The following contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, “Their Choice,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Although there’s no mobile suits fighting of any kind in the previous episode, fansstill have quite a tense story on their hands. After all, not only does Aerial have been officially confirmed as a genuine Gundam, but Miorine was also forced to create a brand-new company called Gund-Arm Inc. to save Suletta and Aerial. Overall, quite an exciting episode to watch.
So the question now becomes what would happen next? Well, considering that many people have invested their money in Miorine’s new endeavor, it only makes sense that the story will focus on this new company now. This means episode 8 will markthe beginning of a new direction forGundam: The Witch From Mercury. One that focuses on the treacherous side of money and business.
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Their Choice
As expected, episode 8 begins with Miorine recruiting the students from the Earthian House into her company. They have their own reservation at first, after all, nobody knows what the future of this company will look like, not even Miorine. What’s even worse, they don’t even know what kind of products or services that they should offer. So they begin brainstorming for some ideas.
Since Gund-Arm Inc. focuses on the Gundam technology, it only makes sense forthe company to try and create more Gundams, or at least weapons that utilize the Gund-Arm technology. However, most of the Earthian students are not fond of that idea. Because they’ve seen the tragedy that has struck their people due to the use of advanced weaponry. So they prefer to work on other kinds of products instead.
Miorine asks them to work on a promotional video and complete the paperwork for the time being. Meanwhile, in order to come up with a better product idea, she goes to Shin Sei Development and Peil Technologies’ Team to learn more about the Gundam. Thanks to this, Miorine finally found out the truth about the Gund Technology andthe true vision of its creator, the Vanadis Institute. They initially used it for medical purposes, specifically regarding the use of advanced prosthetics. After presenting it to her team, Gund-Arm Inc. finally submitted their business plan on developing the medical application of the Gund Technology.
How To Sell a Gundam
As we mentioned in the previous review, Gund-Arm Inc. is not the first for-profit company in the Gundam universe. We also havethe Tekkadan fromGundam: Iron-Blooded Orphan. However, if Tekkadan uses the might of their Gundam in order to build a strong and reliable Freight Company, Gund-Arm Inc. seems to be focusing on developing unique-products based on Gundam technology.
In the case of Tekkadan, their main challenge is to make sure their cargo arrived safe and sound amidst the vast space that is occupied by pirates, armed organizations, and pesky military forces. So in a way, the threat is much more direct and physical. On the other hand, the main challenges that Gund-Arm Inc. will likely have to overcome are likely more subtle and indirect.
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After all, most members of the Benerit Group clearly hate Gundam and want to see the company fall. This means we could potentially see all manners of sabotage, black mail, abuse of power and influence, and as you might expect, high-stake Mobile Suits duels. While we still haven’t arrived atthe full-blown space wars stageyet, the road ahead certainly seems interesting.
The Dual Protagonists Situation
In the review for the previous episode, we talk about the disappointing state of Suletta Mercury as the supposed protagonist for this series. Because whileSuletta is certainly exciting to see during a fast-paced fight scene, she is practically useless in the other aspect of the story. Take her out of the cockpit, and she quickly becomes an accessory to the story. As a matter of fact, Miorine seems to play a much bigger role in the story.
This episode pretty much confirms that statement. Miorine is the one who has to rack her brain in order to find out the best solution for the Gund-Arm Inc., a company that she has to build to save Suletta and Aerial. Not only that, she is also the one who tries to find out the truth about the Gund-Technology and plans to re-introduce it to the world.
At this point, it’s clear thatMiorine is actually the one that moves the story forward. So at the very least, we get a dual protagonist situation in our hands. We get Suletta for the action, and Miorine for the drama and thriller. It’s not a bad set up, to be honest. As a matter of fact, it seems like a fair and interesting separation of power and responsibility.
Just like the previous episode, there’s also no Mecha action in episode 8. What we get instead is the beginning of what seems to be quite an interesting new chapter forGundam: The Witch From Mercury. One that would drag the characters into the treacherous world of money and business. And if we considerMiorine and Suletta as two protagoniststhat can cover each other’s weaknesses, then we can expect great things from the future of this series.
