Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury

Episodes 11-12

Aaaaaaaand the kid gloves are off! We all knew a dark twist was coming at the end of episode 12, but how many of you predicted that Suletta and Miorine's relationship would take that turn? I sure as heck didn't! This episode had a level of insanity that even made the infamous twist in Code Geass trend all over again on social media. The mad lad Okouchi did it again!

It's a good thing that the post-credits scene lands as hard as it does, because the story leading up to it was admittedly a little messy in the delivery. Episode 11 flitted between a lot of different characters with little intra-episode narrative structure. As a result, no individual scene feels like the emotional core of the episode, not even when Suletta and Miorine reconciled over their differences from episode 10. In the original context, it was a somewhat underwhelming resolution to the subplot, but in retrospect, it becomes much more loaded—Miorine's insistence that Suletta can "move forward" now carries a lot of dramatic irony.

What makes the twist so cruel and effective is how it reframes Suletta's simple and naïve philosophy into something much more sinister. As far as she is concerned, school duels and bona fide warfare carry the same stakes. After just a little motherly pep talk from Prospera, Suletta becomes absurdly willing to fight and kill for her friends. When she swats an assassin like a fly in a memorable scene of swift and unsentimental violence, she does not appear to be entirely aware that she is actually taking human lives. The scene is a deliberate callback to the Prologue episode, where Eri slaughtered her foes without awareness of what she was doing. Perhaps "moving forward" may not be the best philosophy, at least not like this.

The twist also works because episode 12 went out of its way to avoid the more obvious dramatic twists. Miorine's father got injured in the chaos, but not killed. Neither Aerial nor Suletta got captured or wounded in the fight against the Earth terrorists. Suletta and Miorine's mended their relationship in episode 11 so that it wouldn't be differences over their business that ultimately divides them. As it turns out, the seeds for that final scene were sown much, much earlier. The character drama is a much more intriguing hook for the next season than the initial "bad guys show up with Gundams" plot, although that's still a relevant plot point for future episodes to explore. I haven't even brought up Guel's newest L in this review, which shows just how dense this season finale was!

It also helps that the production team pulled all the stops for the mecha animation. It's not quite stellar all around—some crucial scenes appear to be missing their in-between frames—but there's still a firm sense of weight to all the mechs and the scenes of wanton destruction. The money shot of the episode, where Aerial fires off its beam attack, is eye-popping with its intricate linework. Episodes like these make me glad that Sunrise is still dedicated to 2D mecha animation. Also, the character expressions throughout episode 12 had much more impact than usual, conveying strong emotions like shock and grief without slipping into melodramatic exaggeration. I won't forget Suletta's blood-stained smile or the look on Miorine's face for a long while.

If I had to be honest, my attention in G-Witch was waning somewhat over the last several episodes thanks to the spotty release schedule and the declining production quality. But with that banger of a cliffhanger, I'm fully back on board. Although I expect that the second part will get delayed because of the production troubles (and this would be for the best), I selfishly want this series to come back as soon as possible. As far as the story is concerned, this really could end up being the best non-UC Gundam.

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