Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Rides a Broom Along The Woven Path
Its big picture pales to its short term pleasures. But perhaps that was always the point.
Welcome to this week’s installment of ANIWIRE! This time, we are covering the 22nd episode of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, the hit new Gundam series. This piece assumes that you have been keeping up with the show so far, so bear in mind that there will be spoilers.
Before that, though, here’s the news from the past week.
News
- Netflix released the trailer for its upcoming One Piece TV adaptation, set to release this August. I have a hard time believing this series could replicate the source material’s cartoony art and massive scale, but the actors seem game. Good luck to them!
- In other Netflix news, after nearly being cancelled by Disney, Nimona (based on an early webcomic by ND Stevenson) is set to come out on June 30th. Here’s a trailer. Early word says it’s pretty good, though I’m most glad that the film made it to audiences after all this time.
- The English version of otome visual novel Jack Jeanne was released last Thursday, featuring character designs and some writing by Tokyo Ghoul creator Ishida Sui. It looks great!
- GKIDS is bringing Blue Giant, the new film by Mob Psycho 100 director Yuzuru Tachikawa, to theaters this year. I’ve heard mixed things about this film, but may check it out for Tachikawa’s name regardless.
Bookmarks
- Frog-kun wrote about Spy Classroom, a fun light novel series that’s reportedly been poorly served by its anime adaptation this year.
- Corey Atad wrote about Spider-Verse over at Defector.
- For Anime News Network, Caitlin Moore reviewed Discotek’s release of classic Gainax OVA Gunbuster.
- Reporting from Annency, Kambole Campbell discussed early footage of The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim. Not sold on this one yet, but we’ll see…
- Also reporting from Annency, Rafael Motamayor got Fixed over at Slash Film.
AMV of the Week:
In honor of the Gunbuster release, here’s “Finest Hour” by AMV Cenit.
Now, to the episode coverage. There will be spoilers after this point.
“The Woven Path” is a crowd-pleasing showcase that gives just about every character from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury a moment to shine. It pays off narrative beats, like Suletta’s reunion with Miorine, that the audience has been anticipating for months. It mixes cheeky references to franchise classics together with genuinely new ideas. It even features some of the best direction and animation that the show has seen in weeks. There’s every reason to say that Witch From Mercury is approaching its climax with confidence.
At the same time, everything just outside the action is hazy. The villain has spent the past several weeks frowning in a battleship. Suletta and Miorine’s bad blood, upon which the second half of the series turns, is resolved in just a few minutes. The fate of the Benerit Group relies on their reunion, and yet the broader question of whether the Group should continue to exist (or can be redeemed?) has been put aside in the wake of the aforementioned battleship. At every turn, Witch From Mercury has prioritized narrative convenience over theme. Its big picture pales to its short term pleasures. But perhaps that was always the point.
This episode featured the long-awaited reunion between Suletta and Miorine. Both have experienced trauma since they last met; Suletta survived a school shooting, while Miorine’s actions led to mass killings on Earth. How could Suletta trust Miorine, after Miorine went behind Suletta’s back to cut her out of Prospera’s plans? It’s notable that Suletta was the first to recover, making the wreckage of Asticassia School of Technology livable through deliveries of blankets and tomatoes. Even at her lowest point, Suletta always had her friends at Earth House to support her, as well as begrudging allies at Jeturk and Pelil. Miorine just had Guel, and even a well-meaning failson ally could only do so much. It’s no wonder Miorine ran to her bedroom to escape the responsibilities of Benerit Group president.
The scene between Suletta and Miorine is staged carefully. Miorine’s physicality is carefully observed: for instance, the specific way her toes curl when she confesses her fears to Suletta through the closed door of her room. Later, when she stands to walk to her bedroom door, she shucks off her blanket to reveal her bare legs. She is wearing clothes, but the effect is of nakedness. If you were to say, “great, the animators are being horny again,” you’d probably be right. But great animators and directors know that feet and legs present opportunities for character expression. So do hands: when Suletta takes Miorine’s hand, the way in which their fingers touch and adjust position is depicted in granular detail. For the past several episodes, Witch From Mercury has deprioritized character animation in favor of robot animation. But to sell this scene to the audience, the staff clearly knew that they had to convey Suletta and Miorine’s reconciliation through movement as well as voice acting and dialogue.
Another delightful moment of character animation: the duel between Guel and Suletta for Miorine’s hand. I wasn’t sure what to expect when Guel challenged Suletta. Is there really enough time, I thought, for another giant robot duel? But then they put on real fencing gear to stage a duel in the hallway, and that is so much better. The dueling sequence hearkens back to Revolutionary Girl Utena as well as the original Mobile Suit Gundam’s climactic sword duel. It happens so abruptly that it comes off as a one-off gag, parodying the show’s past instances of escalation. We’ve never even seen the characters fence. Even so, they take it seriously. Guel nurses affection for Suletta, but demands proof that she’s back in the game for real. He fights with all his strength, and proves how much he’s changed not by winning the duel but by choosing to trust Suletta with his burdens so quickly after losing. His reactivation of Suletta’s Holder uniform is unnecessary and even contradictory in the grand scheme of things–why should archaic norms like that matter anymore? What matters here though is that Miorine cheated to take it away from Suletta, and Guel gave it back without blinking.
No matter who your favorite character is in Witch From Mercury, this episode has a gift prepared just for you. Elan #5 finally reveals to fate of Elan #4 to Suletta, and the wind blows as he fully understands Suletta’s strength for the first time. Chuchu stands at the cockpit of the Demi Barding, emulating a favorite pose of Gundam protagonists. Martin prepares to go to war, but is overcome by motion sickness; meanwhile, Felsi demands to go and fight along with Earth House. Delling Rembran smiles, but does not speak, when his daughter Miorine calls him names at his sickbed. Belmeria tries to walk Suletta through the activation of the Calibarn mobile suit, but can’t bring herself to go all the way. It falls to Miroine to increase the robot’s Permet levels and prove that Suletta could carry her sister Ericht’s burden all along, if only for a short time. These little scenes work because Witch From Mercury has done the work to endear its cast to the audience, so that they cheer every time Chuchu appears on screen, and will root for Miorine choosing to trust in Suletta rather than assume that she herself knows best.
What about the show’s themes, though? Witch From Mercury began as the story of an elite private school controlled by interstellar arms manufacturers that raided Earth’s resources and people for their own profit. It then transitioned into a revenge tale, as Suletta and her classmates were manipulated by Lady Prospera into achieving her goals via the Benerit Group’s resources. Certain questions were raised, such as: should the Benerit Group have exploited Earth? Is it fair that the students of Earth House are discriminated against by the Asticassia student body? What is the legality of human experimentation, especially when used for the benefit of the wealthy? Is Gundam technology built for the purpose of war or medicine? Is it right that Asticassia’s Holder should be “engaged” to the heir of the Benerit Group, without that heir having a say? In fact, should the Benerit Group exist at all?
By this point, we can guess the answer to a few of these questions. Belmeria is certain that her “enhanced human” experiments on children were a mistake. GUND-ARM, Inc. has been positioned as a tool to assist folks like Petra who were injured in the proxy war between Earth and Space. Even Prospera’s ambitions to let Ericht “live in the data storm” could be seen as a statement about the use of Quiet Zero as a healing device rather than a superweapon. Still, I can’t help but notice that the question of the Benerit Group has been put to the side. The climactic struggle of Witch From Mercury seemingly has nothing to do with navigating unjust systems, or whether an alternative might be possible. It doesn’t even really involve the people of Earth in any way, outside the students of Earth House. Instead we’re given a final showdown between Quiet Zero and the heroine, armed with her cool robot, that wouldn’t be out of place in the pages of Shonen Jump.
What distinguished Revolutionary Girl Utena, or even the original Mobile Suit Gundam, from their contemporaries, is that they had no problem being both thoughtful and entertaining. The joy of their creation could coexist with their anger towards society and the status quo. In earlier episodes, Witch From Mercury successfully channeled the rage of younger generations towards their elders, despite being reticent to offer a world beyond that. But when Kenanji asked the students to give up if their lives were threatened this week, saying to “let adults take responsibility,” I couldn’t help but wonder: when have adults ever taken responsibility in this setting? Is this show meant to energize a younger generation really going to end with: “don’t worry, let the adults handle this one!”
Like in the show, there are two Witches From Mercury. One is a satisfying melodrama in which likable characters make shocking decisions. The other is a metaphor. The former is much more successful than the latter; if that’s the one you preferred, you are in luck. I’m curious to see whether the series might throw a bone to fans of the latter in the last two episodes. My impulse is, that’s all we’re getting. The robot Calibarn has no deeper meaning; it’s a robot with a laser broomstick. Then again, that’s pretty cool. Who wins, and who loses?
This week’s addendum
The Suletta and Miorine Power Hour: They’re back, baby!!!!
Suletta’s Other List: Looks like a Suletta polycule isn’t on the table after all. I can understand why, but still think it would be very funny.
The Robot Watch: Calibarn’s earned all the attention this week, but I personally loved the giant laser dock/multi-armed duelist robot piloted by Quiet Zero’s drones. I hope we see even more weird Quiet Zero tech next week.
The Utena Watch: Suletta and Miorine’s reunion was reminiscent of Utena’s ending, with Miorine opening the door herself and taking Suletta’s outstretched hand. We’ll see whether next episode replicates that for Ericht (or Suletta herself?) with the Quiet Zero coffin imagery.
