Reviews

Jul 2, 2023
Spoiler
Disclaimer - I have not seen every Gundam series to date but I have seen Mobile suit gundam, Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed and its sequel and Gundam 00 and its movie.

Please note while care has been taken to minimize story related spoilers there may still be spoilers present within character analysis you have been warned.

Based upon an original concept Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch from Mercury is the newest entry to Sunrise’s long-running mecha anime franchise Gundam being the fifteenth series to date and the first to air in the current Reiwa era of Japan. The series overall narrative allows us to see what will happen if in the distant future when advances in technology had allowed countless corporations to not only reach the outer frontier that is the deep black but also in the process create an entirely new race of humans the Spacians who not only enjoy all the advantages of living within self-contained environments that have every resource that they need but do in relative comfort.

But what if that had been at the cost of depleting the resources of their homeworld of Earth and in the name of advancement that the Spacians had not only created zones where the rich thrived while those less fortunate were forced to eke out a desperate existence in the ruins of what was once great cities that had been surpassed by the new gleaming cities that the corporations had built.

What if in this era of great advancement and shimmering tensions between Earthians and Spacians that await a suitable spark to erupt into violence that one day a lone teenage girl from the distant reaches of the planet Mercury one who was unaffiliated with either race were to join the prestigious Asticassia school of technology a school that is run by one of the largest corporations and one that contains students from both races whose animosity mirrors that of their kin.

Just what kind of change would our dear Suletta who knows not of the shimmering tensions that lie between the Earthians and the Spacians and her unique mobile suit Aerial bring to the equation as she bears witness to the ugliness of human nature in the form of ambition and greed collide with the positive human natures of mutual equality and desire to walk one’s path with one another without caring about race or class.

Would she be able to be the force of change that would finally put an end to the shimmering tensions between the two races or would humanity continue to unravel as a race due to the stubbornness of both sides to talk to each other like civilized people?

As a child, the Gundam franchise was my first proper intro to the mecha genre of anime and even now all those years later I still remember the joy of seeing mobile suits fight each other amidst the most titanic of space battles around them spaceships and superweapons of various sizes dual each other. Even back then seeing the ace of the one-year war Amuro Ray fight against the many aces of the principality of Zeon in his desire to protect his friends and colleagues was an exhilarating experience and while enjoyable was also one that showed well the kind of heights that the franchise was capable of.

With such a storied history hanging beside it I thought that it was notable that Sunrise in this case took the unusual step of creating and airing a ONA before the airing of the first episode of the series did an excellent job of expanding upon both the world that the series too place in and the circumstances that led to Suletta being sent to the school while setting the foundation for perhaps one of the best villains within the franchise to enact her plan. This approach I felt made the opening episode much more enjoyable as it allowed the opening ep to focus entirely on Suletta’s first days upon Asticassia while allowing developments that had manifested in the prologue to slowly develop in the background of the narrative and by doing so avoid having any kind of flashbacks that would have impacted on the narrative flow of the story a move that I felt paid off and allowed the viewer to focus only on the present.

As a result, I felt that the opening episode of the series was an enjoyable one that did a great job of not only introducing a curious new setting and characters but also showed well the consequences of humanity's desire to colonize and develop the deep black. Which had while allowing them to make tech advances and build things that would be impossible on earth had also come at the expense of abandoning their humanity and empathy for each other that created a dangerous and tension-filled environment that Suletta had to learn how to negotiate as she stepped foot on Asticassia and began her life as a student.

Suletta Mercury

Suletta Mercury is one of the two main characters of the series narrative and serves as the series' primary protagonist. A transfer student that unlike her peers within the school who were either from Earth or were born in space Suletta’s homeland was the distant planet of Mercury which eventually caused the school to label her as the witch from Mercury when they saw what she had arrived in before entering the school proper. In her initial appearances, Suletta was shown to be a polite, friendly, and positive person by nature that was noted to be highly expressive and energetic even for teens her age. Though charming beyond measure Suletta’s desire to overreact to the smallest of things and act before thinking things through often ended up causing her to end in trouble with the school’s staff a fact that is only offset by the fact that Suletta always acts to protect those that are dear to her as shown in her agreeing to fight her first dual to protect Miorine in ep1 of the series.

Unlike her peers at the school most of which would have had some knowledge of the things that are around them whether it's social classes and common plant types such as Miorine’s prized tomato’s Suletta’s long years of living in the distant reaches of Mercury meant that such knowledge was unknown to her which while making her first days an educational experience for her also served to showcase one of her most earnest desires which was to enjoy her time in school and treasure the memories that she makes with those that she has forged connections with. A desire that while offset in the beginning by Suletta’s timidity and low self-confidence nonetheless served well to create a spark within her heart that would serve as her foundation as the narrative progresses, and she embarks on a journey to forge a new path for herself with the aid of her newly forged friendships.

As the series progresses and Suletta and her friends grow as individuals it can be seen that beneath her bubbly and overactive personality, Suletta was also someone that had many struggles that she hid deep beneath her heart. The long years of living in the reaches of distant mercury meant that while she was determined to form new connections with peers her age, she was also vulnerable to being rejected and looked down upon by others as shown in her reactions when Miorine distanced herself from her in s2 and in the treatment that the spacian houses treated her with in their first encounters in s1. However, as her bonds with her friends gradually improve this sense of fear of being rejected while never completely disappearing is kept in check by not just Suletta’s newfound self-confidence but also by the trust that her peers have developed in her as a result of their shared struggles.

This new side of her while doing well to prune away the more naïve aspects of her personality and make her more grounded also allowed her to forge stronger bonds with people that normally would be out of reach for her in the form of family heirs such as Elan, Guel and Shaddiq with the bonds with Elan and Guel in particular forming excellent foundations for their respective developments as characters in the process. While her interactions with them allowed her to see the kind of power their respective families bring to the social sphere of the modern world, they also likewise served to showcase to her the kind of social distance that such families had also unintentionally created within society as a result of their rapid expansion into space. A development that I felt served to make her realize that while communication is still the best way to resolve disputes at times you also have to fight for not only your beliefs but also to protect the one’s that you cherish the most with this within the narrative shown best in the interactions that Suletta had with the members of the Dawn of the fold. This newfound determination to do what she can to protect those that she cherishes within the narrative I felt synergized well with Suletta’s desire to forge her own path and her determination to create a new world where everyone is treated equally no matter their social class or origin with the aid of those around her that she had established strong bonds with that share her goal.

Complementing this within the narrative was the bond that Suletta shared with her mother Prospera and with her closest friend Miorine whose opposing goals of revenge and betrayal and change and justice served to introduce a more personal touch to Suletta’s development as a character and gave her the push that she needed to take the first steps of change in a world where something is not as straightforward as it seems to be. While the core purpose of any two cour anime is to use the first cour as the foundation upon which characters can be built and finally realized fully in the second. In his case, I felt that Suletta’s development benefited greatly from her willingness to protect her friends and allies as well as the overlapping desires of her closest family and friend in the form of her mother and Miorine that served to add depth to her character and make her core desires to free the world from the ugliness of greed, revenge, and ambition that much more natural and her desire to stop this cycle of madness that much more entertaining.


Miorine Rembran

Miorine Rembran is one of the main characters of the series and is one of Suletta’s closest friends within the series' overall narrative. The sole daughter of the current leader of the powerful Benerit group one of the largest corporations currently operating in the galaxy Miorine in her initial appearances was shown to be a calm, composed and dutiful person that while highly intelligent was unlike her peers among the heirs to rich corporation’s club was far from being the social butterfly that was loyal to her father and company as most would assume. Instead, Miorine was seen to be the opposite in that she was a quiet person and someone that preferred to be aloof from others and indeed did not seem to get on well with her peers or family at all and in every interaction that she had with them at the start was noted to treat others coldly and bluntly with this being exemplified in the first meeting that she had with Suletta within the narrative.

Beneath her cold and aloof demeanor however and gradually revealed as the narrative progresses it can be seen that Miorine was far from being the anti-social heirless that she makes herself out to be for while she was someone that had to harden her heart due to necessity, she was nonetheless one that was capable of opening herself up to those that had gained her respect. Within the narrative, this is shown best in the relationship that she forges with not just Suletta but also with the members of the earth house as well. As while Miorine like others were wary of Suletta due to her unique origins as their bond deepened and she got to see the kind of person that Suletta was this icy nature of hers gradually began to thaw as she began to show a kinder, gentler, and considerate side to her that most people would assume never existed within her. While the long years spent opposing her family and dealing with petty house rivalries that were prevalent within the school had served to dull her senses in terms of interpersonal relations her newly forged bonds with Suletta and the members of the earth house served to make her realize not only the kind of emotional strength and support one can gain from bonding with others but also the kind of practical skills and life directions that can be gained from working with those that share your aspirations and dreams. While the little garden that Miorine meticulously maintained did an excellent job at showing the inner sense of kindness and patience that she possessed it’s her forming of her own company with her friends that I felt really served to showcase these changes to her personality as this development required her to not only interact with others daily but also relearn the finer points of social norms such as being understanding and considerate of others views and not simply roll over people as her peers would have. When combined with her desires and dreams and her innate business senses I felt that this development served to create for Miorine a solid foundation that served to make her realize not only how much she had been missing with not having friends that she can count upon and enjoy spending time with but also how much her family had been supporting her from behind the scenes a foundation that soon served to provide her with the means to grow herself as the world of corpo ambitions reared its ugly head.

While outwardly Miorine remains largely unchanged in the eyes of outsiders to those that know her well after meeting and befriending Suletta and forming her own company, Miorine was shown to have grown quite a bit as a person. While Miorine’s business senses have always been good thanks to the training that her family provided her the strained bond with her family as well as her desire to boldly stride forward using her merits alone while certainly admirable proved a daunting experience. This harsh first lesson of how businesses work in the real world while certainly a difficult pill for her to swallow also served as an excellent lesson for her as well for it showed her not only how her lack of experience was her main weakness but also the kind of power that can come from avoiding the pitfalls that pride brings by being humble and asking for help from others. This sense of humility and the gradual thawing of bonds between her and her family served in my eyes to give her the final piece of her foundation that Miorine needed to finish recreating herself and devote herself to not only enjoying her days with her friends and allies that she has learned to trust but also make a start on working towards achieving a goal that she never thought was possible to achieve for a long time which is to change the status quo between the two races of Spacians and Earthians as in her eyes such differences were meaningless.

Overall, as a character, I felt that Miorine was well designed and developed as a character that like Suletta benefited greatly from the multiphase development that came from this series being a two cour production. In particular, while her core focus remains on family and her attempts to mend relations with them, I really liked the fact that this was not simply a matter of physical bonds but also an emotional one, as well as Miorine, had to overcome her own personal reason for hating her family. This, in turn, was linked well into her gradual reawakening as a person that synergized well with her bond with her friends and with Suletta in particular whose character development I felt was a complete contrast to Miorine in that while both strive to forge their own paths and share the same dream Miorine’s one was more akin to a bird that while having the desire to break out lacked the knowledge of how to while Suletta despite having all the freedom she wanted had no direction to aim it at. This parallel sense of development I felt served to give the two a very unique bond whether interpersonally or as a narrative figment that showed well the core genre focus of this series.

AMV

In overall I felt that the series overall animation was excellent and featured not only great detail and colour but also did well to convey not only the scale of human expansion on the frontiers of the deep black but also synchronize this across the expanse that was mech, character and environments without sacrificing either quality or variety.

In terms of character designs, I felt that the designs that were used within the series featured a surprisingly large amount of variety that did well to showcase the series' wide cast of characters that included among their number teenagers, military officers and creepy old women that seems to be the ones that are truly in power behind the scenes. This last group I felt featured a set of unique designs that showed well that in this new age-old age is no barrier as there are methods to extend one’s life and preserve their cunning should you have the money to pay for it. One aspect of the Gundam franchise that I was pleased to see featured in this series was of the series mascot Haro who in this series served many notable roles.

Location wise I felt that the series featured a nice variety of locations that while awe-inspiring and impressive in showing the kind of tech level that the world was currently in also did well to showcase the sheer differences that lay between Spacians and Earthians when it came to living conditions and social classes with the Asticassia School of technology that featured high levels of automation and state of the art facilities contrasting greatly with the ruins of great cities on earth that house those that are not rich enough to live within the hyper-advanced cities who must struggle hard every day to obtain the bare necessities or if possible to create them themselves. While both the school and the various locales of Earth that were visited by the cast were beautifully designed and animated the locations that stood out to me within the series were the asteroid base that served as Suletta’s childhood home that we saw in the prologue and the Quiet Zero superweapon that becomes important in the latter part of the second season whose core functionality and design I felt synergized perfectly.

When it comes to mecha design the Gundam franchise, being the trailblazers that created the mecha genre had always been held in high regard for the designs of its mobile suits and on this occasion, this was no exception. While the series' titular mobile suit the Aerial featured a very sleek design that was both graceful and majestic what made it stand out to me was its manoeuvrability and its unique remote weapon systems that when combined in its usage gave it unmatched flexibility when it came to defence and firepower. Other suits that I really liked were the custom Dilanza that was used by Guel whose high sense of mobility matched his personality perfectly, Elan’s custom Pharact which was a high-speed long-range type, the unique mobile suits that were used by Shaddiq’s house in their brief stand against the forces of the Dominicus and lastly the unique Gundams Lfrith Ur and Lfrith Thorn that were piloted by Sophie and Norea that boasted impressive amounts of firepower and flexibility due to their usage of remote weapon systems. While only seen in the last episodes of the series I really liked the designs of the Cargore that were used by the space assembly league and their opponents the Gundnode’s that showed in their debut battle the sheer power that came from suits that were not limited to the G forces that a human can endure and ones that can quite capably pull off maneuvers that would stump even the most veteran of MS pilots.

Combat animation and fights within the series long a hallmark of the Gundam franchise I felt within the series was excellently animated and designed that took great advantage of both the setting, tech level and the large variety of mobile suits that were introduced in this series. Notable fights within the series that I enjoyed were Suletta’s dual with Elan which was the first to feature a void-based battle, the team battle that pitted Suletta and the earth house against Shaddiq and his team, Suletta’s fight against Sophie and Norea , the dual between Guel and Shaddiq and Norea’s concurrent rampage within the school and finally the climatic battles that Suletta and co fight against the forces of Quiet zero that we see in the climax. Each of these fights while richly animated and detailed I felt was also complemented by the earnest desires of those that were involved in it whether it was Shaddiq’s determination to overturn the rich and powerful or Norea’s display of anger after losing all that she had cared for at that point within the narrative. Whichever it was, in this case, it served to make each of the fights within the narrative that much more impactful.

In terms of music, the series over its two cours made use of two opening and ending themes which were Shukufuku and Kimi Yo Kedakaku Are for the first season that was performed by Yoasobi and Shiyui and Ryo and Slash and Red Birthmark for the second season that was performed by Yama and Aina the end. The first opening theme Shukufuku which was performed by the hit supergroup Yoasobi I felt was a really catchy song that had among its main themes adventure, exploration, meeting, and bonding with new people and learning to fight to protect those that you cherish as you start a new life in a foreign environment a fact that I felt was complemented nicely with its accompanying visuals. The first season’s ending theme Kimi Yo Kedakaku while a catchy tune had among its focus the bond that is forged between the main leads of Suletta and Miorine that showcased well that while the two were the complete opposites in both social standing and personality that this sense of contrasting personalities was the exact catalyst that was needed to enable them both to embark on a new path.

The series second opening theme Slash I felt had a much more dramatic tone to it that provided a much welcome contrast to the catchy tones that the previous songs had in them and had among its core focus the kind of changes that had taken place within the narrative and the effects that it had on the daily lives of Suletta and her friends as well as on those that exist around her. Its visuals in this case helped enhance the song by introducing a fine balance of happiness both past and present and the sense of determination that now is the time to enact their long-prepared plans and fight for the people and the beliefs that they believe in which I felt was an excellent foreshadow of what was to come in the season. The second season’s ending theme Red Birthmark I felt was an interesting choice that featured a catchy tone that synergized well with the emotional connection that was forged between Suletta and Miorine within the narrative that allowed both to find the path and direction that they both desired. The visuals that accompanied this ending theme I felt represented well the kind of caged bird lifestyle that Miorine lived in before being freed by meeting Suletta and was a very symbolic nod to the kind of effect that their meeting had for them. The series OST I felt was actually really well designed and served to complement the series many combat scenes excellently while also being used to provide situational music to notable moments within the narrative notably the scene that introduced the Quiet Zero superweapon to the shocked Miorine and co. This scene in particular actually gave me the same vibes as I had when the death star from the Star Wars franchise was introduced to the audience and cast.

In terms of voice acting the Gundam franchise had always been known to feature powerful voice acting that served to really make its characters that much more memorable and this was no exception. The lead seiyuu’s of Kana Ichinose and Lynn who portrayed the characters of Suletta Mercury and Miorine Rembran I felt did an excellent job of portraying their assigned characters with Kana especially adding surprising depth in her roles as she dual-hatted as Eri as well. Of the series' significant support cast, I felt that Yohei Azakami, Makoto Furukawa, Natsuki Hanae, Miyu Tomita, Mamiko Noto, Shiori Izawa, Aoi Yuki, Asami Seto, Haruka Shiraishi and Ayumi Tsunematsu all did an excellent job portraying the characters of Guel, Shaddiq, Elan, Chuchu, Elnora/Prospera, Sophie, Norea, Sabrina, Nika and Belmeria respectively. Of this grouping, I believe that Mamiko Noto who portrayed the character of Elnora/Prospera deserves special praise as her portrayal of her was nothing short of spectacular whose switch from a caring mother that loved her husband and daughter to a cunning and highly manipulative villain that was intent on getting revenge while simultaneously achieve her dream was so eerily natural that one wonders whether she actually is a villain in reality. Also deserving of praise is Yohei Azakami whose portrayal of Guel from his initial incarnation to his final incarnation that we see after he sees firsthand what his ignorance of the kind of damage that the spacian’s lust for advancement and greed had done to the people of earth was well done. His redemption arc I felt while proving to be a pretty harsh lesson for him was one that was nonetheless well crafted and served as an excellent pillar of support for both Suletta and Miorine within the narrative.

Overall conclusion

In overall I felt that Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch from Mercury was an excellent anime and a worthy addition to the ranks of the franchise. Its main strengths, in my opinion, were its excellent characters, narrative, expansive worldbuilding, animation, mecha designs, voice acting and its skillful blending of multiple genre elements with real-world events that are seldom seen within the realm of anime even within franchises like Gundam who generally aren’t afraid to use themes that most studios would hesitate to make use of.

In the case of this series I really enjoyed the narrative’s fusion of slice-of-life and coming of age genre’s with the themes of corporate warfare and infighting that when used in combination with the real-world events of politics, race inequality, greed, justice and a desire to find a balance between the two races I felt served to make the narrative not only entertaining as it allowed us to see events unfold from the viewpoints of people of different races and social classes but also make it much more relatable to us as a race as well. This within the narrative was especially highlighted within the sub-arcs that members of the cast went through that served to show them the true cost that came about as a result of humanity’s desire to explore and colonize the deep black in the name of greed and tech advancement with Guel, Nika and Elan being notable examples. Its linking of the sub-arcs into the main narrative while serving as effective methods of character development also I felt served as excellent tone shifters within the series that foreshadowed the series shift from happy days to open conflict. While the franchise as a whole has always been excellent at creating new technology in the form of mobile suits and various spaceships and colonies, in this case, I felt that the series managed to not only create something novel but utilize it in a way that actually fitted both the timeline and the tech level in the form of the enhanced humans whose usage within the narrative while entirely military related can easily be expanded upon to make them viable assets that can be used in the civilian sector as well and the Bit staves which are unique multi-role micro weapons that provided Arial unmatched flexibility in combat.

In terms of overall final score, I would say that Mobile suit gundam the Witch from Mercury easily deserves a final score of 8/10 on account of its excellent characters, a story and worldbuilding that wasn’t afraid to incorporate real-world issues in a futurized format, mecha designs, fight scenes and voice acting. The only demerit that I have regarding this series was the fact that I felt members of the supporting cast were underutilized within the overall narrative with Shaddiq and his house members being the best examples.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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