Mobile Suit Gundam AGE - Episode 05 Discussion

[StrikeFreedomV2]

This episode got an 8 from me.

The story thickens as we are introduced to a new faction. Is Eden some kind of cult or why are they wearing robes? Desil's Gundamjack certainly was something different than what you usually get. What is his and Eden's motivation?

Grodek's seems like a good guy that uses dirty tricks. Don't know what to think about it yet, but he's definitely one of the most interesting Gundam Captain's so far. I look forward to his development in the future.

I don't find Emily annoying at all. It's quite understandable for me that she reacts like that to the enitre situation with Flit. Same goes for Shakti in V Gundam, but that's another story.

Flit's resolve is now even stronger than before. I look forward to how good a pilot he will become in the future.

Looking forward to the next episode^^

Originally Posted by kk2extreme

I don't even know what is the purpose of Dique after all these ep

Comic relief, I guess. I hope he gets funny if that's the case. So far he's... just there.

[ion475]

While there are plot developments (Mostly the introduction of Eden) and another "Newtype", I just can't rate this high when the two main characters are so f**king annoying...

Flit = Okay, I understand he want to protect everyone. But "Gundam is mine" is getting annoying also, especially when Desii could have (and really SHOULD have, so that no more Flit wasting it...) steal Gundam, brings it back to Eden, and fight against Diva.
Emily = She's lucky that Grodeck is no Bright, or else she would have get slapped already (I really wish Grodeck slapped her right on the spot...). Seriously, caring is one thing, going Fllay/Nina Purpleton is another...Hack, I'm pretty sure she'll defect to UE (If they're human) or something like that if she's able to - just so that she can claim Flit all by herself. (Okay, she's no Katejina, at least not yet...)

And sigh...when will Yamada Yurin appear again?

[Orath]

This episode was a 4 for me,:

1- Emily, enough said about her by most people, she has the potential to become the most annoying heroine in the gundam franchise. (-2)
2- Gordek, a cool character, but the plot involving him just doesn't make sense no matter how corrupt the federation is. An arrest order can't be negated by some guy cause he was caught red handed. Did the guy think by allowing Gordek to stay at faradin, the federation will not discover his corruption? will the federation let their precious ship and the gundam they funded just go away like this? it doesn't make sense. (-2)
3- Disel, and the shallow plot line involving him, hijacking the gundam so easily, leaving the ship without any resistance from the ship control, and outdoing Flit the first time piloting it. Again it didn't feel right and the show doesn't put the effort to make it feel realistic. (-1)
4- Flit, a genius, good hearted and over protective of his friends, feeling powerless. As a plot device that we have seen used to develop our gundam heroes, the implementation in this series is appalling. "if i had that, i could be stronger?", just give him steroids already. (-1)
5- The world, so far the telling of the story and its factions have been shallow. Not sure if its intended or not, but the feeling so far its as if this is Gundam for kindergarten. Even the eden introduction felt weak. (-2).

I have hoped the series would pick up by now, but it just isn't cutting it for me. For the first time in my life as a gundam fan, I feel disappointed. Ignoring the art style (which isn't growing on me so far), a lot of standard elements that make a gundam series isn't there. The complex politics, the believable technologies or at least explainable in scifi terms, the clashes of ideals, and the sophisticated plots is just missing so far. It feels as if this series was dumbed down to allow a younger demographic targeting.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Wow a lot more going on this episode compared to last. We've got Grodek finally coming clean to Emily of all people as to why he stole the ship and so far it's kind of looking like he was justified. The Federation has come across as really corrupt and incompetent and like it's only looking out for it's own interests, much like the Federation of the U.C timeline. So corrupt is the Federation here yet again that it actually gives Grodek an out with the Federation officer that came to arrest him. Clearly Grodek's methods are the lesser of evils and the greater chance for survival....so far at least. He's also convinced that he has a winning strategy to defeat the UE in one fell swoop, but odds are that doesn't work out. Still he's doing a better job than I think Fonroid would have done so far given his attitude and I think if Fonroid had been in charge everybody would have probably been dead by now.

Emily again is finding herself further and further alienated from people and I can understand where she's coming from a bit with trying to get Flit out of piloting the Gundam, but I think she just needs to have a heart to heart with him instead of trying to beat around the bush by talking to everyone else. Woolf continues to be great in his budding bromance with Flit and kind of goaded him into committing a little more to piloting the Gundam. I think Woolf is officially sempai at this point which unfortunately qualifies him for not making it through this show, but we'll see how that goes.

The other big event this episode was obviously the arrival at Fardain and introduction of Desiel, who I can see being the focal point for resurgent bitching about the show being kiddy (in other words I predict people HATE this character), however I find the kid just plain creepy and not very human more than anything. He seems to be related somehow to Yurin (similar name, similar powers, both appearing in the opening around the same time), only much more vaguely evil and dangerous. With all of this talk by the mysterious masked man at the end of the episode about an Eden project of some kind and his apparent giftedness at piloting mobile suits I can't help but wonder if he and Yurin haven't been bread for some kind of shady extended human project. Does Eden relate to anything that the UE are doing? Does the masked man have anything to do with the UE or are they opposed to them in some way? The plot really thickens with the introduction of this mysterious faction.

In any case next time it looks like they're going to the ghetto's of Fardain where thing will probably get a little more layered in this arc. Pretty interesting start to the arc though if you aren't immediately bothered by the new cast introductions.

[.:Jason:.]

Originally Posted by Orath

This episode was a 4 for me,:

1- Emily, enough said about her by most people, she has the potential to become the most annoying heroine in the gundam franchise. (-2)
2- Gordek, a cool character, but the plot involving him just doesn't make sense no matter how corrupt the federation is. An arrest order can't be negated by some guy cause he was caught red handed. Did the guy think by allowing Gordek to stay at faradin, the federation will not discover his corruption? will the federation let their precious ship and the gundam they funded just go away like this? it doesn't make sense. (-2)
3- Disel, and the shallow plot line involving him, hijacking the gundam so easily, leaving the ship without any resistance from the ship control, and outdoing Flit the first time piloting it. Again it didn't feel right and the show doesn't put the effort to make it feel realistic. (-1)
4- Flit, a genius, good hearted and over protective of his friends, feeling powerless. As a plot device that we have seen used to develop our gundam heroes, the implementation in this series is appalling. "if i had that, i could be stronger?", just give him steroids already. (-1)
5- The world, so far the telling of the story and its factions have been shallow. Not sure if its intended or not, but the feeling so far its as if this is Gundam for kindergarten. Even the eden introduction felt weak. (-2).

Your math is wrong, taking out all those points would make it a 2 for you, not a 4.

Anyways, another good episode. While the reason Grodek is still in charge doesn't make sense when other members of the Federation could get involved, I can see how him blackmailing to buy time would work. As for Disel, I don't like him. I know he's up to something and while having a human/humanoid villain is fun, he just came off as really arrogant for his age which isn't really justified just because of his powers.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by .:Jason:.

Your math is wrong, taking out all those points would ake it a 2 for you, not a 4.

Anyways, another good episode. While the reason Grodek is still in charge doesn't make sense when other members of the Federation could get involved, I can see how him blackmailing to buy time would work. As for Disel, I don't like him. I know he's up to something and while having a human/humanoid villan is fun, he just came off as really arrogant for his age which isn't really justified just because of is powers.

Actually now that you mention all this

Spoiler for Gundam X Spoilers:

the character he reminds me of most is Carris Nautilis from Gundam X, who curiously had a deep and involved relationship with Tiffa Adil and of course we all know who people are comparing Yurin with. Makes me wonder what happens if (and probably when) these two characters hook up. I can see Disel continuing to be a thorn in the side for Flit and a major obstacle he will have to overcome at some point much like Garrod with Carris.

[lightbringer]

Originally Posted by Orath

Not sure if its intended or not, but the feeling so far its as if this is Gundam for kindergarten.

If it feels like Gundam for kindergarten, that's because it actually is Gundam for kindergarten. The plot has more holes than Swiss cheese, and many things are just dumbed down. If it did not have the Gundam moniker attached to it, half the people here would probably not watch it at all. I'm not sure whether I myself have the stomach for 45 more episodes of this, to be honest - I'm definitely outside the target audience of this show.

About the new kid, the moment he appeared on screen, I was thinking "Flit, meet your arch-nemesis", and then they really went and did the whole pseudo-Newtype thing and set up the rivalry as expected.

[Orath]

Originally Posted by .:Jason:.

Your math is wrong, taking out all those points would ake it a 2 for you, not a 4.

Wasn't planning to put no5 in there, but ended up putting out of disappointment of how shallow the plot has been so far.

[ars89]

Grodek getting rid of his arrest was awesome. Liked how Emily confronted Grodek, but still can't do anything. Seems like Grodek wants revenge. So Desil pulled and awesome gundamjack. 6 yrs old? Youngest ever ace. So the newtypes belong to EDEN. Was going to say EDEN was the UE, but didn't make sense that Desil took out the gafrans. Maybe they're a secret organization with the federation. Seriously though its all Flit's fault that it happened.

[KNIGHTMAREGUNDAM]

I give the episode an 8.

Again it was mostly about character development but we got introduced to the -supposed- archrival with Decil and this Eden group.

Grodek is setting a new standard in ship captains of Gundam series. Not only did he prevented his court martial but he discovered the location of the UE's base.

I liked what they are doing with Emily. Its very realistic, especially the part were she runs to her room and says that she doesn't understand. Its just so real, she a 14 year old girl who lived a normal life with Flit who she has a crush on and suddenly she's expose to all the real world adult stuff of war. And the part were she tells Grodek that he's being selfish; that come back to her when she realizes that she is also selfish.

I loved how Decil took out that first UE mobile suit. Such a homage to the original Gundam. I wonder what kind of battle data they gathered from that.

And could their be a connection between Decil and Yurin? Who knows.

One thing that caught my attention is when Decil says he's dissapointed in Flit and the Gundam. Flit I can understand but the Gundam? Makes me wonder what type of suits he's used to piloting.

[monster]

Originally Posted by ars89

Maybe they're a secret organization with the federation.

They sound more like a separatist group. A secret organization wouldn't draw attention to themselves in public.

I'd laugh and possibly cry at the same time if they have a philosophy that thinks others are "weighed down by gravity" or something like that. (Please don't let that happen.)

[Sides]

Originally Posted by ars89

So Desil pulled and awesome gundamjack. 6 yrs old? Youngest ever ace.

He is seven, http://www.gundam-age.net/character_4.html

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by monster

They sound more like a separatist group. A secret organization wouldn't draw attention to themselves in public.

I'd laugh and possibly cry at the same time if they have a philosophy that thinks others are "weighed down by gravity" or something like that. (Please don't let that happen.)

It seems as though the whole Earther-Colonist conflict is over and in the past. Eden could be some remnant of a past faction.

Though Fardain could be a nice setup to begin with the World Building as it said to be one of the oldest colonies.

What we do know is that there is graft and corruption in the Fed military and they are out of practice.

You just know they are out of practice with their foremost ace is a MS equivalent of a Macross Valkyrie racer.

Which I surmise the games are gladiatorial in nature.

[GN0010 Nosferatu]

Not a bad episode. Althought it did add more mystery it was a bit boring. Not much action, that's the type of Gundam fan I am though. I hate down time, I love action action action. Overall I give the episode a 7.

[KNIGHTMAREGUNDAM]

Originally Posted by GN0010 Nosferatu

Not a bad episode. Althought it did add more mystery it was a bit boring. Not much action, that's the type of Gundam fan I am though. I hate down time, I love action action action. Overall I give the episode a 7.

Well that action scene in the end was sweet. By far the best of the whole show.

'Specially how he used Flit as a spinboard. Another homage to original Gundam.

[monster]

Originally Posted by ReddyRedWolf

It seems as though the whole Earther-Colonist conflict is over and in the past. Eden could be some remnant of a past faction.

That's certainly possible, although I'm not saying that this is necessarily an Earth vs colony situation.

You just know they are out of practice with their foremost ace is a MS equivalent of a Macross Valkyrie racer.

Which I surmise the games are gladiatorial in nature.

Is Woolf really their foremost ace? I just thought that the only reason him being an ace is noteworthy is due to the fact that he was already a celebrity before joining the military.

[KNIGHTMAREGUNDAM]

[QUOTE=monster;3845537]That's certainly possible, although I'm not saying that this is necessarily an Earth vs colony situation.[QUOTE]

Officially the issues between Earth and the space colonies is over (in my opinion that issue is stupid in the first place), however as we saw in the first episode and what Grodek said about the Federation being rotten and what we saw in the preview of episode 6 with the whole underground city inside the colony. Its not hard to imagine that there is still some animosity with the Earth and colonies inside the government.

[monster]

Originally Posted by KNIGHTMAREGUNDAM

Officially the issues between Earth and the space colonies is over (in my opinion that issue is stupid in the first place), however as we saw in the first episode and what Grodek said about the Federation being rotten and what we saw in the preview of episode 6 with the whole underground city inside the colony. Its not hard to imagine that there is still some animosity with the Earth and colonies inside the government.

This makes me realize that, after five episodes, I still don't know the situation in AGE. Maybe I missed it somewhere when they mentioned it but is the Federation controlling everything or do the colonies have separate government(s)?

[KNIGHTMAREGUNDAM]

Originally Posted by monster

This makes me realize that, after five episodes, I still don't know the situation in AGE. Maybe I missed it somewhere when they mentioned it but is the Federation controlling everything or do the colonies have separate government(s)?

We really don't know how the government runs thing, Still way to early in the show to tell us.

The only thing we do know is what they say in the introduction on every episode, that short summary which only tells us that war between each other -Earth and space- are over.

Honestly I wonder what would have happen if the UE never showed up.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Wow a lot more going on this episode compared to last. We've got Grodek finally coming clean to Emily of all people as to why he stole the ship and so far it's kind of looking like he was justified. The Federation has come across as really corrupt and incompetent and like it's only looking out for it's own interests, much like the Federation of the U.C timeline. So corrupt is the Federation here yet again that it actually gives Grodek an out with the Federation officer that came to arrest him. Clearly Grodek's methods are the lesser of evils and the greater chance for survival....so far at least. He's also convinced that he has a winning strategy to defeat the UE in one fell swoop, but odds are that doesn't work out. Still he's doing a better job than I think Fonroid would have done so far given his attitude and I think if Fonroid had been in charge everybody would have probably been dead by now.

Emily again is finding herself further and further alienated from people and I can understand where she's coming from a bit with trying to get Flit out of piloting the Gundam, but I think she just needs to have a heart to heart with him instead of trying to beat around the bush by talking to everyone else. Woolf continues to be great in his budding bromance with Flit and kind of goaded him into committing a little more to piloting the Gundam. I think Woolf is officially sempai at this point which unfortunately qualifies him for not making it through this show, but we'll see how that goes.

The other big event this episode was obviously the arrival at Fardain and introduction of Desiel, who I can see being the focal point for resurgent bitching about the show being kiddy (in other words I predict people HATE this character), however I find the kid just plain creepy and not very human more than anything. He seems to be related somehow to Yurin (similar name, similar powers, both appearing in the opening around the same time), only much more vaguely evil and dangerous. With all of this talk by the mysterious masked man at the end of the episode about an Eden project of some kind and his apparent giftedness at piloting mobile suits I can't help but wonder if he and Yurin haven't been bread for some kind of shady extended human project. Does Eden relate to anything that the UE are doing? Does the masked man have anything to do with the UE or are they opposed to them in some way? The plot really thickens with the introduction of this mysterious faction.

In any case next time it looks like they're going to the ghetto's of Fardain where thing will probably get a little more layered in this arc. Pretty interesting start to the arc though if you aren't immediately bothered by the new cast introductions.

Everything Kaioshin Sama just said...

I can't really explain it but I'm liking this series especially this conspiracy with the Federation. Government corruption stories are always fun to watch.