機動戦士ガンダム /Kido Senshi Gundam episode 33
Mobile Suit Gundam – 33

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Admiral Dozel would like nothing more than to take out White Base and discredit Char for good but the Tianem Federation Fleet at Luna II takes priority.  As White Base advances on Side-6, Amuro and Sayla in the G-Armor discover a Zeon mobile armor unit in the asteroids. The Braw Bro commander is unhappy when one of the crew opens fire, forcing them to go into combat even though they’ve not finished their work on the unit. Amuro has Gundam extracted from the G-Armor so that he and Sayla can both attack the Zeon Braw Bro.  However, during the fight, they discover they come under attack from a new source. Amuro manages to destroy part of the Braw Bro but the command module manages to get away, its commander frustrated at their mission having been thwarted.

Inspector General Cameron Bloom and an aide arrive on White Base to seal her weapon ports as fighting is prohibited in Side-6 territory. As White Base begins docking procedures, Bloom sees Mirai on the bridge and is happy to see his fiance.  Bright is not pleased by this and asks that Bloom not distract Mirai while she pilots the ship. After docking, Bloom tells Mirai that he’d sent men looking for her but since he didn’t go himself, she’s not happy by that. Sleggar happens by and punches Bloom for harassing Mirai since she’s the “mother” of the White Base crew.  Meanwhile, Zeon commander Conscon dresses down Char for his failures in eliminating White Base and says he should be embarrassed to now serve Kycilia. After Char leaves, Char orders his aide to send Kycilia a message as Conscon wonders why Char never removes his mask.

On Side-6, Amuro, Frau Bow, the orphans, and an escort do some shopping at one of the cities inside the station. There, Amuro sees his father across the street and goes after him, catching him finally at a bus stop. His father takes Amuro to a junkyard where he now resides in one of the buildings. However, Amuro’s father appears to be suffering from the after effects of oxygen deprivation and hands Amuro a piece of junk, claiming it will boost Gundam’s power. When Amuro mentions meeting his mom, his father simply says that when the war is over, they will return to Earth. He then has Amuro leave and Amuro cries as he throws the junk away.  Back on White Base, Bright contacts Amuro and chastises him for wandering around alone and delaying their departure to a commercial docking facility for repairs.

As White Base leaves Side-6, escorted by Gundam, Guncannon, etc., businessman Bergamino assures Bright that the use of his facility is fine as it is officially outside of Side-6 territory and that he does business with both the Federation and Zeon. White Base is spotted by a hidden Rick Dom that reports this to Conscon, who orders 12 Rick Doms to attack. Bergamino sees his docking station take multiple hits as the Rick Doms engage Gundam while Conscon’s fleet engage White Base and assault the dock. Cameron is shocked by this but races out in a shuttle to stop the fighting. Amuro destroys nine Doms and the other three are destroyed by Sleggar, Sayla, and Kai while White Base destroys a warship. Char arrives in Zanzibar and orders a cease fire so that no one hits Cameron’s ship. After White Base returns to Side-6, Cameron attempts to get Mirai to leave service but she won’t run from the war as he has done.

Thoughts/Review:

Well, it only took them 33 episodes to explain how one of the Side space stations work in terms of gravity and how the surface becomes Earth-like and can even support cities.  It has been hinted at in other episodes but here, time was actually spent explaining the concept.

Its sad about Amuro’s father, who’s clearly lost it.  I can’t remember what happened to him after the attack on Side-7. I wrote that Amuro’s father was trying to get the Gundam units out and told Amuro to get to safety but I didn’t note what happened to him after that. I guess he must have been injured or something, considering the state he’s in now.

We’ve returned to the, “Char, you’re an idiot for letting White Base elude you all this time and I’m going to show you up” plot device. Naturally, that comes with the standard bluster from the one making the statement, the attack that the statement maker feels certain will remove Gundam and White Base, the statement maker’s defeat, and then Char being vindicated. It appeared that Conscon was of higher rank than Char but it was Char who ordered the cease fire to prevent them from destroying a Side-6 craft and causing more problems for Zeon. I can’t imagine Side-6 being that powerful, so aside from violating some treaty, who’d enforce said treaty?  Who’d be powerful enough to go against Zeon or the Federation?  There’s got to be something I’m missing here.

Interesting that Sayla took an interest in how Amuro treats Frau Bow. I got the feeling that Sayla was speaking from a romantic sense and considering that Frau Bow and Amuro go way back to their friendship on Side-7 (where it was clear even back then that Frau Bow had a torch for Amuro), I suppose it is natural for her to think they should be a couple. Romance hasn’t been a big part of the series, though there was Amuro’s unrequited feelings for Matilda and Frau Bow’s unrequited love for Amuro. Kai liked that Zeon spy girl Miharu. There have been indications that Bright and Mirai have feelings for each other. I’ve never sensed that Sayla and Amuro ever had an interest in each other beyond comrades at arms so I wonder if the writers are trying to fuel a Frau Bow-Amuro romance.

With Bergamino’s commercial dock apparently destroyed and Cameron apparently working to fix things regarding White Base returning to Side-6 with broken seals on its weapons ports, I wonder if they will now be allowed to make repairs.

I understand Conscon’s dislike of Bergamino and his profiteering from the war, but considering that Bergamino’s base did stuff for Zeon as well as the Federation, the attack on the docking facility seems short sighted. Not only does Zeon’s attack happen so close to neutral space that it could have caused problems with Side-6, it also risks alienating Zeon from other neutral businessmen. Further, why destroy the station when you can simply take it and accomplish the same thing, only with benefits?

So, an interesting episode with Mirai encountering her fiance and Amuro having a sad reunion with his father.