Between the original Mobile Suit Gundam to the latest Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, there have been dozens of major Gundam series featuring countless different stern-looking and colorful giant mecha called Gundam. Each Gundam has different purposes and capabilities, but there is one thing in common between every single one of them, which is the fact that all of them are the protagonist of the story. The good guy, so to speak. But Gundam: The Witch from Mercury has broken the tradition with its 21st episode.
In the hands of Suletta Mercury, Gundam Aerial becomes well-known around the universe as one of the most advanced mechas that has constantly dominated the best mecha from other big companies. When Prospera takes control of Aerial, however, it becomes an instrument of war that is capable of killing countless innocent people and causing untold amounts of destruction. And now, thanks to the support of the Quiet Zero, Gundam Aerial has officially become the villain of the story.
The Role of Gundam In The Franchise
The Gundam franchise has always tried to reinvent itself with every new major series. And that is true not only in terms of the story, but also the design and the capabilities of every Gundam as well. From Gundam Age with its multigenerational story, to Gundam IBO with its child labor story, to Turn A Gundam and its iconic mustache, to the pure white feathers of the Wing Gundam, to the burning fingers of the God Gundam, and the seven swords of the 00 Gundam, every major Gundam series produced their own version of the mecha known as Gundam.
Despite the difference in design, capabilities, and stories, however, those Gundams have several things in common. Across different major series, Gundam has always been the cutting edge mobile suit in their respective universe, and they are always the good guys in the story. Sure, some might come close to the lines between good and bad (which we’ll talk about in the next section) but for the most part, the Gundams are the symbol of great powers used for the good of humanity.
Those That Stays In The Grey Areas
As mentioned earlier, there are some Gundam series out there that dares to put their Gundams into gray areas. The Gundams are not the bad guys, but they’re not actually the good guys either. It’s hard for the viewers to justify the actions of the Gundams and their pilots, but on the other hand, we understand that desperate times call for desperate measures.
So in a way, those series and their Gundams can be considered to be bold and brave enough to put themselves in morally-ambiguous situations. This style of storytelling can be said to be a rather new trend for the franchise, with only a handful of series that have adopted this concept, each to a varying degree.
Gundam Thunderbolt with its masterful ability to showcase the two side of the story, Gundam Wing with its daring approach to send the Gundams as some kind of harbinger of destruction against the current establishment, Gundam 00’s unique decision to make the Gundams part of an independent paramilitary group with its own sense of justice and morality, and last but not least, Gundam IBO with its ruthless approach to killings and destructions.
How Gundam Aerial Flip The Script
The aforementioned titles may dance around the gray lines between good and bad, but for the most part, the Gundams, its pilots, and the organization that housed them, worked for the good of humanity. They never went out of their way to kill innocent people or spread terror across the universe. And that has been one of the constant creeds across the whole franchise. That is until Gundam Aerial comes along.
As mentioned earlier, Gundam Aerial started out pretty much in the same path as its predecessors, an advanced piece of mobile suit that strives to save and protect humanity. But all of that changes when Prospera enters the cockpit. Rather than using the superior technology in Aerial for goods, she chose to use it to fulfill her personal desire. And she is ready to kill and destroy everything that dares to stand in her way. In episode 19, Prospera burns a city filled with innocent people to the ground. In episode 21, she single-handedly destroyed a whole battalion of the Space Assembly Forces, killing hundreds of people in the process, without batting an eye.
Since its conception, Gundam: The Witch from Mercury strives to present something new and refreshing while still true to the core of what makes the Gundam series so iconic in the first place. With decisions such as bringing the first female protagonist and using a school as the main settings of the story, they are certainly true to their word. But by letting the main Gundam commit so many war crimes, the show runners have successfully made Gundam: The Witch from Mercury as one of the most polarizing Gundam series in the franchise.