REVIEW: ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury,’ Episode 9 – “If I Could Take One More Step Towards You”

In Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 9, Miorine Rembran (Lynn) and Suletta Mercury (Kana Ichinose) find their plans to start their own mobile suit company won’t be as easy as they thought. The reason: Shaddiq Zenelli (Makoto Furukawa) has changed the school’s bylaws so that he’ll be able to swoop in and “save” the new company, provided he’s in charge. Miorine does not take this well and challenges Shaddiq to a mobile suit duel. However, this duel comes with more than a few caveats.

In my review of last week’s episode, I noted that it managed to showcase several major elements within the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, including the mix of political intrigue and science fiction. That continues throughout The Witch From Mercury Episode 9, as Shaddiq’s machinations finally bear fruit. He’s maneuvered himself into a position where he can gain control of Aerial and Miorine’s hand in marriage, and he did it without anyone knowing. That’s the mark of a genuinely compelling antagonist. But what really makes him compelling is the episode’s opening scene. Taking place a bit before the beginning of the series proper, it shows Shaddiq confronting Miorine after another one of her attempts to escape fails. He offers words of comfort, and Furukawa’s voice work hints at a bit of melancholy underneath those kind words, adding shades of grey to Shaddiq’s character.

Other characters continue to shine, particularly Suletta and Guel Jeturk (Yohei Azakami). When Shaddiq confronts Suletta, she refuses to back down, saying that “she’ll stand by her bride.” And she also has an emotional moment with Guel as he confesses that his father has barred him from fighting in mobile suit duels. It’s a rare departure of form from Suletta, who’s usually hyper-jittery and shy around others. In a way, it seems as though Miorine’s confidence has rubbed off on Suletta. However, the reverse also appears to be true, as Miorine seems to grow far less icy and detached as the series continues.

Sunrise went all out regarding the mecha battle for this episode. Instead of having one-on-one combat, this battle is a team effort, requiring six mechas for each team. This is a problem for Miorine as her team doesn’t have enough mechas for combat, demanding she thinks outside the box. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Shaddiq’s mobile suit, Michaelis, is equipped with weaponry that can disable a Gundam, putting Suletta at an extreme disadvantage. This is also the most brutal fight in the series to date, with limbs being severed and heads exploding in a burst of steel and circuitry. Yes, these are essentially giant robots, but viewers can’t help but wince after each and every hit.

The one element of the battle that feels a little off is the end result. Granted, I saw it coming a mile away, but it’s starting to feel repetitive. Maybe the series is set up for a major shakeup in the future, but I’d like to see how the heroines deal with loss. It’s not a sin to have the protagonist lose from time to time. But, contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t mean they’re weak. Instead, they’ll grow stronger from the loss and strive to improve. And it adds excellent narrative tension, to boot.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 9 throws challenge after challenge at its heroines, resulting in some emotional truths being laid bare and the most intense mecha fight to date. With only three episodes left in the first half of the series, I’m looking forward to where the first half will end and what 2023 will bring us.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury is available to stream on Crunchyroll. New episodes premiere on Sundays.