After a harrowing episode last week, Mobile Suit Gundam continues to put Amuro Ray through the ringer with an episode that shows his comrades’s true colours when he refuses to fight to protect his soul. When Garma attacks and the White Base is in jeopardy, will Amuro sacrifice what’s left of his humanity to defend the others?
We find out in our Five Thoughts on Mobile Suit Gundam‘s “Fly, Gundam!”
1. Amuro “James Deen” Ray
God, there’s something so hilarious to me about this episode opening with Amuro brooding on his bed in a plain white vest and denim jeans. I know this is a serious storyline about a child being exposed to the horrors of war and the psychological turmoil that comes hand in hand with piloting a war machine, but that visual was kind of hilarious. He looks like Gundam‘s Bruce Springsteen, ready to write a protest song against the Federation.
This episode, we get an insight into the brooding, almost paranoid side of Amuro as he begins to reason that the Federation are just feeding them to the wolves while developing new weapons to perpetuate the war. It creates friction between him and Fraw Bow and Bright Noa as he refuses to participate in the battle to try and ease his soul. Gee, it’s almost like this show has a Message or something, huh?
2. Grind Of The War Machine
As I mentioned, this episode is primarily about how sick Amuro is of piloting the Gundam. He’s treated like a saviour by the crew of the White Base, given lavish meals each day while the rest of the refugees live on barely enough rations for a single person. He’s despondent and tired of being forced to commit horrible acts and take the lives of Zeon soldiers to defend the refugees. It’s practically eating him up inside.
It’s no spoiler to say that he does get back in the Gundam by the end of the episode, but at what cost? He’s berated by Fraw Bow and Bright Noa, people he likely sees as friends, when he opens up about the stress he’s under. He’s slapped about and told he isn’t a man when he refuses to perpetuate the war machine, but celebrated as soon as he starts to take out Garma’s attack force in the air? What does it mean when the people of the White Base stop seeing Amuro as a person and just as the Gundam? I don’t have the answer to these questions, but I can’t wait to see where they go with it.
3. The Bright Noa Heel Turn
This episode really puts everyone at odds with each other. The disruption caused by Amuro’s initial refusal to pilot the Gundam really shows the true colours of those around him, especially Bright Noa. I’ve mentioned before that Bright has always been shown at odds with the higher commands of the Federation as every higher officer we’ve met has been ready to sacrifice the refugees to keep the technology of the White Base and the Mobile Suits intact.
Here, though, just as Amuro becomes rebelliously despondent, Noa becomes almost irrationally overbearing. He slaps Amuro around, telling him he isn’t a man (which, remember, he’s 15 here) until he pilots the Gundam. It’s a hypocrisy, but one borne from a place of truth as Bright is thinking more about the safety of the refugees as a whole than a single pilot. Amuro, meanwhile, is more concerned with getting to sleep at night without horrible nightmares. It’s fantastically moral writing, pitching a conflict between two characters with no right answer and no easy solution.
4. Reconnecting With The Fed
By the end of this episode, we finally see the White Base reconnect with the Federation on Earth for a resupply. They’re still not out of Zeon airspace yet and still need to make their way to Federation HQ, but the resupply is clearly much needed. It also introduces Matilda, the first Federation officer we’ve met other than Bright who isn’t a total monster. And Amuro promptly falls in love at first sight.
It’s an awkward kind of militarised meet-cute, but it reminds us of the fact that Amuro is still just a kid. Despite everything he’s going through, he remains more obsessed with the boner he got from smelling Matilda as she passed him than anything else going on.
Continued below5. God, Kai Is Just The Worst
You know, I almost brought this up last episode before he was thrust into the Guncannon and my point became about that, but Kai is a massive dick, ain’t he? Almost every episode has had a cutaway to him being a massive dick to someone for no reason at all. Usually it’s Sayla or Fraw Bow or even the kids roaming the White Base.
This episode he’s complaining to the chef (who he calls fat, just for kicks) that Amuro and Ryu get bigger portions that he does, even though Amuro is literally carrying the entire White Base on his soldiers. There’s a weirdly selfish streak to the character that I’m sure is a cover for the insecurities and the fear of their current situation, but right now he just comes off as a pure dick.
