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When you wish upon a star, makes a difference during war.
Gravity literally played a big role in “Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Episode 19: The Gravity of Wishes” — a fitting symbol really given the gravity of the situation that our Tekkadan crew finds themselves in. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.
This time, our intrepid crew of space rats find themselves facing a blockade by the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet as they desperately try to fulfill their end of the bargain in bringing Kudelia down to, well, Earth. What could Orga and the gang possible have up their sleeve this time around?
I must say that this episode did a bang-up job with foreshadowing and directing overall. Admittedly, there are time when IBO leans heavily toward the exposition side of things, though it still manages to do awesome battles when conflict does arise. This episode, however, deftly includes both, weaving in brief but emotionally powerful moments with the various characters while also kicking things up a notch with a skirmish that includes mobile suit battles and a hot-blooded ship fight to boot. It’s like having your cake and eating it, too.
The episode starts with Kudelia’s acknowledgement of her role, not just as a symbo, but also in the deaths of all those people she moved to action. Whereas the young “Maiden of the Revolution” used to vacillate between the extremes of naive idealist and downtrodden, guilty person, however, she now has a more level-headed view of her role and takes both responsibility and pride in it. Even better is how she made Mikazuki realize the same thing about himself, too. One gets the sense that Mika has always viewed his job as a dirty one that someone has to do but never thought of it as a noble enterprise. In a statement that would likely cause 12-year-olds everywhere to giggle, however, Kudelia notes that despite Mika’s small body, he has such big hands, which also symbolizes the great responsibility Mika shoulders as the Ace of Tekkadan. Making someone like Mika realize that and take pride in it is true leadership right there. The continued nod to Fumitan’s sacrifice is a nice touch as well.
Meanwhile, we learn a little bit more about the backgrounds of Gaelio, Carta and McGillis, a.k.a. Mr. Willy Wonka McPointyshoes. McGillis claims to an inquiring Orga, — who obviously despises the idea of being played by the guy — that Montag is his real name and not an alias. I actually find that to be symbolically appropriate. Whereas his foppish MCGillis persona ends up as the butt of jokes between Mika and even comrades such as Carta, his Montag character seems a lot more dangerous. Given the brief flashbacks showing him as an angry child with a “cray-cray” expression who’s obviously harboring some intense resentment, that certainly makes a lot of sense. It’s also about time as McGillis pretty much felt like a shallow character until the previous episode. Now he looks like a legitimate threat. As a general rule in anime and even life, it’s the intelligent, do-things-at-all-costs folks with a sense of self-righteousness and perhaps, a bit of a god complex that you really have to look out for. In a show filled with all sorts of characters who try to use others, he pretty much stands atop the use-or-be-used food chain I’ve been talking about in my course of reviewing this show. That includes not just using the Tekkadan and big shots of Earth and space but also his childhood pals, Gaelio and Carta.
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Speaking of Carta, could it be that our fox-faced lady has a crush on Fareed “Count Chocula” McGillis? While Carta is a bit caricaturish, I must admit that I enjoy her antics. Whether it be picking on poor Gaelio or mimicking McGillis playing with his hair, she injects a bit of levity amid all the seriousness in this episode. At the same time, she has the hallmarks of a character who might just end up trying too hard for her own good. You basically have someone who knows people think that her position is just for show and is desperate to prove herself. Barring an epiphany or a switch in sides, such characters usually end up going out in a blaze of glory.
In the meantime, I’m continuing to dig the dynamics between the Tekkadan and Turbine crew. It reminds me of the same vibe I get during times when I hang out and joke around with family or close friends from college and high school. The hangar scene where Shino tried to cheer up a downtrodden and nervous Eugene by literally giving him a swift kick in the pants really cracked me up. Even the short scenes showing the rest of the crew as well as Naze and his Turbine aces before leaving for battle were a nice touch, I thought. Everyone just really meshes well together in a natural way unlike, say, the crew of G no Reconguista. Yeah, I know I bag on that show a lot but you need to understand that I watched that whole series. All of it. Yes, I know right?
Naturally, Tekkadan is up to its old creative tricks on the battlefield and boy was this one a doozy. See, the advantage of not being trained in traditional combat is that you think out of the box. I mean, using the Brewer’s Ship as a shield? And Eugene using the AV system to control not one but two ships? Man, oh man, oh man. The loss of an asset such as the Brewer ship sounds like a waste but then again, I don’t even know if the Tekkadan really cares. Some folks like Akihiro probably prefer it anyway, given the misery his brother endured in that ship. By the way, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, this show has the best ship battles I remember seeing in a Gundam series. I mean, instead of the hulking, slow whales, we’ve seen in other shows, I just like how IBO’s ship battles show them as kinetic, fast-moving assets on the battlefield. Even the mobile suit fights aren’t your run-of-the-mill “real robot” Gundam battles. They’re not quite out there like G Gundam but they have a more visceral and gritty feel than typical Gundam skirmishes. I mean, that battle between Ein and Shino felt more like a freaking MMA fight than a mobile suit battle.
Granted, IBO’s animation quality can be mixed but even the poorly drawn scenes are at least well directed in terms of framing and movement. I also like the contrast between Mika’s brutally unapologetic fighting style vs. Ein’s more idealistic, honorbound code. It reminds me of an adage in Filipino stick fighting where if a man approaches you barefisted, face him with a knife and when a man confronts you with a knife, face him with a fighting stick with longer reach, and it just escalates from there. I mean, escrima and arnis target temples, eyes, throats and emphasize ending fights as quickly as possible by ensuring sure you have a clear advantage against your opponent and pressing that advantage. Heck, you’re even encouraged to run away if you have to because in the end, it’s all about surviving the fight. Ein’s stubborn refusal to retreat because “he has honor, too” is liable to get himself or someone else killed, which made Mika’s dismissive response to his comment about honor a fitting one
The same thing can be said about the white knighting pilot defending Carta’s honor who over extended in chasing Mika into the atmosphere like a greedy MOBA player. Man, is Mika one cold-hearted (something that rhymes with mustard), and a creative one to boot. That whole thing right there was almost akin to unceremoniously using a corpse as a bullet shield. Montag also showed off his mobile suit, which of course is red because the color automatically makes it faster.
Ultimately, the episode ends with Mika seeing the crescent moon he was named after for the first time as well as a flashback the younger days of Mika and Orga when all they dreamed of was having food to eat and a warm bed to sleep in. Well, just look at them now.
機動戦士ガンダム 鉄血のオルフェンズ | MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: TEKKETSU NO ORPHANS REVIEW ARCHIVE
- Episode 1: Iron and Blood
- Episode 2: Barbatos
- Episode 3: Glorious Demise
- Episode 4: The Price of Life
- Episode 5: Beyond the Red Sky
- Episode 6: As For Them
- Episode 7: Whaling
- Episode 8: The Form of Closeness
- Episode 9: Sakazuki
- Episode 10: A Letter From Tomorrow
- Episode 11: Human Debris
- Episode 12: The Shoals
- Episode 13: Funeral Rites
- Episode 14: Vessel of Hope
- Episode 15: Trail of Footprints
- Episode 16: Fumitan Admoss
- Episode 17: Kudelia’s Decision
- Episode 18: Voice
