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

[domino]

Spoiler

Anyone else thinks that Suletta was somewhat mind-controlled by her mom after they both repeated the motto? It seems to have changed her mood completely from hesitant and scared to calm and proactive.

[wraith1701]

Spoiler

Anyone else thinks that Suletta was somewhat mind-controlled by her mom after they both repeated the motto? It seems to have changed her mood completely from hesitant and scared to calm and proactive.

Either that, or she has some type of disability that her mother is taking advantage of to influence her.

[Seto Kaiba]

Well, at least they surprised you, good or bad . So I guess that mean it's at least worth to come back for Q2 and see if it will be disastrous trainwreck?

Surprise me they most assuredly did... though I'm not inclined to give them much credit for it since it came out of nowhere right at the end of the episode and seems to have been done purely in an attempt to silence the show's critics who were saying G-Witch isn't a "real" Gundam series.

As far as "disastrous trainwreck", I think that much is largely inevitable at this point. We're anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 of the way through this series and there's still no semblance of an actual plot, properly developed setting, or likeable characters. It's the writing equivalent of "if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullsh*t".

That said, I don't think Ur or Thorn are using ballistic weapons. They seem to wait to show the Desultors on screen to comment on ballistics. The Ur and Thorn's weapons also fire blue lines similar to other beam weapons, with no shell casings, while the Desultors fire orange/yellow tracers with noticeable shell casings. Thorn's weapon also seems to have different firing modes.

We see the Lfrith Ur's rotary cannon ejecting shell casings, so that's a pretty good indicator it's using hard rounds. The Lfrith Thorn seems to have only beam weaponry though.

I feel like calling the GUND Bit shield god mode is a bit harsh though. We've seen Aerial get damaged a number of times over the course of the show, and because the GUND bits can't attack AND defend at the same time, some characters have even managed to push Aerial around by simply keeping up the pressure on it. Its also not a technology exclusive to Aerial, as the Darilbalde also had this capability.

We've seen the Aerial get damaged, true, but only in instances where it was hampered by rain messing with its beam weapons or antidote messing with its controls.

In this case, Suletta seems to have a spammable shield that can block ANY attack as long as she's serious.

Spoiler

Anyone else thinks that Suletta was somewhat mind-controlled by her mom after they both repeated the motto? It seems to have changed her mood completely from hesitant and scared to calm and proactive.

Either that, or she has some type of disability that her mother is taking advantage of to influence her.

I don't think it was mind control.

Based on the series thus far and the short story, regardless of whether or not she has a developmental disability it's clear that Suletta's emotional and social development is terribly stunted as a result of her upbringing on Mercury. She was the only child there for a solid decade, her only friend was the unspeaking AI of an illegal Mobile Suit, and the remainder of her social interaction was with her (often absent) mother and the occasional elderly permet miner who (at least in the short story) seemed to treat her poorly. It's not surprising that she's incredibly desperate for approval and that it manifests in the passivity and eager-to-please nature which makes it easy for people to manipulate her by saying they need her (e.g. Prospera and Miorone) or pretending to care about her (e.g. Prospera and Elan). A decade of gaslighting from her psycho mother can't have done great things for her mental state either, so she's basically a laser-guided tyke bomb who'll do practically anything because she craves acceptance and validation from her peers.

[BrentD15]

Spoiler

Anyone else thinks that Suletta was somewhat mind-controlled by her mom after they both repeated the motto? It seems to have changed her mood completely from hesitant and scared to calm and proactive.

Either that, or she has some type of disability that her mother is taking advantage of to influence her.

Spoiler

I heard of Suletta allegedly being neurodivergent, and that just makes Prospera's actions and intentions for her own daughter all the more disgusting.

[Seto Kaiba]

Spoiler

I heard of Suletta allegedly being neurodivergent, and that just makes Prospera's actions and intentions for her own daughter all the more disgusting.

It's a popular interpretation among fans, though it doesn't seem to have any official support thus far.

Official materials just describe Suletta as having "an introverted disposition/nature" ("内向的な性格で") and mention that she has "poor communication skills" ("コミュニケーション能力がやや乏しい") because of how she was isolated and treated coldly by adults while growing up on Mercury.

The short story mentions that that little saying Suletta and her mom have is something used to psych Suletta up to confront unpleasant situations...

Since that day, those words have become a magical charm to push Suletta forward.

[Mafty]

Violence in Gundam has always been there

Spoiler

The early UC had rather graphic imagery hidden in quick shots like Kycilia taking a bazooka to the face in FG, someone's fingers flying off in a cockpit explosion in the first episode of Zeta, The gruesome scenes in 30 Banchi ,August being vaporized on screen in ZZ, and people being blown apart when the colony laser is sabotaged in CCA. That being said the violence is a bit more reminiscent of Seed , in particular the JOSH-A incident.

Also

Spoiler

What is up with Shaddiq? If the mission failed, why is he so happy? Clearly he has something else planned

[Ryujin]

I enjoyed the episode & the season. All the online discussion from the various corners of the internet added sauce to the mix. Mmm, Tomato sauce.

Guel’s luck is simply remarkable.

Spoiler

He manages to snag the Desultor whose comms are borked, is looking away at precisely the moment the cockpit monitor displays the error messages, then is too busy fighting for his life to do anything about it. The irony is how a local line of communication is finally established because he makes, um, physical contact with his father’s Dilanza.

In a way, that comms failure may have been a blessing in disguise; during DoF’s withdrawal, Olcott seemed to take an interest in Guel’s wrecked MS—after all, this civilian single-handedly wrecked a current-gen Dilanza with an older model to save his comrades in the freighter—he clearly sympathizes with DoF’s cause! Clearly someone worth rescuing & recruiting! Now, if that was the case & if Guel can just stay quiet & keep his wits about him (& there’s no cockpit voice recorder), he might end up on Earth before anyone else after all, lol. I wouldn’t be surprised if, at the end of the series, he’s back as Jeturk HI CEO, but with policies more sympathetic to circumstances on Earth. Yeah, this is me taking a random shot in the dark.

With regards to Quiet Zero & also tangentially related to Dark's latest post in the other thread,

Spoiler

I'm inclined to think it most likely has a capability related to Antidote (not necessarily its primary function). Delling may have been aware that Antidote currently is ineffective against higher permet scores, thus his & Prospera’s interest in Aerial’s ability to reach level 6 (too bad nobody told the Quetta garrison about this). He needs something to test this feature against. But what does it mean? Given the level of importance that Delling attaches to it, surely it’s not just something to be brought out in the rare instance Witches show themselves. I’m suspecting there’s a common thread here, and that thread is Permet itself. Asides from its GUND-related functions, it seems to be window dressing, But it’s ubiquitous, as implied in how heavily it’s being mined & evident whenever someone asks for ID codes. Perhaps some overriding control function? Prospera must also be aware of its ultimate purpose, so how does it benefit her?

Also, hey! The Beguir guys have an actual 4-MS formation! Too bad the animation's kinda clunky for their skirmish; I guess Obari's minor involvement was with the cuts for Aerial Rebuild.

That said, I don't think Ur or Thorn are using ballistic weapons. They seem to wait to show the Desultors on screen to comment on ballistics. The Ur and Thorn's weapons also fire blue lines similar to other beam weapons, with no shell casings, while the Desultors fire orange/yellow tracers with noticeable shell casings. Thorn's weapon also seems to have different firing modes.

We see the Lfrith Ur's rotary cannon ejecting shell casings, so that's a pretty good indicator it's using hard rounds. The Lfrith Thorn seems to have only beam weaponry though.

I have to disagree; re-viewing the episode,

Spoiler

there's a lot of close-up shots of Ur firing the rotary and no shell casings were evident. Anyways, concrete info's forthcoming with the gunpla kit's release. Olcott & friends seem to have the good sense not to get in between dueling Gundams & to keep at a discreet distance. Also not to risk friendly fire incidents in such a fluid situation.

Continuing in this vein, DoF using conventional ballistic weaponry for their MS is actually quite inspired. It's an established, reliable technology that doesn't need an advanced industrial base to maintain & manufacture. Well, relatively speaking compared to beam weaponry. It's certainly something more accessible to Earthian militaries while also hinting at the disparities in their respective economies. Tactically, we’ve also seen how atmospheric conditions can quickly dissipate an energy beam, although said beam was on a training setting. Not a concern in outer space, but very relevant on Earth. Incidentally, Teraoka mentioned that, unlike hi-tech Spacian small arms with EM acceleration & whatnot, DoF guns were purely conventional, propellant, shell casings & all, the only futuristic nods being to materials & adaptation to hard vacuum.

Unfortunately, though, this seems to come with a lack of stopping power per hit. We see Vim's Dilanza tank a lot of fire from the DoF Desultors, apparently none the worse for wear asides from a shield & some bits getting knocked off. It also seems like the Lfriths & their beam weapons were responsible for the majority of DoF's on-screen MS kills.

Also
Spoiler
What is up with Shaddiq?

Spoiler

If the mission failed, why is he so happy? Clearly he has something else planned

I think that was just him trying for neutral Poker face while he [screams internally].

[DragoMaster009]

Honestly Suletta comes off to me like someone from a Slice of Life anime, who doesn't realize what kind of show she's actually in.

[Kuruni]

I think that was just him trying for neutral Poker face while he [screams internally].

My best guess is that he has plan B all along, likely to backstab Jeturk and kick them out from Benerit Group (leaving only two great houses, Grasley and Peil, which should at least make his plan to destabilize the group easier). It's help that the Dawn use outdated Jeturk MS, something that Vim only discovered in this episode (or he might just act surprised, but I doubt it).

Spoiler

That Vim himself is gone is nice bonus for him, there's noway the inexperience Lauda can oppose him in politic

If that's true, we're likely learn about it in the 13th episode.

[Ryujin]

I think that was just him trying for neutral Poker face while he [screams internally].

My best guess is that he has plan B all along, likely to backstab Jeturk and kick them out from Benerit Group (leaving only two great houses, Grasley and Peil, which should at least make his plan to destabilize the group easier). It's help that the Dawn use outdated Jeturk MS, something that Vim only discovered in this episode (or he might just act surprised, but I doubt it).

Spoiler

That Vim himself is gone is nice bonus for him, there's noway the inexperience Lauda can oppose him in politic

If that's true, we're likely learn about it in the 13th episode.

Yeah, there's a lot of ways it could all play out.

Spoiler

Shaddiq was probably still unaware that Vim was dead at that point, but in any case, let's assume that Lauda will take the reins since Guel is definitely in no shape to do anything wherever he may end up. Given how Lauda can also be the hotheaded sort, I can see him escalating the situation even further by taking direct, indiscriminate action against Earth, never mind that this was done by what appeared to be a small extremist group (with Gundams). He'll probably authorize the development of the Schwarzette as well; oversized weapons seem to be Lauda's forte.

On a related note, while Delling has a reasonable chance of survival, Vim definitely did not. The CEO of a major corporation was assassinated as far as the Spacian public is concerned and this'll no doubt provoke much more hostility towards Earthians. The Earth House gang will be even more ostracized, may even be the target of outright violence at Asticassia (possibly with the staff turning a blind eye & silently condoning it).

As I understood it, Vim's role in the plot seems have been confined to adjustments to the security garrison & patrol fleet scheduling & deployments, not providing material support. Guel probably misunderstood the significance of the Desultors' presence since they also surprised Vim, but it does give him something more to think about when he comes to his senses.

A few random observations:

Spoiler

If she doesn't outright confess, I can see Nika weaseling her way out, at least initially, with a few choice explanations. But the guilt & mistrust will remain & fester. ChuChu will get her DemiBarding either way.

I also noticed that the outcome of Guel's fight was reminiscent of the outcome between Chris & Bernie, but with the roles switched: superior MS destroys the head while inferior MS stabs the cockpit.

Also, interesting hypothesis from someone elsewhere, that Aerial's higher permet score was somehow shielding Suletta from the stuff at the end, which ties in to Delling's speech about how, with GUND, soldiers wouldn't have to bear the consequences of their actions. However, also noted was the deactivated condition of the shell units, unlike how they turned blue when Suletta was looking for Miorine after the fight. Words of encouragement from Mom, but actual hocus-pocus from Aerial.

[wraith1701]

I just gave the official tie-in novella a quick glance, and was immediately taken aback by an unexpected revelation:

Spoiler

The Aerial Gundam is SENTIENT?!?

While I haven’t watched every episode of every series, I’ve watched a LOT of gundam. I don’t recall ever seeing this angle introduced in any other series. I’m intrigued by the idea, and eager to see the impact it will have on the show.

Have I missed something? Is this the first time we’ve had this in a Gundam show?

[Kuruni]

Have I missed something? Is this the first time we’ve had this in a Gundam show?

Not counting SD nor non-animated works, the first is probably Devil Gundam. Then, at lesser degree, Turn A and Turn X. 00 Quanta also becomes sentient by fused with ELS. And recently we have Graze Ein and Kimaris Vidar (of the "man-machine as one" variant).

[Seto Kaiba]

I just gave the official tie-in novella a quick glance, and was immediately taken aback by an unexpected revelation:

Spoiler

The Aerial Gundam is SENTIENT?!?

While I haven’t watched every episode of every series, I’ve watched a LOT of gundam. I don’t recall ever seeing this angle introduced in any other series. I’m intrigued by the idea, and eager to see the impact it will have on the show.

Have I missed something? Is this the first time we’ve had this in a Gundam show?

I guess it depends on how you want to define "sentient".

The Universal Century era has a few cases where Mobile Suits have been inhabited and controlled by a replica of a living person's consciousness or a disembodied soul like the various Blue Destiny units equipped with the EXAM system powered by the soul of Marion Welch or the RX-0 Unicorn Phenix being possessed and controlled by the soul of its dead pilot Rita Bernal via the psycoframe. There was also the experimental AI ALICE which periodically controlled the S Gundam in Gundam Sentinel. The CAMS-15 Raven was also self-aware, thanks to being powered by the AI Rysis in G-Saviour.

[Mafty]

True, sentient MS are rare but not unheard of in Gundam, so it would be neat to see more of this , of course there's also the theory that Ariel is actually Eri, but I guess we'll see how that develops.

Also with Guel

Spoiler

Is anyone else reminded a bit of Bellri and Dellsen from G-Reco? The outcome is rather similar.

[Underrated GM Custom]

I am late to the party on this one, finally caught up with the show and well Okouchi certainly delivered a messy ending

I've enjoyed reading everyone's discussions so far. I'm very curious to see whether or not the Ur's Rotary cannon is firing solid munitions, if that is the case then then the Gund Bits now offer more protection than an I-Field. Personally, I was hoping for them to show that Aerial's advanced technology had no effect on something as simple as a physical round deemed illegal by treaty but we shall see.

[BrentD15]

The dubs are being posted on Crunchyroll!
So far, the performances are really good.

[Janx]

I've enjoyed reading everyone's discussions so far. I'm very curious to see whether or not the Ur's Rotary cannon is firing solid munitions, if that is the case then then the Gund Bits now offer more protection than an I-Field. Personally, I was hoping for them to show that Aerial's advanced technology had no effect on something as simple as a physical round deemed illegal by treaty but we shall see.

Even if it does work against physical, we know the technology isn't unique to Aerial. The Darilbalde had them too.

[Kuruni]

I'm very curious to see whether or not the Ur's Rotary cannon is firing solid munitions, if that is the case then then the Gund Bits now offer more protection than an I-Field.

The gunpla manual say it's a beam gatling gun.

[Underrated GM Custom]

Cool, thank you for checking!

[BrentD15]

April 9th for Season 2!
I'm hyped!