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

[Anh_Minh]

It'll be a neat trick to pull a whole gundam out of Miorine.

Also, I wonder if they mean (? Maybe? We didn't really see much of them.) girls will now think hairbands are cool and everyone should wear them.

[Kazu-kun]

The highlight is definitely the soundtrack and overall sound design. It's just so good.

As for the show itself, it's definitely different than what I was expecting but it's not bad. There's plenty of potential here and I'd be lying if I say I didn't enjoy this episode.

I'm hoping Sulleta will eventually get less shy and nervous though. Watching her being a nervous wreck is kind of cute but it will get annoying if it lasts too long. Also, I'm hoping they'll eventually break out of the school setting but we'll see about that.

I guess we'll see more of the supporting cast next episode. I'm curious about some of them. And I'm looking forward to see what's gonna happen to Sulleta and Miorine now that they're supposedly engaged.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by kari-no-sugata II

Miorine seems up for it at least. She had no interest in the douchebag but as soon as Suletta won she quickly made it official and was all "nice to meet you hubby". I wonder how much that is because she herself might have some interest in Suletta and how much it is that she sees this as a step towards (some) personal freedom. At a minimum, Miorine keeping Suletta around should work as "bug repellant".

Suletta looks like she could be easily bribed with fresh fruit and veg at least - the way to Suletta's heart is through her stomach?

I think it's too early for Miorine to have genuine romantic feelings for Suletta, so I'm just assuming she's using the whole "groom" thing as an excuse to ward off other suitors because she's not serious otherwise.

Although she did pretty nonchalantly confirm same-sex marriage is normal in that setting .

I dunno. We've not seen any other obvious idiots who seem ready to fight someone who absolutely spanked the previous top dog. It might be a while before we get another duel involving Ariel. The others seem more interested in Suletta and Ariel (love rivals more than duel rivals?). I guess we'll see how people react to a "Gundam" as well.

Well, I guess we probably won't get an Ariel fight every episode because that might kill the budget a little .

I do feel like some of the other corporations might want to test Suletta's mettle or find out more about her, either through a duel or otherwise. Especially the kid who was reading his book but perked up when he realized she was piloting a Gundam.

Well, if he truly only cares about the result then he shouldn't be too bothered... but I do expect him to be very interested in Suletta and especially Ariel. Like, it wouldn't surprise me to see him turn up in person.

I'm not sure if he would be okay with the "result" if it brings back into prominence the Mobile Suit and the design structure that he tried to systematically nip in the bud.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think it's too early for Miorine to have genuine romantic feelings for Suletta, so I'm just assuming she's using the whole "groom" thing as an excuse to ward off other suitors because she's not serious otherwise.

Although she did pretty nonchalantly confirm same-sex marriage is normal in that setting .

I doubt she has any romantic interest in Suletta yet, but anyone other than that asshole is a massive upgrade for her, so of course she welcomes it. And although not romantically, it'd be hard for her not to like Suletta after this. She's a very nice girl who stood up for her AND turns into a badass when piloting her mobile suit.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up but it'd be really great if they actually followed through with the yuri. It's already the first Gundam show to have a female MC, go all the way.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think it's too early for Miorine to have genuine romantic feelings for Suletta, so I'm just assuming she's using the whole "groom" thing as an excuse to ward off other suitors because she's not serious otherwise.

Sure, which is why I said "some interest" rather than specifically hinting at romance.

Although she did pretty nonchalantly confirm same-sex marriage is normal in that setting .

Not sure how much we should read into that comment specifically. Maybe it means nothing and she just wanted to act superior. Maybe it means "I'm totally up for yuri". Or even both. Or something else...

Either way though, her attitude towards being engaged to douchebag and towards Suletta is completely different... even though she's still having choices forced upon her. How much of that is Suletta's gender, how much of that is Suletta's personality and how much of that is simply Suletta not being a douchebag is something we'll have to wait and see.

Well, I guess we probably won't get an Ariel fight every episode because that might kill the budget a little .

A little

I do feel like some of the other corporations might want to test Suletta's mettle or find out more about her, either through a duel or otherwise. Especially the kid who was reading his book but perked up when he realized she was piloting a Gundam.

I guess if they've got money to burn. If Suletta is that aggressive with every battle, a mere duel would be too short to gauge much.

I'm not sure if he would be okay with the "result" if it brings back into prominence the Mobile Suit and the design structure that he tried to systematically nip in the bud.

Massive firepower advantage = massive competitive advantage = massive profits.

You thought he decided to screw over the group in the prologue purely for moral reasons? Nah.

If he sees a refined product that has a massive advantage and seemingly no downsides... he's going to want that very much. So what if he has to backtrack a bit. He can simply say that times have moved on and this is an entirely new approach which works.

...which is quite possibly the trap that Suletta's mom has laid. Bait him with high tech, get him to approve it before he finds out the true origins. Then end him.

Edit: To be a bit clearer: several people have pointed out that it's a bit too obvious that Aerial is a "Gundam". I'm suggesting that rather than being a "bug" it's a "feature". Particularly given the hints that Suletta's mom might be the "masked man".

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

There's also the fact that Okouchi himself wrote some Utena light novels so.......some things possibly got carried over, intentionally or not 😁

I was wondering why I was getting Utena vibes form this.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Search terms: "the witch from mercury" utena
18,800 hits

Hmm...

We've got memes and fan-art already:

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[frubam]

What's the deal with the two discussion threads? With the exact same opening comment(Anime discussion and General Discussion threads)?

Anyway, I enjoyed the episode for what it was, though the beginning parts have me a bit puzzled in terms of the hierarchy of the students. MC just breaks the restraints on her mobile suit, yet receives no punishment whatsoever. Even if its "just" a training school for various mobile suit departments, there still should be some level of discipline, but hell, its hard to tell the students from the actual adult faculty(if there was any). Then having a duel fall into a zone with the students, putting them in danager... its just not what I expect from your typical Gundam series; Classroom of the Elite/Kakegurui-esque student governing I guess( least, at a glance).

MC herself was, well, cute, but stern in her beliefs. I really like the contrast of her bumbling speech patterns mixed with standing up for herself and others. Gives her a unique feeling, especially for this kind of setting. Other chars I don't have feelings for yet, so no comment(other than former fiancee being an a-hole).

Well at least the combat and the battle music(reminded me of MGS 5) was pretty good stuff. Will certainly stick around to see more of the combat and MC's personality.

[Tactics]

Oh my, Ookuchi really delivered.

I can see why Bandai and Sunrise chose him after IBO, he may not the best writer they can afford but he knew how to make things spicy on school setting.
Utena "format" also allowed them to gave more flair to dynamics and fight. This episode MS fight is pretty much Sunrise flexing their CG now is series-budget applicable.

Now, sit back, keep calm and wait for more meme.
Kabaneri is bad because, unlike Valvrave and Code Geass, there's no meme.
Don't disappoint me this time Ookuchi. I knew you can do it after the yuri bait.

[SonicSP]

Originally Posted by frubam

MC just breaks the restraints on her mobile suit, yet receives no punishment whatsoever.

We dont know what the rules are, if any. We don't even know whether the other mobile suits have any restraints either. They certainly are shown capable of doing a lot of damage.

The bigger problem for Suletta is that she's outed her mobile suit as a Gundam, with at least one person confirming to know. Gundams are pretty much illegal in general. The episode ends after the battle ends so we probably will see consequences of that in later episodes.

Considering the duels can have huge political ramifications outside the school, I wouldn't be surprised if death in battle is an allowed possibility. We had a bombing assassination/political coup called off because of Suletta's victory. The corporate groups certainly value results and even sent in a strike team to kill everyone in Ochs Corporation in the Prologue, so I wouldn't be surprised if they allowed deaths in the duels in the institute their heirs go to.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Hmm. A thought occurred: Suletta first piloted Aerial (or the Aerial prototype) about 10 years ago and is clearly very experienced and familiar. I wouldn't be surprised if she has more "flight time" than any of the other students. I wonder how good she would be at a conventional MS? I wonder if she's ever used one?

[SonicSP]

Suletta was four in the Prologue and 16 in present day, so it has been slightly more than 12 years to be precise.

Based on the website novel, she piloted Aerial at Mercury a lot and had participated in a lot of piloting missions. She scores really well in simulation tests and she has years of experience in high pressure real world scenarios with lives on the line. Her capabilities will probably drop in a conventional MS, but I still expect her to be really good in one.

A potential weakspot would be lack of battle experience though she does well in games/simulations. Most of her flight time is in rescue operations, so some of her potential opponents may have her beat in terms of total battle experience. Guel certainly does, having won 27 duels with zero draws and losses prior to his fight with Suletta.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

Suletta was four in the Prologue and 16 in present day, so it has been slightly more than 12 years to be precise.

Based on the website novel, she piloted Aerial at Mercury a lot and had participated in a lot of piloting missions. She scores really well in simulation tests and she has years of experience in high pressure real world scenarios with lives on the line. Her capabilities will probably drop in a conventional MS, but I still expect her to be really good in one.

A potential weakspot would be lack of battle experience though she does well in games/simulations. Most of her flight time is in rescue operations, so some of her potential opponents may have her beat in terms of total battle experience. Guel certainly does, having won 27 duels with zero draws and losses prior to his fight with Suletta.

The first thing we see is a rescue operation where she rushed and endangered everyone in the hangar who wasn't in a giant mech. It's a miracle she didn't kick or trample anybody.

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

The first thing we see is a rescue operation where she rushed and endangered everyone in the hangar who wasn't in a giant mech. It's a miracle she didn't kick or trample anybody.

Or skill. She may be used to an environment where seconds count, and everyone knows to move out of the way the second an MS declares the need for a sortie.

I'm partial to blaming the transport crew as much as Suletta's abysmal communication skills.

[SonicSP]

Her first step after being unlocked was cutting it a bit close but you can tell from the rest of the op she's experienced at it.

This includes knowing how to adjust the trajectory in line with the moving target in zero g, grabing it gently with Aerial's hands as to not kill her, as well as doing a quick round trip EVA grab of the target and back to cockpit under 10 seconds with no rope or thruster pack of her own.

[Ragashingo]

Yeah. I figure the flight crew let her do the rescue because her mobile suit was more… well… mobile than the transport ship and she could reach the person in distress faster. She did a good job and handled the rescue with zero problems. Presumably, she even has a license to pilot the suit. She did say she completed a admissions application for Ariel or some such thing…

[SonicSP]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

Or skill. She may be used to an environment where seconds count, and everyone knows to move out of the way the second an MS declares the need for a sortie.

I'm partial to blaming the transport crew as much as Suletta's abysmal communication skills.

Basically yes. Because she's the best at it on Mercury, mission control will call her and her job is to rush to Aerial immediately, launch and do the actual rescueing ASAP. Organizing the hanger workers is not part of her usual job scope.

Her weakness as seen in the Episode 1 rescue is probably coordination with other people, made harder in this case that it's not her usual team. At the same time though, she knew Aerial was in a prime position to do it quickly since it was already by the exit hatch.

Ironically, other than coordinating with the ship/crewmembers, the op in Episode 1 is a cakewalk compared to her usual stuff. At Mercury she had to purposely move in the shadows of craters as to avoid Aerial being exposed to the direct sunlight for too long and face physical obstacles that get in her way. Here, all she needed too was rush to directly in a straight line to the target, hold her gently with Aerial, bring her inside the cockpit, then leave.

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by SonicSP

Ironically, other than coordinating with the ship/crewmembers, the op in Episode 1 is a cakewalk compared to her usual stuff. At Mercury she had to purposely move in the shadows of craters as to avoid Aerial being exposed to the direct sunlight for too long and face physical obstacles that get in her way. Here, all she needed too was rush to directly in a straight line to the target, hold her gently with Aerial, bring her inside the cockpit, then leave.

As an anime-only viewer, it would be nice if we get to see that.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

As an anime-only viewer, it would be nice if we get to see that.

Oh, definitely this. If a <source> reader has to use <source> material to explain the details to this extent, then the anime lacks information. Of course, it is still early, but I prefer for the anime to tell me this stuff; y'know, experience it firsthand, with the only exception being minor details from the same time frame as the anime, but omitted for whatever reason.

Did notice there was an ep 00 I somehow missed, so I'll have to go back and watch(though I doubt it'd nullify my previous thoughts for ep1)

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by frubam

Did notice there was an ep 00 I somehow missed, so I'll have to go back and watch(though I doubt it'd nullify my previous thoughts for ep1)

Episode 0 is the prologue. It has been out for a while and it's really good. It's pretty different than episode 1 too, really different tone and such.