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Oct 15 2015

Categories: episodic review, gundam
Tagged: gundam: iron blooded orphans

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“It was like he could see right through me.”

“Seriously, cut it out. They all died because of one mere person like you? Don’t look down on my nakama.”

“I see. I did not know anything. I was just an arrogant young lady. But, that is why I wanted to know. But… those eyes… it was like he could see right through me. Like he was laughing at me.”

Fantastic. I am enjoying Iron Blooded Orphans a lot. So much so, I feel like I’m getting sucked in, despite having my heart broken by Gundam Seed and Gundam 00. Could Iron Blooded Orphans be an actual good Gundam? My gosh, I am getting ahead of myself. It’s like taking a girl out for a sushi first date and wondering if she could be my wife. Be still my beating heart.

I just liked how Mikazuki shut down Kudelia so efficiently and effortlessly. Glorious. It’s like this writer knows about Gundam‘s useless princesses… if the least Kudelia does is soul-searching, she is still episodes ahead of Relena Peacecraft and Marina Ismail just because Heero and Setsuna wouldn’t speak truth to power like Mikazuki.

Two other minor points: One, I highlighted nakama because that’s what this show is beginning to feel like. When nakama works, there’s no good English translation. “Friends” and “comrades” seem clunky. It’s like the crew from One Piece or Gurren Lagann or Haikyuu!!. You never got the sense that the 00 pilots or Seed pilots were this close (except for Athrun and Kira, but their relationship goes beyond nakama). Two, right after Kudelia thought that, you heard laughing, but it because of the two young girls laughing at butt fruit. It’s a good transition. Tatsuyuki Nagai looks like the real deal– Toradora, AnoHana, Waiting in Summer, and both Railguns– creative team for IBO looks solid right now.

(This post will be 200% more hilarious if during episode 22, right before the final showdown, Kudelia takes Mikazuki shopping for a swimsuit. That could still happen. Sunrise is involved! Anything can happen!)

Barbatos running out of fuel was probably the only cheap writing moment. They could have had Mikazuki just pass out. But maybe fuel will be more important later on, so they wanted to foreshadow it now. Who knows.

(The melee focus has been good. I like it. I hope when they eventually go to space, it won’t devolve into pew-pew lasers. Sigh. It will devolve into pew-pew lasers.)

Orga and Biscuit: they should be leading Chryse Guard Security. Really impressed with both of their leadership and how they trust each other and Mikazuki. I thought Orga would die early, but the OP spoiled that. Oh Sunrise… sigh… IBO would be so much improved if Sunrise just subcontracted the opening to Shaft. Shaft opening for a Gundam? And doesn’t spoil the show? I can dream.

Another OP spoiler? Crank is going to team up to Mikazuki. Wait, is this Gundam X?

(Man, the child solider angle is not lip service. Looks like Mikazuki cannot read. This show is not pulling punches. He might be a kid, but he’s expected to be an adult, yet not given the tools or opportunity to grow up.)

(The ED is an enka-ish song? I would not have expected that from Gundam.)

The villains so far have been textbook cheesy. Right now, they are below the level of a typical Marvel Cinematic Universe villain. That’s bad. This particular one can’t even put his fucking iPad in landscape mode. He’s giving up so much screen real estate! If he can’t lead his iPad, how can he lead Gjallarhorn?

(First few pages of search results for Gjallarhorn on Google are all Destiny-related. First non-Destiny result is this one, which is another motherfucking MMO gun. When will Iron Blooded Orphans show up?)

Three MVPs…

1. Orga.

2. Mikazuki.

3. Crank.