Woolf takes a shower and admires himself in the mirror. In the mobile suit hangar, Flit hooks the AGE device into Haro to download the combat data from the most recent battles. Dique is impressed, and Emily notes that Flit is starting to talk like a soldier. Dique wonders what’s going to happen to them now and what his parents are doing, so Flit suggests talking to Grodek. Grodek leaves his quarters and brushes Flit off when he tries to ask a question. The children then go to the mess hall and talk to Millais, Adams, Vargas and Largan about what’s going to happen next. Adams explains that the ship will arrive at Colony Fardain in seven days, and Largan adds that the Nora evacuees were taken to Colony Tordia, so they can get a ship from Fardain. Millais tells Dique that the military will cover his ticket, and Emily asks Flit if he’s coming too. Woolf then barges in and demands to know what’s going on, why they aren’t at Nora, and who all of them are. Dique recognizes Woolf as the former star of the Mobile Suit Grand Prix race who joined the EFF. Adams begins to introduce himself, but Woolf cuts him off and says he’s more interested in Millais. Woolf then asks why kids are on the ship, and Largan tells him there was a UE attack. He then adds that Flit is the first human to destroy a UE mobile suit, but Woolf thinks it’s a joke. After Woolf leaves, Flit asks what’s up with him, so Largan explains that Woolf joined the military once there was no one left for him to beat in the Grand Prix. Because of his skills and animalistic intuition, he became an ace pilot with the nickname “White Wolf.” Later, Flit continues to work on the AGE-1 Normal when Woolf barges in and declares that it’s his new mobile suit. Flit says that the Gundam is his, and Woolf declares that he’ll take it from him. Because his nickname is the White Wolf, the Gundam is his because it’s white. Flit objects, so Woolf explains that Grodek appointed him as the commander of the ship’s mobile suit forces. Flit continues to object, so Woolf suggests having a one-on-one mock battle to determine who will get the Gundam. Emily jumps in and says that Flit accepts, hoping that he’ll lose and stop acting like a soldier. Woolf asks for an answer, and Flit accepts. Later, Millais asks Grodek if the mock battle is a good idea, and he tells her it’ll be good training. The AGE-1 Normal and Genoace Custom launch from the Diva and head for a nearby asteroid field.
Both suits are equipped with paint guns that fire marker shots, and Woolf explains that they don’t do actual damage, but the computer will determine the damage they should cause. After 30 minutes, the winner will be the one who scored the most points by landing the most shots. Dique wonders who will win, and Vargas answers that normally it would be Woolf, but he thinks Flit has a chance. The battle begins, and Flit fires off several shots that Woolf easily dodges. He then fires off a shot that hits the AGE-1 Normal in the shoulder and causes an electrical shock, which Woolf says is punishment for sucking. Flit becomes angry and fires more shots, which Woolf again easily dodges. Flit chases Woolf and loses sight of him behind an asteroid, allowing Woolf to attack from behind. Vargas calls Flit and tells him he needs to watch Woolf’s movements, which reminds Flit of what he did when fighting the Gafrans with Yurin. Flit watches Woolf’s speedy movements, and when Woolf moves in to attack from behind, Flit dodges. Flit then fires and hits an asteroid, causing small rocks to break off and hit Woolf. He then fires again and lands a shot on the Genoace Custom’s chest. Dique cheers Flit on, but Emily isn’t happy. Flit dodges several shots, and Woolf comments that Flit wasn’t all talk. The two charge at each other and come under attack from a Gafran. Grodek orders the crew to battle stations. The Gafran performs hit-and-run attacks, and Flit asks Vargas to send him the DODS rifle. Flit rushes in because he has experience fighting the UE and hits the Gafran in the head, blinding it. He then rushes in with his beam dagger and passes through an energy field, but Woolf slams into him and pushes him away. Flit yells that he was just about to beat the Gafran, but Woolf points his attention toward an enormous UE Fa Bose ship escorted by dozens of Gafrans. Millais tries to contact Flit and Woolf, but they’ve both vanished from radar. Adams wants to chase after them, but Grodek refuses until they find out more. Flit asks Woolf what to do, and Woolf explains that they can’t fight with marker shots. He wonders why he can’t detect the UE mothership that’s right in front of them and says they’ll have to wait. The Gafran that Flit blinded uses its beam saber to remove the paint from its head and begins scanning the area. Flit panics and rushes in to attack it, but Woolf once again knocks him out of the way and uses his shield to block shots from other Gafrans. He orders Flit to go back to the Diva and report on what’s happening. Flit flies off and pops up on the Diva‘s sensors. He tells Millais to send out the DODS rifle, which Vargas launches. He speeds back to his original heading and tells Millais that there are lots of enemies. The Gafrans chase after Woolf, and one of them blows off part of his right leg. Woolf crashes into an asteroid and is surrounded by asteroids, but Flit destroys one of them with the DODS rifle. Flit fires off several shots, but Woolf then grabs the rifle and fires multiple shots at a nearby asteroid. The asteroid explodes and creates a cloud of smoke that Woolf and Flit use to escape the Gafrans. The Gafrans retreat as the UE mothership vanishes. Back on the ship, mechanics complain about the amount of damage Woolf caused to the Genoace Custom. Woolf and Flit continue to argue with each other, so Grodek leaves and examines the combat data. He concludes that the UE have some sort of stealth technology and declares that he knows what the UE really are.
This episode introduces us to something else we see in Gundam sometimes: the jerk pilot. Woolf Enneacle now follows in the steps of guys like Sleggar Law and Bernard Monsha. Speaking of Monsha, the paintgun mock battle between Flit and Woolf is obviously reminiscent of the same thing in Gundam 0083. However, this time it’s different because the mock battle gets interrupted by an enemy attack. Woolf definitely comes off as an arrogant jerk, but he’s trying so hard that he’s probably hiding a nice guy underneath, a sort of male tsundere. We get a bit of background on Woolf, and interestingly he’s a skilled pilot from the civilian world who joined the military and became an ace. His nickname is also evocative of another ace, MSV‘s Shin Matsunaga, the White Wolf of Solomon. In terms of Flit’s development as a pilot, it’s again good to see how inexperienced he is. He’s still a bad shot, and he panics and puts himself in danger. For all the trash talk Woolf dishes out, he at least has the skills to back it up. This episode reveals the giant UE mothership and its stealth technology, which explains how they can move undetected. The episode ends on a provocative note with Grodek declaring that he knows what the UE are, so we’ll have to see what his theory is and if it’s correct.
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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