Mobile Suit Gundam 00 discussion thread part 2 - Episodes 19+

[something]

First things first: Link to Gundam 00 thread part 1! (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/24931/)

Well, the other one approaches 400, which is where threaded mode is set to cut out. So people still have the option to read this thread in threaded mode (helpful for avoiding spoilers etc), it's being restarted to reset the count.

The first thread might have a little life left in the 18 discussion so I'll start a subthread where that can continue if anyone still wants to.

I'll let whoever posts first on episode 19 to start that subthread. Please take the Note below into consideration when doing so!

ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=8190) entry.
Official (http://www.gundam00.net/) site.
Schedule (http://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/1213/time) for airing dates and times on various stations.

Note
As usual, please try to follow these two easy forum courtesy habits when replying:
1) If you're the first person to post about an episode in any given week, please respond to the root post (this post) and indicate in the subject line which episode you're posting about.
2) If someone has already posted about an episode before you, please respond to that post (or a relevant reply to that post). Keep in the right subthread.

Thanks.

[something]

If you want, we can continue discussion of episode 18 in this subthread. Here (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/24931/pid/637396/#637396) is the initial subthread post for episode 18 in the old thread. Here's (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/24931/pid/635145/#635145) a shorter initial branch of discussion some might have missed (it was posted in the 17 subthread). Please continue discussing 18 as desired.

Reply to: HitokiriShadow (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/24931/pid/637501/#637501)
I don't think my feelings for a character have ever reversed so fast, so much, and so hard. Just 30 minutes before she was one of my favorite characters in the show and then.... wow, what a fast turn around. I thought maybe the place the wedding was taking place was the target for some reason and then at least she would have just been following her (fucked up) orders. But no, she just massacred everyone on a whim.
To say the least ;_;

We actually get a female Gundam meister, a really feisty and fun one at that, and she turns out to be a complete psychopath. Which in and of itself isn't bad, except she turns it on... on... gaaah!

Seriously, lying in bed last night I so wanted to strangle her. I kept thinking of Louise and, damn, I think that was the most shocking moment I've seen since a certain other recent Sunrise anime blew us all away. Except that was tragic, this is just senseless slaughter, and so unexpected. And amputation always especially weirds me out.

[Vicserr]

If you want, we can continue discussion of episode 18 in this subthread. Here (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/24931/pid/637396/#637396) is the initial subthread post for episode 18 in the old thread. Here's (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/24931/pid/635145/#635145) a shorter initial branch of discussion some might have missed (it was posted in the 17 subthread). Please continue discussing 18 as desired.

Reply to: HitokiriShadow (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/24931/pid/637501/#637501)
I don't think my feelings for a character have ever reversed so fast, so much, and so hard. Just 30 minutes before she was one of my favorite characters in the show and then.... wow, what a fast turn around. I thought maybe the place the wedding was taking place was the target for some reason and then at least she would have just been following her (fucked up) orders. But no, she just massacred everyone on a whim.
To say the least ;_;

We actually get a female Gundam meister, a really feisty and fun one at that, and she turns out to be a complete psychopath. Which in and of itself isn't bad, except she turns it on... on... gaaah!

Well, since Amuro (MS Gundam) almost all Gundam pilots have had a couple of screws loose (But most of them don't go down to the psychopath/sociopath level) :P , with exceptions being Christine McKenzie (Gundam 0080) and Shiro Amada (MSG: 08th MS Team) being the most level headed, although Shiro was a bit naive at the start, at least in the series released in R1.

Seriously, lying in bed last night I so wanted to strangle her. I kept thinking of Louise and, damn, I think that was the most shocking moment I've seen since a certain other recent Sunrise anime blew us all away. Except that was tragic, this is just senseless slaughter, and so unexpected. And amputation always especially weirds me out.

Its a war against terrorism, we see that all sides can be bloody bastards. (You see it, even if cutting their effectiveness the Sumeragi team tries to keep civilian losses to a bare minimun, the Trinity Siblings are just cold blooded murderers), Gundam 00 does reflect some of the stuff that happens in it's own way.

And Something you should put a spoiler warning on the thread title, as we basically have been very spoilerific in the Gundam 00 Discussion. :crazy:

[something]

Its a war against terrorism, we see that all sides can be bloody bastards. (You see it, even if cutting their effectiveness the Sumeragi team tries to keep civilian losses to a bare minimum, the Trinity Siblings are just cold blooded murderers), Gundam 00 does reflect some of the stuff that happens in it's own way.
The Trinity siblings certainly are a nice twist to the plot, collateral damage aside. Things were interesting enough with watching to see how CB would balance their ideals with the seemingly contradictory actions their goal requires, but now Trinity goes and shoots everything to hell for CB.

They're definitely setting Aeolia up for being less than noble. Eiffman seemed to discover this just before he died - at the hands of Trinity, no less. And since neither Veda nor the Surveyors nor Sumeragi knew anything about the Trinity siblings ahead of time, there aren't too many steps up above them in the Celestial Being ladder. Of course, my guess is that Aeolia is dead and has implanted his consciousness into Veda or something (and so the info could be in hidden segments of Veda that only Nena could access), but we'll see.

As for the presumed "traitor" in CB, Alejandro Corner's pet boy (hasn't been important enough yet for me to remember his name) is made out to look suspicious going by the preview.

[Vicserr]

Episode 15:

- Wooooooow, what the fuck. So the Gundams fall into their trap with the terrorist ploy, and then... shiiiitloads of suits surround Allelujah and Lockon. Talk about ambushed.
- "Five hours" later... So they've just been getting bombed and shot and blasted for five hours now
- "Fifteen hours" ...Hahaha, what, bullshit. I get that the gundams are strong, but 15 hours of bombardment and their suits are intact? And we're supposed to believe that other suits are going to be going one on one with them more in the future?
- Tieria gets vibrated! (<_<) Allelujah captured again... I WANT TO EMBRACE YOU, GUNDAM! AAAAhhahahahaha. So Union gets Lockon, AEU gets Tieria and HRL gets Allelujah. And poor Setsuna is allll alone. aww.
- And, uh, Ali in a flying spider-crab-thing.


As you have stated that That you aren't very familiar with the Gundam Series I'll illustrate this point.

Many of the Alternate Universe Gundams take cues from the Original MS Gundam, the 3 latest Gundam (Seed, Destiny and 00) series have up the ante in that aspect as they run a parallel to those series in a deeper way.

MS Gundam Seed ---> First Gundam
MS Gundam Seed Destiny ---> MS Zeta Gundam
MS Gundam 00 ---> Gundam Wing

Gundam Wing and 00 share Bishie Gundam pilot designs, the discussion of war and peace in the world and the concept of a Gundam as an uber weapon that no conventional force could handle.

In Gundam Wing the Rommefeller Foundation started an all out arms race to bring new Mobile suits to bear on the Gundam Threat (Aries, Taurus, Virgo), something that we have started to see in 00 with the Tieren Sora Custom, Ali's Custom Enact and the Flag Grahan Akre Custom.

With Graham getting some Gundam tech out of Throne Eins that the Union sciencetists can reverse engineer (Billy would be all over it), I can expect a full on arms race between the Union, the AEU and the HRL between Season 1 and 2 for anti Gundam weapons. the fight will definately be on more even footing.

[something]

In Gundam Wing the Rommefeller Foundation started an all out arms race to bring new Mobile suits to bear on the Gundam Threat (Aries, Taurus, Virgo), something that we have started to see in 00 with the Tieren Sora Custom, Ali's Custom Enact and the Flag Grahan Akre Custom. With Graham getting some Gundam tech out of Throne Eins that the Union scientests can reverse engineer (Billy would be all over it), I can expect a full on arms race between the Union, the AEU and the HRL between Season 1 and 2 for anti Gundam weapons. the fight will definately be on more even footing.
(I just changed the subject line a bit to reflect the broader discussion this brings up) I have seen Wing, though long ago. I loved it when I saw it on Toonami, but found it unwatchable when I tried again a few years later when I bought the DVDs. :sd: Maybe I'll try again, but since I'm going to buy the SEED sets, I'll probably spend my time on that instead. Wing is actually the first or second anime I'd ever seen, I think. That or Tenchi, whichever Toonami ran first.

But yeah, I definitely look forward to seeing what Billy and the rest can do when they start nabbing Gundam technology. With Trinity quickly becoming the true villains in this show and a Gundam x Gundam showdown looming, there's no way they'll leave Graham, Soma, and Sergei on the sidelines (nobody cares about Patrick). Billy especially should be motivated as all hell, since he's basically the successor to the murdered Eiffman, and has a good reason to be holding a grudge.

And conveniently, he'll be feeding much of this data to Sumeragi all along the way, as an excuse to see her... oh, unrequited love. It's going to be ugly when he finds out who she is.

Should be interesting to see to what extent the four original Meisters have to team up with the various power blocs to take out the Thrones, or if it just becomes a three way free for all. Or five way, if the blocs start fighting amongst themselves again. Or even more, as various protest movements spring up.

I vote Marina for world dictator for life.

[HitokiriShadow]

We actually get a female Gundam meister, a really feisty and fun one at that, and she turns out to be a complete psychopath. Which in and of itself isn't bad, except she turns it on... on... gaaah!

Right. Psychopaths can be fun characters. But it all depends on exactly who they are psychopathing on. I don't think I hate her quite as much as you since Louise ranked a bit lower for me, but if she had killed Christina or Felt.... I would be boiling over with rage.


Seriously, lying in bed last night I so wanted to strangle her. I kept thinking of Louise and, damn, I think that was the most shocking moment I've seen since a certain other recent Sunrise anime blew us all away. Except that was tragic, this is just senseless slaughter, and so unexpected. And amputation always especially weirds me out.

Death is pretty normal for anime and is immediate, and amnesia or broken limps can be fixed. But loosing a limb (or at least a hand or foot) is irreparable even with the their advanced technology (.... probably) and even with prosthetics, her life will never be the same. It's not something that will eventually be okay and she'll live happily (more or less) ever after. It's permanent and that's why it makes us uncomfortable.

*from previous thread*
It benefits flat users too however by making the "in reply to" trackback useful for once, and by making it less likely someone will fuck up the subject lines.

Exactly. I usually use flat, but its still useful, both for figuring out what exactly is being responded to and for knowing what episode is being discussed (i.e. when someone else is catching up and reacting to events from earlier episodes).

[HitokiriShadow]

The Trinity siblings certainly are a nice twist to the plot, collateral damage aside. Things were interesting enough with watching to see how CB would balance their ideals with the seemingly contradictory actions their goal requires, but now Trinity goes and shoots everything to hell for CB.

The Trinity Siblings have finally made the plot interesting and will, I think, be the catalyst for the other sides finally getting the tech and firepower to fight the Gundams (namely in Gundam pieces falling into heir hands, as I mentioned in the previous thread and Viscerr just mentioned). I had long since grown tired of the Gundams getting so little resistance and the general silliness of the plot and little to make up for it.

They've made it clear since the beginning that CB's ostensible goals are hypocritical and unobtainable. But we spent 15 episodes of them continuing to intervene with little resistence and the CB members remaining deluded and naive. Heck, they are still incredibly naive and deluded as they still believe in their mission and that it was ever achievable.

Now we will finally get fights worth watching (okay, there were a couple before; like, two) and while the preceding ~10 episodes still have major issues and this won't fix much of it, at least there will be enough going on to overlook things.

They're definitely setting Aeolia up for being less than noble. Eiffman seemed to discover this just before he died - at the hands of Trinity, no less. And since neither Veda nor the Surveyors nor Sumeragi knew anything about the Trinity siblings ahead of time, there aren't too many steps up above them in the Celestial Being ladder. Of course, my guess is that Aeolia is dead and has implanted his consciousness into Veda or something (and so the info could be in hidden segments of Veda that only Nena could access), but we'll see.

I've suspected, or at least hoped, since the beginning that CB's goal wasn't really so silly and absurd and I'm glad they are confirming it. I just hope they eventually reveal that the crew of the Ptoleimos didn't actually think they could end war, but at this point, it seems they actually thought they could.

As for the presumed "traitor" in CB, Alejandro Corner's pet boy (hasn't been important enough yet for me to remember his name) is made out to look suspicious going by the preview.

I didn't watch the preview, but I find Alejandro pretty suspicious himself.


I vote Marina for world dictator for life.

I want to like Marina, really, I do, but so far, she's proven to be a waste of space. I'm still trying to figure out how she became leader and what she's actually done. So far, she just sits around feeling sorry for herself and then makes feel-good speeches that don't really do anything. I really want to see her prove herself a worthwhile character and a good ruler, but so far she can't even keep an assassin from walking right into her office.

[something]

Death is pretty normal for anime and is immediate, and amnesia or broken limps can be fixed. But loosing a limb (or at least a hand or foot) is irreparable even with the their advanced technology (.... probably) and even with prosthetics, her life will never be the same. It's not something that will eventually be okay and she'll live happily (more or less) ever after. It's permanent and that's why it makes us uncomfortable.
Exaaaaaaaaactly. The moment Saji saw her, I assumed amnesia. I don't mind that plot device as much as others, but it is certainly easy to fuck up, so I was wary. But thankfully she recognized him.

Then when he tried to give her a present and she hesitated, I thought "Maybe she remembers him but lost some limited amount of memory and doesn't remember she loves him?" But that wasn't the case either.

And then...

;_;

It's still hitting me hard. Even at work I was thinking about it. But that just means Sunrise is doing a damn good job. I think this pretty much seals the deal, I can't wait for DVDs for Geass R2. How much it would fucking suck to have been spoiled on something like this. I'm not going to let that happen with Geass R2, which will undoubtedly have scenes just as surprising (and easily spoilable).

[Lego]

She did just loose her whole family(well most of it), has no hand, and is probably not in the mood to put on a shiny new ring. I imagine they'll hopefully have something later on where those two work through things, remember they do know Setsuna, but it's one of those "no ones safe" moments that few shows have.

Me and you should start some sort of organization for fans watching shows as they air something :grin:

[untoldsorrow]

Oh man, reading something's reaction to episode 18 made my day, lol.

Its great to see that the best pilots are Graham, Soma and Ali. One thing I notice but noone mentioned, what hapened to Ali after Nena shot his Spider mech? He just said "WTF!?" then dissapeared for the whole episode.

And something, I feel ya. I was the same all night trying to sleep, couldn't sleep because I kept thinking of how to kill Nena.

[Vicserr]

Oh man, reading something's reaction to episode 18 made my day, lol.

Its great to see that the best pilots are Graham, Soma and Ali. One thing I notice but noone mentioned, what hapened to Ali after Nena shot his Spider mech? He just said "WTF!?" then dissapeared for the whole episode.

Well, Ali's a merc, Throne Drei just destroyed the Agrissa MA and for him the operation just turned too rich for his blood, so he left... :evil:

And something, I feel ya. I was the same all night trying to sleep, couldn't sleep because I kept thinking of how to kill Nena.


Remind me to keep on your good side. :crazy:

[mikedude]

Damn, episode 18 hit me hard. Louise can never seem to catch a break. She is in serious need of a crazy Luke Skywalker prosthetic hand.

[something]

Damn, episode 18 hit me hard. Louise can never seem to catch a break. She is in serious need of a crazy Luke Skywalker prosthetic hand.
I and some others I've been talking to have considered various solutions. There's the cliche chainsaw or pirate hook, of course. But also Revolver Knuckle (for fans of a different Saitou Chiwa role...)

And my suggestion... Nena's head. It'll be like an extra fucked up Midori no Hibi, except Louise can torture her and slam her into walls and such =D

...But man, I still suddenly start thinking about the "I can't put it on" scene at all random times during the day... even days later. Louise! ;_;

[HitokiriShadow]

A Revolver Knuckle would be pretty cool, but I'd prefer a retractable blade. Or a gun. Regardless, she should get something that will be useful for murder.

[mikedude]

She could always borrow Andy's "hand" from GSD, too.

[masterpez]

[quote=mikedude]
...But man, I still suddenly start thinking about the "I can't put it on" scene at all random times during the day... even days later. Louise! ;_;

I know what you mean. I can't think of any other character that Rie Kugimiya has played that I've hated as much as Nena. She needs to be.....sent to the island of other hated characters with like... Raki (Claymore), Hani Satoru (Shion no Ou), and the 2 idiot brothers from Heroic Age, inwhich case they find out that the island is actually inhabited by yandere characters (the Higurashi and School Days girls, and Asakura Ryoko) who slaughters them all while being moe. And I wouldn't be mad if they made a 1 hour late night tv special out of this.

[Ingraman]

...But man, I still suddenly start thinking about the "I can't put it on" scene at all random times during the day... even days later. Louise! ;_;

So, 00 #18 is going to be one of those episodes that you watch multiple times as you did with Clannad #16? ;p

[something]

So, 00 #18 is going to be one of those episodes that you watch multiple times as you did with Clannad #16? ;p
I've considered rewatching it, but I don't know if I could do it. I've only watched it once so far.

I just want 19+ ASAP

[Ingraman]

So, 00 #18 is going to be one of those episodes that you watch multiple times as you did with Clannad #16? ;p
I've considered rewatching it, but I don't know if I could do it. I've only watched it once so far.

I'll probably rewatch it prior to watching #19, just to reinvigorate my dislike of the bitch. I'm doubtful that anything will happen to her in the next episode, but I'm sure that she'll get what's coming too her eventually. I hope.

I just want 19+ ASAP

Definitely! I only hope that we've seen all of Louise's terrible (mental & physical) injuries; I'm still concerned about the state of her legs, since I don't recall seeing them uncovered or if their shape seemed correct under the bedcovers. <shiver>

[leongsh]

So, 00 #18 is going to be one of those episodes that you watch multiple times as you did with Clannad #16? ;p
I've considered rewatching it, but I don't know if I could do it. I've only watched it once so far.
You should rewatch it to solidify your opinion (and feelings) and for a nice lead-in to Episode 19.

I just want 19+ ASAP
You do not have long to wait. It will be broadcast in Japan in a couple of hours :)

[Vicserr]

The Rundown of Ep 19:

*Setsuna declares the Throne Units as accesories to war and Non-Gundams and engages them.
*As Johann tries to reason with Setsuna, He goes Blade to Blade with Throne Zwei.
*As Exia Deflects most of Zwei's attacts and is about to get skewered with the final GN Fangs, Tieria and Gundam Virtue enter the fray.
*The Crew of the Plotemy and Halleluyah observe the ensuing battle... and a wide shot os Sumeragi's Ass... :virgin:
*Lockon ask for directions, He gets a "Do as you like" from Sumeragi (Someone get Mr Worf in there), Lockon Deploys.
*Tieria and Setsuna are actually using teamwork...
*Johann and Nena prepare the Eins/Drei combo to attack, Tieria stops them....
*It was a trick to put Virtue in a Pincer move
*Tieria Deploys Nadleeh Gundam, it deploys a field that shuts down Throne Eins and Drei.
*Nadleeh's TRIAL System apparently can control Anything under Vader's control, he has Eins and Drei on the ropes...
*Does Alberto have access to the TRIAL system?, it shuts down before Nadleeh can deliver the death blow to Throne Eins, he think is because the areas he is locked out in Vader
*As Nena and Johann are about to jump Tieria, Lockon arrives with Gundam Dynames.
*Johann orders the Throne units to retreat, not before spilling the beans that the have data on Neil Dilandy, Lockon's real name...
*Seems that the Trinity Siblings have more access to Vader than Tieria...
*Johann reveals that a person from the organization that perpetrated the terrorist act that marked Lockon soo deeply is besides him... someone known as Sorun Ibrahim... aka Setsuna.
*As the world powers ponder how to handle 7 Gundam units, someone claiming to be from CB has leaked about the infighting and some other juicy tidbits.
*In Spain, Saji is tending to Louise, She wants him to return to Japan and continue his studies, She doesn't want to drag Saji down, wants him to fulfill her dream, he decides to do so (and she didn't lose her legs in the attack as she watches from her hospital window as he leaves)
*We get a cute Louise montage with a nice song... with her crying in the end as she sees that Saji's gone
*Kinue gets a clue on Lagna, a man know as Lagna Harvey... a very big wig industrialist with control of the Linear trains, loads of $$$ and shareholder of JNN, because of that she's going under with her research.
*As Lockon remembers the events that turned him into a Gundam Meister, the events that turned the Middle East into a cauldron of violence (again) and Setuna's past... He pulls his gun, aims at Setsuna... and Fires!
*Setsuna wasn't hit,, He lost his belief in God, He was forced into that Jihad by Ali, He pledges to continue to eradicate war alongside Lockon,
*Is it me or Tieria just outed himself as a cyborg or android?....
*In Africa the Trinity siblings rest, will ask for directions from Lagna and Michael and Nena can't wait to engage the Gundams again.
*In Antartica, personeel from all 3 super powers witness something truly scary (Are those Nukes?)

*Next Ep: CB Intervention Stage 3 - Get ready... Fight!!!!!!!!!!!

[HitokiriShadow]

I was initially thinking that Setsuna charging the Thrones alone was a stupid decision on CBs part and proof that Sumeragi had no clue what she was doing. Fortunately, they revealed that Setsuna and Tierra were acting alone and that made perfect sense. I think it would have been better for Setsuna to pretend to be an ally and get right next to them rather than reveal himself to be an enemy from afar but Setsuna has never been the sharpest tool in the shed. But it was nice to see Tierra and Setsuna actually use some strategy for a change.

We also finally got a bit more on Lockon's story and it was an interesting little wrinkle. Tierra is slowly becoming likable and I actually kind of like Setsuna a little bit, though his whole "I am Gundam!" thing still makes him seem off his rocker.

All in all, a good episode. And things look to become even more interesting with Corner giving some toys to all the Alliances.


*Is it me or Tieria just outed himself as a cyborg or android?....

I don't recall him saying or doing anything in this episode to 'out' himself, but its been pretty apparent for a while that he is at the very least benefiting from some sort cybernetic enhancements. I highly doubt he's an android, he probably just has something that lets him connect with Veda and maybe some other enhancements that we haven't been clued in about yet.

*In Antartica, personeel from all 3 super powers witness something truly scary (Are those Nukes?)

Nukes wouldn't be terribly useful against the Gundams and I'm sure each group already has plenty. No, I do believe those are mobile suits of some sort, possibly some other type of Gundams, which would give them the ability to actually put up a fight.

[Vicserr]

*Is it me or Tieria just outed himself as a cyborg or android?....

I don't recall him saying or doing anything in this episode to 'out' himself, but its been pretty apparent for a while that he is at the very least benefiting from some sort cybernetic enhancements. I highly doubt he's an android, he probably just has something that lets him connect with Veda and maybe some other enhancements that we haven't been clued in about yet.

Tieria said(at least in the version I'm watching)
"Is this being Human?" so that for me raiser more the bar for Tieria being a cyborg.


*In Antartica, personeel from all 3 super powers witness something truly scary (Are those Nukes?)

Nukes wouldn't be terribly useful against the Gundams and I'm sure each group already has plenty. No, I do believe those are mobile suits of some sort, possibly some other type of Gundams, which would give them the ability to actually put up a fight.

The other thing that crossed my mind was that those were HLV (Heavy Lift Vehiches) ships that could put a whole lot of mecha in orbit. I made the nuke comment because the wars have been kept to a conventional level and those pods sure looked like warheads.

[Jenskot]

*In Antartica, personeel from all 3 super powers witness something truly scary (Are those Nukes?)

Nukes wouldn't be terribly useful against the Gundams and I'm sure each group already has plenty. No, I do believe those are mobile suits of some sort, possibly some other type of Gundams, which would give them the ability to actually put up a fight.

Nope. Those are 30 (most likely Tau-type)GN Drives.

[Vicserr]

*In Antartica, personeel from all 3 super powers witness something truly scary (Are those Nukes?)

Nukes wouldn't be terribly useful against the Gundams and I'm sure each group already has plenty. No, I do believe those are mobile suits of some sort, possibly some other type of Gundams, which would give them the ability to actually put up a fight.

Nope. Those are 30 (most likely Tau-type)GN Drives.

The Scary comment stays.. you can imagine the 3 superpowers with that kind of equipment?...

[HitokiriShadow]

*Is it me or Tieria just outed himself as a cyborg or android?....

I don't recall him saying or doing anything in this episode to 'out' himself, but its been pretty apparent for a while that he is at the very least benefiting from some sort cybernetic enhancements. I highly doubt he's an android, he probably just has something that lets him connect with Veda and maybe some other enhancements that we haven't been clued in about yet.

Tieria said(at least in the version I'm watching)
"Is this being Human?" so that for me raiser more the bar for Tieria being a cyborg.


Ah, right, that. I had forgotten about that and didn't really give it much thought when he said it. I don't know that it quite outs him, but it does give the android theory a lot of credence. He could still be some other sort of modified human though.

[HitokiriShadow]

*In Antartica, personeel from all 3 super powers witness something truly scary (Are those Nukes?)

Nukes wouldn't be terribly useful against the Gundams and I'm sure each group already has plenty. No, I do believe those are mobile suits of some sort, possibly some other type of Gundams, which would give them the ability to actually put up a fight.

Nope. Those are 30 (most likely Tau-type)GN Drives.

Well, its not that far off from giving them mobile suits. It gives them the tech necessary to make Gundam level units or at least close to it.

[something]

Episode 19:

- Oh god, I didn't think it was possible but Setsuna is... awesome right now! Fucking Trinity, trying to say they're allies. Bah! I'll take my lovable fuckup meisters ANY day.
- Tieria and Setsuna working together? Lockon ready for a fight? Shit yes. And Nadleeh has the power to control all suits connected to Veda? Hah, awesome, though Nena messed with Veda at some point so...
- Damn, yeah. So they not only hacked into Veda, they got some personal information on the meisters. And before they run away like the little bitches they are, they rat Setsuna out as a member of the terrorist group that killed Lockon's family. That certainly explains why Lockon had a gun pulled on Setsuna in the preview.
- And just as the main blocs are considering giving in to CB's demands, they hear of the inter-Gundam fighting. Figures :sd:
- LOUISE!!! I LOVE YOU! And while this insert song montage is kinda nice, it also smacks of "Don't expect to see me again any time soon!" I hope that's not the case, but what more role can she really play from here on out? =( At least not until she returns to Japan, if she can. Maybe not until season two... Sigh.
- Oh hell this episode makes me completely giddy. The DRAMA between Lockon and Setsuna was fantastic. And then when Lockon puts the gun away and calls Setsuna a thickheaded Gundam maniac, Setsuna says "Thank you. That's the highest compliment I could hope for," with the closest thing to a smile we've ever seen on his face, and I laughed even harder than Lockon. I'm still laughing as I type this.
- But even better is Tieria's line: "So this is what it's like to be human." HAH! YES! That definitely seems to confirm or really support what we've been thinking.

Awww shit. Something interesting is going to happen soon. Representatives of all three powers gather in Antarctica and are shown something interesting...

I fucking LOVE this show. If this shit keeps up at this level, we're looking at a new second best current running show behind Clannad. It's a really tough call for second among Gundam, Shana, Bamboo and Spicey right now.

[HitokiriShadow]

- LOUISE!!! I LOVE YOU! And while this insert song montage is kinda nice, it also smacks of "Don't expect to see me again any time soon!" I hope that's not the case, but what more role can she really play from here on out? =( At least not until she returns to Japan, if she can. Maybe not until season two... Sigh.

One blog I visit frequently predicts him becoming a Gundam meister. That would certainly make for an interesting return. I'm dont' think I agree with that prediction, but stranger things have happened.


Awww shit. Something interesting is going to happen soon. Representatives of all three powe

Looks like you lost part of your post there.

[something]

One blog I visit frequently predicts him becoming a Gundam meister.
Him = Saji, or did you mean her? While both are amusing thoughts I've entertained before, I agree they're not realistic.

Looks like you lost part of your post there.
Hah, oops. Fixed, wasn't much left anyway.

[HitokiriShadow]

One blog I visit frequently predicts him becoming a Gundam meister.
Him = Saji, or did you mean her? While both are amusing thoughts I've entertained before, I agree they're not realistic.

I meant Saji, though the idea of Louise becoming a Gundam Meister is even more amusing.

[Vicserr]

One blog I visit frequently predicts him becoming a Gundam meister.
Him = Saji, or did you mean her? While both are amusing thoughts I've entertained before, I agree they're not realistic.

I meant Saji, though the idea of Louise becoming a Gundam Meister is even more amusing.


Saji does have access to Setsuna, so I wouldn't blow that as a possible outcome if for example something happened to Kinue, but it's not in the top of my list.

[HitokiriShadow]

I could see them making him a pilot for some reason or another, either to replace an offed Meister in the second season or to get revenge against SB, but I think its unlikely. But like I've said, stranger (and dumber) things have happened in Gundam series before.

[Leon_Belmont]

I could see them making him a pilot for some reason or another, either to replace an offed Meister in the second season or to get revenge against SB, but I think its unlikely. But like I've said, stranger (and dumber) things have happened in Gundam series before.

Indeed, especially since pretty much everyone's predicting his sister to get in over her head and die too. When the meisters eventually go up against a partition of their own backing I could see him becoming a pilot. Gundam series like fives.

[Vicserr]

The action and tension rise as we approach the end of Season 1

Ep 20 Rundown

*Seems that in the 2300, they can regrow limbs, but the effects of the beam weapons used on the resort attack have damaged Louise stem cells beyond repair to regrow her hand.
*Saji is so worked up re reading Loiuse messages on his cel phone that he misses taking the train to the airport.
*Under UN supervision the AEU, The HRL and the Union have signed an alliance to fight CB, known as the UN Army.
*Marina sees the News briefing with apprehention.
*Seems that this development was part of CB's plan.
*Tieria is worried about the Trinity siblings and the Vader tampering.
*Sumeragi calls the team back into Space.
*She plans to deploy the GN Arms (a mobile suit?).
*Billy notifies Graham that The Union has received 10 of the 30 GN Drives and MS and have been assigned to the Overflag pilots, Graham refuses and plans to face the Gundams with a Flag.
*On the HRL side Sergei and Soma are assigned 2 of the alloted 10 GN Drive units.
*As the AEU anti Gundam unit commander ponders to whom she'll give the GN Drive mecha alloted to them, Patrick comes with flowers, and manages to get a "date" with her.
*Ali wants a new GN drive equipped toy, he tries to coerse one out of the President of the Linear Trains aka the controller of the Trinity Siblings.
*Kinue, didn't your parents told you not to take rides with strangers... specially mercs like Ali...
*Ali spills the info about the GN Drives and how he trained Setsuna to be a killer...
*Saji gets to an empty home.
*Ali, you don't mean... You F'ing, F'ing, F'ing F'ing Bastard!!!!!!!
*Alejandro and Livonze depart fron the Union Orbital station looking for something...
*The Trinity Siblings prepare for a new target, but get discovered by Liu Min, she introduces herself...and basically offers them her help.
*Liu Min thinks it's a good idea to help the Trinity team because their actions are changing the world...
*As the Gundams dock with the Plotemy, the Trinity hits the HRL base in Canton.
*The base defenses are sistematically destroyed as the HRL GN Drive mecha arrive, Sergei and Soma make quick work out of Nena and Michael before Johann calls for a withdrawal.
*The Sumeragi team watches from orbit...Now every side is on an even footing...
*Wang Liu Min has made a change for the creepy... why her obsession with changing the world?
*On the Moon, Alejandro and Livonze(who seems to be a cyborg like Tieria) have found Vader's site.

Next time, the UN Army strikes backs against the Gundams and Saji is now alone...

[Lego]

Saji just can't win can he?

[Ingraman]

Saji just can't win can he?

Yeah... It was hard watching the 2nd half of the episode, considering the latest event that he'll soon be dealing with. He's not that interesting a character, but the writers are sure piling it on... Let's see how it goes in the near future.

Was anything left that Setsuna alone might happen to recognize if Saji gets ahold of it? Probably not.

[Lego]

It's semi refreshing for people to have real things happen to him but the poor guy is going to loose it one of these days and when he finds out Setsuna is a pilot...

I'm still liking Graham a lot, hopefully they don't decide to kill him off later..

[Vicserr]

Well, I see it that maybe Setsuna will see Saji like he was when Ali took him, and make him a Gundam Meister (after some internal conflict for both of course) now both have a good reason to see Ali destroyed, or maybe Setsuna will take Saji's cause but that may be stuff for Season 2, because I see a triple threat match between Sumeragi's team, the Trinity Siblings (with Liu Min on their side) and the UN Army.

[StudioZEL]

I'm really feelin' it for Saji... the poor bloke's gonna break, I can feel it.

[something]

Episode 20:

- Oh, fuuuuuuck you, Nena. So we do have regeneration technology in 00, but they can't fucking use it because of radiation damage from the Throne's beam attack. ;_; "I'll catch up to you." Oh god, Louise ;_;
- Ah, and the next phase begins. The three blocs unite, but there's something being left unsaid.
- Also, Tieria is swapping pronouns...
- GN Arms? =D Yay, new toys for the Meisters! And oh shit, those units... GN Drives for the three power blocs. 30 of them. Alejandro, what aaaaaare you up to?
- Graham... Graham is so fucking hardcore. He turns down a GN Drive and uber suit so he can beat Gundams with a normal Flag. Holy shit. I <3 Graham.
- But Soma jumps at the chance, of course. I hope Sergei gets in one too. Or maybe he'll stick to a old grunt =P
- Oh shit, Kathy with her hair down is hot. Yet another yummy Gundam girl. She needs that hair down more often. Her voice still doesn't work for me though. Also, Patrick is hilarious, and he's going to win her over with pure stupidity.
- Shit. Kinue meets Ali, and meeting Ali is never good for anyone. And given all he's telling her in the interview, he seems to have no intention of letting her go.
- ...Holy shit what the fuck? They actually killed (presumably) Kinue? Oh sure I knew she was in deep shit but holy fuck, are you serious? Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn. Short of killing Louise outright now, what the hell else can they do to bring Saji down? Straight up killing him might be a show of kindness right now. God damn.
- Alejandro and Libbons. I still have no idea what their aim is, or even if the share the same one.
- KILL MAIM DESTROY! IT'S THE EVIL BITCH! ANNIHILATE DISMEMBER ERADICATE! Haha oh shit, Liu Mi shows up at Trinity's hideout? She hasn't done much lately, and now she's suddenly... evil! Or leaning strongly that way. If that bitch helps Trinity, then she's next on my shitlist.
- I love how Tieria has changed. Asshole Tieria was good for a laugh, but this new Tieria is a lot easier to actually like.
- HAH! Eat 10 HRL GN drive equipped suits, Trinity bastards! KILL THEM ALL DEAD, SOMA!
- FUCK YES! "This is the first time you've tasted it. The sweet taste of victory." Oh god, Sergei wins so hard.

And then... moon base! And the way Alejandro says it makes me think I was right: Aeolia is the 'brain' within Veda. I also might as well start a countdown to when Libbons kills Alejandro and becomes the main villain. Seriously, they're incapable of having him on screen and NOT zoom in on an evil smirk before moving on. He's totally evil.

So, fucking daaaaaamn. 18 was amazing, 19 was amazing, 20 was amazing. Gundam 00 is amazing. I'm able to narrow down the field of second best ongoing show to this and Spice and Wolf now, pushing Bamboo Blade and Shion no Ou back a bit. And I think I'd actually rank this above Spice and Wolf, if Horo weren't one of the most amazing characters in anime history. Oh, so difficult to choose.

And, wow. Saji. Please, become a Gundam pilot and kill Trinity and Ali and the rest. Pleeeeeeeeease. Talk about being at a "Crossroads"... I mean, seriously.

[HitokiriShadow]

Wow, I can't believe they just offed (probably; that sure looked fatal but you never know) Saji's sister. It really does look like they are prepping him to become a pilot now. He has more than met the angst requirement.

The HRL developed new units a lot quicker than I expected (or is remotely realistic). They got the GN drives and suddenly a couple days later they have 10 units fully operational. Oh well, it makes things more interesting.

And Liu Mi suddenly became much more interesting. Though I'm not sure if I like the direction they are taking her.

Nena: "Hey, attacking from behind is no fair!" Yeah, you're one to talk, bitch.

And then... moon base! And the way Alejandro says it makes me think I was right: Aeolia is the 'brain' within Veda. I also might as well start a countdown to when Libbons kills Alejandro and becomes the main villain. Seriously, they're incapable of having him on screen and NOT zoom in on an evil smirk before moving on. He's totally evil.

Yep. I think Libbons backstabbing Alejandro is a forgone conclusion at this point. "Angel" my ass.

[something]

The HRL developed new units a lot quicker than I expected (or is remotely realistic). They got the GN drives and suddenly a couple days later they have 10 units fully operational. Oh well, it makes things more interesting.
I'd have to check again but I thought Billy said there were suits too, not just drives. He might have mean suits in development but I'm not so sure.

And Liu Mi suddenly became much more interesting. Though I'm not sure if I like the direction they are taking her.
Yeah, she definitely seems like she's being set up going off the deep end and taking a hard fall, probably resulting in her death, at the rate the show is going. She seems to genuinely want the world to be destroyed if it won't change how she wants, so she's gotta have some massssssssive baggage we haven't seen yet.

[HitokiriShadow]

The HRL developed new units a lot quicker than I expected (or is remotely realistic). They got the GN drives and suddenly a couple days later they have 10 units fully operational. Oh well, it makes things more interesting.
I'd have to check again but I thought Billy said there were suits too, not just drives. He might have mean suits in development but I'm not so sure.

I thought he just said they had more work do to due to the GN Drives arriving. I don't feel like going back to check and it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that they have mobile suits that can actually put up a fight against the Gundams.

And Liu Mi suddenly became much more interesting. Though I'm not sure if I like the direction they are taking her.
Yeah, she definitely seems like she's being set up going off the deep end and taking a hard fall, probably resulting in her death, at the rate the show is going. She seems to genuinely want the world to be destroyed if it won't change how she wants, so she's gotta have some massssssssive baggage we haven't seen yet.

Seems that way. If she does go into "Destroy the World" mode, her odds of survival drop drastically. She could learn of the good in humanity and live happily ever after or something after everything is finished, but odds are better that she learns that as she's bleeding to death.

[Vicserr]

The HRL developed new units a lot quicker than I expected (or is remotely realistic). They got the GN drives and suddenly a couple days later they have 10 units fully operational. Oh well, it makes things more interesting.
I'd have to check again but I thought Billy said there were suits too, not just drives. He might have mean suits in development but I'm not so sure.

I thought he just said they had more work do to due to the GN Drives arriving. I don't feel like going back to check and it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that they have mobile suits that can actually put up a fight against the Gundams.

If I understood correctly, each side received 10 suits and 10 GN drives, with the speed of deployment each side just had a chance to customize the color of the armor.

And Liu Mi suddenly became much more interesting. Though I'm not sure if I like the direction they are taking her.
Yeah, she definitely seems like she's being set up going off the deep end and taking a hard fall, probably resulting in her death, at the rate the show is going. She seems to genuinely want the world to be destroyed if it won't change how she wants, so she's gotta have some massssssssive baggage we haven't seen yet.

Seems that way. If she does go into "Destroy the World" mode, her odds of survival drop drastically. She could learn of the good in humanity and live happily ever after or something after everything is finished, but odds are better that she learns that as she's bleeding to death.

Yeah, the skeletons in Liu Min's closet just became more interesting....

[HitokiriShadow]

The HRL developed new units a lot quicker than I expected (or is remotely realistic). They got the GN drives and suddenly a couple days later they have 10 units fully operational. Oh well, it makes things more interesting.
I'd have to check again but I thought Billy said there were suits too, not just drives. He might have mean suits in development but I'm not so sure.

I thought he just said they had more work do to due to the GN Drives arriving. I don't feel like going back to check and it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that they have mobile suits that can actually put up a fight against the Gundams.

If I understood correctly, each side received 10 suits and 10 GN drives, with the speed of deployment each side just had a chance to customize the color of the armor.


That sounds reasonable enough. I was under the impression they just got the GN units and that's why Billy had a lot of work to do (forget the saber, he had a whole new suit to develop!) but that makes a lot more sense.



Now some general thoughts on where the series is going:

At the beginning, I figured Saji was going to befriend Setsuna and help humanize him or otherwise influence him. Obviously, that hasn't happened. Between what happened to Louise and what happened in episode, Saji is well on his way to becoming an angsty mecha pilot. I think Louise's odds of survival past this season are low. I think odds are high we will see Saji piloting a Gundam next season.

Survival odds for first season:
Saji: 99%
Louise: 10%


Up to this point, Liu Mi has done very little and has mainly been eye candy. This episode finally changes that a bit and she suddenly became much more interesting. Odds of surviving the first season: 99%

Libbons will eventually backstab Alejandro. The only question is whether it will happen this season or next. At this point, we know very little about him and I don't think he'll go until we know about his past and motives. But they could easily fit that into the next few episodes. If we get a bunch of revelations on his past in the next episode or two, he's pretty much guaranteed to bite the bullet this season. Otherwise, he'll continue to be played by Libbons during the second season.

Survival (this season/second season)
Alejandro: 50%/1%
Libbons: 90%/1%

At least one of the thrones will die this first season. I would be really surprised if all three survived. I think there is a decent chance at least one will survive and play some role in the second season though. Exactly what role they'll play in the remainder of this season and whether they'll get taken down by the original Gundams or the alliance's new suits, I'm not sure.

Michael (crazy one): 20%
Johan: 50%
Nena: 50%

I think the Ptolemy or whatever it is will get taken down in the climactic battle of this season. This will mean the Meisters have no place to go and will be split up at the beginning of Part 2. Setsuna will obviously take refuge in Marina's kingdom. No idea where the others will go, though I suspect that won't be an issue for H/Allelujah. Between getting basically all of his backstory and issues dealt with in this season and him having a glaring weakness against Soma, his odds of survival for this season are low. Plus, while the others have begun to develop some camaraderie, he's up chilling by himself on the Ptolemy. If any of the Meisters are going to die in the first season, it will probably be him. It's entirely possible they would off Lockon or Tierra instead (or none of them) but I figure he has the lowest odds of surviving.

Setsuna: 100%
Lockon: 90%
Tierra: 90%
H/Alleluja: 40%

Even if the Ptolemy goes down, I figure most or all of the crew will survive.
Sumeragi: 90%
Christina: 90%
Felt: 90%
Tech oji-san: 99%
nameless guys no one cares about: 80%

Speaking of Marina, her sole purpose in this season seems to be to give Setsuna somewhere to go in part 2. She has done virtually nothing so far and I don't see her doing anything for the remainder of part 1. Odds of survival for part 1: 100%

The various minor characters from each group is a bit harder to call. Graham may die eventually but I figure he has pretty good odds of surviving this season. He's too much of a bad ass to go down now. Billy has the advantage of being a non-combatant, so while he is by no means guaranteed survival, he will probably at least survive part 1. I would be very surprised if Patrick dies since he's such a joke. I'm less sure on Soma and her commander. Soma will probably survive until part 2, but I can see her commander sacrificing himself to save her here near the end of part one. I'm really not sure on Ali. On the one hand, he's a major antagonist for Setsuna. On the other hand, that's a ghost of the past for Setsuna to overcome in the first half and then giving him something else to deal with in the second half (like pondering the meaning of life after his CB group goes down).

Graham: 90%/50%
Graham's Flag buddy: 50%/10%
Billy: 90%/50%
Patrick: 99%/99%
Patrick's commander: 80%/80%
Soma: 90%/50%
Soma's comander: 50%/50%
Ali: 30%/0%

[distantmantra]

I just finished watching episode 21....

NOOOOO!!!!

[Lego]

I just finished watching episode 21....

NOOOOO!!!!

Browsing the 2chan thread looks like Marina had some screentime, Marina is the win.

[distantmantra]

I just finished watching episode 21....

NOOOOO!!!!

Browsing the 2chan thread looks like Marina had some screentime, Marina is the win.

Marina wasn't in it much, but she was there.

Mizushima sure is channeling good ol' Kill 'Em All Tomino. The shit hits the fan even more so in episode 21.... :-(

[Vicserr]

Mizushima sure is channeling good ol' Kill 'Em All Tomino. The shit hits the fan even more so in episode 21.... :-(

Channeling "Kill 'Em All" Tomino is a scary proposition indeed...

[Lego]

Well it sure is happening, Saji is going to loose it soon with all of this death around him. Not to mention Lockon...

[leongsh]

Mizushima sure is channeling good ol' Kill 'Em All Tomino. The shit hits the fan even more so in episode 21.... :-(

Channeling "Kill 'Em All" Tomino is a scary proposition indeed...
I was hoping for that, i.e. channelling "Kill 'Em All" Tomino :D :D :D When done right, it makes for great drama. Unfortunately, it's also a very risky proposition as it can become overdone so easily and become a trainwreck (you'll still get a lot of people watching to gawk at it).

[HitokiriShadow]

Please discuss episode 21 material in a new episode 21 sub-thread, not the episode 20 subthread.

[Vicserr]

Ep 21 RunDown:

*Very bad start... In an HRL city, Saji has to ID Kinue's corpse, of course he goes to pieces :cry:
*Alejandro and Livonze explore Vader's core, Livonze will try to interface with Vader, Alberto is salivating with anticipation...
*The Sumeragi team checks out the new suits
*The Trinity siblings appears to have been cut of from Laguna
*Alejandro got sone info that Laguna sold the GN-X units... seems he has just joined Alejandro's hit list
*Graham's 2nd in command (Darly Dodge) has the displeasure of meeting Patrick and Capt.Kathy Manekin of the AEU taskforce, who is in command of the joint op, Patrick is on her beck and call (what did She do to him on the date? )
*As Felt and Christina work on severing the Sumeragi team Gundams from Vader, Sumeragi opened her liquor case for the girls
*Tieria and Lockon discuss how they'll work without Vader, Tieria almost outs himself...
*Setsuna daydreams of a bright future without war with Marina.... how cute!
*Somebody gave away the Trinity Siblings position, as their base in Africa gets hit by the HRL UN Army unit
*Laguna Harvey's blood stains his desk, was it murder?
*The girls manage to sever the Gundam's connection to Vader... and are dead tired
*An UN Army Mech (joint Union/AEU)team is heading toward the Plotemy, they barely got detected
*The Gundams deploy to intercept
*In Tokyo, Saji goes over Kinue's belongings, He remembers a conversation with a coworker of Kinue, he reveals she was working on Aeolia Schenberg when Saji says that he knew her death was no accident.
*The battle is joined as the Gundams engage the UN Strike team
*They're barely holding their own and suddenly they shut down...
*Alejandro and Livonze are the cause, Vader has interfered with the Gundam systems!....
*Sumeragi orders the girls to activate the Gundam's Stand-Alone system
*Setsuna does not want to give up the fight yet, as he daydreams of Marina
*All Gundams, except Virtue power up
*Patrick goes for the easy kill and goes for Virtue...
*Lockon shots at him, he misses, in desesperation he puts Dynames between Patrick and Tieria, His Gundam gets impaled in Patrick's beam saber
*As Dynames floats away smoking, Patrick attacks Virtue, but gets intercepted by a blast from GN Arms
*Lockon has been gravely injured
*Alejandro ponders the Strategies of Sumeragi
*Sumeragi orders the retrieval of Dynames and Virtue
*The Three Superpowers want further analysis of the fake solar furnaces, chances of Mass Producing the Mecha and a press conference... THE ERA OF GUNDAM IS OVER!!!!!!

*Next a new age of chaos begins!!!!!

And if the mods could cut and paste the ep 21 comment to this thread,from this post (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showpost.php?pid/654078/) (if possible)

[Immortal1982]

It can't be "Kill em all" until he viciously murders a child onscreen. Even Gundam SEED did that with the little flower girl during the escape to earth.

[something]

Thanks for the subject line warning about the incorrectly posted ep 21 stuff, HtitokiriShadow. Viewing in threaded, I saw it as a reply in the ep 20 subthread. I was going to read the ep 20 posts I'd missed in the last week and a half or os, but that thankfully saved me from potentially spoiling myself.

Please, people, when you post about a new episode and nobody else has yet, please respond to the top/root post and change your subject line!

With that out of the way, various thoughts on...

Episode 21:

- Damn, Saji. What malignant gods did you piss off? Seeeeriously. Poor guy...
- Heh, Patrick you whipped little douche. American dude ought to kick your ass. Nobody insults Graham. But man, black American pilot is so very toast. So is Alejandro, because characters who are members of long lived prestegious families who have waited hundreds of years working behind the shadows for some world-shaking event ALWAYS die.
- Oh god, Felt laughed and smiled and blushed. She's been worfully underused since that scene with Lockon. I hope much more happens with her in season two.
- "Lockon, do you know about me?" ...damn Allelujah interrupts. and I really want to see what this huge mistake Sumeragi made was.
- Marina <3 In... Setsuna's dream or something? And now he's having second thoughts...
- Sergei and Soma, CRUSH THE THRONES! Too bad the HRL loses one of its pseudo-Gundams already. And uh, Lagna is dead! Who killed him... Liu Mi? Trinity themselves?
- 19 pseudo-gundams vs Ptolemy o_O So who exactly is selling them out? Alejandro? Libbons? Did they find them on their own?
- Wooo, that was a very good battle. And good on Sumeragi, planning a backup system in advance. Still one step ahead of Corner... barely. I laughed at the unimportant Ptolmey dude saving the meisters' asses. Also, I love when Setsuna just keeps pulling out sword after sword XD
- But shit man, LOCKON STRATOSSSSS! And what was up with Tieria?

And so the Gundam advantage is finally gone. What will you do now, CB?

Good episode! But there's no way Lockon can die. He must marry Felt! I will accept no less!

[HitokiriShadow]

Thanks for the subject line warning about the incorrectly posted ep 21 stuff, HtitokiriShadow. Viewing in threaded, I saw it as a reply in the ep 20 subthread. I was going to read the ep 20 posts I'd missed in the last week and a half or os, but that thankfully saved me from potentially spoiling myself.

Glad to be of service. Obviously, they are safe to read now, but if you didn't, at least read this post (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/28741/pid/654078/#654078) (shameless self promotion alert) as its relevant to more than just that episode or the next one.


- Damn, Saji. What malignant gods did you piss off? Seeeeriously. Poor guy...

The odds of him somehow obtaining a mobile suit and becoming vengeance incarnate in the second half of the series are rising drastically. Louise's survival odds also dropped significantly. Sunrise wants to make Saji suffer, and I think Louise's death will be used to break him.

But man, black American pilot is so very toast.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Being black (particularly as a minor character) in an anime filled with violence and death does not bode well for one's survival. I'm particularly cynical with Gundam as I recently watched Gundam F91 (what a mess that was) and who is the one kid that dies, in the first 10 minutes no less? The black kid. There were like 8 kids and he was the only one that gets offed.

- Oh god, Felt laughed and smiled and blushed. She's been worfully underused since that scene with Lockon. I hope much more happens with her in season two.

The (Gundam 00) world desperately needs more Felt.

- "Lockon, do you know about me?" ...damn Allelujah interrupts. and I really want to see what this huge mistake Sumeragi made was.

Drinking on the job?

Who killed him... Liu Mi? Trinity themselves?

While Trinity had a head up on the attackers, they didn't seem to be expecting them and were surprised that they were found. They blamed him for selling them out but probably weren't aware he was dead. Liu Mi or her servant (more likely the latter) are a possibility, but I think it was more likely Ali or some random agent at the behest of Alejandro.

- 19 pseudo-gundams vs Ptolemy o_O So who exactly is selling them out? Alejandro? Libbons? Did they find them on their own?

Alejandro and Libbons, I'd imagine. While Libbons will almost certainly backstab Alejandro, they are still working together at the moment, so if Libbons did it, it would have been by Alejandro's orders. And Alejandro clearly wants to see both CB groups go down right now.


Good episode! But there's no way Lockon can die. He must marry Felt! I will accept no less!


If he had actually died, the stabbing would have been handled differently and it would have been very clear that it was fatal. The beam saber would have either gone through the cockpit or there would have been a massive explosion (or both). It would have been clearly fatal. Probably. Based on how it all went down and the reactions afterwards, everything points to him being injured rather than dead.

[something]

Glad to be of service. Obviously, they are safe to read now, but if you didn't, at least read this post (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/21/tid/28741/pid/654078/#654078) (shameless self promotion alert) as its relevant to more than just that episode or the next one.
Yeah, that one I read last week (good analysis btw, I think I agree with most of it), I just passed on everything from distantmantra's post on since that was apparently the 21-in-20 stuff.

The odds of him somehow obtaining a mobile suit and becoming vengeance incarnate in the second half of the series are rising drastically.
Part of me just kinda thinks he'll follow in his father's and Kinue's footsteps and turn to investigation, but given that he'd probably be clumsy as hell at it, maybe Gundam meister is more realistic. Somehow :sd:

Louise's survival odds also dropped significantly. Sunrise wants to make Saji suffer, and I think Louise's death will be used to break him.
I'll be forced to strangle and dismember (not necessarily in that order) whoever is responsible for that if it happens. But yeah, if he needs another push... he's got nothing else left to lose >_<

Liu Mi or her servant (more likely the latter) are a possibility, but I think it was more likely Ali or some random agent at the behest of Alejandro.
I considered Ali, but I wasn't sure if Ali had gotten everything from Harvey that he needed yet. But if he did, then I can certainly see him offing him.

Alejandro and Libbons, I'd imagine.
One of the casualties of typing while I watch, I don' go back and answer my own questions all the time. But it was definitely those two selling them out, I'd say.

If he had actually died, the stabbing would have been handled differently and it would have been very clear that it was fatal.
Right, I don't think he's dead at all. But how intact he is is another question. I can't see it being terribly incapacitating this early on though, he's too awesome a meister to try and off now.

[HitokiriShadow]

Part of me just kinda thinks he'll follow in his father's and Kinue's footsteps and turn to investigation, but given that he'd probably be clumsy as hell at it, maybe Gundam meister is more realistic. Somehow :sd:

Continuing the investigation is certainly more realistic on some levels. The big question is, how much does Sunrise care about keeping it realistic? I think they are far more interested in the drama than realism. Of course, there are other ways to direct Saji's anger or get him involved.



I considered Ali, but I wasn't sure if Ali had gotten everything from Harvey that he needed yet. But if he did, then I can certainly see him offing him.

Given that the GX units have already gone out (and notice that the Union/AEU alliance only had 19 units...), he probably already got it so I don't think that would be a hold up for Ali. However, I figure that its most likely just some random agents that offed Lagan, much like that guy Saji's sister interviewed about the Thrones. It just doesn't seem like something that needed any specific story characters to have done it. If Ali has actually been in contact with Alejandro and Libbons, perhaps he did it, but at this point we have no evidence that he has been, so I think even the odds of him having done it are pretty low.

Right, I don't think he's dead at all. But how intact he is is another question. I can't see it being terribly incapacitating this early on though, he's too awesome a meister to try and off now.

I think he's going to loose all of his limbs and become a limbless amnesiac cancer-infested (damn those red beam weapons) cyborg reverse-trap little sister to Tierra.

[Vicserr]

Part of me just kinda thinks he'll follow in his father's and Kinue's footsteps and turn to investigation, but given that he'd probably be clumsy as hell at it, maybe Gundam meister is more realistic. Somehow :sd:

Continuing the investigation is certainly more realistic on some levels. The big question is, how much does Sunrise care about keeping it realistic? I think they are far more interested in the drama than realism. Of course, there are other ways to direct Saji's anger or get him involved.

I see Saji maybe taking a little of both paths... maybe investigate enough to get involved in the plot and Setsuna bringing him to the road of Gundam Meister.


I considered Ali, but I wasn't sure if Ali had gotten everything from Harvey that he needed yet. But if he did, then I can certainly see him offing him.

Given that the GX units have already gone out (and notice that the Union/AEU alliance only had 19 units...), he probably already got it so I don't think that would be a hold up for Ali. However, I figure that its most likely just some random agents that offed Lagan, much like that guy Saji's sister interviewed about the Thrones. It just doesn't seem like something that needed any specific story characters to have done it. If Ali has actually been in contact with Alejandro and Libbons, perhaps he did it, but at this point we have no evidence that he has been, so I think even the odds of him having done it are pretty low.

Probably an Agent of Alejandro offed Laguna, he wa rather pissed off that He sold the GX-units and quite probably handed one to Ali.

Right, I don't think he's dead at all. But how intact he is is another question. I can't see it being terribly incapacitating this early on though, he's too awesome a meister to try and off now.

I think he's going to loose all of his limbs and become a limbless amnesiac cancer-infested (damn those red beam weapons) cyborg reverse-trap little sister to Tierra.

Maybe be off the loop for the remaider of the season, so it will be the 3 remaining Gundams VS the UN Army and we didn't find ouf if the Thrones escaped the HRL UN Army unit...

[HitokiriShadow]

I considered Ali, but I wasn't sure if Ali had gotten everything from Harvey that he needed yet. But if he did, then I can certainly see him offing him.

Given that the GX units have already gone out (and notice that the Union/AEU alliance only had 19 units...), he probably already got it so I don't think that would be a hold up for Ali. However, I figure that its most likely just some random agents that offed Lagan, much like that guy Saji's sister interviewed about the Thrones. It just doesn't seem like something that needed any specific story characters to have done it. If Ali has actually been in contact with Alejandro and Libbons, perhaps he did it, but at this point we have no evidence that he has been, so I think even the odds of him having done it are pretty low.

Probably an Agent of Alejandro offed Laguna, he wa rather pissed off that He sold the GX-units and quite probably handed one to Ali.


Alejandro wasn't pissed, that was exactly what he wanted Laguna to do, and once he did that, he had no more use for him because that was the end of his role in Alejandro's plans.

[something]

I see Saji maybe taking a little of both paths... maybe investigate enough to get involved in the plot and Setsuna bringing him to the road of Gundam Meister.
Without pointing out specific examples (I've only seen Wing, but just bought SEED, and may eventually get into other Gundam and so wouldn't want to know ahead of time), is it really common that characters with absolutely no military experience, or anything even resembling a useful ability for piloting (besides angst) often wind up becoming pilots?

Because I agree with everyone that meister Saji would be amusing, but I'm stuck by how convinced Gundam fans (not just here, people outside AOD too) are that Saji will indeed become a meister, and perhaps an elite one at that. I certainly think it's possible, but they'll have a tough time making selling it as a realistic turn of events. It's just... so not Saji. But of course I'm sure he can have some sort of latent ability hiding under his goofy exterior or something :sd:

[Vicserr]

I say it because of the 2nd season mechanic, no normal person can pilot a Gundam out of the blue, Saji is an engineering student, so the mechanical inclination is there, if Saji gets "drafted" before the end of the season or between seasons and if there is enough of a time lapse between the seasons, say 6 months to a year in series time, I don't see why not. because I don't think Saji is just in the series to be a punching bag.... :crazy:

[leongsh]

Episode 22 throws in another couple of twists into the mix and to throw some people for a curve.

Arising from the end of Episode 21, we know that Lockon is injured but how bad? I wonder whether he will still use that name considering as a sniper he lost his dominant eye (just to be on the safe side).

There's more doublecrossing in this episode resulting in certain casualties but not the one which would have had something and a few others get their fervent wish fulfilled ;)

By the end of it, Veda or rather Aeolia Schenberg strikes back. The immediate result of this on the Celestial Being Gundams is sort of expected if you have watched enough of these kind of shows.

[something]

Saji is an engineering student [snip]if Saji gets "drafted" before the end of the season or between seasons and if there is enough of a time lapse between the seasons, say 6 months to a year in series time, I don't see why not.
Ah, two good points. Plus it's his dream to go int space anyway. A time skip between seasons would definitely help, though that does mean he needs to get more intimately "involved" by episode 25, at least in terms of being recruited by one side or another.

[HitokiriShadow]

I'm not necessarily "convinced" he'll become a pilot, though it seems like a good possibility, but if he does, I'm assuming there will be a timeskip of at least a couple months. Regardless of what Saji's going to do, I've figured there is a good possibility of a time skip between seasons.

[Lego]

I'm not necessarily "convinced" he'll become a pilot, though it seems like a good possibility, but if he does, I'm assuming there will be a timeskip of at least a couple months. Regardless of what Saji's going to do, I've figured there is a good possibility of a time skip between seasons.

Saji has experienced so much crap I expect him to loose it once or twice as a pilot. Just imagine when he'll eventually comes across Nena.

[untoldsorrow]

Episode 22 throws in another couple of twists into the mix and to throw some people for a curve.

Arising from the end of Episode 21, we know that Lockon is injured but how bad? I wonder whether he will still use that name considering as a sniper he lost his dominant eye (just to be on the safe side).

There's more doublecrossing in this episode resulting in certain casualties but not the one which would have had something and a few others get their fervent wish fulfilled ;)

By the end of it, Veda or rather Aeolia Schenberg strikes back. The immediate result of this on the Celestial Being Gundams is sort of expected if you have watched enough of these kind of shows.


Well, 22 was a fun episode to fun. Too bad none of us got our wish for a certain Trinity member. I once again will say this, I love this show because the gundam pilots suck at big time even compared to soldier A and B. I can't wait to see the next few episodes till the season finale, wonder how they will end it.

[HitokiriShadow]

Well that was interesting. I was expecting the Trinity group to last another episode or two before going down and I certainly wasn't expecting it to happen that way. I looks like I was right to put Nena's odds a bit higher than the others; she at least outlasted her "siblings." Also, I think the odds that Ali killed Lagna just skyrocketed.

Some of the plot developments were a bit silly, namely the convenient timing of Setsuna's power boost and how insane it was. Also, if Alejandro wanted to use CB as his deterrent... why did he deactivate them? It certainly looks like he's the one that's trying to have the CB destroyed. Unless that was intentional misdirection.

And I'm glad to see that Lockon only lost one eye. While it seemed unlikely to be true, I accidentally read a spoiler that Lockon became blind after the attack. I'd also like to take this chance to say how much I hatehatehatehate Newtype Japan's articles that give spoilers far in advance of the actual show, people's need to post these in threads about the shows, and people's inability to give any indication that they are being asshats and spoiling things for episodes that haven't even aired yet.

[something]

Episode 22:

- Lockon! ;_; He's going to be out of action for three weeks. Or would be if he wasn't all hardcore awesome and willing to skip treatment. Also, a crying transgendered cyborg Tieria is fine too.
- I love the OP more each time. But it always, always reminds me of Louise. Oh Louise...
- Heh, Falling Angels, what a perfect name for taking down a Celestial Being.
- OH GOD FELT SPEAKS! Well, in her head! She's worried about Lockon... that is so cute. They must get married. Now. Or else. She also seems to figure out Tieria is not quite human. I wonder who else knows?
- Also, I love the new dynamic surrounding Tieria, especially with Lockon. And hearing Tieria apologize was so weird.
- FELT FELT FELT FELLLLT!!!!!
- Fuck you Nena, you can go suck on a "sweet" grenade, you incomparable shit-eating WHORE!
- HAH! SUCK IT, NENA! SOMA FTW! I love the comments from the viewers too. Marina glad it's not Setsuna. Angry Saji saying "Die, Gundam!" Yessssssss!
- So, time for CB to face the possibility that they only exist to be destroyed. In their annihilation, the world will unite. Seems like such a shortsighted plan, if that's really what Aeolia planned.
- Also, Lasse is SO toast. A character as minor as him doesn't go on a dangerous mission in place of a main character and expect to easily survive.
- HOLY SHIT SUDDENLY I LOVE ALI! Oh wait, he did kind of kill Kinue. Damnit, well, I love AND hate him? Ok, I'll hate him again after he fucks up Trinity. EAT DEATH, MICHAEL! WHAHAHAHAHAH!
- Oh my god oh my god oh my god, the look of fear and sadness and pain on their faces is fucking EROTIC. EAT DEATH, JOHANN OF THE SILLY PANTS! WAAHHAAHAHAHA!
- But fuck, what, why did Setsuna save Nena?! He didn't seem to know exactly what was going on though.
- Veda level 7 clear, Alejandro about to kill Aeolia and fulfill his dream. Except Libbons is totally gonna...
- Oh snap, I thought he was going to off Alejandro, but no such thing. Aeolia outsmarts them all, and GN DRIVE, UNLOCK! ::imagines Sestuna doing Shugo Chara's Hinamori Amu's hand motions before she transforms:: And he gets all, uh, SUPER GUNDAM! Or, SETSUNA IS TRANS-AM!

Saji descends into hatred and madness. Setsuna goes uber-Gundam. Tieria is moe, Lockon is awesome, Felt better marry Lockon soon or I'm going to make her mai waifu, Allelujah is... uhhhh... ok so he's not so interesting. About the only thing I've been lacking lately is my beloved binbou-hime.

But best of all, can you taste the despair, Nena? The sadness? Cry! Cry and mourn, let me hear wailing and gnashing of teeth! Drown in the darkest depths of the horror and pain you inflicted upon Saji and Louise. You worthless bitch, you pathetic puppet of those pulling your strings. Muhahaha. You deserve it all.

I don't know how it tastes for you, Nena, but for me it's absolutely delicious. My only fear is that Nena will somehow survive the whole series now that they've taken everything away from her. Like, we'll get to a point where Saji can kill her, but in sparing her, will bring himself back from the brink of insanity... or whatever.

This series is absurdly epic. Without a doubt the second best show runing now, and it's not even half over.

[Vicserr]

The Run Down on ep 22

*Leass brings the GN Arms to the Plotemaus
*Even badly hurt Lockon wants to keep on fighting
*Tieria feels bad becuse Lockon got hurt because of him because he lost his link to Vada
*As the UN Army announces their Anti Gundam OP "Fallen Angels" Graham awaits for Billy to modify his Flag to use a GN Drive
*The HRL UN Army Unit recharges and goes for another Gundam Anniolation mission
*Dynames is basically scrap until they can replace the torso unit
*Felt watches Herloc... Lockon as he tries to get Tieria out of his funk, She wants some of that Lockon love
*The Trinity Siblings are on the run,and with the UN Army unit on top of them...They barely have any power left to fight
*Sergei has trained his unit well, as they fend of the Thrones' attacks
*Saji bloodlust is rising
*Marina watches the battle on TV, she's glad Setsuna is not involved in the current conflict
*Johann orders a retreat, Soma want to take them out but Sergei holds her off, he knows that the Thrones GN Drives are almost out of juice
*As Livonse clears Vada's sixth level, Alejandro salivates with the upcoming end of the Thrones
*The Sumeragi team discuss if their destruction was part of the Celestial Being plan, Setsuna wants to go down to Earth, Leass offers to go with the GN Arms to back him up and do some tests, Sumeragi has a plan all ready for him and his quest
*The AEU detects the Combat Container re-entry, Capt.Kathy Manekin prepares to intercept
*In a deserted island, Ali meets the Trinity siblings, as he announces that he killed Laguna, He Kills Michael and Shoots Johann
*He lets Johann board Throne Eins and as He and Nena in the Throne Drei lift up, Ali attacks them with the Throne Zwei!!!!, Ali has access to Vada!!!!
*Throne Eins is destroyed and as Ali is about to deal to Nena the death blow... Setsuna Arrives with the Exia, He is surprised to find Ali in a Gundam
*Livonse clears Vada level 7, a stasis pod rises with Aeolia Schenberg inside?!
*OMG!! Alejandro plans to kill him!!!!
*Seems Mr. Schenberg was prepared for somebody trying that stunt...
*Setsuna and Ali go all out, in a battle of ideals and Gundams, Ali is on top of the fight until...
*Exia gets a power boost and proceeds to kick Ali's Butt!!!
*Nena is in Shock
*Mr. Schenberg Final Legacy to his dream, he has granted The GN Drive Gundams full use of its powers to bring true peace to the world, the Trans AM system

*Next Episode: The UN Army Hunt for the Gundams goes all out

This episode was fullof awesome, and very epic... The Road to Ep 25 will be a thrill ride!!!!

[leongsh]

Oh, what a fun episode Episode 23 turned out to be.

I can just hear the joyful "Mwhahaha"s of those who want Nena to suffer despair as they have a shot of her sobbing in despair in her Gundam Throne Drei.

For those who want mecha action - there's lots in this episode. The combined GN-X units used by the tri-partite forces now make an assault on the Celestial Being Gundam units. Before then, when the Trans-Am power-up was initiated in Exia, details about the system were released to the Celestial Being command ship. So, now they have knowledge of it and how to access it.

Frenzied action with Allelujah and Tieria going out first. Lockon was initially prevented from going out but eventually he got permission to do so. Gary Beard alias Ali al-Sarches joins the fight too as part of AEU with his captured Gundam Throne Zwei.

As the battle comes to an end, Lockon goes after Ali and an intense fight is engaged. The outcome? No spoilers - just watch.



p.s.
But if you wish to peek... Haro: Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon..

[mikedude]

p.s.
But if you wish to peek... Haro: Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon.. Lockon..


Oh, how this show toys with my emotions! That is the closest I've gotten to tearing up watching Gundam like.. ever.

[Lego]

Poor Lockon, at least I still have Graham.

[untoldsorrow]

Poor Lockon, at least I still have Graham.


That was by farone of the best episode in 00 so far. That song that came up when the fighting started was epic :notworthy: .

Poor Felt... I wonder if Lockon's twin brother will become the next pilot. I had a feeling as I was watching this episode that someone was going to die...just didnt expect this outcome. I am sad now...

[Lego]

Time for him to take Lockon's place, I can smell it coming a mile away, that or cabbage..

[Dagger]

God, that was epically amazing. I can't lie; I shed tears at the end.

As someone who's not particularly loyal to any of the earlier series (although I quite liked what I saw of Turn A), I'm flat-out enjoying 00 more and getting more engaged with it than I ever expected to. It was a slow burn toward the beginning, but things keep paying off in episode after episode now.

[something]

Episode 23:

- Ah so the Trans-am system does have major limitations. Not only is it limited, capabilities drop below normal after it runs out.
- Lockon is locked-in! Let him have his Gundam! Still, this gives Tieria a chance to redeem herhimself.

@#*(!&!@(*# I have nothing more to say about this episode but:
1) Awesome action just about nonstop
2) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck~~~~~~~~

Oh god, an entire second season without the best Meister >_< But god damn he went out nicely. "Are you all satisfied with this world? ...I'm not."

;_; Now I worry about Felt ;_;

[HitokiriShadow]

Well, Fuck. So much for my prediction that H/Allelujah would be the first one to go. They just offed Lockon, my favorite meister. At least he got to be a badass death scene. I almost cried.

But its worth noting we never saw the body get consumed by the fire or destroyed in any way. And the first season is, almost shockingly, lacking the Gundam Masked Man. If one suddenly pops up in part 2, I think there is a very, very good chance it will be Lockon.

[leongsh]

But its worth noting we never saw the body get consumed by the fire or destroyed in any way. And the first season is, almost shockingly, lacking the Gundam Masked Man. If one suddenly pops up in part 2, I think there is a very, very good chance it will be Lockon.
I seriously hope that they do not pull that stunt yet again. As it's usually done to characters that the fans have been led to respect, it cheapens the character, the death and the whole show. Lockon went with courage, honour and dignity. Let's hope that they leave it at that.

[HitokiriShadow]

Oh, I agree. It would be more plausible than the shit they pulled in GSD because here its not too big of a stretch for him to have survived, but its not something I want them to do.

[Dagger]

And the first season is, almost shockingly, lacking the Gundam Masked Man.
I figured ninja!Hong Long was their tribute to the staple Masked Man.

[Westlo]

And the first season is, almost shockingly, lacking the Gundam Masked Man. If one suddenly pops up in part 2, I think there is a very, very good chance it will be Lockon.

If Seiji Mizushima does something like that I'll be disappointed in him.

[Fudce]

Oh god, an entire second season without the best Meister >_< But god damn he went out nicely. "Are you all satisfied with this world? ...I'm not."
Don't you know anything... the cool guys always die, but not even explosions can kill Gundam Pilots.

;)

[Lego]

Out of all the pilots and even side characters, except Graham and Marina, I actually really liked him.

[something]

Poor Lockon, at least I still have Graham.
There are still a heck of a lot of likable (or amusing) characters in Gundam 00 but none played quite his role. He was the glue that kept their Meisters together (well him and Sumeragi) and in the past few episodes had really turned them into a cohesive force. And now... ;_; I know, the 'older mentor' always dies in mecha shows, but damn it all.

I wonder how many new characters we'll get in season two? They've been cautious (outside of this episode) not to knock off top tier importance characters, but they've still killed a number. And even if I don't think Ali is dead presumably he'll be in hiding for a little while. Methinks they have to replenish the stock of sacrificial victims secondary characters.

[Lego]

Oh I'd be surprised if we didn't get new characters in season two but if you keep having Mesiter's coming out of the woodwork it gets kind of hokey. If they'll kill off Lockon then sadly I think Soma could be on the cutting block.

[Vicserr]

Rundown of Ep 23

*We review Setsuna kicking Ali's ass with the Exia in Trans-Am system mode
*Nena is hearbroken as she cries about her brothers...
*Alejandro is pissed that his plans were thrown into the crapper
*The Trans Am system boost the Suit power 3 times(Where have we heard that before...) but after the power boost, it leaves the Suit vulnerable
*Setsuna reports from Earth, The UN Army is heading toward space and that Ali is piloting the capture Trone Zwei,Lockon wants some payback
*As the UN Army travels thru space, Sergei meets Ali "Legal" persona in the AEU taskforce
*As Setsuna and Leass head toward Plotemy, they detect the UN Army force
*Kyrios and Virtue Deploy, leaving Lockon locked inside Plotemy
*Their enemy,26 GN-X suits and Throne Zwei
*They manage to take 3 GN-X down before Ali manages to bring down Tieria
*Halleluya tries to help, shooting down another GN-X, but Soma gets in his way, taking out Kyrios' tail booster
*Sumeragi prepares to call for a retreat, but Lockon manages to launch, Felt look worried...
*As Sergei and Soma prepare to take down Halleluyah, Kyrios Trans Am system activates and Alleluyah makes a house call, he wants blood
*Tieria goes Trans Am and takes down a couple more GN-X units, but takes almost all his power, as the GN-X units go after him, Dynames in GN Armor comes to the rescue, aftersaving Tieria, Lockon prepares to engage the carriers
*Kyrios manages to hold off his pursuers until his Trans Am mode runs out
*Lockon manages to sink 2 of the carriers before Ali gets involved and takes out the GN Armor
*Lockon and Ali go into a heated battle
*Setsuna deploys, boosting with the Trans Am system...
*Darly Dodge engage dynames, gets taken out, Ali takes advantage of the situation and criples Dynames
*Lockon drops the Dynames wreck, taking the aiming unit and tells Haro to take it back to the Plotemy
*He uses it lo aim one of the GN Armor guns to take out Throne Zwei
*Ali detects him, Lockon fires and hits Throne Zwei...but he fires back and destroys the gun
*As Lockon drifts in the void he remembers his family
*Setsuna finally arrives, sees the GN Arms gun wreck and Lockon, but before he can rescue him,the Gun explodes
*Plotemy retrieves Kyrios and Virtue, but as Dynames approaches, they hear Haro's call for Lockon, Everybody is heartbroken

*Next:the Gundams VS the UN Army,Round 2

Man a great episode full of Action and Pathos... can't wait for the next episode :notworthy:

[leongsh]

Episode 24 - Oh my, they are going for the jugular. Nice, very nice :D

FAIR WARNING

Stay away until you have watched the episode. You have been warned.

Without further ado.

The prologue before the OP:

Setsuna remembers the past when he was first recruited as a Gundam Meister and was introduced to the rest. While Tieria and Allelujah were not agreeable initially, it was Lockon, the oldest, who was willing to give Setsuna a chance. With Haro's insistent callout to Lockon in the background, Setsuna recollects briefly his memories of Lockon before being overcome by anguish - like he lost an elder brother.

The first half after the OP:

When everyone gets back on board, the loss of Lockon is felt (tries to avoid pun but ultimately fails). Setsuna is in emotional shock while Tieria harangues him. Clutching onto Haro, Felt is a sobbing mess.

Back with the tripartite forces, the losses are also felt in the lone carrier as they take stock and prepare for another assault on Celestial Being. A new unknown ship shows up in front of them (oh.. who could it be? Bah, I easily guessed it right then as more is revealed later).

In the subsequent downtime as the Gundams are being repaired and maintained, Setsuna and Felt say their final goodbyes to Lockon at Lockon's mangled Gundam.

Their peace is broken as the tripartite forces are coming again.

With the unknown ship backing up the tripartite forces.

It's a mobile armour, Sumeragi tells the crew.

And it's a mobile armour piloted by Alejandro. He has picked up one of the toys left behind on the moon. Alejandro fires the mobile armour's particle cannon.

The particle cannon cuts a path right through the impeding asteroids at the Celestial Being Gundam command ship, Ptolemy, which barely got out of the way.

Second half:

Big battle ensues.

And the director channels a bit of Tomino in his Zeta Gundam glory... :D

Who are the casualties? Ah.. that's the fun part and I'm not telling. For some, it's not a pretty sight though but it's not overdone in how they did it in wanting to draw out the emotional impact.

*Stands up and salutes certain fallen characters*

[Vicserr]

Big battle ensues.

And the director channels a bit of Tomino in his Zeta Gundam glory... :D


Seems that these final 2 episodes are going to be a roller coaster ride thru hell!!!! Me Likes!!!! :notworthy:

[leongsh]

Big battle ensues.

And the director channels a bit of Tomino in his Zeta Gundam glory... :D
Seems that these final 2 episodes are going to be a roller coaster ride thru hell!!!! Me Likes!!!! :notworthy:
As a fellow fan of Zeta Gundam, let me tell you that there seems to be, at long last, redemption with this series.

Gundam Wing was cheapened a lot with the indestructability of the Gundam and the pilots. Then Gundam Seed was getting somewhere but this time, it made a mess with certain characters impossibly/miraculously surviving certain deaths. Then there's Gundam Seed Destiny muddling everything. Enough to make old school Gundam fans scream in frustration.

This series, Gundam 00, looks to be on the right path - that is, if you ignore the highly questionable politics but then when has a Gundam show really gotten the politics done in an interesting manner. Due credit to Gundam Wing for trying.

Side note: The OP-ED pairing of "Ash Like Snow" and "Friends" respectively is mighty effective in these last few episodes.

[mikedude]

Damn, they really didn't hold back in this episode.

Also, how many fucking people in this show are going to turn out to be robots!?

[untoldsorrow]

Wow...I mean wow.... I didn't expect this at all. I knew many were going to die but didn't expect certain people. Still funny how the person everyone wants dead, Nena is still alive but others are dead, lol. From this episode alone, I can't see them doing the 2nd season, just can't see how really. Two more episodes and I will find out if its even possible.

[William K]

Wow...I mean wow.... I didn't expect this at all. I knew many were going to die but didn't expect certain people. Still funny how the person everyone wants dead, Nena is still alive but others are dead, lol. From this episode alone, I can't see them doing the 2nd season, just can't see how really. Two more episodes and I will find out if its even possible.

The 2nd season is already scheduled for this October. They'll just introduce more new cannon-fodd...err characters that is :)

[Lego]

This makes me happy that Graham and Marina are still alive and kicking :D

[guyver83]

What did Tomino come in and throw in some gundam Zeta into the mix haahh. Cause so far its everyone's fair game.

[something]

Episode 24

- Oh god oh god oh god. "I'm Lockon Stratos. I'm a man who could snipe you from the other side of the stratosphere." Gah, he was FAR too badass to die. I <3 you, Lockon ;_;
- Also, "Age doesn't matter." Neither does multiple personality disorder or being a transgendered robot, apparently.
- Damn... Crying Felt just rips my heart right out of my body.
- The attack will continue... I bet reinforcements means GRAHAM ACRE! Or it better, he's been MIA for awhile. Also, Patrick still makes me laugh. And so they lost 15 GN-drive equipped suits.
- Setsuna finds out that Ali killed Lockon. Haha oh shit, as if he didn't already want to tear him limb from limb. Go Setsuna! YOU ARE GUNDAM!
- Aww, camaraderie on the bridge. ::sniffles:: Felt, you're so wonderful <3
- Oh god, a giant, gaudy, golden mobile armor. Perfect for Alejandro.

Hooooooooooooooly fuuuuuuuuck. Lichty, Patrick, CHRISTINAAAAAAA! NOOOOOOO! But at least she saved Felt ;_; And holy shit, Patrick dies? Like... he can die? Really?

God damnit this show is utterly brutal. There won't be a cast left for the second half at this rate. Ptolemy is down, Virtue/Nadleeh and Kyrios are is dismembered. The other GN Arms is destroyed. Without backing from Veda or anything, how will they even do repairs?

Gaaaaaaaaaah. Even Lichty's sacrifice was in vain. Death death death. Why Christina, why her ;_;

Oh god now I fear for Felt. How long can she beat the odds =( ::cries:: Still, I'm betting/hoping she's essentially "untouchable" now, like I hope Saji is and fear Nena is. Like those two, everything has been taken away from her, and there's little storyline logic left for killing any of them. Who would they die for and how? Nena might still die trying to avenge Ali, because the only one who can kill Ali is Setsuna now. If Saji dies, it'll be to protect Louise, but I see it more like that she'll die for him. Hopefully neither. But Felt especially... there's no reason whatsoever to kill her now. Lockon died for her. Christina died for her. But there's noone for her to die for anymore.

So I hope... so I hope. God daaaaaaaaaaamn.

[HitokiriShadow]

CHRISTIIIINAAAAAAA!!!!! :cries: :cry:

Wow, and they even offed Patrick. Jesus, they really are channeling Tomino for this series. That's not a bad thing in my eyes, but.. Christina... *sniffs*

Thank you Gundam gods that Felt survived. I don't mind blood baths like this, but I at least want Felt to survive. Anyone else, they can kill, but I want her to live. ... She's probably going to die before the credits roll in season two. :cries again: :cry:

Well, I was right that the Ptolemois went down but all of my other predictions have turned out to be horribly wrong, for better or for worse.

[something]

Thank you Gundam gods that Felt survived. I don't mind blood baths like this, but I at least want Felt to survive. Anyone else, they can kill, but I want her to live.
Yeah, while Marina was my favorite for awhile, she hasn't done anything in a long time. So Felt has started to take that position over, especially with Louise out of the picture for now. And even if I decide she's not quite my favorite, she's still the one I least want to see die (though it's pretty close with Louise and Marina...)

As much as I like Graham, it won't be all that terrible if he dies, because his death will HAVE to be epic. Absolutely nothing less than Lockon-class would be acceptable. Same for Sergei, to a lesser extent.

I guess the notable thing is that the AEU has, if I'm counting correctly, no one of any real significance left, unless Kathy takes on a major role. I imagine we'll see someone REALLY important rise up from the AEU very early in season two. HRL still have Sergei and Soma, Union have Graham, Ali represents the unaligned forces. AEU needs someone.

[leongsh]

God damnit this show is utterly brutal. There won't be a cast left for the second half at this rate.
Now you know what channelling "Kill 'Em All" Tomino means. Tomino in the 80s had a penchant for killing off either every or nearly every character in a number of shows. Although he did not do it on a continuous streak, he did it enough times. One of the more notable titles that he did so was the sequel Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam where he mercilessly decimated most of the characters of the show. Brutal and relentless but did a bang-up job in emphasizing how ferocious battles can be.

[leongsh]

As much as I like Graham, it won't be all that terrible if he dies, because his death will HAVE to be epic. Absolutely nothing less than Lockon-class would be acceptable. Same for Sergei, to a lesser extent.
Well, for Graham, it will most likely be in a blaze of glory if he goes. If they do knock off Sergei, he would get a dignified officer's death. All this is based on the kind of death, if they die, that these kind of characters get in Gundam shows.

[HitokiriShadow]

Yeah, while Marina was my favorite for awhile, she hasn't done anything in a long time. So Felt has started to take that position over, especially with Louise out of the picture for now. And even if I decide she's not quite my favorite, she's still the one I least want to see die (though it's pretty close with Louise and Marina...)

Boy, our character preferences in this series sure are different.

Felt has been my favorite since pretty much the beginning with Christina only just barely behind her. The rest have varied. Nena enjoyed a brief stint at close third before she fell. Otherwise, Louise, Sumeragi, Miu Li, and Soma were all about the same and distantly behind Christina. Miu Li closed the gap a bit with recent revelations about her agenda. Thus far, Marina has always been last because she's always seemed so useless. At least she seems to realize it, but that doesn't make it any better.

I even like Nena more than Marina even if she's a mass murdering bitch. While Nena's stock dropped drastically, I was never particularly attached to Louise and my initial hatred for Nena has mostly dissipated. I haven't forgiven her, but she can still make a comeback. At this point, I can't say I'd be terribly disappointed to see her go. But unless she suddenly pops up in the battle next episode to save Setsuna or something like that, she's virtually guaranteed to survive this half and will likely begin to redeem herself next season.


As much as I like Graham, it won't be all that terrible if he dies, because his death will HAVE to be epic. Absolutely nothing less than Lockon-class would be acceptable. Same for Sergei, to a lesser extent.

Oh, right, the guys. Lockon was the only Meister I liked (though Setsuna is slowly growing on me) and probably my favorite among the male cast. Graham and Sergei are the only other ones I particulary like, but I'm with you that I'd be okay with them dying. Graham's odds of surviving to the end of episode 50 have always been low and after this blood bath, they are virtually non-existent. Same for Sergei. Both of them will likely get awesome send offs, particularly Graham. Or at least they'd better.

Oh, and Saji is okay for this season but I can't wait to see what he does next season.

I guess the notable thing is that the AEU has, if I'm counting correctly, no one of any real significance left, unless Kathy takes on a major role. I imagine we'll see someone REALLY important rise up from the AEU very early in season two. HRL still have Sergei and Soma, Union have Graham, Ali represents the unaligned forces. AEU needs someone.

It's quite possible Patrick isn't dead, given how they focused on his suit. And someone said that the cockpits on those suits are particularly low, so if the cockpit is right in the crotch...

Edit: Ah, here it is, from a response to a blog post:

Actually Jason, there is evidence to suggest that Patrick survived. A particularly helpful poster on Omni’s site pointed out that the cockpit on the GN-Xs sat particularly low, on the level of Turn-A’s core fighter (which is to say, the crotch of the mobile suit). And guess what? Patrick’s GN-X, except from the obvious lack of torso, still had most of its hips and legs PLUS the cockpit housing.

Edit #2: And here (http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9826/snapshot20080322120859bga9.jpg) is a picture.

On a completely random note, I forgot to mention it before but Corner's mobile armor looks absolutely silly.

[guyver83]

yes bring him back like they did with Neo Roanoke OH, I mean Mu La Flaga. I hope patrick stays dead, he's one annoying mofo.

[HitokiriShadow]

No, he's definitely alive. See the link I added in my previous post. Oh, and take those spoilers out of your post, not everyone has seen SEED/Destiny.

[guyver83]

No, he's definitely alive. See the link I added in my previous post. Oh, and take those spoilers out of your post, not everyone has seen SEED/Destiny.

If you say so but around the 16:58 mark when when he he goes huh and then you see the light around him and then explosion to me that means DEAD. I guess we'll find out who is right or wrong but it doesn't matter because the ep still is badass and sad. GOOD stuff!

[something]

Thus far, Marina has always been last because she's always seemed so useless. At least she seems to realize it, but that doesn't make it any better.
She was pretty heavily in the series at first, but then just completely disappeared in the last... few months, I guess. She'll no doubt come back to the fore in season two, so I'll start to like her again later.

I even like Nena more than Marina even if she's a mass murdering bitch.
Now that's just WRONG. :sd:

As for Patrick, yeah I guess he'll still be alive, but it seems kind of pointless to be ambiguous about if unless they're really going to push him hard as a major new protagonist, which... well, it'll be pretty silly, and probably not nearly as cool as a certain other similar situation in a different show.

[guyver83]

Forgive me I missed a post talking about Lichty is a android or something like that. I'm like low carbing and it sucks!

[HitokiriShadow]

Thus far, Marina has always been last because she's always seemed so useless. At least she seems to realize it, but that doesn't make it any better.
She was pretty heavily in the series at first, but then just completely disappeared in the last... few months, I guess. She'll no doubt come back to the fore in season two, so I'll start to like her again later.

True, she was getting screen time, but she was mainly showing us that she wasn't really doing anything and that her security is absolute shit.


I even like Nena more than Marina even if she's a mass murdering bitch.
Now that's just WRONG. :sd:

Now listen here, I.... really can't argue with that. What can I say, I sometimes have a weakness for girls with a bit of psychosis. Not that it excuses her, but I think its safe to say that she has had a pretty fucked up life and I suspect (or hope, anyway) that we'll learn more about her in the second half.

As for Patrick, yeah I guess he'll still be alive, but it seems kind of pointless to be ambiguous about if unless they're really going to push him hard as a major new protagonist, which... well, it'll be pretty silly, and probably not nearly as cool as a certain other similar situation in a different show.

I think they just needed to get him out of the battle and, with all of the other bloodshed and death, simply knocking his head off again or otherwise giving him another Team Rocket exit would have been inappropriate. I think they would have been off just leaving his headless GN-X floating around to be found at some other point, but that wouldn't have been as dramatic and this at least fools some people into thinking he's dead.

[HitokiriShadow]

No, he's definitely alive. See the link I added in my previous post. Oh, and take those spoilers out of your post, not everyone has seen SEED/Destiny.

If you say so but around the 16:58 mark when when he he goes huh and then you see the light around him and then explosion to me that means DEAD. I guess we'll find out who is right or wrong but it doesn't matter because the ep still is badass and sad. GOOD stuff!

Eh, maybe, but that looks to me like intentional misdirection to make people think just that. They also clearly and somewhat conspicuously show the lower half of his suit with the cockpit appearing to be intact. We'll just have to wait until the second half (or maybe even next episode) to find out.

[guyver83]

No, he's definitely alive. See the link I added in my previous post. Oh, and take those spoilers out of your post, not everyone has seen SEED/Destiny.

If you say so but around the 16:58 mark when when he he goes huh and then you see the light around him and then explosion to me that means DEAD. I guess we'll find out who is right or wrong but it doesn't matter because the ep still is badass and sad. GOOD stuff!

Eh, maybe, but that looks to me like intentional misdirection to make people think just that. They also clearly and somewhat conspicuously show the lower half of his suit with the cockpit appearing to be intact. We'll just have to wait until the second half (or maybe even next episode) to find out.

all good man, sorry I'm a Taurus so stubborn by nature :sd:

[something]

True, she was getting screen time, but she was mainly showing us that she wasn't really doing anything and that her security is absolute shit.
But that's why she's so moe! Haven't you seen any of the binbou-hime fanart? =P

[HitokiriShadow]

No, I haven't. :sd: Honestly, I want to like her, but I just can't. It might be moe if she was at least trying, but most of the time she's just sitting around feeling sorry for herself. The only episode she did much in was that godawful terrorist episode and she didn't get any points there. I'm hoping I'll be able to like her more in the second half, but she just didn't do anything to get on my side this season.

[Lego]

Did someone say Marina? I love me some Marina. If Fence were here he'd yell at me for making a Relena comparison with Setsuna being Heero, but you start to get that vibe. I personally think that Marina is going to be Setsuna's rock, hes going to break down some point, most likely in the second season and Marina will be there for him.

I'm more interested to see if they'll do anything with Sumeragi's drinking problem, you just know she'll end up getting drunk and fucking up somehow. With all of the characters going left and right part of me thinks that Liu Mei won't be around for long.

[something]

Oh, and take those spoilers out of your post, not everyone has seen SEED/Destiny.
Heh, thanks for the warning, though thankfully it was tagged before I read it.

I just wanted to back that up, and ask that major spoilers for other Gundam series be avoided or tagged. I may well be the only one here who hasn't seen them yet, I know...

And I know it's hard sometimes, to avoid talking about something that's just part and parcel of the whole universe(s) of the fandom. I've had to stop myself more than one in the Clannad thread, and think if what I was going to post would spoil other parts of the Key universe (Air, Kanon). Most people in that thread saw all three, but probably not everyone.

Basically, SEED is the #1 Gundam I want to avoid spoilers for, because I recently bought both sets and will be watching it in the lull between seasons of 00. (Ok, not that anything with Geass airing can be called a lull...) I'm also vaguely considering Zeta, and somewhat more strongly considering 08th MS Team.

So anyway, some of us are still new (only seen Wing prior to this), so be gentle with the spoilers =P

[Nagato-san]

I recomend Zeta. It's getting some cheap sets, so now would be a good time to try it. It's got moe girls, epic deaths, some politics, pretty much everything that is good about 00. Just be sure to at least look up some info about the origial series (or find the movies). A few Zeta characters are much more enjoyable when you know their backstories.

[something]

Just be sure to at least look up some info about the origial series (or find the movies). A few Zeta characters are much more enjoyable when you know their backstories.
Yeah, that's one of the things about going backwards into the larger Gundam universe. I really doubt watching the original series in full is for me, but I also don't want to miss the important connections to later series.

[HitokiriShadow]

The original series was only released dub-only here anyway and is now OOP and hard to find. You may be able to find the movie trilogy which is how I saw it (aside from a few mostly random episodes on CN). Really though, you can enjoy Zeta without having seen the original.

[mikedude]

OH MY GOD. That epilogue was fucking EVIL.

- Saji in space!
- Only confirmed Meister alive is Tieria, complete with snazzy new haircut (slightly reminiscent of Lockon's?) and LOUISE! WTF! Also, short hair looks terrible on her.
- Nena is still alive! Hopefully she's still batshit crazy!
- Livonze has a harem of bishounen. Wonder what an "Innovator" is.
- Gundam 0 AND Gundam 00.
- Graham is a masked man! Thank God it wasn't Lockon!

Even with Geass to occupy me, this is going to be a difficult six months.

[Westlo]

I know nothing (I avoided reading the above post) except that the epilogue is 4 years after. Does my lack of enthusiasm for the series show if I say the first two things I thought of were.

Felt is legal! (if she survived 25)
Setsuna might have a new hairstyle!

[mikedude]

Also, I just noticed: the shot of Tieria is kind of a tight shot, but it would appear he's wearing the Earth Sphere Federation's military uniform.

[Lego]

Graham is like a mix of Char and Zechs, yay. That and Marina has aged, but she still looks amazing :beat:

[Vicserr]

Man what an awesome episode...with some cool Zeta Gundam pathos

Rundown of ep 24

*2 Years ago, Setsuna is introduced to the rest of the Meisters..
*Setsuna remembers all his pass encounters as he floats alongside the guns wreckage
*As the Dynames has been picked up, Tieria recriminates Setsuna, a slap from Sumeragi brings him back to the here and now
*Felt is in pieces
*The remaining UN Carrier carries just over a third of the original GN-X force, the rest has been lost in battle, Sergei tells Karen to retreat, She tells him that they await for reinforments to continue the attack
*Patrick survived and brings in his damaged GN-X
*Sumeragi gets the bad need that only Exia and the GN Arms are at full combat strenght, TIeria calls Sumeragi to give them a plan to finish up the remaining GN-X force
*Setsuna finds out the Ali killed Lockon
*A weird Golden Mobile Armor approaches the UN Army Carrier
*The Plotemy crew remember their past as Felt write a letter to her parents and Lockon
*The Golden MA(Piloted by Alejandro) and the 12 GN-X units hunt the Plotemy
*The MA fires his particle cannon at the Plotemy and takes an engine out and barely evade a 2nd shot
*The combat container, Kyrios and Nadleeh are deployed....
*Kyrios and Nadleeh engage the GN-X's as the combat container his the MA (that looks like something out of Zeta Gundam)
*The MA fires again, it cripples Kyrios and manages to hit the Plotemy again, they lost the capability to raise a GN Fields with the added damage
*Tieria goes Trans-Am mode and takes out several GN-Xs before it get damaged by another Particle beam from the MA
*Patrick and another GN-X try to take Nadleeh out... Tieria manages to take them out
*A GN-X manages to pass thru the Anti MS fire of the Plotemy and hits the bridge, the GN-X is shut down by the remainder combat container
*Chistina manages to contact the combat container for one brief message before the remnants of the brigde explodes
*The combat container weaponry can't penetrate the MA's GN Field as they go for a point blank attack the MA holds them, the GN Arms and the Exia eject before the container is destroyed.. Exia prepares to engage the MA

*Next the final battle... who will survive?

[leongsh]

Episode 25 does a really decent job in ending the first half to get it ready for the next half. They killed off a couple more in this episode but it felt workman-like after Episode 24.

Of course, with an end-credits cum epilogue set 4 years later, it's interesting to see how they are setting up the second half. They have declared that certain people survived. A couple of others have not been clearly killed off prior to the end credits/epilogue and not showing up in there are still up in the air (or space :P ).

As clichéd as it is, every Gundam universe needs its masked man - who better among the lot in Gundam 00 but Graham. Can he be as good a character as the original masked man, Char Aznable?

All-in-all, the first half of Gundam 00 is much better than my original expectations. Definitely better than Gundam SEED and its sequel in total. It's also a significant leg-up over Gundam Wing which did not have the guts to kill off more characters.

[something]

Episode 25:

- Allelujah/Hallelujah fun! Maybe he could pilot better if he didn't cover one eye with hair.
- Ahahaha, JUST as I unpause after typing, he takes his helmet off and slicks his hair back. Stop reading my mind, bastards. Seriously, that was creepy.
- NERAI UTSU! Lockon lives on through his catchphrase! It's like a mecha "~Uguu" for me.
- Woah shit. Lasse and Alejandro both bite it. Or at least their respective vehicles do, but I guess they're toast as well.
- Now for (H)allelujah. Half a Gundam, but twice the pilot! It all evens out. Good god... Sergei survived, which I did not expect. And just as (h)allelujah uncovers both eyes, he loses another. AND Soma is someone he knows! Damn.
- Haha oh god, okay Alejandro is very much alive... with his stupid looking gold mobile suit coming from inside his ship. And a but blast engulfs Exia o_O ...last second Transam maybe?
- Yep! And he remembers the words of Lockon-sensei. Solid matter swords take out GN fields!
- SETSUNA NEEDS MORE SWORDS. Awesome. Libbons was playing Alejandro for a fool all along as I expected, and now Alejandro is dead. Woo.
- Haha holy shit this episode does not stop. GRAHAM TIME, BITCHES! Graham and his Flag come to whisper sweet words of love to Setsuna.
- Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. They absolutely maul each other. They dismember and behead each other and then rush in and... and... oh god is Graham dead? No fucking way. And even if Setsuna lives, Exia looks like it's in a very bad way.
- "Now I can finally go to where you are, Lockon" ...O_O
- And half of the Kyrios pair dies... And Setsuna sends (sent) Marina a farewell letter...
- Four years later. What the fuck? And Louise hasn't communicated with Saji for two years.
- Kathy, Sergei... Patrick!!
- Innovators... can't make out any clearly familiar faces...
- Is that Graham with a full face mask? Oh god.
- And Ali. Well, no surprise there I guess.
- WHAT. Tieria (finally accepting his femininity?) [Edit: tagged only because nobody else has mentioned this yet unless I missed it, and I don't know if it's confirmed anyway: well, ok there's apparently a different character in the credits, someone named "Regene" for that voice and it... could or could not be Tieria reprogrammed or... SOMETHING.]
- And... WHAT. Is that Louise? Like, seriously? WHAT? WHAT.
- Liu Mi... Nena, blah. I guess I was right, she's not going anywhere any time soon, so I suppose I'll have to forgive her one day, depending on what role she's playing after the skip. Or something. I have no fucking idea.

So, having Allelujah find out about Marie and then die would be silly so I assume he's alive, especially since there was a partial "death" for Hallelujah. Exia was recovered so Setsuna lives... Marina still hasn't done much or anything and Ali is alive so there's no way he's dead. Well, he's also kinda the main character. And if the above mentioned Tieria thing is kinda what I was thinking, then (s)he's alive too. Or we'll see two running

Conspicuously absent were Felt and Sumeragi, but the engineer dude they were with is alive so so are they. And of course they wouldn't just kill them off screen in a time skip, but what they're doing we don't know.

This was one of the biggest WTF! season endings I've ever seen. I think Gundam 00 definitely gets #2 slot from all the shows ending around now, behind only Clannad.

[HitokiriShadow]

Eh, the golden mobile armor was stupid but otherwise the fight was pretty good. And it was nice to see Libbons tell Corner he was being used. I was worried Sergei and Soma would go down but I'm glad to see they both survived and they tossed a new little twist along with it.

I was disappointed at how Graham randomly popped up and went down as a raving lunatic but it looks like he's coming back as the masked man. A really ugly masked man.

I sure wasn't expecting a huge timeskip like that and they tossed in some interesting things. They explained where Nena went, though her final appearance only adds more questions.
And then there was Tiere (?) and Louise. Talk about your WTF moments.

I think Gundam 00 completely wasted the world they set up, the series had a number of issues in the first half, and the plot is still silly in the second half, though not quite as silly as some of the dialogue. But holy crap, these last two episodes were fucking awesome in spite of the silliness and they sure have me excited for the next season. ... In six months. :(

Edit: Oh, and I missed something: Patrick is confirmed alive. (see second picture) (http://kurogane.animeblogger.net/2008/03/30/gundam-00-25/#more-1172)

[Ryuuroden]

For me, I felt that Gundam 00 had the biggest "wtf" ending since Geass season 1 which makes me a very happy man. I am just glad now I have Geass to tide me over till season 2 of Gundam 00.

[Vicserr]

This episode is full of awesome... on to the Rundown of Ep 25

*As the Other Combat container drifts thru the battle field... the situation looks grim
*In a very intense battle Setsuna manages to take out the Albatore MA, Lasse dies when the GN Armor is destroyed
*The Halleluyahs think together to school Soma on how a real Super Soldier works and almost take her out, Sergei manages to save her bacon and both damage the Kyrios and take it out of the fight... seems Halleluyah knows who Soma was before the conversion.
*As Setsuna tries to check on Lasse's condition, the Albatore attacks, the MA packs a Mobile Suit!!!
*As Alejandro talks of his dream to guide the new world, he attacks Setsuna...and his MS packs a REAL solar Furnace
*The Albatore MS fires it's particle cannon...but Setsuna manages to go Trans AM mode and dodge it, Alejandro is the Distortion to the plan and Setsuna plans to take it out
*Setsuna remembers some advice Lockon gave him to help him take out the Albatore's GN Field... his Big Ass Swords
*The Exia skewers the Albatore and to rub salt in his wounnds Livonze calls Alejandro to tell him that he was an useful fool as his sut detonates
*As Setsuna recuparates from the Trans AM use, a Fake Solar Furnace,beam saber wielding equipped Flag approaches..
*It's Graham, he wants revenge for Howard and Darly
*In a very intense battle both MS are heavyly damaged
*As the Combat Container approaches the Nadleeh wreckage, Tieria ejects the solar furnace and is resigned to die
*It seems that Alleluyah knew that Soma was this girl named Marie and held that info from Halleluyah, to make him fight, as Kyrios continues adrift
*As Exia is Adrift in Space, Marina reads a a letter from Setsuna, we see Mai Lin, Nena, The look in the UN Army Carrier isn't pretty and Sergei and Soma get picked up
*4 years have passed, Saji writes to Louise after 2 years, He's working in space and wants Louise to join him as he seen a light flare from a Gundam's Solar Furnace
*An United Earth Federation has existed for 1 year, all militaries have been fused into the UN Army. Patrick, Sergei and Karen wear the uniform
*Marina is hoping for a new world as her advisor leaves
*Livonze plan is in the works with his android troopers? in stand by...
*Graham is one guy that really needs the mask
*Ali is drinking his nights away
*Tieria and Louise?....
*Mai Lin and her servant see the 1st of the this Generation of Gundams... the O Gundam, and what's Nena doing with golden eyes?... and what's with the Gundam OO...

It has been a great ride, this series was very intense with a very Zeta Gundam feel, something that Gundam Seed Destiny failed miserably to maintain catering to fan service instead of the storyline. Can't wait for season 2

[Kurou]

The whole mask bit makes me facepalm. I was so hoping they'd avoid that damned cliche for this show.

[Fencedude]

The whole mask bit makes me facepalm. I was so hoping they'd avoid that damned cliche for this show.

Or you know, use it completely differently, can't we wait and find out?.

I'm amazed at how many people are complaining about the second season when it doesn't air for 6 more months.

Seiji Mizushima spent the first 25 episodes taking old cliches and twisting them around to be fresh and new, so can't we give him the benefit of the doubt in this case?

[Lego]

I actually like the fact that no one is really "safe" when it comes to main characters. That and now with the second season coming up they can take the characters that they introduced you to and now go branch off on another part story instead of starting the show from episode 25 and working from there with the "this happened years ago" montages.

Judging by the little preview everything seems like it'll be as good or even better then the first half. That and I get more Graham and Marina, so I'm happy.

[Vicserr]

Yeah, we can see the story taking off in a new direction, if the director can keep the pacing and intensity in the 2nd season, Gundam 00 will be the new highmark in Gundam quality programming.

[karen0586]

Yeah, we can see the story taking off in a new direction, if the director can keep the pacing and intensity in the 2nd season, Gundam 00 will be the new highmark in Gundam quality programming.
Good God, I just read this whole thread. I'm amazed. it make me cry that there is a six month wait for the next 25 episodes. Maybe by then I'd have watched the others though...