On Saisei, Jasley and his associates examine pictures leaked to them by contacts on Ares showing Orga meeting with Gjallarhorn higher ups and the head of the Outer Sphere Development Corporation. Jasley isn’t impressed because he also has a connection to the Seven Stars and needs to offer up a valuable gift. Eco tells Yamagi that they’re running behind on preparing the Gundam Flauros due to its special equipment, but she also comments on its gaudy color scheme. Yamagi thinks that Shino is going to be even more reckless once he gets his new suit. Eco asks the chief mechanic about the other thing they found, and he comments that he’s never seen anything like it. It doesn’t even have a cockpit, and he doesn’t know what it does. Eco suggests contacting Gjallarhorn since they have the most detailed information on things from the Calamity War. Yamagi agrees to contact Orga, who is still on Ares. In Orga’s absence, Eugene runs a meeting and tells the senior team that they need to get the operational status of all their mobile suits to over 90 percent. On Ares, Orga concludes a meeting and tells Proto that fighting a battle feels easier. Proto tells Orga that McGillis wants to speak to him directly about the inquiry that was made by Yamagi. McGillis asks Orga if they found anything else like the Mobile Worker-type unit, and Orga explains that they found several more, in addition to the Gundam Flauros and something even bigger. McGillis tells Orga that he needs to stop excavating the large machine immediately because it’s a mobile armor – the forbidden weapons that killed hundreds of millions of people during the Calamity War. The smaller unit they found is like an accessory to the mobile armor, so McGillis suspects the larger object is the mobile armor itself. McGillis decides to come to Mars personally, but this information makes its way to Jasley, who decides to use the info by contacting Iok. After receiving the info, Iok reports to Rustal and explains that it was sent by JPT Trust, a company that his late father was connected to. Rustal reads the report about the Pluma, an unmanned unit used in conjunction with a mobile armor. He explains that mobile armors caused the Calamity War, but they were all destroyed by Agnika Kaieru and the precursors to the Seven Stars. Julieta wonders what McGillis wants with 300-year-old relics, and Vidar theorizes that he wants the Order of the Seven Stars title. The title is awarded to those who destroy a mobile armor, and it’s believed the ranks of the Seven Stars were decided by the number of orders. Since the Issue family has no head, McGillis earning the title could change the ranks in the Seven Stars for the first time ever. Iok vows to stop McGillis and wants to pursue him. Isurugi comments about McGillis heading to Mars in the current situation, but McGillis thinks things could work in their favor. Julieta asks Rustal about the info leak, and Rustal explains that people within Teiwaz like Jasley must not be happy about Tekkadan working with McGillis. The Gundam Flauros is loaded up for transport, and Yamagi tries to deliver a message to the chief mechanic not to turn on the Pluma, but he’s too late.
Newer Tekkadan employees like Zack and Dane are surprised to have received raises, and Merribit explains that Orga wants them to be paid accordingly for having risked their lives. Shino wants to party with girls, but Eugene declines and says you can’t buy love with money. Hush butts in and asks Atra where she and Mikazuki are going. She explains that they’re going to Kudelia’s office, and Hush insists on coming. Cucubita shows the group into Kudelia’s office, and when they spot a picture of the Fumitan Admoss Elementary School, she explains that Kudelia made tuition and lunch free. The idea is to educate children equally and eventually end the need for war, which causes Mikazuki to wonder what he would do in such a world. Kudelia shows up to talk to Mikazuki about his salary, and Hush doesn’t understand what’s going on. Atra explains that Kudelia manages money for her, Mikazuki, Akihiro and Ride. Mikazuki tells Hush that he doesn’t need money right now, which is why Kudelia manages it for him. After they leave, Cucubita comments that the children don’t even know how to spend money and have much to learn. Later, Eugene comes to the hangar and calls for Mikazuki, Shino, Akihiro, Chad, Hush and Zack to guard Orga and his guests tomorrow. McGillis lands on Mars and is greeted by Orga and his Tekkadan team. Iok and his team launch in their suits and begin atmospheric re-entry. On the ride over, Orga asks how the mobile armor went undiscovered for 300 years. Isurugi explains that the Martian half-metals are used in mobile suits, warships and Ahab reactors. The ore veins can’t be detected unless you’re close to them. Chad asks why they didn’t bring mobile suits, and McGillis answers that suits might awaken the mobile armor. He explains that mobile suits were originally created for the purpose of destroying mobile armors. Orga doesn’t see what the problem is if there’s no pilot, but McGillis tells him that mobile armors were autonomous and could fight on their own, which allowed them to destroy entire cities without hesitation. As soon as they reach the excavation site, Mikazuki senses the approach of Iok’s team. Mikazuki recognizes Iok’s Reginlaze from the earlier battle in space, and McGillis sees that someone leaked his movements. McGillis asks Iok what he wants, and Iok claims that he’s come to stop McGillis’ rebellion and prevent him from getting the Order of the Seven Stars. Eugene gets a call from Saisei, where the chief mechanic explains that the Pluma went nuts and started attacking mobile suits. Iok steps forward despite McGillis’ warnings, which is enough to activate the mobile armor Hashmal. The Hashmal breaks free from the ground and fires a beam cannon into the air.
This episode provides a lot of back story, which serves to set the stage for a terrifying battle. We learn that autonomous mobile armors and their destruction sprees were the cause of the Calamity War, and that mobile suits were created to fight them. As far as the Gundam metaverse goes, this particular development history has never happened before, although Gundam SEED did have some light mobile armors precede mobile suits. Vidar/Gaelio guesses that McGillis is travelling to Mars for his personal gain, but that doesn’t seem to entirely be the case. Given the incident on Saisei, it’s clear that even the smaller Plumas pose a threat that must be addressed. Of course, Iok arrives at precisely the wrong moment, full of lots of bluster and bravado, but little in the way of intelligence. He’s quickly on the path to being a Jerid Messa-type loser, and awakening a mobile armor with a beam weapon assures his place in the annals of Gundam idiots. Up to now, we’ve never seen beam weapons in this universe, despite being a staple of the franchise, so it’ll be interesting to see how they’re dealt with.
Iron-Blooded Orphans Info
Director:
Tatsuyuki Nagai
Writer(s):
Mari Okada
Hajime Kamoshida
Michihiro Tsuchiya
Toshizo Nemoto
Shinsuke Onishi
Hiroyuki Yoshino
Mayori Sekijima
Tatsuto Higuchi
Yousuke Kuroda
Mechanical Designer(s):
Naohiro Washio
Kanetake Ebikawa
Ippei Gyoubu
Kenji Teraoka
Tamotsu Shinohara
Character Designer(s):
Yu Ito
Michinori Chiba
Musical Composer:
Masaru Yokoyama
Format:
50 episodes; 9 compilation episodes
Airdates (TV):
Japan 10.04.2015 – 03.27.2016 (S1);
10.02.2016 – 04.02.2017 (S2)
U.S. 06.04.2016 – 12.11.2016 (S1);
10.08.2017 – 04.28.2018 (S2)
Airdates (SE):
Japan 04.29.2022 –
MAHQ is now officially on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mahqdotnet.bsky.social.
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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