First Impressions / Gundam AGE

Episode 22

「ビッグリング絶対防衛線」 (Biggu Ringu Zettai Bōei Sen)
“Big Ring Absolute Line of Defense”

With the Vagans looking to go on the offensive, the Earth Federation has to defend Big Ring which is their last line of defense. This was the first major battle we’ve seen since the Battle of Ambat.

After pretty much bombing his X-Rounder aptitude test last episode, Asemu did pretty well in battle with numerous other X-Rounders. Woolf on the other hand got his ass handed to him in the big leagues. His G-Bouncer mobile suit took a ton of damage which looked odd for a man of his skill.

The Vagan’s X-Rounder unit’s (Magicians Eight) entrance was flashy and reminded me of Power Ranger poses after they had defeated an enemy. They were impressive at first but Flit and Frederick showed that they weren’t all powerful (as opposed to when they were still known as UE). There is still safety in numbers and they could be contained by strategic moves.

Desil is as crazy as ever. He’s still obsessed over the last battle he had with Flit. If it wasn’t for Zeheart, he would have probably fought to the death. Flit would have killed him without thinking too since he was responsible for Yurin’s death. Flit’s strategy to catch him off guard was pretty novel. It was pretty easy for Flit to distract and deceive Desil because his personality is similar to past antagonists who can only think of battle.

Flit really is the Earth Federation’s ace in the hole. He’s an established engineer, commander, and mobile suit pilot, and their resident X-Rounder – he does everything for them. Without him, this show would be over already. The Vagans would have taken over Earth after this battle.

I thought it was pretty harsh for Flit to scold Asemu after the battle. They don’t share the same motives for fighting. It may not be unwarranted though since you could die in a war if you lose concentration for even a second. Flit may not understand his son’s feelings but Asemu doesn’t understand his father either. After all Asemu, you might have been a purple-haired boy had Yurin not died. Instead he had to settle for Emily (who didn’t seem like a bad choice either).

Notes:
* Full-images: 11

 

Omake

 

Episode 23

「疑惑のコロニー」 (Giwaku no Koronī)
“Suspicious Colony”

Obright seems like a really nice guy but his comment about being like a brother put him in a hole. He seems like he has taken a liking to Ruth but if he wants to take that relationship any further, he should avoid comments that could send him to the friend-zone.

Flit’s idea to collecting an enemy’s mobile suit parts in order tow analyze them is a great idea especially since they have advanced technologies and it could lead to clues such as where they’re building them. The more you know (Am I right?).

I’m not really all that surprised that a company based on Earth ould help out the Vagans. After all, weapons manufacturers make money off of conflict and this war between the Earth Federation and the Vagans is good for business. Even though the Diva crew put one in the win column, they weren’t able to gather any intelligence on the Vagan mobile suits or evidence incriminating Techno Solon Co.

I thought it was cool to see the Genoace IIs with the Titus attachments. Since they’re based on the AGE-1, they can exchange parts easily. The concept of exchanging parts with different mobile suits isn’t new to the franchise though, but actually making them modular is as far as I know.

For insubordination, Asemu gets some alone time in the brig. He might be a failure as a soldier for not following orders, but I guess he can live with not being a failure as a human being for caring about civilians. Their argument is one over morals versus logic, reason, and reality. Flit may be blinded by his hatred but he’s not totally wrong about the Vagans. I bet they would use civilians as shields if it meant helping their cause.

I’m excited to see what Grodek and Flit have up their sleeves. Grodek has only been out of the pen for a short while but he’s already back to his old habits.

Notes:
* Full-length images: 05, 09, 34

 

Omake

 

Episode 24

「Xラウンダー」 (X Raundā)
“X-Rounder”

It’s remarkable to see the two heroes of the first arc of AGE having a drink together. The use of different generations in AGE is one of my favorite aspects of the show. I’ve seen my fair share of Gundam series but the use of major time skips within the series gives off a feeling of continuance that I always want at the end of anime shows. I always want to know what happens after the ending.

It appears Grodek’s sense of responsibility is so big that he feels that he must continue help Flit even though he has finished his goal of revenge. He finds out that there’s a mole within the Federation from his sources in prison and tells Flit to meet up with him on the following night so he can hand over the information. Unfortunately for Flit, he won’t be getting those files as there is a giant conspiracy working against him.

I was surprised at how quickly they wrote out Grodek and Arabel. Arabel was nothing but a pawn that was allowed his revenge. Grodek identifying with his killer really freaked Arabel out. I guess revenge didn’t feel as good as he thought it was going to be. As for the ones behind the conspiracy…My best guess is that they’re connected to Techno Solon Co. The way they killed off the two characters felt like a very roundabout way of doing things if it was just a matter of covering their tracks.

Arisa might have a more masculine personality but she definitely has a cute side. For a girl to risk punishment to feed a friend is going above and beyond what most friends do. It makes me wonder whether she’s starting to develop any romantic feelings. Romary’s expression either showed me that she feels threatened by this close relationship or that she’s worried about Asemu or both.

Initially I thought Asemu’s encounter with Zeheart was just his mind creating hallucinations to illustrate the battle he’s fighting within himself. I should have known it wasn’t since they were heading to Solon anyway. I was corrected afterseeing the flashback. I also thought that whole scene with Romary interfering might have unlocked X-Rounder abilities. I was sadly mistaken again.

Zeheart seems like a better match for Flit than Desil on the battlefield. I was pretty surprised since I was about to compare Flit to Kira. He’s in the wrong suit though since AGE-1 is more akin to the Strike Gundam whereas AGE-2 is starting to look more and more like the Strike Freedom.

The AGE system seems to be adapting to Asemu’s lack of X-Rounder abilities. It created “Double Bullet” which allows him to fight multiple enemies at once. I’m quite surprised at how easy it was for Asemu to take out two X-Rounders and how he was able to use his two cannons as very large beam sabers.

It seems like that Vagan technology Flit picked up from their last battle is going to help Asemu in the future. The preview showed Asemu dodging an X-Rounder’s attack when he usually gets knocked around. Judging by appearance, his new helmet might help him sync with his mobile suit. Only time will tell.

Notes:
* Full-length images: 01, 05, 08, 26, 27

 

Preview

Omake

100 Comments

      2. I mentioned this in another post, but kira/athrun is not a very original story. MAYBE that was the first ‘friends torn by war’ plot in the gundam universe (I’m not sure) but that particular plot is older than dirt and describing it as unoriginal is like calling the sky blue. it’s one of those plots that is so old, and true, that originality isn’t in the main plot, it’s in the execution.

        I feel that the combination of not living up to his father, not living up to his friend, and not living up to his love interest, has made Asemu’s descent into rage and anger pretty compelling. To each their own though.

        For the record I was NOT impressed with the first arc, other than grodek, he’s a badass.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      2. Da5id, you ability to completely miss a very clearly stated point is truly amazing.

        The problem isn’t that the plots are recycled, its that they are recycled badly.

        The Yurin plotline was by far the worst rendition of that plot since Lalah Sune herself, and some of those renditions have been…well, not great, but not terrible. The Asemu/Zeheart stuff is just Kira/Athrun all over again, only with even worse buildup and even more stupidity. Plus Romary butting in and making it all even more painful.

        These plots wouldn’t have been good if it were the very first time I’d ever seen them, but they would have been less blatantly terrible.

        Fencedude
        Reply

      3. And your ability to be unnecessarily obnoxious hasn’t changed much either, I see. Seriously, tone it down a bit.

        Sounds like you’re a tough guy to please when it comes to Gundam subplots.

        Da5id
        Reply

      5. @fencedude:
        that
        You’re entitled to your opinion, but you certainly don’t explain it very well. Most of the first arc I agree with you. Flit was young, the characterization was weak, it moved too fast. You just didn’t feel it.

        As for arc 2 I completely disagree. First off, Kira/Athrun is a plot as old as dirt, so don’t start thinking that age is copying something novel; friends caught on opposite sides is a plot that’s been done so many thousands of times that it’s moved into that ‘anyone can do it and it’s not more, or less, cliche’ territory. Furthermore, the addition of the pressure from Flit, and how pressure from his father is making a HUGE impact on how he deals with Zeheart, I think makes this version of the ‘civil war brothers’ plot much stronger than the kira/athrun version.

        As for Romary, I’m torn. It’s done well; Asemu made a very logical assumption that she joined the military in part due to him and he’s finding out the hard way that he doesn’t seem to be that important to her in the least. That’s a rough thing to find out. Asemu is defined by never being good enough; second in war to his friend, second in ability to his dad, second in love to the girl. And it’s slowly making him crack. What’s poorly done about that?

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      6. Goddamn. Can people not fucking read?

        Seriously. Read my fucking post. Especially the italicized portions. The emphasis was very specifically placed.

        I know the “friends torn apart by war, end up on opposite sides” plotline is older than dirt. Hell, I didn’t even mention Kira/Athrun (which was a fairly competently done version of it, not ground breaking, but decent. Despite a few descents into accidental self-parody. But this is Gundam, so thats forgivable) at first. Someone else did.

        I think Asemu’s daddy issues are fairly well presented, and are the strongest part of his character arc. I specifically have issues with the Asemu/Romary/Zeheart portion of his storyline, mostly because Romary is horribly written, and Asemu and Zeheart aren’t much better when they are on screen together.

        My standards for Gundam series are fairly low (I quite enjoy…portions of ZZ, and while I think Destiny is pretty atrocious, I think that the reasons most people hate it for are completely missing the point), but this show has amazing battles and mediocre to horrendous everything else.

        Fencedude
        Reply

      7. You know, normally I try not to be rude on the internet, but you’re an ass. I’m not even that mad at the points you’re making, but you’re incredibly rude for no real reason. No one has been all that rude to you.

        And as much as Romary is mildly frustrating, I don’t see why liking the other guy makes her poorly written, it’s not like Asemu has to be her favorite. The school arc lead us to believe the three spent a lot of time together. She developed a crush on Zeheart, not Asemu, that’s all there is to it. I’m just worried that this development is going to mean another default, unexplained, loveless marriage like the flit/emily one.

        I agree with his daddy issues being the best part, but it’s the combination of all the issues that drives Asemu. Only one of the issues is not enough, it takes all three to make his slow breakdown believable. This is not really a story of friends fighting like with Kira and athrun, it is a story about how expectations can destroy you; the friend is just a small piece. And i’m not sure, but I don’t think this kind of expectation thing has ever quite been done in gundam since it’s the generational thing that allows it in this plot.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      8. Romary isn’t badly written because she likes Zeheart (she’s an idiot for this, but characters are certainly allowed to be stupid), she’s badly written because the entire first arc of this generation was…well, badly written, horribly contrived and relies on a 1.5 year timeskip and “and then they became really good friends. Trust us” to provide the foundation. And the terrible, terrible graduation scene which was probably the single stupidest moment of the entire show. Really, appallingly horrible writing.

        This plotline could be done well, hell, I’d settle for “done ok”. But thats not what we have.

        Fencedude
        Reply

      9. Fair enough, I won’t argue about writing quality. Specific examples I can argue or refute, but writing quality is nebulous and completely based in opinion. I think that this arc is one of the better written slow break-downs I’ve seen in a while, I actually GET why Asemu is losing it, he’s in an impossible position.

        And it’s an impossible position because of three people who are behaving logically based on their beliefs (barring possibly Romary, i’m not totally decided on her yet, but certainly flit and Zeheart are reasonable within what we know of them), which makes his position even more impossible.

        You disagree. Not much I can do about that. And I continue to wonder how much of the dislike for this show is, consciously or unconsciously, because of its kiddy art style. Not saying that’s your beef, but a lot of gundam is written bad and gets more love than this.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      10. People, people, tone it down. We are all here to express our own opinions, but don’t push your ideals on to others. Lets all just calm down and agree to disagree. I’m very disappointed in certain individuals, this is a free for all site, what if a little kid saw all the swearing? Let’s be civil to each other alright?

        Mixed Milkshake
        Reply

  5. Erm, the new background music being used during the previews (since episode 19) is quite good. Is there a longer version that was used in any of the episodes so far? Will they include it in the OST discs later? Thanks.

    Lone_Wanderer
    Reply

  9. damn were the action scenes with (mostly) AGE-2 speeding around look great…especially that fight in ep 23. It looked like the “innovation” done in the original series (Gundam Sousei ref.)

    At least we’re finally heading in a new(er) direction, having the previous generation not completely disappearing on us yet, and the use of recycling (not the same animation – type, stupid GSD and their cheap cash cow ways)

    /bash

    info600
    Reply

  11. After catching up on Gundam AGE, I realized I’m starting to dislike Asemu since he is still confused about what he should do in the war going on (and let’s not get started on his insecurities vis-a-vis Romary and Zeheart, plus his Daddy/X-Rounder issues with Flit), yet he willingly racks up a high score when it comes to killing Vagans in mobile suit combat (partially because he’s the protagonist, and his suit gets all the nice, shiny new toys the AGE systems cranks out) – and now he’s willing to kill Zeheart because he apparently NTR’ed Romary without even noticing it in their last meeting. Someone should send him a psychiatrist now.

    Flit may somewhat be a deadbeat dad to Asemu and Unoa, and a neglectful husband to Emily, but at least he’s got good reasons for fighting the Vagans, and he’s not confused about what he’s fighting for, so he doesn’t hesitate on the field of battle. More importantly, he delivers results, even with the outdated AGE-1. Desil should have died then and there at the Battle of Big Ring. As for Zeheart, dude, you should have pulled the trigger when you had the chance and saved us viewers from more episodes of Asemu.

    I sense Arisa’s buttslaping Asemu becoming a meme sometime in the future. XD

    The_Magus_Killer
    Reply

    1. I think people have become a bit too quick to judge the hesitant protagonist in recent media. It’s true that it can be a very frustrating character type in many cases, but it’s not inherently invalid. There are many very good reasons to hesitate when killing people, and those are perfectly good sources of drama in television.

      Asemu has no particular reason to hate the Vagans directly. His life was paradise. He was not dragged into war by tragedy like his dad, he was dragged in BY his dad. Of course he’s going to be confused. And given that the federation in this story is more evil than all but a few gundam series, it’s not like we should expect absolute loyalty to the organization. He’s a very valid character exploration, and it’s not like he’s pulling a shinji. He fights basically the same amount in any given episode as a normal protagonist, he just doesn’t like it.

      And not being an X-rounder and therefore not as ‘powerful’ shouldn’t be held against him. several of the best UC gundam series were the ones about normal pilots.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  13. You know, it’s kind of fun seeing flit back in action, but it opens up an enormous, gaping plot hole. Why does Asemu have the Age-2? Why doesn’t flit just take it for himself? He’s the X-rounder and the better pilot, and they’ve made pretty clear to the viewer that results are all that matters to flit.

    When he was a retired pilot, it made sense, but now that he’s fighting again, it’s just an obvious ‘protagonist gets the best suit’ thing.

    KaleRylan
    Reply

    1. Because if Asemu were to receive AGE 1 or even worse the Adele, he won’t survive a second in the battlefield? I kinda agree with Flit’s decision in giving Asemu the AGE 2 since Asemu is his successor. He’ll still be alive when his father is gone and if he uses the AGE 1 he’ll need more time to adjust to the AGE 2 when the AGE 1 has become utter trash sooner or later.

      Boo
      Reply

      1. yes, but that’s a very anime-y reason. The military AVOIDS nepotism wherever possible. If you have a super-weapon capable of altering the course of the war, you put it in the hands of the most capable soldier you have, not into your son’s hands because you’re worried he’s not good enough without a machine to compensate for his weakness.

        The only workable logic seems to be that the gundam is private property so flit can decide who it goes to. It’s not a military decision. That, or it’s bald-faced nepotism that would never fly in a real military (hence, plot hole).

        KaleRylan
        Reply

    2. You are partially right, however the reason why Flit doesn’t take the AGE 2 for himself is because his primary role is no longer pilot. Flit is now an admiral and the commander of “Big Rig”. Hell Flit shouldn’t even be out there in a mobile suit considering his position within the chain of command. However, I won’t argue that giving the AGE 2 to a more experienced pilot would be the more logical choice.

      As for the whole Nepotism part, yeah I agree that it is a bit of a stretch, but Nepotism does happen even in this day and age within the military. Also considering how corrupt the Federation is supposed to be I’m not surprised Flit could get away with this kind of thing.

      As for how important the AGE-2 is to the war effort, well that’s debatable.

      In my opinion its a minor plot hole, and unless you’re new to gundam or haven’t since many gundam series, it seems trivial to complain about it considering that one of the staples of a Gundam series is the protagonist obtaining a gundam through improbable means (at least in most series). At least it makes sense how Asemu is able to pilot it (having actual training).

      Zetatrain
      Reply

  14. This episode wasn’t that good, but compared to say the Euba/Zalam arch in the first half it’s 10 times better. Never mind how Zeheart can sneak into the colony and hide his Zeydra in the lake (that’s one deep motherfucking lake! shore’s at least 20 metres deep!). The best scenes were Romary almost confessing her love to Zeheart while Asemu’s rage and jealousy built up, all to the tune of Zeheart’s now trademark techno tune, hahaha priceless. Sucks to be Asemu, his friend is a high-level X-Rounder, possibly stronger than daddy, commander of Vagan forces, wears a cool red trench coat and an even cooler Char-clone mask, has Romary’s heart ever since he saved her from a stray wrench to the face….

    Jill Sandwich
    Reply

    1. You know, it’s funny you mention the wrench, because that is a pretty ridiculous reason for her to like Zeheart more. Asemu has saved her from MUCH worse than a wrench, repeatedly. And yet, I’m not arguing with you, that seems to be what they’re saying; that wrench lost asemu the girl.

      And yeah, while the scene at the lake was good, it was also completely ridiculous. The only explanation other than plot hole is that Solon is so infested with Vagans that they just let him do it without question.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  16. Screw Romary, well, I had reservations about Emily vs Yurin in the first half, at least I liked Emily despite liking Yurin more, but Romary’s char has been unappealing since the timeskip =0<. Oh I so wish that the 2ndary char(Arisa) could win for once, but seeing the design for the 3rd gen pilot, we know what's going to happen; Asemu will kill Zeheart in a blind rage, leaving Romary heartbroken(boo hoo (9_9) ). Then he will comfort her, etc, etc, etc. That would be one unusual plot-line of revenge, but unfortunately, it won't be played up that way =02.

    frubam
    Reply

    1. I’m worried that you’re right. I’m REALLY hoping they do a better evolution of her feelings than that. We’ve already got one weird, seemingly loveless marriage in this series with no explanation; it would be nice if the other one is shown to be a bit nicer.

      It looked like they were setting up for that, but more and more they seem to be pushing into your scenario, which is unfortunate.

      Maybe, hopefully, she’ll realize she’s losing the one friend she STILL HAS because she’s so obsessed with the one that left and is trying to kill them. They showed her give Asemu a few longing looks this episode that suggest that might be the case, but after how flit/emily turned out, i’m doubtful.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  18. Flit’s more of a field commander. Asemu’s more of a grunt. Daddy wants to give his son the best care possible (in the form of a Gundam that will hopefully compensate for his lack of X-rounder powers). Those are at the top of my head.

    paulrenzo
    Reply

    1. I thought more about the gundam and the age system as Asuno’s family heirloom or legacy. It’s just normal for the Asuno to be first in the rights to use it. The military is just lucky to be able to use them.

      Ebisu
      Reply

  19. I was hoping that Asemu would go the Johnny Ridden route, no special powers, no super technology just skill and experience. You let me down age.

    Also to the guy who said the federation in this story is worse than most, the federation in UC makes the Federation in age look like saints.

    Lydo Wolfe
    Reply

    1. I don’t know man, leaving a couple million colonists in a hostile environment to die, covering it up to misguide the public, and then using Grodek as a scape goat for doing a right thing and giving him a 25 year prison sentence sounds pretty shady to me. UC federation is just corrupt and inept, like any big government these days. AGE Federation is all sorts of shady/evil.

      Jill Sandwich
      Reply

      1. The Federation in UC utterly erased 40 years of history if we take Tomino’s pre-UC works into account. They then systematically removed everyone who opposed or prevented an alternative to them. Fukui references this in the Unicorn novels. The Earth Federation is directly responsible for almost everything that happens in the Universal Century.

        Lydo Wolfe
        Reply

      2. I said ‘than most,’ not all. I totally agree with you that UC federation is pretty evil, with a definite play for the most evil supposedly good guys award, but I do think a few things come into play.

        First off, in several of the shows the federation counts as basically good and a lot of the evil stuff you mention is in side-stories, and second like Jill said, leaving millions of colonists to sicken and die definitely gives this federation some evil cred.

        Either way, I’m not so much trying to rank them, my point is more that this federation is not an organization that inspires loyalty. Asemu should not be expected to fight unswervingly for them just because ‘they’re the federation.’ His hesitation is logical. The only Vagan he knows isn’t a bad guy. He doesn’t hate them. But the lack of hate, and the accompanying lack of drive is furthering his problems with his father and in some ways with Zeheart as well, making his predicament more and more impossible.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  20. For 23, Flit really was looking out for civilians, he sent out the Adeles in Titus gear since they have no range weaponry. If Asemu bothered to head out right away he could’ve got rid of the threat much faster

    24 feels more like Nina/Gato/Kou then Kira/Athrun, I think you guys are judging Asemu pretty harshly. First Zeheart betrays him during graduation, then again by pointing the gun at him, and then Romary betrays him by protecting Zeheart. It’s no wonder he snaps, then he finds out Zeheart might be a better x rounder then his dad, which would lead up to him taking the helmet. Also, the planet they’re on was making Vagan suits, so its no surprise they would have a route for getting suits out.

    lunsk
    Reply

    1. What I think Asemu should notice by now is that Zeheart not only spared him at least twice in a MS fight already (when they first faced of and later in the space battle), he also had some opportunities to kill him while he was not in an MS (like here where he could squash Asemu with his MS by the lakeside).
      Shouldn’t that and all the attempts to convince him to stop fighting clue him in that Zeheart still thinks of him as a friend on some level. Instead he only goes “He’s a Vagan. He’s evil!” and “He betrayed me. He’s not my frined!”

      Zreon
      Reply

      1. I think it’s only recently that he doesn’t consider him a friend, since the last encounter they had Asemu said “If it was under different circumstances we could’ve been friends” and then Zeheart would reply “You think think we could’ve been friends?!” or something like that…unless my memory is wrong.

        Zeheart also isn’t that nice when it comes to convincing Asemu to get off the battlefield, except for this episode anyways. I think the last fight Zeheart said something like “This is the power of an X-Rounder, I won’t show you mercy next I see you”, considering Asemu has an inferiority complex, it’s easy to see why he still isn’t backing down. Also he still wants to protect people from the Vagans.

        lunsk
        Reply

      2. @lunsk
        Asemu was mostly asking if any of the time they spent together had meant anything to Zeheart.
        Zeheart said that they probably could’ve remained friends under different circumstances, but then said that he has his own burdens as a warrior, something that Asemu lacked, and asked Asemu if he could shoot down Zeheart’s mobile suit knowing that Zeheart was the pilot.
        It was something like that.

        Kosmos
        Reply

      4. I don’t think Asemu doesn’t think Zeheart is his friend, he’s just lashing out. The key for Asemu is he’s between a rock and a hard place. He’s got his best friend, and his own nature, telling him to quit fighting, stop hurting people, go home. And then he’s got the father he idolizes telling him to fight hard, kill the enemy, they’re monsters. And Asemu is caught in the middle, unable to disappoint his father, but also aware that his father is wrong and some vagans are not truly terrible people.

        Romary just makes everything worse, causing this already difficult situation to be even more painful. In a way, she’s probably the one that could make it okay, by being there for him while everyone else just pulls him apart. Instead, by siding with Zeheart she just adds to the pressure.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  21. Who put Alabel Zoi up to this before he get killed? I mean who are these agents, really?!
    Will Asem manage to rise to become a new X-rounder?
    Will that guy from EP23 be back who was actually a Vagan spy?!

    It’s amazing that I didn’t expect that guy from EP15 is back & Killed Grodek Ainoa & then he just got killed by someone else!

    God, this show has left unexpected & I didn’t really see that coming!! Next episode it’s going to get worse (Desil Galette Strike again)!

    TRUST ME!

    JeffreyZin2012
    Reply

    1. I think that man from ep 23 is on the EFF side that secretly support Vagan. He did refer the dead Vagan pilot as “Vagan man”; if he’s one of the Vagan he will not refer to him that way

      Exiled_Gundam
      Reply

    2. The bespectacled man?
      I thought he is just the factory manager?
      Its obvious he has ties with the Vegan but I never thought of him as someone within the EFF.

      Was wondering if the traitor could be Flit’s apprentice, but he seems very into fighting Vegans though.

      The factory manager, the Men in Black.
      Just who is the shadow figure behind them?

      iron2000
      Reply

  22. Magicians Eight, kind of reminds me of Black Tri-Stars, the Druggies and perhaps Team Trinity.
    The Gundam tradition of an elite enemy team thingy.
    But this time they don’t seem too much a threat.

    So that ‘Muzell’ thing is something to do with Vegan helmet tech.
    So Asemu will get ‘enhanced’ 😛

    Double Bullet.
    It would be good if the kit came with the cool big sabers like in the anime.
    It made me think of V2’s Wings of Light.
    The firepower is like Wing Zero.
    Really made AGE-2 Normal look puny (though it has wings :P).

    Grodek couldn’t be like Bright (0079, Zeta, CCA).

    Wonder who is the traitor?
    Almost suspected Flit by the way they splice the sequence.
    But when Flit cried, I thought I couldn’t suspect him.
    Flit seems to be kind of ‘eternally good’ kind.

    Hope Asemu can get himself together.
    All the rivalry and self-worth stuff has kind of tire him mentally.

    iron2000
    Reply

  23. I sense death flag for Flit! The aging veteran is finally starting to show weakness in his fight against Zeheart. AGE-1 is after all an outdated MS now. I hope he doesn’t get killed so Asemu the brat can finally grow up and will hate the Vegans as much as his father does.

    On the other hand, Romary is really starting to get annoying like how Emily was, although in quite a different way.

    TheNova
    Reply

  24. About time some one posted reviews of the new episodes. Yeah the whole ZeheartXRosemaryXAsemu thing is draging this show down faster than the titanic. The writers need to step up and come up with something good REAL FAST!!!!!!

    Nate
    Reply

    2. Yeah, I’m actually quite fond of the triangle so far, very dramatic. My only concern is that it will have a weak ending and we’ll get another weird, unexplained marriage like with flit and emily.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  25. I wonder if Asemu will awaken with his X-rounder abilities after all. Considering Flit didn’t have the X-rounder ability right off the bat. It’s still possible for Asemu to awaken. I just don’t hope they don’t kill Flit to trigger this.

    Seeing how Asemu is depending on the Vegan helmet thingy next episode. I’m starting to worry that Asemu will actually be one of those pilots without any special ability like Garrod Ran/Shiro Amada.

    TheNova
    Reply

  27. It’s a bit sad. I’m at the point where I’m actually rooting for the Vagan to kill someone, because they almost always were total pushovers so far. So strangely enough I was incredibly happy and excited when Grodek was killed and extremely disappointed when his assassin was killed soon after by what are probably earthers or colony staff.

    Episode 22 was the first time in a long while where the Vagan actually managed to look like a real threat and put on the pressure on the Earth Sphere. Sadly 23 and 24 ruined that immediately with the enemies in the colony being disposed of quickly and later on Asemu making short work of serveral of the Vagan Elite X-Rounders.

    Seriously, technological advantage? I don’t see it. If there is they do a really bad job of actually SHOWING it.

    So I’m back to rooting for the forces of Mars, since the one-sidedness of all this is hard to bear for me. I hope they can raise the body count a bit more before inadvertedly being genocided by the gundams.

    Zreon
    Reply

  28. Also I begin to think of a possibility that 3rd generation protagonist might not be Asemu’s child but his sister instead. In case this arc don’t end quite well for Asemu.

    reishiki
    Reply

  30. I thought flits arc was so-so but got good at the end. But i really like asemu arc so much better. This is gundam, they will always reuse plot form other old series. But add small twist along the way. I just like the vibe between asemu and his friend. Hope alot of tragedy is coming down the road to intensify it.

    darkloco
    Reply

  31. I was really surprised at the short role Arabel had to play before his death. After the first arc’s finale I was expecting him to return as a higher-up Vagan on par with Desil or Zeheart in terms of importance. Of course, now we’re left with the question regarding the identity of the traitor. I hope it’s a known character rather than some as-yet unintroduced corporate or political stooge. Before Grodek’s death I was anticipating everyone from Flit (he was wearing the same outfit as the men who killed Arabel) to Romary, but now I’m not so sure.

    Flit and Romary continue to have no chemistry. One has to wonder what Romary’s role even is on the Diva; I was half-expecting her to get tossed in the brig for interfering with Zeheart’s arrest–Asumo seems so far gone down his father’s path that turning Romary in wouldn’t surprise me. I really hope Arisa gets more to do before the arc is over. If she can’t wind up with Asumo (the obvious choice), I’ve seen some chemistry between her and the glasses pilot whose name escapes me at this point. Hopefully she’ll get better on the battlefield as well. Glad to see that some sort of synergy between Woolf and the captain whose name I also can’t remember, though the death flags are still up for Woolf as far as I’m concerned.

    The plot may be stagnating as far as the Zeheart/Romary/Asumo issue his concerned (I’m with Unlisted; for a minute there I thought Zeheart’s out of nowhere appearance was a hallucination), but the traitor revelation has really heightened the overall tension. Once again, I really hope it’s someone on the Diva rather than a one-shot nobody. Can’t tell where the show’s headed as far as this arc’s finale goes though. Hopefully more will be cleared up next episode.

    Actene
    Reply

  33. In terms of Flit and Asemu, we can’t forget that Flit, in terms of their situation right now, is Asemu’s commanding officer first and his father second, which simply explains his scolding of him after the battle and the brig punishment for insubordination. If Flit were to take it easy on Asemu, it would give a bad impression of “weakness” or favoritism, which wouldn’t really be tolerated at all. That’s the conflict that comes with being a higher ranking officer than a relative in the same unit (not that I’d know), but I doubt Flit was just being a cold-hearted, insensitive jerk to Asemu at all.

    Same with when it came to their arguing over civilian casualties. Flit may have come off as cold and uncaring when making his orders to send out MS to fight, but we also can’t forget what could have resulted if they didn’t act and stop things then; more Vagan MS to be made to fight and probably end up killing even more civilians in even more places (like when they first showed up and wiped out a whole colony 39 years prior). Not to mention that what’s to stop the Vagans was simply massacring the civilian population on the colony if they were to be publicly discovered? That would certainly be a horrible scenario. Flit was most likely choosing the path of least evil as civilian casualties really couldn’t be avoided without huge risks in the long run and Asemu just refused to accept that due to his naivety.

    By joining the Federation, Asemu is saying he’s an adult who can hack these things. Obviously, like how Amuro, Kamille, and others were early on, he’s really not doing so well, and Zeheart blatantly points it out. As annoying as she’s been coming off lately, even Romary at least knew better in that it was war and that the possible consequences of the orders is weighing on Flit’s mind too, not just Asemu’s. Yet, shows her hypocrisy in defending Zeheart like she is, which could be made out as treason now since they’re part of the Federation.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

    1. Okay, haven’t watched that episode in a while, so I can’t remember exactly, but it seems to me it wasn’t presented as Flit being reasonable. Flit is driven by hatred and vengeance, and a belief that the vagans are truly monsters. I seem to remember it being heavily implied that flit simply didn’t care about collateral damage as long as he was able to get more of his revenge.

      I’m not necessarily saying he’s wrong, I’m just saying I don’t remember him coming off as a pragmatist, just a really angry man.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    2. Everyone already thinks Asemu receives favor because he’s the son of a commander. Flit (already) displays favoritism to Asemu by giving him the Gundam to pilot. Everyone else is stuck using Genoace II’s or older. Granted second generation geneoace suits are just as good as the AGE-1

      unlisted
      Reply

    3. I’m in agreement here. With all the time Asemu’s spent being insubordinate or confined to quarters/tossed in the brig, I’ve been expecting him to get suspended from the Gundam for some time now. As far as I’m concerned, Asemu’s shown a real lack of perspective when it comes to dealing with his father; were I in his position I’d be terrified that any show of defiance would lead to accusations of nepotism for both parties. Flit’s main goal might be vengeance, but everything he’s done so far has been appropriate for a commanding officer–perhaps more realistic than any high-ranking officer in his position that I’ve ever seen in the Gundam franchise.

      Gotta say though, those Yurin flashbacks during the Desil fight struck me as a bit much. Makes you wonder if his marriage to Emily was as positive as the first few episodes made it out to be.

      Actene
      Reply

      1. Again, I don’t remember it being presented as Flit is a reasonable person, it was more that he just doesn’t care about anything other than defeating the Vagans. It’s not, ‘collateral damage is okay if the alternative is worse’ it’s, ‘Flit just doesn’t care about civilians if they’re between him and his revenge.’ At least that’s how I took it.
        And usually I’m a war pragmatist when it comes to shows like this and believe that you gotta do what you gotta do. But in this case the vagans have a reasonable complaint and flit has been shown to be nothing but bitter and vengeful. I don’t think we’re supposed to side with Flit necessarily.

        The clear point of this series is how do you break an endless cycle of violence that is so old that everyone has been wrong at one point or the other. And clearly Flit is not the man to end the cycle.

        Also, believe it or not, REAL military commanders do actually do everything in their power to avoid collateral damage. Media makes it look like a good commander is willing to do anything to get results, but you should avoid that when possible.

        And yeah, they’ve never really done anything to show the Flit/Emily marriage as anything other than loveless. Makes you wonder if flit married her just to continue his line and have his revenge in the future. I really hope that they turn Romary around soon so we don’t have a repeat of that with her and Asemu

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      2. @Kale

        I am glad to see the point about Yurin and Emily pop up more and more.

        You are right, based on the information the show has produced so far, Flit is clearly using Emily to continue his line. He clearly loved Yurin and when he lost her, Emily was there to be used. In fact, it is almost like Emily was driven by the plot to be just that, a mother to Flit’s child(or in this case children). So far Gundam AGE has show me that female love interest are nothing but a side note as they have no personality or any true character.

        X10Unit1
        Reply

      3. Much as I prefer Asemu/Arisa, I see a much better chance of seeing a better relationship squeak out of Asemu/Romary in this arc. Their interaction has at least had a lot more emotion than the Flit/Emily pairing, which mostly consisted of Emily angsting about how Flit was choosing to fight over… not fighting.

        I’m in agreement with you as far as the collateral damage is concerned, Kale, though I’d argue that any battle featuring humongous mechas within a populated area is all but guaranteed to cause at least moderate collateral damage on the level we saw during the episode. The extremely heavy caliber of the weapons used, plus the fact that the baseline units can fly at high speeds and are a few times bigger than contemporary fighter aircraft make the only truly “safe’ place for them to fight in space, which wasn’t much of an option in that particular scenario.

        As far as Flit himself goes, I’m only slightly less disappointed by his behavior than I am at Asemu’s (and Romary’s) constant failure to realize what the hell it is they were signing up for when they joined the military. The picture I’m getting of how the Asuno family dynamic must have been like for over a decade now is quite depressing.

        Actene
        Reply

      4. While Flit’s character has certainly taken a turn for the worse since Yurin died (to put it lightly), I don’t think it’s fair to say his marriage with Emily is loveless. We haven’t had anything to prove the opposite, and he clearly hasn’t gotten over Yurin either, but we shouldn’t just draw conclusions out of nowhere and at the very least we know he loves his son. Not that THAT relationship isn’t a little fucked up either…

        Bio D
        Reply

      5. I’m mostly going on the evidence that a.) Flit’s had less than five minute’s worth of screen time with Emily since this arc started, during which he hardly spoke to her and b.) he’s still got a bunch of repressed angst over the girlfriend he lost over two decades ago. Coupled with the fact that so far we’ve seen no desire on his part to get in contact with his civilian family at all. The service members I know of jump at the chance to do anything as simple as writing a letter to the ones back home. The most family interaction we’ve seen from Flit is him chewing out Asemu every time he can find something to criticize.

        Actene
        Reply

      6. Not true. While his interaction with Emily hasn’t been shown, that could just have been put aside to focus more on Asuno’s relationship with him. Hè seems to be happy to come to Asuno’s birthday, although the birthday itself is à pretty serious affair (though, Asuno’s reaction sugg ominously that Flit remembering à birthday is special) nd the reason hè doesn’t come more is because of his duties as Commander. Vega doesn’t get shore leave…
        And his relationship with Asuno isn’t that negative. The ED shows them happy together, hè sends à positive, if poorly worded, message when Asuno fails his X-rounder exam, and softens after reminding him that he’s Commander first when on duty on their first meeting after Asuno enlists.
        All in all, hè puts duty (and vengeance) far ahead of family, but hè does care, at least for Asuno.

        Bio D
        Reply

    1. You’ve posted the same exact thing in several of the AGE impressions now, (You change the name sometimes but it’s obvious that it’s you, you say the same things every time and this is directed to both gilgamesh and KLAC because they’re the same person) why do you waste your time if you hate the show so much?

      Altritter
      Reply

  35. still 26 eps to end, but still low rating and still low BD sales….still dead end

    age mission:
    1. get new layer of fans gundam result : 0.0 % kid watched
    2. 1.000.000 of game sales ????? haa..ha good luck for you, UC first week only 50.000
    3. DVD/BD result :2000 (killing)
    4. plamo result:with discount party up to 80 % you can get age 1 only 500 yen yeah this is bad

    gilgamesh
    Reply

  38. I keep trying to figure out what he weaknesses of the Double O Bullet are (seriously, it’s a 00 Riser without Trans-AM) and all I can think of is that there’s a really high chance of collateral damage when working with allies. That’s it. And it’s not even a problem since this is Gundam and the TV protagonist is always a on-man army.

    Now the question remains: how on earth is Asem going to knock Romary so we have Kio for the next arc? Emily was Flit’s sloppy seconds last arc but at least nothing especially negative happened with that relationship. Meanwhile, getting *that* chummy right in front of the triangle? Or is this just some crazed misdirection and they aren’t actually the couple?

    Vsin
    Reply

  39. So the 2nd storyline ended! I’m glad Asuno finally found a reason for fighting other than surpassing his dad, but I’m a little disappointed by a few things. It looks like Asuno’s completely sided with Flit’s “KILL ALL VAGANS” mentality. His and Romary’s bond with Zeheart wasn’t quite settled, so I don’t really believe them getting married was the right thing, like how I didn’t believe Flit settling for Emily was the right thing. But I suppose without that happening, we wouldn’t have Asemu or Kio’s arc to see.

    Speaking of which, we still have a little under half of the story left, so I wonder if they’ll set a few episodes at the end aside for a smaller fourth story.

    Da5id
    Reply

      1. You mean dropped, and that’s not confirmed yet. Anything that isn’t covered week to week disappears from the current series bar automatically, not from someone removing it.

        Anyway, I’m hoping Unlisted will catch up soon. TIME TO BUG HIM TILL HE DOES!

        Da5id
        Reply

      4. I have to withold my take on this arc… primarily because I have to stop watching to catch up on Aquarion(season 1 and 2).

        And now that Summer has kicked in, I don’t feel like continuing Gundam anymore. 🙁

        God I need more time!

        The Moondoggie
        Reply

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