The other members of the Demon Squad drag Gostello to a jail cell and cause further injury to his damaged arm. Eiji asks Julia if she’s going to stay in New York, and she answers that she’s not leaving until Gresco agrees to her demands. Eiji points out that she’s still part of the army and could be executed for desertion, but she responds that they both have battles to fight. Gostello vows to break out of his cell and get revenge on Eiji. Le Cain can’t stop thinking about Julia and doesn’t understand why she protected Gostello. In the jail, Gostello makes a bunch of noise and destroys his cot, which causes the guard to keep his distance. He uses a spring from the mattress to fiddle with the light bulb and keeps distracting the guard. He then pulls his arm apart and starts messing with the wires, creating an electrified claw that he uses to shock the guard and escape. He grabs the guard’s gun and opens fire on other guards when the escape alarm is sounded. Gostello guns down multiple guards and takes an elevator down to the SPT hangar, where he steals his Daljuan. Following the escape, Le Cain orders the Demon Squad to pursue him. Gostello lands outside the Grados Tower and kidnaps Julia.
Matthew and Anna run to the underground factory to tell Eiji the news about Julia’s kidnapping. The Demon Squad gets an update on Gostello’s last known location and heads in that direction. In an abandoned rural dinner, Gostello finds a bottle of alcohol and asks Julia why she saved him. He tells her that her actions caused him to fall for her again. However, he still wants revenge because Julia broke his heart and Eiji broke his body. Gostello tosses his detached arm at Julia and slaps her for struggling with him. He spots car lights in the distance and forces an old couple out of the car at gunpoint. He tells the husband to find the resistance in the city and get Eiji to come, or he’ll kill his wife. Gostello then forces the woman to help him repair his arm. The Demon Squad receives an update on Gostello’s location and news that Layzner is on its way. Gostello slaps the old woman after she finishes the repairs. He grabs Julia when Layzner arrives and sticks her in the Daljuan’s claw shield. Eiji can’t shoot for fear of hitting Julia and can only defend himself. Mangello, Getty and Borne arrive and decide to just watch so they can learn about Layzner and let Eiji do their work for them. Gostello’s damaged arm causes him to drop his lasered buzzsaw, so Eiji uses V-MAX to blast Julia free and rescue her. The Demon Squad destroys the downed Daljuan, but they’re unaware that Gostello escaped into a cornfield. Julia reiterates to Eiji that she won’t be swayed from her mission. She tells him that one day he’ll understand why she’s changed so much.
Oh hey, an episode about Gostello. I’m aware that one of the standard tropes of mecha anime is to have enemy pilots who are crazy and violence prone, like Gostello or Yazan Gable. But in particular, Gostello is so crazy that he’s barely more than an animal. He kidnaps Julia to mess with her more and fight Eiji, and that’s about the extent of his plan. He doesn’t even seemed concerned about the Gradosians coming after him for killing so many of their own people and escaping. Given how late it is in the series, it’s a real waste to have this episode that accomplishes nothing, particularly since Gostello still escapes in the end. The guy is a damn cockroach and just won’t die.
Layzner Info
Director:
Ryosuke Takahashi
Writer(s):
Ryosuke Takahashi
Fuyunori Gobu
Yasushi Hirano
Tsunehisa Ito
Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Endo Miego
Mechanical Designer:
Kunio Okawara
Character Designer:
Moriyasu Taniguchi
Musical Composer:
Hiroki Inui
Format:
38 episodes; 3 compilation OVAs
Airdates:
Japan 10.03.1985 – 06.26.1986
Format:
38 episodes (TV); 3 episodes (OVA)
Video Release (OVA):
Japan 08.21.1986 – 10.21.1986
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