Review: Episode Three of Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX saw Machu engaging in her first Clan-Battle.
After two episodes full of questions that were only grazed and left unexplained, Episode Three of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX brought back a moment of reprieve when viewers could finally breathe, at least, until they get bewildered by the action and the Newtype's power showcase. Episode three took us back to U.C. 0085, introducing the air-headed Shuji and the Clan-Battle debut of Machu. The episode also did a lot of world-building, especially for some supporting characters who haven't had the spotlight before. Without further ado…
Warning: Spoilers ahead
The episode showed the headquarters of the military police. Inside it, Xavier Olivette, the designated GQuuuuuuX pilot, was detained and interrogated. The scene then continued with the crew of the Sodon. They were contemplating how to save Xavier from the detainment. They also reported the loss of GQuuuuuuX, as the unit Psycommu signal has been lost.
One of the crew, Tangi, suggested reporting to the Supreme Commander's office, but was quickly denied by Rassit, the ship's captain. Another one of the crew, Benowa, suggested that they contact Side 6, which the captain said would lead to the same end. Chalia Bull, meanwhile, asked for the weather and told the crew to proceed, leading to Ensign Comoli's confusion.
The invitation to Clan-Battle
Back to Izuma Colony in Side 6, Amate came home after her stint in the slums. She told Tamaki, her mother, that the train had stopped operating because something had happened in Nenokuni. Tamaki suspected that the military police had something to do with it. Tamaki asked if the cram school's distance bothered her, to which Amate said no, but it's a waste of money. Her mother then reminded her to focus on her studies.
When Amate was still in the Junk Shop, the GQuuuuuuX was analysed by Annqi, Kaine, and Nabu. The three of them concluded that they could sell nothing from the GQuuuuuuX because they couldn't scan the parts. Annqi was impressed by Amate's piloting skills and tried to recruit her for the Clan Battle. Kaine supported the idea, while the rest of the team opposed it. Amate was not amused by how the opposition treated her like a child; however, Annqi assured her and said she knew the girl would return.
Back in the house, Amate contemplated whether she should accept the invitation while bathing. Suddenly, her mom interrupted her, telling her she needed to return to her office. Then the emergency alarm was ringing. Amate popped her head out the window and saw that the Sodon had breached the Colony.
The boy inside the Red Gundam
When morning came, all the news focused on Sodon. There was a worry that the Sodon was a sign of the return of the occupation era. However, the Minovsky Particle hadn't been dispersed, a sign that a battle situation wasn't even near. One news anchor speculated that a high-ranking official from Zeon was incoming.
Nyaan was then seen receiving another package to send, and warned that another failure would mean her dismissal. At the school, Amate was still contemplating what to do. She recalled meeting with a red mobile suit and found out it was a Gundam from the internet. While reading about Char Aznable, she remembered seeing the sparkling under the bridge. She told her friend she was leaving school early and left her bag.
When she saw the graffiti again, she confirmed it was the same lights she saw when piloting the GQuuuuuuX. She was ambushed by a boy who sniffed her head. The boy introduced himself as Shuji, with Machu introducing herself after as “Amate”, to which she lamented as it was her childhood nickname. While watching Shuji draw, she wanted to ask him about the lights, before being cut off by an incoming bike.
The rider was Nyaan, who wanted to deliver something to Shuji. Machu told the girl to wait a minute as she was already conversing with Shuji, but she accidentally knocked Nyaan's payment into the water, and the boy said he had no more money. Machu, who felt guilty, asked Shuji to join the Clan-Battle with her to get some money to pay for the delivery. Shuji said he broke the device yesterday before Machu asked Nyaan to lend him the device first. While Nyaan considered the risk, Shuji asked them to follow him into the sewer. Inside his room was the Red Gundam before Shuji said that the Gundam told him to fight.
Side 6 President Aide Cameron Bloom arrived at Izuma Colony and was welcomed by Tamaki. While walking to the car, Cameron was greeted by Chalia Bull, whom he had met long ago. Inside the vehicle, Cameron asked whether Chalia was still searching for the Red Comet. The commander refused to answer as it was outside the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) scope. However, Cameron stated that he didn't want another Banchi 17 incident to happen, which Chalia ensured wouldn't. Chalia then left Xavier's arrival card with the aide before knocking on the window and asking for the nearest drug store location.
Xavier was shown to be released by the military police before being picked up by Chalia. The GQuuuuuuX pilot then explained that a civilian had taken the mobile suit. The commander was glad it wasn't the military police who took hold of it and offered the pilot a band-aid.
Machu's Clan-Battle
In the junk shop, the Clan Pomeranians members, except Annqi, were already restlessly waiting for Machu. Before long, she finally arrived and asked about her entry name. Amate said it would be Machu and asked them to wait for her Mav, which caused bewilderment among the rest of the members. Annqi said she will give her until the last minute, or Jezzi will replace them.
Annqi then explained the rules of Clan-Battle: It would be a two-versus-two mobile suit battle, and the only way to win is to take the head of the enemy's mobile suit. She then disguised Machu so she wouldn't be recognised. Jezzi then explained that the battle usually lasted for five minutes before the military police arrived and advised Machu to end the fight before it happened.
In a bar, Xavier and Chalia were chatting about how the girl could activate the Omega Psycommu that the pilot couldn't before being interrupted by a call. Chalia said that the GQuuuuuuX was on the move and asked the bartender to turn on the stream. Xavier was shocked to see the GQuuuuuuX on the stream, but even more in disbelief when he saw the Red Gundam as its Mav. It turned out that Nyaan had lent Shuji the installer device so he could pilot it.
When the battle started, Machu was frantically searching for her enemies, which annoyed Jezzi and Nabu because it could lead to her being seen. Her movement made the opponents see her and shoot their machine guns. Machu was surprised that guns were allowed, but successfully dodged the bullets before crashing into the Red Gundam. Kaine said that they couldn't afford guns because they were poor. Xavier was confused why the Red Comet allowed himself to fight with amateurs. Chalia told him the pilot wasn't the captain because Char wouldn't let anyone else be his Mav vanguard.
Chalia then explained the basis of Mav Tactic. When fighting under the Minovsky Particle, radars and sensors became unreliable, and thus, pilots relied on line-of-sight alone. Whoever saw the enemy first had the advantage of firing first. However, the advantage stopped at that, as the mobile suit would be seen when firing shots. Mav Tactic alleviated this loss by giving another point of attack. Chalia said that what was written in the textbooks used by the Armoured Assault Forces was true.
The prowess of a Newtype pilot
Machu was overwhelmed by the combination of both of her enemies. Chalia noted that they were faithful to the basics of Mav battle, and Xavier asked if they were former Zeon pilots. Machu, however, successfully dodged and defended against every attack by both Zakus that her opponent rode. Jezzi noted that her opponents knew Machu was an amateur, explaining why she was hunted down. However, Chalia indicated that she had avoided every attack so far. Xavier deduced that the pilot used Omega Psycommu and warned Chalia about the Zeknova.
Machu's opponent then threw a flash grenade that blinded her, before being charged by one of the Zaku, making her Heat Hawk fly into space. That charge made her taste the horror of battle and ask herself what she was doing. She was searching for Shuji and asked if she would die before feeling Shuji's presence, as her Newtype's intuition activated when she knew Shuji was near. He then saved Machu, resulting in Shuji taking two heavy hits from the Zakus. Machu then tried to find a way to defeat both Zakus, but suddenly, she got an epiphany from her Newtype's intuition.
Machu led one Zaku to follow her, but Kaine and Jezzi warned her it was a trap. Machu kept charging toward the incoming Zaku, and dodged at the last second, resulting in the flying Heat Hawk hitting the charging Zaku's head. The action surprised everyone, and Xavier suspected that the pilot had already predicted the trajectory and baited both Zaku to the desired position. Machu then tried to pry the Heat Hawk out of the Zaku head before another one appeared in front of her, ready to take her out. Shuji then saved Machu again by launching his Morning Star before Machu finished it with a slash from her Heat Hawk. The episode ended with both Shuji and the clan members warning Machu about the military police.
A well-paced episode with a perfect amount of exposition
Episode Three of Gundam GQuuuuuuX finally slowed the pace and felt less rushed. The previous two episodes only grazed some of the supporting characters, not allowing them to breathe some life into the world. Some even only have one or two sentences at most, like Kycilia Zabi, one of Zeon's leaders.
In Episode Three, we finally saw some personality from the members of the Sodon and the Clan Pomeranians. Both had ample time to express themselves, especially the crew of the junk shop. We finally saw how calculating Annqi is, how expressive Jezzi is, and how stoic Kaine is.
The introduction of Shuji, however, brought even more mystery to the GQuuuuuuX. He looked like a young boy who shouldn't have had a chance to get near the Red Gundam, let alone pilot it. Why was he able to hear what the Gundam said? More importantly, where did he get the money to pay for an installer device if he didn't have a job? One thing is for sure though: he is also a Newtype, just like Machu. It was proven by how he can access the kira-kira to talk with Machu. While it wasn't as sparkly as GQuuuuuuX, the power to feel other Newtypes' presence was already present in the original U.C. timeline.
Lastly, can we talk about the music for this episode? It was a joy to hear the Vtuber Hoshimachi Suisei's Bloom in the Night to showcase Machu's Newtype intuition awakening. The audio-mixing for the fight scene itself was astonishing as well. The background music didn't go too ham and complemented the action well. Haru Yamada proved his experience in sound-mixing was well recorded in GQuuuuuuX, especially after his success in Shin Godzilla.
The next episode will introduce a new character that even movie-goers didn't know. She is most likely also a Newtype, with eyes that have the same ring as Shuji. She also talked about Unicum, a group of pilots with a kill count of over 100, of which she might be one of the members.
Want to read more about the lore of Mobile Suit Gundam: GquuuuuuX? Check out our review compilation!
