It's Wednesday, the middle of the week. Pure gravy from here on out. Not for the players in V Gundam though.
No pics on Monday, so I've got a bazzlion of them for today!
GundamGAF's Victory Gundam Rewatch:-
Episode 14 DVD
"Offense and Defense at Gilbraltar"
"Jiburarutaru Kōbō" (ジブラルタル攻防
The episode starts off rather interestingly this time around. Do not skip the pre-episode title sequence.
While the events of the previous episode were happening, the LM and EFSF forces in space are taking on the ZE battleship fleet. Man, I cannot wait for the series to reach that scale again, V Gundam has beem mainly focused on Earth for too long.
A change of scenery (space and the state of the colonies) would be really nice.
We now head back to boring ol' earth.
News of the space attack is being relayed to Cmdr. Fualla and Asher by Lt. Pippiniden.
Apparently the Feddies have officially declared war on the Zanscare Empire (Z.E.) by aiding the LM fleet against the Z.E's Keilas Guilie (KG) space battlefleet.
We get to add another name to our meaningless list of ZE officials we've yet to meet. (Capt. Tassilo Vago, head honcho of the KG group.)
Pippeniden suggests that Fualla could get off the hook (from her sentence, you may recall that she's in big trouble for employing the Guillotine casually against the Count and her countless other failures in dealing with the LM) by taking out the LM in Arti Gibraltar. Asher's still all for a diplomatic/political solution, and is curtly brushed off by Fualla. Undeterred, Asher decides to take matters into his own hands, and we're introduced to another ugly ass named ZE mobile suit known as the Memedorza. Before that, he decides to phone up his "captive" Katejina (good lord has it been awhile) and she's glad to hear him on the line. (Do I need to mention that Victory Gundam was sorely lacking in the fanservice deparment until this sequence?)
We then shift back to Usso and gang. The deceased are being accounted for. Mahalia gets prepped for her burial by her Shrike Team sisters. It's nice to see the continuity on display here for Mahalia, Helen didn't get quite the same treatment earlier on, granted those were rather different circumstances. Usso heads on up to have a closer view and to help out; he's hoisted into position by one of the Shrike Team. He's actually pretty damn mature about the whole thing in this episode. Shakti also does the same. The whole scene is handled really well for its grimness.
Meanwhile, Asher's flown out into A.G. territory in a BESPA Tomliat once again to pick up his 'beloved' Katejina (lol). He intends to send her to Space, in advance of the attacks that're about to happen in A.G. He's already in the "mamoru" phase with her, and she seems to enjoy the attention too. It does seem that the dynamics of their relationship have been altered radically in their unseen chapters. He hands her the ticket, then leaves once again in the Tomliat, only to head to the main government building. Where the rest of the LM members are (a.k.a Usso and gang)
A storm's abrewin'.
Or not.
Asher is whisked in right into the presence of Mandella, Usso and the others. He's here to reclaim the bodies. Flanders the dog greets him happily. Mandella's rather displeased (with the previous altercation) and shows it; he storms off. Usso gets yet another denial from Asher as to Katejina's whereabouts. Asher fleds the scene again.
Shakti FINALLY shows usso the letter Katejina wrote to him around... I don't know... 6-7 episodes ago?
(I'm gonna help you out by being a spy. In the process I'll try not to fall under the whims and fancies of Asher and the ideals of the Zanscare Empire. Oops, too late. - Katejina Loos)
The reaction on his face is somewhat measured, which surprised me. He doesn't get mad at Shakti for hiding it away from him all this time. I guess he's a better man than most.
He continues reading it. while the EFSF capt. (the pilot of the transport ship) and the other old men of the LM discuss the current tactical sitution in space. They've come to the conclusion that ZE intends to attack A.G. with the aid of their space fleet for orbital support/bombardment(?).
Usso then heads to the spaceport to (presumably) look for Katejina. He invites Shakti and baby K-mann along with him for the ride. Haro and Flanders the dog tag along too.
He catches her right in the nick of time, as she was about to board the shuttle to space. He tries to talk her out of it. She rationalizes that neither earth nor space is safe for her. A desperate Usso
(seriously he is simping his ass off right now, making a fool out of himself in front her, Shakti, the dog and the baby), asks whether he can come along. Katejina actually makes some very good points, and shoots him down; he's gotta protect Shakti, amongst other things. Shakti's also rather hesitant in heading to space.
While this is happening, the ZE YJs have entered the scene. Katejina uses the opportunity to slip away; Usso's attention having been diverted. She actually imparts some useful advice to him, and tells him to use his powers for the good of humanity. Usso tries to reach her again, but fails, when out of nowhere.
An explosion occurs in the vicinity of the terminal building.
And another, nearly shattering the glass window near Shakti and the baby.
Fualla makes a request from the safety (of her now repaired and retrofited) M.A. demanding the A.G. government surrender to the ZE. She is accompanied by a few Tomliats and that aforementioned hideous looking Memedorza.
Halftime intermission (Dog's getting the hang of it now, heh)
Back to action. Asher's still employing delaying tactics with Fualla (politics pls), and gets smacked down yet again.
2 Top Fighters (Olie and Marbet presumably) are en route to help deal with the ZE menace. Asher orders the Memedorza to handle the situation. It's actually packing some serious beam based firepower.
The Shrike Team also makes its debut once again.
The Memedorza almost takes out one of the Shrike Team with its body mounted internal beam weaponry.
Back at LM makeshift HQ, the Capt. is arguing that the EFSF should send some battleships their way. The LM Old man states forbodingly that the Keilas Guilie is capable of Orbital Bombarment from Space which means that they'd all be screwed if they didn't head to space.
We snap back to the civvie shuttle carrying Katejina that's on the rails of the mass driver. She already rationalizing that the LM can't win this fight, as if to make sense of her own decision to support the ZE instead.
Usso and Shakti finally reach the hangar containing a fully formed V Gundam and heads out to battle, vowing to keep everyone alive. Let's how long he can hold on to that promise.
The Memedorza is proving to be more than a match for any of the Shrike Teams M.S.
Usso heads right for Fualla's M.A. AGAIN. Let's see whether he has the ballz to do to the right thing again.
She's well prepared this time around, hiding 2 Tomliats in the shadow of her M.A., who unload right at him the moment he comes within range.
Usso does bloody well as usual, even taking out two other who've sneaked up right behind him. He goes looking for the other pair.
The Shrike Team is engaging that ZE Lt. who's survived two head on encounters with Usso already. She proves to be an able adversary to the other women.
NOT.
She ejects right in the nick of time as Connie brilliantly uses her thrusters to make it blindingly bright before her pal comes in for the kill. (That's the 3rd time she's escaped death already in as many encounters with the LM. Damn lol.)
Meanwhile, we finally get to see Asher in melee combat after a long time. He's dealing with the leader of the Shrike Team in his own Tomliat and doing well.
The remaining member of the Shrike Team (Kate) is not faring well against the Memedorza. She evades his attacks well enough, but as a result, a part of the mass driver's rail got decimated.
She goes in herself with her M.S. to keep it afloat and becoming a sitting duck in the process.
Shiet.
The Memedorza's pilot does what any enemy pilot would do in that situation.
Fuck. There goes another one. They're really dropping like flies.
Usso actually gets his FIRST Newtype potential event from this, and he immediately knows something's wrong with Kate.
He rushes back to the mass rail, away from Fualla's M.A (Recarl). Her sub cautions her that attacking recklessly would take out the Mass Rail. Usso dodges every attack, heading up the cliff face to find Kate's M.S. Or rather, the remains of it.
Usso goes absolutely berserk, taking out the Memedorza's shoulder beams, and then smacking it around ruthlessly.
The Recarl gets hit. Fualla is asked to head to the escape pod, but she declines. She's forced into it anyway by Melchett, who launches it right into Asher's Tomliat.
Having battered the Memedorza into submission. Usso notices the presence of a ZE M.S. on top of the civillian shuttle. He correctly summarizes that is the one that contains Katejina, and is about to stop it from leaving, when he's interrupted by "Kate's lingering spirit"(?).
The shuttle (accompanied by Asher in the attached Tomliat, and Fualla, in the escape pod) escapes into space. It still has to avoid the debris produced by the earlier space battles. A feddie battlleship falls into earth's orbit and attempts to make a re-entry into its atmosphere, but gets burned up in the process and explodes.
Usso once again blames himself for causing yet another death of the Shrike Team. Junko absolutely shoots the notion down.
They both breakdown into tears, ending the episode.
Cumulative Tomino Death Count:- 24 (Yet another member of the Shrike Team goes down (Kate Bush))
B+
