KoraThis First Impressions Review applies to both Episode 1 and the Prologue Episode.
“Whether you win or not, there are two things you gain: experience and pride, not to mention trust.”
I’ve written nearly 300 reviews for this site, and it’s both surprising and unsurprising that, up to this point, I’ve never reviewed a Gundam series. This realization is surprising to me, mainly due to the sheer number of titles that fall under the umbrella of Gundam. It seems like I would have had to put my fingers on the keyboard to discuss at least one of the myriad of series which make up the franchise. Of course, I also mentioned that there was an unsurprising element to this realization. I’m not much of a Gundam fan. I watched Gundam 00 back when it first aired, but aside from those two seasons, I’ve never finished a Gundam series. Honestly, I was rather non-committal on even writing this review, due to the realization that there was a prologue episode, making this effectively a double length premiere. Fortunately, the days following the premiere were something of a dry spell for interesting anime, so that stole away my primary excuse not to view both episodes. Given my limited viewing of the franchise, this perspective might warrant a grain of salt, but The Witch from Mercury had me more invested in a Gundam premiere than I’d been in years, and I’m including Iron-Blooded Orphans.
Our titular “Witch from Mercury” is Suletta Mercury, a shy Gundam pilot who has transferred from the small Mercury colony to the Asticassia School of Technology, an institution developed by the Beneritt Group and devoted to the engineering and piloting of mobile suits. However, we also know from the prologue that Suletta is secretly Erict Samaya, one of two survivors of a raid orchestrated by the leader of the Beneritt Group, Delling Rembran. Suletta appears to be an earnest and straight-forward protagonist, so it’s hard to imagine her having secret machinations or schemes up her sleeve despite that tragedy in her past. Still, there’s plenty of potential for drama, given that the first encounter she has at the school is with Miorine Rembran, the daughter of Delling, the very man responsible for the destruction of her home and the death of her father. Traditionally, I’ve found Gundam protagonists, from Setsuna F. Seiei to Mikazuki Augus to Heero Yuy, to be the least interesting members of the cast when the show begins. A probable factor is that each of the characters I cited was a standoffish soldier, so they were easily overshadowed by both the rest of the cast and the world-building processes. Suletta bucks that trend by easily stealing every scene. She blends a nervous naivete with a surprising unwillingness to back down when she sees an injustice or someone in need. I’d hate to see the first female lead for the series be let down by weak characterization, and I was not disappointed in the slightest.
The production is great, which feels like it should be a no-brainer statement. There have been Gundam production misfires in the past, but given the buzz around this project, it would have been scandalous if it looked anything less than stellar. As would be expected, the production on this is handled by Bandai Namco Filmworks, still commonly referred to as Sunrise. Gundam is the company’s bread and butter, with the only other franchise that comes close being Love Live!. That’d be a crossover event. From a design standpoint, I have few complaints, though I’m always thrown a bit when the show starts off and characters are already parading around in bright pink-purple mechs. That color scheme seems like something to build up towards, but this is probably just an aesthetic nitpick on my part. Likewise, the hair styles get a bit zany with bright pink and blue highlights. Such character designs aren’t anything unusual for anime or even the Gundam franchise itself, but those flourishes are almost entirely absent from the prologue episode, so it can be a bit of a disarming shift.
Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:
- I know I attempted to watch Iron-Blooded Orphans on at least two occasions. It shouldn’t be taken as any knock against the show’s quality that I failed to finish it. I specifically remember thinking it was holding together much better than Gundam 00 did. I also tried watching Gundam Wing in the past, but it didn’t click with me.
- I went to look and see what the last show I’d watched from Sunrise/Bandai Namco Filmworks was, and long story short, this is the first time in two years I’ve thought about Wave, Listen to Me!. I had to look up my First Impressions review to even recall why I didn’t like it.
- Due to most of the violence taking place in the mobile suits, it always surprises me a little when a Gundam series gets bloody, which the prologue episode definitely does.
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