**First-Timer**

**On today’s episode of Gundam:** I think this may be one of the most 2007 shows I’ve ever seen. The particular topics and themes that the series is covering are directly from that era of the War on Terror and surrounding events. Gundam has always taken inspiration from real-world events, but it’s a bit unusual for me to see that inspiration be things in my own living memory.

– Time for exposition! So the main factions are the Union (basically all the Americas led by the US), the Human Reform League (China, India, and Russia), and the Advanced European Union (the AEU, which is just Europe).

– It’s always weird to me that China and India get combined together in a lot of these fictional far-flung futures. They are very different countries.

– It’s also amusing to me that [the AEU flag](https://imgur.com/l51B76l) is clearly based on the [NATO flag](https://imgur.com/1OrCmjV), when the AEU doesn’t have the US in it. [The European Union flag](https://imgur.com/UTzdIKr) would have made more sense.

– The switchover to using solar energy certainly makes this series feel contemporary. That switchover is picking up pace in our own world.

– Japan is listed as a Union Special Economic Zone. I guess that places Japan within the Union sphere of influence in this world, similar to how Japan is a US ally in the real world.

– That’s a good point. Building a Gundam would require intensive resources, but it doesn’t seem any of the major nations are responsible. So where did the resources come from? [](#harukathink)

– “It sounds like they’ll be assuming our country’s duties.” That’s a heck of a statement to have the Union president make about Celestial Being. This was made in the middle of the US wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

– So the Chinese girl from last time is named Wang Liu Mei. And now she’s wearing a cute explorer’s outfit! I hope we get to keep seeing her in cute outfits! [](#neat)

– The Gundam emits particles that disrupt radar, electronics, and other communication devices. That sounds like Gundam 00’s equivalent to Minovsky Particles. [](#rengethink)

– I love that Lockon carries his Haro with him into battle. That’s sweet. [](#jibrilaww)

– The guy who says “Hallelujah” is named Allelujah? How on-the-nose. [](#kotohoops)

– I see the particles will be called GN Particles.

– Oh wow, that is a real reference to the [Sri Lankan Civil War between the Tamils and Sinhalese.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War) I remember hearing about that because I had a friend in school who was Sri Lankan. He talked about the conflict sometimes.

– Armed intervention in a conflict for the sake of securing energy resources? And the outside soldiers only worsened the conflict, descending the whole area into anarchy? Where have I heard *that* before in 2007? [](#crazedlaugh)

– Looks like Setsuna’s getting flashbacks to his child soldier days. [](#therethere)

– There’s the line! I was waiting to hear Setsuna say “I am a Gundam.” I knew he said something like that! [](#woo)

– “I’ve become a mass murderer, however!…” I feel like that’s a line that can fit so well with a lot of Gundam characters. They kill, but often find ways to justify their killing.

– The Virtue’s gun is so ridiculously powerful. [](#doggo)

– Yup, that’s about how I figured it would go. Celestial Being stops one side’s attack and the other side immediately takes advantage of it to try and counterattack. [](#tiredaoi)

– And naturally Setsuna attacks both sides without hesitation. He sure is dedicated to his mission.

– So the supervillain-looking guy who announced Celestial Being is named Aeolia Schenberg. But he’s been dead for over 200 years? How is that possible? [](#thinkingtoohard)

– We’ll just keep intervening as many times as it takes to put a stop to the fighting. Gee, where have I heard *that* before? Gundam 00 may be the most 2007 show ever made. [](#crazedlaugh)

– Now it’s time for Graham Aker vs. Setsuna. I notice that Graham has blonde hair and an obsession with the Gundam. While he may not have a mask on, I think this makes Graham the most likely candidate to be the Char Clone for this series. [](#csikon)

I think I’m starting to see what might be Celestial Being’s greater plan. At first glance, it seems pretty haphazard. Intervening in an armed conflict to attack both sides isn’t going to put an end to that conflict. It will require intervening over and over again because all you did was temporarily drive apart the warring parties rather than solve the issues at the heart of the conflict. Until those issues are solved, the motivation for fighting remains.

But maybe that’s the point. The dialogue at the very end of the episode indicated that it was Celestial Being’s goal to be hated by both sides. Perhaps Celestial Being is trying to make themselves into a common enemy for the rest of the world to unite against. I’m not sure if it’s a good plan, but I think that might be the plan.

The theme of intervention in conflicts is certainly one that hits hard. Gundam has always waded into warfare and politics, though armed intervention is a particularly thorny topic. There were many such interventions to draw upon for inspiration in the 90s and 00s. Some of the interventions did bring an armistice, many did not. I will be very curious to see how the story explores this theme.

There are plenty of options for how someone like Aeolia Schenberg could still be alive after 200 years. The image of him the reporter found looked like he was receiving some kind of scientific award. So it’s probably the result of mad science. Perhaps Aeolia is the one who discovered GN particles and they made him immortal or slowed down his aging. Perhaps this Aeolia is a clone or robot copy of the original. Perhaps the real Aeolia actually is dead and this is just someone else pretending to be him. I think all of these are possible answers.

**QOTD**

1) I genuinely do not think such a future is possible. I think conflict is something we will always have and we need to learn ways to manage it or find non-violent strategies to mediate and resolve it.

2) It is interesting that Celestial Being have decided to become the villains of the world, attacking anyone who engages in warfare. There’s a kind of pride in it, too. “They’ll never know what we’ve done for them” can be a point of pride. It does make for a unique perspective to explore.

**Episode 2 (first timer)**

* “2307 AD. With the depletion of Earth’s fossil fuels humanity turned to a new source of energy: solar power” – thankfully, this future is hopelessly outdated. If we had waited another 3 centuries before stopping fossil fuels, they would all be baked by now.
* Union = America (and, hard to see, Japan and Australia), Human Reform League = East Asia (but not Japan. And Russia must have lost to Ukraine badly), Advanced European Union (EU plus a few candidates. Not Africa, though).
* Sounds like our narrator is on the Celestial Being pay list.
* Out of the three powers above, I would not have guessed the AEU to be the warmongers, but I guess in 300 years, Europe is back to their old roots.
* “10 years since the elevators were activated. Just as the economy is finally stabilizing …” – no joke. Building an orbital elevator must have been nuts in terms of cost. Building three of them? Insane.
* “… will begin at 3300” – what kind of time scale are they using?
* Iris scan activation.
* Lots of tech porn, but it is mostly cheap computer graphics. A shame, this would have looked gorgeous hand drawn.
* Civil war still ongoing in Sri Lanka? – I have to commend the writers for inserting “on and off” here. Clever way to not be caught out by developments [like the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War) that happened literally 1 year after the series aired.
* Setsuna is becoming mentally unstable before the first battle even begins? That suggests a fun character arc.
* A very one-sided battle.
* Virtue is still overkill.
* “dead for over 200 years” – Clone? Android? Deep freeze?
* *Duel in the sky* cliff-hanger.

For some reason, they did not give Africa to the AEU in their splitting the world, even though the AEU orbital elevator is stationed there. Do they need a neutral battlefield, 1984 style?

**Rewatcher, Subbed**

**[Non-Spoiler Character Chart](https://i.imgur.com/PXN0yNV.jpeg)** – Mostly just getting better images for a few characters today; Aeolia Schenberg also has the honor of being the first grayed out character with the revelation that he’s been dead for 200 years.

***

Last episode just threw us into things, but episode two gives us a much needed opening narration to discuss the state of the world.

Wow, the orbital elevator sure goes a far distance above Earth.

Are the three black dots on the screen supposed to be the location of the three orbital elevators? Cause one thing I noted was that Africa and much of the Middle East are left out of the three main governmental bodies in the world, yet one of those black dots is right in the middle of Africa.

So there’s no confusion whatsover they’ve simply put the term Gundam on the Gundams…

They announced themselves as Celestial Being, but that doesn’t stop the AEU from thinking its a Union or Human Reform League scheme. Good point on where in the world are they getting the resources to develop these things if not aligned with one of the three?

So in the 2300s the equivalent of the US President (who now reigns over the rest of North and South America) no longer resides in the oval office…

So Celestial Being gets to hang out on a tropical island, nice gig, huh?

Totally different get up for Wang than yesterday’s episode…

Lonely Setsuna, he doesn’t get his own Haro to accompany him.

Virtue is so big that even the Unit 02 from Gundam 0083 seems skinny compared to it.

The Gundams can do an atmospheric re-entry on their own? That’s quite impressive. GN Particles are an amazing thing.

All four Gundams working together for a mission? Alright, 00 has already set itself apart from Gundam Wing.

Government leaders are already thinking about getting their hand on a Gundam.

Celestial Being’s really gonna be able to resolve an ethnic conflict that’s been going on for hundreds of years?

One of these mech types on Cylon (the brownish one) is just like the ones that were attacking in Setsuna’s episode one flashback.

Yep, Setsuna’s recognized it as well.

Wow, I had forgotten the infamous line came this early in the show! I AM GUNDAM!

“Did I get him”, sure Mr. Rando. You took out the lead Gundam in episode 2.

Is Setsuna gonna let those last two go?

“We appreciate the help! Let’s go back and fight some more!” I think you two totally missed the point.

Aeolia Schenberg’s been dead 200 years… so he either did a damn good job predicting the future, Celestial Being is ripping off his plans all these years later… or Gundam 00 is also a zombie show. Or perhaps a vampire show as I am hearing Koyomi Araragi as one of the Gundam Meisters…

Celestial Being’s so good its members can finish each other’s sentences thousands if not tens of thousands of miles away from each other…

Can’t be a Gundam show without a blonde haired rival, right?

***

**Quid’s Voice Actor of the Day**

Today I’ll be focusing on our second Gundam Meister, **Lockon Stratos**, who is voiced by **Shinichiro Miki**. This is his sole Gundam voice acting credit. He’s been in the industry since the mid 90s and was in the first subbed anime I ever saw, Escaflowne, where he played Allen Schezar. Other mecha anime roles of his include Rudolph in Back Arrow, Lasse Lundberg in Brain Powered and Ryousuke Katashiro in Star Driver. He’s one of several Monogatari alumni to appear in 00, in said franchise he plays Deishu Kaiki. In the Fate franchise he plays Assassin from Fate Stay/Night as well as Leonidas in Fate Grand Order. I’ve also run across him as Aikuro Mikisugi in Kill la Kill, Hikaru Tsurugi in Key the Metal Idol, and Kai Shimada in March Comes in Like a Lion. Lastly, he has the misfortune of playing Shintaro, the lead in Lime Colored War Tales, which is in the conversation for worst anime I’ve ever seen, lol.

In the English dub, Lockon is played by **Alex Zahara**, which is the only dub role I’ve actually heard him in, although he does play roles in franchises like Gintama (as Shinsuke Takasugi) and Future Boy Conan (as Lepka). He’s also appeared in roles on a variety of live action TV shows and movies filmed in Vancouver such as Stargate SG-1, The Dead Zone and The Man in the High Castle.

***

Question of the day!

> 1) What do you think it would take for there to not be conflict in the world anymore?

Call me pessimistic if you want, but its never going to happen. Conflict is part of the human experience. If one found a single entity for humanity to band together and fight against (ex. alien invaders), humanity would still fight amongst itself once they were no longer in the picture. If humanity figured out a way to produce infinite resources, eliminating the root cause of so much conflict across the world, I totally expect humanity to ruin or destroy whatever caused that “utopia” to occur and things would get bad again.

> 2) Given they seem to accept being the bad guys (like with Allelujah calling himself a mass murderer after the bombing), what do you think of the show setting Celestial Being as the protagonists?

I really like the perspective, this is a similar reason to why I like IBO so much. To so much of the world Celestial Being are going to be viewed as the bad guys and the way the media/history portrays them is going to be slanted based on that view point. Here we get to view things directly from their perspective. That doesn’t mean we have to agree with them, but at least we are in a more objective position than we’d be in otherwise.

*A Gundam Fan Rewatches Gundam 00 Episode 2:*

– The more things change on Earth, the more things stay the same. Even with the construction of the orbital elevators and orbital ring and the end of a reliance on fossil fuels in favor of solar energy, the nations of the world continue to play their games. The Union, the AEU, and the HRL play their zero-sum games against one another in the name of supremacy. The global political landscape has changed, but the misdeeds of men have remained the same. That is, until now…

– As expected, all of the politicians of the three power blocs are trying to figure out what’s even going on with this supposed “Celestial Being”. While the HRL is just taking in the fact that they stopped the terrorist attack, the AEU is wondering just how the hell any highly advanced mobile suits could be developed entirely in secret without any kind of obvious support, and the Union is wondering how to use Celestial Being to their advantage. Gee, do you think this show is trying to say something by having the American talk about how they intervene in foreign conflicts for the safety of their citizens, while also saying that they’re not doing it out of charity? Talk about being as unsubtle as Metal Gear with its messages already.

– There’s something funny about Hong Long carrying Wang in ankle deep water, as if she refuses to even get slightly inconvenienced despite wearing a trendy explorer’s outfit herself. It’s probably only a matter of time before she uses his back at a footrest.

– I guess you can say for Graham Aker, it was love at first sight when it comes to the Gundams. He’s practically all in on them once Billy Katagiri explains the odd particles they seem to emit. Never get between a man and his interest in shiny new toys, I suppose.

– I know it’s mainly here just to show off the cool new mechs, but I suppose it does help to have all these back to back scenes of all the Gundams launching and the pilots announcing their names over comms as they take control. It at least lets you get used to their names early enough. But still, wow, cool robots!

– Man, I bet there’s gotta be a lot of pissed-off Sri Lankans in the future with how that place somehow went back to being called Ceylon. Maybe that’s also why the Tamil Tigers have somehow revived themselves in the future, aside from the ethic conflict that Sumeragi mentions in her mission briefing. Now, I know that there was no way the show’s writers would know that the Tamil Tigers would go defunct in 2009, like right after this anime finished airing, but it’s still fun to poke at knowing what we know.

– Another thing that’s a bit fun to watch is all these HRL Tierens fight against these Tamil Tiger Anfs. These mechs really do move like you’d expect more realistic one to at their size, being clunky and somewhat slow in their movements. It’s like they’re more like BattleTech’s ‘Mechs instead of Mobile Suits, which makes the Gundams stand out all the more when Celestial Being intervenes.

– We did it, team! We got Setsuna’s “I am a Gundam!” We’re off to a good start here!

– Just to prove that Celestial Being is 100% serious to their commitment to ending all armed conflict, Setsuna destroys the Tamil Tigers Anfs that chase after the retreating HRL Tierens, after everyone else wrecks the entire nearby HRF army. Any organization who tries to continue the cycle of violence will be cut down, no matter who they are or what the situation is. To Celestial Being, this is the only way to ensure lasting peace: their own version of a Roman peace.

– And just to crank up the mystery about Celestial Being, JNN reporters discover something odd about the video broadcast they released: the man in the video, Aeolia Schenberg, has apparently been dead for over 200 years. That certainly casts a long shadow over Celestial Being’s existence. Just how long have they been planning for the day to enforce their version of peace across the world?

– Well, at least Graham is polite, introducing himself right as he attacks the Gundam Meisters with his Flag. And now that we’re seeing how the Flag looks, he really wasn’t kidding in the last episode by saying that the Enact is an AEU knock-off of it. They just copied the Union’s homework and tweaked it so it doesn’t look like they’re cheating.

**First Timer**

[He said the thing!
](https://imgur.com/a/U29AuvU)

[](#happyclap)

So like I expected this episode starts off with some exposition explaining the setting and the gist of what happened last episode, it’s a pretty simple setup on the surface level but as seen in this episode, it should allow for both large and small scale politicking and conflict, seeing how these factions and their own sub factions play off of each other as well as Celestial being should be really interesting.

I already knew Gundam has a reputation with character names, but man, [this is pretty ridiculous](https://imgur.com/a/AKXLnkp), I love it.

[](#azusalaugh)

Looks like Setsuna has some PTSD, he’s obviously still haunted by what he witnessed as a kid, these interventions have similarities to his own past situation and that clearly effects his actions during combat, acting rashly and being unresponsive, although he keeps intact when needed to.

Stoic protagonist with heavy war baggage is a trope I’ll always like so of course I already like Setsuna and his traits should be serve for some good stuff down the line.

For one, his behavior is pretty terrible within a team operation, something that is already earning him ire and will presumably continue to cause conflict as things get more serious, outside of that seeing him deal with his past will hopefully give strong emotional moments (perhaps with some tests of morality in the interventions).

[I can’t help but find this scene really funny out of context](https://imgur.com/a/uvcqi7r)

[](#serialkillerlaugh)

Celestial Being makes their contradictory nature more clear, they’ll both scare off anyone who tries to do war through continuous shows of force and simultaneously unite the world in opposition to themselves, basically [meta different sunrise mecha show spoilers]>!the Zero Requiem!<, whether or not it will actually work though seems a bit dubious to me right now.

Action is good, I mean, I said it last episode as well, the show does a good job of making the Gundams really fucking cool, [even just standing there they exude a presence](https://imgur.com/a/RNKkHjc), but the non Gundam mechs are also good here, they feel “hefty” for lack of a better description, Virtue is probably my favorite of the Gundams right now because…big laser, but that is very much subject to change, Kyrios is not far off, next episode should have a more competitive mech fight so looking forward to that.

[](#rengehype)

Finally, I was going to praise the OST this episode and then I checked and realized that Kenji Kawai did the music for this show???!!! now I’m extra hyped!

[](#mugiwait)

**First Timer**

This feels more like a proper first episode than the actual first episode lol. I do think having most of the infodumps here instead of yesterday was a good choice, though. In particular, starting out the series with a young Setsuna in the middle of a war zone is a much, much more powerful opener than the spiel we got at the beginning today would have been. 

I actually thought that spiel was necessary because WOW there are so many acronyms and names and factions to keep track of already, and we haven’t even hit the third episode. At least they’ve simplified matters by combining most of the world’s countries into convenient groups. A quick question for rewatchers: Should I be thinking of the AEU and the like as individual super-nations or more as alliances/unions like the EU in the real world? Those two things are pretty different. 

After all of yesterday’s action, I was expecting something a lot more low-key, but nope, we’re already invading Sri Lanka (which is now going by Ceylon again for some reason). I will say that the Gundam Meisters look virtually identical to me while wearing helmets, so it might take a couple episodes for me to tell them apart 100% of the time. I’m already starting to question Celestial Being’s *real* goals and motivations here; it seems that they’re trying to make themselves a target in order to force international unity against them, but I doubt they’re doing any of this out of the goodness of their hearts. Wang Liu Mei in particular seems a bit shifty to me, as does the man giving the broadcast…

**Rewatcher – Gundam 00 Ep2:**

Just going with random assorted points today.

Was paying attention to [the karaoke subtitles this time which made me realize that the OP song had some English lines.](https://i.imgur.com/8ooN6k3.png)

[](#kotourashock)

[Edmonton mention!](https://i.imgur.com/xGtcSra.png) Will not be the last for Gundam. Gundam must have fascination with the Canadian prairies because those two are the only Canadian cities highlighted on the map. Okay, actually talking about a map thing releavent to the show, I understand it comes down to geopolitic alignment, but it will never not be funny to me seeing Japan leave its neighbours to hang out on the other side of the Pacific.

[He said the thing!](https://i.imgur.com/EO8s17F.png)

[](#binoculars)

[Silly girl. Randomly putting on a safari outfit.](https://i.imgur.com/0fExQLM.png)

[](#happyclap)

[Screenshot I took because Tieria looked kinda cute in this random shot. idk](https://i.imgur.com/flprGde.png)

[Gundam 00:] >!Had this thought last night, but it is interesting that they give Haro to Lockon amongst the cast. Traditionally, Haro represents childhood and they gave it to the most “adult” of the four. Something I will have to keep my eye on while watching.!<

I think it is very cute that Lockon has a Haro buddy that he carries around. [Even has a little seat in his cockpit.](https://i.imgur.com/WPyRv37.png)

[](#anko)

An unrelated tangent. A Gundam question: Did Suletta Mercury ever hold a Haro? At best, she rode a Haro scooter. Rouji is the character most associated with Haro in that show, but I don’t think you can extrapolate anything from that front. On the Haro prominence scale, G-Witch feels like Haro is just a mascot cameo. (IBO is on the opposite spectrum where it doesn’t have Haro, but Haro’s absence can actually be thematically tied).

It feels a little weird seeing [ethnic (conflict) be brought up by name in Gundam.](https://i.imgur.com/LJJwO4s.png) Doesn’t happen to often. Even G Gundam didn’t super have it. The Tuareg in ZZ is another example that comes to mind.

[He said the thing!](https://i.imgur.com/GrFV9FX.png) And people are equally confused hearing it for the first time in-universe too.

Good to see [Allelujah already reached the “I’ve become a mass murderer” stage of Gundam character](https://i.imgur.com/ot7A72w.png) by episode 2.

[Gundam 00:] >!Not to already levy against CB’s questionable approach by ep2, but ending ethnic conflict by killing both ethnicities doesn’t seem like the best way when you lay the events out, chief.!<

Man, episode 2 and [Graham is already establishing how much of a freak he is.](https://i.imgur.com/jm0vOKt.png) (He’s fun).

___

**Q2)** I think there is something kind of meta-narratively funny about how this show stars a radical third party who shows up on to the scene to shoot both sides in the name of peace. Something criticized by other characters and the show. This considering the *previous* Gundam show that came before this. Just a snark from me.

[](#rinkek)

**Firsttimer** who is still strapped for time

* Finally, [narration](https://imgur.com/7k7fptz), this clears a lot of things up for me, will still take time to recognise who belongs to which faction though
* I noticed [her](https://imgur.com/MU4F8Bo) yesterday, but now I must think she is of russian descent, and something tells me she is best girl [](#squee)
* Wait, is this [Miss China Dress](https://imgur.com/LvnSTmT)? She still looks great
* She makes it sounds like she isn’t in her [mid 20s max](https://imgur.com/b6Hzoye)
* Wait, does the Kyrios have [different loadouts](https://imgur.com/clRF0bT)?
* Why does only one of them have a [Haro](https://imgur.com/A7HWgKs)?
* [English](https://imgur.com/RnX5GUF)
* Curious coming from the one in the Mech that’s a [fighter plane](https://imgur.com/3zqjlLx)
* Oh, it’s [them](https://imgur.com/YVW6cGo). They are either the same guys, or only have access to some old MS
* [Gundam desu](https://imgur.com/g22dJDF) [](#suddenshock)
* Interesting [setup](https://imgur.com/q5qFcTy)
* [Oh no](https://imgur.com/xxfvIYI), [Anyway](https://imgur.com/hL7tRWI) [](#laughter)
* Show the [transformation](https://imgur.com/W9Jy5oP) you cowards [](#protest) Though a good look at the [Kyrios](https://imgur.com/hoMMjxW) is apreciated
* The [Exia](https://imgur.com/UDoaBOg) is also growing a bit on me
* [What](https://imgur.com/QqFwBbi)
* They are [unifying](https://imgur.com/2WqEBVE) the factions against them, I guess this is one way to do it
* [Gundam desu](https://imgur.com/INEUjql)

QotD

* I thought free energy would do the trick, but this setting seems hellbend on proving me wrong
* Certainly an interesting take, can’t say I’m watching the villains yet, but would be a breath of fresh air

**Kidou Senshi Rewatcher 00**

Where the first episode was overloaded with detail and didn’t always contextualize it, this episode was much more of a breather, with much neater exposition that fully contextualizes every noted player’s place in the world, and the clearing of the mounting mysteries means the audience gets to spend all the more drawn-out scenes pondering what the show has given them so far.

The status quo of the wider world is pretty straightforward in terms of how it informs the show’s perspective on the world: we have the infinite potential of solar energy, a resource which is practically unlimited so we don’t have to compete over it, at our disposal, yet we still insist on engaging in meaningless international squabbles for no reason other than historical trends and national pride. The world is stagnant and needs a shake up.

That then nicely leads us into the battle in Ceylon which takes up most of the episode. The Sri Lankan Civil War was [an actual ongoing conflict during the series’ run](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War), which I think is a perfect representation of what the series is doing here from a worldbuilding point of view. The stagnancy of the current world order means that, for all that has changed and how much time has passed, we’re still stuck fighting the same conflicts of centuries past.

This also plays into what I said yesterday about how interesting it is from a metatextual perspective how the setting forgoes the alternate calendars common of Gundam continuities and instead uses the traditional AD calendar. With the context of this episode, this now almost feels like a declaration of what it’s trying to do differently compared to the rest of the franchise: rather than use the futuristic setting to divorce itself from the trappings of the present, with the ways it reflects the present being more subtextual, 00 feels like it’s building more explicit continuity between the world the viewer is familiar with & the future its presenting, one informed by all of the same political anxieties and strife which defined the era the show was made in.

All of this context makes the Sri Lanka battle, which isn’t exactly deep in isolation, the perfect next showing of what Celestial Being is trying to accomplish on a wider level. They’re here to break the repetitive, stagnant cycles of conflict which have kept us at each other’s throats even longer after we should have realized it was all futile and pointless.

And while the episode is mostly focused on these larger world and thematic concerns, it’s thankfully not devoid of character moments. The big one here, of course, being Setsuna’s moment of consideration when he deploys and the infamously memetic “I am Gundam” line. It’s a bit simple but also very strong, evoking the fantastic starting scene of the first episode to both remind us of Setsuna’s war orphan past, yet channeling the bolt of hope & inspiration the Gundam instilled in him as he now fills the role of savior rather than saved. It’s a solid reminder of why these interventions are necessary, in his eyes, and while it doesn’t exactly add that much that couldn’t already be inferred from the first episode, having it shown more explicitly is nice.

And, of course, while it’s hard to discuss in detail for spoiler reasons, let’s just say that the twinge of complexity [this line](https://imgur.com/a/foCvDwV) added to Celestial Being’s plans, showing that there’s much more going on than just “shooting at both sides until they stopped fighting” is *very* interesting. And the revelation of Aeolia Schenberg having been dead for 200 years only confirmed that intrigued even more.

**Odds & Ends**

– Small worldbuilding detail: [transforming mechs are not a common sight on the battlefield](https://imgur.com/a/SGtkAu6)

– [Russia is core to the HRL, yet European Russia, which contains the vast majority of its population, isn’t part of it?](https://imgur.com/a/MPWl01T) Either the balance of cultural & political power shifted far in Siberia’s favor in the intervening 3 centuries, or the creators just didn’t care much when drawing these maps.
[](#harukathonk)

– [COMMENTARY!](https://imgur.com/a/6O0gh9O)

**00th Timer Searching for the One**

I forgot that I picked this tag line just [last week](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1far9o7/interest_thread_for_a_mobile_suit_gundam_00/llvvley/?context=10000) [](#eheheh)

Replaying the Celestial Being’s message at the start of the episode is a nice way to slip some extra recap under the table, especially considering the later reveal. However, it shows how far journalism has fallen over the centuries. What kind of pointless journalism plays [the Enemy Propaganda™](https://i.imgur.com/jdSpjf7.jpeg) over and over again unedited and unannotated?! The lazy bastards think they’re being paid just to sit back and show the facts as is? No, the uneducated people don’t need to hear this bullshit propaganda, they need to hear journalists discussing [theories about which enemy nation is backing this organisation](https://i.imgur.com/QdYVAIF.jpeg), and how they’ll eat your Haros if you’re not careful. Our dear people at home need ~~baseless fear mongering~~ an accurate and loud analysis of all the possible problems this could cause, no matter how unlikely.

[](#protest) [](#protest) [](#protest)

With that out of the way, I like the focus of the episode on an ethnic war. Stopping wars sounds nice in principal, you burn every hand that’s raised over the line, and everyone learns to keep their hands to themselves, but in practice, when you get down to the grime of it all, there are far more messy cases where you can’t even find the line, much less the hands being raised over it, so they just had to burn everyone. Even then, for people who have been fighting for generations, that would not be enough to stop them.

Basically, you’re hitting the brakes on a long turning cycle, so everyone will be slamming into the wall.

Notes:

* [Australia is not destroyed!](https://i.imgur.com/XcGLyOB.jpeg) I repeat: Australia has not been destroyed! Not yet anyway… [](#regretdecisions)
* [This girl is having a lot of fun](https://i.imgur.com/AuX7vhn.jpeg) is she the one who’s truly leading the operation?
* Hmm, [it all boils down to resources](https://i.imgur.com/RonhW3D.jpeg)
* [This war](https://i.imgur.com/bB3ZB3m.jpeg) is actually based on [a real conflict](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War), although, in our world, it ended 3 years after 00, with the Tamil side being defeated, rather than [going on for 3 centuries](https://i.imgur.com/Ssn3jwC.jpeg).
* Ok, no mask yet, but [Kintoki is Char](https://i.imgur.com/oFvCLrq.jpeg) [confirmed](https://i.imgur.com/s5GsIMi.jpeg)
* I expected the [“I am a Gundam”](https://i.imgur.com/yvByRAr.jpeg) thing to come off as funny even in context, but no, it makes sense. He lost faith in a God who can save him, then the Gundam popped up to take that place, and he took that responsibility into his own hand.
* [That’s some powerful imagery](https://i.imgur.com/yyD0fLu.jpeg) – the bloody cost of “stopping” war.
* [I don’t think it’ll go that simply](https://i.imgur.com/RFXJRtv.jpeg) – but I’m surprised at how large the organisation is, you’ve got the 4 pilots, the Captain and her mates, the Chinese duo, green hair here and his friend,… that’s enough to have a bunch of double agents and back stabbings.
* [I see, so the sinister old man is immortal!](https://i.imgur.com/NvsFmqb.jpeg) Ooooor, they were probably all too shy to make any gaudy speeches, so they got this stock video on the web or something. ~~Ok, I know that the more likely answer is that the organisation has existed in secret for centuries, hence why they were able to build those superior weapons, but I like to imagine that they just went to some youtube archive and found a video that fits their purposes~~

Hey that’s just off the coast of Indonesia.

Russia, India, and China? That’s just BRICS without the B or the S.

That’s not exactly a question, they’ve shown themselves already.

Roll credits!

So she’s the one giving orders?

That’s a GN Drive.

EMALS?

And so they’re off on their next mission.

Ceylon? Isn’t that Sri Lanka?

Yup.

Sure looks like it.

Not sure what you can do to solve a few hundred year conflict by bombing the shit out of everything, but that’s never stopped anyone in the past.

What’s a Flag? A mobile suit of some kind?

They’ve got specially designed artillery mobile suits? I like that.

So he’s the one we saw in the intro being saved by the Gundam.

Yup, he is Gundam.

So it’s a LAM.

And there goes that ship. What did they need the ship for anyways?

So that’s what a Flag is. Also a LAM.

And it’s actually something that is managing to stand against a Gundam.

Questions:

1. Humanity to cease to exist. Even then there’s conflict between animals so perhaps all life to exist.
2. They’re certainly sticking their heads into none of their business. And killing a lot of people in the process. Though perhaps they may be saving lives through that too.