Chris responds:
1. There's really no way to know, mainly because the Borjarnon isn't a Zaku II. It looks like it on the inside and outside, but there are differences. In fact, all the old things that appear in Turn A are different. The Gallop, for instance, can't even properly store a mobile suit, but the original series version could hold several Zakus and the Gouf.

2. Actually, the number of Newtypes seems to decrease over time after a high in Zeta and ZZ. By the time of F91, the way they talk about Newtypes makes it sound as though there really aren't that many. And in Victory Gundam we also don't see many Newtypes. Given that, there's really not much reason to equip suits with bits and funnels, and UC research into quasi-psycommu seems to have hit a dead end after the Neue Ziel and Hamma-Hamma.

3. Ugh...this is what, like 3 Mailbags in a row? See some recent installments for more on Amuro and Char. As for Hathaway, he didn't kill a "superior officer" because he's not in the military. Since what he did happened in the middle of a very chaotic battle that doubtless had a lot of Minovsky particle interference, I doubt anyone saw what he did. It doesn't seem that way when he returns to the Ra Cailum. Whether he later confessed to it is something we'll never know.

Chris responds:
1. I would go with the 30% figure, as "three times faster" is a ridiculous amount of speed and something that a Zaku probably wouldn't even be capable of. I recall reading long ago that Char's Gelgoog was custom tuned, but I can't recall the source, nor did it mention if that applied to all YMS-14 units, or just Char's.

2. As for Char's other OYW suits, I haven't read anything that says they're custom tuned for speed. Same goes for other aces, unless they're piloting a high mobility type suit, which would obviously be faster than a typical suit.

Chris responds:
1. Well, back when SEED was first announced in 2002, the theme they mentioned about mobile suits was "Only a Gundam can take on a Gundam. Let the battle of the Gundams begin!" That's something they've followed through with in the series. In the beginning, I think cannon fodder suits did better mainly because Kira wasn't such a good pilot. After he fights Andy Waltfeld and Marco Morassim, regular mobile suits aren't even a threat anymore.

2. It's more than just business. Given that Anaheim absorbed Zeonic Company after the One Year War, they probably had a fair number of staff who were Zeonic sympathizers. There's also the undeniable fact that war is a very profitable business, so during the Gryps War, it's in their benefit for a war to drag on and have both sides coming back for more weapons.

3. There's lots of info about MSV ace pilots such as Johnny Ridden or Shin Matsunaga. Those characters show up in lots of manga, many of which offer contradictory information (in particular for Johnny). If you want more information about these pilots, check out this link at RGZ-91's Library of Londenion.

4. A recent argument (and one I agree with) suggests that the Antarctic Treaty is null and void after the One Year War because one of its signatory members, the Principality of Zeon, ceases to exist. Legally, the Republic of Zeon that takes its place is a separate government that had no involvement with the treaty. Also, even if it was in effect, who's going to enforce it when the Federation is the supreme power in space and on Earth?

Chris responds:
1. Ehh... it's more like "one day" rather than "soon." MAHQ's plate will be full for the rest of 2007 and well into 2008. Next year, it would be nice if someone were interested in reviewing the anime, manga or books. I could see us having a mecha section too.

2. Yeah, Tomino's depiction of women is certainly different from most other anime. I've never read any particular reason why, but it certainly is possible that his depictions are based on his experiences with women.

3. While on the surface that's true, it's not that simple. In the Wing universe, Gundams are high class suits, so you need a good design and technical know how to make one, not just raw materials. And most of that knowledge is in the minds of the mad scientists. A better question might be where Treize got technical information to build something like Epyon.

4. They serve a couple of purposes. First, they're an aesthetic touch because Duker Iq is a motorcycle fanatic and an influential member of the Gatie Party. Second, on Earth they're meant to "press out" the land by flattening cities, which the Zanscare do in Mexico and the United States before the cease fire with the Federation. The Reinforce was combined with a captured Zanscare ship and remodeled into the Reinforce Junior, which was destroyed at the end of the series. As for the White Ark, since it showed up around the same time the V2 did, it might have been designed by the League Militaire to specifically support a small force of Victory-type suits.