Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie -A wakening of the Trailblazer- (review)

In 2314 A.D., a Celestial Being transport ship arrives at a secret dock. Engineer Ian Vashti greets his wife Linda, and she shows him the new GN particle emitters designed for use with the Twin Drive system. Ian comments that the high density particle field and quantum brainwaves will connect people’s thoughts on the battlefield. Ian thinks that the 00 Qan[T] will become the Gundam that Setsuna F. Seiei wished for – a Gundam to end war. On Earth, Saji Crossroad and a friend watch Celestial Being, a fictionalized super robot-influenced movie about Celestial Being’s battle with the Earth Sphere Federation’s autonomous A-LAWS task force. After his friend leaves, Saji complains to himself that he wasn’t in the movie. He thinks about how it’s been two years since Celestial Being’s last battle, which has set the world slowly on the path of peace. He then drives to a Federation hospital to bring flowers to his girlfriend, Louise Halevy. Louise tells Saji that she hasn’t had any seizures in a while and might be discharged soon. Saji wonders what Setsuna is up to now. In deep space, Marina Ismail and Shirin Bakhtiar meet with Colony Corporation representatives at a colony construction site at Lagrange 3. The representatives tell Shirin that it’s too dangerous for them to visit the colony. Shirin insists that she wants to inspect the living conditions of the workers, but the representative refuses to budge. Marina steps in and asks if they can meet with the workers and their families, and the representative agrees. As they leave, he tells his men that even minor accidents can be fatal in space. As the shuttle departs, Marina asks a corporation employee what he thinks, but he’s reluctant to comment. Suddenly, three GN-XIII mobile suits appear in the asteroid field and prepare to attack the shuttle, but they come under fire from a custom Flag piloted by Setsuna. Setsuna unleashes smoke discharges and uses the confusion to destroy one of the GN-XIIIs with his GN Sword II Kai. The other pilots blindly open fire, and Setsuna destroys one of them with a plasma sword. The remaining GN-XIII emerges from the smoke cloud and gives chase to the shuttle, but Setsuna destroys it with his GN Sword. The Colony Corporation employee on the shuttle pulls out a gun and shoots one of the men in Marina’s entourage. She asks him if this is how he intends to make his family happy, but he gets shot from behind by Lockon Stratos. He declines to give his name and leaves the shuttle, but Shirin recognizes his voice. Lockon asks Setsuna if he wants to say hello to Marina, but Setsuna says there’s no need. They return to the Ptolemaios 2 Kai and are greeted by Feldt Grace. She tries to speak to Setsuna, but he quickly leaves the hangar to give his report to Sumeragi Lee Noriega. He thinks they can help the new Federation government by taking care of small problems, and both Mileina Vashti and Lasse Aeon comment on how Gundams showing up would be detrimental to that process. Feldt gets a report from the quantum supercomputer Veda stating that the Federation is disposing of a probe coming in Jupiter. Setsuna asks for more info, and Lasse asks if he suspects something. After he leaves the bridge, Mileina comments that he’s been acting strangely, and Lasse says it’s due to him becoming an Innovator.

Elsewhere, Kati Mannequin gets the same report about the probe, with the added detail that it’s the ship Europa, which was sent to study Jupiter over 130 years ago. She gives orders to use particle missiles to alter the probe’s orbit. Kati’s husband Patrick Colasour arrives and mistakenly calls her Colonel again, even though her rank is Brigadier General. She tells Patrick to come with her over to the deep space vessel Celestial Being in lunar orbit. Kati asks an officer for a status report, and he explains that due to the ship’s massive size they’ve only analyzed 70 percent of it. He shows them the room where Veda is stored, and when Patrick is surprised to see two people with the same face, the officer explains that they’re Innovades. Patrick doesn’t know what they are, so the officer explains that the Innovades are living terminals that Veda uses to gather information about the world. Three Baikal class cruisers approach the Europa as it drifts toward Earth. Kati and Patrick meet with Descartes Shaman, a man confirmed to be a true Innovator by Veda. Patrick asks what an Innovator is, and another officer answers that an Innovator is an evolved human with a stronger body and spatial awareness that can live twice a normal lifespan and communicate mentally through quantum brainwaves. Kati is informed that the ships have fired their GN missiles at Europa, but Shaman thinks it won’t work. It’s then reported that only half the missiles hit and that the ship is changing course for Earth. Shaman decides to launch in the mobile armor Gadelaza, and Kati wonders if he read her mind. An officer tells Kati that the Gadelaza is at least five times more powerful than a mobile suit. The Baikals continue to fire missiles and set out several GN-XIV mobile suits, but pilot Andrei Smirnov comments that Europa is too big a target for them. Shaman arrives and launches a large number of GN fangs to attack Europa. He then fires his GN blaster, which destroys Europa and leaves only small fragments that should burn up during atmospheric re-entry. Kati sees why the military has such high hopes for Shaman and tells the other officers to treat him more accordingly with his rank. The Federation President receives a report about what happened to Shirin and Marina and decides to ask the corporation what happened, which her advisors think is too lenient. The president’s secretary reports that Europa was destroyed by Shaman the Innovator. The secretary comments that the military wants to establish a model case as the number of potential Innovators increases. The president foresees problems between humans and Innovators and wants to come up with a way to solve those problems. At a Federation base, mobile suit designer Billy Katagiri gets a call from pilot Graham Aker about the Europa fragments not all burning up. Photojournalist Ikeda and several other men drive out into the Asian desert to investigate the supposed crash of a fragment, even though they officially burned up. He spots a military investigation team and is surprised to see a truck go out of control with no driver. Driverless cars and trains begin to go out of control across the world. While working at the Asian orbital elevator, Saji gets a call from the hospital that Louise is having a seizure. A schoolgirl named Amia Lee walks home and gets stabbed by morphing metal when she tries to open her front door. An Innovade resembling Ribbons Almark then comes out of the house and grabs her.

At a Federation military research facility, Billy offers a theory on why the probe fragments didn’t burn up, stating that the probe was too large. Astrophysicist Mehna Carmine is excited to see Billy and knocks him down while trying to hug him. The scientists are studying one of the recovered fragments, of which Mehna explains they’ve only found half of. Billy believes the fragments either vanished spontaneously or are moving on their own. The other scientists laughingly dismiss the latter idea, but Mehna pulls up a map showing that the strange incidents across the world are right next to fragment crash sites. Mehna has a theory and says she needs Billy’s help to access the Federation’s database of citizens who are potential Innovators. On the Ptolemaios 2, Setsuna decides to go to Earth and investigate the strange incidents. Sumeragi asks Mileina to contact Allelujah Haptism, but she’s unable to, so Setsuna and Lockon set off. On Earth, Allelujah and Marie Parfacy/Soma Peries hike through Mongolia on their way to investigate a loss of power from a solar plant. Marie says she has an uneasy feeling and apologizes for dragging Allelujah along, but he says it’s OK. They reach the plant and find that one of the electrical transformers has been destroyed. Inside the plant they find the staff covered in metal. A jeep then rams into the building next to them, and outside vehicles start to come to life on their own. At the hospital, Saji recalls the doctor asking him what could have triggered Louise’s PTSD. Louise begins to have a seizure just as the power goes out. The Ribbons-type Innovade enters the room, and Saji throws a chair at him and escapes with Louise. Saji and Louise manage to make it outside, but the Ribbons-type tosses him aside and tries to grab Louise. Setsuna pulls up on a bike and shoots the helmet. He’s shocked to see Ribbons. Elsewhere, Allelujah and Marie are barely able to dodge an out of control truck, which crashes and immediately reforms. Allelujah wonders why the truck is chasing Marie, and the voice of Hallelujah says it’s due to her quantum brainwaves. Hallelujah then takes control and attracts the attention of the truck with his own quantum brainwaves. He jumps up to avoid the truck and a car and swings to a higher level. A helicopter then comes charging in, but it’s destroyed by a shot from Lockon’s Gundam Dynames Repair. Lockon shoots the other vehicles and tells Hallelujah to come with him. Setsuna shoots the Ribbons-type multiple times, but it continues to approach him. He finally stops it with plastic explosives, and the remaining legs collapse into metal shards. Vice Admiral Kim and Klaus Grad meet with Billy and ask for an update. Billy shows them a picture of Amia, who has had half of her body turned into metal by the Extraterrestrial Living-metal Shapeshifter, or ELS. Mehna explains that the ELS are targeting people with quantum brainwaves, and Billy suggests having them isolated in shelters for their protection. Mileina and Feldt greet Allelujah and Marie when they return to the ship. Sumeragi asks about Saji and Louise, and Setsuna explains that they went to the Federation shelter. Feldt asks Setsuna what happened, but he says it’s nothing and leaves. Feldt comments to Sumeragi that ever since becoming an Innovator, Setsuna has become closed off like he used to be. Sumeragi says he must be confused about the changes he’s undergone, and she tells Feldt to not stop thinking about him.

Patrick brings Kati a drink and jokes about Earth being targeted by evil space aliens. He then moves in for a kiss, but they’re interrupted by a report that a part of Celestial Being is operating on its own. Kati looks at an external visual and sees a Trans-Am particle trail flying away. Sumeragi briefs the crew and explains that the Ribbons-type Setsuna saw was one of the Europa‘s crew 130 years ago. Feldt adds that because the Jupiter mission was a cover for GN drive development, it’s not odd for an Innovade to have been there. Sumeragi says that similar metal damage is happening on Earth, and Allelujah wonders what the aliens want. Mileina cuts in with a report about the Europa approaching them. Lockon then launches in the Gundam Zabanya, followed by Allelujah and Marie in the Gundam Harute and Setsuna in the 00 Raiser Condenser Type. Sumeragi reminds Setsuna not to overdo things since the 00 Raiser is running on particle tanks now and not GN drives. Multiple ELS darts approach, so Lockon and Allelujah open fire. The ELS begin to chase Setsuna, and he has a strange sensation in his head. An ELS slams into the 00 Raiser’s left arm, and another heads for the cockpit, but is destroyed by Tieria Erde’s Raphael Gundam. Tieria then uses the Raphael Gundam’s giant arm to rip off the 00 Raiser’s infected arm and destroy it. He then activates Trans-Am and opens fire on Europa to destroy it. Back on the ship, everyone is surprised to see Tieria, and Allelujah asks how it’s possible. Tieria explains that since he’s an Innovade he can just download his consciousness into a new body. Tieria asks Setsuna why he didn’t shoot the ELS, but Setsuna doesn’t know. Tieria then says that Setsuna must’ve sensed something, so the ELS are sentient. Billy and Mehna ride a linear train up an orbital elevator, and he fends off her attempt to kiss him. Mehna thinks the ELS are sentient and mentions strange radio waves from Jupiter that resemble quantum brainwaves. Lasse wonders if the ELS are what Celestial Being founder Aeolia Schenberg meant by the “dialogues to come,” and Tieria explains that that part of the plan had to do with humanity exploring space. Allelujah says humanity isn’t ready to meet aliens, but Lasse notes that it’s happening anyway. Feldt asks Setsuna for his opinion, but he says he doesn’t know and leaves. Tieria asks about the status of the 00 Qan[T], and Sumeragi answers that Ian is trying to finish it. Tieria thinks the 00 Qan[T] might be their trump card if Setsuna can communicate with the ELS. Billy and Mehna meet with Kati and Shaman on the Celestial Being. Mehna asks Shaman about the Jovian radio waves, and he says it sounds like a cry. He then experiences a massive headache, along with Louise, Setsuna and potential Innovators across the world. A strange anomaly then appears over Jupiter’s red spot and sucks in the moons of Io and Ganymede, along with the planet’s ring. Countless numbers begin to emerge from the anomaly and take position around the planet. Setsuna asks how long it’ll take the ELS to reach Earth, and Feldt estimates 95 days. Setsuna then says he wants to go to Jupiter. The president’s secretary holds a press conference announcing the existence of the ELS, but she says they’re not heading for Earth. The political hawks and doves of the Federation assembly argue with each other about what the ELS are and what they want.

Shirin joins Marina on their shuttle, and Shirin says she has high hopes for Marina’s leadership during the coming crisis. An officer reports to the president that their advance fleet will reach Mars in 16 days and encounter the ELS. They’ve also sent Shaman along with the fleet in the hopes that his quantum brainwaves will catch the ELS’ attention and change their course. The fleet commanded by Kim reaches Mars, and an officer asks Kim why he volunteered for such a dangerous mission. Kim explains that he used to know Sergei Smirnov, the Wild Bear of Russia. But he’s spent his life obsessing over his career, and now he wants to try to follow Sergei’s example. Shaman decides to go in with the Gadelaza and get the attention of the ELS. The ELS immediately take notice of Shaman, so he unleashes his fangs and opens fire. Shaman can feel the ELS shouting in his head and is joined in his attack by several GN-XIVs. The Ptolemaios 2 rushes toward Mars, and the ELS begin to assimilate the GN-XIVs. Kim has an emergency message sent to Earth stating that the ELS are a threat to humanity. The ELS begin to assimilate a Baikal cruiser, followed by Kim’s Volga flagship. Shaman says he doesn’t want to die in space and destroys the ELS-assimilated ships with his GN blaster. A large ELS grabs onto the Gadelaza and immediately starts assimilating it. The small ELS swarm around the Gadelaza and then turn their attention to the arriving Celestial Being Gundams. Setsuna can hear Shaman in his head and tells him to escape, but it’s too late. Setsuna decides to use the Raiser system to create a telepathic field with high density GN particles so he can contact the ELS. Setsuna activates Trans-Am and spreads out a large GN field, which causes the ELS to rush toward him. Setsuna finds himself in GN particle space and asks the ELS what they want, but he’s overwhelmed by a flood of images. The ELS then begin to assimilate the 00 Raiser and attack the other Gundams. Tieria has his backpack transform into the Seravee Gundam II and attracts the ELS with his own quantum brainwaves. He tells them to rescue Setsuna, and the unmanned Seravee Gundam II rips the 00 Raiser’s cockpit out, which Lockon retrieves. Tieria activates Trans-Am and sets off a large explosion to destroy the surrounding ELS. Lockon rushes back to the ship in Trans-Am, and both Allelujah and Marie draw away the attention of the ELS with their quantum brainwaves. The ELS continue to chase Lockon, so he deploys shield bits to cover himself. Several of the pursuing ELS are suddenly destroyed by Brave mobile suits from Graham’s Solbraves squad. The Braves begin attacking the ELS and provide cover for the Gundam Zabanya and Gundam Harute to escape. Graham warns his pilots to avoid direct physical contact with the ELS. The ELS then return to circling around the assimilated Gadelaza, and Sumeragi tells Graham to escape and meet her at specific coordinates. The Ptolemaios 2 then fires particle disruption missiles and escapes alongside the Solbraves.

Feldt rushes to the infirmary to see Setsuna. Sumeragi speaks to Tieria through Veda and asks why he was so reckless, but he tells her that his body is just a container. She then asks about Setsuna, and Tieria explains that Setsuna took in a flood of information from the ELS, which damaged his brain cells. Tieria is giving him a treatment to regenerate brain cells, but there’s no way to tell if he’ll ever wake up. However, he adds that because Setsuna is an Innovator with very strong quantum brainwaves, anything is possible. Graham visits the infirmary and tells Feldt that people are always looking for a path of mutual understanding. Feldt asks Graham who he is, and he answers that he’s a man who made the mistake of trying to surpass the Gundams when he should have been trying to surpass Setsuna. He regrets not making it in time to save his allies or Setsuna and gets a call about more ELS coming from Jupiter. A large moon-like body appears near Jupiter, which is announced by the Federation. In Azadistan, Marina asks Shirin for an update on what the Federation assembly is doing. The president is briefed on the battle plan involving multiple defense lines and the Celestial Being as a tactical base with Kati in command. Marina is informed that there isn’t enough shelter space for people in the plaza, so she gives orders to open up the palace. The president’s secretary announces that the Federation is looking for volunteer technicians to help protect the orbital elevators, so Saji decides to go. Billy theorizes that the ELS assimilate objects to gain knowledge of them, and since their large hive mind needs quantum brainwaves, they’re attracted to potential Innovators. Mehna hugs Billy and says she wants them both to understand each other. The Ptolemaios 2 speeds back to the Earth Sphere with only seven days left until the ELS arrive. The ship rendezvous with Ian’s transport shuttle, which is carrying the 00 Qan[T]. Ian is shocked to hear about Setsuna, but Sumeragi is confident that he’ll recover. Tieria asks Ian to equip the suit with a Veda terminal so that he can use Veda to manage the massive information flow from the ELS. Sumeragi addresses the crew and announces that they’ll use Trans-Am to get back to Earth as fast as possible. Several days later, the ELS approach the first defensive line. Patrick tells Kati that he’s about to launch, and she asks him to not die. The ships on the first defensive line fire a volley of GN missiles at the ELS, which are blocked by a field. Andrei says to himself that they couldn’t be in a worse situation, but he wants to protect what his parents held dear. Graham addresses his Solbraves pilots and tells them not to die. The Celestial Being fires its large cannon at the ELS moon, and the mobile suits move in to attack range. Patrick destroys large ELS and vows that he’ll return to Kati. After assimilating a GN-XIV, the ELS begin to transform into copies of the mobile suit. The Solbraves arrive and open fire on the ELS mobile suits, although a Brave is immediately destroyed. Graham is angered by the loss and surprised to see the ELS now morphing into Baikal cruisers as well.

The Celestial Being fires its cannon at the moon again, but the shot is distorted by a field. The Gundam Zabanya and Gundam Harute join the battle, and the Ptolemaios 2 fires GN missiles at the ELS. Setsuna feels pain and has visions of his past, including murdering his parents and being a child terrorist. Kati is informed that they’ve lost 30 percent of their forces, and the ELS begin to assimilate the Celestial Being‘s cannon. Kati has the cannon purged, and the ELS begin to break through to the last defense line. Andrei’s GN-XIV is damaged, so he starts a Trans-Am overload to destroy himself and a large ELS. Setsuna has a vision of being in the ruins of the Krugis Republic, followed by Marina in Azadistan, Saji at the orbital elevator and Louise in shelter. He then sees the other Gundam pilots in battle, along with the crew of the Ptolemaios 2. He sees his dead crewmates Lichtendahl Tsery and Christina Sierra telling him that everyone is fighting to change the world. The dead Neil Dylandy reminds Setsuna that he has to change, and he reaches out to touch a flower. He then wakes up finds Feldt crying and holding his hand. Tieria’s consciousness is transferred into the 00 Qan[T], and Mileina confesses that she’ll always love him regardless of his form. Feldt returns to the bridge and says that because Setsuna has so much love in him, all she has to do is think about him. Setsuna then launches in the 00 Qan[T] and heads for the battlefield. Patrick calls Kati and says he won’t be able to make it back because his suit is being assimilated. He plans to take out the ELS with a Trans-Am overload, but Lockon blasts the ELS and sends Patrick flying out into space. Tieria tells Setsuna that he’ll have to go to the center of the ELS to interact with them. Lockon unleashes a large rifle bit attack to cut out a path for Setsuna, and the Gundam Harute activates its Marute system. Hallelujah goes wild and attacks multiple ELS. Setsuna approaches the ELS moon and feels pain in his head. He blocks ELS mobile suit attacks with his sword bits and says he didn’t come to fight. Graham asks Setsuna what he’s doing and says he should be fighting for the sake of living. Graham activates his Brave‘s Trans-Am and tells Setsuna to live and blaze a trail to the future. Sumeragi speaks with Kati and tells her to hold out a bit longer. The Gundam Zabanya loses its left arm, so Lockon activates Trans-Am and has his rifle bits attack large ELS. Allelujah saves a Federation pilot and is forced to eject some parts that the ELS are assimilating. Setsuna fires back at the ELS chasing him and wants to use Trans-Am, but Tieria tells him that’s their trump card. Setsuna activates Trans-Am anyway and uses a full burst shot to destroy a large ELS and cut into the moon’s surface. Graham’s Brave is being assimilated by the ELS, so he activates Trans-Am and slams into the moon to create a hole for Setsuna.

Setsuna flies through the hole and penetrates the interior of the ELS moon. The ELS assimilate almost half of the Ptolemaios 2, so Sumeragi gives orders to evacuate the ship. But Feldt says she doesn’t want to abandon everyone like she did Christina, and the rest of the crew shares that sentiment. Federation losses reach 70 percent, and the ELS begin to assimilate the Celestial Being. Setsuna and Tieria reach the core of the ELS, and Setsuna activates the Quantum system to release a massive burst of high density GN particles. Setsuna begins to feel overwhelmed by the ELS, so Tieria links with him to manage the information through Veda. Setsuna then sees images of the ELS homeworld, which was threatened by its star going supernova. The ELS sent out the moon-like structure to find a new world. Setsuna and Tieria see that the ELS are trying to reach understanding through assimilation. Setsuna decides to go to the ELS homeworld so they can all understand each other, and Tieria asks if that’s a good idea. Setsuna answers that regardless of whether it’s good or bad, it’s the meaning of life that he found. Allelujah and Marie are forced to abandon the Gundam Harute as the ELS begin to assimilate it. Saji works in space on the orbital elevator as a Union Realdo Hover Tank fires at the ELS. The 00 Qan[T] then vanishes as it begins to warp to the ELS homeworld. The ELS stop their advance and begin swarming together. Across the world, everyone is shocked to see the ELS take the shape of a giant flower. On Earth, Marina says to herself that she can see Setsuna’s thoughts. Lockon and his two Haros abandon the damaged Gundam Zabanya. In 2091 A.D., Aeolia has a conversation with his friend E.A. Ray. Ray runs down a list of Aeolia’s accomplishments, including the discovery of GN particles, the development of GN drives, a quantum computer, construction of the orbital elevator and advocacy for solar power. Ray says that Aeolia has definitely enriched humanity with technology, but he’s become a misanthrope living in isolation on an island. Aeolia responds that he hates it when knowledge is misused by people who are overcome by prejudice and lose sight of reality. He says that’s the source of misunderstanding and conflict, so he wants humanity to learn how to understand each other and use knowledge properly. If they don’t, conflict will continue to spread in space. In 2364 A.D., the Federation prepares to launch the deep space exploration vessel Sumeragi, with Klaus serving as its second officer and a half-metal Amia as a crewmember. A news reporter covering the launch announces that 25 percent of humanity have become Innovators. A blind old Marina plays the keyboard alone and hears someone approaching. Setsuna calls out to her, and she says that she’s missed him. The full-metal Setsuna takes Marina’s hand and says she wasn’t wrong because they were both able to understand each other. As they hug, the 00 Qan[T] absorbs the flowers in the field outside of Marina’s cottage.