Gundam AGE Episode 13

Beginning of The End... of The First Arc

 

We're finally nearing the end... of the first arc! There's been some highs and some lows and this last arc seems to gearing up for a Gundam-style high octane finisher. As the picture above indicates, Desil suits up at the end of the episode to get in his Zedas and wreck some crap. And of course, right behind him, being restrained by the EDEN Sith Lords, is poor Yurin. Now if they don't actually end up killing her in the next episode or the one after that, I will be enormously and pleasantly surprised. But having said that, I'm 98% certain that she will die, that she and Flit will have a Lockon and Anew moment right before Desil blows her up like the little brat he is. I almost think that this HAS to happen because I'm not sure if they could have Yurin survive and have Emily end up as Flit's wife and the mother of his son.

Anyway, as far as episode 13 is concerned, the battle of this arc begins as the Diva and their Zalam/Euba allies engage the UE's mysterious space fortress Ambat. The mysterious UE Dreadnought shows up from some optical camoflouge and strangely enough, as big as it is, it doesn't absolutely wreck the Diva and the other ships. Doesn't really matter as the Diva's secret upgrade is revealed: The Diva is a new model of Macross!! No, not really but it does turn into...

Yep, that's right. It turns into White Base. Really Sunrise? Are you so worried about how AGE is going that you need all these wink wink nudge nudge visual UC references? Now some of you might say I'm being too anal about this but that's why it's my opinion and everyone's is different. I mean, it's not even a CREATIVE redesign of the White Base, not like the Archangel from Gundam SEED. So no, I don't really care for the Diva's Assault Landing Mode, I actually do prefer the way it used to be and I'm now kinda worried that we're going to get some kind of Argama ripoff in the second arc and a Nahel Argama or Ra Cailum ripoff in the third arc.

Moving on, the battle was really good with the Zalam and Euba suits finally getting equipped with proper weapons and actually getting some. Largan and Wuulf also get some but they've also thrown up some death flags so we'll see what happens. Flit does some more conscious Newtype syuff (I refuse to use the term X-Rounder) and awesomely 'splodes a whole cluster of UE MS. We see Yark Dole in a patently ridiculous outfit and some other kid we've never seen before talk strategy and Yark even says that the Diva looks like a "Trojan Horse." (rolls eyes)

The Diva then unleashes its supermegaultrastupendousawesomecool BFG cannon and decimates the UE ship Fa Bose. But at the last minute a section detaches and heads straight for the Diva! At the last moment its blown to crap by the Hyper Mega Cannon of Mukured madorna and his custom red Shalldol.

Hmm, a white-haired guy in a red MS? This possible reference I'm actually cool with and the fact that this guy has such wonderful toys. The good guys regroup to attack but waiting in the wings are Decil and--

Oh poor Yurin!! But it is possible she might survive, because I saw a picture of a new UE type that is colored in pink and purple. We'll see although i think we're more likely to see the tears of time.

All in all this was an awesome episode marred only by bad UC references. Its been said that the second arc will begin with episode 16 so we've only got two more episodes to go for this arc, although if I was in charge, I'd use 14 and 15 for the last battle, 16 as the wrap up and use 17 as the first of the second arc episodes. In any case, here's hoping that this'll be one heckuva finale!  :)

Gundam AGE Episodes 10-12

Well here we go with AGE episodes 10-12. I really feel that AGE has finally hit a consistent stride here. No more of this malarkey with Zalam and Euba, except where it's relevant to the overall plot, and we can finally get to the business at hand which is the UE.

Episode 10 opens up with something of a sudden battle that wasn't even hinted at last episode. There's lots of good stuff here including the first large-scale battle of the series and Don Boyage and his extremely annoying sidekicks biting the dust. It's not that I don't like Boyage but he got the Oliver Inoue death from Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, where he crashes into a ship and his supposedly heroic sacrifice does nothing, except demonstrate that the UE dreadnought is pretty tough. Flit also gets the Sparrow upgrade (trust me, the Japanese are trying to say Sparrow, they're just doing it wrong, like "Shalon Apple.") but it's no where near as impressive as the Titus in my opinion. Ok, so it goes fast and can use it's green crystal blade that it borrowed from the 00Qan[T] to slice, dice and make julienne fries. Big deal, we've had Gundams like that before. I sadly think that this means that the Titus is going to end up with the crown of Most Awesomely Short-Lived and Useless Gundam Upgrade Ever.
On the character front, Ensign Adams/Ensign Zinger finally comes to terms with the fact that the Feddies aren't going to lift a bloody finger to help out the Diva. Good in a way but I would've liked more of a confrontation, perhaps when the Diva was gearing up for the Ambat invasion.

Moving on to episode 11, we finally get to see Yurin again and find out she's been adopted by some guy name Alzeck Birmings, who looks like Sunrise borrowed him from the next pirates of the Caribbean movie. She and Flit get to spend a lot of time together while Emily, the supposed future mother of Flit's son Asem, is working on the Diva. This trips all sorts of death flags for Yurin. The poor girl is unfortunately doomed it seems.

Speaking of Emily, she seems to have gotten over her Fraw Bow-itis and is taking charge of things, like getting that Madorna guy to come and upgrade the Diva with something called a Photon Blaster Cannon or in other words an RRBFG (Really, Really Big Fracking Gun). One last interesting thing in this episode is a Federation Inspector who comes to find Grodek and arrest him. Almost manages it too if not for that pesky kid and his Gundam. But he's not done yet because...

In episode 12 he shows up with a fleet! He tries to outmaneuver Grodek but DAT BEARD is just a little too good at playing The Game for Mr. Chocolate Bar. Also the UE pick a convenient, not-at-all-timed-by-the-plot chance to pull off another attack. Grodek and the Diva crew show that we're all just bros in the end by coming to the Feddies rescue which convinces Mr. Chocolate Bar to let them go. At least there's one other honorable officer in the Federation Forces besides Grodek and the late, lamented Cmd. Bruzar.

Ah, but the happiness is spoiled by the arrival of Desil and his Sith Lord Guardians, including Yark Dole (dumbest name ever). It seems that young Desil might be something of a bloodhound for these EDEN/UE guys, because they've come for Yurin and threaten her to come with them... or else. You see, it seems that Flit and Yurin and possibly Desil are something called X-Rounders which seem to be this series' version of Newtypes. Now personally, they couldn't have picked a worse name for these guys. X-Rounders? Seriously? What is this, a new X-Men comic book? Look, if anyone from Sunrise happens to be reading this, just because this show is aimed at an audience younger than normal Gundam fare, doesn't mean you have to shoot yourself in the foot. Just 'cause you've already used up Newtype, Coordinator, Extended and Innovator, doesn't mean there aren't other cool names you could have used.

Now that we're at this point in the series, things are wrapping up. Episode 13, which I'll be posting right after this, just broadcasted and the final battle of this arc has begun. I could definitely see it lasting another two episodes and then using 16 as a wrap-up to the first arc. As to what will happen after that... who knows. Scans of the characters and mechs from the second arc have already been released and it looks like at least a few characters are making it through. Who will live and who will die? Will we see the tears of time? Find out on the next exciting episode!

Doldrums

Well the holidays have come and gone (although technically the twelve days of Christmas didn't end until the fifth). I haven't been posting much as I've spent the holidays with my whole immediate family for the first time since 2006. Family is a bit of a higher priority than a blog you understand. So what's next on the chopping block? Well before I finish up all my Macross stuff, gotta get caught up on Gundam AGE reviews, then The Year 2011 In Review. Look forward to it!


--Robert

Gundam AGE Episodes 7-9

I’m way behind on my reviews for Gundam AGE, well almost everything really. So what I’m going to is do episodes 7-9 in one review and do separate entries for 10 and 11, with episode 11 premiering today. After that I’m gonna take a leaf out of the book from Gundamn!@MAHQ and finish my “Macross Round-up.” There’s quite a lot there, with reviews pending for Macross 7: The Galaxy is Calling Me, Macross 7 Encore, Macross Dynamite 7, Zero, Macross Frontier TV series (as soon as I watch it again) and the two Frontier movies, The False Songstress and Farewell to Wings. After that, with some interspersed articles as well, I’ll start my Gundam roundup as I’ve recently got off my butt and watched the three Mobile Suit Gundam compilation movies.

So, on to Gundam AGE. In episode 7 we get the fallout from Flit’s short-lived, blink-and-you-miss-it fight with a new UE MS. He gets taken over to Don Boyage’s place and finds Captain Grodek (aka DAT BEARD, aka Cool Hand Grodek). Don proves that he’s a bit of a slimy customer, wanting to buy the Gundam from Flit so he can perpetuate the pointless battles between the Zalam and Euba factions on Fardain. At this point I have to interject and say a couple of things. First off, if you look at the Zalam logo carefully you’ll realize that it looks a lot like the ZAFT logo from Gundam SEED. Secondly I have to comment on these factions. Since we first heard about them in episode 6, I had a lot of time to ponder on their contribution to the story. I originally figured that I wouldn't be commenting on this stuff until I got to episode 10 but I been slacking. So let me say this: Zalam and Euba seem like they belong in  a different series all together. They run around the city using the worst mobile suit peashooters ever to try and fight each other with in some nod towards 1920’s gang shootouts. Don Boyage (who just happens to be part of Zalam) at first seemed like some shady arms dealer but now is this crusty old Zalam guy who wants to fight over territory. Then this guy called Ract Elfamel (and I’m really getting tired of weird, made-up names in this show) shows up from the Euba side of things and starts acting like Treize’s secret apprentice. He also seems to be related to Chara Soone from ZZ Gundam with his bi-colored hairstyle.

The one nice thing about the episode is that the new UE suit, the Baqto, shows up. Flit tries to fight it but its armor is too thick.

Luckily for our resident Gundam jockey, that magical AGE System is cooking up something big in the AGE Builder. They totally fake us out though by just having the new Gundam AGE Titus show up and just do one punch before posing for the end credits.

I also would like to make mention that they almost seem to deliberately bring in a group of war orphans, almost like they know certain people are going to get that particular joke. But boy am I glad those damn kids aren’t sticking around. Professor Grandpa has enough to deal with without a buncha dirty kids onboard the ship.

Rolling right into episode 8, the new Gundam AGE Titus delivers a smackdown worthy of The Rock. I’m liking the Titus much more than the normal mode, mostly because it’s been such a long time since we’ve had a beat-‘em-up Gundam, not since Mobile Fighter G Gundam in 1994. It’s beam spikes and lariats are pretty novel and just the sheer novelty of a Gundam dealing out REAL SOVIET DAMAGE brings a grin to my face.

Also it's interesting to note that the Titus isn't just exterior armor but whole new leg and arm units that get swapped out with the Gundam's regular units.

 

But the spotlight gets stolen a little bit from the Titus as our boy Wuulf Enneacle shows up in his brand new suit, the G-Exes. It’s a pretty awesome scene as he proceeds to charge into battle and whilst fighting lists the reasons why his mobile suit is so great. After dealing a fatal blow to a Baqto he confidently states the best reason the G-Exes is so good is because, “I, Wuulf Enneacle, am its pilot.” Okay Bandai, we get it, we’ll go out and by an HG G-Exes… not.  :p  :)

Also, our favorite Don and this Ract joker settle their differences somewhat, although I was glad that they actually didn’t shake hands, acknowledging that their little feud isn’t going to be overcome so easily. Although the story doesn’t move forward too much, the awesomeness with the Titus and G-Exes makes up for it. But as we’ll see shortly…

In episode 9 we have Wuulf dragging Flit and the crew over to the Madorna Workshop to meet the man himself and his wife Lalaparly (there’s them weird names again). It is here we see some funky customized mobile suits including the Shalldolls that everyone’s been wondering about.

There’s also a real shocker when Flit and the others find out that Madorna has a UE Zedas mobile suit that he’s been working on. Here we have mention of the mysterious Yark Dole again and that he seems to be some kind of shady weapons dealer. Um, wasn’t Don Boyage supposed to be a weapons dealer? Anywho, in a not too surprising twist the Zedas activates and begins spreading death and destruction.

But oh no! Flit and Wuulf don’t have their MS with them! Don’t worry it’s the Shalldoll to the rescue… even though it seems to be even more useless than a Leo.

But Wuulf and Flit get their suits via space mail and attack. But there’s just one small problem: The agile Zedas is making a fool out of the Titus. Looks like Flit is going to need another upgrade from the AGE System! Luckily for Flit and Wuulf, Decil pulls a Ribbons and has the Zedas back off. After that a couple more important things happen. Emily has a talk with Lalaparly that helps straighten her out a bit where Flit is concerned because that was getting kind of annoying. Although I would like more of that straightening out to be done between Flit and Emily rather than a third party. We’ve still got some episodes left so we’ll have to see.

Grodek’s secret is also reveled to the crew and he tells them he won’t drag them along, but if they want to beat the UE, he has a plan and knows where they are. All of the crew agree to stand behind them and fight the scourge of the UE (especially since the Feds aren’t doing jack-diddly about it), except for Ensign Adams aka Ensign Zinger. What will this mean for the crew of the Diva?

So there you have it, episodes 7-9. Not too shabby but a little on the slow side and I’m really not liking the Zalam and Euba stuff. I’ll get into that in the review for episode 10. When all is said and done, I give 7 and 9 three stars and 8 four stars for Titus and G-Exes action. And remember, in Soviet Russia, Gundam punch you!

Additional: There’s been some stories saying that Gundam AGE is slated for a 52 episode run. If true, that will make it the longest main Gundam series, beating out Victory Gundam’s record by 1 episode. I stated a theory about how they’re going to run this multi-generational story and now that it seems we have a statement about episode count, I think I may be right. So each generational arc should get 17 episodes to play out, depending on how the story is going to run. I’m willing to be that the third generation will get the extra episode to finish the series, or they’ll use it as a re-cap show. After SEED Destiny, as long as we only have one or two clip shows, I’m alright.

Gundam Meister Grace Chapter 2

First Impressions

The four Meisters exited the simulators and Feldt Grace could tell that Tieria Erde was NOT happy. He marched right up to her and fixed her with that glare of his.

“Your performance in this last scenario was below average Feldt Grace. You need to improve.”

“Aw cut the kid a break would you Tieria?” chimed in Lockon as he doffed his helmet.

“I will not. Mistakes like that could lead to the destruction of the Angelas or its solar furnace.”

“Not too mention the pilot inside the Angelas,” Lockon muttered under his breath.

“I know what I need to work on. I won’t fail again,” Feldt said solemnly, staring right back at Tieria. He gave a curt nod and exited the room.

“Oy, that guy can be kind of a pain,” said Lockon wryly.

“But he’s right. I made a mistake,” she countered.

“Well, that doesn’t mean he has to come down on you like a ton of bricks for it,” Lockon said as they exited the room.

This little exchange had occurred about a month before they had had their first intervention. It had been typical of the dynamic that developed as the five Meisters trained together.

Feldt, being the youngest, two years younger even than Setsuna, often felt that it was her responsibility to be the best Meister possible, not just for the sake of her comrades, but also for the sake of her parents. Unfortunately, due to the secretive nature of Celestial Being, Feldt didn't know much of the nature of what her parents had done as Gundam Meisters. The only things she knew was that they had been Meisters, had piloted the prototypes for the Exia and Kyrios and had died in an accident. Ever since then those within the organization had raised her. The woman she had met on the night she discovered her parents’ death had disappeared, but she had met others. Ian and Linda Vashti had always been very kind to her, even though many times Feldt could tell that Ian had wanted to talk to her about her parents. Linda had become like a second mother to Feldt and Feldt had often played with Linda’s daughter Mileina. She recalled fondly that Mileina had wanted to go with her, but Ian wasn’t having any of that.

Then there was the bridge crew of the Ptolemaios. The two she most interacted with were the CIC operators, Christina Sierra and Anew Returner.  They very much felt like Feldt’s older sisters, and acted like it too, what with Christina constantly trying to improve Feldt’s “Fashion sense” and Anew acting as the long-suffering support. Although Feldt didn’t really understand why clothes were so important (not when she spent so much time in her normal suit.) but she did very much want to emulate some of older girls’ more feminine characteristics, especially the beautiful and graceful Anew.

Then there was miss Sumeragi. If there was one person on the Ptolemaios who could rival Anew’s beauty it was the tall, flowing-haired Sumeragi Lee Noriega. Although she occupied the seat on the ship’s bridge that would traditionally be held by the captain, Sumeragi was more a “commander,” being the Gundam Meister’s tactician. Sumeragi interacted with Feldt regularly what with Feldt being one of the Meisters and Feldt enjoyed her company. She would sometimes tease Feldt that she had to be careful not to distract her male comrades with her blossoming beauty, at which point Feldt would blush madly. If Sumeragi had one flaw though it was her drinking. Whenever the older woman would offer her whatever happened to be in her bottle that day, Feldt knew it was a joke, that Sumeragi didn’t seriously condone minors drinking, but she couldn’t help but think that at the rate Sumeragi drank it was a good thing modern medicine could fix the damage she would otherwise have done to her body.

The other two members of the bridge crew she interacted less with. Lichtendal Tsery was the Ptolemaios pilot and his partner Lasse Aeon was part navigator and the gunner, which was kind of redundant considering that the Ptolemaios wasn’t equipped with any guns at the moment. Lichty, as they called him, was good-natured and just a bit of a hound, constantly asking for dates from Christina and Anew. Christina would always refuse but Anew would humor him occasionally, although she made it clear that this was a “friends” thing and she wasn’t about to let an actual relationship get in the way of her duties. Lichty had gone for drinks with Sumeragi once, in her quarters, and found out the hard way that he was a featherweight where alcohol was concerned.

Then there were the Meisters themselves. Allelujah was friendly enough but very reserved. There was something strange about him though. After one particularly nasty sim, she had exited and saw Allelujah leaning against the sim machine as if he were in pain. She had approached and was about to ask if he was all right when he turned around and she saw the creepiest smile she had ever seen on his face. And then just as quickly he blinked, shook his head then asked her if she was fine.

One word could describe Tieria Erde and that was cold. Feldt didn’t talk to him much except when he had something to criticize her about. Often she wondered if Tieria was trying to find an excuse to get her booted out as a Meister but he was equally tough on all the other Meisters.

Setsuna talked as little as Tieria but almost seemed more approachable. Still, Feldt maintained a very “professional” relationship with him as when he did talk, it usually had something to do with the Gundams.

Lockon was the most personable of the four and she had to admit that she did like him the best. He was kind to her but didn’t coddle her, defended her when Tieria was being too harsh and pushed her to the best of her abilities. Still he seemed just a little hesitant about her being a Gundam Meister and she’d never been able to get a straight answer out of him. At first she thought it was because she was the youngest, but now she wasn’t so sure anymore.

When all was said and done, Feldt very much regarded the people onboard the Ptolemaios as her family. Celestial Being had given her parents a dream and a mission and she was determined to give back to the organization and especially the people around her who were also part of Celestial Being. She was still a private person though and Christina’s and Anew’s attempts to draw her out and make sure she had passions in her life other than being a Meister were going very slowly.

“Feldt.”

She turned her head, straightening up from where she had been leaning against a tree. Lockon had walked over and she had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard him. Well, that and the sounds of the jungle around them and the sound of the GN Condensers bleeding off.

“Time to get ready for the next mission.”

“Mission Briefing! Briefing!” chirped Lockon’s orange Haro.

“Roger,” she replied, standing up and smoothing the wrinkles out of her pilot suit. She began to follow them back to the combat containers where their Gundams were stored. Haro bounced into her arms and she cuddled the ball-shaped robot against her.

“Smile Feldt! Smile Feldt!” it chirped.

“He’s right you know. You should smile more,” said Lockon, grinning at her. She nodded back… but didn’t smile.

Gundam AGE Episode 6

Hot on the heels of the latest episode of mobile suit demolition derby aka Gundam Unicorn, AGE continues to inspire RAGE. Trolls on both sides of the ocean are trying their level best to tear it down and I really have no idea why. I really don’t know why they feel so insulted that it’s trying to capture a new, younger audience. That said, unfortunately, AGE hasn’t been succeeding on that front. The general ratings have been way up and down (going UP with the last two episodes thankyouverymuch) but the ratings for the target audience have been pretty poor. This might possibly be why they’ve changed Flit’s son’s age to 17 for the second arc of the show (assuming that’s true) and have revealed what the Gundam Age-2. Again, I’m not hot on this design; I think it looks a bit too much like the 00 Raiser.

In any case, low ratings for the target audience are bad news to producers, so we’ll have to see what happens. As I said before, the ratings for the last two episodes have been going up. Which leads me to this week’s gangbuster (literally) episode, the Light and Shadow of Fardain.

Again I’m just going to touch on the main points of the episode rather than go into a full-blown summary. Emily finally confronts Flit about what he wants to do, but still isn’t as direct about it. I’m hoping that as the next few episodes go, they’ll talk more and Emily will start to evolve out of the Fraw Bo Syndrome she’s got right now. Would go along with the themes of the show wouldn’t it?

Wuulf takes off to a nearby space station where a husband and wife pair of mobile suit designers hangs out. I find this interesting because I really don’t think we’ve had something like this since Wing. Y’know, almost kinda a MS chop shop feel. Actually now that I look at this guy Madorna and Howard from Gundam Wing, they could almost be brothers. Therefore I shall call him Howard 2.0. 

Anywho, Wuulf asks Madorna to make him a mobile suit that’s better than the Gundam (probably the G-Exes). Another oblique Wing reference?

Cool Hand Grudek aka DAT BEARD, is getting very shady! I like it! We see a flashback that yes, he did have a wife and daughter and that they died in the first UE attack on Colony Angel. And Grudek is making deals with shady Al Capone type weapons dealers. Obviously he wants to take the UE down any way possible and that includes making deals with criminals. How much y’all wanna bet that this attitude is coming back to bite him in the butt?

Flit and Emily also find themselves in the colony underground, situated between the outer and inner walls of the colony. An extremely, practically comically disproportionate man named Iwark Bria saves them from a bunch of Zaku-esque mobile suits having a shootout in the Fardain streets. 

Must have been a bad day because as Iwark leads them into the Fardain underground, he explains that these mobile suits are a remnant of a war decades past. Back then the population of the colonies grew so large that they tried to form two independent countries. And as we humans tend to fight for the stupidest of reasons, they went to war with one another. Eventually an accord was reached called the Silver Chalice Treaty and the two nations (Zalam Union and Euba Alliance) were disbanded but as Iwark points out, hatred born of bloodshed doesn’t fade easily. This probably goes further to show the corruption of the Federation, unless the Earth Federation in AGE is literally just concerned with the Earth and doesn’t bother with the colonies too much? We’ll see. Anyway, it seems that the fighting between these two former factions continues sporadically to this day and funnily enough, flares up just when Flit the Gundam Savior shows up. Also Iwark’s adopted daughter goes wandering up to the surface with Haro, so that Flit can conveniently pull a Superman and try to get the two factions to stop fighting. But then a new UE mobile suit called the Baqto literally appears out of nowhere and starts to fight him. 

Just when the fight gets good, the Baqto literally pulls a ninja vanish and Euba suits try to arrest Flit. They seem to think that Flit was shooting up Fardain. Was the Baqto invisible to them? Did they just not see it? More and more curious.

Another thing I really liked about this episode was Iwark’s Desperado construction mobile suit. THIS SHOVEL OF MINE IS BURNING RED!! ITS LOUD ROAR TELLS ME TO SHANK YOU LIKE SOME SLASHER MOVIE STAR!! 

I also liked the Euba and Zalam fleets they showed, very sci-fi.

 Did anyone notice that the Zalam symbol seems a lot like the ZAFT crest?  :)

Also I liked how the Fardain interior had a very New-York/Art Deco style to it.

Okay, so one last thing. Now that we’re six episodes in, there is still no official episode count that I can dig up. Considering that AGE has had a very rocky start (curse you trolls), I can see why Sunrise doesn’t want to reveal this yet. If they do, they’ll probably also have to reveal how many episodes are in each generation of the show and I’ve heard rumours that the Japanese Gundam nuts want the second generation to hurry up and debut.

Now assuming that we’re going to have fifty episodes in the series just like SEED, Destiny and 00, and if each arc is broken up evenly, we’d get 16 episodes per arc with two spare episodes. I really, REALLY hope they don’t use these spares as clipshows. Who knows. Let’s assume in my Candyland version of the show, Flit’s arc gets seventeen episodes to set up the world and the war, Asem’s Arc gets sixteen episodes and Kio’s arc gets seventeen episodes to finish things up. They might not now give the first arc an extra episode, but we’ll see.

In any case, I now think that this first arc is going to wrap up with Grudek’s assault on the UE strong hold and the fallout from that before going into the next arc. Oh and next episode we get the Titus armor! Yay! But seriously, if they only have ten or eleven more episodes to wrap this arc up, they better step on it a little more.