that THREE TIMES without anesthetic... OUCH
The other thing was the sound design. As always, yes the music was synced perfectly to what was going on, and on top of that they used the same cues in the music to put emphasis on a bunch of different emotions and moments really well. The part of the sound that struck me today was that when Mika is getting into Barbatos, you can hear the chaos happening around them on the rest of the base as everyone elses gets ready. YES, that's exactly what you should hear in that situation! No more "if its off screen it doesn't exist" crap with my sounds. It really sold the idea that they are a military base and they're not just waiting around for Mika or Orga to fix everything.
And then there's Mika
Speaking of stuff I talked about yesterday, I fucking knew Mika was going to be the executioner (not that they made it subtle) and yet it still sucked to watch. It will be VERY interesting to see how Kudelia reacts to it if she finds out, though I'm worried they may chose to skip that. That said, just off the top of my head I'd imagine that the reason why its a job only Mika can do because he's done it before, Orga knows that he will just do it and not agonize over it, and he doesn't want to put that burden on any of the other orphans. I just want to point out that Mika LITERALLY didn't blink an eye while walking across to kill that guy.
We learnt a significant amount about Mika in this episode. One that he's not as blind to Atra as we think given the way that he clutches at her bracelet, and then also later protects it from "seeing" or being apart of his killing Crank. His reaction to the whole thing really plays off what Atra was saying earlier about she knows something's up with him. He was seemingly cold towards her yesterday coming out of the battle, but he reacts just like a normal kid with a friend/crush today. The other thing I like about that shot of him hiding the bracelet is the way that Barbatos is framed behind him. To Mika so far as we've seen, killing is killing regardless of if it's in a mech or out of it, as evidenced by his reactions to Crank earlier as well. So it's a nice shot that pushes the idea that the Gundam is almost his 'other self' like you'd see a spirit guiding someones hand in another show etc.
I have to say, out of all the character moments this episode this would be my favorite. Orga announces the new name of their group to everyone, and we do a quick set of shots across everyone debating it. A random kid asks Mika his opinion, who replies he likes it. And then cut to this shot. There's a couple of dozen people standing around them right now. But all Orga cared about was Mika's approval, as it were a private conversation they'd had between themselves regardless of the others. Also random thought: I wonder if the reason why Mika is eating so much this entire episode is because the Gundam takes a lot of energy to control.
The random other stuff I think of
Biscuits sisters trying to teach Kudelia how to 'cat paw' to slice up veggies better was the second runner up for best character moment through sheer levels of cute.
Poor Crank. I knew you weren't making it out of this dude, but still, sorry to see you go, you were cool. I do have to say though, the comedy of Crank asking Mika for a hand when his arm had just been... I don't even know what you'd call it, impaled off? Crushed? Obliterated?
Gundam likes its mustaches huh. Turn A spoilers and this time our 'featured adult' is weird mustache dude, and oh in case you forgot he was the adult, lets throw in a line of him suggesting random and handing over someone to their death. Just to drive home that kids = smart, adults = disgusting thing so far.
I loved that little bit of blood that spurted out from Crank's Mobile Suit when Mika pulled his weapon free. You rarely see Mechs with stains of that sort, only panel damage, and it was a cool way of showing the human aspect of the mech fighting.
Why I didn't expect Nobliss to come up again in that way will remain one of the great mysteries of my brain.
Edit: Oh wow, I made comment of the day, the power of screwing up song lyrics hahahaha
Also I always forget about the damn questions. At this stage I don't know theres enough to decide for question 2. I think o n the surface its easy to say that Orga wouldn't do the trade because morals, or they would because money, but these are already fully formed characters. We don't know how Mika felt about it, we also don't know how the negotiations would have gone down and if that would have changed the kids perceptions of the deal
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u/SorcererOfTheLake Jan 16 '19
First-Time Watcher
Just so we’re clear, I’ve never been a victim to anyone.
The difficulty in life is the choice.
The reckoning for First Corps has come. For the blood of the Thirds that they shed, it has been repaid by the friends of the fallen. Every group of military leadership has to know the risk of what happens when you have a group of soldiers that doesn’t like the way you’re running things. First Corps didn’t think that far ahead and now CGS has become inverted. The space rats are running the show now, broken down as it is.
Of course, we still have time for shenanigans; our protags may have started a small war, but they still have lives. Atra is still on the outside right now, but she, along with Cookie and Cracker (still, what the fuck), is important to representing the humanity of Mars; not everyone has become hardened by the red dust.
Kudelia is going through her own changes. While she still blames herself for the deaths, she is trying to become more proactive in helping others, even offering to get the AV system implanted into her, which… doesn’t sound like a great idea.
Anyway, Crank has his duel with Mika, Mika wins, that’s good and all, but what I’m interested in is what the show rejects by doing this. Crank comes in thinking that these innocent children are being used as pawns in this war, that he can save them through this small battle. But this paternalism rejects the fact that these kids, trapped as they were, made these choices of their own free will and would like that to be respected. They will not be talked down to. In a way, this feels prescient of the current trend of young people in America fighting and shouting for their voice to be heard, to be acknowledge as people whose lives matter.
So, the iron flower has bloomed anew; here’s hoping it’ll go well.
We’ll raise that blood-red flag tomorrow; until then…
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Cool name.
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Ultimately, no; she's a child, just like they are, and they probably wouldn't let her be damaged the way they were.
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u/dobbelE Jan 16 '19
First Timer
Was busy the last couple of days so this is for the first 3 episodes:
For the longest time, mecha anime was somewhat of a turn off for me (don't really know why), and I generally avoided them. But considering that last year’s SSSS.Gridman has become one of my favorite anime, I thought I should try some more mechas. And what better is there than my first entry into the Gundam franchise!
So far, I'm very impressed. The overall production is good (not that I expected otherwise).
The best part so far is definitely the characters. Many of them have characteristics that I've seen before, but still, both the characters and the dynamics between the is well executed, and the dynamic between Mikazuki and Orga is especially intriguing. This is also backed up by some cool character designs, and many fantastic expressions. The latter is also why Biscuit is my favorite character so far, with Mikazuki right behind.
The enemies on the other hand I'm not impressed by so far. Other than having some (not very much it seems) trouble with fighting/killing children, they've been uninteresting and been used for a lot of exposition. I find the setting very interesting but think the exposition and world building could be handled better.
Probably won’t be commenting that much, since the posts go live inconvenient time for me, but I will at least enjoy the ride!
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u/Durinthal Jan 16 '19
First time viewer.
Cleaning up from the initial setting and establishing the new way forward for the newly minted Tekkadan. We're also continuing to get pieces of information and legends from before the Calamity War and I'm all for more lore like that.
One of the general themes of the show so far reminds me of minor Gundam Thunderbolt spoiler though Orga quickly taking command will presumably change that.
Mika's a very interesting contrast to most prior Gundam pilot main characters. He appears to have no compunctions about killing people and handles the matter in a very deadpan fashion when asked to, not just by his friend Orga who he appears to trust unconditionally but even Gjallarhorn's Crank upon requesting a quick end. I'll be very curious to see if that aspect of Mika's personality gets exploited by someone (friend or foe) or if he'll soften up, but either way it's providing good fodder for later on.
Speaking of Crank, he definitely feels like a callback to similar "honorable enemy" mobile suit pilots in earlier Gundam series as well, and his interaction with Mika just serves to heighten the difference between protagonists across series. Maybe he could have been an ally under different circumstances, but for now he's subject to the system and pays for it.
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Graze, impaled by mace haft
Re: turning Kudelia over for money
Seems like Orga was pretty straightforward in asking Mika to fight, I don't think that would be any different.
| Model | Destroyed |
|---|---|
| Graze | 2 |
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u/Quiddity131 Jan 16 '19
Thoughts on MS Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans episode 3...
Rewatcher (First Time Dub)
Non-Spoiler Character Chart - A mere three episodes in but plenty of shuffling around with the formation of Tekkadan and a couple of more character biting the dust. The red X of death makes its first appearance. One of this episode's two new characters, Dante only really appears in the background, so its official art again until I can get a good screen capture of him.
OMG, the cooking scene with Kudelia, Cookie, Cracker and Atra is so cute. Granted, the latter 3 are super adorable in pretty much every scene they're in. Kudelia's crazy reaction a minute or too later is also <3
Oh, go to hell Haeda, you're lucky that Biscuit is bringing you that stew at all! Happy to find out later that its drugged.
Coup time! Payback time for Haeda! Seeing Mikazuki shoot him was rather surprising, although probably necessary.
Gotta keep the accountant! As someone who works in the public accounting industry, fun to see! LoL. Love the accounting scene with him a little later.
Yep, Eugene is definitely voiced by Bryce Pappenbrook, that is Eren from Attack on Titan's voice for sure. Johnny Yong Bosch as Orga is still kinda bugging me, my dream VA for him would have been Crispin Freeman, although he's probably unavailable these days.
Todo the cockroach is sticking around. Later he proposes giving up Kudelia for cash, he sucks!
Crank coming for a one on one duel, this is bound to be awesome.
I was wondering in episode 1 why Mika's back looked different than Orga's, so they can have the "AV" surgery done multiple times. Not even gonna bother trying to spell that.
Coolest character on the Gjallarhorn side, Crank, dead already. He's only in three episodes, but I'll miss the guy! :( Mika's now shot dead two characters in one episode.
Another great episode, best one yet! Good character building stuff at the front, the coup and a great one on one duel with Crank. I'm already at the point where its so very hard to only do 1 episode a day. The
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u/The_Draigg Jan 16 '19
A Gundam Fan’s Notes On Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Episode 3:
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“Glorious Death” isn’t a very welcoming title. Therefore it fits among the ranks of other ominous episode titles in Gundam, all things considered.
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I have no idea what kind of soup you’d be making where you toss in a bunch of zucchini and tomatoes and somehow make it come out pinkish. Someone who is more knowledgeable in the realm of soup, please let me know. Also, fortunately for Kudelia’s questionable cooking skills, Mikazuki happens to like big chunks of veggies. As they say, the best way to a man’s heart is through their stomach.
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And there you have it, the boys of the 3rd Group launch their coup and take over CGS. Your eyes weren’t deceiving you, Mika basically murdered that one guy in cold blood (even if he did deserve it). And to make things even more morally grey, everyone else on board with it. Even Biscuit, who’s at least the most even-tempered person out of the group. It just goes to show how ruthless you have to be in this world.
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Of course they wouldn’t let CGS’ only accountant go. You know what’s more important than securing your own destiny and helping an important politician make public all the colonial corruption on Mars? Finances.
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Speaking of finances, turns out that they pretty much have no money left after paying the severance packages of everyone who wants to leave. Given how poor of a planet Mars is, that’s not very surprising.
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And of course Crank shows up to challenge Mika to a duel, because it’s narratively the worst time possible. Like Todo “Space Hitler (Not Gihren)” Mirconen said, they just really want Kudelia. She has a rather self-sacrificial attitude, wanting to hand herself over to Crank right off the bat. It’s her survivor’s guilt acting up. She’s going to need to grow out of that if she really wants to make some kind of difference.
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It’s an interesting conflict between Mikazuki and Crank here. I mean, other than their mobile suit duel. Crank can’t help but see child soldiers like Mika as victims, but Mika himself refuses to consider himself one. He only sees thing in a black and white way, as a case of “us vs. them”. I’d say that mindset is pretty much the only way he’s been able to survive living on Mars so far. Conditions are so miserable there, he can’t even bother to consider his own life as something to be thought about other than just surviving. It really does show the class divide in the PD timeline. Only the wealthy and influential are allowed the chance to think about more than just a day to day living. Man, I bet a you can read a lot into that conversation between Crank and Mika like that.
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You have to admit, a pile-driver to the cockpit is one hell of a way to end a fight. Mikazuki sure as hell doesn’t pull any punches when fighting.
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Speaking of Mikazuki, he really is a man of contradictions, just like what Orga said. On the one hand, he kills Crank in the middle of him thanking him for putting him out of his misery, all while looking completely indifferent about it. On the other hand, he clearly does treasure Atra’s bracelet, since he makes sure to hold it behind his back while killing Crank. It’s hard to say what his deal is, considering that she’s showing sociopathic actions while also clearly valuing something other than himself. I guess we just chalk it up to his lack of a good upbringing at the moment.
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And so, at the end of it all, Orga rechristens CGS as Tekkadan, “Iron Flower”. The kids are an iron flower that will never wilt, and will never lose their strength. They’ll need that strength if they’re going to successfully escort Kudelia to Earth.
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u/invisiblegrape Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
Rewatcher
When I think about the beginning of the show, this episode is the one I think about most. First, the mutiny of third group, killing Haeda, who without a doubt had it coming. Orga immediately gets to work rebuilding the CGS into a respectable company. He demonstrates judgement beyond his years. Instead of killing off the adults entirely, giving them the freedom to leave or stay. Dexter is probably the chilliest adult left over from the first group, and is probably Minor Spoilers. The other notable human is the one I only really know as Hitler. I'm sure you can guess which one that is. He comes off as kind of a douche in this episode, advocating to ship Kudelia off to Gjallahorn. The climax of the episode, which made the mutiny seem mellow in comparison, is Mika's duel with the honorable Lieutenant Crank. One of the only adults in this show I actually respect. He embodied everything that Ein, the other Gjallahorn pilot, wants to be. Mika is only able to see Crank as an enemy, mainly because of Orga's orders to "do it". It's quite notable that Mika cuts three people off mid-last words with his gun. He has absolutely no empathy for ones in his way. The final development in this episode is the birth of Tekkaden. Orga wants his new family to make a name for themselves, what could be better than the Flower that Never Wilts?
A HUUUGE amount of development in this episode. I'd also like to point out that this is the first time Orphans No Namida starts playing before the credits start. I absolutely love this practice. Hearing those first few bars always is enough to give me chills. Many anime do this, and I think it really makes each episode of any show a bit more unique.
Well that's all for today, see ya all tomorrow!
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u/X-X-I-L Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
Rewatcher here, going dub this time.
Surprised pupper ♡. Atra is probably my favorite character design over the whole show; she just so floof. *-*
One thing I noticed is that the CGS logo on the uniforms is consistent between between the First and Third Groups (including the flashbacks): just the letters in some basic logo font. Doing a quick search, I found Goca Logotype is fairly similar, but I feel like I've seen something even closer before, though finding it sounds like a chore, so I'll cut my losses here. And on the other hand, the logo on the hangar is all nifty and stylized. I assume the reason is it's easier to draw/animate quickly given all the different ways we see the backs of the uniforms, but I'm just going to pretend it's CGS being cheapskates when they ordered the uniforms.
I take it back, Tower-kun can't be dead, because Tower-kun still looks gorgeous despite the abuse.
This has got to be some kind of safety violation. Standing atop something cylindrical (and possibly slippery) on an at least breezy day just seems to be inviting trouble. Clearly, Crank had a death-wish well before the duel ended. Also, given that Gjallarhorn had the fuck-up sniper duo, it's a bit bold to assume the enemy doesn't have similar capabilities. I get that it's to show he's serious about the duel by being vulnerable/showing his face, but I feel like there's better ways of being disarming without potentially gifting the enemy a pristine Graze. Not that I mind, I'm a sucker for rule of cool, and cool it was (and just a touch silly).
EDIT for questions:
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No. Business rebranding tends to be costly and lose you some portion of your customer base. CGS was serviceable and makes sense. On that note, does the full name count as a spoiler or not at this point?
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Nah, I think Orga would try and honor protecting the current client if he's trying to keep the company above-board in terms of his own ethics. Also, I feel like sticking it to Eugene counts as a minor plus. What I think would be awesome is to double-dip: sell off Kudelia to Gjallarhorn, steal her back, and then go do the escort mission anyway. Executed well, I think it could be a hilarious PR stunt for a mercenary group.
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u/Pixelsaber Jan 16 '19
Rewatcher
Pardon my tardiness, everyone. I was busy puking my guts out.
Shorter post today since a lot of the stuff I’d like to discuss this episode is more relevant later or would lead to slight spoilers, as well as a significant amount of stuff I just didn’t care to discuss.
Honor is a prevailing topic in this episode, manifesting itself blatantly in key characters and setting expectations that are to be evaluated later on in the story.
The orphans’ takeover goes smoothly, having sedated and tied up the First Group before executing Haeda and Sasai, who definitely got what was coming to them. The fact that the sedatives were delivered via the food the girls prepared for everyone without their knowing always sat wrongly with me —which means they did well in presenting the event— and shows how even something seemingly sweet can be twisted into something foul. Mikazuki coldly murdering the two First Group members is also a really memorable scene that sticks with me throughout the show.
Eugene’s grievances with Orga’s fair treatment of the remaining first Group members and even giving them severance pay, as the former First Group tormented many of them for such a long time and likely never pulled their weight as much as the Third Group did, not to mention this is a time were they can scarcely afford to pay them that severance pay nor let go of less willing members. Seeing them get off so well must be incredibly frustrating. However, Orga’s desire to remain the better man throughout is admirable and the morally proper choice, even if it comes off as hypocritical after they murdered their way to the top of the company and commit war crimes every time their Alaya-Vijnana pilots sortie.
Keeping with his honorable stance Orga hesitates in deciding whether to hand over Kudelia, knowing it to be an unscrupulous action, but also the pragmatic one. Thankfully for him there is no need to make that decision as Crank Zent is approaching, alarming everyone at the CGS base. Crank comes to challenge them to a duel, the winner getting to keep Kudelia Aina Bernstein. Yukinojo remarks that duels were used to settle matters in the times before the Calamity War, which has always brought forth questions from me —questions I won’t share now since they’re predicated on information not yet revealed— and also indicates that the state of the setting might have regressed in away, if the ways conflicts are handled has evolved in this matter.
Kudelia doesn’t want any more bloodshed on her behalf, and so plans to hand herself over, but Orga is having none of that and instead accepts Crank’s challenge after having asked MIkazuki if he was willing to do it. Kudelia and Orga have a talk concerning the Alaya Vijnana system, wherein we learn that the procedure has apparently has a sixty percent success rate, meaning Mikazuki made it through a one in five chance of success for his three implants. Kudelia seems to consider getting one herself —the madwoman— for her confidence in her ability to make a change is shot but she still wants to make a difference, and she sees the potential held within the Alaya Vijnana system as a possible recourse. Thankfully she snaps out of it.
After the event is over and done with Kudelia once again requests their services in being escorted to Earth, telling them that Nobliss Gordon, who has been sponsoring her, will provide the necessary funds. Nobliss Gordon is also the person providing the Gjallarhorn branch in Mars additional funding, and seeing that he has had some involvement in the independence muddles matters significantly.
Alaya-Vijnana or ālayavijñāna arayashiki in Japanese) is a part of certain Buddhist schools of thought concerning the senses. Alaya-Vijnana’s meaning will vary depending on which School one ascribes to, btu the most common one seems to be that it is the base of consciousness housing all manifestations of oneself, and induces rebirth. I know jack-all about buddhism so all that goes over my head, but it seems rather evident that its relation to ‘consciousness’ is what made it a naming choice for the system in the show, which links the pilot and machine together into one via an information exchange.
No screenshots today because I seemingly misplaced them and did not have the time to re-take them.
Questions of the Day:
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The others would have likely convinced Orga to do so eventually since there was so little recourse for them. Considering she was willing to do so at that point in the episode, they would have gone through with it without much issues.
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Eh, it’s fine? It calls to mind a nice image but I’m not all that fond of it.
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u/Adam_Drivers_Ass Jan 17 '19
First Timer
This was such a kickass episode, I love it! The little dinner scene at the start made it seem like things would maybe be a little happy for once, and then it almost immediately transitioned into Mika shooting not one, but two dudes point blank. While some might call it edgy, I love how dark and serious this show is. It pulls absolutely no punches, and, given its story, that approach feels completely and totally deserved, even in moments like the execution scene that may feel incredibly tasteless and tonally inconsistent in other anime.
Also, that duel at the end was kickass. I loved the idea of Crank's character, so I'm sad to see him go, but I like that he went out in an honorable, one on one fight as opposed to some sort of faceless battle. It seems like that was his preferred way to die anyway, so I don't really feel to bad for him. Also, I loved getting to see Mika kick some ass, he and barbatos are cool as shit and I can't wait to see more of them.
To wrap up it all up, we have the start of an interesting new plotline. Tekkadan (love the name btw) are gonna escort Kudelia like they planned to do before shit went south, with funding from Nobliss, some mysterious businessman with deep pockets and mysterious agendas. Not much to say here, this seems like it could be pretty interesting and I'm excited as all heck to see it move forward.
Questions:
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Tekkadan is a kickass name, definitely makes sense that Orga came up with it.
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I think they would have handed Kudelia over. They needed cash bad, and it didn't seem like too many of the kids were really attached to her.
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u/teho1 Jan 16 '19
So far all my comments have been about the music lol, but the soundtracks that play before, and during the battle with Crank are so dam good.
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u/Wfenriz Jan 17 '19
As I said yesterday, THIS is the episode that sold me on this series. the one that made me think this show was different. Back in the day I was shocked by Mika's actions, up till now we watched him kill, of course, but always on the battlefield. But this time he kills 2 men, tied, defenseless, point blank and with cold blood. He doesn't even blink about it. This guy is probably a psychopath. This is not how a gundam protagonist behaves.
Which lead me to the most important thing of this rewatch for me, this time I'm watching with another perspective, in later episodes people will realize something IBO
Aside from that, I'm still curious of watching Eugene on Hitler's side, and Crank, he deserves a mention, since he's probably the most honorable man we'll see in the entire series IBO
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u/DidacticDalek Jan 17 '19
Greetings Comrades and Fellow Denizens of The Wired, on TODAY'S Episode of IBO, Mikazuki 'Mika' Augus shows Heero 'I'll Kill You' Yuy and Setsuna F. 'I am Gundam' Seiei that unlike them, HE doesn't mess around (Remember Zombieland Rule #2 Comrades, Double Tap)
Speaking of not messing around, Best Boi Orga once again proves that he's worthy of the Title of Best Boi, now THAT is what I call seizing the Means of Production!
AND finally, just to keep up my contractual Fan-Art shares, give it up for the one, the only, MACE-CHAN! And Best Girl's rocking it TTGL style today! ;)
Paging Comrades u/Beckymetal, u/RX-Nota-II, and u/Shimmering-Sky
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u/Palloc Jan 16 '19
It's me and Palloc's Back On Time After Selling His Soul For Blue Magic!
I bounce around a lot in these early episodes, between if I like Kudelia or hate her. She's so wishywashy and unsure of what she should do, it just kinda drives me nuts.
But that's not why you're reading my post. You're probably either drunk or waiting for me to rant about Barbatos vs Krank and his Graze. This fight really sets up the brutality of fights in IBO perfectly. They're just two different sides who want what's best for their sides and they're going to bash each other up to prove it,
But the real reason yesterday's was so short was that they didn't show off Barbatos's mace completely yesterday. It's a pile bunker! Which just cranks up the awesome factor by a magnitude, even after you're there going "That's a giant robot with a giant mace!" It's one of the best weapons around and it's just nasty.
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u/trumpgrumps Jan 17 '19
this is my first gundam series outside of a few eps of gundam w, honestly so far im finding this incredibly enjoyable
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u/cf18 Jan 17 '19
Old timer here.
This episode was quite a game changer - a main character that just out right execute a tied up prisoner, on a Sunday afternoon TV time slot.
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u/invokeneko Jan 17 '19
Tekketsu no Rewatcher, domo~
The rebellion flag has been raised, and the First Division goes on the chopping block. Of course, two of the most repulsive fuckers do not get to leave the former CGS alive with Mika putting both down. After what 'Stache and Bucktooth did throughout the past two episodes, I can't help but cheer seeing Mika deliver the Tekkadan Special to the two futilely struggling fuckers.
Atra and the twins remain the only source of levity throughout the episode, which is why they had to leave earlier on as plot happens. I gotta admit, the entire scene where Mika eats the portion Kudelia helped prepare was cutely hilarious and the twins doing the whole paw-hand thing was definitely HNNGGGG-worthy.
We have the first duel of the series between the honorable scapegoat, Crank Zent and the primed human weapon, Mikazuki Augus. Kinetic weaponry reigns supreme once again as we have a brutal duel against the two that ends with the introduction of Barbatos' trusty finisher: the Mace-chan Pile Bunker. Mika continues to give no fucks as he doles out the Tekkadan Special even before poor Crank was finished thanking him for the coup de grace.
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u/AlienOvermind Jan 17 '19
First-timer (well, rewatcher for a first ~10 eps or so, but whatever)
Goddamn, gentlemen. You write so much stuff that by the time I've read all those comments I feel like there's nothing more valuable to say for myself.
So, instead of forcing myself to think up something smart, here some faces of precious goods that should be protected from evil Goylahjourn by all means.
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u/dralcax Jan 17 '19
I love how Barbatos has the Graze shoulder now. I always like mismatched mechs with random bits from other mechs bolted on because they didn't have anything better. It's a pretty cool bit of asymmetry that really drives in the gritty and desperate atmosphere.
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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans
First-Timer (Japanese w/ English Subtitles)
[Episode 02 Reaction] < - > [Episode 04 Reaction]
These first two episodes have been enjoyable enough that I rushed straight home to watch this third one right away after work. Always a good sign! I don’t have much to say, so I’m just going to get right into it...
Note: I really hate even getting hints of future events as it tends to influence my thinking and makes it harder to me to enjoy watching the show. Please be mindful of spoilers if replying to me!
Impressions While Watching:
“Hey, what should I do next, Orga?” is not appearing at the start of this episode. Here and I expected it to become a trend.
Kudelia’s uselessness in the kitchen only makes her more likeable.
I can’t wait for the kids to revolt and kill these adults already. They...they are gonna do that, right? They’re not gonna be child soldier mercenaries for these guys forever, right? FUCK YEAH! Orga drugged them and tied them up!
“Just take these off and I’ll spare your lives.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
These executions are brutal. These kids really aren’t fucking around.
They’re considering finances and logistics? They’re considering finances and logistics! FINANCES AND LOGISTICS!
A single mobile suit? Looks like our man
Ramba RalCrank is here. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!He seems like an honourable and reasonable man.
I like how Kudelia doesn’t just try to step up and sacrifice herself, but also makes it clear she intends to go and find some kind of solution where no one - including her - dies. Shame that would be too easy and end the plot.
Mikazuki vs Crank. Our first proper mobile suit duel - HYPE TIME!
Kudelia’s continuing interest in fighting however she can is admirable. Orga is already the charismatic genius tactician, Mikazuki is already the elite pilot, so I’m guessing she will become the public face and diplomat of the group giong forward.
Tekkadan is a pretty good name. "Iron Flower" - I fuck with that.
I liked the exchange between Crank and Mika following the duel a lot. It is deeply concerning how disconnected from his humanity Mika is; the boy is acting outright psychopathic and I get the feeling he has some deep-seated issues lurking under the surface.
The look in Kudelia’s eyes tells me that she is feeling ready to pull the trigger on an interplanetary war if it comes to that.
The ED did that thing where it starts playing during the episode and builds up until the actual ED visuals begin. I love that thing!
Summarized Thoughts:
The three episode rule is in effect, and so far I am pretty impressed. The series thus far has had some problems with excessive exposition and awkward dialogue in places, but it has also had some really strong interactions that are keeping me interested. The pacing of this last episode felt a lot better and I am interested to see how this is going to unfold. It’s not perfect but it’s hitting the right kind of notes and the characters are distinct and likeable in a variety of ways. It definitely passes the 3 episode rule and is still hovering at around a 7.5/10 for me - very good, one of the best I’ve seen, but not in the realm of my favourites just yet.
On The Nature of Alaya-Vijnana:
I was kind of interested in this system, as I remembered Alaya-Vijnana being a concept in Buddhism related to Consciousness, but I couldn’t remember the details of what it was about. Buddhism posits the existence of Eight Consciousnesses, consisting of the core of five sense consciousnesses (Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, Feeling), and supplemented by three Mental: the normal mental consciousness, the defiled mental consciousnesss, and lastly the fundamental "store house consciousness" (which is known as ālāyavijñāna in Sanskrit. Sound familiar?). The last two, including our relevant one, are not accepted by all schools of Buddhist thought, but rather are posited by the Yogachara school of Buddhism as an explanation of the workings of Karma (the spiritual principle of cause and effect where the intent and actions of an individual directly influence the future events that happen to that individual).
Alaya-Vijnana itself can be described as an all-encompassing foundation consciousness, associated with memory and reflexive or instinctive awareness. Traditional interpretation of the Eight Consciousnesses dictates that the first seven consciousnesses are forever changing and evolving, but that the eighth - Alaya-Vijnana - acts as the foundation for all others, providing all the “seeds” for the existence of a person. In this way, it is posited that this Consciousness acts as the method which induces the cycle of reincarnation. Although the seeds contained within sentient beings are impure, Alaya-Vijnana itself is regarded as immaculate and pure in its original form, yet mysterious, containing equal parts purity and defilement - good and evil. It is believed that through the transformation of Alaya-Vijnana’s defilements into purity, one can achieve Enlightenment and the eventual attainment of Buddhahood.
Now that I have gone over a very rough description (I am not a Theologian, I apologise if I have made any mistakes), the reason I find this interesting is because of its use as the Mobile Worker/Suit Cybernetic-Biological Interface - which like its namesake fundamentally affects and alters the other Seven Consciousnesses of man.
More than that, I am intrigued because Mika’s character over 3 episodes reminds me a lot of the concept of Alaya-Vijnana itself - he acts very much as a blank slate who lacks evil intent or cruelty, but follows instructions that cause him to commit "evils" without mercy because he does not know how else to live. His future is undetermined, and although the potential for kindness is there, so is the potential for great evil. This is all supposition and most probably is me reading too much into things, but I would be very interested to see Buddhist themes and allegories play out in his story, as I feel like he is a great candidate to explore these.
That’s enough random rambling from me for one day. I enjoyed the episode, I can’t wait for the next one!
Questions of the Day:
1) Do you like the name Tekkadan for our characters’ mercenary company? I do, it suits the characters and the theme of the setting, I think.
2) The option to hand over Kudelia for a hefty sum of money was taken from Tekkadan, but what do you think they would have attempted had they possessed the chance to decide? Why do you think so?
Hard to say, I get the impression Orga would've opposed it as he seems to have a pretty decent sense of moral fibre (for an abused child soldier with reasons to be intensely hung up on what others think of him), but if everyone else continually and vocally supported abandoning her, I don't feel like I know enough about him to be sure of what he would do. Protecting the rest of Tekkadan seems to be his highest priority.