Review by Chris

Original Review: August 18, 2000
New Review: May 19, 2004

In the Midwestern United States, farmers work in the field to harvest their wheat crops. That all ends when a group of Vultures suddenly attack with several Jenice suits. The farmers fire back with anti-aircraft guns, but they are no match for the Jenices. On a hilltop, the Vulture leader vows no mercy for those who oppose him. Elsewhere, Witz and Roybea sit at a crossroad looking at an old sign. Witz wonders what it used to point to, and Roybea thinks it's either Heaven or Hell. Witz believes his side must be heaven and takes the left path. He thinks about how he and Roybea decided to take a break after working full time for Jamil. Roybea begins his vacation by visiting all his former girlfriends to see if they're still alive. He tells one of them he has to see if they're doing all right because of nasty things like mobile suits and diseases. One girl asks Roybea if he knows anyone who died from the colony disease, and he says a friend's family did. Witz arrives at the graves of his father and his younger brother Pastel. He places a bottle of liquor on his father's grave and a box of chocolate on Pastel's. He then pulls out his bag of gold and says he has a problem because his mother hates anything to do with mobile suits. Witz's younger twin sisters Kortol and Saelia then appear and try to trick him, but he recognizes them. In the nearby trees, a man named Harten watches Witz. Witz recalls his childhood while driving through the wheat fields, and he pulls out a gun when a Daughtress Tank approaches. His sisters explain that the farmers bought a mobile suit to keep the Vultures away from the crops. Witz pulls in the jeep at his home and greets his mother Shora, his other sister Onimimu and his brother Draso. He asks if he still has his old room, and Draso tells him they store things in there. The twins ask Shora if she plans to keep her secret from Witz, but she tells them it's not their business. While Witz buys groceries, Draso and Onimimu hide all the items belonging to their stepfather Harten. Draso wonders how they could hide their stepfather's piano and thinks they should tell Witz the truth. In the town, Shora asks Witz what he's been doing the last two years, and he says he will tell her later. She tells him it had better not have anything to do with Vultures or mobile suits since that is what killed his father. When Witz leaves his car to get groceries, Shora looks into his bag and discovers the gold.

Roybea leaves one ex-girlfriend's house and says he has to see a sick girl. She calls him a liar, and he asks if it was so obvious. At his home, Witz takes a short rest until Draso comes to get him for dinner. When Witz goes downstairs, Draso hides a picture of his stepfather. After dinner, Witz asks Shora if she could make him some coffee. She tells him she doesn't like coffee, so he asks why she has a coffee maker. He then notices the piano and asks Onimimu to play it. She can't, and Shora accidentally breaks the coffee pot. Witz senses that something is wrong, and Draso breaks down and tells him they have a stepfather. He asks how they could all lie to him, and Shora calls him the liar. She tells him that she knows he's become a mobile suit pilot since leaving home. He says being a mobile suit pilot has nothing to do with the current situation, but she says it does. He asks Shora how she could be with some other man, and she slaps him. Witz then walks to town and stops inside a bar. He has a drink and tells the bartender he became a Vulture and received the Gundam Airmaster as a gift from a Vulture leader. He says he wanted to use the Gundam to help his family, but Shora betrayed his father. The bartender tells Witz he doesn't know everything about his mother and says she hates mobile suits because she still loves her dead husband. When the bartender pours Witz some coffee and starts playing piano, Witz realizes the bartender is Harten. Suddenly, the Vultures appear with their Jenices and attack the wheat fields. The farmers deploy their Daughtress Tank to fight off the Jenices. The tank is destroyed, and Witz arrives with the Gundam Airmaster and attacks the Jenices. Elsewhere, Roybea visits the grave of the woman who gave him the Gundam Leopard. He pours wine over her tombstone and decides this will be the last time he visits her grave. Witz destroys the attacking Jenices and scares off the Vulture leader. Shora speaks to Harten on the phone, and he tells her he learned a lot about Witz. Witz drops the giant suitcase in front of his home and flies off. Later, he and Roybea sit at the crossroad again. He says both sides turned out to be Hell too, and they decide to return to the Freeden.

Following the Fort Severn arc, it's good to see an all character development episode, especially one focusing on Witz and Roybea. In the past, it's been shown that Witz has been amassing his pile of gold for his family and that his brother died of colony disease. Now, we finally get to see his family. All isn't quite well at home since his mother hates mobile suits and tries to hide her new husband. Likewise, we see more of Roybea's background. Although he is definitely a playboy, he also has a serious side. His entire family is dead, and it seems he was in love with the dead woman who gave him the Gundam Leopard. In the end, both their journeys proved bittersweet, and the road leads them back to the Freeden.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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