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Jul 27, 2009 12:43 PM
#1

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Mar 2008
418
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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For a moment, I thought that soldier that was trembling was going to cry... that would have been fun :p

Anyway, the main character shows the usual main-character-symptoms for a Gundam series: naive ideals and no power to make them come true, yet running his mouth about them to his superiors. And here I was hoping he was smarter than that... *shakes head*

Despite that, I actually enjoyed this episode. I specially liked that the resistance was not moved by Shiro's words and went ahead to finish off the Zakus. I liked it even more that it was Shiro the one who got the honor of the kill. That should teach him how weak his ideals are.
ArcanusJul 27, 2009 1:02 PM
Oct 5, 2009 12:01 AM
#2
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Feb 2009
72
i think this is the best episode so far...... pure epicness!
[url=http://myanimelist.net/animelist/ferruiz34&sclick=1]<img src="http://myanimelist.net/signature/ferruiz34.png" border="0" />[/
Feb 18, 2010 8:44 PM
#3
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Sep 2007
655
Best episode yet.
ExcelsiorAug 30, 2010 9:46 PM
Jun 17, 2011 7:09 PM
#4
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Jul 2010
384
Very silly judges at Shiro's trial. I don't think a lot of military courts burst out laughing.

More Gundam, more senseless killing. Those guerrillas were so preoccupied with bloodlust, they failed to use effective tactics. Shiro's blatantly obvious reasoning was ignored so they could satisfy malicious urges. Even a cynical war-mind would know that prisoners of war can provide information or at least serve as bargaining chips.

Best episode yet
Aug 13, 2011 6:54 AM
#5
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Jul 2018
564084
When Shiro dodged that bullet in the last second, I... really didn't know what to think. Ok, maybe you can't really compare the momentum of such big slugs to those of a pistol or a rifle, but it still seemed fast enough to make it look like Matrix.

Other than that, episode was pure sex.
Oct 7, 2012 8:54 AM
#6

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Feb 2009
161
That's what I love Gundams for! Great episode, the best one so far.
Jan 28, 2013 9:11 AM
#7

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Jun 2012
373
Amazing episode! This battle was very good, and I hope it helps Shiro to develop as a character. The best thing about this battle was that It could be avoided, If it wasn't for the foolishness of some villagers.
Aug 12, 2013 11:53 AM
#8

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Mar 2010
481
I posted a long rant in episode 7 about how Shiro was as terrible a character as Kirito from SAO because he's so inconsistent and nothing bad ever happens to him.

It's like they heard me or something...
Feb 12, 2014 4:23 AM
#9

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Oct 2013
219
Arcanus said:
Anyway, the main character shows the usual main-character-symptoms for a Gundam series: naive ideals and no power to make them come true, yet running his mouth about them to his superiors. And here I was hoping he was smarter than that... *shakes head*

Despite that, I actually enjoyed this episode. I specially liked that the resistance was not moved by Shiro's words and went ahead to finish off the Zakus. I liked it even more that it was Shiro the one who got the honor of the kill. That should teach him how weak his ideals are.

Shiro while having naive ideals (I swear, this Shiro also...), he is for god's sake a commander of a unit. It's accomplishment of his own and his rising in power I'd say. Or what? He should be on hax mobile suit while having hax abilities?
Apr 3, 2014 12:51 AM

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Sep 2013
16130
Damn, this was a good one. I like how well they portrayed how a town gets destroyed to ashes by just a few Mobile Suits.
Apr 4, 2014 11:22 PM

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May 2008
877
One thing I liked the most about this episode is that it showed that the Federation aren't the good guys that other Gundams tend to make them seem. Some of the crusty old judges, one guard laughing, and the Zeon lady really shows that while our main character is a good guy, the side he's on necessarily isn't.

Otherwise, about time the guerrillas and Shiro get a reality check.
Apr 4, 2014 11:26 PM

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Mar 2008
24335
Sakarii said:
One thing I liked the most about this episode is that it showed that the Federation aren't the good guys that other Gundams tend to make them seem. Some of the crusty old judges, one guard laughing, and the Zeon lady really shows that while our main character is a good guy, the side he's on necessarily isn't.
It definitely ramps it up, and while the Feds are often the 'protagonists' in other shows, it has always depicted the politicians, generals, and such as inefficient and corrupt. General Revil excepted of course.
Apr 13, 2014 1:47 PM

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Mar 2013
457
Excellent episode. The way the guerrillas killed that first Zeon pilot was pure epicness.
Apr 16, 2014 6:24 PM

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Jan 2014
10464
Well, that episode totally makes up for the disappointment that the last couple eps have been: it was just... great.
I really enjoyed the fact that things didn't go as planned for Shiro and that he finally get a well needed reality check. Hell, even Kiki managed to make me feel bad for her, that's saying something.
Highlight of the ep. was probably his trial and how the offs just burst out laughing: not sure that would happen during an actual RL trial, but it sure did a excellent job showing how naive & unrealistic Shiro's ideals are.

Best episode so far, and hoping the shows keeps that level of quality.

EDIT: Goddamit dat animation
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Kellhus said:
GuusWayne said:
there is a limit to the suspension of disbelief

And it's the fan that did it. Not the smoking porn reading rubik cube genius rape ape with a magic boat.
May 21, 2014 8:41 AM

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Sep 2011
33764
out of the entire universal century i consider this episode to be up there as one of the best, the only other episode i think i liked more was the last episode of war in the pocket

Immahnoob said:
Jizzy, I know you have no idea how to argue for shit,

tokiyashiro said:

Jizzy as you would call yourself because youre a dick The most butthurt award goes to you And clearly you havent watched that many shows thats why you cant determine if a show is unique or not Or maybe you're just a child who likes common stuffs where hero saves the day and guys gets all the girls. Sad taste you have there kid you came up to me in the first place making you look more like a kid who got slapped without me even knowing it and start crying about it to me

May 30, 2014 12:10 PM
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Jan 2013
86
Best episode so far and by far. The clash of ideals with Shiro I thought was very good and even though i would prefer bigger scale fights, this show does a good job showing gundams and the army in a smaller scale.
Aug 4, 2014 8:15 AM

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Jul 2013
3769
Another Yoshiko Sakakibara appearance in Gundam (that's not listed here for some reason) was a pleasant surprise to my ears. I was really happy those dudes laughed at him in the court room, ended up making me crack up a bit too. Anyway, this was a good episode. Probably the first one that was really well balanced in both great action and good character moments.
Aug 15, 2014 5:07 PM

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Apr 2013
2282
What a great episode. This time Shiro really tried to reason with the enemy and the guerrillas but he failed.
The way he dodged that bullet..... Could he be a Newtype?
Dec 22, 2014 11:42 PM

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May 2011
534
Best episode yet. The portrayal of war is uncannily resembling to what we would consider as a guerrilla warfare. In the end, those people are just driven by the desire to completely annihilate their enemies, at the expense of rationality and disclosure. Had they consider to force the Zeons to surrender, and act practically in face of small threatsm the situation would not have resulted in the deaths of anyone. 5/5
"If you reject me, I'll blast a hole in you!" Kanzaki H. Aria
Just kidding.

Jun 4, 2015 7:27 PM

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Jul 2009
3344
Great episode!

I also think this is the best one. Showed the consequences of war, Kiki's father dying which is still stupid. Why would you fire a rocket launcher in front of a booster who's already preparing to take off??! That's just stupid way to die tbh.

WTF Aina's brother is one crazy motherfucker. At least we know why the characters never appeared in 079 since he's project was abandoned midway.

And wow the female commando is voiced by Yoshiko Sakakibara. She's pretty much been with every Gundam series so far. Haman Karn, Nanai Miguel, commander in Stardust Memory etc.

Still the guerrilla were crazy. Willing to do everything just to avenge their fallen comrades.

When Shiro killed that female commando, blood was dripping from the Zaku. I thought that was disturbing as hell and if they added more scenes like that in the main series, it would have been better and much more darker.

I'm glad that stupid soldier got paid. Rocket in the face bitch!

I wonder if Kiki will appear in future episodes? I do hope so.

Either way, can't wait for the next episode!
Dec 30, 2015 3:19 PM

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Nov 2012
4710
Best episode yet.

Might be the turning point where the series becomes good.
Mar 26, 2016 8:25 AM

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Dec 2015
6479
Ckan said:
Sakarii said:
One thing I liked the most about this episode is that it showed that the Federation aren't the good guys that other Gundams tend to make them seem. Some of the crusty old judges, one guard laughing, and the Zeon lady really shows that while our main character is a good guy, the side he's on necessarily isn't.
It definitely ramps it up, and while the Feds are often the 'protagonists' in other shows, it has always depicted the politicians, generals, and such as inefficient and corrupt. General Revil excepted of course.

Until Yasuhiko decided to make his version of the past events of the war: Revil was freed from Zeon by none other than Degwin himself in an attempt to prevent a large scale armed conflict to happen. Degwin thought an armistice was still possible but Revil made his "Zeon is exhausted" speech as soon as he came back to Earth, leading to a furious and deceived Degwin letting the war break. (I find this version really good, especially since how he lectures his son several times after Garma's death).
Anyway, the Federation was never all pink even in the first series, not even civilians were (some parts didn't survive in the movie).

Starting on the 0079 mutual understanding, this episode is the best of the series so far. I was a bit skeptical about Shiro's transformation (180º change of mind again xD) but it waseffective to deliver the needed Gundam feeling I missed in the previous OAVs. Kiki could finally be relevant as an opposition to Shiro's newfound desire, the conflict between his ideal (+ the Zeon soldiers goal) and the guerrillero's lack of rationality was great with a well-chosen conclusion (no side wins) the right one.
I would certainly rate the show higher if the rest followed the tendency but based on the preview, we're back at the initial "soldier of the week" format in the next episode (Karen did not get her OAV after all). Sadly it will be even more annoying if they intertwine it with this stupid attraction of Eleonore for her.

5/5

edit: interesting how the experimental center became the last stand of the Zeon Earth Forces after most of them were blown out or flew to space at Odessa.
Far less appealing, the fact the final villain looks like a pretty face psychopath full of himself (and probably perverse, based on his will to "control" his sister). Too "one-sided"
Rei_IIIMar 26, 2016 8:55 AM
Apr 12, 2016 12:04 PM

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Jun 2013
6123
Definitely the best episode so far!
Jun 30, 2016 3:31 AM

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Oct 2014
61
Damn show you gettin good! I'm really pleasantly surprised how much this show has improved with each of the past few episodes.
Jul 25, 2016 9:42 AM

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May 2012
25828
Damn what an episode :/ all those deaths and wounded! Really intense yet quite sad :( let's see what happens next!
Sep 23, 2016 3:06 AM
🥊 CHAMPION 🥊

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Apr 2016
23521
Bad day for the guerrilla!!!
Oct 31, 2016 5:31 AM

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Feb 2009
3436
What an episode! More than a good Gundam episode, it was a great warfare episode, with desperate tactics and madness. War is hell.
Jun 8, 2017 6:09 AM

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Jul 2008
10993
I think that was the best episode of the series, Shiro went full pacifist and people paid for it.
Jan 5, 2019 6:37 AM

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Nov 2011
3473
After watching the first 6 episodes, I wonder why this show has a relatively high score, it was boring as hell.. But after 2 good episodes, I can understand it a bit ...

The story telling maybe is not really good, but this is really a sad story, they were killed for nothing just because one stupid and terrible soldier ...
"The Slave is the have-not, the oppressed one with nothing to spare.
But because the Slave is in that despairing situation, having nothing, it can kill the Emperor !"
Apr 9, 2020 3:52 PM

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Aug 2017
3040
My favourite episode of the OVA so far. Loved that toxic exchange at the bar, though I wish I could see the actual fight!
The village scene with Zakus was pure suspense though. I even wanted them to simply take their food and just go away, but that one cocky pilot ruined everything. But damn, that first kill was epic as hell. The commander of that small Zaku group could even be a protagonist of her own for a similar Zeon side story, in theory.
Everything else was tragic, and this episode is probably the best one to show that war is freaking horrible for everybody. Those last moments of the woman pilot were pure agony, and Shiro's ideals got shaken. Very hard dilemma this guy faced, indeed.
Sep 23, 2020 3:54 PM
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Jul 2018
564084
One of the better displays of someone trying to do the right thing and it going pretty wrong. Without Shiro and the others, the village would've been totally screwed with the guerillas being as reckless as they were, but if he had just taken out the pilots of the Zakus and not tried to have spared them, a lot less harm would've been done too. I assume the guerillas know that and that's why they don't try to spare people, besides the revenge part.

Also, the mobile suits in this anime look so good. The Zakus with those paint jobs look nasty af.

This episode was so good in so many ways.
Dec 29, 2020 5:02 PM
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Dec 2019
390
Seeing this really makes me appreciate the nuance and complexity in Gasaraki's anti war message so much more.
Jul 16, 2021 11:34 AM

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Jun 2014
22512
Shiro's empathy almost got him killed, but it also proves that he's grown as a human being. He wanted to be able to save those Zeon pilots as well, but it wasn't possible.

Oct 27, 2021 1:22 PM

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Aug 2017
11420
The villagers were pretty stupid if you ask me. If they just waited a bit, most people would have been alive. Heh, the other two were escaping even after Arth was killed, the villagers shouldn't have attacked.

My favourite scene was Shiro defeating that Zaku without using a Gundam!
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Jun 6, 2022 6:41 AM

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Jul 2014
5407
Haha, as if Shiro just dodged a fucking Zaku rifle at that close range twice! Fuck off with that "realism", he's basically a Newtype with a stunt like that.

I was enjoying this episode too up until that point, or to be more exact until the point where his out-of-nowhere pacifism came out again after randomly emerging last episode.
Nov 10, 2022 3:28 PM

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Feb 2012
3960
Currently available legally on GundamInfo

Novels I have read/am reading pending approval: since November 10 2022
Dec 29, 2022 5:49 PM
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Jun 2019
24
This was fucked. The brutality of the mobile suits and how easily they're blown up is perfect
Aug 6, 2023 6:13 AM

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Jul 2017
1118
very wonderful episode, it was truly excellent.
''Touch the darkness inside me''
Nov 13, 2023 10:46 PM

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May 2019
817
Shiro tried. That was sad, the true brutality of war.
Jun 14, 2:39 AM
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Jul 2021
283
Another amazing episode about how war and violence tend to escalate
Jul 9, 8:11 PM
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Mar 2022
124
Intense episode... Shiro is very conflicted

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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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