Gundam 00 — Episode 14
This episode is quite interesting. It’s a build-up for the huge battle that is coming soon, so there’s a whole bunch of talking and I like talking episodes, as long as it’s not mostly teenage angst.
There are some new characters and background information about the G00 universe being introduced, and also, we have the new OP and ED. I love the new ED! The new OP is fine I guess.
New OP
The new OP is “Ash Like Snow” by the brilliant green. I’m not the one translating this.
“I’m God!”
Everything is in ruins but this fence still stands
It’s a trap
Wait a minute… Isn’t that United Nations’ flag on the ground?
New Gundams!
It’s not very clear here, but those things are funnels
Episode Summary
This entire episode is basically a build-up for a huge joint military exercise between the Union, HRL and AEU. It’s some kind of elaborate plan to get to the Gundams but, if you actually stop to think about it, it’s actually quite contrived and illogical.
Basically they plan to hold the military exercise in the Taklamakan Desert located in northwest China. Apparently it’s the place where China sent all its enriched uranium for storage after solar energy made nuclear power obsolete. This is partially my own conjecture because it’s never actually explained in the episode what “enriched uranium dumping ground” means, since nobody actually dumps enriched uranium in reality, only depleted uranium.
Illogical as it may be, the plan does make for a convenient excuse to send all the familiar characters to China and gather them in one little desert to fight it out with Celestial Being. (Apparently Celestial Being gets owned, according to the preview for the next episode.)
Graham’s Anti-Gundam Investigation Unit finally gets officially activated. The codename is Overflags, which is frankly a stupid name, and its overt operational status is the 8th Independent Tactical Aviation Squadron, a special air unit comprising entirely of Flags. They also get twelve new pilots who are apparently the aces of the various Union aviation units and come from exotic places such as Alaska, Georgia and Illinois. I guess other than the United States, the rest of the Union is pretty much useless.
Also, it seems that elite pilots in the Union get to have their own customized flight patches. Is this true of the modern day USAF? Somehow it sounds terribly silly.
Meanwhile, we are introduced to a new character on the AEU side. Finally, the Europeans get to have someone who is not Patrick to represent them on screen.
It’s a reversed trap
Her name is Katie Manekin (or something like that) and she is the commander of the squadron which Patrick belongs to. Also, she bitch slaps Patrick like twice for being late. And he likes it.
And finally, the most shocking revelation of all, Ali Al-Serges is a member of the French Foreign Legion! And a pretty trusted one too! Those French must have some terrible background checks. Anyway, his cover identity is Gerry Biaggi (which is an Italian name I believe?) and he is the commander of the 4th Independent Foreign Cavalry Regiment. He is given some top secret mission orders in preparation for the military exercise, probably to capture the Gundams.
Man, what’s next? The Union President is actually Sumeragi’s father?
Oh and we finally get to see Celestial Being’s secret base. (Or at least part of it.) They have a space dock in an artificial asteroid field near Lagrange L1 point, which is the Lagrange point between Earth and Moon. Apparently, Union built their space colony there and moved a ton of mineral asteroids nearby in order to mine for construction materials.
New ED
The new ED is “Friends” by Stephanie. I am translating this. It sounds quite different from her previous songs.
Screencaps
“I’m a parody of some Japanese TV personality.”
In reality, secret meeting rooms are much better-lit
Sunglasses
Hair buns
Comedic relief
Emoing in Ireland
Finally sick of Saji
The HRL can’t afford enough hangers to store all their mobile suits indoors
“It’s been half the series and this is my third appearance”
A new bastard appears
Setsuna is a creepy sex predator
Go France!
G00 is quality entertainment.
January 13th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Always glad to witness the knowledge of people here who knows quite a bit about military. When I first saw the individual emblems of the ‘Overflags’ (I too have to admit that it isn’t a terribly sound name), I assumed that they just represented which squadron they were originally from, until I found out that they were just individual Ace emblems like in other Sunrise series.
Yep, emblems and ‘patches’ are not for individuals, but for squadrons or a division. Even back in WWII you do not see Panzer aces or fighter aces (even the best known ones) getting their own unique stuff; they are just the same as others but with different numbers (and with kill marks if the machine had a long service record).
Interesting how we have quite a mixed opinions on the 4 OPs and EDs. Don’t mind either new OP or ED so far, so but I do hear several people not liking the animation in ED.
Random oddballs aside, what is the name of the MS that Ali will be getting? Sounds like that it’s gonna be a one-of-a-kind ones, and I heard it’s called Agarisa or something. Correct me if there’s something wrong.
January 13th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Everyone in the ED looked like ‘orz’
January 13th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Yeah, though it reflects quite a bit of the characters’ feelings.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
The 2 OPs have a common theme: battles, ruins, the focus characters themselves. That’s by all the only things they have shown.
January 13th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Quite frankly, while I liked the new op, the new ending made me go “Cheer up, emo kids ! or at least get a gun and put yourself out of our misery…”
January 14th, 2008 at 1:27 am
YAY! No more guys wailing like banshees for the ED.
The new gundams are kind of interesting, for the top half of them. The leg design looks like an insect. And I thought that Exia’s tiny free weird.
Not sure if any of you are keeping with the G00 manga but there are 4 other Gundams owned by Celestial Being including the Astrara in the same time frame. Only 1 of them looks like a Throne gundam but I can’t say. So, from the looks of it, CB has up to 11 gundams. Lets take over the world!
January 14th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Setsuna was mentioned again in the preview of the next episode. Is he gonna be late and then save the day or something? O_o;
January 14th, 2008 at 2:30 am
Wow can wait for the translation to be done! And more gundams! Wow thanks darkmirage!
January 14th, 2008 at 4:17 am
Psst… NorthWEST China. I mean, where I grew up it was kind of like a desert in its own right, but Taklamakan is in another league altogether.
I, too, like the ED much better than the OP, but in my opinion they’re both a lot superior to Wana and Daybreak’s Bell, respectively.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:25 am
lmao @ “Go France” and Setsuna being a sex predator.
This looks like it might turn out to be more interesting after all, despite the illogical situation.
January 14th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Hey Guys,
If you look carefully toward the end of the new opening, 1 of the 3 new gundams fired a beam at Exia. (and Exia blocked it with its sheld) Does this means these yet-to-be introduced gundams are actually opposing Celestial Being?
January 14th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
@photon
Thrones are another Order of Angels, like Kyrios and Virtue. Hence they are another class of CB Gundams. (Note that Thrones are higher up the chain of command than the other Angel classes shown so far, so they are suppose to be more powerful.)
Therefore by this reasoning Celestial Being is going to turn evil, and the gundam meisters will fight against them! Plot twist foreseen.
January 15th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Judging from the preview and comments, it seems that Setsuna and crew will fail this mission and another team will move in to intervene. And because of what the LoN did, the new CB team will proceed with their own mission plan to eradicate all Humans? But throwing back Fin Funnel from the UC??? Another NewType pilot?
January 16th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Interesting prediction you got there, Seraphim. I look forward to seeing it happen.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:04 am
This episode confirms it, Marina’s security is non-existent, I’m packing my bags and going to visit Azadistan to do things to her in the middle of the night.