Otaku Evolution Episode 14 - Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (Re-Recorded) - video Dailymotion

Michael Fitz-Gibbon

Watch Otaku Evolution Episode 14 - Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (Re-Recorded) - Michael Fitz-Gibbon on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:30Hey, welcome to Otaku Evolution, which is a tree, not a ladder.

00:57I'm Penguin Truth, and in this episode, Gundam!

01:00There are few more storied franchises, if any, than Gundam.

01:04A multimedia phenomenon that started in 1979, Gundam has dominated the mecha subgenre for over 30 years.

01:11TV shows, movies, comics, novels, video games, there's almost no medium Gundam hasn't touched.

01:18There are Gundam-themed restaurants and theme park rides,

01:21and the Japanese government has even been caught editing Gundam Wikipedia pages during work.

01:26There was a giant 60-foot statue of the original RX-78 constructed in Tokyo.

01:32The bulk of the franchise takes place in an era called the Universal Century,

01:37where a lot of humanity lives in space colonies and clusters called sides.

01:41Generations of upheaval and revolution attempts have necessitated the invention of such things as

01:47Monofsky particles that block radar, and humanoid robot war machines called Mobile Suits.

01:53The most evocative of these Mobile Suits are usually Gundams, which all have the same basic aesthetic.

02:01The subject of today's review is an entry into the UC timeline with a very interesting nature to it.

02:06The movie, Gundam F91, was originally intended to be a full-length TV show,

02:12but for whatever reason, I've heard there were production disputes,

02:15it was made into a movie instead, after 13 episodes had already been written.

02:19Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino wanted to make everything less convoluted than he had made the movie

02:24Char's Counter-Attack, which depended on a lot of prior knowledge of the UC timeline,

02:28so he took the timeline into the far-flung future of the previous entries.

02:33The result was, uh, still pretty convoluted. And unfinished.

02:39And really gorgeous looking, but sort of middling overall.

02:43But before we get down to the nitty-gritty, I have a guest reviewer to assist me

02:47in the takedown of this overlooked-for-a-reason Gundam movie,

02:50the creator of Gundam itself, Yoshiyuki Tomino!

02:56Wonderful. I'm sure your input will be invaluable.

03:00The year is UC 123, and the fragile peace experienced in the space colonies is shattered

03:06when a paramilitary force called the Crossbone Vanguard invades the Frontier IV colony.

03:12Our hero, Seabook Arno, yes, that's his name,

03:15is an engineering student who lives with his Sailor Jupiter-looking sister

03:19and his surprisingly badass father.

03:21When shit hits the fan, Falco Lombardi here and his cast of expendable friends

03:26run like hell to avoid being massacred by the enemy.

03:30Hilarious, grim cruelty ensues.

03:33Oh, sure, the black kid dies first. Nice job, Tomino.

03:37But what the hell is going on around us?

03:40Why are these two armies just slugging it out? Why?

03:44I'm not going down just because of something some stupid adults are doing.

03:48Ah, some of Tomino's patented adults-are-the-enemy philosophy.

03:52It's a theme that pervades nearly every work Tomino has done.

03:56If by theme, you mean he likes to show kids stomping their feet

04:00over complex political and social conflicts that are largely out of his reach.

04:05One wonders if Tomino himself ever completely grew up

04:08because his don't-trust-anyone-over-30 attitude

04:11doesn't just make his character seem simplistic and irritating,

04:14but his ideas about humanity as simplistic and naive at times.

04:24Did I mention that he's one of my favorite anime directors?

04:27I mean, he's a great director.

04:31Did I mention that he's one of my favorite anime directors?

04:36They'll never attack us if we can use the children as living shields!

04:41They'll never attack us if we can use the children as living shields!

04:45The Earth Federation, folks!

04:47We're... we're supposed to side with them, right?

04:52But fortunately for the kids, Falco's dad arrives and... wow.

04:57Falco's friend Cecily gets separated from the group by her father,

05:01and it's revealed that she's secretly part of some aristocratic family called the Ronas,

05:05who are behind the Crossbone Vanguard and the attack on the colony.

05:09They've come to claim her, and Cecily's dad is just pleased as punch

05:12to exchange her for political favor.

05:15Father of the year material, that one.

05:17Oh, and is that brother of Cecily's the clingy full-frontal fanboy from Gun of Unicorn?

05:22Weird.

05:23Anyway, Falco and the gang escape from Frontier 4

05:26as it's being ravaged by the Crossbone Vanguard.

05:29The head of the Rona family, Maitzer Rona,

05:32comes to oversee the transformation of Frontier 4

05:35into the capital of a new Cosmo Babylonia empire.

05:39Meanwhile, Cecily is taken to her birth father, Carozza Rona,

05:43who, because of the shame of losing his wife to another man,

05:46has donned an iron mask and has become a stone-cold killer.

05:52It's me, Carozzo.

05:54If it is, then take off that mask.

05:57I'm a pathetic man who managed to lose his wife to another man, Theo.

06:03After that, I swore to bring to life all of the ideals of your grandfather, Maitzer.

06:08On that very day, I began my struggle against my own weakness,

06:12and I eventually became as you see me now.

06:15He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.

06:20You won't believe how appropriate that clip is until later.

06:24Falco and the gang hide out in another colony,

06:26where they come upon a Federation ship, the Space Ark,

06:29commanded by a neophyte captain with a huge forehead

06:32and piloted by Rule 63 Emeril Ray.

06:35They join up with them, because why not,

06:37and Falco discovers his absentee mother made a Gundam, the F91,

06:41that engineers can't quite figure out.

06:44Maitzer Rona takes time out of his busy schedule of being a dictator

06:47to talk to Cecily about his ideology.

06:50It's spoiler-plate noblest oblige with a tinge of fascism.

06:54Doesn't this cosmo-aristocracy that you advocate also produce discrimination?

06:59Justifiably. The highborn have duties they must fulfill no matter what.

07:03I see.

07:04Let's take the battlefield, for example.

07:06A commoner can say he's afraid and just run for cover,

07:09but a man of renown, a noble, must stand his ground

07:13and continue to fight without fear of his blood being spilled.

07:17Little Jupiter reveals the system the F91 is based on.

07:20It's a reference to Cat's Cradle.

07:23Well, isn't that the most adorable wiring scheme for a killing machine?

07:28Do you think the lines leading down from there

07:30represent the bio-computer's parallel circuit path?

07:32It says! Of course!

07:34Like mother, like daughter!

07:38So, this means we'll be able to use the F91, right?

07:41That's right. You do have some pilots in your resistance group, don't you, Colonel?

07:45All we have are engineering students.

07:47One of you's gonna have to do it.

07:49You're not serious!

07:51Those pirate crossbone vanguard bastards trashed an entire colony!

07:54Now we're gonna make them pay!

07:56Oh, and as the crossbone vanguard attacks the colony,

07:59some hardly recognizable music from some other sci-fi franchise plays.

08:08They know we won't destroy Frontier One because it's a resource colony?

08:16He's more machine now than man.

08:19Twisted and evil.

08:22Who thought they could get away with that?

08:26Falco decides to become the pilot of the F91, because, again, why not,

08:30and comes under attack by Angelo Salper here.

08:33But as we all know, kids with no battle experience

08:36make for some of the best mecha pilots,

08:38so he does quite well in combat.

08:40Falco sneaks back to Frontier Four

08:42to rescue Cicely, but the plan doesn't go off well,

08:45and he's forced to retreat without her.

08:47And then Iron Mask makes this lovely speech.

08:51You who are abandoned to dwell here in this newly rebuilt colony

08:55must use all your abilities to forever protect the entire Earth's sphere.

09:03Aim for the body, jackass!

09:05Don't aim for the one thing that's definitely protected.

09:08The people must be ruled by...

09:11As I was saying...

09:13Anyway, the key to governing the people is...

09:17Will somebody just get that guy already?

09:19Those of you who disagree with us, I say to you,

09:22come and try to kill me!

09:24I will not run away or hide!

09:27Falco's dad helps him escape from Frontier Four,

09:30but is badly injured in the process.

09:32And after telling him that, Falco decides to go back to Frontier Four

09:37and after telling his son not to think ill of his mother, passes away.

09:41So long, badass dad.

09:43You were the only thing passing for a good parent in this entire movie.

09:47Unlike Cicely's parents, for instance,

09:49her mother, stepfather, and real father,

09:51apparently Theo Fairchild can't stand to be in a Tamina movie anymore

09:55and expires.

09:57Because reasons.

09:59Crossbone Vanguard pilot Anna Marie decides to defect

10:02because Senpai won't notice her,

10:04but is promptly killed in her first battle as a Federation pilot.

10:07So when Cicely defects right afterwards,

10:10it's no wonder she breaks down in tears.

10:13Nobody likes a backstabber, Red.

10:15When Mrs. Arno finds her way back to the Space Ark,

10:18she's shocked that her own son has been piloting the mobile suit she helped develop,

10:22but gets an earful about her willingness to take part in weapons development.

10:26And then little Jupiter basically sums up Tamina's oeuvre.

10:30Wars are scary, and we shouldn't have them.

10:34That's right.

10:35No! Really?

10:37Now, please, Mr. Tamino, tell us all about your boundless capacity

10:41for the understanding of human suffering.

10:43Iron Mask decides to execute Order 66

10:47and sends out unmanned death drones to wipe out the population of Frontier One.

10:51More hilarious cruelty ensues.

10:55Falco and Red take on the death drones,

10:58and it leads them to Iron Mask's ship.

11:00But Red's daddy has a monstrous mobile armor that's...

11:04kind of vaginal and phallic at the same time,

11:07and he's in a filicide mood.

11:09Red's got two shitty fathers for the price of one,

11:12and is ready to get rid of the remaining one.

11:17He's more machine now than man.

11:19Twisted and evil.

11:28It's here.

11:33No, don't! Cecily!

11:39Is that a bug too?

11:47Cecily, get out of there!

11:50Iron Mask manages to badly damage Cecily's mobile suit

11:53and throws her out into space,

11:55but Falco's not having it and uses the full power of the F91

11:58to cause Iron Mask's own mobile armor to fire on itself,

12:01which destroys it.

12:03Seabulk manages to locate Cecily and save her,

12:06and all seems well...

12:08except that the Crossbone Vanguard has now taken over Frontier One as well,

12:12so... yeah, they failed.

12:14The end.

12:18I'm not kidding! That's the end of the movie!

12:20There was supposed to be more, but it was never made!

12:23Well, technically it was continued in the Crossbone Gundam manga,

12:26but it was never brought over to North America.

12:28Maybe they'll animate it one day and release it here.

12:31What do YOU think of that possibility, Tomino?

12:35Thanks for coming, sir!

12:37You are a true cinematic genius.

12:40Gundam F91 is a fascinating film in the sense that,

12:43while it is gorgeous, rich-looking, detailed, and action-packed,

12:47story-wise it's incomplete and kind of a sanctimonious patronizing farce.

12:52As much as I love Yoshiyuki Tomino,

12:54I think it's best to only watch this for the violence

12:57and try to tune out everything else.

12:59Well, that's it for Otaku Evolution this week.

13:02Join us next week for, uh...

13:04what's the name of that thing again?

13:06Oh, right. Silent...

13:08something-silent...

13:10Silent Mobius!

13:14Yeah, I needed a good nap.

13:16See ya!

13:22Don't forget to say

13:24Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

13:26Say you will

13:28Say it right now, baby

13:30Say you will

13:32Come on, baby

13:34Say you will

13:36Say it better, yeah

13:38Say you will

13:40Come on now

13:42Say that you love me

13:44Say that you need me

13:46Say that you need me

13:48Say that you need me

13:50Say that you need me

13:52Say that you want me

13:54You wanna please me

13:56Come on now

13:58Come on now

Otaku Evolution Episode 14 - Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (Re-Recorded)

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended