The Official Gundam Unicorn Anime Thread Mk IV

[J-Lead]

I actually thought Daguza and Gilboa's appearance was exceptionally well used; they both died in Earth's gravity well, and their mutual support of Banagher not only paralleled the cooperation of former enemies, but also kind of served as a way of saying "welcome back" from both of them.

But wow. Riddhe. Was he such a douchebag in the novel? Right now all I can see him as is the emo guy who freaked out because the girl he likes jumped off a plane without a parachute for another guy.

He's actually a lot worse in the novel, going so far as to actively antagonize Banagher and attack him at Torrington. His portrayal in the OVA is actually a lot more tame and level headed given his situation until Mineva friendzones his ass.

[Soma Taozi]

I just watched the episode and loved it. I was a big improvement over episode 4, the characters motivations made sense (if you pay attention and think), and I loved all the mid-air action scenes...and the return of Full Frontal and Angelo was well...brutally well done...and my mouth was hanging open for their entire destruction of the incoming MS.

Really most of the complaints for this episode was the "action" in the atmosphere and how a lot of people didn't like it.

I was fine with it, it made sense, it was clear, and it was well animated, and I understood what was going on...what more do people want? Anyway, I applaud the show's creators for getting Unicorn back on track especially after that the shaky episode 4.

There seems to be a lot of dislike for this episode, but I personally found it enjoyable, well worth my time and money...also it played off a lot at least some of the development set up in episode 4....which makes my feelings towards Episode 4...a little better.

[MaC]

Really most of the complaints for this episode was the "action" in the atmosphere and how a lot of people didn't like it.

I was fine with it, it made sense, it was clear, and it was well animated, and I understood what was going on...what more do people want? Anyway, I applaud the show's creators for getting Unicorn back on track especially after that the shaky episode 4.

I loved the episode and I mostly agree with you about the action, what we got was ALL those things. It was a very well done action sequence. But I personally wanted to see a brutal melee between Banshee and Unicorn or at least see Banshee put Unicorn in some kind of danger. Even when Banshee went NT-D it seemed like it didn't stand a chance against Unicorn. That's my only gripe with the action sequence, but it didn't really lower my enjoyment of the episode any and the sequence we got was pretty wonderful.

I also gotta say I liked Banshee's weapon and I don't think it's inherently silly. I think making a beam ribbon that arcs towards the enemy is a pretty cool and unique way to convey the Beam-Smartgun-ness of the weapon. And since it's supposed to have Psycho-Frame materials in the gun itself I thought the implication was the Psycho-Frame received data directly from the pilots mind and was able to manipulate the stream of the ribbon on the fly through the long Fin Funnel like barrel. I liked it, thought it was a cool effect and a cool execution of a psycommu linked Smart-Gun.

[daigundam lagaan]

Riddhe needed the brightslap more than anyone. I mean, he's alot worse than Asem
Other than that, I like this episode for how feel-good it is before the whole Angelo and Frontal attack.

Riddhe actually reminds me of Suzaku now. And I'm not just talking about the english VA

[Ceiling_Squid]

Finally saw it. Sorry, bit of a long post. Spoiler-tagged to protect the innocent.

Spoiler

Pretty impressed, really liked the way Bright was handled in this episode. Also had to supress fanboyish glee when Beltorchika and Kai showed up. I mean, they're just token appearances designed merely to amuse fans of the older shows, but it's nice to know they still exist. Also, the whole notion of Luio company having it's own significant resources to oppose the Vist Foundation is an interesting turn of events.

Actually kind of glad they brought these elements back from Zeta Gundam. The whole AEUG/Karaba mentality really shaped the formation of Londo Bell. The fact that men like Bright still maintain their former contacts and networks from their rebel days really shows just how much they will continue to oppose corruption. True patriots and all that.

Also, nice to see Full Frontal make a return. Honestly, with the wait between episodes as long as it is, I'd kind of forgotten that he's supposed to be the antagonist.

And warning, Riddhe-related rant to follow...and this is from someone who actually likes the character:

Spoiler

The one thing about the episode that keeps bugging me is Riddhe. I will have to watch it again, because his motivation isn't making any sense to me on first viewing. I really wanted to like the guy, given his circumstances, but he's behaving damn irrationally. I guess they really captured that baffling irrationality from classic Tomino there, heh, so at least the show's genuine Gundam.

Anyone have some sort of clarification? What I'm getting is that Riddhe wants to preserve the status quo and prevent chaos, and that's all fine and good...but what's he flipping out on the Foundation and Martha for? Don't they want to seal the box, which means their goals coincide? Does he not trust them with it or something?

On top of which, him taking aim at Banagher. Does he think Banagher's going to open the box? Does he hate the Gundam now because it's the key to the box, and therefore wants to destroy it?

Or is this, as I suspect, just more jealousy over Mineva? Sounds classic Tomino-style love to me, which ends in people becoming obsessed, irrational, murderous, and chronically stupid. Which sounds about par the course for love, but god DAMN someone needs to talk to Riddhe and set him straight. One of the other characters needs to take the time to help him out, help him straighten out his hostility. Or at least administer the Brightslap.

I really hope the writers stop turning Riddhe into an ineffectual asshole and actually take the time to have him learn a lesson and contribute something positive. The guy's got some decency to him, if he weren't massively misguided with his anger. Ultimately I think he actually has a heart, even if it's buried under layers of teenage angst. He's certainly not a monster like Martha.

Right now he's veering into unlikeable character territory, by which I mean unwatchable. I can hate an antagonist and still want to see what they do next...but not in the case of Riddhe as of late.

Even back in episode 4 when he started showing these tendencies, his actions at least made sense in context. Now he's just annoying and spouting a lot of apparently-contradictory nonsense. In fact, a lot of this business might have gone far differently if Bright had just let him in on the big plan, rather than just providing him some incredibly-vague advice. The guy needs the whole story.

Ultimately this may just be me hoping in vain, but I REALLY don't want to see Riddhe turn into another Katz Kobayashi, who's obfuscating naievete went largely unchecked by the other characters until it eventually killed him. If Riddhe's going to be a Gundam pilot now, he'd better well start acting like it.

You hear me Riddhe? Now that you have the Banshee, this is your last chance to become a character I'll actually want to watch, who isn't driven by mere spite. Develop some well-thought-out motivation. Grow a little.

As for the rest of the crew -- good job! But damn it, Jesta pilots, you need to get the writers to actually give you stuff to do in the fights. You're just kind of sitting around flying formation lately, and you actually look like you'd be interesting characters with a little more screentime.

[flamingtroll]

He's actually a lot worse in the novel, going so far as to actively antagonize Banagher and attack him at Torrington. His portrayal in the OVA is actually a lot more tame and level headed given his situation until Mineva friendzones his ass.

Since I ended up looking at parts of the novel to remidn myself what happened, here is a rough summary of a bunch of conversations they had at the Torrington fight. I think at least this showed his view. Plus it would have been nice to see Delta Plus fighting Unicorn almost as equals no less. I am skipping most of the descriptions of their fight. It's mostly just sabers going back and forth. This is more reason for me to hate how he just got turned into a douchebag to basically make Banagher look good. He is thus far still fairly level headed, on its mission to secure to Unicorn.

Spoiler

Context: Zeon Remnants were attack the base, the Jestas Tri-star were busy dealing with them and Banshee was out going after Kirk's Zaku Sniper. This is also where they showcased Jesta's visor protector. Unlike the HGUC model, it's supposed to be able to cover the main camera when they engage in melee combat. They did a few shield bash with their movable shield. Yet another cool thing they seemed to have thrown away.

Banagher got onto the Unicorn and was trying to grab onto Zinnerman's Dodai kai on the Torrington tarmac. Then Delta plus pounced on the Unicorn, pushing it to the ground. It proceeds to attack Unicorn with its saber

“Lt. Riddhe?”

‘Banagher! You really became a Neo Zeon?’

"Now it's not the time to talk about this"

"You are the heir to the Vist bloodline, why are you helping Neo Zeon!"

"The Feds and Neo Zeon mean nothign to me. I just want to save Audrey!"

"Zeon is no more. Its name will soon disappear with it. There is no future for her at a place like that!"

"Being a hostage of the Vist or the be with the Feds that does nothing is the same, I need to think this over more"

"Think this over...?"

"I need to understand the meaning of the birth of the Universal Century, as well as the meaning of the beginnings of countries like Zeon! Otherwise, I won't know what to do with 'the box'. Audrey knows this to and that's why--"

("--she is not putting her hopes with the stubborn Neo Zeon and tried to stop the box from being given to Full Frontal") Before Banagher could finish his sentense, Delta Plus drew its second saber and swiped both of them at the Unicorn.

"If you want to know their meaning, I will tell you --"

"--The twisted meaning of space colonization only created an an abscess called Zeon. Newtype is only their fantasy, a diease that has divided a humanity already in discord into two groups. If they are not purged, there will be no peace...!"

"The peace that is built on this kind of a sacrifice, is it really a true peace?! There has to be a way that both can come to an understanding !" (My comment: Lots of that in Gundam lately, to the point of being not that sincere anymore)

"This is the cause of the diease. Your kind of thinking is the cause of all the chaos! Don't you understand!"

"An idea give birth to a philosophy, and it grows into a political force, one that would oppose the existing ones. Trying to merge different groups will only cause conflicts between groups that do not want to come together. Regardless of the period in history, all wars are started by irresponsible idealism, like Zeon, and the Cardeas Vist that wishes to open 'the box'"

"No! If humanity only accepts their present reality, then they would been extinct long ago. To fight against the unjust, and to try their best to progress, that's what humanity should be. You are just overcome by your own despair!"

This is when Unicorn was able to score a hit and sliced off Delta Plus's right arm.

"Banagher!"

"You talk just like the people from the Vist Foundation. The Lt. Riddhe that had the courage to bring Audrey to earth, what happened to him...?"

"That Riddhe Marcenas is dead!"

They paused

"I dont' have the power to change the world. Even though this is not a perfect system, if I cannot change it, I will protect it and by doing so I can also protect Minverva..." (Pretty much what was said on Garuda in the OVA)

Delta Plus launges at the unicorn. Banagher was startled and thought it was too late to counter. Then an explosion behind them threw Delta Plus off balance and Unicorn used the chance to avoid its swipe.

It was actually Zinnerman's Dodai's missles, it kept coming. Delta plus dodged the attacks and and retreated in MA form. After this Dodai took Unicorn up to Garuda to save Minverva and thats where "Black Unicorn" begins.

Spoiler

Anyone have some sort of clarification? What I'm getting is that Riddhe wants to preserve the status quo and prevent chaos, and that's all fine and good...but what's he flipping out on the Foundation and Martha for? Don't they want to seal the box, which means their goals coincide? Does he not trust them with it or something?

In addition to what I wrote about, Martha is the part of the Vist that tries to take back the box so it could be kept as the leverage that allows the existance of AE, whose CEO is her husband. The EF (actually the Space Colonization Comittee to be exact) wouldn't mind taking that leverage away if possible. So the run down is this

Neo Zeon -wants the box intact the most for the "plans"
Cardeas - just want to upset the stagnant balance by releasing the box
Martha - wants to keep the box for Vist
Marcenas - willing to work with Vist becuase it benefits the EFF to let AE keep a minimal Neo Zeon running in the background as the bad guy to distract people from paying attention to EFF's problems. It keeps the military budget going too I guess, basically the cliche of military-industrial-complex collusion. But he won't hesitate to destroy it if necessary.

[Ceiling_Squid]

This is more reason for me to hate how he just got turned into a douchebag to basically make Banagher look good.

Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense to hear. Kind of why I resent the way they're handling the character. I want back the Riddhe who took Mineva to Earth. He was far more subtle and nuanced. Sympathetic, even.

Now he's just a raging jerk. Who knows, maybe it's just a phase for the character and the writers will have him come to terms with it later. But I have a sinking feeling that they're doing this just to make Banagher look good. Which is pretty bad writing, in my opinion.

Even if Riddhe's supposed to be a villain now, I at least would hope he'd be a villain with a compelling, non-petty motivation. Is that too much to ask for?

[J-Lead]

This is more reason for me to hate how he just got turned into a douchebag to basically make Banagher look good.

Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense to hear. Kind of why I resent the way they're handling the character. I want back the Riddhe who took Mineva to Earth. He was far more subtle and nuanced. Sympathetic, even.

Now he's just a raging jerk. Who knows, maybe it's just a phase for the character and the writers will have him come to terms with it later. But I have a sinking feeling that they're doing this just to make Banagher look good. Which is pretty bad writing, in my opinion.

Even if Riddhe's supposed to be a villain now, I at least would hope he'd be a villain with a compelling, non-petty motivation. Is that too much to ask for?

I always got the sense that Riddhe is the kind of person who, in his own head, sees himself as the hero of his own story. A lot of what he does is motivated by his ego. To his credit, he's got a good head on his shoulders, and he's definitely good at being a hero; saving Mineva and the civilians at Industrial 7, deserting the battle of palau in order to bring Mineva to earth under the impression that she could stop the war (took a lot of balls,) but at the same time, such a self-perception is a bit...immature, I guess. When he found out the truth about Laplace's box and his family, and how he himself has benefited from the resulting wealth and influence his father has, it really shook his emotional foundation and pride, to the point where he proposed to Mineva under the preconception that he was the only person that could "protect" her (at least he can still have the girl, right?) After her rejection, his ego was pretty fragile. Fast forward to the Garuda, where Mineva basically calls his protection unnecessary and that he's doing it for selfish reasons. When she told him that she would rather fight alongside Banagher to change the stagnant system (exactly what he wanted to prevent) than submit to his protection, rejected his hand, and jumped out of the Garuda, his pride and just about everything he fought for was shattered right in front of him (and lets face it; not a single one of you has had a girl friendzone you by jumping out of a plane with no parachute, so it's kind of hard to relate to him suffering such a flamboyant rejection) His previous self-perception is now pretty much in shambles. He literally has nothing now; nothing but a hatred the Unicorn and Banagher, whom he sees as a threat to the Federation's system (he's the key, after all.) In addition, I'm pretty sure Mineva favoring Banagher didn't really endear Riddhe to him.

So no, Riddhe isn't a villain; he's just gonna be in anti-hero mode for a little while.

[latenlazy]

The takeaway I'm getting from this discussion is that those who read the novel hate the adaptation, but those who haven't seem to enjoy it just fine. Am now very glad I didn't (or rather, can't) read the novel. Flamingtroll's excerpt really helps point out why it could be better, but while not perfect, I find the series so far to be satisfactory (ignorance is bliss).

[Golos]

Since I ended up looking at parts of the novel to remidn myself what happened, here is a rough summary of a bunch of conversations they had at the Torrington fight.

Lieutenant Riddhe? Why was "OVA" Riddhe demoted to ensign?

[Kratos]

I'm perfectly happy with the direction it's being taken. It isn't perfect, no, and I definitely respect the right of people who have read the novels to be bothered by deviations - lord knows I find it impossible to watch most of the Harry Potter movies for the same reason. But I'm finding Unicorn more than satisfactory thus far. I think it's flat out GOOD, and certainly among the better UC productions thus far.

I think the long wait between episodes may be exacerbating negative reactions, too. These aren't meant to be standalone productions, yet the 6 months between releases makes it difficult to view them as part of a serial and places high expectations upon each installment. I've found the flaws of each episode (and especially of episode 4, which seems to be widely considered the weakest part thus far) fade as bit when the series is viewed in sequence.

[MaC]

I'm perfectly happy with the direction it's being taken. It isn't perfect, no, and I definitely respect the right of people who have read the novels to be bothered by deviations - lord knows I find it impossible to watch most of the Harry Potter movies for the same reason. But I'm finding Unicorn more than satisfactory thus far. I think it's flat out GOOD, and certainly among the better UC productions thus far.

I think the long wait between episodes may be exacerbating negative reactions, too. These aren't meant to be standalone productions, yet the 6 months between releases makes it difficult to view them as part of a serial and places high expectations upon each installment. I've found the flaws of each episode (and especially of episode 4, which seems to be widely considered the weakest part thus far) fade as bit when the series is viewed in sequence.

Well said, I agree on all points. I also can't begrudge anyone disappointed with deviations from the novel because it's driven me crazy and made me stop watching Game of Thrones. And the framing of the story from the book DOES sound epic and it would've been nice to see all that animated. But I've thought every episode of Gundam UC with the exception of 4 was stellar - easily the best Gundam production I've been around to see air live(the first gundam show I watched week-to-week was SEED), by leaps and bounds. And because I haven't and in fact cannot read the books and I've enjoyed every episode without knowledge of the books, I can't complain.

"The peace that is built on this kind of a sacrifice, is it really a true peace?! There has to be a way that both can come to an understanding !" (My comment: Lots of that in Gundam lately, to the point of being not that sincere anymore)

I dunno why you only feel that way lately, it's been a prominent theme of Gundam since First.

[yazi88]

Loved episode 5, probably the best episode aside from episode 1 so far.

Although it makes you wonder that if Banager does succeed with the box, it kinda makes sense that the fall Federation and Anaheim into a deep decline by the time of F-91 might've been triggered by the events of Unicorn.

Also would possibly explain the lack of wars or any conflicts with Zeon aside from Mars Zeon until that point.

[flamingtroll]

Since I ended up looking at parts of the novel to remidn myself what happened, here is a rough summary of a bunch of conversations they had at the Torrington fight.

Lieutenant Riddhe? Why was "OVA" Riddhe demoted to ensign?

Yes you are right. I was just typing it up as I go, I was never good with the whole rank thing. I should have looked it up.

[DuelGundam2099]

So I just watched the new ep, outside of the Rozen Zulu battle I was kind of disappointed with the action. Everything else was just okay.

[HellCat]

I'm perfectly happy with the direction it's being taken. It isn't perfect, no, and I definitely respect the right of people who have read the novels to be bothered by deviations - lord knows I find it impossible to watch most of the Harry Potter movies for the same reason. But I'm finding Unicorn more than satisfactory thus far. I think it's flat out GOOD, and certainly among the better UC productions thus far.

I think the long wait between episodes may be exacerbating negative reactions, too. These aren't meant to be standalone productions, yet the 6 months between releases makes it difficult to view them as part of a serial and places high expectations upon each installment. I've found the flaws of each episode (and especially of episode 4, which seems to be widely considered the weakest part thus far) fade as bit when the series is viewed in sequence.

I generally agree. When the first episode debuted, I loved it. It was like a classic Gundam show being made with an older audience in mind over a younger one. But then the wait between episodes kicked in and things just didn't sit well with me. None of the episodes seemed as amazing as the first and I felt each one was building hype it couldn't live up to. Then about a month ago I watched all the available episodes one per day. Suddenly things I didn't like first time round sat much better with me and I could more easily link continuing story threads. It made alot of difference.

Animated Unicorn is certainly far from perfect and does seem to waste some better ideas from the novels but I think the release schedule hurts it as much as anything else.

[Admiral Larsen]

After what happened with episode 4, the OVA series returns to grand form with this episode. While perhaps it could have been more epic, I'll take whatever I can get and fortunately the episode delivered.

Excellent to see Bright again along with the cameos of Kai and Beltorchika. Also liked his conversations with Banagher, particularly just before Banagher boards the Unicorn. That along with how the scene plays out starting with Banagher encountering Riddhe to when he boards the Unicorn was excellent and well after seeing that, one would think that hell was going to break loose once they reached the Garuda.

After seeing how he performed here, I take back what I said about Banagher needing a slap. Perhaps all he needed was some words from the veteran who has seen it all with his share of Gundam pilots. Once he remembers why he got involved in this fight, he steps up to the plate in an impressive fashion. With that said though I think that they had missed out a bit in making this even more epic than what it already was (if the details of the novel version are any indication).

As for Audrey, well I'm also impressed with her as well. She conducted herself very well and I like how her character arc has been going on through the story thus far. It really shows in the confrontation in the hanger leading to her leap of faith and reunion with Banagher to both their joy.

For Riddhe, I'm getting bad vibes from the guy and wonder that inadvertantly, the actions of Banagher and Audrey, in addition to what he was told from his father about his family's history, have created a monster within Riddhe that how has an outlet to vent itself in the form of the Banshee.

Poor Marida, she definitely needs a lot of hugs after the hell she's been through. And unfortunately the worse is yet to come for both her and Zimmerman (if the novel is any indication).

What we did get to see of the Banshee does show that it definitely lives up to its lion motif (particularly when it used left-hand claw like weapon to tear the Delta Plus in the same manner that a lion would tear its prey apart).

Particularly in the english version, you can see that Martha is shaping up to be one of the main antagonists in the story.

While the ending was impressive, I was a bit peeved at how the Rozen Zulu performed but let it pass as Angelo was the antagonist so that wasn't that much of a problem (aside from the Rezels getting torn to pieces like that).

As for the General Revil, damm that thing is a beast. To make a reference to one of the Star Wars strategy games. "Super Star Destroyer incoming sir."

It's most certainly going to be one insanely long wait. Hope that episodes 6 and 7 can take advantage of the momentum regained from the performance of episode 5 and wrap up what has been IMO one of the finest Gundam productions in a while.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

Samuel j. Houston on a bicycle, after the last twenty episodes of mediocre Gundam AGE this was a breath of fresh air I sorely needed.

ANYWAY, YOU KNOW WHAT ROCKS MY WORLD ABOUT THIS EP?! They made Ashimars, the ugliest frakking MS next to the Baund Docs, from Zeta actually look cool. But what makes me mad is that they gave the name of General Revil to a ship that was probably used by the Titans to kill babies.

Bright is the Zeus of the anime captain pantheon, yes?

[Admiral Larsen]

Samuel j. Houston on a bicycle, after the last twenty episodes of mediocre Gundam AGE this was a breath of fresh air I sorely needed.

ANYWAY, YOU KNOW WHAT ROCKS MY WORLD ABOUT THIS EP?! They made Ashimars, the ugliest frakking MS next to the Baund Docs, from Zeta actually look cool. But what makes me mad is that they gave the name of General Revil to a ship that was probably used by the Titans to kill babies.

Bright is the Zeus of the anime captain pantheon, yes?

Actually from what we saw, they get slaughtered pretty badly which is a shame as from what I read of the details of the novels, they perform alright considering the circumstances. And its a shame because the design looks very nice.

And as for Bright well going by history and including the later novels, this is pretty much his last chance to shine and thus far he does damm well.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

What I mean is that they just look cool, them getting slaughtered is neither here nor there.

And speaking of the current TV show, do you guys think that AGE would have as many UC references in it if Unicorn was already finished?

Also, I still do not understand Riddhe being attracted to Mineva. Someone to be explaining for to me?

And what accent did that guy have at the start of the episode?