Summary

On the White Base‘s bridge Bright is informed that a mobile suit from the Zanzibar is approaching them. He orders Hayato to deploy in the Guntank, and Amuro decides to launch in the Gundam Sky, a combination of the Gundam and rear module of the G-Fighter. Hayato spots the mobile armor Zakrello and is attacked by it. Char is informed by Mulligan that pilot Dmitri is using the Zakrello to avenge Tokwan, and he isn’t happy about the unauthorized launch. He isn’t even aware of the Zakrello’s existence or its abilities. Amuro joins the battle with the Gundam Sky and dodges the Zakrello’s attacks. The Guntank is damaged, and the Zakrello also damages the Gundam’s right arm. Amuro gets in close and destroys it with his beam saber. Bright orders Sayla to get some rest and says Sleggar will cover for her. After the battle, Mulligan explains that the men respected Tokwan, and Char says he will court-martial him the next time. Sleggar asks Amuro about Char, and Amuro explains that Char is as good a pilot as people say. Sayla comes in and offers to relieve Amuro, and Sleggar goes out to his station on the main cannon. Char contacts Dren’s Musai group and asks for help in attacking the White Base. Sayla rests in the zero G room and thinks about her earlier fight with the Bigro. She sees Char telling her not to interfere with his plans for the Zabis, but the problem with that is that she doesn’t approve of what he’s doing. She asks Amuro how she can be a better pilot to fight someone like Char, and Amuro says she can’t do that. Their conversation is interrupted by the three approaching Musais. With the Zanzibar behind them and the Musais ahead, Bright decides they will have to break through them. Two Rick Doms launch from each ship and they all close in on the White Base.

Bright orders Sleggar to launch in the backup G-Fighter, while Hayato launches in Guntank and Kai in Guncannon. Sayla launches in the G-Fighter, and Amuro asks her about her strange behavior. She says a battle will do her some good, and he tells her to be careful. He then helps Sleggar with the G-Fighter’s controls and wishes him good luck. As they approach the enemy, Sleggar fires prematurely. Kai destroys one of the Rick Doms, but he’s immediately attacked by the other. The Musais continue to approach the White Base and concentrate their fire on it. Bright loses his temper when the cannons don’t fire at critical points on the Musais. He orders the cannons to be fired at the engines of the attacking portside Musai. Elsewhere, the Tianem Fleet launches from Earth and heads for Luna II. Sleggar and the others continue to fight off the Rick Doms and return to protect the ship. After repairs are finished, Amuro launches in the Gundam and vanishes from the battle. The White Base continues to fire at the portside Musai and destroys it. A Rick Dom signals Dren that it hasn’t seen the Gundam, and it’s suddenly destroyed. Amuro slices open the bridge of Dren’s Musai, sucking him and his crew out into space unprotected. He destroys a Rick Dom and uses the beam trident to destroy the other Musai. After the battle, Char is disappointed that Dren couldn’t hold out against the enemy until he arrived. Bright is told that if they head for Luna II, the chances are very high they will run into the Zanzibar. He and Sleggar agree that they should head for the neutral area of Side 6, and Mirai seems opposed to the idea at first. Sleggar thinks it’s a good idea because Side 6 is neutral and fighting there is prohibited by the Antarctic Treaty. Mirai hesitates and then sets course for Side 6.

Commentary

There’s quite a few developments in this episode, which was reanimated for movie 3. The hideous Zakrello finally appears, and it fights on for a whopping two minutes. It’s so ugly, in fact, that several years ago Gundam.com ran a contest to redesign it. Luckily this monstrosity is not in the movies. Also, the G-Fighters are replaced by the Core Boosters, and I believe by this point that Hayato pilots the second Guncannon unit. The Tianem Fleet launches from Earth, so the attack on the space fortress Solomon will probably begin soon. Also, Mirai acts strangely when Bright decides to go to Side 6. He probably wasn’t thinking about it, but she certainly remembers that her runaway fiancé is there. We’ll see him very shortly.

Overall Rating
3.5/5

Mobile Suit Gundam Info

Director(s):
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Ryoji Fujiwara (movie 1)

Writer(s):
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Masaru Yamamoto
Kenichi Matsuzaki
Yoshihisa Araki
Hiroyuki Hoshiyama

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Yoshiyuki Tomino

Character Designer:
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

Musical Composer(s):
Yuji Matsuyama
Takeo Watanabe

Format:
43 episodes; 3 compilation movies

Airdates:
Japan 04.07.1979 – 01.26.1980
U.S. 07.23.2001 – 09.12.2001

Theatrical Release:
Japan 03.14.1981 – 03.13.1982

Comments

Comments are closed.