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| Source: IGN |
"Critical Role" is a whole blog post in itself to explain so I'll focus on Gundam for now. For those of you who don't know, Gundam is an anime franchise that began in 1979 with the premier of "Mobile Suit Gundam" and has since grown into a world renown legacy of starting the genre of mecha combat and giant robots. Since its inception many series have followed in Gundam's footsteps due to its realistic concepts and commentary on world current issues through the lens of a futuristic setting. Some even compare Gundam's impact to Japan equivalent to Star War's impact on the United States.
The most recent series in the franchise is "Gundam: The Witch from Mercury," which released just this year in October. Without spoiling too much, the series follows a girl named Suletta Mercury as she begins her studies at the Asticassia School of Technology as a pilot in the mobile suit program. She quickly finds she is in over her head as this school is a battleground for the solar system's top rivaling corporations and their children. Being one of the few students without a company representing her, Suletta becomes an unpredictable factor in status quo especially with her innocent nature, openness to the Earth House (who the corporations are prejudiced against) and the all-too-important ownership of the forbidden Gundam mobile suit (to which she is oblivious). Her suit is forbidden because it is rumored to kill its users and anyone who would use such a thing is labeled as a witch. Hence the name "The Witch from Mercury." Things only begin to get deeper and more complicated as the episodes go on where space politics, space racism and space emotional abuse begin to draw a more clear picture of where this series is going. Whatever happens, it feels like it is going to be exciting and tragic for these poor teenagers.
"Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" has a couple firsts for the Gundam franchise. The protagonist Suletta is the first female lead on the franchise. Until now women only played secondary or support roles. For many including myself this is a welcome change of pace. I've only recently gotten into the Gundam franchise in the past couple years so seeing this may not hit as hard for myself as others, but it still is a welcome sight. This is also the first mainline-Gundam series in 7 years to air worldwide. It is also the first Gundam series to be set in a school setting. Most begin with the main characters being thrown into full on war, but no sign of this yet in the current series. But since this is a Gundam series it is only a matter of time until tragedy strikes and the staple heart-breaking tone of the franchise kicks in.
Regardless of if you are a new viewer or an old fan, "Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" is a fantastic series to watch and rewatch. The visuals are stunningly animated, the plot is intriguing and makes you guess who is really truthful about their motives and the characters are complex and everchanging with each episode. I know anime isn't a favorite medium for many people, but if you are okay with trying something new I highly recommend giving it a shot. There is even a prologue episode that explains some details about the rest of the series. And besides, who doesn't like watching giant robots duke it out.
"Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" is available on Crunchyroll with nine episodes and more on the way.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a very interesting watch! I've never heard of Gundam before but I'll definitely check it out now because this looks like a very exciting show.