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Phase
40: Into the Dawn Skies
Review by Chris August 12, 2003 The Forbidden Gundam travels through the ocean, while the Calamity Gundam flies in the air on the Raider Gundam's back on the approach to the Orb base. Alliance ships commence the attack by firing missiles and launching Spearhead fighters. Murrue is surprised by the quick renewal of hostilities and has the Archangel head out of drydock. As Kira prepares to launch, Athrun stops him and tells him that Orb has no chance of winning against the Alliance. Kira says that's probably true, but he can't give up based on that because some things are worth fighting for to protect. He tells Athrun he was happy to talk to him and then launches in the Freedom Gundam. Dearka tells Athrun they're in quite the situation because they're still ZAFT soldiers. Athrun says he doesn't want Kira and the others to die, and Dearka tells him that for the first time they agree on something. Nearby, Strike Daggers arrive at the shore and begin destroying M1 Astrays and armored vehicles. Kira arrives onto the battlefield and uses all of the Freedom Gundam's weapons to cripple the Strike Daggers. Orga wonders where Kira is until he spots all the explosions coming from the direction of the Freedom Gundam. Shani fires his cannon at Kira, but Kira quickly dodges. They vow to destroy Kira today, and out of nowhere the Justice Gundam's beam boomerang hits the Forbidden Gundam. Kira asks Athrun why he's joined the battle, and Athrun says he also understands there are things worth fighting to protect. On the ground, Dearka and Mu face an ever-increasing number of Strike Dagger units and slowly destroy them. At sea, the Archangel continues to fight against the Alliance naval fleet and destroys several ships. Uzumi is told that two more hours are required for their preparations, and he says they have to abandon Onogoro Island. Athrun has his backpack fly around the Calamity Gundam, which runs out of power. Athrun destroys Clotho's hammer, forcing him and later Shani to retreat as well. In the ocean depths, Rau and Yzak watch the battle to learn about the new Gundams. Yzak asks Rau why he doesn't treat Flay as a prisoner, and Rau says he may have found a key to end the war. On the Alliance flagship, Azrael isn't happy that the Gundams have run out of power and returned so quickly. The Archangel retreats to Orb's mass driver facility at Kaguya, where a booster is attached to the ship to allow it to launch into space. Murrue doesn't understand why Uzumi says they have to escape, and he explains that Orb can no longer hold out against the power of the Alliance. He says that even if Orb is gone, they can't give up. He says that both powers in the war are being led by extremist leaders Azrael and Patrick, and that eventually both will destroy the world. He says that they are taking a difficult path, but he thinks Murrue can understand that. Nearby, Asagi, Juri and Mayura load the M1 Astray squad onto the battleship Kusanagi to prepare to launch into space. Orb engineers tells Murrue that if the Archangel fires its Lohengrin guns that the positronic interference will help accelerate the ship and boost it into space. On the Alliance flagship, Azrael tells Shani, Orga and Clotho that this time they'd better finish the job they started. The three launch in their Gundams and head for Kaguya. Dearka wonders what he and Athrun will do now, and Athrun says that he can't just follow orders to shoot enemies anymore. He used to think that doing that would help end the war as fast as possible, but now he doesn't know. He wonders who they should fight and by what means, and Kira asks him to come to space so they can search for that answer together. The three Gundams are picked up on radar, and Athrun tells Dearka to board the Archangel because the Buster Gundam can't fight in the air. The Archangel launches and fires the Lohengrins to boost itself into space. Kira launches in the Freedom Gundam, followed by Athrun in the Justice Gundam to provide cover for the Archangel and Kusanagi. Uzumi drags Cagalli over to the Kusanagi and asks Kisaka to take care of her. He tells Cagalli that though they'll be separated, she's not alone because she has a brother. He gives her a picture of two babies, and on the back of the photo she sees Kira's name and is shocked. The Kusanagi's hatch then closes as the ship begins traveling on the mass driver's track. Kira and Athrun fly towards the Kusanagi to hitch a ride into space, and the three Gundams pursue them to destroy the ship. Kira grabs hold of the ship and holds out his hand to help Athrun. As the Gundams close in, Kira and Athrun fire all their weapons to keep them back. After the Kusanagi clears the mass driver, Uzumi sets off explosives that destroy the base and the mass driver completely. There's another battle here, along with some death and a major revelation. As I anticipated, Uzumi finally revealed to Cagalli that Kira is her brother. He does this by showing her a picture of them as babies with their names on the back. Also, Uzumi sacrifices himself to send everyone into space and keep the Alliance from getting Orb's mass driver. However, it seems everything was so well organized that one has to wonder why Uzumi had to stay behind and die. It seems like he could have destroyed the mass driver by remote from the Kusanagi, but that obviously isn't as dramatic as him dying. Since the series is now moving into space, we'll have to see where it goes next. Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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