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Merowlink Stage 9: Forest

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Summary

At the Helmecion family castle, Helmecion speaks on the phone with a general about hiding the jijirium for the Perfect Soldier project. Helmecion says that everything is going well, and that after this he hopes he gets a recommendation for the job of governor. The helicopter carrying Boyle and Lulucy lands outside the castle. An officer named Numerikov comes to get Lulucy, but Boyle insists on escorting her directly to Helmecion. Helmecion asks Boyle if he found Merowlink’s body, but Boyle says he wasn’t able to investigate. He states there’s a 99.9 percent possibility that Merowlink is dead, but Numerikov says Merowlink is the type of person who would be the 0.01 percent that lives. Boyle leaves so that he can return to base, but Numerikov tells him Helmecion wouldn’t be happy if he just ended the mission like that and left. He asks who will protect Helmecion if Merowlink shows up, and Boyle tells Numerikov to do it himself. Lulucy asks Helmecion why he’s in her father’s castle without permission. He says he wants her to disappear from his life, and she agrees to do what he wants. He wants her to sign a paper, which she guesses will give him full control of her assets. She refuses, and Helmecion says he can force her to agree. Numerikov enters the room and throws Lulucy into another room. He tells her she should be more considerate because running an estate would be too much of a responsibility for her. He says her mother would agree, and Lulucy looks at her mother’s items and says to herself that she won’t forget her mother’s wishes. Numerikov asks Lulucy if she’s changed her mind, and she hits him on the back of the head with a statue. Boyle’s helicopter is about to take off, but he stops when he sees Numerikov chase Lulucy into the forest. Numerikov shoots at Lulucy, and she’s surprised when he cuts her off on the path in front of her. He grabs her by the neck and asks her if she wants to end up shot to death like her father. She wonders if the story about him dying in a hunting accident is true, and Numerikov confesses that he killed her father under Helmecion’s orders. He has orders to kill her too and begins choking her, but Merowlink attacks him from behind and hits him with the rifle. He tosses a dog tag at Numerikov and thanks him for his false testimony at the trial. Boyle’s helicopter opens fire, and Merowlink grabs Lulucy and hides behind a rock. Numerikov escapes into the forest, and Lulucy wakes up. She tells Merowlink she knew he was alive and cries in his arms.

Helmecion yells at Boyle and says that everything is happening exactly as Numerikov predicted. Boyle says he’ll finish the mission this time, but Helmecion tells Boyle to stay with him. Numerikov suits up and prepares to mobilize in his custom Light Scopedog. He tells the three other Scopedog pilots to split up and kill Merowlink on sight. Merowlink watches them from a hilltop with his scope, and Lulucy tells him she knows the area from playing there as a child. A Scopedog approaches them, and Merowlink blocks the path while wearing his targeting goggles. The Scopedog moves in to kill Merowlink, but Lulucy fires the rifle and destroys the Scopedog’s leg. With one unit down, Numerikov orders the rest to close in on Merowlink’s position. One of the Scopedog pilots reports that Merowlink is gone, but Numerikov says that Merowlink won’t go far. He calls Helmecion and asks if he should kill Lulucy too, and Helmecion asks him if Lulucy is leading Merowlink. He pulls out a map of the area and tells Boyle that she knows the area well, but he’s been hunting there since long before she was born. He tells Numerikov to head for a large rock and says Lulucy will go there. Lulucy and Merowlink head for that rock and are surprised to find Numerikov waiting for them. They run back into a forest and are chased by the Scopedogs, so they run into a cave. Unfortunately, the Scopedogs block both ground exists and a hole in the ceiling. Lulucy realizes that Helmecion is leading them, otherwise they wouldn’t know the area so well. Numerikov tells them to come out and fires smoke grenades into the cave to flush them out. Merowlink makes himself a target for the Scopedog on the caves ceiling. The Scopedog opens fire and hits explosives that Merowlink dropped, causing the cave to collapse. Lulucy wonders where they should go next, and Merowlink tells her they’ll head back to the castle because Helmecion won’t suspect that. Numerikov calls Helmecion and reports that Lulucy hasn’t come to the spot he said she would. Boyle suddenly draws his gun and shoots at the door. Merowlink blows a hole through the door and tosses in two grenades. He runs in after they’ve exploded, but Helmecion and Boyle have jumped out the window and escape in the helicopter. Boyle shouts out that he’ll definitely come back to fight Merowlink. Numerikov and the other Scopedog pilot return to the castle, and Merowlink tosses oil barrels at them. The other Scopedog is destroyed, and Numerikov shoots at a barrel, which ignites a trail of oil. Merowlink runs through the fire and uses the pile banker to drive a hole through the cockpit. The flames rush into the hole and burn Numerikov alive. Across the lake, Keik watches Merowlink with his binoculars.

Commentary

The cliffhanger from last time is continued here with Merowlink chasing after Lulucy. You can tell that Boyle doesn’t like Helmecion, since he takes the first opportunity he can to try and get away. However, he’s forced to stay behind because of his sense of duty as a soldier. Here we meet the sickly looking Numerikov, who was also involved with the Plan Bang Doll scandal. This episode also has a few revelations. First, and most importantly, is the revelation that the jijirium stolen from Miyoite is part of the Perfect Soldier project from the VOTOMS TV series. I wonder if the person Helmecion was speaking to at the beginning of the episode was General Battentain. Also, we find out that Helmecion orchestrated the death of Lulucy’s father, which makes him even more despicable. Numerikov probably gets one of the more painful deaths that Merowlink’s delivered so far, but the fighting isn’t over yet.

Overall Rating
4/5

Armor Hunter Merowlink Info

Director:
Takeyuki Kanda

Writer:
Ryosuke Takahashi

Mechanical Designer:
Kunio Okawara

Character Designer:
Moriyasu Taniguchi

Musical Composer:
Hiroki Inui

Format:
12 episodes

Video Release:
Japan 11.21.1988 – 04.28.1989

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