Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Review

Highlights

• The Witch from Mercury is about Suletta Mercury and her Gundam Ariel protecting her bride, Miorine Rembran, from those who would abuse her position as the chairman's daughter.
• Genre: Yuri / battle highschool 
• Currently, there are two seasons and the series has not confirmed a third
• The Witch From Mercury is produced by Sunrise Studio

Cute girls fighting in mechs with minimal over-the-top fanservice.  Welcome to the Gundam battle school!

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury feels like a smash between G- Gundam and Revolutionary Girl Utena from the late 90’s.  

An earnest girl, the series protagonist, arrives at a school that uses mech battles to settle all disputes between rising rich kids, and whoever is in possession of the president of the school's daughter gets to be in charge of an entire mega-corp. 

Our protagonist wins the battle with her mech and now has to protect her bride from a plethora of conniving commercial interests that want to possess her in order to gain power.

I’ve seen several people online make the case that this anime actually falls a bit into the Yuri genre of anime and after thinking about it for a moment yeah I agree with them!  

We recently did a review for another Yuri anime called “Yuri is my Job!” fee free to check it out

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Also Check out the trailer for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury below

PLOT

Ad Stella 101, researchers at the Vanadis Institute created "GUND", an advanced brain–computer interface that enabled the human nervous system to control artificial appendices and organs. The purpose of GUND was to enable humans to survive in the harsh environment of space. 

After receiving funding from mobile suit manufacturers Ochs Earth, the technology was developed into the "GUND Format" and employed for military uses, leading to the creation of "GUND-ARMS": mobile suits that use the GUND Format to increase the performance of their pilots. However, extensive use of GUND-ARMS resulted in pilots being crippled or even killed.]

In response, the Mobile Suit Development Council, led by the top mobile suit development companies, ordered a permanent ban on the GUND Format and all its applications.

Council member Delling Rembran deployed the special forces team Dominicus to destroy the Vanadis research facility Fólkvangr, killing everyone aboard to erase all traces of the technology. 

Only two people survived: mobile suit test pilot Elnora Samaya and her four-year-old daughter Ericht Samaya. In the aftermath, those responsible for the development of the GUND Format were ostracized, and because the team was primarily women, they became known as "witches".

In Ad Stella 122, 21 years after the Vanadis incident, Suletta Mercury transfers from Mercury to the Asticassia School of Technology, an academic institute run by the megacorporation Benerit Group.

Upon arrival, she encounters a girl escaping the institute, Miorine Rembran, who wants to escape from the control of her father. 

As their paths cross in the academy with different ambitions and goals, Suletta must prove her worth as a pilot as she steps into the academy alongside the Gundam Aerial, a mobile suit built with forbidden GUND Format technology.

Director & Studio

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is produced and released by Sunrise Studio as you would expect.  The Gundam anime franchise has been a long-standing IP of Sunrise studio and that doesn’t look to change anytime soon.

The Witch from Mercury is directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi who people will probably know from his work on Netflix's Spriggan adaptation as well as the series Kiznaiver.  In addition, he directed a few episodes of the series Kill La Kill.  Prior to directing Hiroshi Kobayashi’s main credits revolved around storyboard artists for various other animes.

Review

I think Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a refreshing addition to the franchise despite being less serious. While Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-blooded Orphans explores the serious issue of child soldiers in conflicts, The Witch from Mercury's more light-hearted approach serves as a nice break from the heavier themes. 

 

Tone

The tone of the series is sincere as Suletta strives to form new friendships. In comparison, Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing and Mikazuki Augus from Iron-Blooded Orphans convey a more serious and aggressive approach. 

Amongst the three, Suletta's story is more gentle and focuses on personal growth rather than attempting to revolutionize society or disrupt the system. Suletta's ultimate goal is to make friends and become the best version of herself.

The series is doing very well financially as well.  According to a recent release from Sunrise Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the second most revenue-generating IP in their portfolio of anime series only overshadowed by Dragon Ball.

The series never slows to a slog with new and exciting situations coming up for us to enjoy.  I believe that really comes from the new format of the series that we’re given.  We never have to sit through Heero Yuy driving his mech cross country and instead can focus on the more relational elements as Sulleta grows in her friendship with Miorine.  

The slower pace and more gentle tone serve as a great backdrop cause when the violence kicks in it kicks in hard.  The juxtaposition of the violence compared to the larger tone of the series acts as a great punctuation mark.

When the violence happens you pay attention.  It’s not casual or irrelevant it’s meaningful

You leave each episode excited for the next.

Critics

I have noticed that some individuals have criticized Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury for featuring a "same-sex relationship". However, I believe that this argument is only valid if one has not actually viewed the content. Although the term "Bride" is used in the series, there is no romantic component between the two main characters. 

Peggy Sue Wood wrote a good piece and linked a video to Insider that discusses Queer and LGBT-Q representation in media. In the insider video, several creators speak to the importance of seeing representation in media and I agree with them.

Additionally, some have claimed that the anime has become too political, but it is important to note that the Gundam franchise has always included overt political views and statements.

The more overt political topic that the series focuses on is the haves and the have-nots in the form of spacers v. earthers.

Lastly, some have said that they feel that this series is geared or targeted more toward women rather than men.  They could be right however I don’t think that’s a bad thing either.  Gundam franchise creator Yoshiyuki Tomino has said that female viewership kept the franchise moving along by being the main supporter of manga and merchandise.  So yeah the ladies get to have Gundam too my friends.

If you are looking for an anime with much more serious tones and topics check out Tokyo Ghoul.  It’s a great series and maybe more of your speed.

Conclusion

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is well worth watching.  If you are into Gundam you will like what you find even it if is different from what you’re used to in the more modern era.

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