G Gundam 45-49 (Final): A Painful Farewell

No time to mourn , time to FIGHT!

Watching the final fight between Master Asia and Domon never quite loses it’s charm even after all this time. The death of Schwartz and Master Asia seemed to be lime the passing of Giants. Their like seems destined to be never seen again in this hated age of angst and butthurt for “righteousness.” Words cannot convey how tragic and EPIC the last fight was and what stirring words Master Asia had to offer, truly they were words to live by. At the end as Master Asia lay dying their last greeting for the School of the Undefeated of the East was heartfelt and beautiful. It was the last time and it was all the more special because Domon had finally surpassed his master. Given how there has yet to be a sequel it is doubtful the greeting will ever be invoked anytime soon.

In true Imagawa style even after the passing of Master Asia there was one last person with a hand to play. I confess that early on in the series Ulube seemed like a swell guy but the bastard played his role superbly. After Wong embarrassed himself Ulube made off with the Dark Gundam and Wong’s notes since Domon had yet to tell Rain all of his crazy dreams he also had a good core life unit to go with his new prize. Domon was truly BAKA for not just taking off after Rain the moment he found out.

Ulube seemed to have all his bases covered as he claimed dominion over the universe and killed off his own crew. Chibodee yet again proves how much of a buzz kill he is when he gets his panties in a twist when ersatz-MacArthur used the statue of liberty cannon after Ulube declared war on everyone. Once again the Federation steps up to save the Earth from spacnoid despots. The mustering of forces was gloriously super robot and LOL as they got to space by hugging rockets. Instead of shameless borrowing plotlines G Gundam does homage and fan wanking as subtly as Sekiha Tenkyoken to the balls. Here and there you see Gunams that look a little out of place as well as some non-Gundam cameos. AND IT WAS AWESOME!

I confess that many of the Gundams in G Gunadm were down right silly but I do like how they trolled the Zekes and had a moment of WHEN HURRICANE GUNDAM IS MASS PRODUCED. The icing was watching Allenby make her final sortie she was magnificent and fought superbly. The Shuffle Alliance did well but I am surprised that Ulube’s rather fugly looking Gattaied Grand Master Gundam put upe even that much of a fight since it was Bigger than Big Zam and wasn’t that hard to hit.

Rain being the final boss was at the time of first viewing unexpected and I was glad that she put up a BIG FIGHT in a fit of tsun tsun. Seeing newtypish nakkidness was rather unwanted but thankfully Domon was a gentleman and remedied that with all due haste. Unlike those punk ass newtypes Domon wasn’t one to gawk and stare. It was a great BEST END for Domon and Rain with the Sekiha LOVE LOVE TENKYOKEN. The King delivering a heart shape hole was pretty EPIC and was much more interesting than a beam kill or sword fight. Love wins everywhere as pairings abounded but alas for poor Allenby who helped Domon get together with Rain and completed where Schwartz had to leave off. Arguably Argo got BEST END out of the remainder of the Shuffle Alliance. Part of me still wishes that there was a 14th fight but G Gundam has aged surprisingly well. I suppose that there will come a day when people will wonder why Hong Kong was distinct from China but it still recent enough that it isn’t a problem.

All in all G Gundam remains my favorite AU Gundam because it never stayed in the shadow of UC Gundams given the heavy Super Robot slant they took. It is also the only Gundam I really prefer in dubbed since I love repeating after every AWESOME statement when they called out attacks. It really gets the blood pumping. New AU series can beam spam until hell freezes over but there has yet to be as satisfying an ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE as Sekiha TENKYOKEN. It’s just more satisfying than the war is bad message that gets done to death. There was a partial subversion of Char clones with Ulube only having a major role at the end game while the masked man was Schwartz who by the way is so much better than Char as a paragon of what a man ought to be. Master Asia will be sorely missed but even if his legacy is no longer upheld I will never forget how eloquently he worded his position. I count Master Asia and Schwartz among my personal heroes of Gudam who’s like has never been seen again as the franchise moves towards a less hot blooded slant and opts for teenage wankers instead of old dudes that kick ass. It holds a special place in my heart because it was at the time of viewing the anti-thesis of Evangelion which was all the rage as a kid when people identified with Shinji’s cowardice and ridiculous family situation. In G Gundam they extolled the gospel of never giving up and that even if you fight it doesn’t mean your friends and father will abandon you. Also TRUE LOVE wins out in the end when martial prowess even that of the School of the Undefeated of the East proved to make little impression on the Dark Gundam. Truly G Gundam is one of those Gundam of Gundams that has yet to be truly surpassed. I wonder though if G Gundam would also appeal to a shoujo audience given the general similarities between G Gundam and first season of Sailor Moon, you have your sentai team, calling of attacks, enemy of the week, transformation scenes, and a big bad that did use the people the main character cared about against him.

Final Grade: A+

Recommended to fans of honor, courage, and tenacity that need more mecha in their lives to make up for the current shortfall despite the SD Gundam Brave Battle Warriors shorts. Fans of Super Robot will derive the most out of G Gundam as will those suffering from violent allergic reactions to more recent AU entries. Do not take if you are a coward, a hippie, a Zeke, butthurt, hate your life, hate the world, don’t like having the EXTENT OF YOUR ABILITIES questioned, and content yourself with fake tears of lose and fail that Noe shoots back at you with an compressed air cannon. Side effects include communicating with your FISTS, towel whipping people with your master cloth which you wear around your waist, declaring THIS HAND OF MINE IS BURNING RED, GRASPING people’s faces and other things like happiness, ending a conversation with THE END, getting up because TO KNEEL IS TO GIVE UP THE FIGHT, getting a shuffle crest, greeting friends in the traditional method of the School of the Undefeated of the East, increased courage, crouching for better balance, going into hypermode, a predisposition to fight matches, eternal love for Allenby, attempts to chop down trees with rusty swords, BEING AWESOME IN OLD AGE, and snapping your fingers when calling for your ride. Take only as directed, please fill out a hurt feelings report and request a tough shit card from Chaplain Crusader in the event that G Gundam makes you feel like less of a man or makes you weep profusely because you decided to lay down before the WINDS OF THE KING, and your underachieving ways are laid bare before the light of the East which is BURNING RED.

So where’s Domon’s version or did he forget that lesson?

Master Asia is not amused…

Who needs beam weapons when you can use your fists!

What’s wong?

A most vicious chick fight.

Now this is how you angst no tears and keep it short.

Is this the extent of your abilities Domon?!

A fight between master and pupil, and spiritual father and son…and while tragic it is so EPIC.

Here it comes…

If only more old guys were like Master Asia.

I did the exact same thing, GET HIM!

So noble even in defeat…

Must be tough losing Schwartz, Kyoji, and Master in a single day…

Fuck those funnel spamming designs Kowloon Gundam is Number 1.

Looks like age has finally caught up with Master Asia.

Noe approves of Master Asia’s True Tears of regret.

Yes this scene was so beautiful.

Noe approves of Domon’s tears of sorrow.

LOOK THE EAST IS BURNING RED!

Ulube’s gotta gun…

See this is what happens when you let a love triangle drag on…

I guess Schwartz’s lesson about being considerate of the feelings of others has been forgotten…

So wrong on so many levels…

DOMON NO BAKA!

How humiliating I can’t believe Domon let Wong get that close…

So much better than a pink/purple explosion.

…Should have gone with Liberty Prime.

LOL MacArthur.

Ulube was saddened that he was no longer bishie.

OVERRULED!

There’s nothing genius about his haircut…

LOL UN Spacey.

Yes beaten by the old dude with a TOWEL!

The Phantom of the Gundam…

Wait was Sai always that small?

Worst Snow White play EVAR…

Damn it…

Way to go Chibodee…

Sorry but this tentacle scene is not meant for lolis…

Welcome back Allenby I missed you.

Ah the old days of hurt looking heroes…

I applaud your not so subtle homage!

When Big Zam is MASS PRODUCED…

So that’s what the SEED Whales were…

Well at least they look more varied than the Mazinger Army.

Group cosplay photo.

Being a Pirate, Argo couldn’t wait to fight.

After becoming ugly Ulube decided to get ripped instead of staying lanky.

That is some GATTAI.

Who needs speed lines when you got Chinese Characters.

Not as pretty was Wing Zero’s Custom’s feathers…

Wait did Ulube just grow Go Nagai sideburns?

Unlike Kamille Domon only needed the dead as inspiration not as a shield to cower behind.

It never gets old, NEVER.

Because together you can accomplish so much more…

I got it, I got it, I…

Heero is ready to eliminate all obstacles…

RAIN!

Who says Buddhism can’t kick ass?

Kou don’t you fuck this one up too now…

Make sure not to grasp Rain inappropriately now…

When Master Asia told you about how bad kneeling was I don’t think he meant that sitting was alright either.

It’s magical Mobile Fighter Allenby…

So tell her about it…

Tell her everything you feel…

Give her every reason to accept…

That your for real…

Well Qubeley Diao-chan has nothing on you.

You minght not be the Winner but you will always be a Man of Destiny Allenby.

Noe approves of Allenby’s True Tears of unrequited love.

Hey I think I know that guy…

Tell her about it
Every day before you leave
Pay her some attention
Give her something to believe!

Manly Confession.

Patrick approves of such gentlemanly behavior.

Use the LOVE kids.

Who needs beam weapons when you got a flaming KING to head butt your foes?

The power of love is a curious thing…

I hope Riku is taking notes.

Yes it is beautiful, make sure you catch the bouquet lass.

Bad End.

Good End.

Great End.

BEST END.

Something is out of place here…

I am still waiting. Some day…Some day…