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「魔女と花嫁」 (Majo to Hanayome)
“The Witch and the Bride”
The fall season may have kicked off last week, but it arguably begins in full now as every manner of hyped to hell show fires off their big guns. Case in point being Sunrise’s lastest Gundam series Witch from Mercury. Do I really need to say more than that? It’s a Gundum, you know damn well what’s coming here.
Right out the gate the first thing to note about Witch from Mercury is that this opener is technically the show’s second episode. A prequel episode aired back in summer which, while not mandatory viewing, at least gives some tangible idea of just what to expect. And what to expect, well, is the usual Gundam shenanigans. In a break from precedent the MC this time is Suletta Mercury (Ichinose Kana), a girl heralding from – you guessed it – Mercury (read: orbiting Mercury habitat) who just so happens to also be a pilot of Gundam Aerial which does all the things you expect a Gundam to do. In another break as well Suletta isn’t what you’d call forthright. Rather than some combination of aloof, smug, or otherwise mentally hardened (the usual Gundam protag personality), she’s an incredibly timid and introverted girl who has a hell of a time interacting with others. Slightly corny and embarrassing at times admittedly, but certainly a nice change of pace. Or, you know, until we get the inevitably dark and dreary backstory that skillful Gundam piloting hints towards.
As for setting, this too shouldn’t be that out place for any Gundam afficionado. Courtesy of one forward thinking mama Suletta is attending the Asticassia School of Technology, which for lack of additional information can be considered a mecha school. Kids learn all about big giant robots for the usual array of dystopic megacorporation interests and get the fun of teenage drama to boot. Case in point here is the second lead of the show in Miorine Rembran (Lynn), the fiery and forthright daughter of Asticassia’s overarching control corp president. Personality alone should show her match for Suletta for fairly obvious reasons, though the thing reinforcing their eventual partnership is the dual combination of Miorine being originally won as a bride for Asticassia’s lead student pilot (and aggravating hotshot) Guel Jeturk (Azakami Youhei) in a duel and Suletta thoroughly crushing him in another duel – and then winning Miorine as her bride. Yes, that indeed happened, and yes, there’s plenty which could be said over this universe’s apparent social norms, but suffice to say it’s an arrangement ensuring both girls have plenty of time to learn about and grow closer to each other.
Getting to that learning (and the assured yuri baiting) likely won’t take long too since we also already have the first foreshadowing of major events. Besides Asticassia’s director (and Guel’s father) trying to off Miorine’s father for, among other things, the duelling system that let the like of Miorine be acquired as a veritable trophy (being the small fish is always difficult), the corporate trappings are enough to show that violence isn’t far off, especially once we start delving into what makes Gundams tick in this series and their use in political affairs. Hell the OP should be enough (prologue episode spoilers aside) to indicate how this Gundam variant came into existence and what makes Suletta particularly special.
There’s some serious and gritty developments coming down the pipeline in Witch from Mercury, it’s only a question of which happens first and who has the pleasure of being the first to die.
After all, it’s not a Gundam without pain and suffering – and this one has all the pieces for plenty of it.
OP Sequence
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OP: 「祝福」 (Shukufuku) by YOASOBI
Preview
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End Card
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I very much enjoyed this episode and the prologue. The animation was great as well. It will be interesting how the world expands from episode 1 to get back to episodes 0’s plot. But the school I expect will give us a minimum of a cours length to develop our characters in relative(for gundam) peace. Feels almost like we are within the confines of gundam getting a little whiplash from the pure “this is the worst” of IBO’s universe.
I’m expecting the same with this school arc, 8-12 episodes of build up before the mid-season whiplash and next big shakeup. WfM is already confirmed split cour so it’s just a matter of how many episodes each cour is.
I watched the first few early Gundam series and thought they were pretty good (making allowances for the period animation) but didn’t really follow the rest of the franchise. Until now. Unless it puts a giant mechanical foot wrong in a big way, this is a definite watch.
But Benerit? That’s not a front for the Bene Gesserit, is it? 🙂
Could be, and given what Benerit is all about (prologue spoils quite a bit on that front), more comparable than you might think 😉
Looks good so far as long as they don’t become gay
For all the yuri labelling going on I personally don’t expect it to happen. Both Suletta and Miorine will certainly wind up friends, but outside of baiting having full-bore romance is unlikely – though I’m prepared to be wrong lol.
it could be much worse…
Simoun level of yuri, for example
I wonder if Gundam Aerial is the same machine that Sulleta piloted in the prologue, is it the same with a different name and paint job or a new suit altogether and Sulleta now have multiple robo siblings. Now that she has changed her name from the prologue, she should be at least aware that she is in the company of wolves that have tore her family apart in the past and whether her air headedness is a coping mechanism or she only become the titular “Witch” when she is in her mobile suit. I love what they are doing with the music in this series.
Though I have to admit the light heartedness of this episode is rather jarring from the absolutely dark prologue we got. Excited to see what this series has in store for the future.
Firmly suspect it’s the same machine, the name changes are likely to hide who she is and what she actually pilots, even though some this episode have already picked up on things.
Fully agreed on the music too, the choral aspects especially hearken back to Hans Zimmer’s work in Dune which isn’t a bad comparison to have at all.
(Some speculation) After rewatching the episode, the timeline is kinda bothering me. I get the feeling that it has been much more than 10 years since the attack on Fólkvangr…
Yes, it has been more than 10 years. 12 years even. 🙂
i barely watched Gundam 00 and couldnt finish both seasons. i think gundam isnt the mecha for me i guess. i loved GunXSword and even some Macross Zero and a bit of the weird Macross Galaxies.
Are there Mecha stuff like Bubblegum crisis or Ghost-in-the-shell?
Not much exactly like GITS or Bubblegum Crisis sadly, closest you’re likely to get is Patlabor or Appleseed. I’d give Gundam IBO, Gundam SEED, and Gundam: the Origin a shot though, those are more in line with “typical” mecha so their stories should click with you better!
one show that caught my eye few years ago was Rideback.
Not that I hate is but it feels like the art direction is such a huge departure from previous gundam titles. The first thing that came to mind after seeing the character design is Genshin Impact.
Art style made me think more Reconguista and not so much IBO for instance.
IIRC a lot of the artists and animators involved were big in the Gundam Build shows so that’s why it feels so different from IBO.
“The sequel Utena fans have been waiting for.”
Or should i say, The Replacement for Lycoris Recoil…Just Asking!
animation and mecha design doesnt deserve name of gundam for me, but who the hell I am ?
Finally! After what seemed like two installments of Love Live! Idol music Sunrise grace us with a new Gundam Anime!
well im sold, lock, stock and barrel
and I didnt watch any Gundam before, strange as it may be for a veteran otaku
I already hate the heroine. The white-haired chick is not much better,
What don’t you like about them?