No Thoughts,only Bride.

No thoughts,only bride.

Kinda surreal how Shaddiq had this big grand plan to kidnap his father and deliver him to the Space Assembly League, thus blowing Benerit open wide to being dismantled, but Kenanji and Guel stopped him, but then Peil technologies were like “actually, let’s do that” and got them involved anyway.

Falling upward, perhaps?

(Though to be fair it isn’t the first time they’ve pulled this *cough* Pharact *cough*).

(Like yeah, Norea’s rampage probably also played a large part in this, but still).

Alright, it’s probably too early for me to be doing this sort of analysis (I normally like to wait until things are a little more concluded) but

I wonder if the grudge between Renee Costa and Lillique Kadoka Lipati being comparatively petty (Lillique refused an invitation from a boy, Renee viewed this as a insult to him, and by extension her, since he was “number 12 on her list of back-up boyfriends”) is supposed to illustrate that the students settling these thing via near-lethal duels is a bad idea?

(Even weakened beams can still easily kill, as shown by Suletta’s fight against Elan 4)

Furthermore, it enforces the idea that power (in this case Mobile suits) is the deciding factor. Any student on the MS course will have an advantage, regardless of the effectiveness of their support team, since the pilot’s skill matters most. It’s entirely possible for one strong pilot to dominate the house, any duels being passed back to them to resolve, as seen with Guel and Suletta (With their losses greatly impacting the house). It also weakens them against the kind of soft power that Shaddiq and Miorine employ.

I do find it interesting how it’s only Grassley that goes all in on Duelling, with 6 suits compared to Jeturk’s 4 and Peil’s 2 (though that’s mostly suppositions both, since they could have had more off-screen, and that Shaddiq was likely stockpiling materials for his move.).

If nothing else, Renee and Lillique’s duel provides a good contrast to the corporate machinations of Peil and Prospera.

And now, Episode 21 (just some quick notes for now)

*spoilers follow for Gundam witch from mercury episode 21*

I really like the Calgores fielded by the Space Assembly League, those are lovely. Like someone blended a Heingra and a Jegan together, with just a pinch of the Geara Doga.

Alright, alright Petra’s alive. Fine I guess. Hope she manages to speak to Lauda. I like that Felsi’s getting more focus.

Are we getting 30 episodes, 50 episodes or something different here? Because I’m kinda grappling with the understanding that Shaddiq was essentially the Starter Villain, and that really doesn’t sit right. It is however, really nice just to see him and Miorine talking, even if Miorine is still coming to terms with quinharbour (I guess?). I am really looking forward to her and Suletta reuniting though. (But really, if Shaddiq’s the starter villain, and we get 50 eps, does that mean that Peil’s gonna be the big bad simply by virtue of having moved last? Like we know they’ve got shady stuff going on, but other than the two Elan’s, we’ve received very little to go off).

Realisation: if Lauda ends up piloting the Gundam Schwarzette (since that’s my read on that scene from last episode), then that’s good, because more character focus. But it’s also bad, because it means he’s probably gonna die.

(Art by Ippei Gyoubu)

While I do agree with your points about suletta and miorine, particularly their contrasting arcs at the minute, I must confess I’m somewhat lost on your last point.

Maybe it’s just that I haven’t seen Gundam Wing in quite a while, but while Char and Zechs are quite different:

In Aesthetics

In personal connection to the main villains - Zechs and Treize being old friends vs. Char haveing been gunning for the Zabi family since essentially day one.

In the precise details of their nobility - Char being concerned primarily with revenge for the death of his father, whereas Zechs seems to have ambitions to restore the Sanc Kingdom to its former glory, he just thinks that he really isn’t the right guy for the job.

In their arcs- Char goes from Rival to Friend to Villain, whereas Zechs goes Rival to Villain to Friend.

They’re generally pretty similar other than that (A young man heir to a kingdom joins the military in disguise in order to avenge the deaths of his family, rivalling the Gundam pilot and meeting someone else he comes to truly care about in the process).

There’s probably a comparison to be made about Char taking control of Neo Zeon and perpetrating the axis drop, versus Zechs/Milliardo leading White Fang and heading up Barge, but for the life of me I can’t remember why Milliardo does that.

My point is, while Char and Zechs are different enough that the change is noticeable, I’m not really sure how the differences between them apply to Prospera.

I just don’t see what Zechs brings to the table that Char doesn’t.

(I should probably mention that when I talk about Char here, it’s primarily a mix of the cunning manipulator presented in the Original Series and the Origin, and the World-weary charisma machine from Char’s counterattack. While I do very much like Quattro Bajeena, I just don’t think he’s relevant here).

I’ve been wondering just who or what was going to be the Caliban of this show. It’ll be interesting to see just what will happen to Suletta now that she has to rely on her own skills as a pilot, and all the stress it entails. Permet scores and all.

It’s also in character for her to come to terms with who and what she is after all that has transpired. Which is a relieve because I would hate to see it dragged out. Miorine, on the other hand, needs her tanuki, ASAP. And a tomato in these trying times.

Prospera going full steam ahead on crimes is strangely artful. That whole scene with her activating Quiet Zero and annihilating the Assembly fleet gave me chills, and also reminded me of later parts of Gundam Wing. Forget Char, she’s more like Zechs.