Review by Chris

June 3, 2001

Uso feels scared as he attacks the Zolos and flies around them. They wonder how Gary and Sabat could have been defeated by a kid and figure they must have been careless. They believe Uso must be weak and move in for the attack. He tries to use his vulcan cannons, but they block them with their beam rotors. Marbet gets onto a truck carrying a beam rifle on a crane so that she can support Uso, and Katejina does the same on another truck. She believes Uso must be confused since he is fighting for the League Militaire. Uso docks with the Top Fighter, but the Bottom Fighter is destroyed by a Zolo. Without it, Uso can't form the complete Victory Gundam. Utari sees that the Core Fighter has become more powerful with the addition of the Top Fighter. Cronicle continues to sneak around and finds a man guarding a truck with the bottom limb. He offers to help him, and then whacks him on the back of the head. The three Zolos enter a formation, and Uso fights back by breaking them up and transforming into the torso of the mobile suit and using the beam saber to sever their arms. Cronicle flies into a hangar with a hovercraft and shoots Oi Nyung, taking him and Katejina hostage. Oi Nyung says he won't go anywhere with someone from BESPA, but Cronicle says he has no choice. During an explosion Katejina reaches for a gun, but Cronicle stops her. He puts Oi Nyung in the back of the hovercraft and forces Katejina to drive it. Uso continues his strategy of transforming into half of a mobile suit to fight off the Zolos. The Bottom Fighter is launched, and Uso disables a Zolo with the complete Victory Gundam. The Zolo pilot reacts with fear and shoots wires at another Zolo to grab hold of it. Utari slices the wires off. He says a true warrior shouldn't fear death and slices into the Zolo. Uso is shocked that BESPA pilots would even kill each other as well. Utari recalls that a Gundam is a symbol of resistance and wonders why it isn't fighting for them. The fighting continues, and Uso damages Utari's Zolo. Another pilot moves in behind Uso and slices into the Victory Gundam's shoulders.

Uso manages to escape by reversing the Victory Gundam's head and beam rifle. Uso damages the Zolo, and Utari and his subordinates escape. As Katejina drives the hovercraft, Oi Nyung tells Cronicle he is worthless as a hostage, but Cronicle says he will decide that for himself. When Uso returns to base, he notices that something doesn't seem right. He is told that a spy has captured Oi Nyung and Katejina. They wonder if the Zolos were just a distraction, and Odelo says Uso didn't really win the battle. Uso begins yelling at Odelo, and Odelo says he was fighting hard too. Uso knocks him to the ground, and they begin fighting. Shakti is shocked because it isn't like Uso to do that. Marbet tells Uso and Odelo that fighting won't change anything. Shakti takes Karlmann with her and leaves a note that she's returning to Kassarelia. Uso goes out again in the Victory Gundam to search for Shakti while the Camion group evacuates the base. As Utari and his subordinate repair their Zolos, Cronicle flags them down and joins them. The subordinate wants to rape Katejina, and Cronicle gets into a fight with him. The soldier says there is nothing wrong with using Katejina and that Cronicle surely wants to do the same. The fight ends when Utari shoots his other subordinate. He asks Cronicle to tell Tassilo Vago that his team fought down to the last man. Uso finds an abandoned Zolo and investigates it. As he gets closer, it explodes. From behind, Utari emerges from the ground and grapples onto him. Uso's beam shield is damaged, and Utari severs the Victory Gundam's right arm. As he moves in for the killing blow, Uso throws the beam saber at him and hits the cockpit. When they both get out, Utari can't believe that reality is so cruel and that a kid is piloting a suit. He says that kids shouldn't fight in wars, and he pulls out a grenade. He tells Uso to run and then sets off the grenade and explodes. Uso is knocked around, and he cries out, wondering why Utari blew himself up.

This episode illustrates what Tomino does best (aside from killing people): character conflict. The best example of this is Zeta Gundam, which is filled with character conflict. This series makes the same point: just because people fight on the same side, it doesn't mean that they agree about their ideas on fighting or why they fight. Uso keeps saying he doesn't want to fight, but then he keeps fighting. And Utari, man, I'd hate to have him as a commander. Piss him off and he kills you. Even someone as devious as Cronicle is taken aback by him, though he does show some nobility by protecting Katejina. We'll see what he does now with her.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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