Unleash the hounds of war.
What They Say:
Episode #37 “BATTLE FOR CHRYSE”
Outnumbered, Tekkadan turns to McGillis for assistance, and launches a mobile armor mopping-up operation. Meanwhile, a strange phenomenon occurs in the Gundam Frames that are confronting the mobile armor.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
You know, we’ve known Vidar’s pilot is Gaelio since almost day one of season 2. Now, McGillis knows it too. The fact that we haven’t seen his face yet must be the real kicker here. How fucked up is his head? Is he more robot than man or something, because I feel like if he was just good ‘ol Gaelio we would’ve seen him take off that mask by now.
We’re not here to talk about posturing and old grudges, though. We’re here because it’s time for battle. The big guns have been called out, both for the fight and for the animation this week for the first of the two mid-season battle episodes. The action ramps all the way up and we get some stunning action in the later half of this episode. The limiters are coming off, literally.
Things aren’t going well on the battlefield for Tekkadan. The Mobile armor has more tricks than it first showed off. The careful timing Tekkadan set up for their ambush is wrecked when the mobile armor speeds up. Iok continues to prove to be a nuisance, which keeps Julietta occupied with keeping his stupid ass from being killed. The plan which has already gone wrong once fails a second time, which leaves Tekkadan at a crossroads.
Orga is forced to make a difficult decision. He can either call in McGillis and his people for backup and loose face, keeping Tekkadan in the position of a tool, or he can put his top pilots in harm’s way by letting them override the limiters in the Gundams. Just as the mobile armor seems to respond to the gundams, the gundams respond in kind. They were built to fight mobile armor, but apparently, the cost to the pilot is potentially burning them out. Mika already damaged his eye and arm once, and Akihiro can’t even take the increased stress and passes out. However, the alternative to self-preservation is to let the mobile armor rampage and kill thousands of people.
During the lead up to the fateful decision, we get to see the best from many of Tekkadan’s pilots. Ride continues to show what he’s made of, doing some truly selfless attacks to attempt to slow down the mobile armor. Chad manages to show off his prowess, which is interesting since we haven’t really seen him pilot before. Shino comes in with his new Gundam frame (and a fanservice stowaway), which transforms into an impressive artillery machine which finally turns the tide of battle toward Tekkadan’s side.
We also see McGillis get taken down a notch when several suits go up against the mobile armor to try to disable it. The mastermind is finally taken down a notch. Will we finally get to see him loose his cool?
In Summary:
Everyone has something to prove against the mobile armor, but can anyone actually stop it from killing thousands of people? Impressive, intelligent tactics and edge of your seat action make this one of the best episodes in the series. The action choreography is at its best. Heroism is on full display on several fronts, giving some of the side members of Tekkadan moments to shine the brightest when the stakes are so high. Even in the middle of battle we get a few character moments to reinforce bonds, but the draw here is firmly the fight, and it delivers all the mobile suit action you could want and more. The battle is only beginning, but Mika certainly seems to be planning on finishing it next episode.
Episode Grade: A
Streamed by: Daisuki, Crunchyroll, Youtube, and Gundam.info in select regions.
