Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Nips Love In The Bud In 'If I Could Take One More Step Towards You'

Slowly but surely, "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury" has been moving towards full-scale war. This episode featured the show's first real group battle, as Suletta is made to fight not just Shaddiq but his five teen girl lieutenants at the same time. Chuchu takes the field for the first time, but she isn't the only one. Even noncombatants like Lilique and Till are made to fight. They can't hold their own against Shaddiq's experienced cohort, but they show more of an affinity for the battlefield than you might think. Lilique makes a rival (despite herself) out of Shaddiq's ally Renee, as clear a qualification for Gundam main character status as you can find. Meanwhile, Till takes point on the episode's final twist, directing Chuchu's sharpshooting prowess to ensure victory.

"Revolutionary Girl Utena," which influenced "The Witch From Mercury," only ever featured one-on-one duels. But those duels were never as important as what they represented to the characters. "The Witch From Mercury" still uses its giant robot battles to dramatize the messy teen problems of its cast. But these battles have to be more literal, if only because Gundam has always been about war. Suletta and her friends have been given a nine-episode course in giant robot combat. Sooner or later, as much as they might want to profess otherwise, they will know exactly what "Gundam" means. "The Witch From Mercury" might explode into "Fire Emblem: Three Houses" style combat or something more subdued. Either way, blood will be shed, robots destroyed and lives changed.

Until then, we have teenage romance. This episode quickly wraps up the simmering tension between Shaddiq and Miorine. Shaddiq offers to buy Miorine's company, allow her to remain the head and offer his own resources for further expansion. Miorine refuses to trust him, suspecting that Shaddiq changed the rules of the student council last episode to seize her company (and he did.) Who is right? We know that Miorine is correct, and that Shaddiq does in fact intend to take the Aerial for himself. But we discover in this episode that Shaddiq believes he is doing this for Miorine's own good. As Miorine's childhood friend and staunch ally, he believes that a naive schoolgirl like Suletta lacks the brains and the ruthlessness to defend her bride.

Shaddiq represents a unique kind of poison compared to past enemies Guel and Elan. Guel took what he believed was his by right. Elan wanted Suletta to be something she wasn't. (His sponsor, the real Elan, is worse.) Shaddiq kept out of the duels because he didn't want to hurt Miorine. But he never saw her as an equal. To use "Revolutionary Girl Utena" language, Shaddiq wants to be Miorine's prince, not her partner. Miorine needs a partner, not a prince. Suletta believed in her capabilities without ever being asked, but Shaddiq has only ever been taught to believe in himself. So Miorine nips Shaddiq's love for her in the bud, even after he learns his lesson. He might have stood a chance if he was honest about what he wanted from the beginning.

At the core of this episode are two conversations with Suletta along a road lined with lights. First with Guel, then with Shaddiq. Suletta asks that Guel join them in the coming duel, but Guel turns her down; he is still unwilling to defy his father outright even though his father despises and distrusts him. Meanwhile, Shaddiq has a message for Suletta: "Talk some sense into your bride." Miorine requested earlier that the duel with Shaddiq be streamed publicly outside of Asticassia. As far as Shaddiq is concerned, Miorine is only embarrassing herself. "Don't let her fight a battle she can't win," he says. But Suletta disagrees. "If I'm her groom," she says, "I'll believe in my bride."

The direction of this sequence is striking. The lights turn on and off as these conversations evolve, a simple but effective trick. The lighting and music perfectly evoke the ominous mood necessary for Shaddiq's declaration of war on Suletta. It demonstrates an attention to detail that "The Witch From Mercury" has been struggling to match recently outside of its entertaining giant robot fights. At the same time, it's another example of just how much Suletta has grown over these nine episodes. When she was once too scared to face Guel directly off the battlefield, she is now willing to ask him for help. She chooses to believe in Miorine even in the face of Shaddiq, who cannot see her as anything but a stubborn and misguided child. "The Witch From Mercury" is not subtle or particularly original in its character beats, but it is very functional. Not a bad thing to be, compared to past and present original anime projects.

The battle that ends this episode is a highlight as always. Shaddiq's Michaelis unit isn't quite as flashy as the other mobile suits we've seen; it's an all-rounder compared to the destructive Garilbalde or the speedy Gundam Pharact. But it reflects Shaddiq's personality. His strategy is to outnumber Suletta's "family" and then surgically disarm the Aerial, rather than show off his own piloting ability. He even manages to briefly disable the Aerial's abilities via Antidote technology, a Grassley specialty. Suletta's always been more confident in the cockpit of her robot than in person; here, we learn it is because she trusts that the Aerial will have her back. When the Aerial is taken away, we see her experience true fear for the first time.

Of course, the Aerial is too strong to be defeated by something as simple as Antidote. As Suletta asks for the chance to fight on her own terms, the Aerial's guiding spirit reemerges, and Lady Prospera sheds a single tear. The hero attaining new power by exceeding new limits is a classic anime cliche. We've even seen it happen in earlier episodes, like with the Aerial's destruction of the Gundam Pharact. Even so, there were two small details here that I liked. The first is that Chuchu and Earth House, rather than Suletta, score the final blow against Shaddiq. It's a vital win for Earth House that proves Suletta's willingness to collaborate has merit compared to the tyrannical philosophy of the Benerit Group. Second, each Aerial battle has made it an even more terrifying superweapon. It goes viral after the duel with Shaddiq (thanks to Suletta's little dance.) What happens when a gun becomes a meme? We're about to find out.

Suletta's List: This week, Suletta accomplishes something she never had on her list at all: standing on her own. She succeeds.

The Suletta and Miorine Power Hour: Potential romance with Shaddiq dissolved for now, Suletta is now Miorine's best friend/partner. I'm going to guess that NTR was not on Suletta's list, either.

The Robot Watch: This week properly introduced us to the Michaelis, a mobile suit with a big detachable claw. It has fewer moving parts than the other robots we've seen, which might have something to do with Grassley Defense Systems's practicality and distrust of GUND format technology. Or it might not.

Tell Me More: What's going on with Nika, who we learn in this episode is definitely collaborating with Shaddiq behind Suletta's back? I'm very curious to learn more, and what her connection is with Grassley. Similarly, I'd love to see more of Belmeria in this series. Her having to juggle the needs of Miorine and her crew with the cruelty of Peil Technologies is a fun dynamic.

Earth House Watch: You better believe I cheered when we saw Chuchu's smoking gun this week. "I told you not to underestimate Earth House, dumbass!"

Friends of Gundam: Until Twitter truly dies, there will be fanart. Not to mention this fun looping animation of Suletta and Miorine waltzing!