Ninth Yells About G-Tekketsu Episode 7

 This week, on fanservice in space…

 

Maruba wants his ship back and he brought a Trigun villain and his bevy of bikini-top-wearing mobile-suit pilots to back him up.  It’s…surprisingly effective.  Heaven help us all.

 

But, we have surprisingly not jumped the shark yet!  So, for yelling about the sudden influx of ladies, the most serious battle to date, and the fact that apparently “space rat” has a universe-specific meaning in G-Tekketsu and because this is Gundam it’s not anything nice, head under the cut!

 

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That said, the fanservice lady pilots all have unique designs and speaking styles.  For all that they’re coming off kind of tailored to male fantasies, they seem detailed enough for me to think that they’ll be recurring characters.  There has to be a story behind Amida’s scar, for one, and the contrast between Lafter’s giggly, shallow presentation and her kind-of-terrifying piloting skills wants exploring too. 

 

Speaking of, am I allowed to be happy that the first person who handed Mikazuki a real fight was a lady?  I think I am.  I may not love Lafter’s character at first sight, but I’m willing to reserve judgement for now and if nothing else she’s got skill with a mobile suit.  If she’d been as desperate as Mikazuki I don’t know who my money would’ve been on.

 

It also marked our first near-defeat, which is a nice landmark to hit, though I remain concerned that there hasn’t actually been a defeat or a major character death yet.  It makes me nervous.   On that note, I am so concerned about Akihiro; he probably would’ve died if they hadn’t called that fight off.

 

And, seriously, that entire scene was the redeeming point of this episode for me.  Up until there I was about done with the fanservice shots and Tekkadan’s seeming insistence on making enemies of everyone except Kudelia–except then, the smokescreen happened, and Orga and the others boarded the Teiwaz ship, and I wanted to cheer because Space Hannibal Smith, ladies and gentlemen.  I will continue to call him that because he has earned the name.

 

And then Maruba started talking and we got some lovely worldbuilding.   Apparently, “space rats” is not just a reference to the ubiquitous “runs around space ports” usage of the term borrowed from old sci-fi, but a specific name for people who have the Alaya-Vijnana System “whiskers” implanted in them. As a writing feature, I really like this–building slang into a world makes it more real, and the writers are doing a really good job, between this and “Human Debris.”  (Now, can we have slang for something not awful?) Maruba also admitted to forcing the kids to have the surgery, which clashes with Mika’s account of asking for multiple surgeries and the younger kids saying that they want to get it.  I need an actual flashback–how much consent was involved in these surgeries, and how much of it was coercion/lack of other choices?  Did it vary from person to person?

 

Either way, good on Naze (who I have been mentally referring to as Trigun Villain McWeirdname because seriously) for turning on Maruba after he found out that little bit of information.  The preview seems to indicate that next episode will have negotiations, which means that we might get more information on Teiwaz besides “kind of like a mafia.”  I’d like to know exactly what their internal rules and values are.

 

After this episode, I feel so bad for Biscuit, because he’s the only sensible one.  He’s going to either spend however long he survives or the actual entire series trying to rein Mikazuki and Orga in.  And, judging by how determined Kudelia looked during this episode’s battle? He’ll probably start having to be a restraining influence on her, too.  I do not envy him.

 

It’s interesting, because for right now, all of the “anti-war” themes are pretty much coming from enemies upset by the idea of fighting kids.  The kids themselves seem very keen on war. I can’t help but wonder, given Gundam traditions and the normal themes, where the series is going from here.

 

Predictions: Less prediction, more hope–Tekkadan and Turbine teamup, at least for one episode, because it would be fun to see Lafter and Mikazuki try to fight together.  Kudelia and Atra are going to try to join Shifty Fumi (thanks, atomicpomegranate, for the nickname) on the bridge.  Next week’s negotiations are going to be beautiful politics. The Turbine pilots are going to stick around and/or show up later in the show.

 

Questions: What was with the moment between Norba and Yamagi that ended with Yamagi staring at his hand for an unreasonable length of time? How much coercion was involved with the “whisker” surgeries?  When will the pacifist themes appear in their full glory?