Review by Chris

July 6, 2001

Following the departure of the Devil Gundam, Chibodee and the others decide to go their separate ways and return to the Gundam Fight. Argo, George, and Chibodee all say goodbye to Rain and leave. Rain sees Domon leaving, but before she can talk to him, he speeds away in the Core Lander. Elsewhere, Master Asia tells his corpses about strategy and watches Domon. He says Domon has courage, but no plan, and he cannot win like that. As Domon drives through the city, he sees the Master Gundam and chases it. It is all a ruse by Master Asia to lure Domon into a trap. Domon drives outside of Tokyo and nearly runs over Schwarz. Schwarz tells Domon he's come to stop him because he doesn't have the skills to defeat Master Asia. Domon and Schwarz begin fighting, and Domon is easily beaten. Schwarz tells him that the fact that he has been undefeated in the Gundam Fight so far means nothing, and he can't beat Master Asia or the Devil Gundam with bravado alone. He cuts a tree in half with his sword and leaves the sword with Domon. He tells Domon to use the sword to gauge how good he is. In anger, Domon tries to cut a tree with the sword and sees that it is old and rusty. Rain catches up with Domon and tells him that Schwarz previously fought the Devil Gundam and vanished. Also, no one has ever seen him without his mask. Rain asks Domon to give up, but he says he has one last card he can use: the Super Mode of the Shining Gundam.

Domon takes off and continues following the Master Gundam, sure that his Super Mode can defeat it. Rain comes along, and they head into the mountains, where Master Asia has laid a trap. As a fork appears in the road, Domon says it is a common military tactic to be on the higher ground, so he takes the path that leads up the mountain. He is attacked by three Death Master suits controlled by Master Asia and calls on the Shining Gundam. The three Death Master suits grab Domon with their beam ropes and begin electrocuting him. Schwarz appears with the Gundam Spiegel and says he wanted to see what Domon was capable of. He says that Domon looks pathetic, and he destroys the Death Master suits. Domon says that Master Asia could have been inside, until he sees that they are not the Master Gundam. Schwarz says that Domon is weak, and Domon challenges him to a Gundam Fight. He believes his Super Mode can defeat anything. Schwarz easily beats him and asks where the Super Mode is. Domon tries to call on his anger, and all he gets is a simple Shining Finger. Schwarz defeats him and ties him to the side of the mountain. He leaves and says Domon is too immature as a fighter. Domon can't believe that he's lost. Rain notices a fourth Death Master suit, and it attacks Domon. The Super Mode suddenly activates and Domon uses the Shining Finger Sword to destroy the Death Master suit. Master Asia decides to rethink his strategy. Domon tells Rain that he is immature and can't control the Super Mode. He decides to head for the Guyana Highlands where Master Asia trained him so that he can increase his skills.

It looks like this episode serves the purpose of wrapping up the Shinjuku arc and starting a new one. Throughout the whole episode, Domon is very headstrong and believes he can beat Schwarz, but instead he loses both times. It's a welcome change to see him lose, instead of always winning at the end with the Shining Finger. What is the deal with Schwarz, and who is he? Not even Master Asia seems to know. And why is he lecturing a bunch of corpses on military tactics? It's not like they can really talk to him or anything. Now that Domon has gone off to train, what dangers will he face, and what special moves will he learn? Whatever it is, it'll probably take a handful of episodes to do it.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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