REVIEW: ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury,’ Episode 13 – “Envoys from the Earth”

After Suletta helped fend off the Dawn of Fold attack and save Miorine, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 13 takes a look at the toll the battle had on Suletta and her friends.

Right off the bat, it’s clear that Suletta struggles with whether or not she was right to kill the terrorist that was trying to kill Miorine’s father at the end of the last episode. Miorine is not speaking to her, but Suletta desperately wants to make things right. Suletta has the chance to speak to her mom, which gives a nice look at how she is mentally handling the fact that she killed someone, and her bride sees her as a murderer. The rest of the crew at Earth House are also struggling, and there are some nice moments where Suletta is able to engage with them about how they are processing things.

I appreciate that they didn’t skip enough time to magically heal the rift between Suletta and Miorine, instead only moving forward a few weeks. Both have managed to keep themselves busy and distracted but apart from each other. Since Suletta is the current holder, she is bombarded with challengers who want to take her and Aerial down, and Miorine is burying herself in her work and checking in on the status of her father. It’s not that they don’t care or weren’t phased by what happened, but their harsh reality is that they have to get to work. It seems to be keeping them from breaking entirely but also is delaying any healing. It feels genuine, though, the sort of approach most people take when dealing with such heavy situations.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 13 also sets the stage for what is coming next for Suletta and her friends. Asticassia School of Technology is currently undergoing an open campus event to scout potential new students. Part of this event is the Rumble Ring, a battle-royale event where pilots can show off their skills and their mobile suits. Suletta is required to compete since she is the current holder, which gives her and her friends something to all focus on together while they are processing the events of the Dawn of Fold attack.

The rest of the school seems ready for a fun time, but the members of Earth House are understandably unable to get nearly as excited. I am really interested to see how the Rumble Ring event can bring them together and help heal their emotional scars. It has the potential to carry them through tough times together, but it could also fray things even more, given the state they are all in. The fact that it could go either way has me excited to see it unfold.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the top-notch animation quality shown in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 13. Starting off by showing Suletta undergoing several challenger battles before settling into the human side of things was a good choice because it allowed Sunrise to show off their skill. The fluid movements and fast-paced battle also help set the tone for how messy the characters are on the inside and how they have to use these mobile suit battles as a tool to help their healing process. The Rumble Ring event is also really going to let Sunrise shine with all new suits and battles.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 13 is an excellent start to the new story arc for the series. Dealing with emotional trauma after such a brutal battle on top of dangerous newcomers is going to be a challenge for these kids, but having something they can unite around could very well help the process along.

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