In Europe, Zeon forces retreat when the EFF successfully completes Operation Odessa and drives M’Quve out of his mines. Yuri and his soldiers are left behind, but he promises to take them to Ginias’ base and get them back to space. He doesn’t care if the EFF has the Earth because the war will be fought in space. Elsewhere, Shiro gets out of his Gundam to see if Aina is the pilot. As the Apsaras II approaches the Himalayas, it takes a dive and knocks Shiro around. He gets some rope out of the Gundam’s hand to secure himself. Aina puts out a fire in her cockpit and gets out when she sees Shiro. She is surprised that he was worried about her. She gives Shiro some generic parts so that he can repair his Gundam. With the Gundam operational, Aina activates the Apsaras II’s engines. Aina says they fought previously, but now they have to work together if they want to survive. The engines quickly begin to malfunction, and the Apsaras II goes into a dive. Aina tells Shiro to save himself, but he says they will both survive together. He uses the last amount of propellant left in the Gundam to help cushion the landing. The Gundam and Apsaras II land on a mountain but keep sliding towards a cliff. Aina asks Shiro again to escape, but he refuses. He uses the Gundam as a brake and slows down the Apsaras II as it reaches the edge of the cliff. He confesses to Aina that he loves her, and his Gundam falls off the cliff. Aina cries out his name, and he ejects from the Gundam and parachutes to the bottom of the cliff. At the Zeon Asian base, Norris receives the EFF distress signal and sends out a Luggun to investigate. Ginias leaves him in charge to search for the Apsaras II and doesn’t seem too concerned about Aina. He tells Norris that since the distress signal is from the EFF that means that the Apsaras II won. Elsewhere, Shiro crawls in the freezing snow and wonders if Aina is safe.
Norris’ Dopp and a Luggun search for Aina, but she doesn’t respond to his radio call. Shiro tries to survive in the cold, but his hands are frostbitten. He sees some ice has become warm water from the heat in his Gundam’s engine. He passes out and has a flashback from when he was on Side 2. He was present when a Zaku I broke into a colony and gassed it with G-3 poison gas. He wakes up and sees Aina, and he grabs her in a mad rage. When he realizes who she is, he stops. He tells her that he hates the Zeon, and that he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her since they met. He likes her despite the fact that she is a Zeon officer and has a boyfriend. Aina explains that the man in the picture on her watch is her brother Ginias. Norris returns to base because of the severe weather and informs Ginias that he will go out again to search for Aina. Since it is so cold, Shiro has an idea. Aina asks him if it is okay for her to be inside the Gundam, and he tells her she can forget the secret things later. Aina activates the beam saber and hit the ground with it, which causes the ice to flash burn and form a hot spring. Shiro warms his hands and asks Aina if she’d like to join him for a bath. He’s very nervous to be naked in the water and tells Aina she’s beautiful, like a living doll. Aina remembers growing up as a child with Ginias in Zum City on Side 3. She tells Shiro that she is not a doll for Ginias to play with. As Norris heads out to search for Aina again, he is told that the Zeon have lost Odessa to the EFF. Norris’ rescue squad encounters Jet Core Booster IIs near the mountains, and a battle begins. Shiro is nearly shot by a Dopp, and Aina asks him if he is trying to kill himself. He says this is the same war they have been fighting and asks what hope there is for them. A Gunperry approaches the Apsaras II and tries to deploy a GM Ground Type, so Aina self-destructs the Apsaras II and destroys the Gunperry. The Luggun lands, and Aina says goodbye to Shiro. After taking off, the Luggun pilot asks what happened to the EFF soldier, and Aina replies that he is dead.
Well, that was certainly an interesting follow up to an action episode. Shiro surprised me by confessing his love for Aina. I never thought he’d do that. Despite his age, this is obviously a case of love at first sight bases on physical attraction because they only met briefly once before. I also didn’t think they’d get naked and jump in the water. I wonder what they did from the time of their bath to when Norris shows up. It seems a romance is developing between them, despite the fact that they are on opposite sides of the war. I can see this causing trouble, now that the series has entered its second half and is winding towards a conclusion.
Gundam: The 08th M.S. Team Info
Director(s):
Takeyuki Kanda
Umanosuke Iida
Writer(s):
Akira Okeya
Hiroaki Kitajima
Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Hajime Katoki
Kimitoshi Yamane
Character Designer(s):
Toshihiro Kawamoto
Tomoaki Kado
Musical Composer:
Kouhei Tanaka
Format:
12 episodes; 1 compilation movie
Video Release:
Japan 01.25.1996 – 07.25.1999
U.S. 07.03.2001 – 01.22.2002
Theatrical Release:
Japan 08.01.1998
Comments