Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Changes Everything And Nothing In The Envoys From The Earth
The last time we saw "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury," everything was about to change. The Earthian terrorist outfit Dawn of Fold attacked Plant Quetta, incapacitating Benerit Group president Delling Rembran. In the chaos, Guel Jeturk accidentally killed his dad. Shaddiq made his first big play to change the status quo of the Benerit Group. Nika Nanaura, an Earthian double agent with connections to Dawn of Fold, was spotted at the worst possible moment by her classmate Martin. Suletta Mercury, the heroine of the series, was taught by her mother Lady Prospera to kill others in order to protect her friends. She did so, crushing an Earthian soldier with the hand of the Aerial to save Miorine. Miorine was disgusted.
After an episode like that, anything seemed possible. For instance, Suletta and Miorine becoming enemies. Nika or Guel facing a criminal trial. Abandoning Asticassia School of Technology for an all-out war against Dawn of Fold, or even between warring factions of the Benerit Group. Instead, "The Witch From Mercury" jumps ahead in time and returns to something very much like the status quo. Suletta continues to fight duels at Asticassia. Martin keeps Nika's secret to himself. The Benerit Group remains intact, even as its members rally to crush the resistance on Earth. On the surface, this is a conservative approach for a series that has prided itself on shocking but inevitable twists and turns. But there's a method here too, because Asticassia is not the same as it was.
Open house
"Envoys from the Earth" is a calm before-the-storm episode. As such it gives the viewer everything they've come to expect from the show while teasing that the status quo cannot last. The Dueling Committee is now headed by Elan Ceres and a gaggle of side characters. Suletta is made to fight several matches at once, but her Aerial is now so powerful that it eviscerates the enemy robots in seconds. Shaddiq's adopted father Sarius now runs the Benerit Group in Delling's absence, with Guel's younger brother Lauda (a high schooler!) substituting for his dead dad. The events at Plant Quetta have been kept from the students at Asticassia, but Suletta and her friends know the truth: that the system that has determined their lives could buckle and collapse at any time.
The uneasy balance between formula and violence is best represented by the return of Sophie and Norea in this episode. Last seen as Dawn of Fold terrorists piloting GUND-format robots, they appear here as visitors to Asticassia during the school's Open House. Sophie embraces Suletta as her "big sister," giving Suletta a rare opportunity to demonstrate social confidence and authority. Norea scoffs at the hypocrisy of Asticassia and threatens Nika with a knife. In the meantime, Asticassia puts a uniquely Gundam spin on school Open Houses, including customized Haros and a teased battle royale called the Rumble Ring. It's one last moment for the cast to live as ordinary high school students. But Sophie and Norea are living reminders that the fantasy of Asticassia has a price. When Suletta challenges them to a duel at the end of the episode, Sophie pledges to show her "that Gundams are just machines made for violence."
Machines made for violence
"Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury" is a meat-and-potatoes anime. Likable young characters, giant robots with appealing designs, and end-of-episode cliffhangers are the order of the day. What distinguishes "Witch From Mercury" is that nobody else is doing this anymore. Original anime are scarce, and those that make it to air often either fail to make an impression or collapse under their own weight. Adaptations of manga like "Spy x Family" and "Demon Slayer" are a safer bet. But there is still room in the marketplace for original anime. Last year's "Lycoris Recoil" was a sleeper hit despite its messy production, inspiring a flood of fanart and rapturous praise from Hideo Kojima. "Lycoris Recoil" primed the pump for "Witch From Mercury," another series about teenage girls finding solace in each other even as their world threatens to tear them apart.
Not everyone likes "Witch From Mercury," but the series has inspired an outpouring of communal joy from folks in my circles that is rare these days. Sure, the first season of the show couldn't air six episodes in a row without having to take a break. I'm nervous that the second might break harder and faster. But the show is entertaining, it makes you want to know what happens next, and since the story is original you can't read ahead. The characters are larger than life but have real chemistry with each other. The robot fights remain best-in-class if only because nobody (save for specialists at places like Studio Trigger) are trained to draw 2D robots anymore. If you're somebody foolish enough to watch anime week by week so as to speculate with your friends, "Witch From Mercury" is the best deal in town.
Witch's dance
With that out of the way, I'd like to briefly discuss the show's new opening and ending credits, because I'm a fiend for that sort of thing. The opening is headed by Yuuki Kamiya, credited as storyboarder, episode director, editor, and director of photography. Anime fans might recognize him from his work on the third and eighth ending credits of "Chainsaw Man." Kamiya's known for his love of oranges and blues, and that same contrast is replicated here. Blue represents Miorine's confusion and desolation as she navigates the world apart from Suletta. Orange captures the setting sun as the scions of empire bear the weight of an uncertain future. There's plenty of sneaky hints as well, including what may be a shot of a young Miorine and her parents growing tomatoes.
The ending credits, though, are the clincher. Set to a song written by TK and sung by AiNA THE END, the sequence steals imagery from "Revolutionary Girl Utena" and makes it its own. Suletta is trapped in a world of reflections. The Aerial tears into her chest, replicating a shot from "Utena" and its spiritual successor "Penguindrum." Suletta becomes a Witch, dancing with the Aerial's funnels in harsh red and black. She holds hands with Miorine, their black shadow cast on the wall behind them. TK's signature falsetto, a shriek just outside his vocal range, is recast as AiNA's desolate wailing. It's a beautiful and ominous sequence that looks like nothing else in the history of "Gundam." It's also the best of its kind since "Orphans Namida." I hope (but don't quite believe) that Suletta and Miorine's reunion will be just as upsetting as this ending sequence implies. They deserve nothing less.
This week's addendum
Suletta's List: Suletta plays upperclassman to an "aspiring transfer student." It may be her proudest moment in the series so far.
Suletta's Other List: Elan tries to go on a date with Suletta but is rebuffed by Sophie's intervention. On that note, I wonder what's with the tease in the opening credits? Could his double still be alive somewhere?
The Suletta and Miorine Power Hour: Before the release of the new season, the "Witch From Mercury" Twitter has been showing Suletta and Miorine visit famous honeymoon spots across Japan.
The Robot Watch: I loved the number of weird little grunt units we saw throw themselves against Suletta in the duel at the start of this episode. "Gundam" separates itself from other giant robot franchises not just through its ambition, but in its sheer range of designs even for smaller-scale machines.
Earth House Watch: We learn that Chuchu is not a fan of Earth Fold. I wonder what might happen if she learned Nika's secret? I'm glad to see the rest of her classmates, and hope they (and their goat) will remain a presence in the episodes ahead.
Friends of Gundam: "The Witch from Mercury" fanart community continues to produce banger after banger. That second ending credits sequence really lit a fire under people, huh...