Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Anime Episode Discussion

[Ragashingo]

Yep. Good episode. Gives me some renewed hope that all the first season's build up might lead to something.

Two things I want to happen now:

1. We have got to get Miorine doing something again. I think she's been stuck in the same room, heck, the same conversation for two episodes. I don't want to see her sidelined all season. Don't want her to become an Asuna Yuuki stuck in a cage waiting to be rescued.

2. Suletta needs to get a clue. Her rationalizing everything as her mom doing good is scary and builds tension but it needs to end eventually for Suletta to be her own person. Surely that end won't involve a lot of death and destruction and sadness... Gundam shows aren't know for that, are they?

[Forever]

Lol I am calling it now. Suletta is Eri's clone.

When her mother's objective is reached, she will download Eri back into Suletta.

[grss1982]

AERIal theory confirmed.

[Twi]

Review done.

Twists aside, I kind of like the dynamic between Elan 5 and Norea

[Frontier]

So how complicit in everything is Eri in this? From the prologue novel it seemed like she knew Prospera was using Suletta, and didn't want that for her, but then we see her seemingly talking Suletta down from asking any more questions about their mothers' plans...maybe for her own sake? Does Eri know what Prospera really wants and what she plans to do with Quiet Zero, especially because Aerial is the linchpin of said plan? Will she willingly go along with it even if Suletta doesn't?

And how did this happen? Was Prospera so blinded by revenge she was willing to use her own daughter and take her life away by putting her in an MS to achieve it? Did they not have a choice in the matter because of something that happened to Eri? Obviously her connection to the Lfrith is why it could have happened and why it works, but still putting a child into an MS is a huge jump. And did Eri go into it willingly?

Also what is Shaddiq's group going to do with Nika? She's a liability and can't really benefit them in any way at this point unless they're planning to use her as a scapegoat or a hostage against Earth House.

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Also what is Shaddiq's group going to do with Nika? She's a liability and can't really benefit them in any way at this point unless they're planning to use her as a scapegoat or a hostage against Earth House.

They're too soft-hearted to send her out an airlock, but he can't have Nika revealing that Shaddiq is behind all the recent conflict.

Shaddiq is the type who is ambitious and very smart, but as the big battle showed last season, he frequently ends up ignoring the outstanding threats to assuage his own ego. He must think he can handle keeping Nika alive and not put the blood on his own hands or the hands of the Harem Squad. Which is silly, because it sure looked like they killed two guards (but I guess they weren't lethal rounds? Not like this series has an issue showing blood to date).

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

They're too soft-hearted to send her out an airlock, but he can't have Nika revealing that Shaddiq is behind all the recent conflict.

Shaddiq is the type who is ambitious and very smart, but as the big battle showed last season, he frequently ends up ignoring the outstanding threats to assuage his own ego. He must think he can handle keeping Nika alive and not put the blood on his own hands or the hands of the Harem Squad. Which is silly, because it sure looked like they killed two guards (but I guess they weren't lethal rounds? Not like this series has an issue showing blood to date).

Maisie and Isheera used tranq darts on the guards, you can see them looking at it and falling down. The question is more what they did with them afterward, I don't think they took them along Sarius.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I agree the real Elan and El5n's personalities are too similar though.

I think OG Elan is more of a straight d-bag. He likes to mock people and all that. Meanwhile, El5n is more of a flamboyant flirt who is creeping on Suletta (for a mission?) and putting survival above all else.

Originally Posted by Router25

So how many nickels do we have now for every girl's soul trapped in a mobile suit?

Maybe around 4 so far.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

I also like the theme that Suletta is becoming someone that horrifies everyone because she doesn't die from the data storms. She's apparently the least human out of everyone

No, she's normal. The one taking on the data storm kickback in her place is Eri. That was made very clear in the discussion between Bel and Prospera. Eri doesn't only control the bits. She controls space itself and takes the data storm feedback in Suletta's place. That's why Suletta doesn't feel a thing. It's not that she's special. She's not, at all. She doesn't feel anything because the data storm never reached her to begin with.

EDIT: I guess the fact Suletta can communicate with Eri means they have some sort of connection. That's yet to be explained though.

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

EDIT: I guess the fact Suletta can communicate with Eri means they have some sort of connection. That's yet to be explained though.

I was going to say, but you did edit it. There's something going on. The other characters aren't freaked out about her because of the datastorms. That's Bel and Norea.

The others are freaked out by the fact that she talks to herself and can see in a perfect sphere around her and around corners. Eri and the Gund-Bits aren't controlling the mobile suit itself, as least as far as it looks.

[Twi]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Maybe around 4 so far.

That's not a lot, but its weird its happened that much and not including male pilots like Eins from IBO.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

Eri and the Gund-Bits aren't controlling the mobile suit itself, as least as far as it looks.

You don't need high permet score to control the mobile suit itself though. See how Elan5 was doing just fine this episode with Pharac while keeping the permet score down. The data storm only happens when the permet score is high, and a high permet score is only needed for very extreme maneuverability and the control of the bits. And this is what Eri does for Suletta.

When Sophie manages to get a glimpse of Eri, we can see that Eri is covered in blue marks. Those are the marks of the data storm. It's irrefutable proof that Eri was taking on the data storm's negative effects in Suletta's place. But only Sophie managed to see that. Norea didn't. That's why Norea mistakenly thinks Suletta is the special one.

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

I was going to say, but you did edit it. There's something going on. The other characters aren't freaked out about her because of the datastorms. That's Bel and Norea.

The others are freaked out by the fact that she talks to herself and can see in a perfect sphere around her and around corners. Eri and the Gund-Bits aren't controlling the mobile suit itself, as least as far as it looks.

The episode where people were the most freaked out is when Aerial reached permet 6 (ep 9) with Suletta saying to Aerial that she's always relying on her for everything, but then goes "Do it together?, no no, it's fine. This time, I can do it".

Suletta rejected Aerial/Eri's help in that scene and that's the craziest we have seen Aerial's fighting. Even the gunbits move differently in that scene.

The other option, is that it's actually Eri talking there and she took over Suletta's body when she reached permet 6...and she was talking to Suletta.

[Frontier]

Now I want to see Suletta piloting without Aerial/Eri or the Bits involved just to see what would happen.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Now I'm feel like I want to see Suletta piloting without Aerial/Eri or the Bits involved just to see what would happen.

We saw her piloting one of the training mobile suits, right? Don't remember how good she was though.

I was surprised about Elan5. He's actually a really good pilot, completely evading Norea without ever rising his permet score. What a champ.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

We saw her piloting one of the training mobile suits, right? Don't remember how good she was though.

I was surprised about Elan5. He's actually a really good pilot, completely evading Norea without ever rising his permet score. What a champ.

Yeah, though she was mostly sabotaged there, but she can probably do rudimentary stuff. The way they set up the dynamic between her and Aerial it's hard to tell how much of it is Eri/Aerial and how much of it is Suletta, though I guess the point is how well they work together as sisters. But take one away and what happens?

I assume they intentionally picked/trained someone who was good at piloting because he was meant to be the next "face" of Peil and be the new Pharact pilot. He might even be more skilled than No.4 was.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Twi

That's not a lot, but its weird its happened that much and not including male pilots like Eins from IBO.

And I'm also not counting...

Spoiler for BIG Zeta Gundam spoiler:

All the dead girls whose souls got absorbed by Zeta Gundam coz, even in death, they wanted to help Kamille defeat Scirocco who was piloting The-O:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/TTGN2dxLj7g

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I was surprised about Elan5. He's actually a really good pilot, completely evading Norea without ever rising his permet score. What a champ.

Being good pilots is like the point of these Elan body-doubles in the first place. Expendable good pilots . Heck, El4n defeated 3 Suits with one Zowort grunt before he piloted Pharact.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Yeah, though she was mostly sabotaged there, but she can probably do rudimentary stuff. The way they set up the dynamic between her and Aerial it's hard to tell how much of it is Eri/Aerial and how much of it is Suletta, though I guess the point is how well they work together as sisters. But take one away and what happens?

I would say that anything that requires a high permet score is offloaded to Eri without Suletta even realizing it. Sometimes Suletta asks Aerial to do something specific, but I think Eri is actually doing way more than that under the hood.

Originally Posted by Frontier

He might even be more skilled than No.4 was.

I do think he's better than Elan4. He seemed to be piloting effortlessly this episode and Norea couldn't even touch him.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I would say that anything that requires a high permet score is offloaded to Eri without Suletta even realizing it. Sometimes Suletta asks Aerial to do something specific, but I think Eri is actually doing way more than that under the hood.

Even that visual of her that Sophie saw was pretty foreboding and powerful. You really have to wonder what's going through her head at this point, especially since she's Suletta's "older sister."

I do think he's better than Elan4. He seemed to be piloting effortlessly this episode and Norea couldn't even touch him.

I think it probably helps that he's in a better headspace than No.4 was and isn't trying to be as expendable.

[Ragashingo]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

You don't need high permet score to control the mobile suit itself though. See how Elan5 was doing just fine this episode with Pharac while keeping the permet score down. The data storm only happens when the permet score is high, and a high permet score is only needed for very extreme maneuverability and the control of the bits. And this is what Eri does for Suletta.

When Sophie manages to get a glimpse of Eri, we can see that Eri is covered in blue marks. Those are the marks of the data storm. It's irrefutable proof that Eri was taking on the data storm's negative effects in Suletta's place. But only Sophie managed to see that. Norea didn't. That's why Norea mistakenly thinks Suletta is the special one.

I think we're seeing a few things happen at the same time:

1. Aerial can be controlled using the GUND format without ANY permet reaction in the pilot. We see that every single time Suletta pilots Aerial. We saw that with Elan 4. He was moving Aerial's hands as if they were his own but neither felt nor saw any of the usual bad effect. It seems safe to say that Eri/Aerial itself is taking on that load but is also translating the pilot's intended movements and commands to the mobile suit hardware.

2. Eri is, I believe, the only person we've ever seen affected by the blue permet markings. I think that's important and comes from the way she deeply connected with the prototype Gundam in the prologue. Everyone else has been affected by the red markings and had major painful/deadly physiological effects as the permet score goes up. We still don't know if Eri was killed by that connection. Or sucked into the Gundam hardware. Or if her mother forcibly integrated her into Aerial. But I still think there was something very special that happened when Eri made that first connection in the prologue and was able to pilot the Gundam seemingly without any negative effects. (Sophie's blue marks this episode don't count... she was under Eri's control by that point!)

3. Aerial / Eri's big blue permet bubble we've seen a few time now isn't an anti-GUNDAM-antidote system as I first thought from Suletta's big duel in episode 9. Aerial didn't resist the GUND format jamming even a little bit. It literally reached out and took over the nearby mobile suit's permet control systems and turned the jammers off as if the pilots themselves had thrown the switch. Similar happened in this episode where Aerial took full control of Sophie's "gund bit" mobile suits and used them against her. Same thing when Suletta dueled Elan in space. Aerial reached out and froze the Pharac in place by removing it completely from Elan's control.

Aerial has one heck of a power, and if Prospera is attempting to replicate it or utilize it on a grand scale with this Quiet Zero it could be quite bad. Especially as it seems to negatively affect other GUNDAM pilots. Both Elan and Sophie showed painful effects when hit by that permet control bubble. It's probably not good for the pilot to have that already dangerous permet interface taken over by an even more powerful outside force...