Anime Anime Reviews Review

Gundam: The Witch from Mercury – Episode 05

Episode Synopsis:

Peil Technologies is interested in Suletta’s mech Aerial, as they can’t figure out how it’s avoiding the normal drawbacks of Gundams.  They send Elan, who it turns out is a manufactured Gundam pilot, to investigate directly.  First he convinces Suletta to let him pilot Aerial, but when that doesn’t yield enough information he challenges Guel to a duel with his stake being a new duel against Suletta.  Elan easily defeats Guel and reveals that his mech, Pharact, is a Gundam.  The stake if he wins against Suletta – ownership of Aerial.

Episode Review:

Watching people take advantage of Suletta is like watching a professional boxer fight a puppy.  The outcome is never in doubt, you don’t feel good about watching it, the only question is how badly it will go.  For Suletta, the answer is “pretty badly”.  Over the understandable objections of Miorine, she agrees to go on a “date” with Elan.  A date that includes bringing her mech with her.  Bit of a red flag, that.

Pictured: the voice of reason

Once there, Elan asks probing questions about Aerial and asks to be allowed to pilot it alone, while ignoring any questions that Suletta has.  Couple of red flags there.  Suletta agrees immediately, and Elan takes off, discovering that Aerial is indeed a Gundam, and that it causes him no harm.  This makes him deeply unhappy (see top image) considering the pain normal Gundam piloting brings him.  He tells Suletta that she annoys him, then challenges Guel to the abovementioned duel with his stake being a duel against Suletta.

You and me both, kid, but for different reasons

The red flag here has a number of little flashing red lights attached to it.  Suletta agrees immediately, because she’s colorblind.  The complete stomping that Elan gives Guel is pretty to watch but a foregone conclusion, and now the next duel will be Elan v. Suletta with Aerial on the line. 

Once again the stakes are so high that they might as well not bother.  It would be equally valid to say “If I win this duel, the show ends here”.  Why not have some normal stakes, so I as a viewer can believe that Suletta has a chance of losing? 

As long as I’m complaining about what has become a very tiresome show that I dread watching each week, what’s up with Elan declaring out loud that he is piloting a Gundam while he very clearly operates his mech in Gundam mode? 

Suletta’s mech vaguely looked like it might be a Gundam and the Gundam Police or whatever showed up sirens-a-blarin’.  I somehow suspect the same thing won’t happen to Elan at the start of Episode 6.  Are we really going to start ignoring our premise already?


1 comment on “Gundam: The Witch from Mercury – Episode 05

  1. Pingback: Gundam: The Witch from Mercury – Episode 06 – The Con Artists

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