The fleet continues to press toward its attack on Ambat, with Gafrans falling back to defend the asteroid base. Geera comments that it’ll only be a matter of time before their second defense line is breached. Geera curses the Gundam and tells Alabel that their plans have gone awry since its appearance, so they have to defeat it, but he’s prepared a new mobile suit for that. Nearby, Yurin is strapped into the cockpit of the mobile suit Farsia against her will. In space, a Gafran manages to land a shot on the Diva and causes damage on the starboard side. A Gafran sneaks up behind Woolf, but Flit slices it in half. He then hears Desil’s voice coming from the direction of Ambat and speeds off. Flit waits in an empty region of space, and Desil appears in the Zedas and says that he’s come back to get even. He kicks Flit away and pulls out his sword. Madorna returns to his workshop and tells Lalaparly that he wishes he could’ve sent more mobile suits. She tells him he can now do what he does best, and he tells his people to prepare to receive damaged mobile suits for repair. A Gafran nearly destroys a Zila, but Ract rushes in with his Elmeda and destroys the Gafran with his beam saber. The Zila pilot thanks Ract, and Ract answers that there’s no need for thanks because it’s his job to protect his comrades. Ract then rallies the Zalam and Euba pilots, declaring that the spirit of Boyage will lead them to victory. As they fight, Flit asks Desil who they are and why a little kid is fighting. Desil responds mentally that it doesn’t matter because he can’t stand the thought of losing to Flit. Desil grabs the AGE-1 Spallow and swings it around before attacking with his sword. Flit and Desil grab each other by the arms, and when Desil tries to fire his chest cannon, Flit quickly dodges. Flit fires his needle guns and says Desil shouldn’t be fighting, and Desil deflects the attacks and answers that fighting is fun. Desil fires his beam vulcans and tells Flit he has something more fun planned. The Farsia then appears before Flit, and he hears Yurin’s voice. She says that she finally got to see him again, and he asks what’s going on.
Largan’s Genoace is damaged, so he returns to the Diva for quick repairs. As the mechanics work on the suit, Emily enters the cockpit to treat Largan’s injured arm. He tells her she should be where it’s safe, but she answers that she can’t sit and do nothing. Largan tells her that if she’s worried about Flit then he’s ok because he has something they don’t. Millais calls Largan and asks him to take command of a team of mobile suits. He tells Emily that he can keep fighting as long as someone believes in him, and Emily tells him to take care as he launches gain. The Farsia deploys five flower funnels that open fire on Flit from multiple directions. He asks Yurin why she has to fight, and she recalls Desil threatening her and says she won’t be allowed to refuse. Yurin tells him that if she didn’t agree, she wouldn’t be allowed to see Flit again. Desil uses his X-Rounder power to take control of the Farsia and explains that resonance between X-Rounders increases their abilities, which is the only reason that Yurin is there. He says that Yurin is nothing more than parts for his arsenal. Flit dodges the flower funnels, but the concentrated attacks destroy part of the AGE-1 Spallow’s fight legs. Desil distracts Flit by attacking him, and the Farsia fires all the funnels together, creating a powerful blast that blows off part of the AGE-1 Spallow’s left arm. Desil continues to attack as the Farsia slams into the AGE-1 Spallow. Flit barely blocks Desil’s sword, and the Farsia’s funnels open fire from multiple angles. Flit is barely able to dodge the attack with his X-Rounder power, so Desil decides to try again. Desil says they have to keep fighting until someone dies, but he’ll end it if Flit wants it to end. As the Farsia attacks from behind, Desil rushes in to make the killing blow with his sword, but Yurin takes control of the Farsia and takes the hit. Flit imagines that he’s back in the forest and catches Yurin’s ribbon. Yurin tells Flit that she wanted to see him again and thought she’d do anything for that. She says she thought she’d be happy to see him again because she wanted to be with him forever. Flit reaches out to Yurin, who says she wanted to keep on living. Yurin says that living is hard, and the Farsia then explodes. Desil tells Flit that he got lucky, but it won’t happen again. Flit asks why Yurin had to die, and Desil answers that there was no reason, but now he’s lost one of his playthings. Consumed by anger, Flit activates his X-Rounder power and performs multiple high speed attacks on Desil, slicing off the Zedas’ arms and legs. Desil begins to cry and claims that he hasn’t lost. The damaged Zedas then floats away, and Flit says he’s some savior if he couldn’t even save Yurin. One of the Euba ships is destroyed as the Diva approaches Ambat’s main gate. Flit returns to the area and receives orders from Grodek to open a path for the ship. He switches parts to the AGE-1 Titus and removes the limiters, which allows him to activate all of his beam weapons and smash through several Gafrans. Flit then forces the main gate open, but the immense strain destroys the AGE-1 Titus’ arms and legs. The Diva then enters Ambat and the bridge crew arm themselves for hand-to-hand combat. Geera then gets into the cockpit of the massive Defurse, which is intended to operate on Earth. On the Diva, Flit switches back to the AGE-1 Normal and ignores Vargas’ call. He vows that he’ll never forgive the UE.
The battle for Ambat continues and features a predictable (yet effective) tragedy. The doomed female love interest is a cliche that goes back to the original Gundam series, and there were certainly plenty of death flags for Yurin, yet it manages to be effective regardless. Unlike some other doomed girls, you really get the feeling that she’s an innocent who’s been pulled into a battle against her will. And in Desil’s hands, she’s not even a person, but just a part for a mobile suit, rather like what Ulube did to Rain in G Gundam. With Desil’s naked cruelty and disregard for life, I think he’s joined the ranks of people like the Frost brothers and Ali al-Saachez who casually use and kill people. Also, the rage that Yurin’s death triggers in Flit shows us a side of him that we’ve never seen before. He quickly beats down Desil, and I think that rather than killing him, he did something far worse. It’s all a game to Desil, so I don’t think he would mind dying, but he can’t stand living as a loser. The Titus gets to shine for one last moment, and this is the only episode where all three configurations of the Gundam are used together. The fight certainly isn’t over, as Geera is ready to join the battle in a massive mobile suit.
Gundam AGE Info
Director(s):
Susumu Yamaguchi (TV)
Shinya Watada (OVA)
Writer(s):
Akihiro Hino
Kazuho Hyodo
Noboru Kimura
Rika Nakase
Yoichi Kato
Mechanical Designer(s):
Kanetake Ebikawa
Kenji Teraoka
Junya Ishigaki
Character Designer(s):
Takuzo Nagano
Michinori Chiba
Musical Composer:
Kei Yoshikawa
Airdates:
Japan 10.09.2011 – 09.23.2012
Format:
49 episodes; 1 compilation OVA
Video Release (OVA):
Japan 07.26.2013
U.S. 07.03.2018
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Our future on this cursed app is unclear, but expect more posts over there.
Cutaway diagram of the VF-1J Valkyrie Fighter Mode from “This is Animation Special: Macross Plus”(1995). Larger versions on my DA profile:
https://www.deviantart.com/marchly/art/Macross-VF-1J-Valkyrie-Cutaway-Diagram-detailed-973372931
https://www.deviantart.com/marchly/art/Macross-VF-1J-Valkyrie-Cutaway-Diagram-clean-973371729
Art by Kiyomi Tanaka. Original concept by unknown Macross fan. Image built by me
#Gundamn278; Next Episode! With our special guest, Sophia, we finally tackle the second half of the latest chapter of the #Gundam Franchise; #WitchFromMercury! Join us live on 07/20/2023 @ 10:15 p EDT! #MAHQ #Mecha #Anime #Podcast #G_Witch
Live Stream: https://youtube.com/live/fqw4pnuOYF4?feature=share
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