GundamReviews

Zeta Gundam Ep. 24: Counterattack

0
Summary

With the Argama docked at Granada, Emma asks how Blex and Quattro could head to Earth right now, and Bright answers that wars are about more than just battles. Bright asks Henken what their resupply situation is, and Henken answers that it’s not good. Henken wants to talk to Bright about mobile suit organization, but he’s distracted by Emma as she leaves the bridge. On Earth, Blex and Quattro arrive at the Federation capital in Dakar, Senegal, and run into Jamitov at the General Assembly building. Katz chases after Kamille and asks where he’s going, but Kamille ignores the question and tells him to fix Haro. Katz repeats his question, and Kamille says he’s on orders to go to Von Braun. Haro says that it’s sick, and Katz kicks it away in anger. Kamille boards a Space Bus, and Bright reminds him that all they need to know is how many Titans mobile suits are in Von Braun. Kamille asks if he should also gauge how the citizens are reacting to the Titans’ authority, and Katz offers to help with the loading of an elecar onto the Space Bus. Emma says that she’ll join Kamille later, and Reccoa reminds him to send a signal of his location when they approach. After the Space Bus departs, Bright comments that he thought he saw Katz hanging around. In Dakar, Blex angrily comments to Quattro that people on Earth don’t care about space, and Quattro expresses his surprise about a proposal to hand over control of all the EFF to the Titans. Blex comments that Jamitov told Earth politicians to live on Earth but he ignores the reality that half the African continent has become a desert. Quattro wishes there was a way to send all politicians to space, and Blex jokes that they all complain about getting space sick. The Space Bus travels on a lunar surface road toward Von Braun, and the driver quizzes Kamille on his cover background, which is being a first-year student at Mizusa College named Shree Klime. Riding in a limo, Blex tells Quattro that he’s going to propose a motion to have the politicians travel to space. Kamille drives his elecar through Von Braun and sees through a ceiling dome the Dogosse Giar flying overhead in space. Mouar and Jerid visit Jamaican on the bridge of the Alexandria and explain that Scirocco left them behind due to Jerid’s injuries. Jamaican criticizes Scirocco both for not understanding the situation and for not managing his subordinates. Mouar asks if they can join the Alexandria’s mobile suit team, but Jamaican tells her she can’t always get her way because he has enough pilots already. She starts to object, but he tells them to just go into the city and treat it like a holiday. Kamille is stopped and questioned at the spaceport by an EFF officer, but Jerid steps in and lies that Kamille is his cousin. Jerid explains that Kamille is crazy about battleships and doesn’t know where to draw the line, and the officer agrees to let him go. Kamille runs toward an escalator, and Jerid and Mouar give chase. Kamille escapes from the spaceport, but Jerid tackles him in a park outside. Mouar picks up a camera that Kamille dropped and slaps him while Jerid holds him at gunpoint. Jerid asks if the AEUG has sunk so low as to use Kamille as a spy, and Kamille tells Jerid to just hand him over to security. Jerid says he will once he’s had a chance to kill him, and Mouar tells him to stop because Kamille is a child. Jerid counters that Kamille is no child because he killed both Lila and Kacricon, which surprises Mouar. She asks if Kamille is the Newtype that Jerid was talking about, but Kamille denies being one. Jerid asks if Kamille is suggesting that Lila and Kacricon were killed by a common child and then pistol-whips Kamille. Jerid tells Mouar that he’ll detain Kamille, and she comments that doing so will prove detrimental to the AEUG. Kamille says that the AEUG will do just fine without him, and Katz jumps out of the bushes suddenly and sticks his gun against Jerid’s back. Katz orders them to drop their guns and lead them to their mobile suits so they can escape. Jerid feints a move and then kicks Katz’s gun out of his hands, which Mouar tries to grab. Kamille and Katz then run away with Jerid and Mouar in pursuit. Katz comments that Jerid now has Amuro’s gun, but Kamille dismisses that as not being important now. Jerid tries to shoot them while running through a shopping center, but Mouar warns him not to because he might hit a civilian. Quattro gets out of a limo outside his hotel and rushes in when he hears several gunshots. He finds a bodyguard dead in the hallway and Blex mortally wounded in his room. As he dies, Blex tells Quattro to become the leader of the AEUG as Char Aznable and change the world. On the lunar surface, Gaplant pilot Yazan Gable and his team of Hi-Zacks prepare to ambush the Argama and Radish mid flight. One of the pilots asks if they should inform the Alexandria first, but Yazan insists on attacking immediately. 

The Argama and Radish sound battle alerts, and Apolly launches in his Rick Dias, followed by Emma in the Gundam Mk-II. Haro trips up Reccoa in the hangar, allowing Fa to get to the Methuss first and take off in it. Yazan hits Apolly and forcefully kicks Fa away, causing her to almost hit the lunar surface. Kamille feels a Newtype sensation and thinks that the Argama must be nearby, but Katz notes that there’s still time before the operation starts. Kamille asks Katz if he feels it and says it’s the same sensation as when a battle breaks out, but Katz says there’s no air raid alarms going off. Kamille and Katz run through an alley and are spotted by Jerid from above when they emerge. Jamaican is informed of the situation with Yazan and orders the fleet to launch. He also wants Jerid and Mouar recalled and says an air raid alarm should get their attention. As the alarm sounds, the Titans launch multiple Hi-Zacks and Marasais to reinforce Yazan’s team. Yazan chases Fa and boasts that his transforming suit’s abilities are superior to hers. Emma shoots down a Hi-Zack and causes it to crash through one of Von Braun’s domes, which opens the city up to the vacuum of space. As citizens rush to shelters, the battle spreads inside the city and Kamille wonders if Rosamia is piloting the Gaplant. Katz brings Kamille an oxygen mask and they run into a shelter and find Jerid and Mouar already there. Katz pulls out his gun, as does Jerid, but Kamille and Mouar counsel each of them not to shoot. Reccoa launches in the Zeta Gundam, and Bright orders her to enter Von Braun and find Kamille. Apolly destroys a Marasai and comes to Fa’s aid when the Methuss crashes and is targeted by Yazan. Apolly then shoots down a Hi-Zack entering through the breach. A young boy approaches Kamille and recognizes him because his father works for a company that supports the AEUG. Jerid smarmily comments that Kamille is a celebrity, and Katz counters that he would be, compared to the Titans who pollute the Earth. The civilians in the shelter start grumbling about the Titans, and Jerid blames the AEUG. Kamille tells Katz to stop arguing and says that no matter who started the fight, the people of Von Braun are the ones suffering. Kamille has a Newtype sensation of Reccoa approaching and tells Katz they should go. Jerid pulls out his gun, but Katz already has his out and tells Kamille that he’ll handle things. Katz takes back Amuro’s gun and runs away, and Mouar tells Jerid she’s impressed because up to now he’s always acted just on his emotions. She tells him that acting that way will never let him reach for the top and leave him as a mere soldier. Jerid says that he’ll take the temporary embarrassment and wants to return to the Alexandria, but Kamille’s young fan blocks the exit. Jerid punches the boy in the face and tells the crowd that civilians don’t stand a chance in a fight against the Titans. Reccoa flies into Von Braun to evade Yazan’s pursuit and lands in front of Kamille. Yazan arrives and opens fire on Reccoa, but Emma’s appearance forces him to retreat. Reccoa disembarks from the Zeta Gundam, and Katz is knocked to the ground when a store explodes behind him. Kamille heads back to space and destroys three Hi-Zacks chasing after the Argama. He then slams into Yazan’s Gaplant and asks if he thinks this is some game. Jamaican is informed that the AEUG has taken over Von Braun’s power station and that their own forces are struggling, so he orders a retreat. Jerid comes to the bridge and asks to borrow a mobile suit, but Jamaican tells him there’s no need for that now because they’re retreating. Jamaican tells them they can stay on the ship, and Jerid whispers to Mouar that one day he’ll make Jamaican bow before him. The fleet launches and fires flares to signal retreat, which annoys Yazan. He then flies away, and Emma tells Kamille not to pursue because it’s important to know when to pull back. In Dakar, the General Assembly votes unanimously to put the EFF under the control of the Titans, and Jamitov heads to a podium to deliver an address. Katz comes to the Argama’s bridge and comments that he expected a “correction,” but Bright tells him not to waste his life. Fa cries and blames herself for fighting inside the city and damaging it. Kamille thinks it’s OK because they survived and wonders how Blex and Quattro are doing.

Commentary

The AEUG experiences both victory and defeat this episode as they were able to liberate Von Braun but also have to deal with the assassination of Blex and the Titans gaining control of the EFF. The latter events definitely overshadow the former, although the AEUG crew in space don’t realize that yet. Jerid and Mouar get left behind by Scirocco, who was in a hurry to leave Von Braun as though he expected Jamaican to bungle the situation, which he did. Thus Scirocco gets to claim the credit for capturing the city, but avoid the blame for losing it. Jerid has another encounter with Kamille, and this is the second time in as many episodes where he’s had a clear chance to kill Kamille but wastes it because he wants to make him suffer. He could’ve just shot Kamille on sight and put an end to things, but then of course there would be no series. Jerid does the Titans no favors in the public affairs department by punching a kid, and those scenes give us a rare civilian perspective on the Titans. It’s clear the citizens of Von Braun have no love for the Titans, but of course, the feeling is mutual since the Titans don’t care about people in space. Another public affairs menace introduced in this episode is Yazan, who doesn’t at all hold back his animalistic lust for combat, which sets him apart even from other Titans.

Original Review: June 15, 2001

Overall Rating
4/5
Zeta Gundam Info


Director:

Yoshiyuki Tomino

Writer(s):
Hiroshi Ohnogi
Yumiko Suzuki
Tomoko Kawasaki
Yasushi Hirano
Akinori Endo
Miho Maruo
Minoru Onoya

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kazumi Fujita
Mamoru Nagano
Kunio Okawara
Makoto Kobayashi
Kazuhisa Kondo
Hideo Okamoto

Character Designer:
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

Musical Composer:
Shigeaki Saegusa

Format:
50 episodes; 3 compilation movies

Airdates:
Japan 03.02.1985 – 02.22.1986

Theatrical Release:
Japan 05.28.2005 – 03.04.2006

Comments

Comments are closed.