#GundamAGE ep24: to live like a man and die like a dog. #anime

What the hell is this?! Asemu doesn’t get much of a break does he?  And I can’t for the life of me understand Zeheart’s thinking.  Either you view him properly as an enemy or you don’t.  Don’t try to romance his weakness and then hesitate to end his life.  Though I will say I like one thing, Gundam AGE is bitter as hell. And it doesn’t have much of a use for old men.

#GundamAGE ep23: no one can afford to wait for you to grow up, Asemu. #anime

First and foremost, for all those who followed Gundam AGE from the beginning, Grodek has finally been released from prison! Woo-hoo! It makes sense since the Vagan’s have been causing so much trouble lately. I don’t know what did it, maybe enough of the old brass died off to allow for his release. Or maybe Flit was able to finally pull enough strings. It doesn’t matter because at least the old badass didn’t have to die in that prison and is finally getting some of the respect that was due to him.

Something else long overdue is Zeheart catching flack for being such poor commander.

#GundamAGE ep22: Flit has put so many previous Gundam protagonists to shame, that Tomino should feel ashamed of himself. #anime

I don’t know whether to be more impressed by Flit, or by the Federation forces’ overall competence. This also once again allows me to say that despite Zeheart’s sexy quotient and first-rate X-Rou– Newtype skills, he’s still a terrible commander. He’s no Char or Athrun in that department. But most of all it allows me to say that Gundam AGE is a very entertaining show. There’s a special kind of payoff you get from this type of narrative.

And that’s the enjoyment (artificial or not) of seeing characters progress over a long period of time. And the additional joy of seeing various relationships evolve, devolve and permeate.

#GundamAGE ep21: Woolf is on the fast track to being the best sempai ever. #anime

There are plenty of ways to deal with your feelings towards a problem.  There’s only one true way to deal with the problem itself. That appears to be what Asemu’s learning to master as of this episode of Gundam AGE. You could easily pin the guy (can’t say he’s a kid, despite his character design he is an adult) with the spoiled, entitled brat label. But you’d only be showing how much of an ignorant hate you are. The only thing Asemu has lacked so far was
focus. True focus on a goal. He doesn’t lack it now.

#GundamAGE ep20: Zeheart is still an awesome pilot, and a terrible commander. #anime

Well that was a fun episode. I would hardly say much moved forward.  It was more a case of more possibilities and options being put on the table. It’s an episode seasoned with some good Gundam-style space acrtion and sprinkled with a bit of the show’s penchant for terrible tactics and strategies.  I suppose that’s something I’ve learned to accept.

#GundamAGE ep19: the AGE military is a close knit family… literally! #anime

I’m seriously starting to wonder about the population of the AGE universe. Or maybe it’s just a matter of talented people coming together. Or maybe it’s a matter of the Federation Forces higher ups orchestrating this tight knit group of relatives and close friends.  The Asuno family has its finger prints all over this ship. The Gunhale family has two generations stalking the decks. High school friends are on the same ship. The Diva’s captain and mobile suit commander are intimately acquainted, as well. You’d think there’d be a lot of hanky panky and barbecues. But no, this is anime, and more specifically Gundam, there’s gonna be more than a few coincidences.

Gundam AGE ep16: not a bad start. Asemu’s more well-adjusted than I expected.

Flit has a simmering and focused hatred. Emily is as forgettable as ever. Vargas is still old and fat, matter of fact he’s older and fatter (uh duh!). And I could have sworn that was Largan in that antique mobile suit. Or whoever that guy is inside, he has Largan’s luck. But the second “age” isn’t gonna be about these guys, so let’s move on.

#GundamAGE ep13: not bad for a “kiddie show”. Hell, not bad for Gundam. #anime

Alright, I thought the UE just seemed weird. I’ll say they’re alien now. There was some nice set up to the battle. Of course Emily isn’t of much use since all she was gonna do and did was watch. I’ll take her in that position over the annoyances of Flay or Fa anyday.

#GundamAGE ep12: X-Region? X-Region?! Who at Bandai do I have to punch?! #anime

He’s a Newtype you twats!!  A Newtype!  Just come up with some bullsh*t excuse to give him the proper title.  Ugh! I better move on.

Good, entertaining episode.  Sure there seemed to be plenty of times when it felt like everyone was having a staring contest, but they managed that reasonably well.  Mr. Chocolate Bar showed some real planning skill, I suppose that if Grodek wasn’t so damn lucky (or blessed depending on how you want to see it) they would’ve been captured or badly damaged before they ever got to a UE fleet.

It all panned out a bit too conveniently for me at times, but I suppose things still came across with a reasonable amount of suspension and action.  We even got a Newtype flash from Flit.  He showed some stellar spatial awareness and reacted like a psychic to his opponents for a moment there.  I even thought I saw a little Amuro in him for a moment there.

All in all, a good transitionary episode as the show moves towards the end of its first generation, or arc, or whatever you want to call it.  I’m also glad that I didn’t hear a lick about the AGE system for another episode. I’ve been afraid that the show would come to rely on it too much, as if it were a new toy for a Saturday morning kids’ show.  But the AGE has been well restrained the entire time regarding it.

I’ve seen a quality product in the show and it’s making me very optimistic about what it can achieve in the future.  This next episode will be crucial in several ways for the show, however.  I want to see what they do with the animation, with the characters, with the tone of the show.  I’m very anxious to see how dark it plans on being.  In my opinion, dark Gundam often equals good Gundam (Turn A being an exception).

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#GundamAGE ep11: I got a somewhat bad Four Murasume vibe from Flit’s encounter with Yurin. #anime

Seeing as how Newtypes and Cyber-Newtypes are the only things I can compare the UE to, tha’s the best comparison I can come up with for now. Those moments between the two seemed a little bit rushed. But the alternative probably would’ve been two episodes without any real action in a row.

It looks like the Feddies aren’t completely hands off when it comes to this situation. They can’t afford to send any soldiers to help take care of the UE, but they definitely have spare time and resources to
court-martial a rogue commander. They’re right there to get in the way of Grodek’s plans.

Which brings up something that baffles me. I don’t see why the crew helping him would be rebels and accomplices now, when they’ve been helping him all this time. Sure, the Feddies might not have known they were willing participants, but that still seems to reasonable for how the Earth governments usually handle these situations. I’m expecting a little more corruption and sloth here.

Finally, it seems we have quite a bit of sexual attraction brewing on the ship. A pair of love triangles even. It makes me a bit weary because depending on how dark the show wants to be, these things can be farmed and cultivated for later emotional currency and shock value down the line. I can almost guarantee that it’s been done in every major Gundam series aired. Darker shows like Zeta and Victory abused this technique. I think only G Gundam (unless you count the man-love between Domon and Master Aisha) avoided pulling this trick.

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