The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk I

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Amion
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Each with a certain you-know-what to pilot, I presume.
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domino
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Episode 3 certainly shows us a different side of Mika

Kundelia also shows she may turn out to be useful far sooner than any of us may have expected
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

So I guess Mika is the ruthless killer Gundam protagonist everyone's always said they wanted. I'm okay with it for now, but he does come off as a bit cold and flat. Nothing some good character development won't fix and hopefully that'll kick in sooner rather than later.

Good thing it kicked in sooner for Kudelia. They could have easily had her mope around for many more episodes before she decided to continue on.
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Deathzealot
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

So now they have the hulks of two Grazes... I wonder if we end up with two Graze Kais instead of the one. Granted one would have most likely be torn apart for spare parts but still I really hope Tekkadan ends up having more then just the Workers, a single mobile suit, and a Gundam.
domino
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

While he seems heartless, Mika isn't ruthless. He's just following orders which he takes quite literally.

He's almost Inaho-like in that sense. Or is it Setsuna and Heero?

Eitherway, we've seen this before in Gundam but unlike previous characters, Mika isn't TRYING to shoot them and failing. He's also pumping multiple shots into them without little to no conversation.

Considering that he went to do the surgery multiple times, maybe he (currently) believes that the best way for him to survive is to be a strong weapon and let Orga make the decisions. That might be clarified when we find out what that flashback (previous episode) was depicting
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Amion
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Deathzealot wrote:So now they have the hulks of two Grazes... I wonder if we end up with two Graze Kais instead of the one. Granted one would have most likely be torn apart for spare parts but still I really hope Tekkadan ends up having more then just the Workers, a single mobile suit, and a Gundam.
Mayhaps the two Graze become the one Graze Kai?

I didn't dig this episode as much. First off though, I'd argue to Destiny that Mika's ruthlessness IS development so far. Until now we've yet to see clear ruthless, heartless intent on his part. The prologue could've been a serial rapist for all we know, and was too short to make a fair summation of his personality. Now we can at least say for sure that this kid knows where his "empathy" switch is and how to turn it off whenever he wants. In fact, it may just be stuck on "off" on a daily basis.

My two cents, though these are just my first impressions, *Does my best Lightningcount impression*
Spoiler
A slower, weaker episode than the last two, I must admit. But not without its subtle hints and moments.

On the topic of the music, we're intro'd to a new bit of soundtrack, and it was played in a poster-child example of how to shift serious moments into humor with accompanying music. The almost festive, cheery sounds playing when the meal was prepared contained a definite threat in the notes at the appropriate moments the scene switched from the meal to the older boys plotting. Sadly, this is literally the last time anything sounds refreshing to my ears this week. The battle music was the standard so far, though still quite thematically acceptable at this stage. Two episodes from now I expect more of the OST and the director's choice of what plays in these kinds of scenes.

moving into the scenes themselves, we get some more unique and diverse character behavior for a few people. By this point it's clear Kazuki has a snacking habit, as he's been shown eating in several key intervals, specifically the OP itself. Quotes from his as yet unnoticed sweetheart seem to indicate he does this when he's nervous, perhaps. Kudelia certainly needed his positive opinion. I swear I've been in her position many times over the course of my baking exploits throughout the years. I loved her reaction and was embarrassed right along with her. She seems to know how to make quality, but I wouldn't put her in the kitchen on a tight budget, not until she learns to make "cat's" claws, or whatever. Guess the Snack Pack were just enjoying messing with her and her lack of knowledge on proper knife handling.

Orga continues to show he's a badass with a cool head. It's probable he's been plotting the situation that unfolded since he woke up from his Mouse surgery, given how smooth it went. He develops a bit here, showing some clear fairness with actually giving the CGS 1st a clear way out, only to have his mercy spat at in the face, literally. After what they did, the 1st would have probably been shot in the Napoleonic-styled Gjallerhorn military, so seeing them sneer at the man who's cornered them showed they really did ask for it.

Another interesting hint from Orga this episode is that he may have had issues with his father in the past. His conversation with Kudelia gave a very pensive look on his face when she mentioned "I can't go back to my Father." He also has yet to shoot a gun of his own, and I'm starting to wander if he can't. If Mikazuki is the one who shot his father after the man wounded him in the story's prologue, it stands to reason that Orga would have troubles with killing people at gunpoint. Regardless, it showed some authoritative power when he had a subordinate perform the execution of of the CGS instead of himself.

A couple minor characters are introduced or developed here. The guy who looks like a skinny Ramba Ral with a Hitler styled mustache proves he's an apple who didn't fall far from the rest of the CGS tree. He will probably jump ship the moment opportunity knocks with the promise of cash. What exactly is he good for, anyway? So far, he's only been seen wielding the ever awesome utilities of a nail filer.:D At least Dexter, who's bio's probably been up on the site for a while, has made his entrance to the series, and mostly as a human plot device. Maybe this cowardly rodent will grow into a human in time, but I wouldn't count on it.

The real focus of this episode was on our main hero and heroine, and as predicted the two have made their first big leap in development, and they do it together and by supporting each other's growth. This is how it should be done; if only there had been more. Mikazuki proves he's indeed bullish, and also a trifle ruthless. Once again, the voice actor manages to betray more than a robot in this episode, but a boy who can turn off his sympathy like a switch. It seems he could always do this, and unlike characters of the past, such as Setsuna or Heero, his reasoning is that he has his own noble code he's following. That, and a childish devotion to Orga. Never in Gundam have we had a protagonist on the opposite side of the moral argument: he actually told the sympathetic Crank not to regret killing as a soldier, and even said he wanted to kill him. He does something that reminds me of Girge from the Break Blade Manga, exiting his cockpit to shoot his exposed foe right in the face without so much as a flinch. I actually approve of this move:

The world gets some solid building this episode. We learn that even before the Calamity War there was a Victorian flare to how things were done. Duels of honor were commonplace in that time. From this episode onward the presence of ostentatious outfits and names like Gjallarhorn no longer seem out of place or strange. Obviously, as it is proven to do, Human History, or at least styles, have gone full circle until the pomp and ceremony we see here is the standard part of culture, and has been for 300 hundred years of tradition. Coupled with the knife scene in the OP scenes, this could bear some bloody consequences in future episodes. Crank is the first victim of this culture, though his fate was arguably more satisfying and bearable than what might have been otherwise. At least his being allowed to perform the mission solo ensured the Orphans didn't get slaughtered. It's a shame the man died, but he did so with purpose. At this point his development remained consistent with the last episode in how he had planned not to murder the orphans after all, but instead fulfill the primary objective.

Despite some good elements the episode's plot pacing and story killed the momentum. Kudelia's character growth this episode should be a profound moment for her, but it comes too quickly. The episode last week built up to this, and that saved her resolutions to have the surgery from coming out of the blue, err red. (because it's Mars.;P) Crank gets it far worse. The episode has only three primary acts: the meal, the coup, and the token honor battle with the sympathetic old soldier. The episode was focused in its plot, but still took too long with scenes that weren't necessary or might have gone faster. Until now G-Tekketsu has been flying forward in its plot, to the detriment that some viewers have missed foreshadows and development. The plot slows this time, and while character development speeds up to compensate, the episode's meager 24 minutes have to do part of the work of the last 48 to make up for some lost ground, and mostly fails. This episode should have focused on a single event it portrays. As things stand, Mika's slow development doesn't take us far enough to merit the attention. Kudelia's growth isn't shown in the detail it deserves and suffers some rough patches in the road to presenting her resolutions. Crank doesn't even do more than show up and die, all told, wasting a central part of the last episode as meaningless sympathy building for someone we all knew was doomed from the first panel.

What I believe should have happened was split the events of episode 3 into two episodes, one to focus on the big moment of Orga's company takeover, long overdue and anticipated since the one-shot orphan got struck in the minefield. That scene, while provocative, got very little emotional build-up beside a convenient piece of soundtrack. It did its job, but not enough to satisfy me after all we've seen the 3rd endure. It feels almost as if the story attempted to rush over the Orphans and the grim details of their revolt, even softening it with humorous dinner scenes that should have come at the start of next episode to lighten the mood and reset the audience for an emotional showdown with Crank.

Alas, the CGS is no more. The Tekkadan, the Iron Flowers, have bloomed, ready to guard their princess of peace on her way to Earth and plot progression. But first, it looks like we'll be visiting the corn fields of Mars soon, and a scene between Atra and Mika that promises to be romantic for once. Hopefully this time the conversation involves more effort on Mika's part.

(Personally, I don't like the name Iron flower. It sounds like a Guild name from Fairytail, and conjures the indelibly scandalous image of a bunch of female mages in skimpy leather attire while riding motor cycles or some other heavy metal. Hiro Mashima, what have you done to me?) At least Tekkadan sounds more appropriate in Japanese, and has the added meaning of Iron Fire. Kudos to whoever thought to name the Gundam series after its characters rather than its titular Gundam. As yet...

rating: 6/10

P.S: I'm loving the ending theme more and more. "Space blues" is just a phrase that keeps getting more awesome as time goes on. And its Zeta-style 80's imagery cannot be in better tastes. It makes me worry, though. We already see what happens to Mika's brain when he fights. If the parallels to Kamille's developed character in the 40's of Zeta continue we may just see him in an induced vegetative state by the end of IBO.
Last edited by Amion on Sun Oct 18, 2015 12:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Not Heero Yuy
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Damn, Mika just made Heero look like a nice guy. He's brutal, didn't even let Crank finish his goodbye. I feel bad for the man, he seemed pretty decent like Sergei. Todo however, I lol'd. Though I would have preferred it if he was killed in a battle.

And yes, it's a good thing that Kudelia knows how naive she was this early and is starting to take responsibility. So much potential for her character. Also, Mika seemed to be a little bit nice to Kudelia in this episode.

Yet another pretty decent episode today.
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Amion
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

I almost got the feeling that he didn't want to finish off Crank. He looked almost sheepish about shooting him.

That, or he felt sheepish about it because he fully intended to kill Crank anyway, and was just abashed that the other man asked first. "Aw shucks. Here I was ready fory ou to beg...hmm...*Bank, bank* Phew, at least I didn't get the full thank you. Geez, dude. You're sick. Who wants to be thanked for me killing them?"

That's kinda how it looks, now that I rewatch it. Anyone else get this feeling?
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Not Heero Yuy
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Why do I feel like Kudelia will be the reason Mika and Orga will be fighting each other in the future?

I just rewatched the episode and it may seem Orga doesn't want his hands to get dirty so he lets Mika do the job for him. I'm just glad that he isn't pushy towards Mika though, it still makes Orga a decent protagonist.
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Amion
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

If you read my rather lengthy compilation of my thoughts on the episode, it gives my impressions on why he refuses to point a gun.

Though you have a legitimate point. At this stage Mika's his hitman. We just need to know why.
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

At least he seemed to really like Atra's present and I'm sure he realised it's from her.
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Amion
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

And better yet, we might actually get him with her in a nice scene in that cornfield to come.


So how's Japan's reception of this show so far? I read a post on myanimelist saying it's been phenomenal.
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domino
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Amion wrote:I almost got the feeling that he didn't want to finish off Crank. He looked almost sheepish about shooting him.

That, or he felt sheepish about it because he fully intended to kill Crank anyway, and was just abashed that the other man asked first. "Aw shucks. Here I was ready fory ou to beg...hmm...*Bank, bank* Phew, at least I didn't get the full thank you. Geez, dude. You're sick. Who wants to be thanked for me killing them?"

That's kinda how it looks, now that I rewatch it. Anyone else get this feeling?
He did it anyway because he was following Orga's order - not because of how he felt about it or what he personally decided to do. That's the point of their preamble when he says that it doesn't matter what Crank says about not having to die, Orga wants him dead so that's what Mika will do
Xenosynth
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

To be fair I think that I already prefer Mika to Setsuna and Heero. Mika has his murder-mode but in other situations he interacts like a normal human being, he isn't this barely contained mass of angst or anything.

Friend brought up a couple interesting things though. First was how he hid Atra's bracelet behind him when shooting Crank, like she didn't want her to 'see' what he was doing? Second was that Orga actually seems to be very like... he doesn't really execute his own decisions, that is all Mika, and so wondering if that will come into play later.

Also hnngh, I love that the mace had an extendable spear blade. Seriously, favorite melee weapon in Gundam. So much cooler than a beam saber, and better than a lot of the other alternatives (Anti-ship swords, the GN Swords, etc).
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Amion
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Three cheers for the mace. Three cheers more for the fact that it's also used as a spear. See, I told you guys, it's a spear-mace/mace-spear.

Though I'm pretty sure it's officially a club.
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Raikoh
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

I do really like Mika, which is rare since I tend to not like the character type. He has flat affect and listens to Orga all the time but it's clear that he does have his own emotions. Lack of reluctance to kill isn't a sign of some sociopathic behavior, it ties in with the overall theme that Mika is basically the ideal soldier. He has the mindset of "this is my enemy, and I shouldn't hesitate to kill my enemy."

At the same time, he's a nice guy to his allies and, like Orga, he doesn't double-tap on clearly defeated enemies if he has the chance. Crank did request that Mika finish the job so he could die with his hands clean.

Kudelia's development is coming along smoothly and even if her character is really stock, there's something about her that seems endearing to me. The performance? The writing showing her as a regular human being? I dunno, but she has more charisma than other characters of her type.
Xenosynth wrote:Also hnngh, I love that the mace had an extendable spear blade. Seriously, favorite melee weapon in Gundam. So much cooler than a beam saber, and better than a lot of the other alternatives (Anti-ship swords, the GN Swords, etc).
Spears and hammers are some of my favorite weapons, as well as multifaceted ones so that thing is like a dream come true. I hope they repair it.
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Calubin_175
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

The melee fights and weapon smashing strongly reminds me of Break Blade, and I think this was meant to be the Obari directed mecha episode, even though it was a brief fight.

Seeing that the frog Gundam and the knight Gundam are both seen wielding melee weapons in their model kits, I think we will see more duels, and duels don't involve guns. The Calamity War with high tier mechas duelling definitely alludes to Five Star Stories.

Given that even a battered Graze is worth retrieving, the mainline mobile weapon are likely to be non-MS and MS are a rarity, just like at the beginning of Dunbine. However, there is no full scale war at the moment.

Currently, the revealed MS lineup lasts us for 3 months. If they've given us all the mainstay MS already, then we should expect super prototypes of the 3 factions and more ancient Gundams.

G-Reco gave us a huge MS lineup by using multiple factions, but only delivered 17 model kits due to Build Fighters. IBO already on 10 + 2 weapons sets.
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

OMFG.

Watching AGE (briefly) and then build fighters (only managed 2 episodes), I lost hope for a Gundam series that is a weapon of war, a symbol of hope, the constant struggle of humanity through adversity. Thank goodness for UC. However, 2 episode in of IBO and I'm sort of okay of the development... comes episode 3... damn... two scenes of senseless killing. The supposed protagonist feels like a bad guy. There's no feel good about the episode whatsoever, and that's why I love IBO. It's so grounded to the fact of the matter, war ain't pretty.
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Amion
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

I recall Balofo mention the lancemace ends up disappearing after next episode or so. Or something about how it vanishes after the first upgrade done tot he Barbatos.

*Cries tearfully* Let it not be so!
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balofo
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Re: The Official Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime Thread Mk

Amion wrote:I recall Balofo mention the lancemace ends up disappearing after next episode or so. Or something about how it vanishes after the first upgrade done tot he Barbatos.

*Cries tearfully* Let it not be so!
I never mentioned that, the Mace is iconic so I guess it's likely going to get repaired, there are even cards with the Graze Kai using it too. By its description it could only be found by CGS, since it uses materials from MS frame in its construction. So it either is Barbatos original custom melee weapon or it was found somewhere by CGS since they couldn't have built it.

BTW I'm guessing the Fellini look alike in the OP is Nobliss Gordon and the woman is Amida.

HJ and Gundam Ace by the weekend will have more MS(the other January gunpla releases besides Kimaris) and characters revelead.
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