The Official Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Anime Thread Mk I

[Kuruni]

If the amounts of fan arts is any indication, Guel's popularity is greatly increase. In fact, people might prefer him over Miorine.

[Mafty]

Fanbase popularity can work in different ways. I've heard that in Gundam SEED

Spoiler

Dearka changed sides, because the Buster wasn't selling

, In that case it probably worked.

However

Spoiler

Also in SEED/Destiny we have the "Miraculous" survival of Andrew Watfeild , Mu, and um Everyone other character who looked like they were going to die

, that definitely didn't work story wise.

Here however Guel's character development looks more like it's part of a long term story plan(never mind that it takes moths of preproduction to write a season anyhow, so stuff changed now would only affect later in the story

Spoiler

Like in Aldnoah Zero where literally everyone who gets headshot survives and Lemrina shows up out of nowhere

It's also a bit like My-Hime with a possible Sulettea/Miorine/Guel love triangle, being like the Mai/Mikoto/Yuuichi triangle.

Also if war breaks out ; the (relative)lighter nature of the Duels are likely to become even more serious. Which is kind of like My-Otome in that the start of the series glossed over the students role as bodyguards, then the second half showed the serious nature of their job in actual warfare. Considering how G-Witch is more serious to start with a don't doubt that war will break out, and characters will end up being forced into opposing sides.

However in this case, it seems like neither Guel nor Miorine will hesitate to join Sulettas side, as feelings for Suletta aside, neither like being a pawn to their families.

[Kuruni]

I think the series will turns darker when Begier-Beu's successor appears.

[SonicSP]

If the amounts of fan arts is any indication, Guel's popularity is greatly increase. In fact, people might prefer him over Miorine.

At the moment I certainly do but the series is still early so there's room for her to grow and improve and win me over.

[Mafty]

I hope Guel becomes more likeable, also I think maybe the trio will form a resistance against the companies and their ruthless actions. Who knows maybe they will join up with Prospera, but who knows where the storyline will go.

That being said I agree that we haven't see the last of the Begier-Beu or it's pilot.

[Underrated GM Custom]

Late to the party on Episode 3 but this one has been my favorite so far. It's got a nice blend of corporate politics, interpersonal drama and development, exposition and of course exciting action. I'm quite fond of the Daribalde's remote weapons, I really enjoyed the Bit-Shields from 00 so I'm glad to see they're still experimenting with different concepts with remote weapons, it certainly added many unexpected twists during the duel. The Daribalde sequence was very enjoyable to watch, especially when we finally see Guel reassert control over both the Mobile Suit and his life. My only criticism this episode is I wish they had added one more scene of Guel with a quiet moment of reflection, or perhaps lengthening the elevator scene to add some more foreshadowing to his 180degree turn at the end. That said, looking back through the episode there isn't really anything that stands out as extraneous to cut out, so overall a very well directed episode.

Looking forward to episode 4.

[Ryujin]

Speaking of which, I really enjoyed the duel between Guel & Suletta. It had an approachable, down-to-earth feel to it where both parties are clearly skilled & doing their best, but at the same time are still messing up due to various reasons. Like, for example, we have Guel constantly having his agency taken away by everyone including the Darilbalde's own AI, and of course Suletta's own "I'm a genius! Oh no!" moment when she cuts off both the Darilbalde's arms with a single stroke, then loses the beam saber in the follow-up because it was wet & slippery, all while repeating that she has to "hang on!"

[Kuruni]

1. Guel come off as tsundere. That would only help his ship sailing.
2. As someone who got bullied back in middle school years, Suletta's crying hit me hard.
3. That being said, she does fine piloting Demi Trainer. I thought her years working with Aerial would left her poor at piloting s standard MS. Glad that it isn't the case.

[Poochi]

The school is so terrible that it's unbelievable.

The show tries to do too many things and appeal to everyone at once.

It wants to appeal to younger kids with a school that has robot battles, but it also wants to have mature themes like discrimination and classism. The tone is just all over the place.

They can't do everything in a 20 minute episodes so there's no subtlety at all. Literally having students say 'You're trash because you're from Earth.'

[Dark Duel]

Bit of a cool-down episode this time after last week's duel, but still quite enjoyable. Suletta is still adorkable and precious, and more interaction and development with her and Mio-Mio is always welcome.
Nika is so nice too, and well on her way to being another of my favorite characters. Still not quite sure what to make of Elan, though it was nice of him to offer Suletta a spot with his House, and the subsequent interaction with the two of them and Mio-Mio was very amusing to me.

1. Guel come off as tsundere. That would only help his ship sailing.

I'm personally rooting for Suletta and Mio-Mio, but aside from that, Guel's obvious tsundere-ness amused me too. I'm enjoying watching his character a lot more than I thought I would. Comparing him in this and the previous episode v. when he first showed up, it really seems like a lot of that bravado and showiness he showed at first is almost more of a front he puts on as opposed to being who he really is. He is arrogant, and a bit of a jerk, but nowhere nearly to the extent he came across as at first, and behind that front he's a surprisingly interesting character.
Predictably, the Darilbalde goes bye-bye, so I'm rather curious to see what he's gonna be piloting next. Maybe go back to a Dilanza, at least until the plot forces the appearance of another shiny new model. At least that'd be my guess.

2. As someone who got bullied back in middle school years, Suletta's crying hit me hard.

Same here. Elementary and Middle School were hell on Earth for me(especially elementary school) due to bullying, so Suletta breaking down like that was a gut-punch for me because I've been there too. That, plus sheer hatred for those jerk-offs. I mean, I'm not especially fond of Chu-Chu either(her attitude rubs me the wrong way), but on the other hand it's pretty clear that she and Suletta have things in common. And regardless of my opinion of her character, sabotaging somebody like that for no valid reason is a really scummy thing to do.

[Mafty]

Totally as someone who was also a victim of bullying, the show definitely gets it right that bullies don't care and won't stop, even someone as driven and optimistic as Suletta could only take so much. It was nice to see Chuchu standing up for her; plus it shows Chuchu is a competent fighter even out of a mobile suit, by knocking the blue haired bully out cold, and getting into a brutal fight with the ponytail that she ultimately wins. Chuchu is definitely not to be messed with.

We also see more background to the world itself.

Spoiler

Mercury has a dwindling population, and is losing out to a local Permit source on the Moon. Suletta's whole ideal is to open a school on Mercury, and add to it's development. Which opens up the question of how many people who supported her on Mercury knew of her mothers ultimate plan?

We also get to see life on Earth

Spoiler

Things aren't going well. A relativity peaceful protest gets rampaged by MS that fire cannonball sized tear gas canisters, crush cars, and very nearly kill people. It's unquestionable who ends up causing more chaos in the city, not helped by the media being controlled by the Spacians. Actions like this lead to both sides discriminating against each other, something that Miorine actually notes. It is interesting to see that in this show it's actually the Spacians who are the exploitative aggressors, of course even this winds up being a small group, as Suletta shows the outer colonies are no better off than earth

[Ryujin]

A bunch of unconnected thoughts in relation to the episode:

-- There have been hints galore, but I appreciate having visual confirmation of the situation on Earth.
-- The piloting curriculum has a clear emphasis on conflict resolution.
-- Modular parts-switching on the Demi Trainer's pretty neat.
-- Given the duel's aftermath, with all the leftover adrenaline & whatnot, Guel wasn't exactly the epitome of rational thinking there. Incredibly tsun move afterwards, though.
-- Felsi/Petra Status: MIA.
-- Miorine is a SLOB with an internal ELAN RADAR 9000. Just because you like gardening doesn't mean you have to live in a pigsty.
But seriously though, perhaps it's a conscious choice, one more way to lash out at her dubstep dad whose office it used to be.
-- I think most of us can relate to or have been in situations analogous to what Suletta had to experience.

-- I finally understand the rationale behind ChuChu's hairdo. It's VISUAL MIMICRY. The two pompoms function as DECOY HEADS to distract & mislead multiple opponents whenever ChuChu goes Ashita no Joe with gangs of delinquent Spacians. Just imagine what it looks like when she's doing a Dempsey Roll.

[Underrated GM Custom]

-- Felsi/Petra Status: MIA.

Yeah I hear ya, I really enjoyed the fight choreography between Daribalde and Ariel as well as the pilots successes and failures in the narrative, really well directed. Pretty good fisticuffs at the end of this episode too.

Are Felsi and Petra the two girls who hijacked the weather control system? I saw a funny image floating around they had died when Miorine crashed into the control system.

-- Miorine is a SLOB with an internal ELAN RADAR 9000. Just because you like gardening doesn't mean you have to live in a pigsty.

Yeah she needs to clean her room. Strange juxtaposition of the immaculate princess who lives in a pigsty, we saw the same thing with Akane in SSSS.Gridman but ended up being explained pretty well given her state of mind and the early foreshadowing.

Overall episode thoughts:
This is probably my least favorite episode so far. As another poster mentioned the tone is pretty scattered this episode and overall feels like a big step backwards. It's strange to me a student come with their own Mobile Suit (and presumably piloting experience) and yet gets stuck in remedial piloting classes where they have to learn how to walk, equip weapons and not step on mines in trainer suits. This would have been a fine plot line early on but it just comes across as out of place considering all the duels and piloting we've seen so far and the fact she's already ranked number 1. Just seems pretty odd to take your player who knows how to dunk then make them do a dribbling 101 class.

It also feels a little cruel of Suletta's mother that she didn't prepare her daughter for what appears to be matter of fact assignments, where she needs support staff from a house she doesn't have, then she instantly fails.

[Mafty]

True , it doesn't make a lot of sense that they'd have piloting classes for people who could pilot. That being said however, just because somebody can pilot a suit, doesn't mean they are trained in all categories, different battle settings and issues would need to be trained for.

Also I was kind of surprised that Felsi and Petra weren't the two girls who sabotaged the suits, instead it's two random people who aren't even named(the credits list various actress as "Students" so I'm not sure who voiced who).

I also thought of Akane from SSSS.Gridman with the garbage piled up in Miorine's room; it could be a reference, although aside from hair color, Akane and Miorine have noting in common, for one thing Akane is cruel and abusive to other people, Miorine largely only acts negatively to the people treating her like dirt.

It is rather odd that given her mothers long game, Suletta wasn't better prepared for school life. The discriminations was unfortunately what many students face, though it could just have easily resulted in Suletta giving up and leaving school. Plus Suletta had no idea of the regular curriculum (ie forming a team, joining a house) . Given how long Prospera planned this, and how much rides on her daughters continued presence at the school, these seem like a glaring oversight.

[SonicSP]

It's strange to me a student come with their own Mobile Suit (and presumably piloting experience) and yet gets stuck in remedial piloting classes where they have to learn how to walk, equip weapons and not step on mines in trainer suits. This would have been a fine plot line early on but it just comes across as out of place considering all the duels and piloting we've seen so far and the fact she's already ranked number 1. Just seems pretty odd to take your player who knows how to dunk then make them do a dribbling 101 class.

Personally the test makes perfect sense to me. You want to ensure that everyone's skill is validated on the same equipment, otherwise someone would come in.....you know, a state of the art possibly illegal mobile suit with a stronger Permet connection or man-machine that makes it easier to pilot. By that point it's not just their pure skill anymore. You will need some level of formal testing to confirm all that.

Even from a plot perspective we still don't know how much on Aerial's abilities Suletta relies on, and how much of that is her general piloting skills.

Also this isn't just testing her piloting ability but her ability to coordinate with other people, to check equipment, building a team, even responding to unexpected setbacks. It's a much wider scope of operation and skillsets than just winning a single battle so it makes sense that she still has to go through it.

If anything this is one of the school's policies that makes sense to me, cos it means everyone even the super heirs with their fancy mobile suits kinda needs to get their act together on a regular GM clone and still perform what's expected.

I also didn't feel weird seeing it now plot wise, I actually fully expected an episode where we see her do this, being a school where you need to actually pass specific tests and all. Cos it's a piloting program and I expect her to pass piloting related tests. Her struggles were also interesting to watch cos it's related to bullying and sabotage. I personally find the "battle" this week interesting because it's sort of a different flavor than before.

[Omega]

Personally the test makes perfect sense to me. You want to ensure that everyone's skill is validated on the same equipment, otherwise someone would come in.....you know, a state of the art possibly illegal mobile suit with a stronger Permet connection or man-machine that makes it easier to pilot. By that point it's not just their pure skill anymore. You will need some level of formal testing to confirm all that.

Even from a plot perspective we still don't know how much on Aerial's abilities Suletta relies on, and how much of that is her general piloting skills.

Also this isn't just testing her piloting ability but her ability to coordinate with other people, to check equipment, building a team, even responding to unexpected setbacks. It's a much wider scope of operation and skillsets than just winning a single battle so it makes sense that she still has to go through it.

If anything this is one of the school's policies that makes sense to me, cos it means everyone even the super heirs with their fancy mobile suits kinda needs to get their act together on a regular GM clone and still perform what's expected.

I also didn't feel weird seeing it now plot wise, I actually fully expected an episode where we see her do this, being a school where you need to actually pass specific tests and all. Cos it's a piloting program and I expect her to pass piloting related tests. Her struggles were also interesting to watch cos it's related to bullying and sabotage. I personally find the "battle" this week interesting because it's sort of a different flavor than before.

Yep. This says Suletta's a badass in the Aerial, but she's overspecialized because it's the only suit she's used on one point. A second is basically she's made herself public enemy number one because of those duels, so she's gotta find people who will help her, and that's difficult out the gate for obvious reasons. If not for the Earth House offer, I bet you Suletta would have had a very difficult time trying to get anywhere.

[Mafty]

It's actually kind of interesting how Sulettas skills at one unit don't necessarily make her skilled at every unit(it is actually realistic, but still not something you really see in Gundam that often).

Also how exactly does the mechanical training work? If everyone brings their own MS units to school, how long will it take for the mechanics to learn the specifics of the unit? Especially something like the Ariel with a lot of secrecy around it.

[Ryujin]

There's probably a certain degree of standardization with MS across the board with regards to controls, maintenance, construction, etc.-- that's probably one of the reasons for the existence of the Mobile Suit Development Council-- moreso with MS manufactured under the umbrella of the Benerit Group (which isn't even the leading MS manufacturer at this point in time). These are commercial manufacturers trying to make a big sale, and everyone's probably trying to avoid the issues of having a proprietary charging port for their smartphone which no one else uses. Unless there was some kind of NATO-Warsaw Pact thing that went down during the Drone War, it would be in everyone's best interests to have a good amount of commonality at the user level.

As for Suletta, keep in mind that her time kept steadily improving & she almost beat the clock after several attempts even while functionally blind & relying almost entirely on Mio's verbal instructions (there's also the immense frustration of almost beating the clock, but I digress). I'd like to note that, even without the restrictions delineated by the exam, her field of vision would still be very restricted even if the Demi-Trainer's entry hatch was opened. It would be about 35 degrees or so, with virtually no peripheral vision thanks to the hatch's construction.

[Underrated GM Custom]

Also this isn't just testing her piloting ability but her ability to coordinate with other people, to check equipment, building a team, even responding to unexpected setbacks. It's a much wider scope of operation and skillsets than just winning a single battle so it makes sense that she still has to go through it.

I agree, the test has a much wider scope than piloting but if it's such a standard practice that everyone does this, even heirs to wealthy families with custom suits, I found it cruel her Mother didn't prepare her for such a routine entry exam.

[SonicSP]

It is possible that Elnora might not be aware of specifics of all the tests and just trust that Suletta is good enough to pass all of them cos she's such an ace with many years of practical real world experience.

The "not knowing about needing spotters" sounds more like the consequences of entering the year late and missing orientation more than anything but that was solved. Suletta real problem though is the sabotage which was kinda hard to forsee but nothing she wouldn't eventually overcome.

If I were Elnora, I would be *much* more worried about Suletta's written test performance, it was bad.

What is more cruel IMO is sending her with a frickin Gundam in the first place with zero forewarning. Elnora had a plan to cover her but it's high risk, relied on Miorine following a specific course of action and blackmailing Guel's father on a very very recent assasinstion attempt. Not to mentioned they murdered a lot of people last time.

But.....[Novel Spoilers]

Spoiler

Elnora's real goal of sending Suletta to the school is revenge so perhaps as long as she does good enough to stay in within Elnora's planned revenge timeframe it would be all that she needs.