On Cloud 9, Chancellor Seidel Rasso discusses the plan to conquer Earth with another officer. As the Bartok breaks out of Earth’s atmosphere, Garrod comes to the bridge to look at the stars. Gamou tells him to return to his quarters, but Garrod begs him to stay. He relents and asks Garrod what he thinks of space. Garrod says he feels at home, and Gamou tells him that space allows humans to evolve into Newtypes. Garrod asks if everyone in space has special abilities, and Gamou responds that judging Newtypes by special abilities is the U.N.E.’s incorrect view. He explains that Newtypes are free from gravity and have expanded cognition and vision. Seidel congratulates the men who returned from Earth, and Nicola introduces Tiffa as the only Newtype born on Earth. Later, Nicola tells Tiffa that Seidel understands Newtypes, and he apologizes for bringing her to space in a violent way. Tiffa asks him if they are going to start another war, and Nicola answers that Newtypes will guide the future of Earth since Oldtypes have only ever ruined it. Garrod goes to the bridge and watches the crew speak with Seidel. Gamou reports that they captured the Bartok for study, along with the newest model Gundam. Seidel pauses and orders Gamou to take the Double X to Military Colony #7 and hold Garrod captive in case he is a New U.N.E. spy. Garrod leaves the bridge and realizes he will have to act quickly to get to Tiffa. Elsewhere, Lancerow supervises the training of his Septem pilots. Seidel calls him and orders him to go to Military Colony #7 and take the Double X into custody. Lancerow thinks about the Gundam and wonders if Jamil is the pilot. Nicola asks Tiffa if she likes Cloud 9’s sunset, but she tells him to leave her alone. As the Bartok docks at Military Colony #7, Garrod storms the bridge with a machine gun and takes Gamou hostage. He asks for a map to Cloud 9 and escapes with the Double X. As he heads for the exit several Jenices attack him. He turns around and heads the other way, blasting into the colony. He’s momentarily distracted by the colony’s interior and is hit by the Jenices. He falls towards the colony’s glass wall and struggles with controlling the Double X in low gravity. He destroys both Jenices, and the explosion from one of them creates a hole in the colony that sucks him into space. As Lancerow’s ships approach the colony, he prepares to launch in his custom Crouda.
Lancerow’s Septem forces attack Garrod, and he’s unable to fight properly due to his inexperience in space. Lancerow watches the battle in his Crouda and decides he won’t have to launch because there’s no need to face such an inexperienced pilot. On Cloud 9, Seidel orders Nicola not to reveal Tiffa’s existence to anyone. Nicola objects and explains that many people died to bring her to space. Seidel says they have to study her before concluding anything. He explains that Newtypism defines Newtypes as being people who live in space. If he acknowledges a Newtype born on Earth, it could destroy their identity. He says he’s more concerned with people believing in the image of Newtypes rather than the actual abilities a Newtype possesses. That is the reason why he supports someone like Lancerow. He tells Nicola that in the end what they do with Tiffa depends on if she benefits the colonies or not. Lancerow continues to watch the battle and thinks about his last battle with Jamil in the 7th Space War when he also lost his Newtype abilities. He is amazed when he watches Garrod suddenly adapt to space combat and begin to destroy the Septems. Garrod tries to fly away from the Septems, but Lancerow gets in front of him and blocks his path. He punches the Double X and tells Garrod he’ll show him how to fight in space. Garrod realizes that Lancerow is far more skilled than the other S.R.A. pilots. He fires his beam rifle wildly at Lancerow, but Lancerow dodges and scores several hits on the Double X. Garrod escapes, and Lancerow orders the Septems to only destroy the Double X’s cockpit. The Septems surround the Double X and begin to damage it with their vulcan guns. As they attack, Garrod is injured when the cockpit is breached. Garrod vows he won’t die, and Tiffa feels his presence. Garrod suddenly takes off, and Lancerow fires a serious blow at the Double X’s torso to disable it. Out of nowhere, the space fighter G-Falcon destroys several Septems and takes the Double X away. Lancerow doesn’t understand why an Old U.N.E. fighter from the last war is around, and he wonders if it’s from Satelicon. G-Falcon pilot Pala Sys takes Garrod and the Double X to the Satelicon flagship Varona.
There’s a few plot developments here, along with the introduction of some new characters. Awhile back we were introduced to New U.N.E. leader Fixx Bloodman, and now we meet his S.R.A. counterpart, Seidel Rasso. We also meet Lancerow Darwell, a former Newtype and the star pilot of the S.R.A. forces. If Jamil was analogous to Amuro Ray from the original series, then Lancerow is Char Aznable. Like Jamil, it looks like Lancerow lost his Newtype abilities as a result of the previous war. Like Char, Lancerow is an ace pilot and hands Garrod quite the beating. Then there’s Pala Sys, the pilot of the Old U.N.E. support fighter G-Falcon. The idea of Newtypes is explored a bit further, and here we see that Seidel has created a sort of cult around the idea of Newtypes. While the New U.N.E. views Newtypes as mere tools for war, the S.R.A. sees them as the evolution of humanity. However, Seidel believes this only to the end that it serves his own political purpose. These dueling ideologies don’t seem to have changed in the last 15 years, and both sides appear to be on the fast track toward setting off the 8th Space War.
Original Review: August 28, 2000
Gundam X Info
Director:
Shinji Takamatsu
Writer:
Hiroyuki Kawasaki
Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Junya Ishigaki
Character Designer:
Nobuyoshi Nishimura
Musical Composer:
Yasuo Higuchi
Format:
39 episodes
Airdates:
Japan 04.05.1996 – 12.28.1996
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
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