Gundam G Witch - Tumblr Posts

Thought: What if the original Elan (in the suit) is also just a clone? And the Peil CEO’s are lying to him so they’ll have a nice willing face for their company?

Hm. Y’know I really wasn’t expecting going from Gundam G-witch episode 11 to episode 12 to hit quite that hard. Feeling like I’ve got emotional whiplash over here.

Had some more thoughts about Shaddiq Zenelli’s suit, the Michaelis, today. Spoilers for witch from Mercury episode 9.

It’s general aesthetic is that of a knight, which at first I didn’t think anything of, since a lot of the Iron-Blooded Orphans suits also have that aesthetic.

But then we consider Shaddiq, and his attitude to Miorine. He is her knight, ready to sweep her away from all her troubles and this is reflected in his actions toward Suletta as well. He (at least inwardly) talks down to her during their duel, stating he would be a much better groom for Mirorine, as he is able to protect her. He fights as part of a group, showing his use of others when it suits him, particularly his shock when Sabina tells him to retreat (though it was probably more at the Aerial).

It’s weapon, the beam bracer, shows his aptitude in deals and underhanded tactics, as it allows him to move the suit’s left hand around, to influence things far away or to attack from unexpected angles, as he did with Chuchu.

Finally, it’s defeat is being shot in the head by ChuChu while going in for a kill shot. As Miorine points out, it showcases his mistrust of others, but it’s also an effective way of him being impaled on his own sword. He loses from an attack from an unforeseen angle, by someone he had written off as beneath him. It would also illustrate that he’s a fairly….. cerebral? character, always thinking, and he gets shot in the head because he was thinking when he really should have been acting.

Hm, maybe I should start a high grade G-Witch collection for dead pilots.

By my count, I’d have three (for major characters, at least).

*just finished watching Witch From Mercury episode 19*

Well suddenly the credits make a lot more sense.

And y’all were saying the last episode was a gut punch.

*spoilers for Witch From Mercury Episode 20*

So a lot happened this week, but the aspect I most want to focus on is Belmeria with the Space Assembly League. Specifically, Feng Jun being (presumably) gunned down by Godoy (Prospera’s bodyguard) as Belmeria is hurried away by Guston.

Because I saw that, and immediately though of the scene in the prologue, where Ochs Earth is being raided, and Nyla shoves Wendy away just before she’s shot. So it’s interesting that from being the victim in that situation, Prospera’s moved to being the instigator. She’s actively carrying out and perpetuating the actions that were done to her, in the name of her own vengeance.

It feels like a good angle, especially for a series that tends to put weight on the cycle of hatred that leads to war, and how that needs to be actively rejected for the violence to end.

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).

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.

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)

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.

Artista - @nizisousakudayo

An absolute treat.

Suletta and Miorine in 79's Gundam style

This is the cutest thing i've ever seen.

“The burden of the Jeturk name”

Catching up on some unposted art, starting with the fanart of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From mercury.

Gundam Shwartzette drawn with Posca paint pens.

Huh. It’d be kinda ironic if the really good Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury got shafted by having its episode length cut down mid-production.

Because what happened to the original Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979?

How to get into Gundam

Because fuck it, I was gonna do one of these sooner or later anyway.

So you want to know what this Gundam thing’s about, maybe you like the mecha design, maybe you caught part of an episode one time and want to catch up, or maybe you saw a nice piece of Chamuro fanart and want to go to the source.

But there’s so many shows and timelines that it can be quite daunting on first look, so this guide is intended to give a rough overview.

I would however like to stress two four things beforehand however:

This guide is not intended as “The One True Way” or anything. There’s no harm it coming into it a different way, and these are only my own opinions.

There’s nothing stopping you from just watching one show and leaving it there. You don’t have to watch every single show going, even I’ve only seen most of these, not all. Gundam typically has variations on similar themes - it’s very nice watching multiple shows because they complement one another, but it’s not necessarily required.

I am very much an insider looking out here, so let me know if there’s any details I’ve missed.

I’m not gonna recommend these on a “if you like X, then watch Y basis”, mostly because I don’t personally find genre recommendations helpful, so I’d recommend picking based on promotional material (vibes, if you will).

I’ll be using this chart, supplied by the excellent@l-crimson-l, to illustrate everything.

Gundam as a whole can principally be divided into three sections: Universal Century (or UC), the Alternate Universes (AU’s) and the Build Series.

The AU’s are below the light blue line, near the bottom of the Chart, the Build Series is within the bright green line at the top-right corner of the chart and UC is the big line in the middle. We’ll talk about each of them individually.

The AU’s

The Alternate Universes were conceived as a way to get away from the continuity-heavy nature of Universal Century and provide an easy jumping-on point for new fans. The AU’s are standalone and require no prior knowledge, and are thus an excellent place to start. Honestly, I’d recommend quickly searching some promotional materials (like posters) and just going with the one you find most appealing based on that. They are (in production order):

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994)

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing (1995)

After War Gundam X (1996)

Turn A Gundam (1999)

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002)

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2007)

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (2011)

Gundam: Reconguista in G (2014)

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans (2015)

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (2022)

There’s side series and movies and other things besides, but these are the mainline shows, if you will. I have specific notes on a few of them:

Witch From Mercury - It’s of a shorter length than is usual for mainline shows, so consequently it’s a much smaller time investment than the others.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam - While undeniably rad as hell, I would recommend watching another AU first. G Gundam differs from its stablemates in a few key areas, and I find it helps to have a contrast to fully appreciate those differences.

Gundam AGE - is probably the only one I wouldn’t recommend. I didn’t like the art style and the technical explanations just got on my nerves, so I stopped watching.

Turn A and G-Reconguista are technically part of UC as well, but it’s not really crucial information so don’t feel like you have to watch UC first (I’m only including this detail for completionism).

I’ve found all the AU’s I’ve seen to be pretty good, so I’d say that which one you start with really just comes down to personal taste.

The Build Series

Is just kind of doing its own thing. The Build series is basically Buy Our Toys: the series. It’s got a far lighter tone, and I’ve had cause to compare it to pokemon prior. It’s also chock full of references and in-jokes to the other series.

Build Fighters and Build Fighters Try are the ones I’d recommend - they’ve got actual stakes and the fight scenes are really good.

Build Divers and Build Divers Re:rise I can’t recommend - I just find Build Divers aggressively boring. Build Divers Re:Rise is just okay - neither standout good or particularly bad. Its main flaw is that it’s a sequel to Build Divers.

The OVA’s are pretty much bad across the board - I’d particularly recommend avoiding Gundam Build Metaverse.

Universal Century

Universal Century is the big main timeline of Gundam, and is the timeline the original Mobile Suit Gundam from 1979 takes place in. There’s a tendency among certain fans to place UC as the one-above-all of Gundam, but I wouldn’t really go that far. It’s all pretty good, but I wouldnt really say one timeline is better than another (save personal preference, anyway).

Because UC is so big, it can be subdivided a couple times. The primary division is “Mainline” UC versus everything else. Basically there’s four-five shows in Universal Century from which everything else flows. As long as you know roughly what happens in these shows, then you can watch basically anything else in UC and have a good idea of what’s going on. These are (in order):

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) - sometimes called Mobile Suit Gundam 0079.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985)

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986)

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (1988)

With Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (2010) as a nominal fifth (honestly I feel like you could argue either way).

The rest of the shows are:

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989 Three-Episode OVA)

Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991 Movie)

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991 Thirteen-episode OVA)

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993)

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1999 Twelve-episode OVA)

G-Saviour (2000 Live Action Movie) - nobody ever talks about or acknowledges this one, it’s just here for completionism.

Mobile Suit Gundam MS Igloo (2004-2009 Three OVA’s with three Episodes each)

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015 Six-Episode OVA, adapted from the Manga of the same name)

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (2015 Eight-Episode Series, adapted from the Manga of the same name)

Mobile Suit Gundam: Twilight Axis (2017 episode, adapted from a light novel of the same name. Later rereleased as Gundam Twilight Axis Red Trace, with additional footage)

Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (2018 sequel movie to Gundam Unicorn)

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (2021 ongoing movie series, very much adapted from the novel Hathaway’s Flash)

Most of the other series relate to events in the aforementioned “mainline” shows in some way, but a lot of the sidestories set during the One Year War require very little introduction (Thunderbolt, 0080 and 08th MS Team). Similarly, works set in “Late UC” (F91 and Victory Gundam) carry on from the other series thematically but don’t have any plot connections, so they can all be watched without any background knowledge of the rest of the Universal Century.

Compilation Movies

Just a quick note here - many of the Gundam series have compilation movies, where either a whole series or part of one are compressed down into a movie. While each movie compares differently, they usually boil down to this: Compilation Movies usually have worse pacing, but really nice animation.

One of the great things about Gundam is that different shows offer variations on themes, so seeing how different characters react to similar situations, or how different settings change their approaches can make it incredibly rewarding.

I haven’t seen enough of SD Gundam to make any sort of recommendations there, and Manga is something I might touch on another day.

EDIT: Oh hey also: You can watch a good chunk of these on YouTube, for free, officially. The Official Gundam.Info YouTube channel rotates the series shown on its channel periodically. I think it’s got F91 and SEED on there currently? But it’s had Wing, 00 and Witch From Mercury before. Also all of the Build Fighters series are there.

So yeah, that’s a thing.

*This post will contain spoilers for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Also, I’ll probably ramble more than usual here, since a lot of my points are interconnected*

Alright then. I was planning on doing a big post breakdown on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury after rewatching it, since I find that my general thoughts on a series typically coalesce around the second viewing. However that probably won’t be for a good while yet, so I figured I’d do a big post now, and I’ll add a few notes if anything jumps out on me on my (eventual) second viewing.

In a nutshell, I found The Witch from Mercury to be really, really good, with an excellent cast and gorgeous action. However, I feel it’s let down by its comparatively low episode count.

And I’d like to stress that that low episode count is basically my only major criticism - I have several smaller ones, but they’re ultimately all extensions of that low episode count.

The Cast.

As above, really good. You’ve got a good selection of characters coming from various strata’s within society - Spacians, Earthians, Mercurians. It’s a good variety of characters and seeing how they interact with each other. They all feel pretty well-rounded as characters honestly.

Like, Suletta’s great, obviously. I feel like you don’t need me to tell you that which is great, because I’m not sure how to put it. I guess I like how emotive she is, how she portrays how she’s feeling so well, but then that might be because we, the audience are close to her as a protagonist (I’d argue that Miorine and Guel could also be counted as protagonists, if you wanted, but Suletta’s the one we spend the most time with). Suletta’s also good because she’s a newcomer to the Asticassia, so not only do we learn things with her but she’s also absolutely primed to upend the status quo there, which she does fantastically. I like the contrast between her doubts and capabilities - she’s not the most social of characters and doubts herself multiple times, but put her in a mobile suit and she is confidence incarnate.

Miorine feels like an extension of Gundam’s “Princess” archetype: your Sayla, your Relena, your Lacus. I really like how proactive she is - we first meet her in the process of attempting to run away from her school, and her arc feels more about her recognising the power she weirds and how to best use it for what she wants, rather than rejecting it outright. She’s in the process of actively cultivating “soft power” (negotiations, word-of-mouth, etc) rather than just having it inherently and -crucially- because the hard power isn’t actually that valuable. Compared to, say, SEED. Lacus has a whole lot of soft power, but it’s Kira and the Freedom that’s the driving force of the plot. Suletta has Hard Power - Aerial, but it’s borrowed power fundamentally, and it’s Miorine’s soft power that ultimately does more good. Actual Diplomacy versus Gunboat Diplomacy, if you will. I also like how Suletta and Miorine’s relationship progresses - they balance out each other - it starts out with Suletta having the power Miorine needs, but as Miorine grows they start relying more on each other. Also their interactions together are really great. They’re compelling because of both who they are in universe - a pilot and a princess, and because of their personalities with each other and how they spur each others development.

I do want to call out Lady Prospera as being amazing. She feels exactly how Char would be as a mother - manipulative and ruthless, but still caring in her own way. I’m given to understand she’s the first female Char Clone in the series, which is neat. Her relationship with Suletta (and Miorine) is just really good. She’s not unpleasant and she’s certainly charming, but she won’t sugarcoat how things are. Miorine knows she’s being manipulated in her interactions with her, but it’s genuinely good advice so she goes along with it, even as she has her own reservations. It’s also rather telling that once Prospera doesn’t need Suletta anymore, she leaves her. While callous and heart-breaking, we know now that Prospera fully believed she was going to die. While this doesn’t exactly forgive her abandoning Suletta, it does cast her interest in Suletta making friends and having relationships outside her in a new light. Prospera wants vengeance for Nadim and the rest of the Vanadis Institute, but she recognises that that is her and Eri’s vengeance, not Suletta’s. And doesn’t that sound similar to Mr Char “I have never once betrayed any one, in my life, ever” Aznable, who just wants his sister to grow up in peace while he avenges their family? It’s a fun relationship dynamic and it’s done well, is what I’m getting at. I also like how unapologetically villainous she is in some of her actions - both the audience and Miorine kinda clock her as a threat immediately, but we can also see why Suletta trusts her so much, even if it’s not the healthiest relationship. I just really like the juxtaposition of her being sweet with Suletta, uncompromising with Miorine, and absolutely brutal with everyone else.

Setting

I find the school setting genuinely fascinating, I don’t have a clever segue so I’m just going to get into it.

Asticassia School of Technology is a school to pilot giant robots. Great, Instantly appealing. However, then you get into all the ways it’s indicative of the wider society. It’s maintained and run by the Benerit Group - a Mega-Corporation that dominates the field of military-use mobile suits, which requires actual military force to be brought to heel and is basically a sovereign nation all its own - it’s rather telling that we never really see any national representatives throughout G-Witch, it’s all about the companies. So it takes this normally aspirational thing “wow, a school to pilot giant robots!” And extrapolates it out to what kind of setting would create that. Giant Robots are used in military applications, so you end up with a facility basically dedicated to the production of child soldiers to serve this military-industrial complex actively profiting from the glaring class inequality present in the setting, as set out in the prologue. And because the characters exist within that system there is no “easy fix”, the story ends with the characters making small progress against those inequalities rather than solving them in one fell swoop because the inequalities are systemic, and you can’t just take out the superweapon and expect everything to work out on its own. The existence of child soldiers is baked into the setting- not as a desperate gamble or as an illustration of the necessities of survival, as in other series. But as an accepted and -crucially- normalised thing. Notably, no-one expresses surprise or horror at Sophie and Norea being pilots - just that they’re a threat and have GUND Format units. We also see several child soldiers in Fold of Dawn in addition to Asticassia itself, so there’s also the angle of generational differences - the children exist in an unfair world built and maintained by the adults, fighting for the causes they are taught to. Many of the Benerit Heirs have unhealthy relationships with their parental figures, typically conflicting over them wanting different things (Guel vs Vim’s expectations, Shaddiq going out from under Sarius and basically everything about the Elan’s). So there’s the angle of the children fighting against the unfair world of adults, tying into the familial relationships in the cast. Which is a theme Gundam’s got a lot out of historically. So the school setting shows to illustrate how Ad Stella is civilised a first glance, but far more beneath the surface, and demonstrates several of the issues inherent in the setting.

I also really love how GUND format is actively debilitating to its pilots and how Suletta, while still a very good pilot, is essentially unbeatable because she has a way around the downsides for most of the series. Because it feels like an examination of “the Gundam is the strongest mobile suit”. G-Witch essentially states that having a stronger or better weapon does not solve these problems, in fact, the various elements of the company all fighting over Aerial gets several people killed, so if anything it feels like a takedown of “Gundam” as a concept (ie This great strong weapon that will win us the war”). It also puts emphasis on themes of dehumanisation - both the Elan’s and Sophie&Norea show that child experimentation, while not exactly common, isn’t unfamiliar ground in Ad Stella, particularly with Elan being replaceable, which again ties into the child soldier angle. I also find it delightfully hypocritical that Benerit, the weapon merchants, have issues with it because of the PR backlash of it killing its pilots, not because of any “moral” reason. It’s a bad look to have a weapon that can harm its user - who’s going to want to pay for that? The militant liquidation of Ochs Earth was essentially a PR stunt to show that Benerit will not make these weapons (not that that stopped Peil). Which is really horrifying to think about, really.

The Space Assembly League, Quiet Zero and the Interplanetary Laser Transmission System (or ITLS, that big gun in the finale) all function as illustrations of the excess of corporate power - a near full-scale war/ large scale destruction is only prevented because of Suletta and Ericht’s intervention. The SAL functions as a regulatory body for the corporations, but while it isn’t exactly lacking in force, it acts far too late to prevent the damage - Benerit has been allowed to run independently for too long, so it’s difficult to pull back even with evidence and force because it’s just so big. Meanwhile, the ITLS was constructed under the guide of a power transmission system, but it’s intended to be fired as a weapon. Furthermore, the destruction it will cause is written off as “Oh, Peil will get the reconstruction contract”, killing hundreds for corporate gain. The fact that it’s Peil specifically is also notable, since they are probably the most ethically bankrupt of the three corporations and were actively involved in the GUND-format technology themselves. But because the corrupt elements of the governing body favour them (and can presumably cut a deal for reconstruction costs), much of their misdeeds would have essentially been swept under the rug. Notably, other than their stock plummeting, we don’t actually see much in the way of consequences for the Peil CEO’s.

Mechanics

A fairly short one here - I’ll admit I’m not crazy about a lot of the mobile suits in Ad Stellar, but I like how each company has a different designer and are different thematically. Jeturk has big, bulky beetle-esque machines - heavily armoured and analogous to Zaku’s and other grunt suits from the series. Peil focuses on mobility - spindly MS with lots of thrusters, and typically deployed with aerial combat in mind. Finally, Grassley tends to lean towards units with exotic systems, such as the Michaelis’ beam bracer and Anti-GUND format and often have monoeyes. It’s a good illustration of the competing philosophies within the group and each one is distinct and easily recognisable (Burion’s utilitarian, I don’t have much more to say on it). It also emphasises what a big shakeup the Gundam’s are, since they look so different, and can put down any of these units with little trouble. I rather wish we saw more of the smaller developers - those units Suletta swatted aside en masse with the Aerial Rebuild, since they seemed to have a greater variety of designs (I particularly liked the little Acguy-looking one - the Hosler II?). Also, really liked the Prodoros used by Dawn of Fold (though that’s likely due to how it moves).

Criticisms

Or rather Criticism. Your typical Gundam series is usually around 40-50 episodes, whereas Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a comparatively paltry 25. Now, one series having a lower episode count than another isn’t inherently a point against it - better a short story well told rather than a long story poorly told, and it’s a new show, and (despite my persistent comparisons with other Gundam shows) should be allowed to stand and be judged on its own merits. But it kinda feels like it was meant to be a 40-50 episode series that was cut-down mid-production and fundamentally, it feels like we could’ve gotten more.

The pacing of the second season ratchets up considerably compared to the first, and I would like to stress that Witch From Mercury is a very-well-paced show - every episode has some sort of plot development, but it feels like that’s because it had to be. And every criticism I have of the show feels like it flows from that cut-down episode count.

It kinda feels like Peil Industries was supposed to be a much bigger player in this, and the Pharact doesn’t really do anything after its opening fight.

Peil’s never brought to justice, and Elan 5 just decides to join Earth House’s move on Quiet Zero. Meanwhile, the real Elan Ceres just resigns from Peil, even though he was presumably in on the Enhanced Person stuff too.

Lauda’s whole subplot about him piloting the Schwarzette had very little foreshadowing - I assume they put just enough of it in that they couldn’t cut it entirely (i.e. the Schwarzette), and it was necessary for Guel’s character arc.

Guel taking over Jeturk Heavy Industries didn’t really go anywhere.

Sophie Pulone and Norea Du Noc are really only there to tick gundam’s “Doomed Child Soldiers” box. Also Dawn of Fold just…… still exists after the events of the series?

The fact that Ochs Earth was still a thing kinda didn’t amount to much did it? Prospera just destroys them and their Gundam Lfrith’s. The ones used by Dawn of Fold might have well been older models, scavenged or bought by them.

Chuatury (Chuchu) Panlunch - great character, great design, excellent illustration of the tensions of the setting, but it feels like she was supposed to have a subplot focused on the people supporting her on Earth.

It just feels like they made the first 12 episodes of a 40-50 episode series, with a bunch of setup that’d pay off later, and then they got cut down to 24 episodes and had to cut a lot of stuff to fit. I’d like to stress I think they made a good compromise - most of my criticisms are minor and the Suletta and Miorine are the heart of the series, and they come out very well. But all the same, I’d rather the compromise didn’t need to be made in the first place, so we could’ve seen the “full thing” as it were.

Even my….. restraint on the mobile suits designs can be pinned on this. My favourite designs are typically Monster of the Week and late-season Weirdo’s - the stuff that’s the purview of your charismatic villain or a specialised grunt. But if you’ve got to cut stuff for space and time, then by their very nature, those designs won’t stick around.

I should however mention that I’ve been unable to find any reputable source as to wether The Witch From Mercury did have its episode count cut, before or during production. My criticism is mostly about the series feeling like it should have had more, not that it was actually cut down. It is possible that Bandai wanted to see if the show could make a comparative return on a smaller budget than usual, especially considering most of their recent Gundam output has been adaptations (IE. Shows that already have a proven audience and prior success, and are consequently a lot less financially risky), like Unicorn or Thunderbolt.

All that said, I do think that the emotional core of the show - Suletta and Miorine was excellently done, and I found the action and themes to be similarly well-done. I’m mostly only complaining we didn’t get to see more of the world, since it has so many interesting concepts that feel like they would’ve been interesting to see.

Witch From Mercury for the Game Boy Advanced

Loving the collar design here, it reminds me of those big collared Zeon ones. Also like how organic it looks, like teeth or an oystershell, or exposed flesh cells.

Question; would the shield eye be static? Or would it move around like a bubble?

I like the little dress caps as well. Did you have a certain scene in mind for this (Sabina’s expression seems purposeful to me)?

Sabina Fardin/Grassley normal suit redesign