The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk III

[Kuruni]

Lets I make a wild guess here.

Whatever giant machine they found with Flauros with bring Mika to Earth earlier than expect, although the Earth Branch would still suffer horribly.

Spoiler

Worse, even if they can get back at Radice he's still part of Tekkadan. This mean a big blow to their status regardless of how to deal with it.

It's occur to me later. At first I thought Julietta simply mean Iok is weakling, but it turn out that Galen is indeed an imposing man, especially when compared to Takaki.

[SNT1]

I had pretty low expectations for this episode, and it still manages to disappoint

+I'm a fan of political plots, so the assassination attempt did pick up this episode some.

+I wish this episode had more Gjallahorn interactions. For example, maybe Gali-Gali will see Julietta as a second Ein, considering her background (not of status, but a good soldier pilot?) I liked that Rustal and McGillis are playing the long game, with Tekkadan in the middle of it. Of course, thanks to her annoying character type, I hope she gets a particularly gruesome defeat some time in the future.

+And one last good thing about this episode is the trailer for the next one

-No seriously, I hope the Japanese fans feels the same way and gives the director a big backlash on this episode. I mean, who the hell focuses on characters that aren't even in the top 10 most significant/popular??? Who cares about these kids, man??? I don't need their backstory! Give me more Hush! Give me more about the new Gundam Frame they found! I hate how they're forced to become the focus, especially that I have yet to remember their name. I really, really don't care.

-Instead of developing the 12th and 15th most popular character in an already (still)crowded Tekkadan crew, why not develop Mika and have him do more than just eat his brown nuggets, shoot heads and pilot a Gundam? That's literally all his does when he gets screentime. I mean the dude has no personality, 30 episodes in. Other silent types (Heero, Setsuna etc) have already gotten developed character arcs by this point, and we know why they fight.

The first 10 minutes of this episode angered me. To think, S1 had 2.8 straight episodes just like that those 10 minutes, when I came close to dropping this Gundam series. Like I said, I'm glad that at least they still managed to put some tension in the second half, leading to another battle (and hopefully a full-on war)

[Kuruni]

-No seriously, I hope the Japanese fans feels the same way and gives the director a big backlash on this episode.

I think that most of Japanese Gundam fans would be very sympathy witn Takaki.

In mundane world, he would be a salary man who's just got truckload of responsibility pushed on him, without official position. He still tries his best to keep his department going well. Then a new manager appear out of nowhere as his superior and it's clear to us that he's acting against him. Yet whatever happen will be blamed on the lad.

I'm pretty sure anybody ever spend some time as a salaryman know what is going on there. Your fault is your fault, your subordinates' fault is also your fault, AND your manager's fault is totally your fault too.

[Brave Fencer Kirby]

I mean the dude has no personality, 30 episodes in. Other silent types (Heero, Setsuna etc) have already gotten developed character arcs by this point, and we know why they fight.

You don't have to like Mika, but I don't think you can legitimately claim that he has no character development or that we don't know why he fights. We've seen repeatedly that he has goals outside of fighting (witness his learning to read in season one, or his farming experiments in season two), which is more than you can really say of characters like Heero and Setsuna, who are basically completely subsumed in their role as Gundam pilots. We've also gotten a fair amount of insight into his mindset; Orga promised to lead him to a better place, so he's dedicated himself to supporting Orga (and, by extension, Tekkadan as a whole). That's about it -- the big difference between Mika and other similar characters like Setsuna and Heero is that Mika has no grand moral crusade. He just wants a good life for himself and his friends, and he's entirely willing to murder a bunch of dudes if that's what it takes to obtain the life he wants.

[Dark Duel]

Here's my interpretation: Takaki's problem - if you can call it that, which I don't, necessarily - is that he is a child, and that unlike some of his older peers he remains somewhat naïve. Orga has characterized Tekkadan as a family, and Takaki honestly believes that.
For this reason, because this guy - whose name I can't even remember offhand - is a member of Tekkadan, he sees him as being a part of that family. Yes, the guy was foisted on them as an overseer by Teiwaz, but from Takaki's point of view he is still a member of Tekkadan, and therefore a member of their family. And unfortunately, Takaki's naïveté is preventing him from seeing that the guy is in fact NOT what he seems, which is why, from my point of view, he hasn't realized that the dude is betraying them. He can't fathom that possibility - because who can you trust if you can't trust family?

Is it foolish? Absolutely. But it is perfectly understandable given Takaki's point of view. Also remember that we as viewers are privy to information that Takaki may not have - we know, for instance, that the guy went behind their backs, and that the bearded dude is complicit in what's going on. But Takaki may not.

Not condoning his behaviour in the least, and I do agree with the comment made earlier that Takaki perhaps ought to have tried to go around him and contact Orga directly when things started going sideways.

[Amion]

I wouldn't mind his naivete if it weren't that all the other boys his own age already suspect Mr. Snake is a snake. He's the only one who doesn't seem to understand that. Granted, he has in fact had a better background than the poor Brewers, but one would assume he'd be able to comprehend the idea of treacherous adults selling them out, considering what he went through in CGS...

[yazi88]

I don't see all this bashing on Takaki, he's a subordinate who is good at following orders, and he tries to set himself as a good example for the other junior members of Tekkadan. From his point of view, sure Radice might seem shady, but he can't step outside his authority and call on Orga for things going on. He is trying not to be as impulsive as the other kids, most of the other Tekkadan crew there are young like him. From what we've seen, Chad is the only older Tekkadan and senior member there on Earth.

But I'm afraid if this sets a countdown on his death in the future. I like the fact that because of the large cast we see development on them. Most Gundam shows don't really do this. Sure we like to see what happens with Hush but the other characters are important too. Remember this show is about Tekkadan as a group and not just the spotlight on the pilots and bridge crew. These guys grew up and survived together for many years. That form of bonding is rather interesting and refreshing for a Gundam show.

I like what the show is doing with Aston, how far he has come from a broken human debris slave, to now being treated like a actual human. And the fact that him and his fellow pilot Derma were given the last name Atland by Akihiro to not only honor Masahiro but that Akihiro accepted them as family too. And I found it kind of touching at how Aston saw Chad as what he could be in the future, by moving up and living a more decent and fulfilling life.

[zetatype]

I wouldn't mind his naivete if it weren't that all the other boys his own age already suspect Mr. Snake is a snake. He's the only one who doesn't seem to understand that. Granted, he has in fact had a better background than the poor Brewers, but one would assume he'd be able to comprehend the idea of treacherous adults selling them out, considering what he went through in CGS...

The other boys' mistrust in Radice seems to be based more on the fact he's an adult and an outsider rather than suspicous behavior. Its not so much that they see something Takaki doesn't but rather in their eyes Radice is untrustworthy by default and they just happen to be right in this case.

As for past experiences with betrayal, the circumstances are a bit different this time. I doubt Takaki saw the 1st corp guys of CGS as family and Hitler stash was only with them for a few days after tekkadan was formed. Radice has most likely lived with the Earth branch for the better part of a year (long enough to consider him family) and while he has butted heads with the orphans it doesn't seem to be out of malice. Plus his recent change of tone probably caused Takaki to view him in a more positive light.

[SNT1]

Re: Takaki bashing; I wouldn't call it bashing, it's more of a 'who the hell cares, I'm trying to watch a Gundam show here' vibe. It's simply not interesting. His story is not unique. Most Tekkadan characters came from the same crappy past, how they were child laborers. human debris blah, blah, blah. It's boring. And I'm not against character focused episodes; if they gave me an entire episode of major players on Gjallahorn and how they're plotting each other I'll probably enjoy that a lot more.

snip

Mika hasn't developed much. In the last 10 episodes, what has he done, aside from 1.) eating brown nuggets, 2.) kicking too much ass in MS, 3.) follow whatever Orga tells him to do?

The learning stuff, that was merely a side note in early/mid S1 that they have since dropped, and the farming is also a side note that really doesn't give him much to develop as a character.

He just wants a good life for himself and his friends, and he's entirely willing to murder a bunch of dudes if that's what it takes to obtain the life he wants.

And that's his attitude since S1E01. See? No development. He's probably gonna eat more brown things while beating up MSes again in the next episode. Hell, they won't even give us any significant insight on how the injury is affecting him.

[yazi88]

SNT1... I'm not sure what exactly you're expecting from this show.... you say you don't care about the development about the Tekkadan characters yet complaining about Mika not developing... Yeah I agree that while Mika hasn't really done much aside from fighting lately, he wants to help Orga reach whatever goal he has set for them. There is a trust between them, not the master and dog logic... But hey, if you don't like Mika then you don't like him. Agree to disagree...

Plus.... its still early in this season... We'll have to wait how things go... Its not the G-reco thing of sporadically telling things and not explaining them... For the most part, IBO (1st season) did explain things pretty well. Just not instantly. Gotta wait for these things to come up.

Atleast things are starting to heat up. Who knows how things will end up... Its a very large cast to focus on and with a bunch of new characters too.

[SNT1]

SNT1... I'm not sure what exactly you're expecting from this show.... you say you don't care about the development about the Tekkadan characters yet complaining about Mika not developing... Yeah I agree that while Mika hasn't really done much aside from fighting lately, he wants to help Orga reach whatever goal he has set for them. There is a trust between them, not the master and dog logic... But hey, if you don't like Mika then you don't like him. Agree to disagree...

I am expecting good character development from characters who actually matter, like Mika, or Hush. We got neither of those in this episode and instead we got an episode centering on the 12th or whatever most important character.

Atleast things are starting to heat up. Who knows how things will end up... Its a very large cast to focus on and with a bunch of new characters too.

This is a problem because of S1's ending; a few characters should have gone down and stayed down during the battle with the Graze/Ein. As it is we have a Tekkadan/Teiwaz crew with 10+ characters all fighting for screentime/development, when there's 440 minutes left of show to go, needed to be crammed with the battles and Gjallahorn character development (which is so far, actually interesting and intriguing)

[Kuruni]

You seem to forget what's unique for Takaki (since Biscuit is gone), he has a little sister behind him. And that's why he need some focus, to make it clear that she's important and he has staple life now (if anything, the problem is that they should develope this since S1). He's also one with less-tough attitude.

What make the upcoming battle so tense is how bleak it seem to be - no hope for cavalry, no powerful MS as thrump card, and with mole superior. Using tougher character like Akihiro, and we will feel a little more secure since it's likely that he can hold it out despite all the odds.

And more important, Takaki has family mean he can't just runaway. Anybody else can desert and leave Radice to deal with it, Takaki now has staple life that he want to keep it going on. Again, going back to previous analog, he's in exact position most salary man would be sympathy with.

[BrentD15]

Takaki's life is really at steak.

Well-done or Medium-Rare?

[Dark Duel]

Takaki's life is really at steak.

Well-done or Medium-Rare?

"Rare" would be my answer to that question. Fun fact by the way: The equivalent term in French is "saignant", which IIRC translates loosely to "bloody".

[X_zoro]

1= SNT1 If you don't like whats going why are you watching ?

2= did you bother to see the foreshadowing on Mikazuki in the Opening ?

3= Obviously you would love two of the Most generic Gundam protagonist who have the most genric reasons for fighting ( satsune's reasons being very Generic and boring )

4= I like Mikazuki because he is nothing like those two assholes

[SNT1]

Going back to previous analog, he's in exact position most salary man would be sympathy with.

I just find him boring. Biscuit had a more interesting arc and actual character (I enjoyed him as a foil to most of the YOLO members of Tekkadan)
-----
Oh, my.

1= SNT1 If you don't like whats going why are you watching ?

Rofl, after watching 8 or so very very good episodes prior to this last one (and after enjoying S1 for the most part), you question why I am still watching? Are we even allowed to criticize anymore? Fail argument.

2= did you bother to see the foreshadowing on Mikazuki in the Opening ?

Opening does not necessarily translate to what actually happens.

3= Obviously you would love two of the Most generic Gundam protagonist who have the most genric reasons for fighting ( satsune's reasons being very Generic and boring )

Who the heck is Satsune? What are you even talking about? I don't think I mentioned the likes of Chris McKenzie or Graham Aker in my previous post? Oh, that's right, I just mentioned the fact that there are two silent-type lead characters (both of which probably not in my top 10 favorite characters in all of Gundam) with more complexities than Mika and you started assuming they're my faves and went on to blabber about things.

4= I like Mikazuki because he is nothing like those two ZOINKS

Glorious exposition, comrade.

[X_zoro]

SNT1
Hard for me to tell if you like this show or not when all I just see a wall of Text of complaining and blabberig sure the show has problems Its not the best buts not the worst , so far this show Has an actually likable cast ( all of Tekkadan ) you want exposition huh ? how about the fact that well you know Mikazuki actually cares about his friends unlike Setsuna ? and heero ? you know ? Mr I want to be a Gundam and Mr I'm gonna kill you but Lol I won't actually do it, also You not liking Takaki is your opinion buddy but the fact that the sure is trying to give him character like Biscuit is what we like about IBO, remember this show is called "Iron-blooded Orphans " in other words whether you like it or Not all the members of Tekkadan matter, Also you don't know Mari Okada my Friend, she will foreshadow the shit out of any anime ( Op included )

[yazi88]

People rag on Mari Okada for her work on Aquarion EVOL, which did have quite some problems...

But she has done a good job with other shows, it also helps that she has worked on a number of occasions with the director of IBO on other shows.

By the way.... I looked up the director for IBO... he has quite a extensive record as a director and storyboard.

[SNT1]

Tl;dr

You don't have to be so upset when someone else has a different opinion on a robot show rofl

And actually this show could use a lot less exposition. Like, no more Tekkadan exposition from here on out. Couldn't care less about that kid's struggle to fit in, or whatever. In fact I wish some of them die in this next battle to trim the fat. Cast's way too bloated.

But if they have to have exposition, let it be from McGillis/Rustal/Vidar/Gjallahorn. They have intriguing plot lines/struggle for power, but right now they're just glorified proverbial mustache twirlers at this point.

[X_zoro]

People rag on Mari Okada for her work on Aquarion EVOL, which did have quite some problems...

But she has done a good job with other shows, it also helps that she has worked on a number of occasions with the director of IBO on other shows.

By the way.... I looked up the director for IBO... he has quite a extensive record as a director and storyboard.

Yeah I have to agree with you Yazi Evol wasn't very good But I think that because the cast of characters in the end weren't very good from the start, people have told Nagai is known for going 180 in all the stuff his in and loves to deconstruct all his stories.