Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury

Episode 10

The plot thickens! With the mid-series climax now in sight, the adults start making their moves. I'm not betting on Delling Rembran's chances of surviving his assassination attempt—it seems like the perfect plot device to shatter Suletta and Miorine's ideals. Already, we can see their relationship becoming strained as Miorine gets drunk on her father's approval and throws herself entirely into running the business, as if losing sight of her original goal. For Suletta, who has only ever seen the company as the outlet for achieving her modest dreams of school life, the fallout will no doubt be devastating. I'm sensing a breakup in the near future.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Nobody has actually died yet, although we do see the hitmen in action in the final minutes of the episode. In an unpredictable writing move, Guel happens to be on the ship under threat at the end. Ever since he was kicked out of the Jeturk house, I could see the broad contours of Guel's redemption arc, but his presence is still a wild card. I can't imagine him dying just yet, but maybe I'm just saying that because he's been getting progressively more likable in every appearance. Right now, he appears to be working as a humble cargo crew member and getting some fulfillment out of it. Good on him, I would say, if his life wasn't immediately under threat.

While Guel is getting more sympathetic, Shaddiq and Elan are only becoming more sinister. This is the most interesting direction their characters could take after their duels with Suletta, indicating that no—beating someone in a fight is not the path to instant friendship. Shaddiq in particular remarks that his aspirations were always higher than duels, as he now moves to take down the Benerit Group with violence. Elan, for his part, chooses the path of manipulating Suletta. The resulting scene is perhaps the highlight (or lowlight, depending on how you look at it) of the episode, as he aggressively puts the moves on a flustered Suletta.

Honestly, I'm kind of here for it? As I remarked in the previous episode review, I've been enjoying watching the guys try to get between Suletta and Miorine. It's made more interesting by the fact that this new Elan has no romantic interest in Suletta whatsoever. His actions might look like that of a typical male rival character in a shojo manga, but the complications go much deeper than just "Will Suletta and Miorine get married?" Regardless, there's a soap opera feel to this turn of events, and it's completely in tune with the appeal of the series in general. I'm really interested in seeing how the larger plot affects the girls' relationship and vice versa.

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Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.