Gundam 00 — Episode 24
As you can imagine from this picture, episode 24 is pretty emo. If you haven’t watched it yet, maybe you want to do that first before reading my usual cynical tearing down of what many people may find the most touching episode in the series. On the bright side, we are almost done! (Until season 2 at least.)
If I had to use an analogy to describe this episode, which I don’t but I shall anyway, then I would say that it’s like the fireworks during New Year celebrations. They are pretty nice and colourful but they last only a short while, burning themselves up in the process. Also, the whole fireworks get old after a while when you see them every year.
This is a very shitty analogy, so we shall stop here and move on.
Summary
Ptolemaios and the UN forces regroup their troops after the furious fighting in the previous episode. With just 11 Jinxes left, the UN receives a mysterious reinforcement in the form of a gigantic gold space pimpmobile. The two sides then clash in a final battle for survival, though it seems clear that Setsuna and gang stand no chance against the flying bling fortress.
“That’s no moon…”
Episode 24 is what Sunrise has been saving up for all this while, baby! And by saving up, I refer to the human cast of the series. Just like soylent green, the secret of Sunrise’s patented storyline formula lies in the death of human beings, and, continuing from episode 23’s light appetizer, we are slowly moving into the main course of total annihilation.
Patrick, a long lost member of Team Rocket, finally bites the dust in this episode, courtesy of Tieria Erde. While logically speaking it’s a miracle that he even managed to make it this far, from the perspective of story-telling it makes little sense to have him die at this point of the story, especially considering he just barely escaped death in episode 23.
Dr. Moreno, the doctor who wears a pair of dark sunglasses while he treats potentially-fatal wounds, dies an attack that takes out the entire starboard side of Ptolemaios. Since he had a total of about five seconds worth of appearance in the entire series, I wonder if his meaningless existence was the remnant of an aborted subplot, or if Sunrise really, really wanted to have someone who wears sunglasses in the show?
So he does have eyes…
Halfway through the episode, Christina and Lichty start to share their life stories. This is where you start to sympathize with them before they die later on in the episode. Yes, they die. To her credit, Chris saves Feldt’s life with a white lie, thus preserving the sanity of thousands of fanboys. The world owes you one, Chris. From a storyline viewpoint, this probably paves the way for Feldt to mature into a hardened Gundam Meister with a sexy body.
A cyborg’s got to do what a cyborg’s got to do
On the bright side, Sunrise can now lower the budget and lay off a few seiyuu.
That said, I am not heartless. Though the whole thing was a blatant attempt to create an emotional moment after so many episodes of weak character development, I did fall for it (a little). Christina and that guy, may you rest in peace and not be resurrected as brainwashed cyborg killing machines by the villain in season 2.
By the way, if you are wondering about Lichty’s cyborg body, his parents were orbital elevator technicians and he lost them, along with half his body, as a child during the Solar Conflict .
Screencaps
Is she going to do something or what?
Setsuna is mentally preparing himself for the ensuing rape
Question to Europeans: What’s with the funky colours?
“What’s that weird thing you’re using?” “A pencil.”
First the gold pistol, now this. Definitely compensating for something
Pikachu suit
They need to nerf this in the next patch
“Fire ze missiles!” “But I’m le tired.”
So, has anyone figured out why space smoke is pink in Gundam?
“HULK SMASH!”
It’s amazing how the rest of the room is completely blown apart
This is like Survivors in space
:(
:O
T_T
As a bonus for finishing this review, I present to you a short story.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:45 am
I was hit by a bus 7 years ago, does that count?
Now explain how a bump is somehow more destructive than 15 hours of being shot at by the worlds combined military.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:50 am
@Guner: Sorry to hear that. But I doubt the bus driver had the full intention of ending your existence.
15 hours of minor bombardment in a defensive position is a lot easier to handle than a full on kamikaze run in an open fighting stance. I’ve been tackled like that before in sparring matches, and it hurts a hell of a lot more than people throwing random small shit at you, which I’ve also had the unfortunate honor of experiencing.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:57 am
@Guner
that first 15 hour of barrage was literally using slingshot with limestone pebble. this one they literally upgrade the slingshot to rifle with real penetrating bullets…thats the ‘bump’ diff’ces…i think :P
March 25th, 2008 at 3:23 am
A mobile suit still only has so much mass. It doesnt come close to repeatedly being hit with guns and missiles.
These robots are not big humans. Human anatony doesnt apply in the same way.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:28 am
I totally agree with guner…
To be it seems the gundams slowly became more vulnerable to everything…
They aren’t the only ones either… The GN-X could block Lockon’s sniper shots like it was nothing, and now, anything makes em drop likes flies, Trans-am or not…
March 25th, 2008 at 3:32 am
@Guner: What’s the point of having humanoid robots for them not to be susceptible to nearly the same physics principles as a regular human? Sure there’s no biological aspect to it anymore, but back in episode 15 they were getting rocked to the extent that they should have been.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:34 am
Because it looks cool. And i question your claim that you have been pebbled by dozens of people for 15 hours straight.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Not 15 hours, but long enough to get the point. How long have you ever been stoned by random people’s shit?
March 25th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Then you have no basis for comparing 15 hours of pebbling to being tackled.
More importantly, robots are not passively regenerating like humans do so its a pointless comparison. No matter how tough they are pieces are going to start falling off at some point. Since that point is sometime after 15 hours of bombardment, it follows that simply being hit by a same sized object should not do meaningful damage.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:43 am
The robots are humunoid for the mobility aspect, I don’t replication actual Humanoid physics was the issue, I’m pretty sure in terms of proportions, A gundam is much more resistant to outside forces and impacts of relative strength than a human would. For example, the thrones were deativated by Nadleh and survived a freefall of a thousand feet without causing any damage at all, something of the same proportion for a human would kill or severely injure him. Therefore, I truly believe that if a gundam were to be smashed into by another gundam, the damage would far less than an impact done on human at the same proportionate speed and force.
K, sry for that super geeky analysis. But Logic inst really the issue is it? If it was wed have to start arguing the fact that the human population was able to consrtuct giant space installation to provide power that would be much cheaper to get using other methods and also the feasability of GN particles…
Why don’t we just ignore the irregularities in logic since we do know its purely for cool factor.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Right, the MST 3 K Mantra. Okay im done then.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Since in space… the speed insn’t limited by by air friction and gravity therfore the GN-X probably ran into the gundam at a really really high speed. Since Force = Mass x Acceleration… Who cares what mass you got, if its moving really fast, it will pack a punch!
That’s the most likely explaination.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:52 am
Kinda doubt thats the case. Their weapons only have so much range, move fast enough to do that kind of damage and youd likely only have a few seconds to shoot at the other guys before you need to spend a few minutes turning back around. (and not much of a chance to hit, probably)
March 25th, 2008 at 4:09 am
Woulnd’t the GN-X accelerate to really high speed just before crashing. That’s a really big mass force were talking about. Most of the weapons used by the Gn-X if not all are energy based (therefore thermal damage) best example, when lock-on’s armor gets penetrated by a Gn-X’s saber.
The bullets and artillery shells of the previous episodes were most likely moving at a similar speed than normal tank shells today.
Each shell weighing about 100 kilos fired at a speed of about 900 m/sec
makes an impact force of 90 Mega Joules
But a Gn-X at a guessed weight of 75 tons moving at a normal relative space speed of over 3000 m/sec…
That goes for 225,000 Mega joules (heck of a difference)
That means to equal the strength of that impact the gundam would have to to get hit by 2500 shells simultaniously… and also observe the gundams werent constantly hit but more sieged and unable to move because shells would rain all over.
All this is purely speculation… numbers arent close to the actual thing but hey, its just to show the differences in impact force. And who knows… 75 tons could be lightweight, what if the GN-X weighed more in lines of 150 tons or moved twice the speed I mentionned…
Im pretty sure constant bombardment if too weak to penetrate the armor, all it does it rock the gundam pretty hard… but a head on collision at high speed just tears it apart.
Also note that a single 1cm radius particle moving at high speed in space is enough to cause explosive decompression for a space shuttle.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Oops i think i double posted. So i erased this one.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:29 am
They are fighting in an asteroid field. Their relative speed is not going to be anywhere near that fast. They wouldnt even be able to see eachother at close ranges before they were past eachother.
But even assuming it is, 15 hours of being shot at will still add up to more damage than that. Armor or no armor, its gonna get chipped and stop being effective sooner or later.
Lets not forget that Exia almost had its head torn off in an early episode by a normal suit. They seem to be as durable as the plot demands, actually.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Aww, people don’t appreciate Mister DarkMirage enough.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:56 am
Yea I guess I see your point.
I really think theyre isnt a good measure of durability in Gundam, or that durability often changes depending on the situation. Oh well.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Stop applying real physics to Gundam… think of the catgirls. Anyway, it’s obvious that real physics is minimal in Gundam, or else the Virtue would get blasted backwards by the immense recoil of its GN Bazooka, especially in Trans-Am mode when it rivals Wing Zero’s Twin Buster Rifle. I suppose that on the ground the Virtue could have some sort of GN Cleat Shoes to fix it to the ground, but in space? Unless its thrusters equal the GN Bazooka in output (and they clearly don’t, or else why bother with a bazooka in the first place?), it should get sent rocketing back every time it fires.
So, yeah. No real physics in Gundam. No real engineering, either, or else they would never make “mobile suits” in the first place.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Ha! I became a punchline.
But seriously, when is the next episode review? Ep25 is already out isn’t it?