Last edited by Marik; Sun, 11-09-2008 at 05:37 PM.
The show continues strong - and with bloody big cliffhangers. After six episodes I have got nothing to complain about, which is certainly different compared to the first season, and couldn't make me happier.
When the old geezer said he will go to man the cannon, I thought that would be it for him, and Saji would take his place as a technician, thus actually creating some sort of a role for the fool, but soon enough it was revealed it was just a general move to have Saji there as well, finger on a trigger and the crosshair on Louise's mobile suit. Such an ironic and cruel setting indeed.
Ali is still kept aside for some grand finale, it seems, despite his brief appearance. It makes sense he didn't attack Setsuna and Marina, because attacking that shuttle would hardly have given him any satisfaction, but at least he's now a constant distraction for Setsuna's thoughts and concentration. But nevertheless I wish we would see him fight with that shiny new gundam of his.
I'm not sure what to think of the Andrei/Louise situation. His little love-at-first-sight moment just seemed really awkward and out of place. It got kind of creepy really fast when suddenly he feels the need to protect her on the battlefield. I guess it is due to the proximity to his father and her past that he never gave Soma the same treatment. While it certainly is misplaced, his sense of chivalry is touching...in a way.
At first I was fine with it, it was that whole grand rivalry thing Gundam series always do. But the way Graham is acting really pisses me off this season. It's perfectly understandable and fine in series like G Gundam which is all about one-on-one combat, or Wing or SEED or whatever where they don't really give a shit about tactics. Here, there has been a huge emphasis on tacticians, especially with Kati guessing Sumeragi is their strategist. No sensible commander would ever allow an individual unit to say the kind of shit Graham did this episode.
'Let me take care of [the 00] and do not interfere.' What the hell is that?! Kati should have told him to shut the fuck up and if "Mr. Bushido" is engaging the 00, but if A-LAWS Pilot 1258 has an open shot at the 00's exposed backside, they should be fully authorized and ordered to take the shot.
Screw Graham's whiny little bullshit personal vendeta to satisfy his overwhelmingly large ego.
That's not Kati's problem, though. The problem lies in the fact the androids rule the military and have created a structure of power where simply belonging to a favored faction gives one the freedom to do whatever happens to please him/her. A-LAWs are that in relation to the regular military and some special individuals are that in relation to the A-LAWs. Such a thing is to be expected from an oligarchy or a dictatorship, which is definitely where the world is heading towards, whether the large audience knows it or not. Even more so when those in power probably don't care at all for individual lives.
Well, on the other hand Kati's team has their hands full even with the rest of the Gundams and the ship, and it's not like she or the other pilots couldn't seize an opportunity at any time, no matter what Graham was promised.
But it's true Graham has been downgraded in this second season.
Saji needs to die in a car fire.
This episode was everywhere. Lots of crying too. "I killed these people!", "I am a super soldier!", "OTOME!" "You are of no use to me, Hong Long. No, ONII-SAMA!"
Last edited by animus; Sun, 11-09-2008 at 08:00 PM.
Graham better snap out if his attitude, it's become annoying. No officer in his right mind would give permission for someone to do whatever he wants.
For some reason, in this ep 00 is way too weak in my opinion. The twin drive should give it an insane powerboost, but he has problems against a single drived suit.
If you look at the insane performance in episode 2, this fight so far is a huge letdown.
The preview also spoils quite a lot.
It's just that Setsuna is not a very good pilot, he never has been anyway. If the 00 is placed in Graham's hands, I bet the the other gundams would not even stand a chance in one on one combat.
Peace.
Yes, that's one of the things I have always liked about Gundam 00. The only distinguishing factor for the Meistars, with perhaps the exception of Lockon's (Lyle or Neil) sniper abilities and when Hallejuah was around, were the Gundams themselves. The Meistars are only above-average pilots.
Tieria commented on it in this episode. With the replacements that included Louise, the A-LAWS are a much toughter opponent now than they were earlier, though Louise herself is not that great at this point (perhaps Andrei will train her). Any skilled pilot in a halfway decent machine, and the Meistars can become hard pressed.
Though I definitely agree on the abilities of the 00 this eps. Graham is still an excellent pilot, but there's shouldn't be any reason Setsuna is that underwhelming in the 00. Then again, when it was activated back in episode 2, Setsuna did have the Trans-Am system on, and here he only turned it on at the end of the episode.
I also noticed that Setsuna is not using the 00 to its full capability. The extra drive should enable him to block beam weapons and also to maneuver in ways a single drive unit cannot accomplish, but he seems to be fighting in his usual straightforward (Exia) manner. He will probably pawn Graham with the trans-am system in the next episode, though.
Peace.
thought it was a good episode. lots of things going on, even if some are downright silly.
Wang Liu Mei continues to move from the shadows. She's got end-game trouble written all over her. The fact that she's not in bed with the Innovators was a little bit of a surprise for me (and Nena having the link-up with Ribbons and co).
Sumeragi's past came to light in this episode. I was a little bit confused, since Katie Mannequin was an AEU officer, and I thought it was stated a while back that Sumeragi was with the Union (which is how Billy Katagiri knows here), but I think they also once mentioned that some time ago the three former superpowers had a joint operation that didn't quite go the way they planned... I'm guessing it was that one...
I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see more Ali. At least a minute or so of him torching shit while Marina cries, Setsuna resists the urge to suicide attack, and both of them angsting as they retreat with Ali laughing maniacly in there ears.
Saji kill Louise? Somehow it would be too deliciously cruel. And I think it would really bend Saji's path from what they've been setting him up for... Tieria's smackdown was the dialouge moment of the episode for me. That's the hardass femme I missed...
I actually like super vindictive Graham. There's almost always a pilot totally obsessed with defeating a Gundam, and it's not like he was ever going to respond to orders anyway. The fact that he can occupy CB's best close-quarters mech on his own gives A-LAWs a real nice boost. But, yeah, they should have some kind of orders to assist him if it looks bad...
You guys are complaining about the Gundams being underpowered and getting whooped by a larger, better trained group of pilots? I think it's fucking excellent. It actually adds some tension to the fights and makes you almost forget about all of the CB bishies fabulous plot armor, making it seem like they can actually lose.
Still very unsure why they don't have New Lockon sniping from the Ptolemy. Sending a long-range type out to the front lines, especially when he could help defend the ship, seems like such a poor move...
Andrei <3 Louise. What a bore.
Also, next episode. Christ almighty. I am so sick of Sunrise pulling the "former friends turned enemies getting trapped together on an island / in a cave and work through their differences to renew their love/friendship" stint.
Humans are different from animals. We must die for a reason. Now is the time for us to regulate ourselves and reclaim our dignity. The one who holds endless potential and displays his strength and kindness to the world. Only mankind has God, a power that allows us to go above and beyond what we are now, a God that we call "possibility".
I'm looking forward to it. They would make such a nice couple. Soma needs some loving too, especially now when she's trying to force herself to forget about seeking happiness and become a killing machine.Originally Posted by masamuneehs
Am I the only one that thinks Andrei fell for Louise just so he could get his ass killed? Or maybe save her and not die but think more likely to have him die with his one sided love.
Well no real complains if you ask me, Graham already had permission to do as he wished from the higher ups and Kati already argued about it once, no real point in keep arguing since nothings gonna change. The complaint would be that they made it seem like no one gave a shit about what happened between those two which means if Graham lost they wouldn't have a back up plan when 00 suddenly joins in. Pretty bad for them
You are here alone again
In your sweet insanity
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely
I definitely have found the realism angle (that after the copy-GN drives are reverse engineered, CB only barely has a technological advantage) one of the best parts of this series. Overpowered mecha series have their place (Gurren Lagaan) but when it is global warfare, an even matchup makes for a better series.
I find it a little hard to believe that just because Sumeragi was unconscious and not giving the orders, that they wouldn't think of keeping Lockon where he can do the most damage...but that's the best excuse I can think of. Either way, he was shooting from the far edges of the battlefield, almost touching the ocean. There was also the possibility that he could dip under the waves as Setsuna has done frequently and pop up somewhere else to start sniping anew. I think it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked, though he could have afforded to be further out.
Then again, I'm a little surprised we haven't seen Lockon (either of them) use the Exospheric Bombarment version of the Gundam's sniper rifle since that one time last season when they saved Saji and Louise's collective asses on the orbital station. If they had popped Lockon on top of the Ptolomy here, Celestial Being might have been able to take out Kati's warship.
I'm going to go with Kraco on the Soma/Marie/Al/Hal situation coming up. When they were younger it gave off the impression that the two of them, sharing thoughts, may have been more than just simple friends. Al/Hal really didn't give a shit about any of the other Super Soldiers, he even killed a few as a kid before he joined CB, but Marie was different.
Now, Soma really seems to want to reach for her own happiness, there was quite a long scene about it this episode, but she keeps trying to make herself as much of a killer as possible. Like she doesn't really deserve it. It is very similar (intentionally so I'm sure) of the same things that Al/Hal went through in the latter half of last season.
Maybe it is a little overdone, but I'll forgive it because I'm a fan of Soma. The more screentime she gets the better.
While keeping him near the ship would have helped in the defense of the ship, it would have also meant drawing more fire and attention to the ship, in general terms and specifically. While the ship now got attacked anyway, it wasn't an altogether poor plan, because it might have worked, but apparently they couldn't take care of the enemy soon and efficiently enough to prevent that from happening. That is, the enemy had units to spare to throw against Ptolemy. Naturally this is also a gamble on A-LAWs part as this means two units less fighting the Gundams.
Colonel Smirnov trying to adopt Marie was suppose to make her feel more.. "human" right? Could it be that she thinks she doesn't deserve to be treated well? I don't get this part.
I sort of lol-ed at the "You have control , I have control" part.
<3 Tessa-chan! <3 Lucifus! ....chotto mate.
Well, yeah. She's torn between her identities as someone's daughter (a person with emotions), and an obedient supersoldier (cold-hearted killer). When she tried to have both, it breaks her emotionally to carry out her tasks as a soldier, or rather, A-LAWS. She finds this internal conflict unbearable, and believes it means she'll have to choose a side. She's also feeling guilty that a killer like her doesn't deserve the warmth and comfort humans so desire. Unable to wipe away those feelings, she turns down Sergei.
Interesting thing about Soma's brain waves is that she hinted she ca read, or feel other people's minds, or just simply get a vague idea of their thoughts. With that, I don't think it's impossible to have Al/Hal X Soma/Marie doing some brainwave-synced, ultra-reflex tandem dogfighting. I sure hope that happens.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Of course, something like that will only happen if they able to remove the dissonance between their brainwaves that usually gives them migraines so bad they end up catatonic.
That will only happen if they fall in ~looooooooooove~ and achieve perfect harmony. Wait...this isn't Macross 7.
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All kidding aside, we do know from flashbacks that Marie and Al used to communicate fully telepathically using the quantum brainwaves, and everything was peachy between the two.
Since they both developed alternate personalities, Allelujah would get the migraines from Soma and Soma would get them from Allelujah, but worse from Hallelujah. It doesn't seem like she uses the shielding anymore, and now that Allelujah has lost the quantum brainwaves, he doesn't have the problems either, though Soma can still sense that it is him. Something changed in her head when Marie became Soma.
I agree with the poster who said Graham would own Setsuna given the same mecha. I however think the most interesting fight would be Graham vs Hallelujah when he's in super soldier mode
I just watched all 6 eps. For some reason I still want the gundam side to lose. It feels like seed destiny all over again. I hope Saji leaves the gundam side. I know a lot of people were pissed with Saji so far, but for some reason he wasn't that annoying as he was in the 6th eps. If you think about it in some messed up way saji was right, fighting will only bring more wars and hatred. No matter how good your intent is u're still a killer. I find it very ammusing that the gundam pilots all have this messed up reasoning that they will pay for their crimes once they finish wut they are starting again.
What happened to Ali and set./marina encounter? Ali just let them leave. That is very anti-climatic.
PS wonder wut exia is going to be like at the end of this season, will strike freedom have a chance against it? ^_^
Fighting has also brought peace in many cases. Violence has also paved the way for civilizations to thrive. The problem with the reasoning of both sides is simply the fact that they refuse to recognize each other without even considering their respective perspectives. Only an ideal-blinded pacifist would say that fighting will only bring more wars and hatred, especially considering the peace that they so respect is usually born from fighting, and their heroes murderers for the sake of their goals.
Peace.
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