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「譲れない優しさ」 (Yuzurenai Yasashisa)
“Unrelenting Tenderness”
Ahh there’s nothing like a Gundam finale to really shake things up. You love it. You hate it. You love it and hate it; all the various emotions swirling around as things go boom and conflicts are resolved. And the best part? There’s still one episode of the chaos left to go.
The one thing I really got a kick out of this episode were how close to the mark my predictions wound up being. Eri for one did wind up sacrificing herself for the sake of Prospera and Suletta – but to save both from the quintessential other threat rather than saving them from each other. For all the hamfisted hilarity of yet another superweapon on the down low (it’s truly the Gundam way), it does mesh with everything which has happened to the eponymous family to date. Eri was never going to see herself “reborn”, Suletta was always going to be around, and Prospera was only missing the push needed to realize Eri still technically lives within her other daughter. Of course we still have yet to see said push materialize and there’s the possibility that Eri still somehow lives, but for the moment the ending for this particular family looks fairly conclusive.
As for the other running prediction in Guel going out in a blaze of glory, yeah, damn near got that too. Honestly not much to say for this, Lauda got hotheaded, Guel sought to cool him down, and both got saved thanks to supporting crew who obviously came around in the nick of time. While there’s room for debate over Lauda’s argument about Guel’s pride and unwillingness to share the burden, it too is basically just a reason for the whole fight: had to give Guel something to do once he revealed Shaddiq’s treachery, so why not let him close the book on that patricidal guilt? Plus it has the benefit of solidifying Miorine as Suletta’s girl first and foremost, because there’s no way Guel would be hiding his intentions that easily in the midst of a duel. Gundam fights all serve a purpose in the end after all.
And all that then leads to the new and emergent threat in the Space League’s Death Star big giant telecommunications laser. Again, easy to predict such an outcome, albeit the devil is in the details because it’s also not immediately clear how this situation gets resolved. Can big giant laser immediately fire again and nullify Eri’s sacrifice? Will yet another third party (a la Delling) manage to get cooler heads prevailing? Or has Quiet Zero found its true purpose in helping bring peace and stability back to the inner solar system – i.e. unleashing another data storm on the big giant laser? Honestly quite a few ways for this particular fight to play out, and given there’s a special live-stream following the final episode next week, a not insignificant possibility of a cliffhanger leading into some sort of sly continuation.
Best keep the popcorn handy boys and girls, it’s going to be a very interesting finale.
Preview
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End Card
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Gosh what an epiosde…
I was so right, the bigwigs of the not-Unitend Nations – in SPACE! had some WMD as a backup to deal with any corporation that got too big to handle…
RIP Eri, but if she survives she deserves own little lagrange point for saving so many lives…
Also props to Felsi. She stopped the stupid brothers from killing each other.
I was so sure one or both of them will die…
You and me both, was split on whether it would be Guel or Lauda, but was sure at least one would kick the bucket. Just another day in mecha storytelling I guess lol
This felt so underwhelming. One woman keeping grudge for twenty years only to be thwarted in one episode by bunch of teenagers with their fancy laptop. The scale of conflict for a full air brodcast two cour Gundam made it feel dumb. Even 0083 felt larger and the world at stake when it just Delaz fleet and its symphatizer … the Rebellion manga made the scale of crisis clear. Mercury felt like 3 or 4 episode Ova of Stargazer forcing itself to be full two cour anime relying on plot contrivance and asspull. The world building felt incomplete and we weren’t properly introduced to each faction that when something happen, it felt like… huh? What? Who? Prospera trying for her own coup, flunked out because a whole bunch of death star guarded only by two automaton and one handgun. Even Glemmy Totto’s insurrection had more role in the greater picture.
When OO 2nd season, make the reveal to the world that A-Laws are evil it felt forced, because it doesn’t feel properly established and very rushed. Zeta however was more properly established through Char’s speech in Dakkar, and the footage of Asshimar and Marasai attacking civilians. Mercury, things happened in plot contrivence and sudden that it hard to follow whether it made sense or not.
Well, anyway… Schwarzetten had nice gimmick, but to see it jobbed to Dilanza…. either they give it to Bob next episode or they get another case of “Mihaelis rotting on the shelves again”. I think Mercury would be better to focus all the story to Jeturk, seeing that they are the only compelling and interesting part of story. The earth group in the school barely had anything memorable. Felsi and Petra are much more interesting than they are. The sitting gyaru is very underutillized, the Haro geek is forgettable and barely had any role… i bet okouchi forgot about her. Nika forgotten, just like everyone forget that there is war between Earth and Space incited by Dawn of Fold (simply forgotten because 20 years woman grudge and teenage drama) . Shaddiq… well no wonder no one buying your merchs, his harem…. well at least they might contribute to C103. Btw people point out they look like gender bent Wing Boys. Elan…. well, maybe the clone will Heero Yui’d himself to take the four hags of Peils and Jamitov wannabe.
Well, if mercury pettered out, we still have Sunrise’s Macross and new AMAIM anyway….
Two annotations .. first of all it is a very interesting ending – really – but also a little too obvious: because of the two one or on the one or on the sacrificed to save everything and everyone, or to sacrifice he would have been, to save his mother, and his sister – And that seems to hide other elements. What is the bond between Notrette, Miorine’s mother, and prosperous itself?
Why did you hide its codes in tomatoes?
Just a “surprise” gift x Miorine, or a real inheritance – to be used against anyone who abuses quiet zero technology? (very easy prophecy, unfortunately)
2) … At a certain point Miorine clearly understood her choice to suck – when they are chatted – when turning prosperous, wounded and defeated, it tells her that they will be only one family … nice way to close the storyline of the witch and the bride …
On the next episode they could use a “temporal jump” to avoid going to the inevitable comparison between Suletta and Caliban against the A-Laws of the A.D. Stella.) ,, It would be a “simple” solution even if it would disconnect everyone a little, G Witch appears to me too short for how much meat has focused (I would like a third season but I would also be satisfied with a movie)
Also I also an older brother, and even tied too much to my mother- who is not a prosperous, for Frutuna- I understood perfectly how debate he was there and the profound sense of his choice .. the end of his journey weighs me … .but as it was said Eri continues to live up that prosperous that he grew up not as a simple reply Child but as a daughter ….. (the Gundam Aerial at the drift does not promise anything good but who knows why “I hope” that from A few parts, at the bottom of the armor of the Gundam Aerial there is a spark of Eri ….)
P.S. I did not understand one thing, at a certain point you seemed to listen to a voice that tells him to stop. – She turns around and looks towards the amount of quiet zero – .. I did not understand who it was .. I was the same Gundam Aerial but after Having reviewed the episode I’m not sure.
Re: the hidden code – Quiet Zero was originally Miorine’s Mother idea, and the space station station devoted to it, that was captured by Propsera was built by Delling according to Miorine Mother’s design. Hence, backdoor code mirroring the one in tomatoes…
Notrette is German for EmergencyRescue – basically override of normal procedures.
I’m wondering about that voice too. Feels like the last big mystery to unravel before the series ends.
Personally would be surprised if they do a time skip, it’s too jarring with how everything has been set up and would be a major cop out even compared to some of the other writing decisions. Partly why I’m leaning towards an OVA or movie follow up since it’s equally hard seeing how this gets resolved in one episode – but eh, plenty of examples of that happening in other mecha series.
As for the voice highly suspect there’s a facet about Permet scores and linking with Gundams that it has to do with.
I almost believed that Guel wouldn’t survive this episode, but Felsi’s sudden disappearance was a sign that a third party would intervene. While it might feel like a cop-out, I’m with Felsi: it’d be even more absurd for these brothers to kill each other, good for her.
Perhaps this is a result of that research Sunrise did about Gundam among the young. There were some complaints in Japan that Gundam could get too bleak, especially at the ending. Maybe they want a more optimistic finale this time. Could Eri live, then? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
If this story is the result of that it’s a little disappointing IMO. More fit for final impressions, but this Gundam really feels like it wants to be the best of both worlds and isn’t fully succeeding at either approach. Next week will tell the tale.