The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk III

[domino]

Very interesting episode and IBO continues to set itself apart from other Gundam shows with AI and mobile armours running amok!

I was quite scared when the mobile armour activated. I don't think Iok will be getting out of this easily.

I was also surprised that Mika "sensed" the incoming MS and also started to spazz out when the mobile armour activated. Is it possible that's due to his interface with Barbatos? I mean, if Gundams were made to hunt down mobile armours then it's possible that they can detect mobile armours in a kind of "seek and destroy" systems

[Zeonista]

Tthis was a thoroughly awesome episode, and a signal that the interlude was well and truly over. Now the grapple for power could begin! And boy did it begin with style, as the casually discovered and mentioned war salvage turned out to be one of Fred Saberhagen's Berserkers in a charmingly symbolic form. That last minute or so will definitely go on to join the list of Iconic Gundam Introduction scenes. Suddenly a lot of back story made a lot of sense. No wonder the Post-Calamity era was trashed; a number of self-aware WMD mecha had trashed it! The heroic Gundam pilots who had ended the menace to all sides were celebrated as heroes worthy to rule, and their winning Gundams were carefully stored against a future repetition of events. But like Merlin said, "It is the doom of Men that they forget." And so someone found the Mobile Armor, someone uncovered it, and someone awakened it.

It's hero time now, men and boys of Tekkadan!

Wow.

That was the general reaction, I am sure!

+Chad still butthurt, and I'm positive Shino lost a drunken bet that he has to honor.

It's the little things like this scene that keep the IBO characters from becoming caricatures or walking trope cut-outs. Do we need to know what SHino did? Of course not, just that he did something stupid and has to buy off a comrade. Chad still mourning the loss of comrades and feeling like he could have done better made him feel very natural as a veteran leader.

+Mobile Armors. Scary. And it's some SkyNet/Ultron thing. The reason piloted Gundams exist - to kill this big guy. Love the history of the Calamity War, that Agnika was the first to slay such thing. This episode has turned the plot into a more Final Fantasy (the modern FF style) type thing.

A IBO x FF XV style GUndam RPG? I would play the hell out of that. The history reveals were great and I do not doubt we will get some more in short order.

+Jasley is apparently in bed with Rustal. Somewhat predictable, but it's a weird Gjallahorn/Teiwaz vs Gjallahorn/Teiwaz tag-team match that's brewing.

Upon reflection it is not surprising that the elites of Earth do much of their infighting and resource mining beyond the Earth Sphere. Alliances, betrayals, power plays, and treasure hunts, all carried out among the human debris with no real effect on Earth except a lost election or two.

I also sense that McGillis truly wishes to prevent the MA from operating and not have the allegedly insidious goal of slaying a FF boss to level up within Gjallahorn.

It did raise McGillis a step in my eyes, to see him wanting to neutralize the MA before it could activate and undo everything. Not just for the sake of his own schemes, but for the reason that the Pluma could actually wreck everything before it could be stopped.

+How did Mika 'sense' the coming of the MS's (and MA awakening)?

That is why they pay him the big bucks for security and combat details. Mika-kun could care less about technobabble concerning some mecha from the old wars. That is Orga and Fareed's concern, not his. He is there to watch every place and every one, just in case...

Julietta still an annoying bitch.

She is cute, much like a little schnauzer that barks a lot but is still ready to go at a moment's notice.

Iok seems to still be an incompetent named mook that isn't as entertaining as, say, a Patrick Colasour.

True, Patrick had a spirit that made you want to see him win at something. Iok is a privileged dumbass whose desire to play mecha hero is at terrible odds with his sheltered upbringing. He is a real poseur compared to McGillis. But I do not think we will have to worry about him getting in Julietta's way much longer.

[Zeonista]

[quote="Zeonista"]Tthis was a thoroughly awesome episode, and a signal that the interlude was

EDIT: THis is a double post. Mods kill it.

[BrentD15]

+Mobile Armors. Scary. And it's some SkyNet/Ultron thing. The reason piloted Gundams exist - to kill this big guy. Love the history of the Calamity War, that Agnika was the first to slay such thing. This episode has turned the plot into a more Final Fantasy (the modern FF style) type thing. This MA is a damn Final Fantasy boss. We've seen MA's be bastardized to be a MotW-type villain piloted by some nut (examples in GSD, Lots of UC, and also 00), but I like how MA's here are portrayed to be something far more dangerous. The Pluma had to be restrained like a beast.\

So, the giant robot scorpions with the electric saw blades?

[zerogradius]

I know it probably won't happen, but wouldn't it be interesting if our masked man ended up being Carta Issue in an artificial body instead of who it seemingly is. Would be a tremendous swerve, IMO.

[Amion]

I know it probably won't happen, but wouldn't it be interesting if our masked man ended up being Carta Issue in an artificial body instead of who it seemingly is. Would be a tremendous swerve, IMO.

More like a derailment.

But I would approve. She will reveal herself after kidnapping Almeria and shooting her, saying "Galileo, I'm sending your sister to you". And then Chocky can scream "She could have become a mother to me!"

[Kuruni]

First of all, if there's any doubt left, this episode make it clear that Iok is an idiot.

So Hashmal is self-efficacy. It can build Pulma by itself, and in turn, those Pulma can harvest materials and resource for it...really, it's WAY above most MA we've seen in Gundam.

Spoiler

Iok's idiocy cause BIG casualties, he probably doesn't care though. Poor guards, they sacrifice their lives for someone who's better dead.

I thought Ride will be kill in a pointless sacrifice. Big surprise, nanolamiate can withstand Hashmal's beam with only scratch as if it's beam coating. The gap between MA and MS is closer now.

We know that Isurugi is McGillis' trust subordinate, but this seem to be extend beyond usual. He's entrust with the upgraded Valkyrie and his words suggest that Isurugi know of his Montag identity too.

Vidar finally confront McGillis, but what he'll does with Hashmal on rampage? And next episode preview doesn't spoil anything.

[Amion]

A good episode, but still too much talk, not enough smash. Next episode should fix that, unless we get a long-winded speech between Vidar and Chocky.

[yazi88]

Oh man, WHAT A EP... things are really ramping up now. And now we see what beam weapons actually mean now.... But if you think about it, in a way IBO is kind of giving the middle finger to Seed/Destiny/00's beam weapon spamming! lol

[Wingnut]

Oh man, WHAT A EP... things are really ramping up now. And now we see what beam weapons actually mean now.... But if you think about it, in a way IBO is kind of giving the middle finger to Seed/Destiny/00's beam weapon spamming! lol

Yeah, kinda, though Setsuna had a preference for bladed weapons, so he'd still do fine.
I expected Ride to get roasted there, though they did mention that it was an old weapon so it may not be on the same power level as other mobile armor MPCs that we've come to expect like on the Big Zam.

PS. Mind the snow, Yaz. Several inches are coming/have come down as I type.

[Amion]

Well, 00 Raiser had beam cannon saber things. . . so technically Setsuna was beam spamming, if we make no distinction between gun and sword.

[yazi88]

Oh man, WHAT A EP... things are really ramping up now. And now we see what beam weapons actually mean now.... But if you think about it, in a way IBO is kind of giving the middle finger to Seed/Destiny/00's beam weapon spamming! lol

Yeah, kinda, though Setsuna had a preference for bladed weapons, so he'd still do fine.
I expected Ride to get roasted there, though they did mention that it was an old weapon so it may not be on the same power level as other mobile armor MPCs that we've come to expect like on the Big Zam.

PS. Mind the snow, Yaz. Several inches are coming/have come down as I type.

While I did say 00, I didn't state Setsuna specifically, it was the other meisters that did the beam spamming, mostly Lock-on 2, especially in the movie.

PS: Thanks for the warning about the snow... its pretty crappy outside, stay safe man!

[Amion]

You know, I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but Tekkadan are basically in boiling water with Teiwaz now. Of course they cannot be blamed for restarting the Mobile Armor, or even for knowing that they were unearthing a Calamity. They went to the proper authorities on the subject and were thwarted thanks to one imbecile's best efforts.

However, they DID mine it out, and they were charged with protecting the mines where it was found. Mines that are now far gone. I'm not positive, but didn't they have something to do with the agricultural center that was destroyed, as well? Perhaps not... but that changes nothing. They've slipped up badly, and now Teiwaz politics are going to start swinging that hammer...

[mobiusdiablo]

So, can we call Iok a Soul Bro's Man?

[SNT1]

A good episode, but still too much talk, not enough smash. Next episode should fix that, unless we get a long-winded speech between Vidar and Chocky.

It's good talk, though, and one I don't mind. They didn't spend time on DAILY LIVES BS that at least 10 full episodes in all of IBO has been prone to doing.

Also, here's my other thoughts.

+Of course Ride won't die in this episode (and I learned his name!), because the director of this show would have needed 1 or 2 episodes of "RED FLAGS" and "FORESHADOWING" so we can smell his death from 10,000 miles away, like they did with the Debris guy, Fumitan and Biscuit.

+An idiot literally started the second calamity war, and I am seriously hating him, and sorta gained a viewpoint on why Julieta's a bitch to him. Iok's gotta mind of a seven year old going on six. Really, he's gone from a named antagonist with some ranged chops to a joke and now into a blithering moron responsible to many deaths. TWICE. I am having a hard time thinking of anothe character in any Gundam series, ever, who I hated more. What's the name of that blue haired Federation guy in GSD? Think Iok's far surpassed that one.

+Hell yeah Grimgerde upgrade! How nice of McGillis to defer it to his subordinate, but hey, he has to keep up appearances, right? And I don't blame him for wanting the Order honor, I mean who wouldn't? They have to destroy that MA anyway, right? His point of view is much more understandable than Rustal's thing, which is, well... I don't know what he really wants, aside from antagonizing McGillis' faction and twirling his evil guy mustache. At least Vidar and Julietta has actual motives.

+Speaking of MA... Hashmal is also a name of a Final Fantasy boss and summon. It really doesn't stop here, it's like Sin from FFX. I'd like to see how they would stop this monster. And of course I'd like to see all Tekkadan Gundams go at it. AND IT FUCKING MULTIPLIES

+Does this mean beam weapons are actually inferior in this series? Judging by animation and speculation alone, that Shiden withstood far more than it had any right to be. Of course, basically the age difference equivalent of muskets in Last of the Mohicans vs Abrams, but still.

[Dark Duel]

I am having a hard time thinking of anothe character in any Gundam series, ever, who I hated more. What's the name of that blue haired Federation guy in GSD? Think Iok's far surpassed that one.

If you mean that fourth-rate Blofeld ripoff with the purple lipstick and pastel-yellow pajamas, that's Jibril. And while I can definitely think of characters I hate more, Iok is definitely pretty high on my list of most-hated-Gundam-characters-ever.

+Does this mean beam weapons are actually inferior in this series? Judging by animation and speculation alone, that Shiden withstood far more than it had any right to be. Of course, basically the age difference equivalent of muskets in Last of the Mohicans vs Abrams, but still.

Not necessarily that beam weapons are inferior per se, just that they are ineffective, or as near to it as makes little difference, against anything equipped with Nanolaminate Armor.

And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense for that to be the case. I mean, put yourself in Agnika Kaieru's shoes for a minute.
You have these fully autonomous weapons of mass destruction designed to be able to kill massive numbers of people and able to manufacture sub-units that can not only defend it, but also repair it and resupply it as needed (By the way, I can't be the only one who is reminded of the JDG-00X Ultimate/Devil Gundam, right?!!) And they are equipped with beam weapons capable of causing damage at absurd ranges.

Now you're sitting here trying to design a weapon capable of hunting and killing these gigantic pieces of bad news. What is the first thing you're gonna do? You're gonna make damn sure that your new anti-MA weapon can tank a shot from those beam weapons, that way you don't have to worry about your ace-in-the-hole getting obliterated by a preemptive strike from its prey.

Thus, I think Nanolaminate Armor was specifically designed not only to be highly resistant to physical damage, but also designed to be nearly impervious to beam cannonfire from the beginning. And I noticed with Ride that he didn't get out unscathed either - the arms/hands. which have more weak points where the NLA coverage is inferior, took more damage than the main body.

As for the episode itself, I really only have one thing to say. Iok needs to die - preferrably a messy, excruciatingly painful death. Because seriously, that bastard is Too Dumb To Live - but the problem is that so far, his dumbassery has only gotten other people killed.
Gonna be interesting though, to see what happens next now that Montero-Head and Chocolate Man have come face-to-face.
I fully expect the Ritter to get severely thrashed, but I doubt McG will be getting killed just yet. We shall see...

Random: For some bizarre reason, McGillis's line about the demons that were created to destroy angels(Mobile Suits - Mobile Armors) reminded me of a line from BvS.
"If Man won't kill God...the Devil will do it!"
Maybe it's the vaguely similar symbolism.

[yazi88]

I thought Ride was going to bite it too, I guess its not a plot thing that Ride survived the Mobile Armors beam blast... its just the mobile suits armor was made to withstand those beams, its in the name nano-LAMINATE armor... it makes sense in the context, that mobile suits which were made in the 1st place to combat against mobile armors which are equipped with beam weapons to be very beam resistant.

Although I'm curious if mobile armors, not the sub-units, have AHAB reactors... cause the dialogue makes it seem that they don't, hence why they have to resupply via sub-units from raw materials.

[SNT1]

If you mean that fourth-rate Blofeld ripoff with the purple lipstick and pastel-yellow pajamas, that's Jibril. And while I can definitely think of characters I hate more, Iok is definitely pretty high on my list of most-hated-Gundam-characters-ever.

I was actually referring to Yuna (I had to look that up).

SNT1... its not a plot thing that Ride survived the Mobile Armors beam blast... its just the mobile suits armor was made to withstand those beams, its in the name nano-LAMINATE armor... it makes sense in the context, that mobile suits which were made in the 1st place to combat against mobile armors which are equipped with beam weapons to be very beam resistant.

I don't imply it's a plot thing, but it's a trope reversal that a grunt survives a massive mega cannon of doom, and I quite like it. I mean, did anyone really watch that scene and think "Oh he gon survive that full blast"? And like I said, we needed Ride to get an episode's worth of exposition in order for him to actually be killed off

[Kuruni]

I thought Ride was going to bite it too, I guess its not a plot thing that Ride survived the Mobile Armors beam blast... its just the mobile suits armor was made to withstand those beams, its in the name nano-LAMINATE armor... it makes sense in the context, that mobile suits which were made in the 1st place to combat against mobile armors which are equipped with beam weapons to be very beam resistant.

Although I'm curious if mobile armors, not the sub-units, have AHAB reactors... cause the dialogue makes it seem that they don't, hence why they have to resupply via sub-units from raw materials.

No, Mackey said unlike Ahab reactor which can run indefinitely, they need resupply for fuel. Exactly what happened to Barbatos back in episode 2. And the thing use raw material to reapir itself/build more Pulma.

Since Hashmal can take direct shot from Iok's cannon without scratch, I think it has one (may be more).

[yazi88]

Yeah... I see what you mean now.... it was a trope reversal... but damn man... the brutality, Iok's one of the dumbest guys/commanders I've seen in Gundam for a while for a guy in his position... That is worse than Jerid Messa stupidity... And Jerid was the instigator for the Dakar incident that screwed the Titans on Earth with the bad publicity.