Review by Chris

September 4, 2002

On the Endra, Mashymre watches as a weapons-equipped shield is added to the Hamma Hamma. He feels uncomfortable around Chara since she is constantly recording everything he says. As he tries to escape from her, he bumps into her R-Jarja mobile suit that is under construction. Chara says that piloting a mobile suit makes her very excited, and Mashymre thinks she's weird. On the Argama, Judau helps Iino capture an escaped chicken. He then asks Iino why he protected Beecha and Mondo since they are the traitors. Iino says his father told him never to betray his friends, and Judau asks him if he cares about the deaths caused by Beecha and Mondo's betrayal. Elsewhere, Shinta and Qum sit in Fa's quarters with Haro because they miss her. They try to stop Elle from taking Fa's mirror, but she says that Fa isn't coming back. Shinta and Qum decide that they will go to Shangri-La and bring Fa and Kamille back to the ship. Gottn overhears them and offers to pilot for them. He says that Mashymre is a terrible man who forced him to do bad things. They let him go, and he runs away when Roux spots him. He grabs a knife and takes Iino as his hostage down to the mobile suit hangar. Judau gets ready to launch in the Zeta Gundam, but Bright tells him to wait. Gottn and Iino get inside the Neo Core Fighter, and Leina brings him a normal suit and a box. A chicken jumps out of the box and attacks Gottn. He asks his comrades to help him, so Beecha and Mondo open the gate so he can escape. Judau knows they are the traitors, and he launches in the Zeta Gundam, followed by Roux in another Neo Core Fighter with a Core Base. Gottn puts a normal suit on Iino and forgets to pay attention to space. The Neo Core Fighter crashes into an asteroid, and both Gottn and Iino are ejected into space. Gottn grabs hold of a nearby asteroid, and Mashymre's Hamma Hamma emerges from behind it.

Mashymre spots Gottn, and Gottn says he is glad that Mashymre came to rescue him. Gottn transfers over to a Gaza-C while Mashymre searches for the Argama. He sees Chara flying around like an idiot in her R-Jarja and wonders what she is doing. Judau and Roux find the Neo Core Fighter and see that no one is in it. Bright orders Judau to return and defend the ship, and he calls La Vie en Rose for help. Iino wakes up on La Vie en Rose and meets acting captain Emary Ounce. Emary shows Iino the Core Top, and a distress call arrives from the Argama. Judau fights with a Gaza-C and then attacks Mashymre, but his shield proves to be a powerful defense. Judau is barely able to dodge Mashymre's shield-mounted beam gun, and he grabs onto Roux to escape. Beecha and Mondo panic and steal a Neo Core Fighter to escape to the Endra. Chara grabs them and shakes them around before tossing them aside. Judau shoots at her, and she attacks him with her beam saber and slices apart his shield. Mashymre attacks again, and Chara grapples Judau from behind. Mashymre fires his beam gun at Judau and blows the Zeta Gundam's head off. Judau drifts away with no cameras and no controls. He abandons the Zeta Gundam and finds the Neo Core Fighter with Mondo and Beecha drifting nearby. He flies away with is, and Mashymre chases him. Iino launches from La Vie en Rose in the Core Top, and Roux joins him to find Judau. Roux calls Judau and tells him that the Neo Core Fighter is part of the Double Zeta Gundam. Iino and Roux eject their Neo Core Fighters, and the Core Top and Core Base dock with Judau to form the Double Zeta Gundam. Mashymre is amazed by its speed, and Judau attacks with his hyper beam saber. He then fires his double beam rifle and severely damages the Hamma Hamma, forcing Mashymre to escape. Everyone compliments Judau on his skill, and he uses the Double Zeta to haul the headless Zeta Gundam back to the ship.

So here we're finally introduced to the title mobile suit of the series, the Double Zeta. It's kind of odd that it appears this early, since in most other series the new Gundam doesn't appear until halfway through the series. Like many other suits from this series, Double Zeta seems to be bulky and overpowered. Also, I never cared much for the Core Block System of the original series, and I care for it even less here. All the time it takes to dock and transform is a waste, and you have to wonder why Mashymre didn't attack when Judau was docking. Chara makes a fool of herself in her R-Jarja, which looks like a slick update of M'Quve's Gyan from the original series. On another note, what is with Beecha and Mondo's betrayal? They seem to get away with a lot, and they're really convinced that the best course of action is to through their lot in with Mashymre. Boy, are they ever wrong.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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