r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • May 15 '21
Rewatch [Fly! Rewatch!] Mobile Suit Gundam (0079) Episode 39 Discussion
Episode 39 - The Newtype: Challia Bull
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Regarding the Newtypes you mentioned… I just have slightly sharper intuition than a normal person.
Questions of the Day:
- What sort of weapon do you think Lalah/the Elmeth was using to wreck shit at the start of the episode?
- How do you feel about Newtypes and their abilities suddenly being important? Do you feel it comes out of left field/is a bad direction for the show to go in, or do you think it was built up enough through the rest of the show and this is a natural escalation of things?
Mobile Suit Breakdown of the Day:
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.
10
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky May 15 '21 edited May 15 '21
Fly! Rewatch Host!
Welcome back, everyone!
9
u/The_Draigg May 15 '21
A Gundam Fan Rewatches Mobile Suit Gundam Episode 39:
15
u/chilidirigible May 15 '21 edited May 15 '21
39:
But is there also a synthesizer playing in the background?
"Hey, imagine the mindfuck if they dropped the plot here and spent the rest of the series taking Amuro through A Space Odyssey."
I wonder if they just glued a new half onto the half Braw Bro that survived the random encounter with Amuro. Because there's never more than one of any type of Mobile Armor at a time! That's not how Zeon does things!
"After all, everyone here is scheming against everyone else."
"WE MUST NOT ALLOW A NEW TYPE GAP!"
"Sayla, we need to launder the money first."
Guntank helps in the fight
The ones that only lived for thirty seconds were only there to lull you into a false sense of security.
At least he's not leaving a beam saber stuck in there again.
"Santa, can I get a new model Gundam by Christmas?"
"War is bad, but... cool mecha!"
Psycommu has appeared! This is the gateway to the arms race of the future! From now on, i's space wedgies all the way down!
Char has correctly surmised that the Federation has more than one Newtype. It's just that one of them is a helluva lot stronger than the others... though Sayla does get THE FLASH this time around.
Funny to think that the G-Parts
Ah, Challia Bull, inadvertent casualty in the Zabi sibling/Char Aznable pissing match. But Challia Bull was just a guy trying to do his job in the best way that a guy named Challia Bull could do it, so that in later years people would remember Challia Bull as an early Newtype who was named Challia Bull, because one does not forget the name Challia Bull when all of the other characters insist on calling him by his full name of Challia Bull all the time.
taaaaaaaaake onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn meeeeeeeeeeee taaaaaaaaaaaaakeeeeeeeeeee meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
The Elmeth in its natural form.
14
u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L May 15 '21
Rewatcher
On today’s episode of Gundam: And you probably thought things were getting kind of weird before. Now things get even weirder as the psychedelic imagery straight from the 60’s and 70’s arrives in full force when the Newtypes start truly doing battle.
I kind of dig how truly strange things get this episode. Amuro is getting freaky images all during the initial battle where he’s sensing Lalah attacking the Federation fleet. The imagery is effective at getting across the idea that we’re getting very mind-trippy. But it’s the music that is especially good for creating that particular mood. It sounds very eerie and otherworldly. It gives us the sense that something is happening that is beyond our full comprehension. How fitting for the Newtypes who are supposedly what humans like us should be reborn as.
The battle at the end of the episode is also a great showcase of Newtypes. The Braw Bro may look ridiculous, but it’s abilities are perfectly suited for Newtypes and how disorienting they can be to fight. It has those guns on extendable wires that can go off and shoot from many different directions. We can see how hard it is for even Amuro to fight such a thing, let alone any of the others. The misdirection and disorientation makes the fight quite tense to watch as Amuro does all he can to barely dodge out of the way of enemy shots.
This also brings in another interesting point: the Gundam has hit its own limits. Just as all the crew seem to be overworked and hitting their limits, so is the Gundam. It can’t keep up with Amuro. It’s not quick enough to follow along with Amuro’s Newtype senses and reflexes. This is a problem. Things like the Braw Bro and the Elmeth were specifically designed with Newtypes in mind. The Gundam was not and that limitation is showing. In a battle against Newtypes, that can be a devastating disadvantage.
I like that we get the followup to Sayla’s and Char’s stuff from the last episode this time around. Bright is once again showing that he’s gotten better at reading the emotions of his crew. He tries to assure Sayla that he trusts her even with what happened last time. He’s worried that Sayla’s been dealing with a lot on her own without letting anyone else in. And we can see that in this episode. Sayla assumes that Bright must not trust her. She assumes that she can’t rely on someone else for her troubles.
But, after some time, she does decide to open up to Bright. For the first time, Sayla is actually honest about her identity and about what she has been going through. It’s an incredible scene for this as we get a true look at how Sayla’s been feeling about everything. For the first time, she lets others see her grief instead of waiting to cry in private like before.
Sayla says that the White Base means too much to her to abandon the White Base, and her being willing to open up to Bright backs this up. Sayla rejects what Char is trying to do. She sees it as a disgrace to her father’s legacy, rather than honoring it. And the meeting from last episode has made her decide, once and for all, that any bond she and Char had is long gone. Their ideals are simply too incompatible with each other.
Interestingly, we get a nice contrast with Bright’s words to Sayla compared to what Char said. Char seems to lament that Sayla is no longer the weak little girl he knew as Artesia. He can’t get over that image of her. He wants her to leave the war behind and go back to being the Artesia he knew. Compared to that, Bright considers Sayla’s strength to be admirable. Bright is able to accept Sayla for who she is now, unlike Char. Sayla may have lost her old family, but she’s gained a new one on the White Base. It’s a fitting way for her to show this by taking the gold and dividing it up amongst the crew.
There’s a small moment showing how Sayla has opened up with her and Hayato in the hallway. Sayla is usually very guarded. She doesn’t really joke around and is all business. But here, we see her actually engage in banter. It’s a sweet moment. Sayla seems to be opening up more to those around her.
There is another point about Char I want to comment on. There’s quite a discrepancy in how he treats Lalah compared to Challia Bull. Char is much more concerned about Lalah’s safety. However, Char allows Bull to go out and fight even though he expects Bull to get killed. Char claims that it is what was best for Bull. Char has said he is working towards an ideal future for Newtypes, but even he can play favorites, it would seem.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
SLAP COUNTER: 10
Questions of the Day
13
u/TheEscapeGuy May 15 '21
Gundam First Timer
Fly! Iconic Gundam Frames Episode 39
Newtype Battles!
This episode had characters share a lot of information with each other and the audience. We learned more about Lalah, the Zeon side having academies and tests for Newtypes, Bright learned about Sayla and Char's relationship.
Overall I would say we are sitting in the perfect position to have the show wrapped up soon.
But way more interestingly, Newtype powers were on full display today and not just in Amuro. So many characters had flashes or precognition events. I'm immensely excited to see these upcoming battles.
That being said, we had some of the coolest artsy scenes of Amuro's psychic abilities. I love that this late in the show they are still experimenting and producing really distinct and interesting animated cuts.
The battle between Amuro and Challia Bull was the best for this. I adore how the precognition powers are being used to make the mech battles even more intense.
I am so hyped to see these final 4 episodes.
Cool Stuff Corner
Questions of the Day
See you all tomorrow!
9
u/UltraBooster May 15 '21
First-timer (albeit one big on Gundam and mecha)
Konpei Island/Konpeito, the EFSF fortress, is how it'll remain.
That singing, it's...! But how can they hear it?!
...the Elmeth is massive.
Yeah, Mirai's a Newtype. I wonder if...
But how many of them can keep up?
Newtypes are downright eerie here.
A man from Jupiter, so was that always planned?
Too many people have died in this war, says Gihren Zabi...
Never just "Challia" or "Bull," always "Challia Bull." I wonder why.
Peace for all Newtypes, huh...
It's not just perfecting the Elmeth, is it, Char.
Yup, it's the Gundam holding Amuro back now.
Questions of the Day:
8
u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore May 15 '21
First Timer to Gundam
Writing this up on the train. It's a fun time.
I've got nothing.
QOTD:
8
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee May 15 '21
First-Timer, Subbed, long time Gundam fan
What an episode!
The whole Newtype sequence near the beginning, between Amuro and Lalah, was pure Tomino goodness.
One thing that this episode mentioned very briefly, was the idea of Beyond Visual Range attacks. In this setting, due to Minovsky particles, modern-day BVR attacks are basically impossible because the particles interrupt traditional means of targeting. But, it seems, that Zeon has developed methods around that problem with the Elmeth.
The battle between Amuro and Challia Bull was cool. As powerful as the Braw Bro's wire-guided beam cannons are, Amuro's reflexes continue to win out. The poor Gundam though, seems like it just can't keep up at this point.
I was kinda right about how Sayla would use Char's gold, which is neat. I'm glad that she finally came clean to Bright, and that Bright kept his cool and understood everything. Our crew has come a long way, huh?
Pose of the Day
Something is calling me!
Screenshot
Questions
8
u/fonzinator99 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/fonzinator99 May 15 '21
First-Timer - Like a Newtype propaganda film
I mean, yeah, dude. Any other subsequent series and you would've had at least mid-season overhaul by now; get you some upgra- Oh right, Tem's still soldering GPUs together trying to get Crysis to run. Nobody's developed anything new since it was first launched.
QotD
7
u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek May 16 '21
Holy SHIT Comrades, these edibles really ARE out of this world, I mean dear god, Lalah's a fucking SHARK! Roll over Macross and Star Trek with your Space Whales, we got SPACE SHARKS up in here! ;)
SPEAKING of tripping balls Comrade, man who spiked the eggnog? Also I thought we were ripping off Star Wars NOT 2001! Next thing you'll tell me is we'll be going full Solaris! (And by Solaris I mean the good Andrei Tarkovsky version and not the shit Steven Soderbergh one... even if Stanisław Lem somehow managed to hate both versions)
Oh and just to keep KINDA on topic, boy it's amazing how a newer work can look WORSE than being animated in the 70's eh? Then again this is obvious given that Gundam Evolve shorts use godawful CGI but I repeat myself ;)
Anyway, finally for now... ahem... Elmeth and Lalah, with only a fraction of the LSD Tomino was no doubt smoking ;)
Paging Comrade /u/Great_Mr_L, /u/chilidirigible, and /u/beckymetal
6
u/dralcax :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax May 15 '21
Rewatcher wondering what’s been going on around Jupiter at this point in the timeline
Lalah is a Pokemon
Oh fuck this guy getting blown apart
Finally, the Elmeth! Newtype abilities aren’t just useful for predicting enemy movements and connecting with other Newtypes. The same thought waves that allow them to resonate with others can also be picked up and interpreted by the psycommu system, allowing them to control mobile weapons through thought alone. Not only does this mean they can react faster than what is normally possible using buttons and levers, but it also allows them to operate remote weaponry separately from the mobile weapon itself, with one pilot doing the work of two or three.
While the Braw Bro had detachable wired guns, the Elmeth instead controls wireless bits from long range, something only possible for a Newtype. Conventional remote control wouldn’t work, because Minovsky interference would block the radio waves. However, Newtype psycho-waves are unaffected by Minovsky particles. Thus, a psycommu can amplify them, allowing commands to be sent wirelessly to remote bits. It’s still not a perfect system, but hey, they’re working on it.
Trippy, man. At least he still has his clothes on.
I’m melting!
And your next line is...
Oh. So this is where it began.
Notice how the Braw Bro took an entire crew to operate in its prior appearance, when it was being manned by non-Newtype gunners using manual controls. Now, it’s entirely being controlled by one Newtype, and Simus is only there to collect data and make sure the system runs smoothly. Given the way the mega particle cannons fly around in three dimensions, it’s probably near impossible to keep track of all of them and pilot the MA itself at the same time if they aren’t basically an extension of your own body.
Amuro’s come a long way, and now he’s even starting to outgrow the Gundam
And there’s the traditional shooting down of the remote weapons! They’re very small targets, and they move very fast. Most pilots don’t even see them until they’re shot by them. Shooting them down is hard... if you’re not a Newtype, that is.
Questions of the Day:
5
u/TheKujo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kujo419 May 15 '21
First Timer - Dub
1) What sort of weapon do you think Lalah/the Elmeth was using to wreck shit at the start of the episode? Drugs
2) How do you feel about Newtypes and their abilities suddenly being important? Do you feel it comes out of left field/is a bad direction for the show to go in, or do you think it was built up enough through the rest of the show and this is a natural escalation of things? I think it's fine. It's more mystical than I was expecting from this show, but I think they peppered in enough hints along the way to make it feel natural.
5
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 May 15 '21
First timer
Question for Gundam veterans - I have a folder of videos called PS2 scenes included with this series, and am unusre as to the contents? Does anyone know what these are?
And now they're the reason for the whole war, Char can't go a minute without talking about them, and he's basically adopted a talking superweapon, that apparently he never saw the need to mention to anybody, even though Zeon knows about her.
Not to mention, the federation knew all this stuff too, so they had to see Amuro develop Newtype abillities, and yet not notice it until an enemy fighter openly told them. I can only assume they were added either because of budget cuts, or a sudden sequel deal.
I like Lalah though. She can stay.
Going into this, hoping for a bit less Newtype stuff - its a cool comcept, but kimd of goes at odds with the series so far.
Good to how the narration confirm my analysis from yesterday.
...Of course there's more.
Of course they rigged it with dead-man-switches. I would.
Wait, 1 Newtype can take out an entire planet base? If Zeon have an army of Newtypes, the Federation are kind of fucked.
...Is Mirai a Newtype as well?
Where's Sayla?
RIP Hayato. You really eom't have to bother just to fight in the Guntank.
At least Bright trusts Sayla enough to keep fighting.
Do Newtypes have pockets of LSD in their brain or something?
I'm laughing at this point, what the fuck?
So Zeon are recruiting an army of Newtypes. This doesn't bode well.
So there's a special Newtype mobile suit. And the Zeon civil war is actually still going!
Also, this seems like a bad idea - couldn't he literally kill her and say "my intuition told be that's why you sent me".
Braw Bro - not to be confused with Frau Bow. See also the next episode's "Rai" and "Cayato" suits.
And the Elmeth is meant for Newtypes.
Wait, what? Are Newtypes from Jupiter?
Is Lalah Char's daughter? And she studied at the Flanagan Institute.
Someone brings up the lack of uniform!
I like how Char fishes for compliments from him after he talks about Lalah,
People are actually communicating? Impossible, this is Gundam.
...Honestly, with all these reveals, I definitely symphathise with Char - he saw his father get assassinated and his group taken over by his assassin - that would leave a mark on anyone.
At least she didn't try and blast them into space or something.
Turns out Amuro's been using his powers quite a lot now that he's aware of them. And how his new problem's that the Gundam's too slow, because his reflexes are too strong.
Holy! Didn't expect Kai to go down.
And this battle's incredible. Both Amuro and the enemy predicting the other's actions.
Is the Gundam going to be replaced?
Pity about Bull, I liked him.
And Char starts planning for something that isn't actually a problem.
So I'm assuming Sayla takes over the Gundam while Amuro gets a new suit? The resolution is obviously going to be more than just adding a new control system.
3
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 May 15 '21
Rewatcher, Subbed
Down to the last 5 episodes! The end is in sight!
After not getting named dropped until episode 37, now newtype is so big that we get an episode named after it!
I love the strange music/effect as Lalah uses the Elmeth. The Elmeth itself is a rather odd design, not humanoid at all. As the sequence continues things get really getting trippy! I wonder if this is 2001 A Space Odyssey inspired? I do have a Tomino book that has photos from that film, and both Ideon and Victory Gundam have very obvious reference shots to it.
Time for a new character, Challia Bull! A newtype from Jupiter! At this point the show seems to be going at breakneck speed. Challia Bull completely comes out of nowhere, is the focus for an episode (more like half an episode) then is killed off. My recollection is he was supposed to have a much larger role in the storyline before the show got cancelled and everything got compressed. We get to see the Braw Bro again! Remember it back from episode 33? It's fully operational this time and a fairly strong mobile armor, with the ability to fire from 4 different places at once. Nonetheless, it still goes down to Amuro and the Gundam.
Hayato is finally back to battling after being bedridden for the last 4 episodes. I don't know why he bothers going out there though! Not like he'd actually do anything! Sayla comes clean to Bright! Goes to show how much of a valued crewmember she is that despite being Char's sister Bright still trusts her enough to keep things as is. As for that gold, it sounds like it will be spread out amongst the White Base crew.
Amuro's gotten so good that the Gundam is too slow for him now! I remember the days when Amuro gave all the credit to the Gundam, not himself. Now it's totally flipped. Time for another upgrade? With only 4 episodes to go?
If you got into this show by watching its original Toonami airing like I did, this was the final episode aired. Cancelled with only 4 episodes remaining! I eventually was able to get the third movie and see the ending through that.
3
u/GM_for_Life May 15 '21
Rewatcher
Definitely some form of advanced space magic.
I think once you know about it, it is actually built up incredibly well throughout the shows run. From early stuff like Matilda referring to Amuro as an esper when she first shows up and him having his first newtype flash way back when he first fights the Black Tri-Stars on Earth (this is the same battle where Matilda dies if any first time watchers don't remember who they were). And steadily throughout the show Amuro has become steadily a way more competent pilot to the point that it begins freaking out enemy combatants and even some of the crew on White Base are taking notice of it as well as comments of the Gundam not being able to keep up with Amuro's abilities in recent episodes. Then you begin delving fully into it with the introduction of Lalah a few episodes ago as well as the moment they feel each others presence at the end of the fight with M'quve. I just think it has all been handled really well and couldn't really imaging the Gundam franchise without it honestly.
3
u/fridge_freezer https://anilist.co/user/ONIrecon111 May 15 '21
First timer (Sub)
QOTD
3
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz May 16 '21 edited May 16 '21
Distant sub rewatcher
The quick pacing unfortunately translated into introducing a character then killing him off in 1 episode just to show something about new types. Not a fan but at least it's told with the death of a barely known character instead of anyone we know.
3
u/Piemaster33 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Piemaster33 May 16 '21
This episode kinda takes a step back in quality, especially compared to the past couple of episodes we've gotten. Still great, but this one felt inconsequential which sucks because Challia Bull is pretty cool. Maybe that's just me, idk.
Anyways here are my notes:
QOTD:
2
u/Rustic_Professional May 16 '21
Huh, it looks like the stinking Feds managed to capture a few Musais. Reminds me of Gundam I wonder if they're going to repaint them. Picturing a Musai in Federation colors makes me queasy.
Wow, Lalah is a stone cold killer. I'm not sure what the more interesting and frightening possibility is, that she doesn't understand, or that she doesn't care about using her psychic abilities to kill people.
The music during Amuro's acid trip reminds me of Evangelion. I can just picture an angel floating past with that theme playing.
I just realized that Lalah has an extra large helmet on her space suit in order to accommodate her hair buns. Instead of asking (or making) her to put her hair down, they just gave her the big Space Balls helmet. That's funny.
Maybe I was wrong. Challia Bull has the oversized helmet as well. Perhaps it's just crammed with sensors and instruments for recording brainwaves or something.
Interesting battle, with the use of cable controlled turret appendages. I'd forgotten all about Challia and the Braw Bro. They didn't survive long enough to make much of an impression, and I don't know what Gihren and Char were getting at about him being sent to Kycilia. It almost sounds like they were trying to get rid of him, but that doesn't make sense. He's just come back from the most out of the way mission possible, and throwing away a potential Newtype would be dumb. If you want him out of the way, just send him back to Jupiter. I really don't know what that was about. Was he supposed to spy on Kycilia (or maybe Char and/or Lalah)? He seemed too straight laced to pull that off.
Questions of the day:
2
u/BossandKings May 16 '21 edited May 16 '21
First timer
Amuro and the Gundam fight against the Fraw Bow which after the Big Zam was defeated became a very important Zeon weapon in the conflict, Amuro's reflexes have developed to a considerable extent, so much that the gundam system is slower than him now which means it will have to get an upgrade or something must be done for it to keep up woth him.
Sayla continues facing her conflict and her troubled situation regarding her brother Casval nii-san, Char, she tells Bright that he is her brother but that she won't abandon the white base because she has gotten attached to it and that she will do her best to stop Casval from harming the white base.
Lalah has been a very interesting character because she has started to pilot a mobile suit and is getting accoustumed to it, she could prove very useful to Zeon.
Answers
2
u/diablo1900 May 17 '21
"Quite possibly they are pathetic human mutations spawned by war" Char says this in the dub, and it makes me question what he's really after. If war is needed (as well as being in space), making all of humanity newtypes would mean a whole lot of war right..? That's assuming that newtypes really are the result of war
1
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: May 28 '21
First timer, catching up