The "Witch from Meruryo" prologue is a fascinating piece of literature that introduces readers to a mysterious and powerful witch. Despite its brevity, the prologue captures the attention of the audience and leaves them wanting to know more about this enigmatic character. The prologue opens with a vivid description of the setting, painting a picture of a desolate and eerie landscape. The author's use of descriptive language helps to create a chilling atmosphere, setting the stage for the witch's entrance. The scene is further enhanced by the mention of an ancient forest and a full moon, adding to the sense of mystery and magic. The witch herself is portrayed as a figure of immense power and unpredictability.
However, out of all of them, Delling immediately comes off as the kind of bastard who would run the operations for A-Laws in Gundam 00 and Gjallahorn in Iron Blooded Orphans. He basically orchestrated an unsanctioned hit on innocent people for the sake of “justice” and didn’t bat an eye over doing it. He basically argued that the sin and punishment of killing someone should lie with the one who does it and not the machines, but for all his talk about bearing sin on your soul that you can’t atone for, how do you justify his attack on noncombatants and ordering there be no survivors?
It d be one thing to censor the use of Gundams because they are a hazard to the users, I m not arguing that because it means there s one less weapon to kill everyone. So, with the coming season bringing forth a new iteration of Mobile Suit Gundam , I find myself rather excited for it, despite my mixed feelings on the ending of Iron-blooded Orphans.
The witch herself is portrayed as a figure of immense power and unpredictability. She is described as having a face that no one can gaze upon without feeling fear, and her eyes are said to be filled with an otherworldly light. These descriptions emphasize the witch's otherness and make it clear that she is not to be trifled with.
Out of the Bog and into the Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, Previewed
For the first time in a few years, a brand new Gundam, The Witch From Mercury , is almost upon us. A prologue episode just dropped, completely legally, on the official Gundam YouTube channel . I’m gonna recommend that you watch it, because it goes hard in ways both expected and surprising. In case you didn’t, here we present a short primer, based on watching it once and kind of half paying attention, followed by doing doing zero research.
It’s worth noting that the tag line for this show is incredible. “This witch…rides a Gundam”, my god. I aspire to that level of writing.
So how was it?
Pretty good! It did a good job setting the stage for a new series, by doing a little world-building, laying out some backstory to explain the factions and their motivations, and then as a treat including a sick robot fight that takes up half the run time. None of this feels like it’ll end up being necessary viewing before you can dive into the main series, but it was bad ass.
Narratively, it’s your usual Gundam Earth-people vs Space-people setup, though in this case both sides appear to be run by different branches of the NRA. Our sympathies are clearly meant to lie with the Space-people, because almost all of them die horribly, but even the space cops have motivations beyond mustache-twirling evil for evil’s sake, which is maybe unrealistic, while still being total assholes, which is very realistic. Gundam being Gundam I would not expect the situation to remain static for long.
Most of these people are about to die. Credit: GundamInfo
The animation looks pretty good, and the mech designs rip. There’s no opening sequence, but the music over the credits does kind of slap, so I’m willing to assume that this will extend the franchise’s streak of all the opening themes being heaters. On a scale from 0079 to 0122, I would rate this about a 0105, or roughly on the level of Gundam Hathaway .
None of the action, despite the title, takes place anywhere on or near the planet Mercury, and there isn’t really anyone I would describe as a “witch” unless I’m being very loose with the definition.
How “GUNDAM” is this?
Well, it has a few of the things you expect from Gundam, such as robotic violence and sadness.
The show is set in a new timeline, Ad Stella, and as such we have to get a new outlandish explanation of the word “Gundam”. In the main Universal Century timeline, it’s a brand name. After the RX-78 Gundam was such a smashing success, anytime someone built a new robot, they’d slap the Gundam name and hood ornament (the V-fin on the head) on it for marketing purposes. In Gundam Wing, it denotes a mobile suit made from Gundanium (or Gundarium) alloys. SEED might have my favorite bonkers explanation: the name is simply an acronym of the operating system software running on the mobile suit hardware. It’s called a GUNDAM because it runs the General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver software, which is incredibly sane.
The Witch From Mercury’s version of this is that I guess living in space messes people up real bad and they need mechanical arms and legs, which use something called GUND technology. This sounds like it sucks – and it does – but they also built mobile suits that can be piloted directly through the GUND implants instead of using joysticks or whammy bars, and that make it a Gundam. It’s somewhere between the Psycho Zaku from Thunderbolt and the Alaya-Vijnana from Iron-Blooded Orphans , including that feedback from the system will mess you up if you stunt too hard.
The brain-searing nature of the Gundams ends up being a plot point. Maybe the plot point: it ruins the life of our hero directly and indirectly, and the event that kicks off the earth/space conflagration is that the earthnoids ban the use of GUND-compatible mobile suits, on the grounds that it’s freak shit, with their obvious ulterior motive being to maintain their edge over the colonies.
hmm seems bad
Credit: GundamInfo
The Witch From Mercury breaks bold new ground in Gundam’s habit of everyone being way too young for this shit: the protagonist, Eri, is four . The episode is set during her birthday party, which her parents bail on for work. They’re mobile suit designers/pilots, par for the course in these parts, so Eri wanders off to scream at the parked Gundam, because it’s clearly their favorite child . Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but it’s a wildly advanced prototype that no one has ever seen before and only the child is capable of piloting.
So yes, it’s very Gundam.
Are the robots cool?
I believe them to be so, yes.
The Gundams use a lot of funnels and bits – remote control guns and swords that you aim with your brain – which we love to see, and they re-combine in fun ways. Lfrith, the main Gundam, has a big shield that can explode into a bunch of chunks that turn into either armor or beam cannons. The other robot has little land mine looking things that grab onto stuff and then blow up. This is made extra cool by yelling the name of the attack when you use it.
Glowing in weird places and attaching your shield to your gun to make a bigger gun, now that’s paper. Credit: GundamInfo
Everything has clear bits of armor, with glowing circuitry under it, that lights up when the Gundam balls out merciless. I want to say we’ve never seen a Gundam achieve Super Saiyan before, but we have, it actually happens pretty often.
What about if I don’t know about Gundams, is it ok for me to watch this?
It’s probably fine. Nobody else knows anything about the Mercury-Witch Complex either, so you’ll be starting from square one with the rest of us.
What can we expect from the actual show?
Apparently the head writer is on record as saying that Mobile Suit Victory Gundam is his favorite entry in the franchise, so you can expect that virtually every character you care about will be killed in a way that is as gruesome as it is pointless.
There’s inevitably, hopefully, going to be a time skip, and the lead will be your usual violent teenager when she starts (presumably) driving a Gundam to exact revenge. I expect many episodes to include flashbacks to her childhood trauma, which is what you’re watching when you watch the prologue. It’ll grind the plot to a halt and get old fast. That trauma though, hoo boy, it’s pretty rough. Let me tell you, as a new parent, watching Eri’s dad give himself brain damage piloting a mobile suit, culminating in him singing “happy birthday” to his daughter over the radio while he’s busy getting impaled by a huge sword, was a bit much.
Ah shit oh no this sucks. Credit: GundamInfo
The robots are presumably sticking around. They wouldn’t have spent all this time showing how cool they are, or releasing model kits, for a one-off prequel episode. The Lfrith in particular slaps, and I would not object to watching it wreck more dudes.
Do I need to watch this?
Yes and no. I suspect that the actual show will backfill everything you need to know from here, leaving at most a few easter eggs that pay off if you watched the prologue, so on that level you don’t need to. On the other hand, it’s still new Gundam, and it’s entertaining in its own right, so if you can spare 25 minutes out of your day to see a 4 year old tap on an iPad to commit warcrimes while her mother looks on, horrified, go for it. Spare a thought for the professional soldiers that had to die knowing that a toddler nuked them from a mile away without even knowing what she was doing. Imagine getting that particular call from Space Army, about why your husband ate it. Brutal.
Owned. Credit: GundamInfo
When is The Witch From Mercury out and where can I watch it?
Buddy, I have no idea. October, I think?
Well, it has a few of the things you expect from Gundam, such as robotic violence and sadness.
Furthermore, the prologue hints at the witch's abilities and her association with dark magic. It is mentioned that she possesses ancient knowledge and has the power to control the forces of nature. This further adds to her aura of power and contributes to the intrigue surrounding her character. The prologue concludes with a cryptic message from the witch, hinting at her motivations and the role she will play in the story. This not only leaves readers with a sense of anticipation but also provides a sense of foreshadowing for the events to come. Overall, the "Witch from Meruryo" prologue is a captivating introduction to a compelling character. Its atmospheric setting, evocative descriptions, and hints of the witch's power create a sense of anticipation and leave readers eager to delve deeper into her story..
Reviews for "Journeying through the mystical lands of the Witch from Meruryo: A Prologue"
1. Alex - 2 out of 5 stars: The prologue of "Witch from Mercury" left me confused and disinterested. The writing style felt disjointed and hard to follow, making it difficult to really get into the story. The characters were introduced without much depth or development, and the overall plot seemed scattered and lacking focus. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the story and didn't find it engaging enough to continue reading.
2. Emily - 1 out of 5 stars: I found the prologue of "Witch from Mercury" to be incredibly boring and unoriginal. The writing lacked creativity and depth, and the characters felt cliché and one-dimensional. The plot was predictable and lacked any sense of suspense or excitement. Overall, I was thoroughly disappointed and would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and unique read.
3. Jake - 2 out of 5 stars: I struggled to get through the prologue of "Witch from Mercury." The pacing felt off, with long stretches of unnecessary description and minimal action. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the characters. Additionally, the world-building was lacking, leaving me with more questions than answers. Overall, I didn't find this prologue compelling enough to continue reading the rest of the book.