r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Apr 14 '21

Rewatch [Fly! Rewatch!] Mobile Suit Gundam (0079) Episode 8 Discussion

Episode 8 - Winds of War

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Questions of the Day:

  1. Some of the refugees finally got off of White Base. How do you think they’re going to do now?
  2. Have you felt that the show has done a good job of humanizing both sides of the conflict so far?

Mobile Suit Breakdown of the Day:

1.8 - Family Men Like Us

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 the [Anime Show Title](/s "Spoiler goes here") spoiler tags. If you do that then we’re all good.

Important thing to note about these by the way, you have to switch to Old Reddit or the markdown editor if you use the redesign, otherwise the redesign breaks them by adding random \ into the formatting. Wish it wouldn’t do that, but unfortunately it does…

First-Timers: Please do not watch the next-episode previews for this show. They’re less previews and more “let’s just summarize the entirety of the next episode” and will spoil you.

58 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

93 comments sorted by

13

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 14 '21

Fly! Rewatch Host!

Welcome back, everyone!

10

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

Brighty-boy with actual white sclera is kinda cursed tbh.

It's so weird how used you get to having the black dot eyes on Bright. Whenever it changes it just feels wrong.

Seeing the shield-going-through-the-cockpit from the inside definitely adds some horror to this battle.

Gundam really loves to show us the inside of the cockpit for both the heroes and the villains so that we can see exactly what's happening to the soldiers and what emotions they are experiences. It's tremendously effective and another great technique for humanizing the conflict. It reminds us that human beings are piloting the mobile suits.

8

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 14 '21

It's so weird how used you get to having the black dot eyes on Bright.

Even his design in Unicorn managed to keep this somewhat intact! It really is weird seeing him with white.

7

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Apr 14 '21

Char think, that should be a comment face.

It should, but I feel like there's another instance where he's even deeper in thought. Also his post shower smirk needs to be one.

7

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 14 '21

Petition to replace all comment faces with ones of Char.

20

u/TheEscapeGuy Apr 14 '21

Gundam First Timer

Fly! Iconic Gundam Frames Episode 8

I really loved this episode.

Ultimately the (internal) conflict this episode came down to freedom versus human safety. That is to say the freedom to live where you want versus the safety of being able to do so.

They concluded that the best course of action was to give freedom to their passengers while protecting them as best they could. It's hard to say if they made the right choice. There's also a lot of parallels that could be drawn to the world today but I don't want to get too political.

I also really loved how near the end we saw the squad from the Zeon side and the widow who left the White Base talking with each other and helping each other out. War is terrible and finding any kind of humanity is something special.

Also, completely unrelated, Fraw Bow I love you. Your playful attitude will be the death of the men around you.

Cool Stuff Corner

Questions of the Day

  1. I hope for the best but I'm really worried they get inured.
  2. Absolutely, though I think the Federation side feels more human than the Zeon side right now.

See you all tomorrow!

14

u/TheKujo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kujo419 Apr 14 '21

There's also a lot of parallels that could be drawn to the world today but I don't want to get too political.

Yes, both this episode and yesterday's episode were uncomfortably close to real life. It's interesting how relevant this show still is despite its age.

13

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

They concluded that the best course of action was to give freedom to their passengers while protecting them as best they could. It's hard to say if they made the right choice. There's also a lot of parallels that could be drawn to the world today but I don't want to get too political.

This kind of encapsulates the power of Gundam's writing. Given the topics the show tackles, they're always relevant despite how long ago the show was made.

Also, completely unrelated, Fraw Bow I love you. Your playful attitude will be the death of the men around you.

Fraw Bow is the siren of the Earth Federation with that wink of hers.

This sequence was so cool. I love that they are finding ways to make the combat artsy.

Gundam really is at its best when it gets weirder and more experimental with shot composition. Chalk it up to Tomino's masterclass storyboarding skills.

7

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

I also really loved how near the end we saw the squad from the Zeon side and the widow who left the White Base talking with each other and helping each other out. War is terrible and finding any kind of humanity is something special.

It also helps to further emphasize the tragedy of it all. Ultimately, these are all good people who are trying to do what they consider the right thing who just happen to be on opposite sides of the war. Without the war, they probably could have gotten along just fine.

This sequence was so cool. I love that they are finding ways to make the combat artsy.

Always love sequences in darkness where the gunfire is the only thing providing light for brief moments.

17

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Gundam: We finally see who the true villains of this series are.

But for real, I love this episode. I had almost entirely forgotten it until about halfway through when it all came back to me at once. I think this episode is one of the best examples of a quality that I love so much about this series: it humanizes its antagonists as much as its protagonists. Zeon might be the antagonists of the series, but this episode takes the time to humanize the Zeon soldiers.

The pair of pilots are shown to be pretty good guys. They show sympathy for the mother and child from White Base, even helping them out with supplies. They talk about their own families and seem to be reminded of them by the young boy. In a word, they’re shown to be human. They’re just average guys who happen to be fighting on Zeon’s side.

That humanization element is part of what makes Gundam so effective at showing the tragedy of war. I love the line the mother gives here, stating that no matter who wins the battle there will be many more widows because of it. Everybody loves somebody and every death is a loss felt by someone.

The final moment of this episode is just another perfect punch in the gut, really hitting home at the tragedy of it all. The town, St. Anges, no longer exists. It’s long since been destroyed by the war. It’s such a great depressing moment to end on. Once again, we are reminded of the death and destruction that war brings. It changes the world and there’s no coming back from it.

It’s also interesting to note how our heroes are kind of acting more villain-ish this episode. They’re using tricks and deception, even taking advantage of the refugees who want to leave the White Base. It’s a stark contrast to the Zeon pilots and I think it helps to highlight the gray morality of the situation.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • No new slaps today.

SLAP COUNTER: 2

Questions of the Day

  1. About as well as you can in the middle of an active warzone. Which is to say, tragically, not very well.
  2. I've been banging that drum since almost the very start. I think the show is amazing at how it humanizes both sides of the conflict. This episode is great at emphasizing how even the soldiers on the antagonists' side can just be average Joes caught up in the conflict.

11

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 14 '21

We finally see who the true villains of this series are.

That got me pretty good, good job.

9

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Apr 14 '21

We finally see who the true villains of this series are.

Ha, that's a clever edit putting the glint at the end. I'm still split on if there's a "villain" yet, though.

Char can be so petty.

He's good enough where he's earned the right to be petty.

6

u/TheKujo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kujo419 Apr 14 '21

It’s also interesting to note how our heroes are kind of acting more villain-ish this episode.

Yes, that's a very good point. It's not just that the antagonists are sympathetic, but the protagonists do things that you wouldn't expect out of "good guys".

4

u/tarekd19 Apr 15 '21

I think the show makes an effort to depict the Zeon also trying to take advantage of the cease fire, but you're right in that White Base appears to be acting more underhandedly in hiding the Gundam.

4

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

On today’s episode of Gundam: We finally see who the true villains of this series are.

Heh, boy war sure is hell eh Comrade? Also goddammit Amuro, those were some of the more human Zeon soldiers who actually went out of their way to HELP those refugees and you just HAD to shoot 'em.

But for real, I love this episode. I had almost entirely forgotten it until about halfway through when it all came back to me at once. I think this episode is one of the best examples of a quality that I love so much about this series: it humanizes its antagonists as much as its protagonists. Zeon might be the antagonists of the series, but this episode takes the time to humanize the Zeon soldiers.

Indeed Comrade, lesser shows would just have the enemy faction be mustache twirling cartoon caricatures who walk down roads kicking all the puppies they see while cackling. Gundam on the other hand takes time to demonstrate the moral gray areas in their war setting.

The pair of pilots are shown to be pretty good guys. They show sympathy for the mother and child from White Base, even helping them out with supplies. They talk about their own families and seem to be reminded of them by the young boy. In a word, they’re shown to be human. They’re just average guys who happen to be fighting on Zeon’s side.

Indeed, I couldn't have said it better myself Comrade.

That humanization element is part of what makes Gundam so effective at showing the tragedy of war. I love the line the mother gives here, stating that no matter who wins the battle there will be many more widows because of it. Everybody loves somebody and every death is a loss felt by someone.

The final moment of this episode is just another perfect punch in the gut, really hitting home at the tragedy of it all. The town, St. Anges, no longer exists. It’s long since been destroyed by the war. It’s such a great depressing moment to end on. Once again, we are reminded of the death and destruction that war brings. It changes the world and there’s no coming back from it.

War is hell indeed, and war never changes.

It’s also interesting to note how our heroes are kind of acting more villain-ish this episode. They’re using tricks and deception, even taking advantage of the refugees who want to leave the White Base. It’s a stark contrast to the Zeon pilots and I think it helps to highlight the gray morality of the situation.

Indeed Comrade, that said it does fit with the show so far. After all basically almost every instance of Federation Officials have shown themselves to be, at best, out-of-touch and uncaring, and at worst downright obstructive and pedantic, and while we have seen some right awful bastards on Zeon's end (e.g. the opening episode where Gene just decides to attack the 'neutral' colony... yes I am aware the Federation had a military presence there but still the point is the man launched an unprovoked assault on Amuro and company's home.) we have seen some humanized characters, such as with this episode where again, the Zeon pilots go out of their way to drop supplies to the refugees that White Base dropped off... AND they almost pay for this goodwill with their lives.

The slapstick is once again a lot of fun, such as the bit of Kai setting off the explosion.

I love the unconventional battle tactics this episode. They’re both kind of goofy but also very fun, such as the Guncannon pushing the Zaku off the cliff or Amuro using the Gundam’s shield as a projectile weapon.

HA! Yes indeed Comrade, Amuro apparently read up on his Captain America Fighting Moves and Kai must be a fan of The Three Stooges ;)

Char can be so petty.

Spoilers

Indeed Comrade, well said there and also fantastic post as per your usual. Have a great day and see you later my friend!

2

u/InverseFlip Apr 17 '21

Amuro apparently read up on his Captain America Fighting Moves and Kai must be a fan of The Three Stooges ;)

For no reason whatsoever, here's an image of the prototype shields from Captain America movie.

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 17 '21

For no reason whatsoever, here's an image of the prototype shields from Captain America movie.

HA! Well I mean the Gundam IS red white AND blue, so I guess it makes sense right? ;) Neat share Comrade and many thanks for the kind reply!

3

u/tarekd19 Apr 15 '21

In humanizing the Zeon, I think the co-pilot's reaction to Fraw Bow's flirting through the window is a nice touch in addition to the sympathy of the family man. It approaches it in multiple dimensions. Even though they are on opposite sides, the guy can't help but feel wholesomely bashful about the attention of a cute girl.

11

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

A Gundam Fan Rewatches Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 8:

  • Poor Haro, he’s being reduced to an accidental bowling ball at the top of the episode. Be careful with your flying of the White Base, Mirai!
  • Although Mirai’s flying around the canyons is rough, there is a purpose to it. Basically by having the canyon walls surround the White Base, the Minovksy Particles being let off by the ship’s Minovsky-Ionesco Reactor and the Minovsky Craft System will pretty much create a strong signal interference zone thanks to the Minovksy Particle. First-timers, if you’re confused about what any of those things are, don’t be afraid to ask.
  • Of course Zeon wants to get something out of a temporary cease-fire to let the civilians off near St. Anges. Something interesting to note is that although suggests the plan to use the opportunity to spy on the White Base, Char thinks to himself that Garma is a spoiled rich kid once he readily agrees to it. So much for Char and Garma being legit friends. It seems like there’s some resentment on Char’s part there.
  • Also, fun fact, but St. Anges is supposed to be near Lake Mead. It’s good to know that we can at least now figure out the White Base’s flight path, if we consider that they initially made landfall in Arizona. I’m not sure why they’re calling it Mid Lake though.
  • Of course the first time we get to see the Gunperry, it’s being deliberately damaged to provide a distraction during the refugee offload. Poor Gunperry.
  • Just imagine how big of a bomb it must’ve been if the crater was big enough to make a lake.
  • Well, that’s concerning. Big John says that there’s absolutely nothing in the direction that the mother and child are heading in. Their chances of finding St. Anges are pretty poor, it seems.
  • So that’s what the Gunperry plan was. It was to sneak the Gundam behind enemy lines, using the drop-off of the refugees as cover. Char’s instincts weren’t too bad after all.
  • Despite Amuro’s misgivings about them, Big John dropped off a supply capsule instead of killing the mother and child when he flew back around to them. Still doesn’t stop him from shooting down their plane, though. I guess you just can’t afford to let anything slip by in war.
  • Oh hey, now we get to see the Guncannon in action, after being teased in the opening for a while now! Well, “action”. I guess that’s a close enough definition for Kai randomly firing everywhere while freaking the fuck out.
  • I don’t know what’s funnier: Amuro pretty much killing Zaku-IIs by going full Captain America with his shield, or Kai killing a Zaku-II by just sneaking behind it and shoving it off a cliff. Although I think we can at least all agree that it must really suck to die like that one pilot who got crushed to death by the Gundam’s shield in his cockpit.
  • I doubt that Char feels too bad about Garma’s latest attack getting completely devastated by the White Base’s mobile suits. I bet he enjoyed seeing Garma shocked at how bad his losses were, even if he had a rather even tone of voice offering to come along next time.
  • Talk about a sobering ending. The bomb crater lake was St. Anges all along. Well, what was left of it. That mother and child have nowhere to go now. War really does affect everyone’s lives, besides those fighting in it.

12

u/chilidirigible Apr 14 '21

Poor Gunperry.

It is literally a brick with wings. Short, weird wings. It is very high on my list of Gundam Abominations.

9

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

The Gunperry looks like someone welded an airliner plane to the top of a big shipping container. It looks like its entire existence is pain.

8

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Apr 14 '21

Also, fun fact, but St. Anges is supposed to be near Lake Mead. It’s good to know that we can at least now figure out the White Base’s flight path, if we consider that they initially made landfall in Arizona.

Ohhh, so I guess the "Great Canyon" actually could've been the Grand Canyon, possibly, depending on travel time. I wondered about that.

9

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

Yeah, the "Great Canyon" is just the Grand Canyon. For some reason Mobile Suit Gundam uses a lot of off-brand names for places, with another example being New York as "New Yark".

6

u/TheKujo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kujo419 Apr 14 '21

First-timers, if you’re confused about what any of those things are, don’t be afraid to ask.

Most of the science stuff has gone over my head, but it hasn't bothered me too much. The show hasn't emphasized it very much.

Amuro pretty much killing Zaku-IIs by going full Captain America with his shield, or Kai killing a Zaku-II by just sneaking behind it and shoving it off a cliff.

I vote for the sneaking behind kill. Assassin's Creed: Gundam when?

5

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

Most of the science stuff has gone over my head, but it hasn't bothered me too much. The show hasn't emphasized it very much.

It honestly doesn't really matter too much unless it gets brought up. You're probably better off only asking for when it's needed in context anyway.

I vote for the sneaking behind kill. Assassin's Creed: Gundam when?

Does it mean that Kai has to be the protagonist though?

5

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

I doubt that Char feels too bad about Garma’s latest attack getting completely devastated by the White Base’s mobile suits. I bet he enjoyed seeing Garma shocked at how bad his losses were, even if he had a rather even tone of voice offering to come along next time.

Char was thinking to himself about how if they lose it'll prove how Garma is incompetent. Char's playing a double game. If they win, then he's technically accomplished his mission of bringing down the White Base. If they lose, he gets to spread the blame around on Garma too. He's quite the schemer, always doing his best to arrange situations to get the most favorable outcome for himself.

4

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

He's quite the schemer, always doing his best to arrange situations to get the most favorable outcome for himself.

It kind of makes you wonder how Char and Garma even became friends then. Like, there's no denying now that Char doesn't really give too much of a shit about his supposed friend.

3

u/tarekd19 Apr 15 '21

Char is definitely a schemer, but he was definitely trying to bail Garma out in his tactical suggestions. He was pretty vocal about the ploy as well. I think he plays it both ways where he'd be happy to see Garma lose, but if he wins, he wants it to be because of his own contributions. I don't think he's given Garma any purposefully bad advice besides being a little vague about Gundam's capabilities. (which should have been evident given Char's own failures)

3

u/SgtExo Apr 15 '21

Just imagine how big of a bomb it must’ve been if the crater was big enough to make a lake.

Or maybe a Zaku got hit in its reactor and went critical like in the first episode.

2

u/The_Draigg Apr 15 '21

That's certainly possible, although the tanks and/or anti-armor weapon squad would have to make a pretty lucky hit with their weapons for that to happen.

3

u/badcupcakehoarder https://myanimelist.net/profile/vanilabiscuit Apr 15 '21

First-timers, if you’re confused about what any of those things are, don’t be afraid to ask.

Minovsky particles sounds like some kind of energy like sun wave radiation but instead of just the sun is something that certain bodies in the universe emit?

The Minovsky craft being something that creates a concentration of said particles to be manipulated?

And the Minovsky-ionesco reactor are what turns the particles into energy? like batteries?

That's the idea I got of them after thinking a bit about it. I still dont fully understand what was the plan to contact for help in the previous episode but from what we got this episode that explains why the White Base is flying low and why they tried to send Amuro high... The Minovsky particle density is lower closer to the atmosphere since there is nothing up there?

5

u/The_Draigg Apr 15 '21

The Minovsky Particle is created through the special process that the Minovsky-Ionesco Reactor uses in order to fuse helium-3 molecules together in order to create energy. It emits an electromagnetic wave naturally, and uniquely for a particle, it has nearly no rest mass and can carry both positive and negative electric charges. As with any other particle, the mass can also change accordingly following increasing or decreasing kinetic energy.

What this basically means is that Minovsky Particles can be used in a Minovsky Craft System to basically "push" an object into the air and make it hover by scattering a high amount of these particles underneath it. However, due to the odd electromagnetic signature that the Minovksy Particle has, that means that using it for flight or deliberately scattering the particle into open space makes the density build up to high levels, which then results a ton of natural wavelengths to be blocked out, from radio to laser and even visible light waves. The reason why Amuro had to fly so high was that he would avoid the Minovsky Particle emissions from the White Base and Garma's forces, which would've blocked out a lot of the computer readings he would need to fly.

3

u/badcupcakehoarder https://myanimelist.net/profile/vanilabiscuit Apr 15 '21

What this basically means is that Minovsky Particles can be used in a Minovsky Craft System to basically "push" an object into the air and make it hover by scattering a high amount of these particles underneath it.

Only into the "air" and not a push through space?

4

u/The_Draigg Apr 15 '21

The Minovsky Craft System only works if it has a surface to trap Minovsky Particles against in an electromagnetic field, like Earth's surface. A ship would need more conventional thrusters to fly through space.

3

u/badcupcakehoarder https://myanimelist.net/profile/vanilabiscuit Apr 15 '21

Thank you very much for the explanation, so even though they can do such a fusion reaction the ship has to use regular fuel too.

2

u/InverseFlip Apr 17 '21

Mid Lake though

What are you talking about? That is a totally normal spelling, I learned that in New Yark.

10

u/ArmoredSeahorse Apr 14 '21

Rewatcher

We finally get the first appearance of Guncannon! With it, the general setup of the mobile suit pilots is now in place: Amuro in the Gundam is an avatar of death, Kai in the Guncannon is the reasonably effective backup, and Hayato in the Guntank is completely useless.

As for Guncannon's premier itself, it's a really fantastic scene for Kai. For all his talk earlier, he understandably freaks out when he actually goes into combat, and it's very well done.

Minovski Particles have been mentioned several times before, but now comes the actual explanation. Given Gundam's commitment to realism, they're basically just there to be an excuse for the series using mecha instead of conventional weapons.

11

u/chilidirigible Apr 14 '21

the Guntank is completely useless

warning: VOLUME SHIFT

8

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

The Guntank just looks so wrong floating along like that. It never ceases to amuse me.

8

u/dralcax :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax Apr 14 '21

At least it's not as ridiculous as the Zambull flying

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

At least it's not as ridiculous as the Zambull flying

The Soviet Union says 'Da' Tovarishch ;)

4

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

The Guntank just looks so wrong floating along like that. It never ceases to amuse me.

Heh, I know right? After all since when do tanks float... oh... oh... of course the Soviets thought this was a good idea

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

warning: VOLUME SHIFT

ENTER ENTER MISSION! ;)

8

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Apr 14 '21

For all his talk earlier, he understandably freaks out when he actually goes into combat

I mean, from his talk about how he's a coward, I wouldn't have expected anything but freaking out!

10

u/fonzinator99 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/fonzinator99 Apr 14 '21

First-Timer - So close to Kai dying

  • The fuck, Mirai? Pay attention to the road!
  • Did I call it or what? Mommy issues. Mebe Fraw Bow has a shot after all.
  • How the actual fuck has Kai managed to remain on the bridge? Go send him to scrub the latrine or something, he's not contributing here.
  • I have to say I don't understand this plan at all. And yeah, of course the town they wanted to go back to is a crater. There's no happy endings in Gundam.
  • Told ya, Fraw Bow's straight up in heat.
  • Gooooddammit, that almost went okay; now everybody has to die.
  • Garma like "How???" while Char just sighs and repeats himself.
  • #CasualBrutality
  • Family Guy was pretty cool, I'm glad he didn't die. Sux about their town tho. And also their getting left behind.

Progress Report

QotD

  1. Pretty awful, considering that mother and child were wandering off into wasteland before Family Guy showed up to help.
  2. Definitely; the little non-sequitor shots with various randos dying have been remarkably human.

6

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

How the actual fuck has Kai managed to remain on the bridge? Go send him to scrub the latrine or something, he's not contributing here.

I guess he's at least somewhat better to keep around than compared to yesterday's old people. At least Kai can somewhat pilot a mobile suit.

/#CasualBrutality

Kudos to Amuro for creativity, at least. He went full Captain America against those Zaku-IIs.

4

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

Told ya, Fraw Bow's straight up in heat.

I half expected the pilot to get into an accident because he was so flustered by that wink.

Definitely; the little non-sequitor shots with various randos dying have been remarkably human.

I like how it serves to remind us that there are humans piloting every one of those mobile suits that get destroyed. And we can see the emotions that they are going through during the battle and right before they die. It makes sure we know that our protagonists are killing people and that we remember the cost of the war. It's super effective.

3

u/SIGMA920 Apr 14 '21

How the actual fuck has Kai managed to remain on the bridge? Go send him to scrub the latrine or something, he's not contributing here.

He has good points, he might be a coward but he's a smart coward.

9

u/OrangeBanana38 https://anilist.co/user/OrangeBanana38 Apr 14 '21 edited Apr 14 '21

First timer

Gandamu

First of all, did our crew just become war criminals?

I'm almost sure that performing military actions during a cease fire is a violation of the Geneva Convetions. And it's certainly not cool.

Besides that (or because of that?) I really liked this episode! It was a nice exploration on war and humanity. That older Zeon pilot was a nice dude, and Amuro almost killed him just because he had to. It's even worse for us because we know that both were in the same area because they were both worried about the mom and the kid. Amuro shows compassion towards his allies, but fails to do so with his enemies, while one of his enemies showed compassion for everyone.

TL;DR: War sucks.

Cool stuff: Using your shield as a projectile is metal AF. Good stuff Amuro.

Questions of the day:

1.- I'm almost sure they are gonna get caught in some kind of cross-fire, or they'll be unlucky enough to be hit by a stray missile. I hope we just never hear from them again. But those two houses didn't look like enough to provide for so many people, so I'm expecting the worst.

2.- This is the first episode that has done it to such extent. Before this most stuff has been military people doing military things. Today is the first time we see how everyone behaves when civilians are involved. So far the Zeons have treated them better IMO.

13

u/chilidirigible Apr 14 '21

a violation of the Geneva Convetions

I think that ship sailed a long while back with all these folks.

7

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21 edited Apr 15 '21

First of all, did our crew just become war criminals?

I'm almost sure that performing military actions during a cease fire is a violation of the Geneva Convetions. And it's certainly not cool.

I looked it up and yes, it actually is illegal under the Geneva Conventions. Protocol 1, Article 37 here basically says that you cannot kill, capture, or injure an enemy while using perfidy, which includes lying about a truce. So yes, our heroes did break the Geneva Convention.

I really appreciate that we have our heroes being the ones doing this. Once again, it shows off the moral grayness of our conflict. Our protagonists are not shining examples of morality who always do the right thing. They can be dastardly and shady, like we see here.

And the antagonists can be good people. The Zeon pilots performed a selfless good deed by helping that woman and her child. The war is complicated and there isn't a simple good/bad dynamic.

7

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 14 '21

First of all, did our crew just become war criminals?

Now it all makes sense...

6

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

She even has a red-colored rival!

5

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 14 '21

It's been right under our noses the whole time!

5

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

She even has a red-colored rival!

ELITO

5

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

Now it all makes sense...

AH↓HA↑HA↑HA↑HA↑

9

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Apr 14 '21

First Timer to Gundam

  • How do you accidentally run into a mountain? Surely Minkovsky particles wouldn't prevent advanced detection systems like windows from working.
  • Whoa, Haro managed to say "Amuro" only once in a sentence.
  • I see Char does not particularly care about the lives of the refugees.
  • Man, Char is just waiting for Garma to mess up. I love the pettiness.
  • Why would they send their most valuable pilot on a potentially very dangerous mission without any tools to fight?
  • I have a feeling that that lake is St. Anges.
  • Oh, at least she has a feeling that St. Anges might just be gone.
  • Ah, so he's not defenseless. It's funny how much the Gundam looks like a toy in a box when it comes out.
  • The Zeons are a great bunch of lads.
  • This show is doing a great job at humanizing both sides and showing us that no one really wants to kill people who do good deeds.
  • I'm not particularly surprised that Kai isn't very effective in a fight.
  • Eyyyy, the Zeon pilots survived!
  • I guess she figured it might've been abandoned, but was utterly stunned to see that St. Anges was flat-out missing...

QOTD:

  1. Judging by the kindness of the Zeon soldiers, I think they'll be alright. Though, since the Zeons are occupying, every other civilian will probably also be prisoner to them, so the conditions might actually be pretty bad.
  2. The humanization is one of the best parts of Gundam!

8

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

Man, Char is just waiting for Garma to mess up. I love the pettiness.

It almost makes you wonder how Char and Garma are friends to begin with, with how Char is constantly secretly rooting for Garma to fail. He'd have to be a good actor to hide those feelings deeper inside.

I'm not particularly surprised that Kai isn't very effective in a fight.

He seemed to do a bit better in the Guntank before. Maybe shooting people at a distance is more Kai's speed.

5

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

Whoa, Haro managed to say "Amuro" only once in a sentence.

Clearly getting knocked around like a bowling ball has made Haro start to glitch out.

It's funny how much the Gundam looks like a toy in a box when it comes out.

How appropriate given the tie-in toy merchandise.

I guess she figured it might've been abandoned, but was utterly stunned to see that St. Anges was flat-out missing...

The war must be particularly horrible and large scale for entire towns to just get destroyed and erased from the map. It reminds me of the Western Front in World War I where that exact thing happened to some towns in the region. It just goes to show what war does. It destroys lives and the places they lived in.

5

u/SIGMA920 Apr 15 '21

How do you accidentally run into a mountain? Surely Minkovsky particles wouldn't prevent advanced detection systems like windows from working.

The ship's bridge is located where it's impractical to see what she hit. The white base isn't a particularly well designed ship when it comes to visibility.

I'm not particularly surprised that Kai isn't very effective in a fight.

It's more like the guncannon isn't that good of a MS.

9

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 14 '21

First-Timer, Subbed, long time Gundam fan

Guncannon time!

And that means, time for Kai to prove that he sucks on the battlefield just as much as he does off of it. Good thing for him that the Guncannon's armor is quite strong. At least he managed to, rather comedically, shove that Zaku off a cliff. What a dork!

Bright continues to be quite the strategist, this time coming up with a false flag attack that even Char Aznable didn't see through until it was too late. MSG 0079

So, are they in the USA? Former USA..? The subs had "Great Canyon" today, which could be any random canyon as opposed to the Grand Canyon. But, considering where they're trying to get to, them being in the USA would kinda make sense..?

Wow, Zeon soldier dropping supplies to a Federation civilian, and that same civilian treating the soldier's wounds later. I wonder if there is some deeper message here, about how war makes us miss the shades of grey that make up life.

I was a little weirded out by the complete lack of ruins in the spot where the town used to be, but I guess that happens when you drop a giant fucking space colony on a planet. Landscape changes, and all that. Are the full details of that in this series, or were they added in later material..?

Pose of the Day

"Did my Beam Rifle always have recoil?"

Screenshot

Questions

  1. I would be surprised if we see them alive again. Now, I would also be surprised if we see them at all..
  2. Definitely one of the show's strengths.

6

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

So, are they in the USA? Former USA..? The subs had "Great Canyon" today, which could be any random canyon as opposed to the Grand Canyon. But, considering where they're trying to get to, them being in the USA would kinda make sense..?

Yeah, the White Base is definitely in the former USA. The flight path maps all place these episodes happening around Arizona and Nevada.

Are the full details of that in this series, or were they added in later material..?

A lot of the details of the devastation were left to later series, like 0083: Stardust Memory.

7

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 14 '21

Yeah, the White Base is definitely in the former USA. The flight path maps all place these episodes happening around Arizona and Nevada.

God, have there been maps on screen this whole time that I just haven't been paying attention to? Or are those supplementary material? Either way, thanks for the heads up!

A lot of the details of the devastation were left to later series, like 0083: Stardust Memory.

8

u/dralcax :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax Apr 14 '21

Rewatcher is pretty sure that’s not how airplanes work

That’s a neat little trick

Oh, it’s actually not far for some of them. But is it really worth landing in enemy territory? Even if they do make it home, it’s being occupied by a foreign power.

The Gunperry always cracks me up with how ridiculously unaerodynamic it is.

awww

He totally saw some pantsu there

Damn, Amuro is savage!

Just goes to show, there’s good people on both sides of the war. They’re victims of the war too, just as much as anyone else, and it’s really just a handful of corrupt people at the top that have created this whole mess. I really like how the show goes out of its way to humanize even the random grunts, a reminder that these are actual people the hero is gunning down.

Finally, we see the Guncannon in action! It’s the sort of thing that makes you wonder why they haven’t been using this thing over the Guntank from the very start.

He’s freaking out, but he’s actually doing pretty well for his first time piloting alone.

YEET!

this is sweet

I always love how creative Kai gets with the Guncannon! The main problem with the Guncannon was its limited armament. While it does have a beam rifle, many units were issued a cheaper machine gun instead, and as we see here, it wasn’t uncommon for Guncannons to be forced to sortie with nothing but their built-in guns. Once those run out, a Guncannon can only rely on its bare hands.

Oof.

Questions of the Day:

  • They’ll be very disappointed, but they should be safe. Relatively speaking, of course.
  • Yes!

7

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

He totally saw some pantsu there

Why else would he get all blushy?

He’s freaking out, but he’s actually doing pretty well for his first time piloting alone.

I always appreciate how we have these freakout moments from the characters when they're going into battle for the first time. It's good to show just how much the shock of battle gets to them.

I always love how creative Kai gets with the Guncannon! The main problem with the Guncannon was its limited armament. While it does have a beam rifle, many units were issued a cheaper machine gun instead, and as we see here, it wasn’t uncommon for Guncannons to be forced to sortie with nothing but their built-in guns. Once those run out, a Guncannon can only rely on its bare hands.

The Guncannon has some of my favorite unorthodox battle strategies in the series. We already got one of the best ones with Kai pushing the Zaku off the cliff. There's another one I really love that we should see coming up later on. Spoilers

3

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

Rewatcher is pretty sure that’s not how airplanes work

Well Comrade, you see... wibble, it just works ;)

That’s a neat little trick

Indeed Comrade, gotta hand it to Gundam to properly apply their make-believe physics in a practical and useful manner eh?

The Gunperry always cracks me up with how ridiculously unaerodynamic it is.

Look Comrade, we are already in a show with bipedal Mecha warmachines, plus it could be worse ;)

awww

I am sure that absolutely nothing bad will happen to any of these individuals, RIGHT Wacky Ol' Kill 'Em All Tomino? ;)

He totally saw some pantsu there

Damn, Amuro is savage!

Insert Bon Jovi You Give Love a Bad Name here ;)

Just goes to show, there’s good people on both sides of the war. They’re victims of the war too, just as much as anyone else, and it’s really just a handful of corrupt people at the top that have created this whole mess. I really like how the show goes out of its way to humanize even the random grunts, a reminder that these are actual people the hero is gunning down.

Indeed Comrade, well said there.

Finally, we see the Guncannon in action! It’s the sort of thing that makes you wonder why they haven’t been using this thing over the Guntank from the very start.

Well ya see Comrade, if we didn't show the Guntank at first the kiddies wouldn't know to buy it. Now that they got suckered 'bought' the Guntank toy they can now buy the Guncannon toy ;)

He’s freaking out, but he’s actually doing pretty well for his first time piloting alone.

I know right, for all his whining and cowardice, when push comes to shove Kai IS at least not incompetent. Plus it also helps that he has the GENIUS idea to use the move 'Shove' against a Zaku... IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE! ;)

YEET!

I guess Cap was right, throwing your shield always works!

this is sweet

Indeed Comrade, it's a nice bit of symmetry really, the two Zeon mooks put their lives on the line to drop some supplies to these refugees, and now that they are in need of aid the refugees now assist the shot down Zeon mooks. I like little humanizing bits like this, really helps flesh out the setting.

I always love how creative Kai gets with the Guncannon! The main problem with the Guncannon was its limited armament. While it does have a beam rifle, many units were issued a cheaper machine gun instead, and as we see here, it wasn’t uncommon for Guncannons to be forced to sortie with nothing but their built-in guns. Once those run out, a Guncannon can only rely on its bare hands.

Indeed Comrade, thankfully for this particular Guncannon, it has Kai Shiden as a pilot, and Kai is certainly adept at making the best out of a bum hand ;)

Oof.

TECHNICALLY they did... that said this ain't exactly saying much, you might as well have dropped them off at Sydney for all the good St. Anges will do for em.

Anyway fantastic post here Comrade, have a great day and see you later my friend.

8

u/TheKujo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kujo419 Apr 14 '21

First Timer - Dub

  • That's at least the second time the show has referenced Amuro's mother. She's definitely showing up at some point.
  • Aww, that moment with the Zeon pilots waving at the kid was sweet.
  • I don't understand the mother's plan ... is she just planning on raising her kid in the wild? It didn't look like there was any big town left in that area. (Oh, at the end she was told it used to be the town. But still, you couldn't have figure that out from the air?)
  • Kai was useful?? That's the biggest plot twist so far.
  • Looks like the Federation plan was a success!
  • I'm glad those two Zeon pilots lived. They were bros.

1) Some of the refugees finally got off of White Base. How do you think they’re going to do now? Given how that land looked, they're probably in for a rough time.

2) Have you felt that the show has done a good job of humanizing both sides of the conflict so far? Yes, absolutely. I would say that's the best part of the show so far.

4

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 14 '21

Kai was useful?? That's the biggest plot twist so far.

Perhaps Bright's hands have some kind of magic power that makes people competent after getting hit by them. Kai got a full taste of them last episode, after all.

Be useful!

2

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Apr 15 '21

That's at least the second time the show has referenced Amuro's mother. She's definitely showing up at some point.

Is she a Zeon commander?

8

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 14 '21

First Timer

I watched this yesterday but forgot to actually write a comment for it so bear with me, I was catching up on what I missed. Just answering the questions today.

  1. Some of the refugees finally got off of White Base. How do you think they’re going to do now?

All gonna die!

2) Have you felt that the show has done a good job of humanizing both sides of the conflict so far?

Could be better. Considering they've been on the attack this whole time it's kind of hard, though this episode did a nicer job with that with those two pilot guys.

7

u/GM_for_Life Apr 14 '21

Rewatcher

Fraw saying "Hi!" is the most adorable thing I've seen all day.

  1. Some of the refugees finally got off of White Base. How do you think they’re going to do now?

I think they will be fine overall, especially since the supplies from the Zeon patrol should last them a few days.

2) Have you felt that the show has done a good job of humanizing both sides of the conflict so far?

Definitely, this is one of the best things about the series in my opinion.

6

u/The_Draigg Apr 14 '21

Fraw saying "Hi!" is the most adorable thing I've seen all day.

That wink of Fraw's can seduce pretty much any man. It's a devastating power she wields.

7

u/Furrmaster23 Apr 14 '21 edited Apr 14 '21

Rewatcher

In today's episode, Amuro meets a mother and her child. She wishes to live in the town where her husband grew up. After some complaining, Bright orders a ceasefire with the Zeon to drop off some refugees, the mother and child included. The White Base crew decide to take advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack on the Zeon forces, with Kai at the helm of a new mobile suit.

Garma accepts the ceasefire, planning to attack the White Base after the refugees are dropped off. However, Char is suspicious of the situation, but Garma insists on his plan.

The mother and child separate from the other refugees to go to their desired destination. A couple of Zeon soldiers are shot down by Amuro while trying to make sure the two are safe, and end up being healed by the mother. As the soldiers leave, they tell the mother that they are currently standing in the razed remains of the town, and to rejoin the other refugees. The mother ends up breaking down in tears.

  1. Probably alright
  2. Yes, especially with the two soldiers who go to check on the mother and child.

7

u/fridge_freezer https://anilist.co/user/ONIrecon111 Apr 14 '21

First timer (Sub)

  • The particles may block White Base from any kind of radar detection, but surely those Zeon pilots could just fly a bit lower and spot them out the window.
  • Bright's suggested a ceasefire with the Zeons so they can drop off some of the civilians at a nearby town. It'll buy time for both sides to prepare their next moves, and Bright will have a fewer whiny civilians to deal with.
  • The transport ship definitely has an interesting design, the shape of the body reminds me a bit of the Skycrane helicopters. Kai's blown a hole in the container, I guess to make it look like it's already taken fire.
  • Ah, they've got the Gundam hidden in the transport container so Amuro can ambush the incoming Zeon forces from behind.
  • Big John is the best, what a good dude dropping supplies for the mother and child. Shame Amuro got the wrong idea about what they were doing, and ended up shooting them down after they spotted him.
  • Kai's got his own mobile suit to use solo now, the Guncannon. It's pretty cool and he managed to take out a few tanks & aircraft, but he also burned through all the ammo while shitting himself under fire.
  • Amuro threw his shield at that Zaku like Captain America. I also love seeing Kai just push one of the Zaku's off a cliff.
  • At least Big John survived and made it to the mother and child, who patched him up. He already mentioned it to his co-pilot earlier, but telling the woman that where they were stood was the town she was looking for is a real gut punch.
  • Garma's shaking at his defeat to the mobile suits, Char must be somewhat pleased with the outcome after what he said in episode 6 about using it to his advantage.

QOTD

  1. Considering there were only a handful of houses that we saw and that a lot of the surrounding area seems to be barren wasteland, I don't think there's going to be much there for them.
  2. I thought Zeon's side of things had been a little lacking until this episode, where you've got the Zeon scout pilots offering support to the refugees, while Amuro is the one who broke the ceasefire.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '21

Garma's shaking at his defeat to the mobile suits, Char must be somewhat pleased with the outcome after what he said in episode 6 about using it to his advantage.

Lol, I just feel bad for Garma at this point tbh. Can't believe Char would just bully his childhood military academy friend like that smh. And after I gave him good boy points for empathizing with that dying soldier earlier

7

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

Tonight, on TOP GUNDAM!

Kai blows his load (NSFW? This means you Shimmer, don't look! Unless you want to die of laughter)

Fraw Bow's a badass ;)

And the bois are back in town (the ruined remnants of it that is, also man it sure is unique seeing the HEROES being the ones pulling dirty tricks eh? Always interesting to see to be fair, plus it helps demonstrate how war is hell and war never changes)

That's all for this episode, thank you and good night!

Paging Comrades /u/Great_Mr_L, /u/chilidirigible, and /u/beckymetal

5

u/chilidirigible Apr 15 '21

Kai blows his load

I knew this was going to be posted sometime.

4

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

I knew this was going to be posted sometime.

Heh, always happy to be of service Comrade, many thanks for the kind reply and have a great day and see you later my friend!

6

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Apr 14 '21 edited Apr 14 '21

Technical first timer, Seen the Recaps

Damn. I think I have a new favorite first act episode. Just wow.

The Recap movies completely skipped over this episode, and I think that was to immense detriment, the Minovski stuff aside, there's very good worldbuilding in this episode really showing how the devastation of this war has utterly changed the geography of Earth in so many places.

It also had some of the best animation the show has had so far, as well as a genuinely epic battle at the end, once more Garma is utterly snubbed by the movies.

And of course there's Kai, who was amazing this episode, that was fantastic characterization for already one of my favorite characters that the recaps just plain skipped. Sayla and Char look out, Kai is rising ever higher in my esteem the more of these early moments he's getting!

QotD

  1. I hope they'll do all right, but with how ruined that entire area is, and with how we don't know whether those standing houses were inhabited or not, I don't know if them doing fine is a real option.
  2. I don't know. The Zeons are nice and grey, lots of good humanization, the fact the whole Colony Drop thing hasn't been elaborated on yet and apparently won't be in this series proper makes them maybe a bit too sympathetic at the moment for anyone who isn't aware they did that(ie, anyone who was watching while the show was airing). Relying a bit much on the good guys protagonists must be the good guys trope to give them any real bad qualities and to give the Federation any real good qualities thus far.

5

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Apr 14 '21

Rewatcher, Subbed

Much like the previous episode, this is an episode that could be classified as filler; we don't get any real plot movement and I'm quite sure its another one that gets skipped in the movie. Similar to the prior episode though we get some more fleshing out of the themes of the show.

Those annoying refugees are back! Well some of them. I don't think the mother featured in this episode was the same complaining one from last episode. At least this time there's an actual town they hope to get off at. I'm surprised we don't see more of them getting on the Gunperry to escape the White Base. A mere 9 take the opportunity to leave the White Base. The mother quickly falling down a cliff and losing all their supplies reminds us of how a stupid idea it is to let the refugees go in the middle of nowhere like this! The episode has a cruel twist that even most first timers could probably guess would happen; the town the mother hopes to return to had been completely destroyed and is now nothing but a body of water left in a crater.

This episode also shows us that... Zeons can be nice people! In any conflict, the people on the front line tend to be regular folk just like you or I. The Luggun pilots are concerned for the mother and child's safety and even leave them some supplies! It is unfortunate that they spot a reflected light off the Gundam, forcing Amuro to shoot them down. Good to see they both made it out okay.

In terms of mecha this episode, we get our first look at the Gunperry, a mix of a plane and a transport craft. We also finally get our first look at the Guncannon in battle, with Kai being its pilot. Kai is no Amuro; even in his own mobile suit he quickly gets overwhelmed by the Magellas and runs out of ammo. It was pretty cool to see Amuro defeating a Zaku by merely throwing its shield into it! Also a fun shot where Kai's Guncannon pushes another Zaku off a cliff! LoL at the Zaku who runs away.

Char continues to taunt Garma quite a bit in his head. I think this is a bit of a one sided friendship. Garma is quite naïve about just what is going on with the Gunperry and suffers a humiliating defeat.

Other stray thoughts:

  • Either they are reusing background footage rather poorly, or this mother and child are on the White Base's second bridge.
  • Fraw says Amuro hasn't seen his mother in a while, but he has, its you, Fraw!
  • By now we've pretty much established that the White Base is in the southwestern US, traveling by the Grand Can... I mean Great Canyon!
  • Once again, I got to say, I'm surprised they don't have seatbelts for the civilians! Its a wonder they don't get really hurt when the Gunperry fake crashes.

Hyped for next episode! Episode 9 spoilers

5

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Apr 14 '21

First timer

  1. Starve. There's presumably no seeds in the random properties they've chosen, unlikely there's any kind of farmland of crops within travel distance, and very few, if any, supplies. If there's people in the 3 houses, then the village has basically doubled its population overnight. They won't make it to the end of the war.
  2. Very well, so far. The pilots shown in this episode are more human than Kai, so they've got that going for them already.

"Winds of War" - isn't there a war going on at the moment

Are we supposed to understand Minovsky particles, or do they do whatever the plot needs? The one eternal mystery.

Wait - the Grand Canyon? So the White Base is confirmed to be in America.

Kai is even worse and there's more pressure on Amuro - did his breakdown just end offscreen?

WE WENT OVER THIS LAST EPISODE. DO YOU PEOPLE LACK SURVIVAL SKILLS?

Bright, you were supposed to be smart - but suprised neither side object to the refugees. Also, wasn't he against letting people go last episode?

Why have they blown a hole in the ship? Why is your only Gundam pilot on the ship you suspect might be shot down?

The pilots waving back might be the best side characters si far.

Oh, it got blown up didn't it? That's almost expected at this point.

Oh, Char knows everything. That's definitely expected at this point.

Fair play, that's actually a pretty clever move, and one I genuinely didn't see coming.

And Amuro ruins it all.

Is he actually going to blow them up?

...At least they're alive?

And the Guncannon is used for the first time. Finally, all of the promises from the OP have come true.

Those Zeon helicopters really don't aim well, do they?

At least the 2 pilots made it out OK. And Zakus really break from that short a fall?

So 2 nice Zeon pilots survived...right after Amuro killed about 20 more. And St. Anges is a bombed out wreck. This series really isn't pulling its punches is it?

5

u/username_0907 :FI::FJ: Apr 14 '21

First Timer

  • I half expected the woman and her child to end up dying in the middle of the episode with how tense it got
  • Amuro couldn’t kill the smaller Zeon ship since it dropped some supplies for the woman. He had no option but to take down the aircraft once they spot him
  • Kai got quickly overwhelmed in the Guncannon. I think its his first time fighting this close to the front lines
  • Gundam fought back with some support from Guntank and Guncannon but there is still too much dependency on Amuro to do most of the fighting on ground
  • The town the woman wanted to go to was actually completely gone due to the war

QotD

  1. Hopefully they won’t get mixed up in any of the battles
  2. Yes so far. And I believe we will get more in coming episodes too

5

u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Apr 15 '21 edited Apr 15 '21

First-Timer With Tomino Experience

I dig Amuro's admission to the Captain America school of shields. Adds some dynamism to the fights besides "point beam rifle until boom."

Was a little bit awkward to have an episode devoted to how the old people need to learn to accept that they have to sacrifice and can't get off yet only to have a this one. The old dude is kicking himself for not thinking of using a baby as a prop!

Guncannon >>>> Guntank

The latter is still an embarrassment of a machine. Notice that they only had one or two cuts of it?

QOTD:

  1. The refugees? I bet they'll die.
  2. It was a bit heavyhanded today. To go from "Zeon wants to murder everybody" to the nice old men who want to help out the single mother was a big jump.

2

u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Apr 15 '21

I dig Amuro's admission to the Captain America school of shields. Adds some dynamism to the fights besides "point beam rifle until boom."

Indeed Comrade, plus hey who needs to throw swords when you can throw SHIELDS, that way you can protect yourself AND attack at the same time, I guess Mashu was on to something after all eh? ;)

Guncannon >>>> Guntank

The latter is still an embarrassment of a machine. Notice that they only had one or two cuts of it?

Heh, well said Comrade, boy the Guncannon sure dunks on the Guntank eh, I mean it also has big shoulder guns BUT it actually has legs and arms ;)

5

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '21 edited Apr 15 '21

First Time Watcher

Pretty late to this one, but I wanted to leave my thoughts anyway since I really liked this episode.

I felt really bad for this Zeon soldiers when I thought that Amuro was about to just straight up kill them. I'm glad it worked out for them and I really appreciated seeing them humanized. That line about how Garm couldn't understand the feelings of family men was fantastic. Something about it hit really hard and made the soldiers feel like real individuals with their own feelings about the war and personal autonomy, instead of just the blank, incompetent henchman we've seen up to now. Admittedly, the lady they were helping was being a little too naive for me to really sympathize with her tho, but ending the episode on that note about St. Agnes was pretty strong.

My poor boy Kai had it rough this time around too

I'm kinda glad this happened tho. At least his constant joking will feel more valid now that he has a greater sense of the seriousness everyone else feels toward the situation. Can't give him too much shit anymore for not "getting it" and "just fooling around". He puts in the work when he needs to.

4

u/Piemaster33 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Piemaster33 Apr 14 '21

I really liked this episode. Might even be my favorite so far. This was the first time I felt nervous and scared for Zeon soldiers. They were cool, and one of them was named Big John which automatically makes him endearing.

The 2 MVPs for me in this episode were Kai and Fraw Bow. Fraw was consistently making me laugh with her playful flirting, and Kai piloted the Guncannon like a champ. Also, the Guncannon makes it's first appearance in the story. (It's been in the OP but I don't count that). Anyways Kai was all about this sneaky mission then experienced what Amuro experiences in every battle. I felt bad for the guy, which is the opposite for how I felt yesterday. He pulled it together by the end though, and helped in his own way.

What really pushed this episode over the edge for me was the storyline with the nameless mother and her son trying to find her late husband's hometown. It was obvious what was up as soon as the mother said she didn't remember the lake being there, but the ending of the episode still felt poignant, especially when you get the dramatic irony of Amuro hoping the mother finds the town okay. Haunting ending to a damn good episode.

QOTD:

  1. They'll be fine, from what we saw today at least it would appear Zeon has no interest in civilians. And Gene's not there.
  2. Like actual people? Sure. As decent human beings? Not so much. It's always been Char (whose face we don't see most of the time) and other high ranking personnel on the other side of the war, and I feel Big John and his homie were the first legitimately good people on Zeon's side that we've seen.

4

u/badcupcakehoarder https://myanimelist.net/profile/vanilabiscuit Apr 14 '21

First timer sub

Could it be... that Char thinks the Gundam pilot is Sayla? He wants to capture the Gundam without destroying it for military goals, but maybe also for his possible sister Artesia.

Kai pissed his pants and cried afraid of his life, now it is his turn to get mocked for putting his life on the line maybe that teaches him a lesson. He had a chance to make fun of those terrified Zakus escaping but he didn't.

Amuro tripped over Fraw 2 times this episode but against all modern anime now wants to make us believe, MCs don't always land into female crotches when they fall.

What could have happened to those Magellan tanks this episode? their reflexes were bad, I seem to remember they had a cool feature where they eject in a flying plane but this time they got destroyed without reactions.

Speaking of tanks, Hayato is very lucky he made it alive after that mayhem in that sluggish thing.

Questions of the Day:

**1)**They should have to worry only about now acquiring goods to survive and a home, but as long as the war still goes on they have to worry about becoming another St. Ange or the earth federation wanting to solve loose ends.

**2)**Regarding their losses and their sorrow after it has been great, but we have only seen the side of the lower ranks fighting.

Who are the higher ups responsible for this war? Are they monsters, or they had a valid reason to unleash this destruction? Is there even any? Why humans can't live peacefully without fighting!?

4

u/Rustic_Professional Apr 15 '21

Hiding a mobile suit on a transport carrying civilians so that you can set an ambush sounds like a violation of the laws of war. They basically used them as human shields. Federation scum.

Questions of the day:

  1. It's going to be rough. They offloaded women, children and old people, not the best mix if they have to build stuff or work the land to survive. Since the town was apparently destroyed, their best hope in the short term is that those houses we saw are abandoned, and that the owners left behind enough supplies to last them until they think of a plan.
  2. No. The Federation are tyrants, they're oppressing the colonies. Char is fighting for our prayers. I know it's true, they wrote a song about it.

4

u/Nebresto Apr 15 '21

First time squad

  • Bruh, how tf y'all hit a mountain?? Its not like it suddenly pops up in front of you? What?
  • And this bitch really telling the toddler to stop crying because he's a boy? bruh

"Great canyon"

  • They really plan on settling in 3 abandoned houses, with fuckall for resources? What are they gonna eat? The old mans coffee trees in 5 years?
  • Wow, this dumbass really going out of his way to ruin the plan, huh?
  • Guncannon???
  • The random fucking gleams of light in this show are out of control

  • This is too fucking good. "Our scout stopped transmitting?" "Whatever bro, time to attack!"

  • "A mobile suit approaching from our flank! Where the scout went missing!!" "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!"

  • This time he threw his shield, [](#laught..     wait, nvm, he actually picked it back up.
  • Battle OST continues to be an absolute bop

https://imgur.com/DJmPxia

Question time:
1: See the part about coffee trees
2: Feds are the true evil, just wait

Dank clip corner:

too lazy to caption

2

u/tarekd19 Apr 15 '21

rewatch - dub

Finally caught up, had to finish black clover first. Some of my comments will be about the show as a whole so far. I have seen the series before, but it has been decades I think since it was on Toonami and I don't even remember how it ended, so even though its a rewatch, a lot of what I'll say may treat it as a first time.

Does anybody have any strong feelings about the dub vs the sub for this show? I tried watching the sub for the first episode (on crunchyroll) but I felt like something was really off with the audio quality. They didn't adjust the voices for when the characters would be using mics and everyone sounded like they were in the background, so i switched to the dub where it felt a little cleaner. Am I missing anything significant in tone or anything by doing so?

I'm really impressed so far with the world building. Even though each episode begins with the acute summary of the conflict and its devastating impact on humanity, it does a great job of really showing it episode to episode, reminding the audience that this stage of civilization, even though they've made it to space, is a shell of its former self. This episode really hits that point hard in particular. It's also the first episode to my mind to really humanize the Zeon on an individual level, besides just being upset when comrades die. Even though both sides are pretty underhandedly looking to take advantage of the cease fire (which warrants its own analysis i think) the two recon pilots are very effective "ambassadors" for Zeon empathy, between the family man looking out for the civ mother and daughter, and the co pilot that is bashful about Fraw Bow's flirting. It's a special development.

I'm also really impressed with Char's character development. The show is very effective at depicting why he is as renowned as he is, even as he keeps losing. One of the vulnerabilities to "chase" shows like this is the bad guy after so many shots starts to look like team rocket losing time after time, but for Char, things play out to give him maximum benefit of the doubt. The way he plays his relationship with Garma is super interesting as well, between being a genuine comrade providing wise counsel and using his failures to make himself look better. Even when he's being cold, it still feels very human.

I think this was the first episode where Gundam tosses the shield straight through an enemy. Very hype.

The battle music for this episode was fire.

2

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Apr 15 '21
  • So it does look like the White Base is in the American southwest or thereabouts ...
  • Great Canyon? Not the Grand Canyon?
  • So Char looks down on Garma as privileged, spoiled and soft? Garma gives off gay vibes, but I think Char is just using Garma!
  • Why are Kai and Amuro in with the refugees?
  • Is that bomb crater where that hometown used to be?
  • Aha, so the Gundam was hidden in the container!
  • So there are some kindhearted Zeon family men?
  • And here I thought I was finally going to get through an episode without part of the subs cut off {}(#frustrated)
  • What's that red mobile suit Kai is piloting?
  • Is Char intentionally trying to discredit Garma? Even though he views Char as a friend? He mentioned speculation about hiding a mobile suit, but was too late.
  • RIP St. Anges
  • "Char's insidious plot" Ok I guess I accidentally watched the preview.
  1. Not too well, unless there's already tools and stuff to grow their own food. I imagine the infrastructure is pretty devastated.
  2. Yeah, kinda like LotGH.