Review by Chris

May 22, 2000

A Zaku explores the jungle, and Shiro fires at it. Before it can retaliate, he presses the attack and destroys it. Another Zaku rushes at her with a heat hawk, and Shiro destroys it. As soon as she thanks him, the team comes under fire again. Eledore reports that the attack is coming from a pill box gun emplacement on a nearby hill. Shiro orders everyone to fall back so they can change their attack plan. Shiro and Karen examine the area and see that the Zeon are guarding a hill with the pill boxes and some Zakus. Nearby is a highway used for supply lines and a civilian village. Shiro sees a waterfall on a map and notices that it runs behind the Zeon base. He decides he will move in from the back and start a sneak attack while everyone else attacks from the front. He sets the time limit for three hours, and Karen reminds him that they can't last long during a fight without support from him. As Shiro leaves, Eledore tells him not to get caught by guerillas. Shiro arrives at the waterfall where he saw the naked girl and hears a noise. He sees the girl with one of his cameras and opens his cockpit. Several dirty guerillas ambush him and pull him out of his Gundam. They call him a pervert for staring at young naked girls and begin to beat him up. Some other guerillas start messing with the Gundam, and Shiro tells them to stop. Shiro explains to the girl that it was an accident and he was staring at her because he thought she was pretty. He asks if he can go, and one of the soldiers pistol whips him and knocks him out. The guerillas then blindfold Shiro and march him into their village. They take him to meet their boss Baresto, and Shiro explains he is on an important mission. The three hour time limit ends, and Karen begins the attack. With no sign of Shiro, Sanders wonders if he made it through the jungle safely. Shiro pleads with Baresto about how it is beneficial to the villagers to be free from the Zeon. Baresto starts to drink coffee, and Shiro becomes impatient. He tries to grab a gun on the table, and the guerillas begin beating him again.

Shiro tells Baresto he doesn't want his people to die before he has a chance to get to know them. The girl, Kiki Rosita, tells her father Baresto they should trust Shiro. Shiro promises to free the village and give them medical supplies. Baresto says the word of a soldier is worthless, so Kiki decides to go with Shiro and watch him. Shiro returns to his Gundam and finds the cockpit filled with dirt and garbage. He sees that Kiki stole Aina's watch, and he takes it back since it isn't his. Shiro sees that time is running out, so he jumps into the river to follow its course and get to the battle as quickly as possible. Elsewhere, Karen and the rest of the squad fall under heavy fire from the Zeon. Since there is no sign of Shiro, Karen decides to fall back. Two Zeon helicopters approach, and one of them carries pilot Norris Packard. The helicopter's pilot Masado says their forces can destroy the Gundams without any help from the helicopters. Norris says they shouldn't waste resources and asks Masado to land so that he can get to his Zaku. Shiro appears from the river and begins destroying the pill boxes. The guerillas from Kiki's village arrive to help out with the battle. They attack the Zeon with portable rocket launchers and disable a Zaku. Shiro calls Karen and tells her to make sure the civilians aren't hurt. A Zaku appears in front of the guerillas, and Shiro destroys it. Norris launches in his Zaku and is surprised that the guerillas are working with the Federation. Masado shoots at Sanders, and Sanders destroys his helicopter. Norris attacks Shiro with his heat hawk and knocks him into the river. Norris repeatedly punches the Gundam until Shiro fires a flare and blinds him. He then jumps out of the water and fires his chest vulcans at Norris. The Zaku is damaged, and as Norris retreats he is surprised to see the Federation has a pilot who can fight underwater. With the Zeon base having fallen, the guerillas take all the war spoils.Karen congratulates Shiro on his good work, and Kiki asks him if Karen owns the watch.

Another good episode. As Shiro's abilities improve, his people begin to trust him (somewhat). Although I have to say that he is kinda dumb for getting captured so easily by dirty jungle guerillas. Eledore's words were indeed prophetic in that sense. Here we see the formal introduction of Kiki, and Shiro pays the price for his free peep show from the last episode. We're also introduced to Norris Packard, an ace Zeon pilot. One thing that stands out in this episode is the fight in the river between Shiro and Norris. While Shiro may not be a Newtype, he certainly does well enough here against a veteran pilot like Norris.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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