Noriyoshi Ohrai

Noriyoshi Ohrai

An interesting thought I had a few days ago when thinking about Gundam Frame development;

We know that Gundam frames and Mobile Armours share a lot in common from a design perspective, since parts from a mobile armour can be integrated into Mobile suits, so could the apparent increase in complexity as the Gundam Frames continue on be the result of captured materials being integrated into the Gundam Frames?

Murmur was the original catalyst for this line of thinking, since it uses tech that we’ve seen previously on Mobile Armours such as Hashmal, but it’s most evident with Barbatos;

It’s able to integrate the tech with very little difficulty, and Alaya-Vijinana bridges the gap between pilot and machine, so it doesn’t have to match absolutely. So why couldn’t other technology be the result of recovered Mobile armour materials?

It could also lead to a greater refinement of the Alaya-Vijinana system, since we see Units like the Murmur or Marchosias having more inhuman designs, when compared to the relative simplicity of Barbatos and Gamigin, the earlier-numbered units.

The only “fancy” weapon system that appears to exist basically from the start (barring the Alaya-Vijinana system itself) is the Rare Metal weaponry, with Bael, Haagenti and now Zepar all having access to weapons made from Rare Metal (though it’s possible there were multiple Gundam Frame “foundries”, each of which had different technological specialties).

This post was inspired by this piece of Fanart, depicting a sort of Gundam-ified Hashmal;

Fuck it, it’s been out for….. however many days now, let’s talk about the Gundam Murmur.

Gonna be discussing the design and sorta just general implications of its existence (like I did a little with the Haagenti and Rustal).

Design-wise, gorgeous. I love how unique it looks compared to units that came before it, while still retaining enough Gundam-like features to not look too out of place. It is, I suppose, the limit of the Gundam’s human-centric design (watch something else come out that just blows this out of the water), especially since it’s primary weapons (the Surgical Feathers) are controlled via remote (through Alaya-Vijinana). It makes sense as a weapon system, since it seems to be designed to overwhelm a Mobile Armour from range. The form and flowing armour I find quite pleasing - I’d like to assume the engraving was added postwar (particularly since the Fareed’s are part of the Seven Stars), but I’ve absolutely nothing to back that up with. I did think that given the nature of its weapons systems, it’s possible that it relied on a lot of other units (like Hugo’s or Rodi’s) to tie up enemy mobile armours until it could strike the killing blow, so perhaps they’re there to inspire its vassals? Then again, the surgical stylings of its equipment seem to be pointing in a different direction.

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons going around with the Qubeley, because of the flowing nature of its armour, but I honestly associate it more with the Gundam Harute (Final Battle ver.), likely due to the skirt, back weapons and orange colouration. I do have a fondness for the head - it feels quite removed from the typical design, thanks to its large shape, but it retains the key features (twin-eye, “horns”, faceplate). It could even be said that the both have a significant compliment of ranged weaponry, since the Harute has Scissor Fangs. I do like how it’s upper half seems rather lightly armoured, since it makes it seem mobile and able to fight with its surgical knives - too much armour would make it’s mobility less believable, so it’s a nice touch. I generally like skirts on mobile suits (a good example off the top of my head would be the Xamel), so Murmur going the whole hog with a dress and a bunch of knives is just wonderful.

Alrighty, so I mentioned way, waaaaay back when talking about the Haagenti that it’d be interesting to see what the other Seven Stars Gundams are that remain in Vingolf along with Bael (barring Kimaris, obviously)

(Which is a thought. Wonder how Kimaris’ loss was covered up. It’s all very well saying Gaelio died at Edmonton, but surely you’d at least recover the Gundam frame. Supposedly the official records were doctored to say that the Kimaris had been returned, but I feel like someone should’ve at least checked if it’d been returned.) (Hm. Though now I am imagining Rustal just swapping the armour onto Haagenti and then smuggling it into the Baudin’s vault, which is fun).

Anyway, we now have the Fareed and Kujan Family Gundam’s leaving only the Baklazan and Issue families to go (I’ve been seeing some theories floating around regarding the Issue family Gundam, so it’ll be interesting to see how accurate they are). So, to recap, there’s 8 Gundam frames in Vingolf (unless House Baklazan’s missing theirs or something) of the 26 confirmed to still be in existence at the start of Iron Blooded Orphans in P.D. 323 (though we don’t know who’s doing the confirming, so that number’s fairly loose).

So, what does this mean regarding our erstwhile Agnika Kaieru Impersonator over here?

Mcgillis Fareed stood to, and by the second season did, inherit the Gundam Murmur as part of his position in the Seven Stars. It’s not difficult to fathom why it wasn’t used in his coup - Mcgillis wishes to inherit the power of Agnika Kaieru - Bael, the symbol of Gjallarhorn. If anything, I’d wager he actively wants to reject his connection to the Fareeds not only because of his relationship with Iznario, but also because it would tie his coup to the Seven Stars. It would cheapen it to (in his mind) an internal power struggle within the echelons of Gjallarhorn, rather than the glorious revolution he wants it to be, spurred by the inheritor of Agnika Kaieru’s legacy.

Ironically, Murmur’s rejected because it’s a thing of the past - The Fareed family is shortly to cease being an active part of Gjallarhorn as Mcgillis rejects it, Iznario no longer holds any power with which to access it and it’s not a part of the world that Mcgillis wants to create. It’s part of a bygone age - a symbol of the Seven Stars system that Mcgillis aims to remove.

How very poetic.

I fully agree that Vidar probably required a lot of speeches from Rustal to prevent him from rushing Mcgillis there and then. Everything about Vidar just screams that he’s restraining himself from pursuing vengeance. The poise, his talks with Julieta, the way he fights in Gundam Vidar - it’s very pointed, it’s very precise as he strikes the chinks in his opponents armour but at the same time communicates that aura of freedom - this is what he can do. This is what he will do when it’s time for him to step up on stage. This is how he’s going to make Mcgillis pay. It’s like a dance. He’s not toying with his opponents but he’s just untouchable. And when he finally has the opportunity to go for Mcgillis he does *not* mess around, all but stating who he is and how he’s going to win. I imagine Rustal really had to emphasise the need to bide their time.

Vingolf….. my usual read for why it’s like that is that it’s evocative of a shrine or a tomb. Here lie the Machines that ended the Calamity War, slumbering until awakened again. The water makes me think of a reflecting pool, here for any of the Seven Stars to gaze into and consider the power contained here - These machines were the seeds of Gjallarhorn, the strength by which it governs the world. It would hopefully dissuade any of the Seven Stars from doing anything foolish to upset the balance of things - to meditate on the powers that were the foundation of Gjallarhorn. I did also think that (assuming it’s very, very pure) the water might also be there to electrically insulate the Gundam Frames to prevent further damage? Since pure water doesn’t conduct electricity? However that seems like it’d be more trouble than it’s really worth (since you’d have to keep it pure somehow).

The Baklazan Family Door being open is distinctly odd. On the one hand, it sits opposite Bael, and if I was going to expect a missing Gundam to go anywhere, it’d be there. On the other…. This is just my own feeling, but it’d be odd if only one of the Seven Stars lost its Gundam from the Calamity War. Two or three fine, but you’re telling me that everyone else except the Baklazan’s kept theirs? I think the more likely explanation is that Gaelio wasn’t the only one taking the family Gundam for a spin at the time of Mcgillis’ coup. Though exactly where it was at the time I have no idea (We can probably assume it didn’t act with the Arianrhod Fleet when fighting Mcgillis or Tekkadan, but beyond that it’s hard to say).

It could just be an animation error or something too, perhaps Baklazan was drawn as a demonstration of how the doors look when open, and it was taken to mean that the door *should* be open in all shots.

Fuck it, it’s been out for….. however many days now, let’s talk about the Gundam Murmur.

Gonna be discussing the design and sorta just general implications of its existence (like I did a little with the Haagenti and Rustal).

Design-wise, gorgeous. I love how unique it looks compared to units that came before it, while still retaining enough Gundam-like features to not look too out of place. It is, I suppose, the limit of the Gundam’s human-centric design (watch something else come out that just blows this out of the water), especially since it’s primary weapons (the Surgical Feathers) are controlled via remote (through Alaya-Vijinana). It makes sense as a weapon system, since it seems to be designed to overwhelm a Mobile Armour from range. The form and flowing armour I find quite pleasing - I’d like to assume the engraving was added postwar (particularly since the Fareed’s are part of the Seven Stars), but I’ve absolutely nothing to back that up with. I did think that given the nature of its weapons systems, it’s possible that it relied on a lot of other units (like Hugo’s or Rodi’s) to tie up enemy mobile armours until it could strike the killing blow, so perhaps they’re there to inspire its vassals? Then again, the surgical stylings of its equipment seem to be pointing in a different direction.

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons going around with the Qubeley, because of the flowing nature of its armour, but I honestly associate it more with the Gundam Harute (Final Battle ver.), likely due to the skirt, back weapons and orange colouration. I do have a fondness for the head - it feels quite removed from the typical design, thanks to its large shape, but it retains the key features (twin-eye, “horns”, faceplate). It could even be said that the both have a significant compliment of ranged weaponry, since the Harute has Scissor Fangs. I do like how it’s upper half seems rather lightly armoured, since it makes it seem mobile and able to fight with its surgical knives - too much armour would make it’s mobility less believable, so it’s a nice touch. I generally like skirts on mobile suits (a good example off the top of my head would be the Xamel), so Murmur going the whole hog with a dress and a bunch of knives is just wonderful.

Alrighty, so I mentioned way, waaaaay back when talking about the Haagenti that it’d be interesting to see what the other Seven Stars Gundams are that remain in Vingolf along with Bael (barring Kimaris, obviously)

(Which is a thought. Wonder how Kimaris’ loss was covered up. It’s all very well saying Gaelio died at Edmonton, but surely you’d at least recover the Gundam frame. Supposedly the official records were doctored to say that the Kimaris had been returned, but I feel like someone should’ve at least checked if it’d been returned.) (Hm. Though now I am imagining Rustal just swapping the armour onto Haagenti and then smuggling it into the Baudin’s vault, which is fun).

Anyway, we now have the Fareed and Kujan Family Gundam’s leaving only the Baklazan and Issue families to go (I’ve been seeing some theories floating around regarding the Issue family Gundam, so it’ll be interesting to see how accurate they are). So, to recap, there’s 8 Gundam frames in Vingolf (unless House Baklazan’s missing theirs or something) of the 26 confirmed to still be in existence at the start of Iron Blooded Orphans in P.D. 323 (though we don’t know who’s doing the confirming, so that number’s fairly loose).

So, what does this mean regarding our erstwhile Agnika Kaieru Impersonator over here?

Mcgillis Fareed stood to, and by the second season did, inherit the Gundam Murmur as part of his position in the Seven Stars. It’s not difficult to fathom why it wasn’t used in his coup - Mcgillis wishes to inherit the power of Agnika Kaieru - Bael, the symbol of Gjallarhorn. If anything, I’d wager he actively wants to reject his connection to the Fareeds not only because of his relationship with Iznario, but also because it would tie his coup to the Seven Stars. It would cheapen it to (in his mind) an internal power struggle within the echelons of Gjallarhorn, rather than the glorious revolution he wants it to be, spurred by the inheritor of Agnika Kaieru’s legacy.

Ironically, Murmur’s rejected because it’s a thing of the past - The Fareed family is shortly to cease being an active part of Gjallarhorn as Mcgillis rejects it, Iznario no longer holds any power with which to access it and it’s not a part of the world that Mcgillis wants to create. It’s part of a bygone age - a symbol of the Seven Stars system that Mcgillis aims to remove.

How very poetic.

Just a quick follow up:

I’m not really sure how effective the Murmur’d be for Mcgillis’ coup, simply because we only have the one short video to show it in action (so far), in which it doesn’t really move.

On the one hand, I certainly wouldn’t expect it to be slow and it having the Post Disaster Equivalent of Funnels (though I suppose a more apt comparison would be fangs or blade incoms) would surely be a large boon to its combat ability - it’s essentially equivalent to six of the Barbatos Lupus Rex’s tail blades, albeit of a more surgical design, which has been shown to be very effective against any foe it comes across. It’s possible that it’s weapons contain rare metal, which would further boost their effectiveness, but it’s not explicitly stated (I’m only supposing based on their physical similarities to other weapons containing rare metal).

On the other hand, would it be a match for the Kimaris Vidar, as Bael was? I assume that Bael’s faster, simply because of the thrust granted by its wings, but I don’t know if the Murmur would make up for that in other areas (or if its pilot could adapt). Though it’s unlikely that Murmur’d be able to pull quite as many forces to Mcgillis’ cause, not being the symbol of Gjallarhorn that Bael is.

Which brings me to another topic regarding it’s hypothetical pilot. If not, as I implied above, Mcgillis, then who? I honestly can’t imagine it being lent to Tekkadan (Mcgillis’ prizes them for their independent strength, irrespective of him or Gjallarhorn), but I could imagine it being used by someone else:

Isurugi Camice.

Who I’ve honestly wanted to talk about for ages, him being Mcgillis’ no.2 guy for the second season. Both his machines are hand-me-downs from Mcgillis, being the Schwalbe Graze and the Helmwidge Reincar (a re-armoured Grimgerde). I really like him, I think he’s a good example of a side character in Gundam - someone you see going around and doing stuff, but who nonetheless has his own aspirations and motivations for what he’s doing beyond the generic.

He’s a very solid parallel to Ein (and thus also to Mikazuki, Julieta, and probably Galan Mossa/The Bearded Gentleman) - he’s a subordinate who comes to embody the wishes of his superior (or rather, his perceptions of his superiors wishes). He is Mcgillis’ knight, as Mikazuki is to Orga, as Julieta is to Rustal and as Ein is to Crank (or at least Crank’s memory). He willingly gives up his own ambitions in order to further Mcgillis’, as he says to Gaelio during their Duel (really good duel by the way, it suffers only because it directly precedes Mcgillis and Gaelio’s final confrontation). His similarity to Ein is reflected in their mobile suits - Ein inherits Gaelio’s Schwalbe Graze, then goes on to become the Graze Ein. Isurugi inherits Mcgillis’ Schwalbe Graze (at the same time Mcgillis “inherits” Carta’s Graze Ritter) and later uses the Grimgerde Valkyrja frame.

But I do want to suppose about that last one. Where did Mcgillis get the Grimgerde?

I initially assumed he pulled out of some hangar in Gjallarhorn somewhere, a holdover from the Graze’s original development that no-one would miss, suitable as a deniable asset for his own purposes. But what if that isn’t the case? What if Mcgillis had more than one birthright?

(Note: this theory was originally based on the information that Montag was Mcgillis’ original birthname. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to track down the actual source that states this, so it should be taken purely as a “what if?”.)

Mcgillis was able to revive/buy/impersonate/falsify the documentation of; the Montag company, a company (established by Clive Montag) that had been operating for approximately 200 years. Well, what if the Montag family were one of the families that fought in the Calamity War but eschewed from joining Gjallarhorn? Could the Grimgerde be Mcgillis’ inheritance through Montag? In becoming the inheritor of Agnika Kaieru he casts off both his birthrights from Fareed and Montag, but his philosophy of the strong rising from anywhere (like Tekkadan) fits well with Isurugi. So he gives him the Grimgerde, re-armoured to obscure its previous actions. He chooses one legacy as worth preserving over another. It just makes his rejection of Murmur that much more interesting.

(It’s also quite likely that Vingolf was locked down after his initial stunt with Bael, to prevent any of the other Seven Stars getting ideas. So even if he’d wanted to he might’ve struggled to get Murmur out of there)

It is however, fun to speculate about what might’ve been. If Murmur had been taken instead. If Mcgillis has decided to use a different “might” of Gjallarhorn against itself.

Or maybe just if Bael had been locked.

Fuck it, it’s been out for….. however many days now, let’s talk about the Gundam Murmur.

Gonna be discussing the design and sorta just general implications of its existence (like I did a little with the Haagenti and Rustal).

Design-wise, gorgeous. I love how unique it looks compared to units that came before it, while still retaining enough Gundam-like features to not look too out of place. It is, I suppose, the limit of the Gundam’s human-centric design (watch something else come out that just blows this out of the water), especially since it’s primary weapons (the Surgical Feathers) are controlled via remote (through Alaya-Vijinana). It makes sense as a weapon system, since it seems to be designed to overwhelm a Mobile Armour from range. The form and flowing armour I find quite pleasing - I’d like to assume the engraving was added postwar (particularly since the Fareed’s are part of the Seven Stars), but I’ve absolutely nothing to back that up with. I did think that given the nature of its weapons systems, it’s possible that it relied on a lot of other units (like Hugo’s or Rodi’s) to tie up enemy mobile armours until it could strike the killing blow, so perhaps they’re there to inspire its vassals? Then again, the surgical stylings of its equipment seem to be pointing in a different direction.

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons going around with the Qubeley, because of the flowing nature of its armour, but I honestly associate it more with the Gundam Harute (Final Battle ver.), likely due to the skirt, back weapons and orange colouration. I do have a fondness for the head - it feels quite removed from the typical design, thanks to its large shape, but it retains the key features (twin-eye, “horns”, faceplate). It could even be said that the both have a significant compliment of ranged weaponry, since the Harute has Scissor Fangs. I do like how it’s upper half seems rather lightly armoured, since it makes it seem mobile and able to fight with its surgical knives - too much armour would make it’s mobility less believable, so it’s a nice touch. I generally like skirts on mobile suits (a good example off the top of my head would be the Xamel), so Murmur going the whole hog with a dress and a bunch of knives is just wonderful.

Alrighty, so I mentioned way, waaaaay back when talking about the Haagenti that it’d be interesting to see what the other Seven Stars Gundams are that remain in Vingolf along with Bael (barring Kimaris, obviously)

(Which is a thought. Wonder how Kimaris’ loss was covered up. It’s all very well saying Gaelio died at Edmonton, but surely you’d at least recover the Gundam frame. Supposedly the official records were doctored to say that the Kimaris had been returned, but I feel like someone should’ve at least checked if it’d been returned.) (Hm. Though now I am imagining Rustal just swapping the armour onto Haagenti and then smuggling it into the Baudin’s vault, which is fun).

Anyway, we now have the Fareed and Kujan Family Gundam’s leaving only the Baklazan and Issue families to go (I’ve been seeing some theories floating around regarding the Issue family Gundam, so it’ll be interesting to see how accurate they are). So, to recap, there’s 8 Gundam frames in Vingolf (unless House Baklazan’s missing theirs or something) of the 26 confirmed to still be in existence at the start of Iron Blooded Orphans in P.D. 323 (though we don’t know who’s doing the confirming, so that number’s fairly loose).

So, what does this mean regarding our erstwhile Agnika Kaieru Impersonator over here?

Mcgillis Fareed stood to, and by the second season did, inherit the Gundam Murmur as part of his position in the Seven Stars. It’s not difficult to fathom why it wasn’t used in his coup - Mcgillis wishes to inherit the power of Agnika Kaieru - Bael, the symbol of Gjallarhorn. If anything, I’d wager he actively wants to reject his connection to the Fareeds not only because of his relationship with Iznario, but also because it would tie his coup to the Seven Stars. It would cheapen it to (in his mind) an internal power struggle within the echelons of Gjallarhorn, rather than the glorious revolution he wants it to be, spurred by the inheritor of Agnika Kaieru’s legacy.

Ironically, Murmur’s rejected because it’s a thing of the past - The Fareed family is shortly to cease being an active part of Gjallarhorn as Mcgillis rejects it, Iznario no longer holds any power with which to access it and it’s not a part of the world that Mcgillis wants to create. It’s part of a bygone age - a symbol of the Seven Stars system that Mcgillis aims to remove.

How very poetic.

What flavour even is Coke (the drink) honestly.