We’re back! Another week and I’m continuing my journey through Mobile Suit Gundam. This episode, the crew of the White Base believe they have found safety in the Luna II base, but as you can tell from the episode’s title, things don’t go according to plan.
So, let’s dive into my Five Thoughts on Mobile Suit Gundam‘s “Escape From Luna II!” Will you be able to survive?
1. Finding A Safe Haven
Much like the last episode, this one opens with the problem of finding somewhere for the refugees to go. We get a bit of politicking in the Fed forces as Bright tries (keyword: tries) to work with the Commandant of the Luna II to accept the White Base and their refugees. Commandant Wakkein basically tells them to get on their bike because accepting the refugees of Side 7 would put Luna II in the crosshairs of Char, making him the biggest dick of the show so far.
I mean, these refugees essentially bounced around since the attack on Side 7. They’re floating in a very literal limbo with no one wanting to accept them when all they want is to go back home. Sound familiar? Funny how a show from 1979 can still feel relevant in 2017.
2. Punished For Following Orders
Man, the Fed fucking sucks. Look, I get it: classified military projects and a mobile battle station have been commandeered by a bunch of kids and civilians. Protocol should probably be against that kind of thing happening. But only by allowing Amuro to pilot the Gundam and having people like Mirai, Ryu, Sayla and the rest take over operations of the White Base could the survivors of Side 7 be saved.
And, I mean, drawing weapons on a bunch of kids and civilians for taking over from injured military personnel during crisis? And saving the lives of possibly over a hundred refugees and bringing them to safety under constant Zeon attack? That’s low. That’s real low.
It’s interesting, because it almost puts the White Base crew in a strange no man’s land. They’re being hounded by Zeon forces, but we constantly see the Federation superiors act like complete dicks to them. Both sides of the war are full of assholes and we’re following a bunch of kids as they struggle to survive.
3. The Mystery Of Artesia
Following on from Episode 2, we get a recap of Char’s encounter with Sayla on Side 7 during this episode. We then get confirmations of Char’s suspicion that Sayla could be his lost sister, Artesia. This is an interesting revelation because, to me, it doesn’t read as a storyline for a villain. Sure, Char’s faction is ideologically opposed to the Federation, but there’s a wider morality at play here when you look at Char as a character.
Having this very emotional aspect to his backstory and a narrative drive that echoes from a very personal part of the character fleshes Char out in a way I honestly wasn’t expecting. He feels more like a person who landed on the other side of a war more than some dogged villain trying to track down our heroes in order to stop or kill them. There’s a nuance to the way the show is introducing and developing these characters, even this early on in the series, that more accurately reflects the humanity behind the conflicts of war.
4. The Infiltration Of Luna II
Speaking of Char, he has the coolest moments throughout this episode. It’s interesting because goal still isn’t about the crew of the White Base, the people, but the technology itself. All he has is orders to retrieve the Federation technology, so instead of staging a full scale assault he infiltrates the Luna II in spacesuits. It’s a genius ploy for the episode because it continues to shake up each action sequence and use the setting of space in new and unique ways.
The way Char uses the mines to make it seem like the Musai is firing on Luna II making the Federation forces scramble to their ships only to run into the rest of the mines which flips the Commandant’s ship in order to block their escape.
Continued belowThis is near 40 year old cartoon and I was hootin’ and hollerin’ at how well executed this sequence was. I know Amuro is supposed to be our hero and all, but Char is coolest.
5. Gundam: A Learning Robot
This episode also provided and interesting look into the construction of the Gundam and why it’s, in-universe, so strong compared to the Zaku models. For one, obviously, it’s just faster and stronger and fitted with better capabilities. It’s the X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter argument all over again: quality over quantity. The Gundam is fitted with cutting edge technology, but there’s only one of it while the Zaku are relatively weak, but easier to mass produce.
However, the wrinkle, is that Gundam is able to store data from each fight and learns to adapt from the moves it observed. This also somewhat explains why Amuro could hold his own against Char despite having no training as a pilot. Sure, he still gets wrecked because Char has the upper hand in experience, but it’s an fascinating conundrum that the show poses.
Technology over experience.
Would a shit hot pilot in a junked up old mech still be able to win against a complete rookie in a cutting edge mobile suit? I don’t have the answers to the questions, but I do like that the subtext of the episode is posing them.
