Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Makes 'Their Choice,' Commits Crimes Against Video Editing
"Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury" has spent much of its run so far loudly critiquing unrestrained capitalism. The Benerit Group runs the solar system with machines built on the back of cheap labor from the inhabitants of Earth. Its president Delling Rembran crushes innovative ideas that pose a threat to the hegemony of the military-industrial complex. Asticassia School of Technology, where the children of the Benerit Group earn their qualifications, is a place to make important connections rather than one designed to teach students anything. "The Witch From Mercury" has made it as clear as it possibly can that the Benerit Group has at best become outmoded, and at worst become an active force for evil. So the question remains: what should take its place?
The last episode saw Miorine form a new start-up, GUND-ARM Inc., to rebrand her friend Suletta's Gundam Aerial as an innovative idea rather than a dangerous heresy. "Honest," scrappy capitalism versus "corrupt," entrenched capitalism, in other words. It remains to be seen if "The Witch From Mercury" will explore options other than capitalism as forces like Lady Prospera turn up the heat on the Benerit Group. Personally, I doubt it. But this newest episode raises a point that I also happen to find quite fascinating. In making their own company, Miorine, Suletta and their friends must choose which lessons from their parents to keep and which to change or throw out entirely. They must choose what "Gundam" means to them.
The secret of Gundam
As mentioned previously, "Witch From Mercury" scriptwriter Ichiro Okouchi contributed to 2013's supremely messy and problematic "Valvrave the Liberator." In episode 5 of that series, the students of Sakimori High School broadcast a music video over the WIRED social media service to rally support and solicit funding in their ongoing struggle. This week's episode of "The Witch From Mercury" develops that idea further. Suletta and her Earth House compatriots create a promotional video to broadcast their vision of Gundam to the world. Their video is a hilarious disaster, featuring poor editing and a repetitive theme song (GUND-ARM! GUND-ARM!) But it's a great character moment. Suletta's dance is funny and awkward, and her choreography with the Aerial reinforces their connection. There's even a cameo from Earth House's goat, meeting this episode's crucial funny animal quota.
The GUND-ARM promotional video imagines the Aerial as a friend rather than a foe. This is because Miorine is convinced by the denizens of Earth House to lean into the medical applications of GUND-ARM technology rather than its military utility. Viewers who have seen the prologue know that GUND-ARM was first promoted as a means of treating injuries sustained in space, rather than for building more powerful war machines. But Miorine, Suletta and the kids of Earth House know nothing about this. Like the "modern teens" quoted by series producer Takuya Okamoto, the history of Gundam lies outside of their purview. Miorine is only able to dig up this information by meeting with Peil Technology's resident witch, Belmeria Winston.
I've always been quite fond of you
Can GUND-ARM truly be a force for good? Sarius Zenelli, the CEO of Grassley Defense Systems, seeks to destroy the Aerial because he believes it poses a great danger to human life. Sarius's adopted son, Shaddiq, is Gundam-agnostic. As a member of Suletta's generation, Shaddiq seems unwilling to discard a new idea out of hand. But then, Miorine insists on never believing a word that comes out of Shaddiq's mouth. As an adopted orphan of Grassley Defense Systems, she claims, he will do and say whatever it takes in order to accomplish Sarius's goals.
Going into "The Witch From Mercury," I read the character of Zenelli as a spin on Touga from "Revolutionary Girl Utena." Touga is the president of the Student Council, a popular ladies' man, and the single greatest threat to Utena in the first third of the series. He's the first to defeat Utena in a duel, only to be shattered emotionally when Utena pays him back in the following episode. Now that Zenelli takes the stage in "The Witch From Mercury," the ways in which he both embodies and strays from the Touga archetype are becoming clear. Certainly, Zenelli has no problem manipulating others to achieve his goals. He offers Guel a home away from his tent in the woods, saying that he is "quite fond" of him. He appeals to Miorine's memories of their childhood friendship so that he might get his hands on Suletta's Aerial. Perhaps he was once Miorine's prince, as Touga briefly convinces Utena that he was hers. But it is Miorine, rather than Suletta, who shares this connection with Zenelli. If there is a conflict here, it is hers.
The end of the world
I'm convinced that even the medical applications of GUND-ARM technology will be used for war despite the best intentions of Suletta and her friends. Plenty of folks in the world of "Witch From Mercury" stand to benefit from cybernetic technology; our resident moral compass Chuchu speaks of her many family members and peers on Earth who have been injured in mining accidents. But then, if you can build people with technology, why not build them for war? Why not build giant robots out of people? "It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism," as Mark Fisher once said. Suletta and Miorine might be working towards a better, fairer capitalism, rather than an end to it. But even that limited goal may be tougher than they expect.
Speaking of limited goals, this week's animation was rough, huh? Anime News Network's Kim Morrisey called it "the worst-looking G-Witch episode by far" in her write-up this week, and I'm inclined to agree. The part that most stood out to me was a visual gag early in the episode, where Earth House is shocked by the low funds of GUND-ARM Inc. Rather than modeling their expressions realistically or pulling a well-realized cartoon gag, the animators break the continuity of the sequence by fading their faces from curious to shocked. Then they pull the same trick again in the next scene. I'm not surprised that "The Witch From Mercury" chose to cut down on this episode, especially since there's likely another giant robot duel coming up. But I remain shocked that a team as talented as the one working on "Witch From Mercury," the newest installment of a historic anime franchise, has been dealt such a bad hand. That's capitalism!
This week's addendum
Suletta's List: This week Suletta experienced the joys of high school club activities, or a "student-run start-up" as Miorine might call it. I wonder if anybody else in Earth House is as big a fan of anime as Suletta clearly is.
Suletta's Other List: Not much Suletta action this week, but we see a potential bond between Guel and Zenelli. Saionji and Touga spent a good chunk of "Utena" lounging shirtless in sports cars. Perhaps Guel and Zenelli have the same habits? Do giant robots count as sports cars in this setting?
The Suletta and Miorine Power Hour: Suletta and Miorine share a tender moment on a motor scooter this episode. On a darker note, Miorine now has a better sense of Suletta's cultish devotion to her mom.
Earth House Watch: I enjoyed the little glimpses we were given of Earth House this episode. Lilique is a capable manager, Till is revealed to be a talented artist and we see Ojelo and Nuno fight over the military applications of Gundam technology. I hope they continue to play a role as the series expands in scope, rather than being subsumed by Chuchu's charisma supernova.
Friends of Gundam: Twitter is still not dead, so have some more Gundam art.