The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk III

[Amion]

I am almost worried about a conclusion at all. That is to say, an ultimate point to this whole web of under the table dealings.

So far the best we have is Orga trying to conquer Mars, Chocky conquer Gjallarnhorn and Leopard Coat Tekkaddan. I won't even mention Idiok or Vidar's ambitions. And I haven't a clue what the cigar-smoking fat men's goals are outside of making more money than they clearly need. And Kudelia, who basically needs to conquer/ally/persuade/convert?/out-maneuver everyone else.

Truth is, I was hoping Hashmal would/could usher in more death-bringing Mobile Armor so I can watch them upset this little power struggle in glorious beam fire.

[domino]

The series is only half-way through the season. Lots of room to maneuver to a conclusion

When they refer to the "third lobe" created during the AV sync, it's possible that the Gundam is "taking" the pilot's brain and using it as some form of AI. That would explain why Mika regains lost brain functions when he connects to Barbatos. He's literally lost parts of his brain to the Gundam. It's entirely possible that he will have a sad ending - his brain lost to the Gundam. He'd certainly make other Gundam pilots like Heero Yuy and Setsuna jealous. Maybe we'll see Barbatos (Mika) get to sit by a farm all day every day in the season finale.

[Amion]

If he's bonded to Barbatos like that, we probably will see him with a giant hoe, making a garden many times larger than he could as a human. Heck, we're likely to see Atra modify the cockpit for domestic needs. I can just see a flower pot arrangement there, with curtains.

That said, yes, Setsuna would be tearing his eyes out in envy. Mika is literally living his dream.

[SonicSP]

I don't see why Setsuna would be jealous, he and his Gundam are both ELS.

[yazi88]

I think Setsuna might be jealous cause Mika's Gundam Barbatos actually talks to him and Mika talks back to it! lol

[BrentD15]

If he's bonded to Barbatos like that, we probably will see him with a giant hoe, making a garden many times larger than he could as a human. Heck, we're likely to see Atra modify the cockpit for domestic needs. I can just see a flower pot arrangement there, with curtains.

That said, yes, Setsuna would be tearing his eyes out in envy. Mika is literally living his dream.

With giant rows of corn, as well?

[Kuruni]

I think Setsuna might be jealous because in the end...they somehow pair him with Marina while Exia is nowhere to be seen.

Face it, the perfect ending would be him going back to drive-less Exia waiting for him in disrepair state in some forgotten hangar .

[yazi88]

New OP with today's ep! A lot more action compared to the 1st OP of S2!

But damn are things being set up for the next ep... I'm guessing some tragedy about to occur....

[Kuruni]

I'm surprised that Landman Rodi get nice highlight in thw new OP, guess it's a darkhorse in term of popularity? Still, the brief scene with new Barbatos look outright beastial.

I wonder what Jasley thinking...it look like he just realized he's dealing with someone foolish enough to be used. Really, that and the next scene give impression that people're fully aware of how stupid Iok is. You can read "oh crap" on those two subordinates when they look at each other.

With Hashmal gone, people go back to political game. But as McGillis point out, the play style does changed because of that battle.

I'm glad that Kudelia is mature enough to deal with Atra's impulsive request. Although it seem that Atra just take her encourage in wrong direction, upset Atra is real cute. That being said, I'm afraid that she just raise massive death flag for Turbines.

We finally get background of the Turbines (another death flag, dammit). Nice to see Amida give Spinner Rodi a chance to redeem (and Naze even recite Felini's motto). Tension rising...

I really wish we'll get to see Jasley dead by the end of this arc.

[Amion]

Great episode, and I probably am the only one, so far I've seen, who appreciates the new OP more than its predecessor. I liked the old ED, but the new one is great too.

As for the episode, it was nice. There were some hilarious moments, and my ship is apparently sailing for AtraMika. Good. The point where she's depriving him of food was hilarious, one of the funniest moments I can remember in recent episodes.

And oh no. Idiok has struck, and it seems he's now dangerous thanks to someone smart holding the leash and telling him where to bite. This bodes ill for poor Naze. After we learned their backstory it became clear what is coming next, though maybe things will go differently? They'd better, or McMurdo is going to blame Tekkadan for the loss of the favored "son", though it seems he genuinely liked Naze, which only makes the prospect of his wrath all the more frightening.

Was I the only one who had a very disturbed feeling when seeing Orga grab Mika off his bunk and sling him over his shoulder to go fight? It felt exactly like someone grabbing a weapon off a rack and tossing it over their shoulder.

I've got this going theory now that the reason we've been shown explicitly the thought-process and self-image of Human Debris is because Mika considers himself one to Orga. He already acts like it, and he claimed his life "belongs to you" (Orga). I suspect the person Mika shot was coming to collect Mika as Human Debris, or something similar to it, and so bad is the stigma of HD that he already fell prey to that nihilistic mentality.

What is so sad about this, even if it isn't true that Mika could've been Human Debris, is that this is EXACTLY how Mika is being used, even if Orga doesn't behave like he is. But neither did Tekkadan treat Akahiro and his bros that way, but they still have deep-seeded issues revolving around it, and poor Aston never got over his HD-syndrome. If Mika does have this kind of thing going on in his head, it may not actually matter to him what Orga says, but what he does. If he ends up dying and revealing this kind of tragic thinking, it would sow together the somewhat needless focus on Human Debris.

In opposition to this theory is that scary villian with lightning scene with Orga and Mika, where Mika basically demands Orga take them to their ideal world, or whatever it is they're striving for, or ELSE. Clearly Mika's thought process wasn't, at that point at least, completely fatalistic. But his recent paralysis could be working some bad mental magic. Can Atra clamp him down with a family in time?

[SNT1]

Oh, there's a lot to take in here: First off:

-The OP sucks. Video reminds me of Gundam SEED, and the singer I can't tell if it's a female or a 12-year old boy. Music sucks, Video sucks, the whole thing is suck.

-The ED is not much either. 3 effing frames. It's like they cobbled something together 2 hours before showtime. Music is not offensive

And then the political maneuvering:

+Iok "I only ask you to follow me blindly!" scene. Ok that was legit funny. What is this weapon they speak of?

+Jasley finally does something that isn't a villainous monologue

+I feel like everyone knows anyways, but I guess Rustal knowing Vidar's identity confirmed. He also seems wary of Iok's direction.

+McGillis cuts down on villainous monologue and seems genuinely disturbed about the developments, and the fact that Gaelio is alive. Whatever the term for double-tapping is for blades, you shoulda done it, Macky.

+Naze looks like he is ready for his eventual demise (lol)

And then...

Spoiler

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

...on the rest of the episode.

+Atra still determined to make a little Mikazuki, if she has to do it herself

+Too bad Mika the child eater confirmed lol

+Naze literally the nicest polygamous dude ever. With how he says some of his wives are like daughters, just more solid confirmation that the Turbines are also the freakiest sex crew in the solar system

+++Le sexy time scenes with Amida. But seriously I dug her past and her looks in the past

I liked this episode a lot. Probably because it didn't involve a whole lot of useless Tekkadan exposition! One last negative is that I'm not sure where Hush goes from here; his development is stunted.

[YokozunaBulldozer]

The vocals feel a little weak but the instrumentals are nice for the opening theme.
Maybe if they gave this track to Taniyama of Granrodeo who sang the first ending to season 2 it could have been better.

[NBMech]

another good op/ed from IBO

Nazes ded

that is all

[Ascension]

Hmm. That bit where McGillis basically goes "illegal weapons are part of the zeitgeist now, so call up all our allies" makes me wonder what he's got up his sleeve. We know he's got Bael on the way, but what else?

He also said Flauros was in a grey area because its railguns used "conventional warheads," so I'm guessing the original payload was Metal Gear REX-style railgun-fired nukes? Or maybe some kind of Ahab-reaction warhead. Hm. Beam weapons may have turned out to be unimpressive in this universe, but we've still got room for significant advances in lethality between here and the finale.

[Deacon Blues]

It's a bit of a lame plot point for this arc, though. "Uh oh, Iok just happened to check something out from one of the warehouses..." Seriously, if they know he took it, it's just a matter of Naze telling them to check the shipping logs since I'm assuming he is transporting it for Gjallahorn? Unless I missed something when I watched the episode a couple days ago.

[Deathzealot]

Hmmmm... I don't think the Hammerhead is carrying those Railguns. That was another ship of the Turbines, one of their transports if I am not mistaken. Honestly, I believe it is only after what happens to the Turbines, that someone points out to Gjallahorn that it was Iok signed out those railguns from a Gjallahorn Warehouse. Or something to that effect.

[Shinji_Shinigami]

This episode and the intro are a bit disturbing. Mainly because Mika is turning into that, what tekkadan tried to avoid to be in season 1. At least thats my impression. This for a long time is a gundam show were i totally cannot predigt the ways this is heading. Maybe because they stopped reusing the same chliches and tropes over and over. Yes some are still there, but i am still happy that IBO feels new. I still wonder how it will resolve, since for the moment it seems like there are too many loose ends to make a "happy ending" though i highly doubt we will see anything of the sort. Given the Intro, i doubt that hush will play out to have a bigger role. If i am not mistaken, then this is the final Intro, till the end of the series, so it usually would reveal some points of the covering arc. This intro did little to that effect i think. Exept making clear of mikas disabilities and his coparability to nothing more then just a weapon.

I sitll believe it would either need another season or an OVA to wrap things up nicely. The Remaining episoded cannot cover all the ground they have shaken so far.

[Kuruni]

It's a bit of a lame plot point for this arc, though. "Uh oh, Iok just happened to check something out from one of the warehouses..." Seriously, if they know he took it, it's just a matter of Naze telling them to check the shipping logs since I'm assuming he is transporting it for Gjallahorn? Unless I missed something when I watched the episode a couple days ago.

It's more likely that Iok simply use the warheads to frame Naze. Think of it like how people got framed for drug trafficking IRL. Sure, McGillis can track that they're the same warheads Iok took out of that warehouse. But remember that...

1. we're talking about Gjallahorn here, dirty tactic isn't stranger to them (remember Dort colony?). So it's possible that they don't care.

2. we're talking about Iok here, likely that he simply doesn't think of the consequences if McGillis confront him with that .

[Brave Fencer Kirby]

I sitll believe it would either need another season or an OVA to wrap things up nicely. The Remaining episoded cannot cover all the ground they have shaken so far.

There are 10+ episodes left. I'm not sure if they're doing a full 52, but even if they skip episodes for the two weeks we just missed, that's still 50 episodes and the most recent was episode 39. Given that McGillis seems to be making his move, there's plenty of time to get things wrapped up.

[E08]

He also said Flauros was in a grey area because its railguns used "conventional warheads," so I'm guessing the original payload was Metal Gear REX-style railgun-fired nukes? Or maybe some kind of Ahab-reaction warhead. Hm. Beam weapons may have turned out to be unimpressive in this universe, but we've still got room for significant advances in lethality between here and the finale.

As explained in Gundam Flauros' model kit manual, the original payload is not that fanciful, it is simply bullets made of the rare alloy used on mobile suit's frames.