GundamReviews

Zeta Gundam Ep. 9: A New Bond

0
Summary

On Earth, Reccoa rides on a small boat on a Brazilian river outside of Jaburo. She ducks for cover when she spots a massive Garuda transport plane flying overhead, and it’s a type she’s never seen before. Three soldiers order Reccoa to bring her boat to the shore and search her. One of the soldiers tries to grope her breast, and when she tells him not to touch her, another soldier slaps her and calls her a spy. He’s then smacked by a whip wielded by One Year War veteran Kai Shiden, who pulls the soldier in closer and holds him hostage at gunpoint. Kai orders the other soldiers to leave Reccoa alone and to drop their guns. He releases the soldier and orders them all to run away in a straight line or he’ll shoot them. Reccoa asks Kai who he is, and he introduces himself as a freelance journalist. On the Moon, Kacricon and his men continue their reconnaissance from a small craft hidden among colony wreckage, and he notices a lot of activity coming out of Amman. Kitchman complains about having to eat a chicken sandwich and wonders what happened to Petty Officer Masada, who was supposed to have reached Granada by now. At Granada, an EFF officer tells Jamaican that they can’t fulfill his supply request because the staff office on Earth is ignoring them, and he asks her if it isn’t really because they’re AEUG sympathizers. She answers that if that were true she would’ve destroyed the Alexandria instead of allowing it to dock. Jamaican tells her that he wants the Alexandria and Bosnia ready to launch in 30 minutes while the Sichuan will stay behind. Jamaican talks to another EFF officer and mentions hearing that Anaheim Electronics has offered to resupply them. Masada arrives to give his report to Jamaican about Kacricon’s activities. On the Argama, Kamille works on the Haro robot that he found on the Moon and is surprised when it calls him Amuro. Emma enters the room and scolds Kamille about not responding to the assembly call, but he tells her he isn’t part of the military yet. Emma slaps him and says this is the military and she wants him to come with her. Kai spots what is now the 48th transport plane to come out of Jaburo today, and Reccoa asks him where the EFF’s new base is if they’re moving from Jaburo. Kai comments that even if she found out, there’d be no way to tell the AEUG, who could be invading as soon as tomorrow. He asks if she plans to go back to the Hohsenka to make contact, but she says it’d take four days on foot. Kai suggests slipping into Jaburo when it’s dark and using their equipment to call the AEUG. Quattro rides in a jeep with Henken and Wong and is amazed that the new battleship Radish was built without the EFF noticing. Wong comments that the EFF knows too little about Spacenoids and compares it to when Europe didn’t take the rising power of America seriously. The jeep pulls up to the base, and Quattro tells Emma and Kamille that they’re late. Wong asks who Kamille is, and Henken explains that he’s a pilot. Wong slaps Kamille with enough force to knock him to the ground and then kicks him in the chest. Kamille asks what he did that for, and Wong presumes that his tardiness had to to with the Haro. Quattro stops Emma and Henken from intervening, and Kamille asks Wong what right he has to use violence for no reason. Wong then kicks Kamille again, and Kamille tries to punch him in retaliation. Wong punches Kamille in the face and says that he’s the Newtype that Blex told him about. Kamille says that’s not the case, and Wong says he can see Kamille’s arrogance and that such carelessness leads to being late for meetings. Kamille says that Haro’s memory chip might have info on it, but Wong notes that Kamille’s not an intelligence officer and should stick to a pilot’s duties. Kamille counters that Haro might have information on the White Base, and Wong demands to know how that helps them with the current battle. He kicks Kamille in the leg and then in the chin, knocking him back. Wong yells at Kamille to stop bickering and just apologize, and he kicks him again when Kamille contends that violence isn’t right. Kamille wakes up on a bed in the normal suit room, and Roberto tells him this happened for talking back to Wong. Quattro walks in with the Haro and announces that they have new orders to head to Granada. Kamille complains that he got beat up for no reason and the rest of them did nothing, but Quattro counters that this is how the military does things. Quattro thinks that they went too easy on Kamille when he boarded the Argama, and that was his own mistake. Kamille notes that Wong isn’t a soldier, and Quattro answers that Wong is a very important person as an AEUG investor. Kamille asks if that gives Wong the right to beat him up, and Char tells him to hurry up and get ready for battle. Kamille refuses, so Emma slaps him and says many things are unfair in the military. Quattro tells Kamille that if he doesn’t want to get hit he has to correct his mistakes. Kamille still refuses to launch and says Quattro can use the Gundam Mk-II. Emma says that Kamille hasn’t survived up to now on his strength alone, and he says it’s due to his strength that the Argama has been able to survive. Emma tells Kamille that such arrogance will kill him someday, and Wong hit him because he recognized that. Emma says that Wong is trying to do something about the people destroying Earth and that he wants people with the same promise as Kamille to survive. Kamille insists that he’s nobody special and just an autistic child, and Emma yells at him not to classify adults and children on his own terms. Kamille drops the Haro, which addresses him by his name instead of Amuro. Quattro examines his new Hyaku-Shiki and tells Apolly and Roberto that they’ll test the suit while supporting Granada. Roberto comments that the color of Quattro’s suits always becomes popular and asks if Kamille is coming. Quattro is sure that he will and says Emma will make him. Apolly asks what made Wong so mad, and Quattro explains that Kamille was being lazy. Kacricon spots AEUG mobile suits launching from Amman but doesn’t want to start a battle, and Kitchman tells him that reinforcements should arrive from Granada within 30 minutes. Kacricon wants to wait so they can sink the Argama first and then pick off its mobile suits. Gady asks Jamaican if they should land the Alexandria, and Jamaican in turn asks about Jerid’s status. Gady reports that Jerid’s Hi-Zack is having some trouble, but he’ll make sure Jerid launches in time to join Kacricon. Kamille tells Astonaige that he’s doing an emergency launch so he can catch up with the others. Kamille takes Haro with him and launches off the catapult.

Kamille takes off and flies through a small hatch to reach the lunar surface. He travels across the surface of the Moon and is detected by Kacricon’s recon team. At Granada, Jamaican watches as new Marasai mobile suits from Anaheim are loaded onto the Alexandria. Gady speculates that the AEUG could also get its supplies from Granada, and Jamaican comments that Bask wants to capture the city without any damage. Jamaican meets with an Anaheim employee and tells him to pass along a message to Anaheim Chairman Melanie Hue Carbine that the Titans won’t be investigating their factory. The employee tells Jamaican that Anaheim wants to help and will offer their services for free. Kamille catches up with the others and complains about how Quattro is always testing him. Kacricon’s team prepares to launch and he wonders where Jerid is at. The AEUG team reaches the Granada spaceport and is contacted by friendlies within the EFF. Kamille asks what the plan is, and Apolly answers that they’re going to capture a Titans ship. Kamille then asks why the troops in Granada don’t capture it, and Roberto says this is why people look down on Kamille as a kid. Roberto explains that if they don’t show they’re in command of the operation, they won’t have full command of their allies. Quattro tells Kamille to come with him so they can provide cover from the rear. The AEUG team enters a hangar where ground troops are already fighting next to two Salamis cruisers. A Hi-Zack launches from one of the ships, but Kamille knocks it down and tells the pilot to surrender. Quattro shows up and tells Kamille that they’ll take the pilot prisoner. Apolly and Roberto land on each ship to quell resistance. Quattro and Kamille go on foot with machineguns, and he comments that they won’t often do hand-to-hand combat, but Kamille needs to get used to it. Kamille and Quattro enter another room and come under fire from two EFF soldiers, but Kamille panics and forgets to release his gun’s safety. Kacricon and Kitchman launch in Hi-Zacks with an objective of blocking the entrance to the spaceport at Amman. Kacricon fires missiles and blasts an outer hatch at the spaceport. Kamille feels something and tells Quattro that they should return to the Argama. Quattro notes that their mission here isn’t complete yet, and he knocks Kamille to the floor as more EFF troops shoot at them. Quattro, Kamille and several allies chase the fleeing soldiers, and Kamille thinks to himself that Quattro is enjoying everyone killing each other. A GM II launches from the Argama, followed by Emma in a Rick Dias. Emma orders the GM IIs to stay close to the spaceport, and Kacricon hears her voice and targets her. After the EFF troops surrender, Quattro tells Kamille that it’s natural to feel scared, but Kamille has another sensation and asks Quattro if he’s concerned about Amman. Quattro realizes that the Titans who attacked Kamille and Emma could be attacking Amman, and Kamille says he’s going back. Quattro calls Apolly and Roberto to have them cover Kamille’s launch. As the Argama attempts to launch, Kitchman takes down a GM II. Kamille reaches the surface and speeds back to Amman while Emma fights Kacricon. Henken orders the crew not to fire the main cannon to avoid hitting the city. Emma dodges an attack from Kacricon and hides amidst the colony wreckage. She targets him while he scans the area, but her rifle touches a small piece of debris and gets his attention. He then shoots at her position from above and destroys her left arm. Kacricon swoops in for the kill with his heat hawk, but his right hand gets blasted off by Kamille. Kamille and Kacricon chase each other through the colony wreckage, and Kamille uses the cover to destroy Kitchman’s Hi-Zack. Kacricon is forced to retreat, and Emma gets into Kamille’s cockpit and accuses him of coming back on his own while the operation was ongoing in Granada. He tells her that’s wrong, and she says he’s back too soon after they sent out a distress signal. Kamille explains that he sensed she was in danger, but she thinks that’s ridiculous. He insists that it’s true and that he told this to Quattro, who gave him new orders. Emma wonders if she really did call out for help, and Kamille says that he felt her voice. He thinks it also could’ve been an illusion because he heard the sound of her screaming and saw an image of her in his mind. Emma apologizes and thanks Kamille for saving her life. A GM II transports Henken over to them, and he gives orders for Emma’s Rick Dias to be retrieved. As night falls in the jungle, Reccoa and Kai approach a hidden entrance to Jaburo. Reccoa tells Kai that he should leave now if he’s just helping her on a whim, but he responds that he wants to get back to space too. The entrance in front of them suddenly opens.

Commentary

Gundam series, particularly those directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, are famous for featuring characters slapping each other, but it goes to an entirely new level here with the beating that Kamille gets from Wong. While Kamille was certainly acting like a brat and wasting time tinkering with that Haro, Wong’s actions (and everyone else’s inaction) is inexcusable. Wong talks about military discipline, but he’s no soldier, just some rich guy with exaggerated notions of his own importance. Wong has previously inserted himself into military strategy and now is meting out discipline, which he’s being allowed to get away with just because he’s a big investor. Jamaican suspects that Granada is full of AEUG sympathizers, and he turns out to not be wrong since so many EFF soldiers aided the AEUG in capturing a Titans ship. Kamille’s Newtype senses continue to develop, and in this case they allow him to save Emma in a timely fashion. Although he tries to fight against it, he keeps becoming more and more of a soldier as time passes.

Original Review: June 13, 2000

Overall Rating
3.5/5
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.