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Gundam SEED DESTINY Phase 7: Land of Confusion

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Summary

As the last chunk of Junius Seven begins atmospheric re-entry, the Minerva turns to starboard and deploys its Tannhauser cannon. Meyrin tells Talia that they can’t locate Athrun and Shinn’s position, but Talia declares they have to destroy Junius Seven no matter what and proceeds with the firing. The impact of the blast breaks a chunk off of the massive fragment. Shinn adjusts the Force Impulse‘s re-entry angle and searches for Athrun. He sees that Athrun’s damaged Blaze ZAKU Warrior is descending very quickly and losing parts from its backpack. The Minerva continues to fire the Tannhauser cannon and is finally able to destroy Junius Seven. However, the smaller rock fragments spread all across the atmosphere. In the Marshall Islands, Kira, Lacus, Malchio and the orphans safely hide in a deep underground shelter. The children become frightened when the walls begin to shake, so Lacus begins to sing. In Italy, a large fragment destroys Rome and Vatican City, while another fragment destroys the Parthenon in Athens. Other fragments smash into cities in China, Canada and the United States. Massive tidal waves completely engulf coastal cities. Djibril pets his cat and watches the destruction in a room filled with TV monitors. In orbit, the Gundam pilots aboard the Girty Lue watch in horror as the fragments hit the ground. Stella wonders if everyone on Earth will die. The Minerva finishes atmospheric re-entry, and Talia orders the crew to scan for signs of Shinn and Athrun. Arthur wonders if they survived, and Talia tells him that even after randomly firing the Tannhauser, she hopes they survived. Athrun finds that his boosters have completely failed, but Shinn contacts him and says he’s on his way. Athrun tells him to stay away because even the Force Impulse’s thrusters can’t slow them both down, but Shinn grabs hold of him anyway. The Minerva picks up both suits on sensors, and Talia fires a flare to guide them over. In the mobile suit hangar, Cagalli runs over to Athrun when he comes down from his cockpit. The ship suddenly shakes, and Rey explains that it is probably the first shockwave traveling around the world and coming back around. In his office, Durandal discusses the situation with someone who looks like Lacus. He finds it painful to think of the death toll and believes that their troubles are just beginning.

On Earth, the Minerva makes a rough landing in the Pacific Ocean. The crew comes out on deck to look at the ocean, and Vino comments to Yolant about how big it is. Athrun apologizes to Cagalli for going out on his own, but she tells him it’s okay. She says she knows how skilled he is and is glad he went. She says they were able to minimize the damage to Earth, and Shinn interrupts and calls her an idiot. He says that the fall of Junius Seven was not a natural event and was carried out by Coordinators. He says that they were bitter about the Bloody Valentine tragedy and felt that Naturals needed to be exterminated. Athrun tells Cagalli that the fragments still caused damage, and he wonders if the Naturals will ever forgive them. Kira and Lacus return to the surface and find that their home has been destroyed. Shinn tells Cagalli that she doesn’t understand anything and that he feels sorry for Athrun. Across the world, ZAFT soldiers provide emergency aid to victims. Durandal holds a press conference and expresses his sorrow to the people of Earth and his pledge to provide aid. Djibril speaks to the other members of the Blue Cosmos via video conference. He shows them photos sent by the Girty Lue showing GINNs attaching flare motors to Junius Seven. He says that no one in the world will forgive this event and that they finally have a chance to destroy all Coordinators. On the Minerva, Talia tells Cagalli that they’ll head to Orb once repairs to the ship are completed. Cagalli tells her that she wanted to show her gratitude to the crew at Orb, but now she thinks she won’t be able to given the situation. On the deck, Rey, Lunamaria and Meyrin engage in target practice. Rey fires with deadly accuracy, and Lunamaria tells Athrun that she isn’t very good. She tells him that he’s a hero among ZAFT pilots and asks him if he wants to try shooting the targets. Shinn walks in and watches as Athrun perfectly hits many moving targets. Athrun says such a skill is unnecessary for him, and Lunamaria says it’s good for protecting himself against enemies. Athrun asks who their enemy is, and Shinn asks him why he wants to go back to Orb. Athrun ignores his question and walks away. Along the shore on Malchio’s island, Lacus asks Kira if a storm is coming.

Commentary

Although the Minerva‘s crew and the Joule Team both fought bravely to destroy Junius Seven, the outcome was still disastrous. Massive damage is inflicted upon the Earth’s surface, and Blue Cosmos will naturally seize upon people’s grief and anger to unite Earth against ZAFT and the Coordinators. Shinn seems to have gained respect for Athrun, but he still has a problem with Athrun’s connection to Orb. He yells at Cagalli once again, but he’s got a point. No matter what they did, Coordinators will still be blamed in the end. For Athrun, it seems that he can’t escape the ghost of his father and the radicals who supported him. While he acted out of necessity up to now, it looks like he will formally take sides in the conflict. Who exactly is the Lacus-type person that Durandal is speaking to? Is she an impostor meant to rally the people together because the real Lacus is on Earth? The Minerva is now heading for Orb, which is pretty close to Malchio’s island. Perhaps Kira will meet Shinn and set off a whole new set of problems.

Overall Rating
4/5
Gundam SEED DESTINY Info


Director:
Mitsuo Fukuda

Writer(s):
Chiaki Morosawa
Hiroyuki Yoshino
Hiroshi Ohnogi
Kazuho Hyodo
Shigeru Morita
Natsuko Takahashi
Yuuichi Nomura

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Kimitoshi Yamane

Character Designer:
Hisashi Hirai

Musical Composer:
Toshihiko Sahashi

Format:
50 episodes; 1 TV special; 4 compilation movies

Airdates (Original):
Japan 10.09.2004 – 12.25.2005

Airdates (HD Remaster):
Japan 04.xx.2013 – 03.xx.2014

Video Release (SE):
Japan 05.26.2006 – 02.23.2007
U.S. 06.17.2008 – 01.13.2009

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