G Gundam 41-44: Schwartz’s Forlorn Hope

Ah the tree of confession, unlike many I think this one will prove superior to the one in KGnE.

Last time saw the unmasking of Schwartz as Kyoji but in true Imagawa fashion not everything wraps up nice and tight. I quite liked how Schwartz was not only Neo-German but mecha as well, even if he was an android he was more man than most Gundam pilots ever managed to be. Poor Rain finds how how much of a loser her dad was and she won’t be taking it well. Thankfully though Rain wasn’t going to pout in a corner and do nothing while people needed to be saved. Rain might not be the best female pilot in G Gundma, or any Gundam but she did perform a decent Gundam Jack and didn’t embarrass herself in her first outing though I guess she learned a thing or two after getting thrashed in Shining Gundam. Dr. Mikamura is a pretty rotten guy and probably needed his peer reviews to be communicated with FISTS. Then lengths that guy stooped to steal another man’s work was pretty disgraceful though not as disgraceful as using Rain as a spy. I cannot help but wonder what became of Rain’s mom since it would be interesting to see the kind of woman that would have married Dr. Mikamura. Still you have to give Rain Credit for using a nurse cosplay to get in after Domon’s attempts to break past the Gothic Line of guards proved futile.

Watching the Shuffle Alliance fall down one at a time to take on the four heavenly kings of the Dark Gundam reminded me a lot of the first season of Sailor Moon where they too died off one by one to clear a path for the lead hero. It’s not a bad thing since it was sad in both cases, and both did have similar resolutions. Though G Gundam did do things differently enough that it wasn’t a total knock off since Master Asia, and Schwartz don’t have equals. It was rather satisfying to watch Michelo go down with a spear to the back of the head even if it wasn’t “really” to the back of his puny head. I still feel disappointed that Chapman had come back since his demise was pretty well done when Domon first faced off against him. I guess that it was meant to be sad and disappointing to see that Chapman was destined to be nothing more than a zombie whose noble spirit had died long ago while his physical form just shambled on. I didn’t think much of Gundam Maxter dual wielding then I don’t think much of it now, between Mr. Funnel Spam and Mr. Cowboy they had a decent fight but because they are in the same show as the likes of Schwartz and Master Asia, they can’t help but seem to be rather ho hum. I am not sure if it was just Imagawa trolling putting flowers into gun barrels but it was rather funny for me at least.

As princesses go Marie Louise was at least more useful than Princess Poverty, for not only did Marie Louise get down and dirty but she also successfully if rather comically tossed a potato masher grenade to take down the barrier. I really felt sorry for Allenby though, while she was out, Domon and Rain were pushed together by Schwartz and now she is forced to go yandere by Wong. I always felt bad for Allenby in how she was in many ways similar to Domon but lost out when it came to love, if only she had a caring bro like Schwartz. Sadly Allenby didn’t and she ended up piloting Walter Gundam which I think was a pretty terrible design, but one that would suit one pilot perfectly later on… Rising Gundam was pretty badass and more so since it was Rain that took on Allenby in Berserker mode. Even if most of the support crews did come off as non-essential at times I liked how they pulled together to try and break the barrier. I still feel bad for Nastasha being called an old lady by the snot nosed kid, but it just puts her well into onee-sama territory. The kid was lucky Nastasha didn’t whip him for the insult.

Still after all this time I am still moved by the death of Schwartz, even if Master Asia taught Domon the ultimate techniques it was Schwartz that helped bring Domon to reach his full potential and help him mature. It was very fitting that Schwartz was from Neo Germany since the WWII homage isn’t completely lost even if England loses it’s place ot Japan. Schwartz was nigh unbeatable and even when he was doomed to die he still kept fighting and remained a credible threat that Master Asia couldn’t beat down as severely as he did everyone else. A Gundam Fighter though and through and yet he was quite the gentleman even if he gave the shuffle alliance some beat downs. Domon made it to Master Asia in a decent condition but was still bested while Schwartz was weary onto death but still had plenty of fight left within him. Schwartz’s last charge was desperate and my heart did break to see Shadow Gundam get shot to pieces. Nevertheless Schwartz’ plea to Domon to kill them both was very well done Domon had trouble doing it but Schwartz masterfully reminded Domon that if he didn’t do it then everyone else had sacrificed for nothing, now it was Domon’s turn to set things right. For a show that is bursting at the seems with manliness and hot blooded shouting a whole lot of tears are being shed, most of them are of course True Tears and Manly tears but the raw emotion is there. In the case of Sai and Argo both died before having achieved their dreams, as did George and Crockett despite the latter two having a less dramatic demise. It was a good death for Schwartz and it was made all the more tragic that it was done with invocation of the Crest of the King Hearts. For most of the series it was fun to shout along with Domon as he dished out his BURNING FINGER and SEKIHA TENKYOKEN, but for the first time it wasn’t fun and I couldn’t shout along or feel the same adrenaline rush that usually comes along with it.

Treachery rears it’s ugly head as multiple betrayals are revealed, Wong stabs Master Asia in the back but fails, Dr. Mikamura turns out to have sold out the entire Kasshu family for the sake of his own ego, and Ulube is at this point a traitor but one that has yet to show his hand. It does much to subvert a total white washing of the WWII allegiances and does succeed in separating guys like Mikamura and Ulube who are homegrown assholes from Domon who becomes great because he trained with gaijin like Master Asia and to a degree Schwartz. Even then Domon is far from perfect even when pushed along by Schwartz’s nurturing of love. Next time sees the long awaited FINAL FIGHT between Master Asia and Domon, and with five more to go it’s going to be a hell of a finish.

You have to admire Schwartz’s handiwork, it is unlikely Domon would have gotten this far without a little brotherly help.

Still waiting to see who will come out on top…

The only weapon he that is consistent across all Gundams.

LOL even the Nurse is taller than Dr. Mikamura, his short stature isn’t the only area where he falls short…

By virtue of also being Mecha himself Schwartz is pretty much a Masked Pilot without equal.

Worry not Rain for your heart probably skipped a beat because deep down you knew Schwartz was mecha too.

That’s pretty humiliating.

The fighter for Neo Greece was such a troll Domon had to kill it with FIRE.

Too bad Raven Gundam never quoth nevermore…

Man vs. Machine, and thank goodness the machine won.

Yeah I’d ORZ too if I had a dad like that.

Raven Gundam’s feet smelled so bad it turned the air purple…

Oh Nastasha fret not about your age, you’re just the onee-sama character of the lot.

Oddly enough Argo never did nail down a stand up routine.

Not a bad design…

But still the Crest of the King of Hearts is the most aesthetically pleasing.

Even if he wasn’t related to Rain by blood, Schwartz was a good Bro to her too.

One area where Schwartz was bested was in calling for his Gundam…

Kind of sad that he gave up the mask.

I wished Shadow Gundam made one last cool entrance.

Up armored Rain.

Wait does this make Rain the winner of best Gundam Jack in the women’s division?

Sad to see that Domon lost out in speed.

You know they’d probably make bank in subway construction…

That’s weird where did the shoujo sparkles come from…?

I wonder if that qualifies as an ahoge…

Well that’s one way of being as good as gold…

It’s like the slaying of a mystical creature…

You know watching them fall one by one is oddly reminiscent of Sailor Moon…

That’s not a bad Char Cosplay Argo’s got going…

He looks mad…

This is rather deceptive…

I hope Domon doesn’t have to wake up dear old dad with a kiss.

Before that beam spamming fat ass that is Gundam Virtue there was this fat fucker…

Ah yes the pissed of fans of those who Schwatrz easily humbled…

I take they expected to have some ugly guy under the mask…

It was quite rude of Wong to start things without Schwartz…

Little Princess here didn’t have much going for her, she was after all a princess and French…

Being German Shadow Gundam thought little of her…

Rain was late, but she did bring something useful…

Rain thinks she has this staring contest in the bag.

Schwartz is trying hard not to let his eyes wander…

Even if Domon forgot, Allenby didn’t…

This is why you don’t want to be in a love triangle…

So glad they refused to be like that loser Zeke Kaminsky.

So glad that she decided to stop being useless.

If nothing else she at least blew up something…

Schwartz insisted that it was only flesh wound…

Well it was always taxing being Domon’s brother…

It’s like a troll on flower children…

That’s one way of settling this love triangle, way to go Dithering Domon.

There’s the Char kick, the Wild Bear Kick, and then there is Master Asia’s BEST KICK.

Despite losing to the POWER OF LOVE even a dying Schwartz could fight Master Asia to a draw.

It was like this when they were kids I bet…

Oh my an ominous blood red moon…

Domon I know Schwartz and Master Asia are awesome and all but YOUR NOT HELPING.

A most Manly LOL.

Noe approves of Allenby’s True Tears.

So sad to see that Shadow Gundam was starting to wane in strength.

Still at least there was one more fight left within it’s magnificent form…

Nice backdrop for story time…

Chasing Kyoji…

If only cool badass old guys were still part of Gundam…heck this guy’s old but still more fit than most Gundma Pilots.

I wonder if Rain cosplays as a Miko.

Noe doesn’t like Wong’s tears of lose…

Master Asia wishes he had a brother as awesome as Schwartz.

Schwartz maybe dying but he ain’t dead.

Oh great…

Domon’s in trouble…again.

Time for a last stand.

Such a tragedy…

Once again Domon dithers..

Schwartz’s True Tears.

Once again Scwartz had to give some more brotherly advice.

Is it just me or did Master Asia just get older…

For once when his hand was was BURNING RED I did not feel like repeating after him.

So passed one of the greatest onii-chans in all of anime.

It was all the more sad since Schwartz did not come back…