*the Following Contains Spoilers For Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Urdr Hunt*

*the following contains spoilers for Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Urdr Hunt*

Alright, so I’ve finally finished Gundam Ibo Urdr Hunt, and I’ll be doing a proper post on it momentarily, but I do want to get one thing out right now.

I kind of really love the Hajiroboshi Second Form.

Which is a little odd in isolation, since it’s not actually that different from the original Hajiroboshi.

It’s really just got new shoulders, the new boosters on its backpack (the head might have been reworked slightly, but I think that might just be me) and a new sword. However, two of these features (the Boosters and Sword) bring it closer to its original form.

Just looking at its armaments on their own, I like them. I will admit I have a weakness for suits that are “We have a sword, let’s just use that really really well”. I like both the Destiny and the Throne Zwei for those reasons. But the Hajiroboshi second form has some points in its favour that those two don’t- it’s in Post Disaster 324, a setting where that is a very viable strategy, and it’s got those lovely thrusters on its back that seem to primarily serve to get it into melee range (not to mention the harpoons). I also like the shield -it’s streamlined, but not to the point of not being protective, and while I like how it’s got the claw tips for thrusting, it’s nice how there’s so little emphasis on them (though that might just be from the last protagonist suit I looked at being the Lah). But the Cross Mace hearkens back to the main sword of its original armament and the thrusters also bring it closer to the original silhouette of the Marchosias

So it kinda just feels like the ghost of the Marchosias.

Which is great, because both the Hajiroboshi and Barbatos seem to have something going on in that regard. Mikazuki talks to the Barbatos during the battle against Ein in Edmonton as if there’s some last vestige of its former pilot present, while the Hajiroboshi seems to react on its own when encountering mobile armours. Based on what we know about Gundam Frames from the original series, it’s typically some form of interaction with the Alaya-Vijnana (like when the Gusion Rebake gets shut down when attempting to engage the mobile armour, since Akihiro gets overwhelmed by the feedback). The Barbatos’ connection is obvious - Mikazuki’s in a high stress situation when using the Alaya-Vijinana, and presumably he’s doing something similar to what the original pilot did - using the sword to fight an enemy not too dissimilar to a mobile armour. However, the Hajiroboshi’s is considerably less clear. It seems to either lock up, as the Gusion Rebake did, implying it’s fitted with a limiter; or it seems to “flash back” to a similar fight from the calamity war (at least that’s my read on it versus Harael) and from there act as if it has the “True Alaya-Vijinana” installed (it’s only in speech marks because I don’t really have a better term for it). It’s honestly a little unclear on whether it’s Hajiroboshi, the Mobile Armour or both that has the flash backs, since it’s from Harael’s perspective but Wistario mentions seeing them.

So presumably, the Hajiroboshi’s fitted with some kind of system that mimics Alaya-Vijinana, but I would like to offer another suggestion; What if, on some level, the pilots are still in them?

Now, we know that Alaya-Vijinana is a man-machine interface developed prior to the calamity war, but there’s two specific pieces of information that we’re told about it I want to focus on;

“The Alaya-Vijinana creates a Pseudo-brain lobe in the pilot’s body using nanomachines, allowing the pilot's brain to directly process mobile suit data fed through the physical connection.”

“Furthermore, this continuous link can cause consciousness to be forcibly maintained even in situations where the pilot is supposed to faint or even die instantly.”

So, an extra brain lobe to process the information and the system will keep the pilot alive even in situations where they shouldn’t be. So, is it possible there could be some sort of feedback loop or that the mobile suit could retain some of the pilot’s habits (the Barbatos telling Mikazuki how to use the katana through a sort of frame-wide “muscle memory” of its previous pilot).

It’s also interesting that this seems to happen during moments of great stress for their modern pilots - at those points when the greatest amount of data would be moving from the person to the mobile suit. So, if, say for example, a pilot was regularly facing strong enemies in life-or-death situations, might the system retain that data too? The heightened reaction speed, the chemical reactions leading to emotional output, the movements of the pilot to resolve the situation. The Calamity War was a time when humanity was desperately pushed to the brink by the mobile armours, it’s very unlikely that they would have taken the time to work out all the bugs in the system (heck, if they were taking high pilot losses, it might have been seen as a bonus).

So yeah, the Hajiroboshi might be haunted.

As the Hajiroboshi appears as a ghost of the Marchosias, there might also be another ghost in the machine.

I just thought that it’s a rad connection.

Me when GB02 gives out free four-star Nu Gundam and Sazabi, Amuro and Char’s final suit’s respectively: Oh, neat I guess, might repaint those later. Pity we didn’t get the Nightingale.

Me when the GBO2 store has the Ga-Zowmn and Ram Z’gok available to buy, a villain of the week from ZZ and an MSV unit, respectively: Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOO

『∀ガンダム』（ターンエーガンダム、Turn A Gundam）1999

The MAK-005S Gaplant Kai was a mobile armour used by the Earth Branch of the AEUG, Karaba, during the latter half of the Gryps Conflict and throughout the subsequent Neo Zeon War. Unlike its predecessor, the ORX-005 Gaplant, it was a non-transformable suit conceived as an atmospheric interceptor - an excellent means to challenge invading Axis forces. However, Karaba already possessed the excellent Zeta Plus series with which to establish aerial superiority, and as such only 20 units were produced. These twenty units would be deployed in rapid strike operations against (formerly) spaceborne Axis forces entering the atmosphere.

The regular Gaplant is one of those titans suits that I just see everywhere. We know that a lot of old Titans Stock was sold off by the Earth Federation (though to who exactly is a little unclear), and a transformable suit capable of long periods of atmospheric flight was always going to be a hot item. It makes sense that it’d have some further development with the fall of the Titans - though materials associated with them are politically inconvenient to Earth Federation itself, Karaba really isn’t in a position to be picky. The Gaplant’s just rather nice and straightforward. I will call out that I absolutely adore the wing binders, and just wing binders in general; they’re just a design feature I really like - a wing, a thruster, a gun all-in-one. It’s just a great economy of design and yet so stylish.

Armament-wise, the Gaplant Kai eschews the integrated beam rifles and beam sabers of the original Gaplant and replaces them with weaponry more suited to a mobile armour, namely Vulcan Cannons in the wings and some optional 12-tube missile launchers near the rear of the craft (not shown in the above picture). It also has some Diffuse Beam Cannons built into the wings. If it wasn’t for the fact that they can also function as regular Beam Cannons, I’d find fitting your interceptor with what are essentially beam shotguns an extremely ballsy move.

In case it isn’t obvious, I do very much like the Gaplant Kai conceptually - taking a Titans design and pressing it into Karaba’s service in the Neo Zeon War is just kinda rad, recognising the enemy was on to something and deploying it in the next war out of desperation. I like the Gaplant, so a variant on its design emphasising the mobile armour element is just lovely and I appreciate how much more specialised it feels - no longer a test unit, it’s Aerodynamic and suited to quick strikes. I’m of two minds about the colour scheme. One one hand, it’d be difficult to pick out against the clouds, so I can visualise it coming out of nowhere and attacking a surprised enemy. On the other, it’s just a little bit plain.

I usually think of the Seven Stars system and heraldry as being a immediate post-war thing for three main reasons:

It makes sense as a post war institution - lots of disparate peoples to unite, infrastructure to rebuild and it’s a clear pecking order. It allows a clear delineation of who is responsible for what and stops the multiple families stepping on each other’s toes.

We only ever see crests or markings of the style of the Seven Stars on their own Gundam Frames, we don’t see them on any of the other machines we know fought in the Calamity War - the Marchosias, the Gremory or the Dantalion (the Astaroth Origin, Calamity War Flauros and the Asmoday itself all also lack them, but I feel you could argue mitigating factors for each). This would imply they were added to the gundam’s post-calamity war, in order to sell them as “the machines that ended the calamity war”. The relative obscurity of the Valkyrja frame could also be counted as a point towards this, since we know at least one saw combat (the Oltlinde), but they’re not presented in the same way. It makes sense that the Seven Stars would put their Crests on the surviving Gundam Frames, since they are essentially the beginnings of their authority and they want to reinforce that (à La the divine right of kings).

If the Seven Stars were a pre-existing institution then it rankles me slightly that the top seven members of Gjallarhorn were all part of this pre-war nobility, when their position was decided meritocratically. You’d expect at least one member to be a nobody who reached their position through feat of arms.

Expanding on that third point, I feel it makes more sense thematically for the Seven Stars to have been founded on a meritocratic basis, each member coming from nothing, because it ties in to Tekkadan’s rise to fame. The Current Seven stars are at least the third generation from the original founders of Gjallarhorn, with barely a hint of merit to any of them - Gaelio’s very sheltered and all too easygoing in his duties, Iok’s actively incompetent and a danger to those around him. Carta, while not ineffective, is in a largely ceremonial position and her successes are due more to brute strength than any strategic nous. Mcgillis’ is adopted into the Fareed Family, unrelated to the original founder. Rustal’s the only one that seems to buck the trend. But nonetheless, each family came to be where they are now through the actions of their predecessor in their Gundam Frames

How does Tekkadan, a family of Child Soldiers and Human Debris come to their power? Through the actions of their pilots through their Gundam Frames. The enemies they fight reinforce this - Ein, a monster made using forbidden technology from the Calamity War, and then Hashmal, a bona-fide relic of the Calamity War. They follow the same path to glory as each of the Seven Stars Founders would have, climbing ever higher, until it eclipses them.

Just a little on the Gundam Asmoday/Asmodeus today (it apparently could’ve been called the Ashmodai, which is neat).

Okay, so the ASW-G-32 Gundam Asmoday is found by Wistario the Erda II crew (specifically Sinister) inside an Aridne Cocoon in the Debris zone. It’s specifically noted to be essentially brand new, with no records of it fighting in the calamity war, and a full complement of weapons ready to go. Based on this, and the fact that it seems to have its reactor hooked up to the cocoon, we can gauge one of two things. Either;

The Gundam wasn’t completed until either very late in the Calamity War, or just after, and thus didn’t have an opportunity to fight against the mobile armours.

This Cocoon relay station was apparently important enough to dedicate a Gundam frame just to keep it operational.

Based on the assumption that a bunch of regular ahab reactors would probably have done the job just fine, I think it’s more likely to be a case of it being completed late.

What makes this interesting is that we only know of one other Gundam frame that was completed late in the calamity war:

The ASW-G-71 Gundam Dantalion.

Now, because this is both at the end of the series (71/72) and because it’s stated that the Dantalion had been completed late, I had previously assumed that the Gundam Frames were completed sequentially. So, the ever-elusive ASW-G-70 Gundam Seere would have been completed just prior to the Dantalion, and the 72nd Gundam would have been completed after, possibly even being completed postwar (At a guess, either the Gundam Andromalius or Gundam Pruflas/Bufas - I’d be very interested in know what happened to it, since it’s be the most likely source as to any clue to the end of the calamity war and it’s immediate aftermath). But the Asmodeus implies something quite different. Unless its deployment was delayed for whatever reason, then it’s evidence that the Gundam frames may not have been built sequentially. (I’m not sure which it would be - it doesn’t seem to have any equipment that’d be too difficult to work with, being structured as a fairly direct combatant - gigant javelin as a sort of whip-sword to attack from a distance, smoke grenades and then grand tonfa’s up close, but then there’s plenty of other reasons for it to not have seen combat).

We do, however, know that Bael was the first. Add to that the seeming increase in complexity as the numbers climb (Dantalion appears simple but it has a bunch of add-on equipment not shown above, a lot of the 50’s and 60’s-series Gundams have fancy designs or systems, especially compared to the relative simplicity of the 00’s and 10’s), and we can guess that they were at least designed sequentially, with Asmoday’s presumed delay being an exception.

However, what I also think is interesting is where it was found. Inside an Ariadne Network Cocoon, big enough to be used as a harbour, administrative and let’s face it defensive point, in the network. Administered by the Falk Family (presumably headed by either Kalf Falk or his immediate successor), who already possess a Gundam Frame to their name - the Gundam Gamigin (shown above).

So what was the Asmodeus, for all intents and purposes a “phantom machine”, which exists on paper but was never actually deployed, doing there? Each Seven Stars Family or similar organisation within Gjallarhorn has precisely one Gundam Frame to their name, with no evidence of one family using multiple frames. I find it particularly interesting that it’s the Falk’s of all people that seem to have this frame - they’re one of the two families we know the absolute least about, the other being the Baklazan’s. Even then, most of the information we do know is what can be inferred from their Urdr Hunt point and their Gundam Frame. The only real supposition we can make is that they’re probably the oldest out of the Seven Stars - assuming no family got multiple Gundam Frames during the calamity war (which feels a fair assumption to make, given that we know absolutely nothing about any frames that were destroyed, implying no-ones really around to keep those records), then the ASW-G-04 Gamigin Gundam was likely deployed the earliest out of all the Seven Stars Gundam Frames, shortly after Bael (again, assuming sequential deployment). So it’s possible that the Falks were the longest surviving active participants in the Calamity war, besides Agnika Kaeru himself, of course. But it’s unclear why they would end up with another Gundam frame, and then not use it. A few possibilities:

The Intended Pilot for the Asmoday was killed before it could reach them, and the Falk’s didn’t have another pilot on hand to use it.

There was a Cocoon was involved in transporting the Gundams to their pilots, and it was kept at the cocoon until it’s recipient could be sorted out.

The Falks wanted extra “insurance” of their position once the Calamity War was over, and arranged for a second Gundam frame to be assigned to them somehow.

The Asmoday had nothing to do with the Falks, and it was left at the Cocoon by N as prize for Urdr Hunt participants.

It was salvaged from its transport during the war, and restored by the Falks.

In short, I don’t know why it was there and we’re probably not going to find out anytime soon, but it’s fun to think about. I would also like to point out that the Asmoday was also just…. Left there, which feels like it must have been purposeful in some way, but also means that the Falk’s didn’t recover it in the intervening 300 years.

Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Masterpost Part 2 - Cyclase Mayer and Gjallarhorn

Okay, Cyclase. I don’t really have that much to say on his origin - there’s nothing wrong with “disgruntled former archeologist whose parent was murdered by gjallarhorn”, but it just doesn’t really grab me for some reason. I do still love how utterly unrepentant he is about his numerous betrayals. He does have *some* similarities with Mcgillis for me, but that’s probably only because Mcgillis sees Gundam Frames (or rather, Bael) as the end-all of strength, whereas Cyclase sees Mobile Armours. It’s interesting how they’ve both been negatively influenced by Iznario Fareed however.

It took me a weirdly long time to realise that Cyclase was a Char Clone. Then again, I was comparing him to Mcgillis basically from the start, so……

Hm. I think that the fight at the end with the mobile armour (Mebahiah) is supposed to be an illustration of Afam and Cyclase’s differing philosophies - Afam wins because he has his friends with him to back him up, forming an effective force against the mobile armour, whereas Cyclase, who has sought power in solitude, has his “champion” defeated. It’s further shown with how they treat their allies, with Wistario visiting each in turn and thanking them, while Cyclase just rebuffs Tagging’s attempt at small talk.

Wait, so what was the point of Omden Colony Corporation/Cyclase getting two rings? That feels like it should be significant in some way. I assumed that it was either to emphasise their ruthlessness (they killed someone else for their ring) or the scale of the company (they’d managed to obtain two on their own), but in practice it just means Cyclase has two guides.

Given what mobile armours are capable of - hey, maybe Gjallarhorn was right to suppress the technology? Just gonna throw that out there. Like, the more of them we see, the easier it is to believe how deadly they were, and why the Gundam’s were so necessary. Though obviously, that doesn’t justify Gjallarhorn’s murder of Doctor Mayer.

Speaking of that, it’s possible that that was just an accident which Gjallarhorn had no part in, and Cyclase is just jumping to conclusions. That said, why I think he’s right is the fact that it’s Iznario Fareed, the shadiest seven star of them all. If it had been someone else then maybe you could say Cyclase was wrong, but Iznario? Yeah, definitely murder.

“Does this mean…… the mobile armour isn’t a higher form of being?” - Cyclase, buddy, it’s a giant robot that wants to kill all humans, it’s not that hard a concept to grasp. I do kinda love how absolutely crushed he is that his plan failed though. Like, no “hm, an imperfect god” or “this is but a temporary setback”, he’s genuinely pissed that this didn’t work out and even his “I’ll start again” thing feels like he’s desperately trying to save face. All in all, he’s a good villain because of what he does and how he does it, more so than who he is.

Okina Uroka is an interesting character, especially in contrast to Londo Bron, since they both want the same thing, but go about it in different ways. I like his design, it feels very good for an “old retainer”. I’m genuinely unsure how much power he held in the Issue family when Carta was still alive, since he doesn’t seem at all unused to power. It’s also nice because it’s another exploration of the consequences of Tekkadan’s actions in the main series, showing the far-reaching effect they had.

Another interesting detail is that Okina Uroka mentions “the Baklazan and Falk Families Calculations have been a great comfort to us” and Mcgillis states that they “hadn’t lost their privileges”, so could they also be heirless? If so, it could be that we’re witnessing Gjallarhorn finally crumbling since the Noble families that compose it are really struggling with their lines of Succession. Huh, the Fareed’s also kinda count here, since Iznario’s has no “legitimate” heirs (i.e. by blood). This also presents a fascinating possibility of why the Gundam Murmur wasn’t seen/used - the vault’s locked to a blood relation of the Fareed’s which Mcgillis isn’t, so he wouldn’t have been able to access it.