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

[JulieYBM]

Not sure there's anything really "sapphic" there either... esp. since the OP is explicitly sung from the perspective of the Gundam Aerial's AI, not Miorine or Suletta

The Opening and Ending animation are both filled with Sapphic imagery of Suletta and Miorine. The visual language of both focus on the progression from their isolation to their gazes catching the other, followed by their physical approximation steadily closing in until they touch. This is Sapphic as hell.

Something to remember... not every culture shares the same social priorities or views the wants of the individual as more important than the collective good.

The reason that nobody in-series is all that fussed with the whole "Holder" system is that arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families really aren't unheard-of or seen as misogynistic or wrong in Japan... just old-fashioned and possibly inconsiderate to someone with a "true love" sort of mindset. Duty to family and society is a thing over there, and such arranged marriages are very much under "duty to family". (And it's not just the women that get hit with that, it's very much an equal opportunity affair for families looking to advance socially or consolidate business relationships.)

Mind you, I personally know several people who are in such arranged marriages and they don't seem to have any real problem with it. The cultural priorities underpinning marriage are just different.

There's nothing culturally protected about treating women as objects without their own agency. That Miorine is being offered no alternative underscores this.

1. Miorine is forced into a system as a prize without her consent.
2. Miorine makes the only choice she feels like she can that gives her a modicrum of power: defending Suletta as her spouse.
3. All the men in Miorine's life get up-in-arms the second they are replaced by a woman both within their own rigged system and because now all of a sudden Miorine is okay with her current 'assigned' spouse.

The themes at play here are so obvious you'd have to intentionally refuse to think from a woman's perspective to understand them.

[Seto Kaiba]

Given how Guel seems to be much more likeable outside of Ep1, I almost wonder if his brutish behaviour in Ep1 was because he didn't want to become Mio's doormat. Everyone else seems to get bulldozed by her, so by being a total controlling jerk he's pretty much throwing her own behaviour back at her.

Just like Mio's being 'sold off by her father', Guel is also effectively in the same boat. He's expected to fight and win Mio, with no respect for his own wishes and desires. We've also seen him actively punished for failing to win her.

I feel like you're on to something there, TBH.

Miorine doesn't seem to comprehend that she's not the only one being pushed into an arranged marriage by their family. Each and every one of the groom candidates competing for the title of "Holder" is too. They're all under a lot more pressure too, since not only are their families leaning on them to secure that socially-advancing arranged marriage, they're facing pressure from all of the other candidates trying to oust the Holder. The brief flashback at the start of the most recent episode suggests Guel Jeturk's fighting something like half a dozen duels a week to hang onto the title with the prospect of failure meaning experiencing the displeasure of his wealthy and influential family. Not only is Guel likely as unenthused with the prospect of arranged marriage as Miorine is, he's under a lot more stress because of it and on top of that he's doing his best to honor his filial duty while his fiancée is throwing a profoundly immature fussfit about hers.

(There's probably also a slight aspect of Guel's engagement to Miorine giving him a rare opportunity to kick up at a person of higher social status who does entirely too much kicking down.)

His instant infatuation with Suletta after she defeated him for the second time was probably motivated by actual romantic intent. Her status is quite a bit lower than his, but she was probably the first person he found he could actually relate to as an equal. Had she said yes, we'd probably be watching the kind of hammy romance that'd make Miorine sit back and ask "Who are you and what have you done with Guel Jeturk?".

There's an interesting side note to be found in Guel's family too. He has a half-brother with a different surname in the same grade as him at Asticassia. That strongly suggests that Wim Jeturk himself is in an arranged marriage for status or to cement a business partnership, and that Lauda is his lovechild with a mistress. Under his ambition, he's probably pretty sympathetic to Guel's situation.

The Opening and Ending animation are both filled with Sapphic imagery of Suletta and Miorine. The visual language of both focus on the progression from their isolation to their gazes catching the other, followed by their physical approximation steadily closing in until they touch. This is Sapphic as hell.

Japanese culture isn't as hung up on touch as western cultures are... I think you might be reading a bit much into it there. Esp. with the song being sung from the perspective of the MS.

There's nothing culturally protected about treating women as objects without their own agency. That Miorine is being offered no alternative underscores this.

1. Miorine is forced into a system as a prize without her consent.
2. Miorine makes the only choice she feels like she can that gives her a modicrum of power: defending Suletta as her spouse.
3. All the men in Miorine's life get up-in-arms the second they are replaced by a woman both within their own rigged system and because now all of a sudden Miorine is okay with her current 'assigned' spouse.

You're missing the difference in cultural values again.

This is not Jane Average we're talking about. Miorine Rembran is the oldest/only daughter of an extremely wealthy and powerful upper-class family. The expectation of her is that she will marry in a way that advances the interests of her family and her family's company, because the welfare of the group is generally more highly regarded than that of the individual. It's a duty to family as the heir. From a social perspective, Miorine is a spoiled brat who's refusing her duty to her family... which is why everyone, Delling included, treats her like a pain in the ass.

HOWEVER...

Miorine's clearly not very bright. She's got book smarts, but she's rubbish with people despite being the top student in management. It doesn't seem to have ever occurred to her that every last sodding one of the groom candidates is in the same position she is, only worse because the title of Holder paints a great big target on your back. She could have made some valuable allies against her father simply by commiserating with them. Instead, she's rude and caustic and entirely without allies, and the only person besides Shaddiq who professes to actually like her is a socially maladjusted extreme doormat who's only valuable because she's equipped with illegal weaponry and too dim to notice she's being manipulated.

Come to that, it also doesn't seem to have occurred to her that she could easily use the incredible latitude and secondhand authority afforded to her by her father to rig the game however she liked. She's in the situation she's in because she decided to fold her arms in a huff and become a spectator, rather than enter the game of her own accord and play to win. There's a favorite quote of mine: "If someone can't handle an unpleasant truth? Lie to them. If someone won't listen to reason? Make them. If people don't choose to live peaceably? Don't give them a choice. If you don't like the rules... Change the game." Miorine refused to think outside the box and now her only out is using Suletta as a meat shield.

As for the men being up in arms about being replaced by a woman... nobody in the series has objected to the Holder being a girl. The Three Houses got up in arms about Guel's loss because a nobody from a backwater planet dominating the uncontested champion is completely absurd. Shin Sei was ranked 151st out of 157 Benerit Group corporations. That's like a bottom-ranked Division III ball team absolutely crushing one of the top three Division I teams in a humiliating shutout. Anyone would look at a result like that and suspect something was not on. Then, of course, the community as a whole got up in arms because Sulleta did kind of actually cheat and get caught. She used a Gundam, which is against the law. The duels are by nature not fair, but she broke one of the few actual rules they have.

[Seto Kaiba]

As long as we're on the subject of Miorine having her head up her *ss and it got mentioned in the most recent episode, can we stop for a moment and appreciate the truly majestic stupidity of her multiple attempts to run away from home?

Miorine, who has no money, resources, or connections of her own, wants to run away from home to live in what has been presented as basically a third-world country by Spacian standards. A third-world country which is completely dependent on Spacian capital to sustain its economy. And for some reason, she believes that running away to Earth will somehow put her beyond the reach of her father... one of the wealthiest people to ever live, and the head of a mega-conglomerate that's more powerful than the actual government and wields enormous economic power and influence throughout the solar system.

Seriously. What does she think that's going to accomplish? She's trying to run away from someone not only has his own own private army but enough political and economic clout that he can have practically anyone toss her *ss on the first shuttle back to Asticassia under armed guard. The best case scenario is that she only gets arrested and shipped back home to her dad. The more likely outcome is that her dad has his private army go drag her *ss home and put the people who helped her in jail cells or body bags. This is a teenage rebellious phase that could end up with an actual body count. (And almost did, early in the series.)

[Ryujin]

I was woolgathering about the similarities in personality between the two Zenellis, but anyways, it was announced on the official twitter account that episodes 11 & 12, in a cascading effect, will be delayed due to the 12/18 timeslot being pre-empted by a special end-of-the-year program over at TBS & New Year's also falling on a Sunday.

https://twitter.com/G_Witch_M/status/16 ... 0775839750

[Janx]

So, this question blurs the line a bit between mecha and plot I suppose, but how does GUND Format connect with the pilot? I know it uses Permet, but is it injected into the pilot? It looks like it was injected into Elan 4, but in the prologue we seem Eri showing the same lines. Does that mean Eri was injected with Permet? or it was passed from her mother to her?

Interesting of note that even when Suletta is 'balancing things more with Aerial' that she still doesn't get the permet glow lines showing.

As for the men being up in arms about being replaced by a woman... nobody in the series has objected to the Holder being a girl. The Three Houses got up in arms about Guel's loss because a nobody from a backwater planet dominating the uncontested champion is completely absurd. Shin Sei was ranked 151st out of 157 Benerit Group corporations. That's like a bottom-ranked Division III ball team absolutely crushing one of the top three Division I teams in a humiliating shutout. Anyone would look at a result like that and suspect something was not on. Then, of course, the community as a whole got up in arms because Sulleta did kind of actually cheat and get caught. She used a Gundam, which is against the law. The duels are by nature not fair, but she broke one of the few actual rules they have.

It seems to mostly be the parents who got up in arms about Guel losing to a country bumpkin than the actual heirs themselves, the people more actively in Mio's life. Honestly it seemed like by the time Suletta arrived, the major 3 corporations had more or less surrendered to Guel.

Elan and Peil seem more interested in Suletta and the Gundam. Elan 4 and Mio seem to mostly ignore eachother. Pharact seems new and is brought out in reaction to Suletta. Though I'm curious if the Elan doubles were all used to testing Pharact, or if Elan's previous MS had a more hidden GUND system.

Shaddiq feels like he actually liked Mio and had instead avoided the whole dueling system out of respect for her. This latest episode's battle was spurred on by his father's pressure, though it seemed he was looking for a better way out of it for Mio due to his feelings for her. I find it interesting the last part of the show frames it as he should have dueled for her after all, which I think goes back to your statements about the cultural context of the series.

[Mafty]

The whole Miorine running away thing really seems like an act of desperation. Someone in Miorine's shoes may know there chances are limited, but what other choice do they have? They can't stay in the situation, but thy also can't escape, so Miorine simply decided to flee and hope for the best. It is only upon meeting Suletta, does another opportunity present itself. Whether this is just Miorine using Suletta, or there's actually a deeper relationship is debatable, and likely will change over the course of the series.

As for Permet, it seems similar to Cyber Newtypes in the UC Verse, in that both are somewhat vague. We never exactly get into detail on what makes a Cyber Newtype; whether they are surgically altered ( Like Rita in Narrative), under the influence of pills (like Four, or Rosamia), or Brainwashed by a machine (Ple in ZZ, many of the students in Narrative) . Often we merely see a character return with increased power and decreased control (Like Chara , Quess or Katejnia) . Also there's the fact Newtype power gets more and more powerful

Spoiler

To the point it can contact the souls of the dead in Zeta Gundam, become powerful enough to cause oneself to self destruct in ZZ, move objects across space and time like in CCA and Narrative, and heal the sick in Victory Gundam.

.

Permet likewise is also vague: some episodes it manifests in the veins on a persons face, other times there's no physical alteration at all. That being said Suletta is mainly the one who avoids the psychical manifestation of Permet, while the adults from the prolog were affected. So it's probably something to do with Suletta herself, and the possibility she was genetically modified pre birth for Permet. Hopefully the show itself will delve into to this more as the series continues.

[Underrated GM Custom]

As for Permet, it seems similar to Cyber Newtypes in the UC Verse, in that both are somewhat vague. We never exactly get into detail on what makes a Cyber Newtype;

While it's left vague in the animation Tomino's Zeta Gundam Novels do touch on the subject. Here's some further reading if you're interested: viewtopic.php?p=145244

Permet likewise is also vague: some episodes it manifests in the veins on a persons face, other times there's no physical alteration at all.

I believe the physical manifestation of Permet depends on the 'level' of Permet, for example when Pharact's pilot went to a higher Permet score. I would guess it's also based on duration, where the longer it is used the more likely for a data storm to have a lethal effect on the user. Suletta (or perhaps Aerial based on Elan's inspection) is unique in that the usual negative Permet reaction hasn't occurred yet. I'm sure we'll find out more in the future.

[Seto Kaiba]

The whole Miorine running away thing really seems like an act of desperation. Someone in Miorine's shoes may know there chances are limited, but what other choice do they have? They can't stay in the situation, but thy also can't escape, so Miorine simply decided to flee and hope for the best.

Given her complete lack of self-awareness throughout the series so far, I don't think it's an act of desperation so much as just another expression of her self-centered worldview. She's so utterly unused to being told that she's wrong that it never occurs to her that she's doing something stupid.

Permet likewise is also vague: some episodes it manifests in the veins on a persons face, other times there's no physical alteration at all. That being said Suletta is mainly the one who avoids the psychical manifestation of Permet, while the adults from the prolog were affected. So it's probably something to do with Suletta herself, and the possibility she was genetically modified pre birth for Permet. Hopefully the show itself will delve into to this more as the series continues.

Less so than you'd think, but it's one of those "it's all in the manual" situations.

A staff interview with Okouchi in Gundam Ace mentions that the GUND link - both for GUND prosthetics and GUND Format mobile suits - involves injecting permet into the body. The tron lines we see appear on the bodies of GUND users are apparently subcutaneous concentrations of permet akin to the permet "Shell unit" terminals on GUND Format mobile suits that function as a part of the GUND-ARM's control system. Like shell units, the permet injected into the pilot's body emits light when active at high levels of synchronization.

It's mentioned in connection with the fake Elan Ceres that there are some people who have higher-than-average resistance to the data storms that occur in permet communication and can therefore incur less damage at higher permet scores than normal users.

Spoiler

The GUND Format research clandestinely conducted by Peil Technologies under the supervision of Belmeria Winston was focused on building a better pilot rather than addressing the fundamental issues in GUND Format technology. They were taking people with natural resistance to permet data storms and using biotechnology and nanotechnology to further improve their resistance to allow them to operate GUND-ARMs at higher permet scores for longer before suffering debilitating levels of the same physical and neurological damage that eventually incapacitates GUND-ARM operators.

Presumably we'll eventually learn why the permet that must be in Suletta's body in order for her to operate the GUND Format doesn't react the way normal permet does and why the Aerial doesn't produce the injurious data storms that make GUND Format unusable to literally everyone else.

[Janx]

While newtypes/cybernewtypes are mysterious, the basic technology of psycommu is explained well enough by being effectively brainwave receivers. Even the psycoframe with all its powers has some basic expression of how it works. Why any of this lets you sword people with ghosts or make fusion reactions take themselves apart is another matter, but the basic technology makes sense.

I recall Elan 4 talking about having permet inside him to control Pharact. I guess I"m curious if this is the case for all Gund Format users to allow the system to work. This would explain why people tend to get the glowy lines during moments of high usage (or 'Score'). The physical manifestation of the 'data storm' they'ved mentioned a few times. This would mean all the pilots in the prologue would similarly have these implants.

Despite the visuals being more newtype-y, i think GUND Format is more like IBO's Alaya-Vinyana, being a direct man-machine interface with limiters (or deeper levels in the case of Permet Scores). Its just Permet allows some sort of wireless communication than what the AV system could do, hence the Antidote system and Aerial's own version of Antidoe and Anti-Antidote.

I think the reason Suletta hasn't shown it yet is that Aerial's controlling the GUND-BITs (be it AI or whatever crazy Eri = Aerial theory there is), which would explain how she treats the bits and Aerial as multiple people, and why it seems the bits are able to look after themselves, exceeding even Elan's skill.

I guess what I'm getting at is, if the GUND Format requires implants, does that mean Eri got the procedure done? Was it accidentally transferred to Eri in the womb?

This could be more of a discussion for the mecha thread. Its just that in this case GUND Format is rather important to the plot, despite the show having not done much to explain it.

[Seto Kaiba]

I recall Elan 4 talking about having permet inside him to control Pharact. I guess I"m curious if this is the case for all Gund Format users to allow the system to work.

As noted in my previous post, it is confirmed to be the case by the show's writer. Using GUND entails having permet introduced/injected into the body to facilitate the interface.

This would explain why people tend to get the glowy lines during moments of high usage (or 'Score'). The physical manifestation of the 'data storm' they'ved mentioned a few times. This would mean all the pilots in the prologue would similarly have these implants.

It's not a manifestation of the injurious data storms, but a normal phenomenon that occurs when permet is activated to a certain degree. This is also seen in the permet "shell unit" terminals on the exterior of GUND-ARMs that emit light when the permet score is raised from the base level.

Despite the visuals being more newtype-y, i think GUND Format is more like IBO's Alaya-Vinyana, being a direct man-machine interface with limiters (or deeper levels in the case of Permet Scores). Its just Permet allows some sort of wireless communication than what the AV system could do, hence the Antidote system and Aerial's own version of Antidoe and Anti-Antidote.

That's about all it is, really... a wireless version of the Alaya-Vijnana system from Iron-Blooded Orphans, with all the same social stigmas against its use and development and the same underlying problem where only a handful of people can operate it safely beyond the very lowest levels and even those people will suffer serious brain damage if they try to draw out anywhere close to the system's full potential for even a short time.

The only real differences between the two are that the permet link is wireless while the Alaya Vijnana comes with a body horror input jack that grows out of your thoracic vertebrae and that there is at least hope that the GUND Format permet link can be perfected without the need for significant additional body horror (e.g. the Graze Ein or Gundam Vidar)... maybe. A lot of fans think the secret to the perfected GUND Format is that it has similar aspects of "powered by a forsaken child" to the Alaya-Vijnana Type-E.

I guess what I'm getting at is, if the GUND Format requires implants, does that mean Eri got the procedure done? Was it accidentally transferred to Eri in the womb?

We see active permet in Eri's face in the prologue, so yes... she would have to have been injected with it at a young age.

[Underrated GM Custom]

Ah I didn't know the glowlines were do to subcutaneous permet injections. That makes a lot of sense though, since I interpreted the mother's shocked face in the prologue

Spoiler

because she had just found out that Eri could use Permet link but she wasn't the one who injected her with Permet, presumably that was the grandmother

[Mafty]

True

Spoiler

It would make more sense that is how Permet enhances someone. Surgery would be impossible to keep hidden from Eri, Unless Eri herself was secretly given the Permet and passed it on genetically to Suletta

[Seto Kaiba]

Ah I didn't know the glowlines were do to subcutaneous permet injections. That makes a lot of sense though, since I interpreted the mother's shocked face in the prologue

Spoiler

because she had just found out that Eri could use Permet link but she wasn't the one who injected her with Permet, presumably that was the grandmother

TBH, I'd assumed everyone on Folkvangr was probably implanted with at least some permet since they seemed to be testing on themselves when it came to the GUND Format and various people including the dad had the necessary permet to operate a Gundam Lfrith.

My read of what shocked Elnora Samaya was that the Gundam Lfrith prototype had activated itself for Eri where she had been trying and failing, apparently for days or even weeks without any success.

True

Spoiler

It would make more sense that is how Permet enhances someone. Surgery would be impossible to keep hidden from Eri, Unless Eri herself was secretly given the Permet and passed it on genetically to Suletta

... permet is an inorganic material implanted in the body. You can't pass that on genetically.

[Ryujin]

Poor Bob.

Spoiler

He's literally a Gundam magnet.

Also Ojelo & someone else calling it out, while various speculation may be coming home to roost.

[Kuruni]

Look like some plot points will emerge the next episode before something big happen and end the Q1.

[Dark Duel]

Well, that was rather interesting. That post-ED sequence was a little unexpected, but it sure seems like things are gonna start getting more complicated.

[Seto Kaiba]

... ah well, back into this mess.

Spoiler

The episode opens with Sarius Zenneli meeting with representatives of Cathedra to demand to know why the regulatory organization under the Mobile Suit Development Council is refusing to do its job and bring formal charges against Prospera and Suletta Mercury, the Gundam Aerial, and the Shin Sei Development Corporation. When you think about it, he's right to be pissed... this is literally in "You had one job" territory, as they were quite literally founded to hunt the witches and expunge the taint of GUND Format use from the Benerit Group. Cathedra's representatives refuse to answer any questions and show the CEO of Grassley the door.

On his ship, he meets with Wim Jeturk who orders champagne from the stewardess after delivering an I-Told-You-So and then announces that Delling is going to die.

Suletta is singing the GUND-ARM Inc. corporate jingle to herself in Miorine's greenhouse when Shaddiq shows up. It's interesting to note that even after their duel Shaddiq doesn't really show Suletta any respect. He still insists on calling her "Mercury-chan" using the name of the planet not her actual surname, and there's a definite element of mockery to his interactions with her. Apparently it's been two months since the 6v6 duel he lost and the Aerial and Miorine have been gone for two weeks on a business trip that apparently also involved getting the MS repaired. Shaddiq apparently made some special arrangements to delay the duel challenges that came in while the Aerial was out of commission.

There it is, Ladies and Gents... the smoking gun. Suletta really is too goddamn stupid to realize when she's being insulted or mistreated. Miorine doesn't ask Suletta to look after the greenhouses for her. She simply orders her to do it, and it's not because she likes or trusts Suletta... it's because nobody else wants to put up with her. Suletta is happy about this for some reason. Even Shaddiq seems quietly depressed by how readily Suletta accepts Miorine's abuse.

Spoiler

Suletta gets a call, and it's more verbal abuse! In her usual incredibly rude manner, Chuchu starts chewing her out for "wandering off" when there is a GUND prosthetic leg test scheduled.

Remember that problem the show has where the writers introduce an obstacle for the protagonists and then completely forget it exists fifteen minutes later? Yeah, that's back... with a vengeance.

Spoiler

OK, hold up. Last episode, GUND-ARM Inc. had no money. THEY. WERE. BROKE. They literally say at one point that the remaining budget after acquiring Peil and Shin Sei's GUND-ARM research teams isn't even enough to feed the goat they keep on the grounds. How do they now, two months later, have the resources and funding to prototype cybernetic implants based on banned technology! It's not even just money, where did GUND-ARM Inc. get the resources and manufacturing capability to turn out a fully operational set of prosthetic legs based on GUND?

Not that it's not funny to watch Suletta, the only GUND-equipped person present, squatting on top of a robotic pelvis and legs and wobbling around frantically as she attempts to balance herself. Oddly enough, their first prosthetic test seems to work perfectly. Everyone has now magically forgotten how opposed they were to... everything... and are now singing Miorine's praises.

OK, I'll give them a little credit... for once they do actually attempt to address how one of the obstacles was overcome, but in a way that's equally unbelievable for a different reason. Somehow, GUND-ARM Inc. was able to sell bonds despite having no money and no resources to guarantee the bonds against. Even stranger, Delling Rembran is giving GUND-ARM Inc. sound business advice. Even weirder, Miorine and Delling seem to be having something approaching "a moment" as she gets actual praise from him for her management of the business. She apparently also bought a ship, and is now lamenting the need to find a train a crew when she bumps into the lady who was helping her run away in the first episode. Apparently that woman belongs to the "Space Assembly League", whatever that is.

And now, we learn that Sarius Zenneli is nearly as terrible a judge of character as Suletta.

Spoiler

"Someone like Jeturk could never pull off anything that bold." - Sarius Zenneli

Oh, my sweet summer space-child, not only is Wim Jeturk that bold... this wouldn't even be his first attempt in the course of this series. Hell, his previous assassination attempt would have been an unqualified success if not for him receiving the news of his son's defeat and loss of the "Holder" title at exactly the right time. The specific timing of that victory is the reason Delling is still alive.

Shaddiq actually advises his father to join the assassination plot. His reasoning is actually sound too. The reason the Holder is so valuable is that Miorine is Delling's sole heir and will inherit his stock portfolio including his shares of the Benerit Group. Each of the Three Houses has enough shares of the Benerit Group on their own to achieve majority control of the conglomerate should Delling die while their scion is Holder. Shin Sei, on the other hand, would not gain a majority stake in the Benerit Group if Delling were to die while Suletta Mercury is the holder. The entire Holder system would be largely irrelevant and have little impact on the selection of Delling's replacement as President of the Benerit Group.

Sarius threatens to take away Shaddiq's position in Grassley if he fails...

In the mean time, GUND-ARM Inc. tries and fails to get permission to film in public spaces... #realityensues

Spoiler

Guel Jeturk is missing? Talk about your odd cuts... he's working on a spaceship under the alias "Bob". Guel Jeturk was a CELEBRITY. He was the most celebrated duelist at Asticassia and the sure-fire groom-to-be of Miorine Rembran and the man who would secure Jeturk's dominance over the Benerit Group. There is NO CHANCE that he is going unrecognized doing manual labor just by covering his hair with a hardhat.

Hey wait, is that Earth? If so, that doesn't exactly seem like the rough neighborhood we'd been led to believe. This group of people are apparently living in an abandoned late 20th or early 21st century Japanese school and running a farm on the school grounds. OK, yeah, it IS Earth. Seems to be in pretty good shape, by most standards. Abandoned neighborhoods and all don't exactly scream "choking overpopulation' and "industrial hellhole".

Shaddiq contacts this mysterious potato farmer to ask for his assistance in attacking a Benerit Group plant in space in order to assassinate Delling. Apparently it's Nika's family?

More classist talk from Earth House, who are now squatting in the Dueling Committee's lounge. Belmiria seems to be pretty happy with her lot in life now, though, having apparently returned to her original dream of doing work in medical prosthetics.

Spoiler

Oh boy, Elan's back... and this one smiles. I wonder, are we looking at the real Elan Ceres or Reinforced Person #5? He's... hitting on Suletta, so I'm guessing it's the real deal. He asks her out too.

Oh that's dark, saying that he's changed because of her. DARK!

AND THERE WE GO! Someone had the brass ones to actually point out what I've been saying all along in-series. Apparently it's even common knowledge in-series! Miorine is using Suletta as a shield so she won't have to get married, and doesn't actually give a damn about Suletta personally.

He even goes for a kiss before she finally loses her nerve and runs away.

NOPE! It's a new Reinforced Person... the real Elan Ceres is kicking back and talking about how much more like his real personality the new guy is.

Suletta has a freakout when she sees people in the greenhouses and tries to force them out, only to discover they came with Miorine. Ouch, talk about a slap... Miorine hired some farm workers to tend to her greenhouse pods and invoiced it to GUND-ARM Inc. She does actually thank her, in a very offhand way, for looking after the greenhouses while she was gone. Miorine even encourages Suletta to go out with Elan. Let's just go up and draw a literal line under that "I told you so" moment. She plans to hire Elan for GUND-ARM Inc too, so that they'll have another tester and won't be so dependent on Suletta.

She's FINALLY starting to realize she's the Useful Idiot and not a friend.

Plant Quetta's quite the massive construct... all the Fronts seem to be too. Delling meets with Prospera Mercury there. HEY, and there's the Gundam Lfriths that we've been musing on... I guess the reason they show up behind Delling in the OP is that they're the ones here to kill him! Poor "Bob" seems to be quite the GUND-ARM magnet... first getting his sh*t wrecked by the Aerial, and now two of the Aerial's siblings are there to wreck his sh*t again.

So, Shaddiq's endgame is a bit more ambitious than expected... he's not just out to scotch the de facto selection of the Benerit Group's next President, he's out to cause it to break up into smaller megacorporations.

All in all, the series is starting to feel like it has at least a vague semblance of direction... but it's still massively over-reliant on "things just happen" rather than having a logical build-up to events or the characters having consistent motives.

It is nice to see that I was right all along in my interpretation of Suletta and Miorine's "relationship" though. It's abusive, built on manipulation, and apparently everyone in-universe can see it too!

[Janx]

I think 7, 8, and 9 were kind of the low point of this series. If you kind of selectively ignore some of the nonsense in them, I think this episode by itself feels considerably stronger.

It is nice to see that I was right all along in my interpretation of Suletta and Miorine's "relationship" though. It's abusive, built on manipulation, and apparently everyone in-universe can see it too!

Yeah, this was oddly nice to see. The intro/ed may enjoy shipping them, but beyond a moment or two, Suletta feels rather expendable to Miorine. Presumably even Aerial is rather unimportant to Miorine, other than as a shield against others.

[BrentD15]

Suletta...forgetta.

Gods, she was so cute this episode.

[Seto Kaiba]

I think 7, 8, and 9 were kind of the low point of this series. If you kind of selectively ignore some of the nonsense in them, I think this episode by itself feels considerably stronger.

Yeah, the whole bullsh*t-a-thon surrounding "Is Aerial a Gundam or not?" was so forced and so badly executed that they'll have to try pretty hard to one-up it in future episodes.

Mind you, the writing in The Witch from Mercury has been almost comically bad from the outset. It's so overdependent on resolving conflicts through Deus ex Machina and has done such a poor job of setting up and working within the rules it established for itself that it feels less like a plot progression and more like a series of arse pulls. The way it frantically changes from one unforeshadowed artificial crisis to the next reminds me a lot of the way excitable toddlers tell stories. You know what I mean... that disjoined stream-of-consciousness narrative heavily punctuated by the words "and then".

Yeah, this was oddly nice to see. The intro/ed may enjoy shipping them, but beyond a moment or two, Suletta feels rather expendable to Miorine. Presumably even Aerial is rather unimportant to Miorine, other than as a shield against others.

Knowing the actual stakes in the competition to become the "Holder" definitely makes Delling's establishment of the system make a lot more sense. By the same token, it also makes Miorine's refusal to game the system for her own benefit seem a lot dumber and her use of Suletta and the Aerial a lot more callous. She's basically putting Suletta and the rather paltry resources of Shin Sei against the entire rest of the Benerit Group who are looking at the prospect of gaining control over a megacorp with more power than the government.

As much as Miorine might want to make him out to be a bad guy, Delling seems to be on course to Reasonable Authority Figure territory. He seems stiff and distant, but not necessarily a bad person. The longer the series goes, the worse Miorine ends up looking.

Spoiler

It sure is extremely convenient that the Dueling Committee agreed to place a hold on all challenges made against Suletta until the Gundam Aerial is repaired and returned. Suletta has never actually won a duel on skill, it's always been the Aerial propping her up and/or other people saving her. If she were forced to duel with a regular MS she'd probably get her sh*t wrecked nearly as quickly and comprehensively as the rest of Earth Dorm.