GundamReviews

Zeta Gundam Ep. 41: Awakening

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Summary

Fa gets into an elevator with Kamille and tells him that Shinta and Qum are with Rosammy in Dr. Hasan’s office. She then asks about Reccoa, and he says he’s not feeling down about it. Qum uses the infirmary phone to call them and says in a panic that Rosammy is going to be dissected. Hasan struggles to hold Rosammy down on an examination table, and she eventually gets free. Kamille and Fa enter the infirmary, and he asks Hasan if he plans to dissect Rosammy. Hasan responds that that’s ridiculous and that the kids made a big fuss out of nothing. Shinta accuses Hasan of saying that he was going to dissect Rosammy, and Hasan notes that she refuses to submit to an examination. Kamille tells Rosammy that she has to have the examination if she wants to stay on the Argama. Shinta recalls that they get candy with their exams, and Qum says she wants one too. Rosammy, having lifted up her shirt for the exam, asks Kamille why he’s leaving, and he answers that he’ll be in trouble if he doesn’t get to work. Fa grabs him by his hair and tells him they’ll be late for the meeting. On the Dogosse Giar, Bask tells Reccoa that she has to lead the poison gas operation if she really wants to prove her loyalty to the Titans. Reccoa says she can prove her loyalty in other ways and asks why it has to be releasing poison gas into a colony. Bask punches her in the face and explains that the operation is important for suppressing defiance by the AEUG. Bask reminds Reccoa of the punishment for spies and tells her to get ready at once for the mission. As Reccoa leaves, Bask tells her that the Titans are not a group of killers and are wishing for peace to arrive quickly. Reccoa wonders if Scirocco needs to test her this way. In the Argama’s mobile suit hangar, Quattro asks Kamille about the results of Rosammy’s examination, but he explains that it just started. Quattro states that just because Rosammy seems like a good girl it doesn’t mean she’s on their side. Reccoa launches in the Messala, followed by a squad of Hi-Zacks carrying G-3 poison gas containers. As Kamille leaves the hangar, Apolly reminds him that he’s on standby and that launch orders could come at any moment. Kamille heads to the infirmary and is embarrassed when he sees Rosammy topless. She’s excited about Hasan reporting that there’s nothing wrong with her and tries to feed Kamille a candy. Kamille tells Rosammy that she has to stay behind because he has to launch. Hasan tells Kamille that while Rosammy appears normal, he still has to run other tests and look for gene irregularities and signs of hypnotism. As the Titans approach the colony, Reccoa warns the other pilots to watch out for the surveillance net. Hi-Zack pilot Petersen loses control and gets pushed away from a gas container, causing him to trip the surveillance system. Reccoa thinks to herself that if the Argama arrives now she won’t have to carry the attack out. Bright orders a mobile suit launch when they receive an emergency message from Side 2. Rosammy’s head hurts from the sound of the launch alert, and Shinta comments that it’s cool to watch Kamille launch in the Zeta Gundam. Rosammy boasts that she knows how to pilot mobile suits too, but the kids don’t believe her. They want to go for a ride and convince Rosammy to take them out in a suit. As Quattro prepares to launch he gets a call from Hasan about how test results show traces of doping in Rosammy’s blood. He wants to observe her more, but can’t find her. Quattro leaves his cockpit to search for her, and Bright orders Kamille to head for Side 2’s Colony 21. Kamille launches in the Zeta Gundam with the hyper mega launcher and wonders what happened with Quattro. Reccoa blasts a Nemo and wonders if the Argama’s suits are coming, because at this rate the operation will succeed. Quattro calls Bright with news, and Bright puts Emma in charge of the mobile suit team. Emma signals Kamille to follow her, and he wonders what happened to Quattro. 

Quattro and Hasan search for Rosammy and the kids, who have all donned normal suits. Shinta and Qum decide to act as decoys so that Rosammy can get into a Nemo. Shinta chases after Qum to distract Hasan, allowing Rosammy to float toward the Nemo. She pushes Manack aside and dodges the bullets Quattro fires to try to stop her. Rosammy presses the elevator button to lift the Nemo onto the launch deck, but it gets stopped halfway. Hasan calls her and tells her to stop, and Shinta and Qum tell him to leave her alone because she’s trying to help Kamille. Rosammy manually opens the hatch and takes off, followed by Quattro’s Hyaku-Shiki. He opens fire after she ignores his threats, and her ability to dodge and maneuver leads him to believe she must be a Cyber Newtype. Reccoa is informed that they’re ready to start pumping the gas, and she reluctantly orders them to proceed. Kamille and Fa feel the awful sensations of the people dying in the colony. Kamille spots a gas container and blasts it with the hyper mega launcher, destroying it and the two Hi-Zacks guarding it. A Hi-Zack attacks Kamille, and Reccoa shoots at him because he was late. The Hi-Zack tries to attack Kamille from behind, and he slices it in half before turning his attention back to Reccoa. Kamille calls out to Reccoa and asks how she could participate in a terrible operation like this, and she answers that a child like him would never understand. She adds that if he’s this slow to react in battle he’ll never beat Scirocco. Kamille responds by saying he’ll never forgive Reccoa, and she tauntingly calls him a little boy. Rosammy arrives in the Nemo and shoots at Reccoa before latching onto Kamille. He’s surprised by her presence and further surprised when she destroys an attacking Hi-Zack with one shot. Reccoa pulls away and is blocked by Quattro, while Kamille and Rosammy enter the colony through the breach he created by destroying the gas canister. Kamille tells Rosammy that piloting a mobile suit isn’t a game, and he can’t believe that she’s a Newtype. Quattro states that he won’t bother asking Reccoa for her reasons, and she accuses him of always looking down on people. Quattro asks if that’s her reason and opens fire, and she responds by shooting missiles at him. Kamille goes on foot inside the colony and tells Rosammy not to move or open her visor. Rosammy runs over to a young boy’s body and realizes he isn’t Shinta, but she wonders why he won’t wake up. Kamille tells Rosammy to stop because the boy is dead. Two Hi-Zacks fly overhead and shoot at the ground, and Kamille angrily destroys them. Rosammy cries that the sky is falling and is overcome by a headache. Kamille finds that Rosammy is back in the Nemo, and she shoots at him after declaring that the Zeta Gundam will make the sky fall. He calls out to Rosammy, but she tells him that her name is Rosamia Badam and that her orders are to eliminate him and the Zeta Gundam. Kamille flees into space with Rosamia in close pursuit. The Gundam Mk-II opens fire on the Nemo, and Emma tells Kamille she got word from the Argama that Rosammy is a Cyber Newtype from the Titans. Quattro keeps missing his shots against Reccoa and wonders if he’s hesitating. The Titans issue orders to retreat, and Rosamia escapes with him. Emma blocks Kamille from chasing after Rosamia, and he pounds on his console in anguish. Watching from the Methuss, Fa is glad that Rosammy is gone.

Commentary

Bask decides that a fresh batch of war crimes are necessary to keep the AEUG in check, and he uses the opportunity to test Reccoa’s loyalty. Reccoa spends the episode hoping that the AEUG will destroy the canisters and absolve her of responsibility, which shows her moral cowardice. Whatever confused feelings she has about Scirocco and Quattro, standing by and allowing potentially hundreds of thousands of civilians to be slaughtered is monstrous. She knows that, and when Kamille expresses his rage all she can do is taunt him because there’s nothing else she can respond with. If Reccoa truly felt terrible about the operation, she would have destroyed the gas canisters herself before the Hi-Zacks reacted. The other major plot thread in this episode is that Rosammy finally remembers that she’s Rosamia and turns on Kamille. He’s sad about her departure, but I don’t see why, as he seemingly never really believed she was actually his sister. It’s likely he was distraught by seeing (and feeling) the slaughter around him, but it’s no reason to feel bad about Rosamia.

Original Review: July 15, 2002

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

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