GundamReviews

∀ Gundam Ep. 40: Sea Battle on the Moon

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Summary

The Turn A and Kapool use an unguarded entrance to enter the Moon. At the bottom of the tunnel, Loran opens the door, and Sochie is surprised to see an enormous flowing river complete with birds and whales. She asks Loran why he couldn’t swim on Earth if he lived here, and he explains that Earth rivers are different. Out of nowhere, two dolphin riders come up to the surface and great Loran, and they turn out to be his old friends Donna and Hamett Roroi. In lunar orbit, the Willghem docks with the Aspite, and Guin, Michael and Lily go aboard Gym’s ship. Guin says that the fiefdoms of Ameria want to negotiate, but Gym says he’s a military man and doesn’t concern himself with those things. He says they should speak to Agrippa, and Lily says he is rude. He asks her if she thinks he will lose, and she says she doesn’t know since they just met. Loran, Sochie and Dianna go to Hamett and Donna’s house to talk. Hamett can’t believe that there was a war on Earth and that Loran was fighting with mobile suits. Their conversation is interrupted when a group of eavesdropping people break the door because they’re excited to see Dianna. On the Aspite, Kihel sits in her room and hears noise from her necklace. It has a communication device, and Harry tells her to be careful because Agrippa controls everything. He runs into Midgard in the hallway and asks who sent him. Midgard says he doesn’t just follow other people’s orders, and he tries to stab Harry with a knife. Harry disarms him and says he is just looking for some advantage because Gym fired him. Yan thanks Sweatson for giving him another chance, and Sweatson complains about not liking the Moon’s gravity since he is so fat. Yan says that gravity isn’t so bad, so Sweatson knocks him down and jumps on him. Hamett’s friend Sent Rin tries to get information via a computer, but he finds nothing. He says that since Agrippa took over things have become more strict. Dianna wants to go to the capital city of Gaingnham, but Loran says there will probably be restrictions. Donna mentions using the river, and Loran suddenly thinks of whales.

Loran and the others take an elevator under the river, and he explains to Sochie that the city is built underneath the river. The river absorbs light from the sun, and the light is diffused through the water to light up the city. Loran, Sochie and Dianna eat at the market and then go to a sewing factory to help Hamett and Donna. Donna and the others sew together an enormous piece of cloth, and Hamett dips it in black paint. The cloth is then split in two and placed on the Turn A and Kapool to make them look like whales. An alarm goes off, and Sent and Dianna get into a submarine and detect mobile suits. In space, Sweatson’s Mahiroo squad enters the Moon and begins searching the river. Loran and Sochie go underwater, followed by Dianna and Sent in the sub and Hamett and Donna on their dolphins. Sweatson spots the “whale” and realizes it’s too big. He shoots at the Turn A, and Loran jumps out of the water. He is about to fire his beam rifle, but he stops when he realizes that if the river is damaged, all the water will fall on the city and destroy it. Sochie tries to attack the Mahiroos, but he tells her not to. As the Aspite and Willghem descend toward Gaingnham, Midgard tells Gym that Loran is on the Moon. Guin asks Gym to hand Loran over and says it is Earth tradition to execute their own traitors. As Loran tries to hold off Sweatson, Donna and Hamett blow whistles to call whales. So many whales appear that Sweatson can’t find Loran in the crowd. Loran jumps out of the water and sticks his beam saber in the Mahiroo’s head, crippling it. Sweatson crashes into the river and asks his men to help him. Later, Donna and Hamett thank Loran for protecting everyone and not destroying the river. They return underwater, and at the bottom of the river Dianna shows Sochie the light that is coming from Gaingnham.

Commentary

We finally get to see the Moon, and it’s not quite like what I expected. Instead of the harsh underground settlements seen in the Universal Century or in After Colony, the Moon is a lush paradise like Earth or one of the O’Neill island type colonies from UC/AW. Loran’s hometown is a nice place, and we get to see some of his old friends too. From the looks of it, Agrippa has a tight hold over the people, and they are all overjoyed to see Dianna return. The battle that occurs here is interesting, and you have to wonder how Sweatson can get away with causing a battle that could potentially destroy a city. Then again, what do you expect from a fat guy who jumps on his subordinates? That is one of the oddest and at the same time funniest things I’ve ever seen. Now that Guin has made contact with Gym and is heading for the capital, perhaps we’ll finally meet the mysterious Agrippa.

Overall Rating
4/5
∀ Gundam Info


Director:
Yoshiyuki Tomino

Writer(s):
Ichiro Okouchi
Ai Ota
Miya Asakawa
Katsuhiko Chiba
Tetsuko Takahashi
Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Jiro Takayama
Minoru Onoya

Mechanical Designer(s):
Syd Mead
Mahiro Maeda
Kunio Okawara
Takumi Sakura
Atsushi Shigeta

Character Designer:
Akira Yasuda

Musical Composer:
Yoko Kanno

Format:
50 episodes; 2 compilation movies

Airdates:
Japan 04.02.1999 – 04.14.2000

Theatrical Release:
Japan 02.09.2002 – 02.10.2002

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