First Impressions / Gundam

「葬送」 (Sousou)
“Funeral”

Is there such a thing as the 13-episode rule?

It seems funny to think you’d still be unsure of what to make of a series when it’s half-over (especially if it’s a multi-cour) but that’s exactly where I am with Tekketsu no Orphans.  Sometimes I like it, sometimes I almost love it.  But there are others times when it leaves me shaking my head.  There’s the germ of something quite special here – something that might even be unique in the Gundam mythology – but it just can’t seem to take root.

The sense I get in watching Orphans is the same as driving a fine car that’s mis-firing.  It runs well some of the time, but one of the cylinders just isn’t firing like it should.  It still handles beautifully and the seats are comfortable, but it’s not quite right.  This show is a very complicated construction – we’re dealing with arguably the most revered franchise in anime, and we’ve added in one of the medium’s best known directors in Nagai and arguably its most polarizing writer in Okada.  I get the feeling that the chemistry just isn’t working, not yet at least.  Everyone is trying to match their well-defined artistic temperament to this well-defined universe, and the fit isn’t perfect.

This episode is a really good example of the inconsistency which seems to be the most consistent part of Iron-Blooded Orphans.  As most of them have, the ep saves its best material for the final ten minutes or so (which is actually a good thing).  But the emotional scenes in the first half are so heavy-handed that it’s hard to take most of them seriously.  I thought we were done with the Akihiro-Masahiro melodrama, but not satisfied with last week’s theatrics, Orphans gives us a face-to-face-in-space tearful goodbye.  It’s too much – the whole storyline has been dialed up to eleven, and too easy to predict.  It has emotional weight, but no literary restraint.

I like the scenes where the Tekkadan child soldiers have boarded the Brewers’ ship, only to find even younger and more underfed child soldiers waiting for them. And we get a funeral scene, which can often be a good opportunity for a moment of grace (even the generally execrable Last Exile: Fam found its finest hour in such a scene).  But again, I just think the whole thing is a bit heavy-handed and manipulative – it’s a pretty good moment that could have been great with just a little more restraint.

The saving graces for me are twofold, the first being MacGillis.  It’s not so much that his shared scenes with his child bride are so wonderful on their own, but after being bombarded by cartoon villainy over the past two weeks, it’s refreshing to get back to an antagonist who isn’t a grotesquerie, isn’t an open book.  And second, of course, is Mikazuki – while it may be a bit of a narrative crutch, the event that closes the episode certainly ramps up the dramatics in a big way.

At this point, anything which begins to flesh out Mika as a character is a positive in my book. Kudel’s words to him – “You’re enjoying this – killing men!” seem to have struck a nerve (even if they were a case of the pot calling the kettle black).  Getting any reaction out of Mika is a step forward for the series – just knowing he’s capable of being creeped out by his own implacable facade.  As for the kiss (no, not that kiss – though it did plant the idea in Mika’s head), well – we’ll see where it goes, but for what it was it was the best moment of the episode.  It again seems to reveal some facet of humanity in Mika that’s recognizable (curiosity if nothing else) and his reaction (just blow the dust off and keep eating) is perfectly in-character.  Poor Atra, sure – though I think she could use some better goals in life anyway – but if we can actually see Mika turn into an interesting person, Tekketsu no Orphans will have taken a huge step forward as a story.

 

Preview

62 Comments

  4. Seriously? Of all characters in this series, it’s MagGillis that I despise. I honestly wouldn’t mind him if he were a more fun or decent character, but he’s such a ham that he just pisses me off. He’s like Schniezel from Code Geass, good looking, arrogant, pompously polite. I seriously despise those kind of characters. He’s the “Mister Perfect” villain.

    Also, I thought Orga came off as a bit of a dick in this episode. The way he tried dismissing the idea of a funeral just punched a button for me. As the doctor mentioned, not everyone shares the same opinion as him, which gives off the vibe that he isn’t really yet thinking about Tekkadan, but rather what he thinks they believe in. He displayed a very naive perspective of how adults are supposed to behave, which in turn still displays a level of immaturity in his character. While he tries to act cool, he still comes off as a greenhorn who still has way too much to learn about being a leader. He may know his crew well, but apparently he doesn’t understand some things quite yet.

    I didn’t really mind the drama either. While many anime may have done it, it is also best to keep in mind that not everyone watches a whole lot of anime, I myself haven’t really been watching anything from this season, apart from Iron Blood Orphans and Onepunch Man. I get there are plenty of good anime, but many of those just really aren’t my cup of tea. In my opinion, what made the drama especially tragic is the probable fact that none of those kids were actually aware of who they were fighting. They had no idea that they were actually fighting against people, such as themselves, except are living better lives on their own.

    One of the more interesting points may also be the ending, where the maid may actually be a spy for that old geezer. There is a possibility that she is sending information for others to find them, which makes one wonder to just exactly why she could be doing all this. We’re given a small clue to the maid’s identity and intentions.

    Not to mention that Akihiro is getting a bit of an upgrade on his mech. Most Gundam series simply focus on the Gundam, but it’s actually nice to see other mobile suits being given some attention. This also brings up another point, since Akihiro gets a new mobile suit, could somebody else be given the Graze?

    I myself am really enjoying Iron Blood Orphans. Many would obviously disagree with this statement, but I honestly prefer Iron Blood Orphans, over Gundam 00. Not taking anything away from its predecessor, but Gundam 00 took itself way too damn seriously.

    ion42
    Reply

    1. Yeah, i think someones (not you) expect from the Gundam merchandise to be the Perfect Solution of all their problems, Heal the Cancer or to bring us World Piece. They have to much High expectations that this Anime are impossible to deliver.

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

    2. “Many would obviously disagree with this statement, but I honestly prefer Iron Blood Orphans, over Gundam 00. Not taking anything away from its predecessor, but Gundam 00 took itself way too damn seriously”.

      I, for one, wouldn’t disagree with that statement. In some cases, this series is like the anti-Gundam 00. The Gundams aren’t overpowered, the heroes are punch clock soldiers and they are far more likeable than the protagonists of Gundam 00 (always rooted for the world powers, at least in the first season).

      Mistic
      Reply

      2. Honestly it depends on what you’re looking for. I liked Gundam 00 a lot because it delivered excellent mecha action, something I value highly when watching a mecha series. It was also a lot of dumb fun. Like the immortal(lol) Patrick etc and MR.BUSHIDO. On a sheer entertainment level, I think I’ve enjoyed Gundam 00 more so far. Not to say that IBO is bad. It just does different things better. For example IBO’s characters are more compelling, and the atmosphere is a lot more serious etc.

        FlameStrike
        Reply

      3. @FlameStrike
        I agree, the action was great. The problems begin when I notice that in most fights I’m rooting for their rivals to defeat the Gundams, contrary to the supposed intention. After all, aren’t Immortal Colaseur and Mr. Bushido on the enemy side?

        As fun as action can be, I need more things to truly enjoy a show. Characters, the most important. Plot. Setting. Values. Coherence. If I want to simply enjoy mecha fun, there are better options out there (still, I guess I had fun when siding with the enemies; had they been the protagonists, Gundam 00 may have been one of my favourite mecha series).

        Mistic
        Reply

      4. That’s largely why I’m not really into Wing, SEED, SEED Destiny, 00, and the last 1/3 of AGE out of the AU Gundam series’ so far (the first four being the most mainstream Gundam series in the US that I can tell too). Sure, they have flashy, bombastic, and/or over-the-top mobile suit combat (and a number of cool mobile suit designs, though SEED Destiny was the weakest with UC copycat mobile suits and SEED 2.0 upgrades of others), but they seem to lack in most other categories (plot being pretty basic, characters pretty bland and/or boring and/or don’t develop much/well, if at all, etc.) and, as you said, many times I found myself rooting for the antagonists to beat the protagonists.

        It’s why I say that Gundam X feels like a more balanced Gundam Wing (both in terms of mobile suit battles and plot/character development). Even G Gundam, despite how ridiculously over-the-top it was, I still enjoy as the characters are still likable and things develop.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

    3. With McGillis, I think there’s a lot more to him than you’re suggesting, but I know that there are some people who don’t like his type of antagonist, but I like the fact that he’s very intelligent and noble, but he has his own plans that are kept hidden from both the other characters and the audience. Also, he’s the kind of character who keeps all his real feelings hidden from others, which allows us to guess and wonder about what his real intentions are. But I guess to each his own.

      As for Orga, I think that you’re totally wrong about him, and you might need to look back at episode 2 and look a little deeper to see why he responded like that.

      By their responses this episode, the notion of an actual funeral seems to foreign to most in this time or at least on Mars. This is understandable considering the huge large scale war that occurred which probably lead to death happening at such a rate that there was no longer an idea or money for a ceremony. Also, with the economy the way it is on Mars, I can see them not spending money for such a ceremony, especially for the really poor groups, and so it fell out of practice.

      Orga as the leader of his group is tasked with the very difficult job of keeping everything going even when he’s loses members. He doesn’t have the luxury of falling out in his sorrow like others, because he has to maintain the morale of everyone else on the ship. He’s had to deal with this before as we saw in the beginning of the series. However, notice that despite the fact that he doesn’t openly mourn them, you know that he has been really affected by each death by the facial nuances you catch and about how he addresses the deaths of his comrades to others, you can feel how much their deaths affect him. It’s because we’ve seen how much they do, that I actually thought that Merribit’s comments were a little bit of a low blow considering all he does and consider for his men and how much he cares for them.

      If you go back to episode 2, he does understand the need to say goodbye, as he asks Mika if he wishes to do so for the comrades they lost then. Mika however, responds with the same words that Orga uses here, about seeing the dead when you’re dead and using the time you have to continue living. This seems to be an adage that the two have been living by for some time, which is understandable considering how they have had to struggle to survive for so long. Neither of the two have really allowed themselves to think beyond survival. So Orga is unfamiliar with the concept of taking time to hold a ceremony and thinking about the afterlife, he’s never faced it before and doesn’t see the point of it, and Mika doesn’t either, however, he can see his men want it and so he agrees to it. He has always put his men first, so even when he doesn’t necessarily understand everything, if they feel that that they will need a “funeral”, then he considers it.

      IreneSharda
      Reply

    1. Anyone who eats pudding like that has to be so damn evil, who smiles like that while eating pudding, it was so damn creepy … i was right to doubt this guy really gives a shit about Kudelia’s well being, he is like her father or worse.

      Hunter-Wolf
      Reply

  7. https://randomc.net/image/Gundam%20Tekketsu%20no%20Orphans/Gundam%20Tekketsu%20no%20Orphans%20-%2013%20-%20Large%20Preview%2003.jpg

    Yeah, as you can all guess. This is just an Political Marriage. But he is nice to this little Girl. He could just shut her up in a room for all he cares, i bet even the family of this Girl would not care. But, he is nice to her

    But… is his drive to give this Little Girl an better World when she is grown up? Is he doing this all for her future? or for his own greed of Power?.. Well, time will tell this

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

    1. Political marriage or not, she’s also his best friend’s sister. Given what we saw in a previous episode, MacGillis seems to be more comfortable around Gaelio’s family than around his own.

      Mistic
      Reply

  8. The first part of this episode and the funeral are the most interesting parts with everything in between being all over the place. I mean this one gave us a whole bunch of good scenes but were not utilized properly. Well, consistency is the problem that plagues this otherwise fine series.

    The former gave us an idea as to how our adorkably sociopath lead will develop but the Masahiro dramafest could’ve been included in the last episode so it was not given much emphasis. Too bad, I am interested in it on a psychological level.

    The send off for their fallen comrades was poignant. What’s not is to drag some airtime telling the whole Tekkadan that they’re gonna have that freakin’ funeral. Oh well.

    I am also beginning to irk with its inconsistency and the objectification of women as big boobed = pretty.I laughed with the last scenes though. I think Mikazuki mimicked Turbine with that move. You know, the everyone becomes prettier thing when you’re in danger?

    Seriously, I love this series but the tone of the review of IBO in this site makes me want to wish Enzo to just drop it then focus with other series he likes to review. It feels like he is forced to do one in this case.

    samui
    Reply

    1. 1. Not really sure about the big boobed comment. Do you mean the Fumitan thing? That wasn’t about her being pretty, it was about her being maternal. I guess you could say it’s objectification, but it’s also a bit of truth in television as breasts do increase in size during/after pregnancy, so larger breasts have been associated with motherhood since basically the beginning of time.

      2. I agree that Enzo’s reviews come off as far too much of a subjective opinion rather than an objective review when it comes to this series. I’m aware the line between those two is vague and it moves, but I’d say these reviews are… weak at best.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

      1. It’s a perfect time to soul search if you’re still going to continue to blog IBO, Enzo.

        The fact that you’re ignoring or not bothering to reply on any of the comments in your blogs unlike the other RC bloggers shows disinterest and disconnect to your target readers.

        It’s an eyesore.

        Raiu
        Reply

      2. Uhm.. Have you noticed the loli when she wants to dance with the blonde guy during their engagement party? I don’t know if that was out of insecurity in her part given she’s still a kid but… the chest and the butts of the women who want her beau to have a dance with were given enough emphasis before she ran away in tears. Well, Fumitan’s case is the second one that ticked me to write that remark.

        samui
        Reply

      3. @Raiu

        Low blow, pal. Enzo has stated repeatedly that if he didn’t like a series, he’d stop writing about it, and he has no obligation to reply to our comments.

        It’s clear that IBO has grown on him, despite its perceived flaws. Be grateful that he’s emotionally invested enough at this point that he doesn’t dedicate three paragraphs to Okada and Okada only on a regular basis.

        N
        Reply

      5. Umm… that falls under the same line as the fumitan thing. She’s not thinking about how they’re ‘prettier’ than her, she’s thinking about how they’re ‘older’ which, again, is accurate. She does not have breasts or curves because she’s 9.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

    1. Totally agree. They’ve done that a few times in this show. It’s really gonna need a credit-free on-disk version. They like to run the episodes a minute or two long fairly regularly and those last scenes are often pretty great.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  11. Again, the series is best at showing the harsh truths of child soldiers. They find a bunch of little kids in the enemy ship? Don’t worry, we are friends… until someone fires a gun and hell breaks loose. That they don’t show the kids dying is even more disturbing, because our imagination fills in the gaps.

    Mistic
    Reply

  13. Interesting, I actually had the opposite reaction to the Masahiro and Akihiro scene.

    I was a bit disappointed with the ending of last week’s episode as I though it didn’t have enough emotional punch. I mean yeah I kinda felt bad for Akihiro, but all I could think of at the end was, “Oh, that’s it”? I feel that their scene at he beginning of this episode gives it the addition emotional weight it needed and that it was important for Akihiro’s development. As painful as it was for Akihiro, being able to have a face to face good bye with Masahiro felt like it gave him some closure. Without that closure it feels like Akihiro’s arc has very little to show for in the end.

    Zetatrain
    Reply

  14. I was ok with the drama….These are space operas aren’t they? Wtf is a space opera without drama? Children are dying left and right and they are feeling like shite…The child soilder aspect of the show is a strong point.

    Anyhow the show has it’s issues but it’s miles better than Reconquista or even OO.The focus seems to be on the characters which is a good thing imho. Mika is still an emotionless robot and Kudelia is still a useless character without any development. Hopefully that change.s

    Miaminights
    Reply

  15. Can’t be at 11 all the time I suppose, definitely seems this show is no exception to that idea! But I think we’re becoming spoiled on intense/super well paced episodes thus far that an episode like this was kind of jarring as a whole. Still, I’ll admit this episode was kind of a welcome change because it kind of let me reel myself back in and be relaxed for a change, versus every episode prior practically forcing you to glue your eyeballs to the screen and plug audio lines directly into your ear holes lest you miss something significantly important.

    I do watch TV/Anime/etc to be entertained, but a moment to sort of calm down and take everything in is appreciated. This was very much the case for this episode, at least in my opinion, so I’m cool with this sort of… Not exactly the same in energy level episode.

    BirdGang
    Reply

  17. Perhaps my biggest issue with this show right now is actually its pacing. I’ve been finding it a bit of a drag for a while now. It feels like things are being drawn out, and that it ought to have been able to tell its story more concisely.

    Darthtabby
    Reply

    1. I agree. I love this show and all but its pacing has been wobbly for the past five episode.

      Now that we’re done with the build up (I am seriously commending this show for being a double cour without so much filter), I hope it ties the knots in the second cour.

      samui
      Reply

      2. Frankly, as much as I like this show, I have to agree. Really starting with the Turbines, the pacing has been off IMO. They spent a bit too much time on their random harem antics followed by a somewhat long but generally good episode on the Teiwaz station (don’t remember the name) only to lead into this 3 episode arc that was spread a bit thinner than it probably needed to be and put a lot of focus on characters like Akihiro which, well done or not, was largely to the detriment of the main cast, who were either marginalized (Mika) or weirdly reverted to a pre-development stage of their character (Kudelia).

        Hopefully they’ll get past this and get moving now.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  18. To save on time I’ll just repeat this from GE’s site:
    Well I’m going to pretty much ignore you’re beef with Okada, I don’t have a problem with her and don’t see the need to bash her so much, and then there’s the fact that she doesn’t write a lot of the episodes herself anyway. I’m going to respond to your other points.

    I actually liked the first half of the episode much more than the second half, even though the second half was very good too. I think the scene with Masahiro and Akihiro was very much needed. Without that true goodbye between the brothers, and of course the funeral afterwards, it would have left Akihiro an emotional wreck and he would have been back at square one when it comes to his self-esteem issues involving being an ex-slave. He would have been eaten up by guilt about having family while his brother was suffering and that he should have gotten to him on time or should have said something different or something. However, now he’s gotten the chance to properly say goodbye and to understand, and it’s going to help him get closure and to heal much more easily and faster than it would have been if we just left it as it was last week.

    While the kiss was definitely the talking point of the episode, my favorite scene was actually Orga talking to those kids and taking them into Tekkadan. Fortunately, Orga is a more charismatic speaker than Akihiro and he knew what to say to these kind of kids. He didn’t lead with the idea of family, but rather the elements of it that the kids would instantly gravitate to: food, security, and shelter.

    Also, I think that what he said about human debris being a group that was honored in Tekkadan affected his ex-human debris crew just as much as with the kids and how Dante thanked him for taking the kids in, made me think that Akihiro isn’t the only one of the human debris who have security and self-esteem issues. They looked like they weren’t sure if Orga was going to turn the kids away or not, when the answer should have been obvious.

    As for the other parts of the episode, I thought that McGillis with Almiria was very sweet, and how he tries to show her she’s cared for, despite the situation that they are both in, where neither has any control. Always a gentleman, I saw his actions as very much that of a caring older brother who was trying to protect the little sister. I’m not sure what plans that McGillis has planned, but I’m interested to see where his mental wheels are turning. I had no problem with the villainous looking villains, since sometimes they are needed. In this past situation with the pirates, you needed characters like Kudal and Brooke. You knew they we’re going to last long, so they might as well be full villain. You can’t have ALL of your villains be nuanced, it would make characters like McGillis and his father less special.

    As for Mika, I’m interested in where this episode will take him. I have a feeling that while it was Kudelia he kissed here, that it might not go all the way to a full relationship. I think he and her life goals lie in two completely different directions, but we’ll have to see. I really think that it might have been more reactionary than romantic for Mika, but who knows with him.

    As for his issue with what Kudal told him, I don’t agree with it. Mika is a pretty pragmatic fighter and he’s on pretty much automatic when he does kill others. He fights to protect and to survive, but I don’t think he enjoys it per say. I think he’s due for another bro talk with Orga, and I think he might bring this up then.

    As for the episode as a whole, it was once again very good and I enjoyed it a lot. The series itself? Depending on how it ends, it is already in my top-tier Gundam series of all time.

    IreneSharda
    Reply

    1. Best analysis thus far. McGillis is indeed a true gentleman. Says alot on the mindset of people these days when his acts of kindness are construed as those of a paedophile….

      Principalities
      Reply

    2. As Series Composer, Okada is responsible for breaking the story into episodes and overseeing the scripts -the episode writers don’t just get to write whatever the heck they want. Of course neither does Okada unless she’s given reign to do so. As the Series Composer she’s ultimately subordinate to the director. Other staff, particularly producers, can also have a high degree of input into things like a show’s characters and story. Then of course there’s the fact that scripts can be rewritten at the storyboarding stage and dialogue can end up being heavily altered from a writer’s original draft. It really isn’t fair to automatically blame a particular writer or group of writers for everything. Anime writing tends to be rather collaborative -there’s one show I watched where one writer got credit for Series Composition and all the episode scripts, but interviews make it very clear that he was involved in some crazy planning sessions with other creative staff such as the director.

      Darthtabby
      Reply

      1. The problem is that, regardless of whether or not Okada had free reign or not, Sunrise hired her for this Gundam iteration with full knowledge of her style – a style that has made her highly demanded in the industry lately.

        Sadly, that style doesn’t always work out for the best with a big part of the audience. She’s adept to forcing the drama instead of letting it happen a bit more… “organically” might be the term? Of course that if you’re writing a show you really are forcing situations with your writing, but there’s a way to make them honest and “true”, to make the viewer feel like you’re watching people who could be real people doing things that could happen in real life, given the circumstances.

        Anime lately ditches that in order to get shock and awe. While they were not the first shows to do it, Code Geass and Death Note got away with doing it and making HUGE AMOUNTS OF DOSH so the formula gets repeated again and again and again. And while Okouchi ‘excels’ at doing it in the action department (get ready for Koutetsu no Kabaneri, very soon), Okada excels doing it in the drama section. And when she injects her flavor into a show, you can tell from afar.

        The friends who were watching IBO dropped it, so I’d have to get the fix myself – but at this point I’m not so sure I even want to record it on my MAL profile.

        ElHuesudoII
        Reply

    3. There’s a moment where McGillis has a VERY sly smile while he is chatting with the older ladies and he notices Almiria’s reaction…He is clearly playing his cards close to his chest. But it’s damn intriguing.

      Miaminights
      Reply

      1. I noticed the smile too. Also, at the start of the scene at the party, after McGillis’s dad leaves him, some aristocrats are chatting about the dad. The blonde woman mentions “Lord Iznario cleverly used the daughter of his mistress”, and the mustached man then says (with a sideways glance to McGillis) “if he takes in the Bauduin daughter, his position is strengthened”.

        If the translation I read was correct, I think the guests were implying that Iznario slept with Gaelio’s mother, then is marrying his son McGillis to his illegitimate daughter Almiria for a political alliance with Gaelio’s family. It’s implied that McGillis overhears the conversation, because he doesn’t immediately react to the glass of wine Gaelio puts in front of him and he’s startled by his friend’s appearance.

        Maybe part of Gaelio’s plan is to use his arranged marriage to his half-sister to expose his father’s actions and shake up the Gjallarhorn establishment? That smile he had before walking up to the balcony doesn’t imply he has kind intentions toward his fiance.

        anon234
        Reply

  19. I’m sure that if we have a more normal looking Villain designs, NO ONE HERE will complain about Kudal’s (rather brief) apparence with a violent demise. (Also the Brewer’s boss, Brooke Kabayan, but surely no one will care since he was rarely shown).

    OTOH, Macky McGillis here is turning more and more into a Char-clone, and that’s a good thing for us since he is acting more and more like our UC-timeline anti-hero.

    Speaking of smooth moves…
    https://randomc.net/image/Gundam%20Tekketsu%20no%20Orphans/Gundam%20Tekketsu%20no%20Orphans%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
    Orga, are you mad at Merribit just because she’s been right in more matters than you? Kinda shallow there. Or is there more to that?

    Also, *Spoiler warning because no screen-cap*
    Show Spoiler ▼

    ps. I kind of want to see how Tekkadan will salvage the Gusion … /mecha-fetish

    info600
    Reply

    1. Interestingly, the way I see Merribit, is that she’s sort of a guide for Orga and the boys to lead them away from simply surviving, to actually living and thriving. She’s lived a less horrible life than they have, and yet seems to also be able to connect to them as well. So, she’s the one who brings up things that help Orga from living day to day, and to continue to solidify his and Tekkadan’s future.

      To me, it’s not a matter of one being more right than the other, it’s about her inroducing him to different viewpoints and options that Orga can have that he didn’t see before. He rankles at that a bit, since he’s a guy, a teen, and he’s still not used to having someone from outside of his crew give him advice like that.

      However, many a romance has begun on such sparks, though I would like Orga to begin affecting Merribit more if they are going to go for that angle. Right now, she seems more like the big sister, than a potential love interest, but we’ll see. 😉

      IreneSharda
      Reply

      2. There’s not official ages out yet really, other than Takaki saying in show that he’s 13, and what I’ve heard around from different sources. According to those sources, Orga is 17 (Mika is 15/16, Kudelia is 16 and Atra is 15), and Merribit looks to be in her early to mid 20s I’d guess. Naze is in his latter 20s and Amina is in her early 30s if that can give you some perspective.

        Also, if they are going to do a romance with Merribit, I think we require a lot more backstory. We really know nothing about her other than that she’s affiliated with Teiwaz, she grew up on a colony, and she’s older and more mature with skills in accounting and medicine. I would like to know more about her past and where she came from and such.

        IreneSharda
        Reply

      3. For me I think how Orga feels upset at first but later agree to Merribit’s funeral idea is only natural. As a leader he must ensure Tekkadan strong enough to survive and as we know boldness and unpredictablity of child soilders are the main strong points of Tekkadan so far. Orga knows that by allow Tekkadan to think of themselves more than child soilders could compromise their strength hence make them more vulnerable. But as a big brother of orphans he desires to give them better living quality and to make them more than Human Debris. Those are what he and Tekkadan have fought for since the beginning of the series. So we have a conflicting leader here. What Merribit suggested perhaps conflicting to his leader self but I believe hit home to the counterpart. So far Orga’s character has been portrayed to me as a cunning, bold individual but sometimes conflicting and insecured but by no mean egoistic. There has been a conversation between him and biscuit about Mikazuki (if I remember correctly). During that conversation he said he must keep being cool, being bold for Mikazuki and Tekkadan. He felt the expectations from them are so high and so heavy on his shoulder so he must keep trying harder and harder. He is an interesting character to watch an even more so when we have Merribit being his destabilizer (for better or worse is yet to tell)

        Patrick
        Reply

  20. There seems to be a huge disconnect with the series editing and composition. IBO does have good scenes for character development but has a tendency to meander far too long and can sometimes contribute nothing to the show (Kudelia’s scenes being a prime example). Here is very clear casualty of the pacing. A pre-credit scene is supposed to set up an episode for the next 20 minutes. Instead we get even more scenes of Masahiro dying and Kudel getting defeated. Those scenes are supposed to for an episode climax and putting them here is just baffling. The emotional tragedy for Masahiro’s death has already expended last week so trying to milk even more tears out of this just feels manipulative. And no, I still don’t care because again, Masahiro was only created to die.

    I guess I shouldn’t be complaining too much though because Kudel died a very horrible death. Good riddance to him, now IBO can go back to feeling grounded again. I’m hopping that’s the last of those kind of antagonists, but considering IBO has already done this several times I’m dreading who the next cartoon villain is.

    The funeral for the dead was good though, but again it feels too long. Also I felt it was undercut when all of a sudden, Space Pimp goes horny and starts tasting the roof of his wife’s mouth. I don’t get why IBO tries to to ruin there own emotional scenes like this.

    And everyone seems to be raving about Mika making out with Kudeila bt I’m apathetic. Shipping requires me to actually care about the characters. Problem is, I find Mika boring to watch when he isn’t interacting with Orga (I wish there were more scenes with those two) and I’ve made it clear I find Kudelia to be a detriment to the plot and character development. At least she isn’t moping about being useless.

    fragb85
    Reply

  21. I can understand why Orga acted rather immature about that whole funeral thing in front of Merribit. Remember that he and Mika lived without any parental figures to guide them for most of their lives, so technically, they are still children who have little knowledge about social etiquette (among other things). But what the hey, they’re constantly learning and growing as characters, so I have no complaints about that.

    As for Mika…not so stoic now, are you? That said, that kiss was a smooth move. (He did learn from–or at least imitate–the best.) Let’s see if Kudelia starts to develop feelings for Mika after that (if she hasn’t already).

    I couldn’t comment on the previous episode as I was away, but it was nice to see the Barbatos use the flanged mace on one of the Man Rodis (them armored Brewer mook suits). I wonder if Tekkadan did keep some Man Rodi spare parts to up-armor Barbatos later on? Also, good to see Akihiro get a mobile suit that actually makes use of his Ālaya-Vijñāna system. Combine that with training in a mobile suit that didn’t even have that interface and I’m already looking forward to how he handles the Gusion.

    And finally…don’t worry about your lack of breasts, Atra. You’ll fill out. Eventually…

    Incognito
    Reply

    1. Oh Mika’s still pretty stoic. Right after that kiss, he goes and picks up his food and eats it while looking out the window, like he hadn’t even changed his demeanor. Let’s just say that if anyone is going to get hot and bothered, it’s NOT going to be Mika. LOL
      He is one smooth guy though, I’ll give him that, and he doesn’t even really mean to be.

      As for Orga, like I was talking about above, funerals and ceremony are just not something he’s familiar with. It’s less about maturity, and more about the fact that he doesn’t understand the necessity. He’s not the only one who thinks this way as Mika expressed these exact sentiments this episode and in episode 2 of not understanding the need for it. Their minds have always been on survival, and funeral and ceremony really seem superfluous to a person who is trying to survive day to day.

      IreneSharda
      Reply

      1. I meant not so stoic after being told that he “enjoys killing.” Those words were echoing in Mika’s head and his hands were shaking, but Kudelia’s cooldown hug and that subsequent kiss probably did wonders to put him back in stoic mode.

        Incognito
        Reply

  22. I like where Mika’s character is going. Everyone is saying he’s a stoic robot, but I really don’t see him as that. He has emotions and concerns, but they just don’t really show on his face. Which is a narrative device I like more. It leaves us trying to peak at the cards he’s holding so closely to the vest

    nyanlol
    Reply

  23. With the way this is paced – we’re half way through the show, not at Earth yet, and there’s another deep space mini-arc pending from the looks of things with 13 episodes remaining – I’ve decided we’re watching a Children’s Crusade; a bunch of kids following a dream blindly to a promise of freedom/change. They’re going to establish all the characters just well enough that everyone likes them and then the Adults on the other side of the table are going to kill them all when they get to Earth.

    Best case scenario: Kudelia’s escape pod lands someplace she won’t be turned into a puppet of the State.

    Dave_K
    Reply

  24. Even rare for Gundam but these series are getting every nail in right spot. Doing perfect Gundam cycle episodes and making them so interesting and with nice development. From all Gundams so far I must afmist I am really impressed. Hard to imagen this ending in 12 episodes but other then that seems awesome so far.

    laaa
    Reply

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