Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury

Episode 17

This was always going to be a frustrating episode of The Witch from Mercury, regardless. Positioned as it is right before the show takes next week off for a recap episode, leaving us to, once again, ponder the state of the anime's production, to say nothing of the missed opportunity that is not providing any new Prospera content on Mother's Day. So hey, Ichiro Okouchi and the others behind the series seemed to say, why not lean into that situation and leave the audience with a vicious gut-punch of a swerve that they'll have to wait two whole weeks to see followed up on? Wouldn't that be "fun"?

That's the intentional kind of frustrating: the sort of structured story suffering that so many viewers (myself included) happily tune in for. We can break that all down in a minute but, at first, I can see how getting there could lead to less desirable types of frustration with G-Witch's setup this week. Specifically, after spending so many previous episodes in a row pointedly running its status quo through the woodchipper, it's only a little jarring to have the latest plot upset come from yet another standard, sanctioned school duel. Even Guel is back, sporting his first-season short pants as he discusses ostensibly working within the system to advance his business ventures. Of course, this is all purposeful repeating (some reused animation for the likes of Secelia notwithstanding), but I can see how it might take some viewers out after the show seemed to make such a big point of moving forward from the previous structure.

It is all completely calculated though, with this seventeenth episode of G-Witch needing to mirror the very beginning of the series, most specifically Episode 3 (hey, there's that reflection motif again). Understandably, recreating all these circumstances is in service of showing how far the characters involved have come since that beginning battle that set everything up. Guel's glow-up is the most obvious. We see him pull off a reverse-circumstances do-over of his greenhouse barge-in from way back when, this time being the one to help Suletta out of getting harassed and being able to openly, honestly thank her for the effect she had on his life. Even before he gives himself the anime-staple Important Haircut™, we know this is the Guel we've seen changed over the last few episodes, in snippets like how Secelia tries to needle him the same way she always did, only to be taken aback at his spoiled pride replaced by confident determination.

The other players acting out this encore have their growth and roles pitched as more pointedly nebulous. Miorine is the obvious one to keep our eye on, as the circumstances of this episode spiral directly out from her confrontation with Prospera at the end of the previous one. I know there's been contention among G-Witch viewers regarding Miorine's role and attitude towards her partnership with Suletta, whether she was using her groom as a tool, and how genuinely she regarded their relationship. For my part, it seems that Miorine's arc has been realistically messy in her coming to understand her feelings at the same pace the viewers are. That gap between the first and second cours of the show was the most telling. We see Miorine react in abject horror at Suletta's jump to violence, only to turn it over in her head and realize she was worried about Suletta as a person manipulated by Prospera.

I'd say Miorine's care for Suletta can be confirmed as genuine in these circumstances. It's demonstrated in her bringing Guel in on her scheme, with him now being fully open about his love and appreciation for our favorite nervous wreck of a tanuki. The problem is that, regardless of Miorine's sentiment, she is still a young protagonist in a Gundam series. This means she's obligated to approach issues in the most poorly considered, least healthy ways possible. You can tell by the shaking of her hands as she sabotages the Aerial, the wavering in her voice as she casts Suletta out, and thinking she's doing this for her former groom's good. Maybe this will help Suletta actualize in the long run, but it's going to be a rough road for her and us in seeing how she gets there. And that's not even considering how, regardless of Miorine's good intentions, she's still made to walk down Prospera's road to hell. The main gain from this upsetting upset might be seeing how Suletta might, at last, take the reins of her own story.

It may seem odd that I've described almost every episode of this season of G-Witch as the one where "nothing will ever be the same". But that just underscores the series' momentum at this stage, even in pointedly repetitious circumstances like these. This episode is all about directly recreating previous ones to arrive at the kind of twist we could pretty much guarantee was coming at some point based on standard storytelling structure, and it still lands with the intended emotional devastation. Props to Kana Ichinose's voice acting as Suletta, selling her hopeful "Aww" moments of being smitten with Miorine just well enough that her being crushed by the end hits that much harder. But the presentation helps that all along as well, with the character acting continuing to be as on-point as it has been through this cour, with things like Guel's body language making clear how much our boy has grown. There are still some looser hiccups, like the head shapes of characters being played kind of fast and loose, or Norea's hand looking a bit goofy after she tries to stab Elan with the pencil. So maybe an extra week of animator catch-up is fair before things get too off-track.

Besides, they also gift us the glory of another Gundam fight for Suletta to go out on in this one. I love character-evocative tricks like Guel's Darilbalde ability to detach and reform its limbs in different weaponized combinations, reflecting his self-actualized remaking. Of course, I'm sure we all have much appreciation for G-Witch's continued efforts to traumatize an entire generation of anime fans with its use of the Happy Birthday song. It is equal parts the best elements of Gundam and yuri anime that we get to witness this resonant, relevant battle as the assured Last Duel in the anime's old structure, alongside Suletta's pointed declarations of how much she genuinely loves Miorine right before her heart-shattering betrayal. See you in two weeks.

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

Chris is keeping busy keeping up with the new anime season, and is excited to have you along. You can also find him writing about other stuff over on his blog, as well as spamming fanart retweets on his Twitter, for however much longer that lasts.

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Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. (Sunrise) is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.