Tv is always a spectacle of extremes, that is what makes it so entertaining. Sword Art Online shows the dangers that VR could pose if taken to an extreme, Blue Lock takes soccer to an extreme, and Attack on Titan shows an extreme dystopia. In this way, Mobile Suit Gundam fits the mold very well, especially in Witch From Mercury, specifically in one aspect, their economy. The prequel destroyed numerous combat suits, episode one destroyed two more, and episode two established that the suits aren’t so common. But all of this destruction begs one simple question. How can the Solar System’s economy support the Mobile Suit system?
Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch From Mercury follows the story of Suletta Mercury as she attends flight school and all the politics that come with it. So far in the season she has wrangled herself a fiance, gotten herself arrested, and been conscripted into a duel for her life. But while underlying plots threaten her place at the school and her relationship with her suit, her newfound friendships, and familial relationships may end up being the key to her success.
Cost of A Mech Suit
Highly motivated viewers have already done the math for how much it would cost to build a mech suit in the style of Mobile Suit Gundam, with the grand total being well over 25 billion dollars. Granted the majority of this cost is in the reactors and power cells required to power such a creation.
It seems reasonable to assume that since the technology of these shows far surpasses that of Earth today that things would be cheaper to fabricate. In addition, with multiple planets colonized, as well as the possibility of mining asteroids, it is likely that the materials cost would be lower for them than it would be for scientists of real-life Earth. With no real way of knowing how those variables would truly affect the cost of the suit, it seems plausible that it would cost one-tenth of what it would to those of us on Earth now. This leaves the estimated cost of a single suit at $2.5 billion, which is still a hefty sum.
This sum is likely to be at least somewhat indicative because in episode two the court was surprised that the entire planet of Mercury had been able to scrounge up enough wealth to create a single Mobile Suit.
However, it was explained, the audience believes this is a lie, that this suit is a new experimental type of suit that would cause it to be more expensive than the standard suit. Regardless, a poorer planet is shocking when it can create a single suit.
So Much Destruction
In the prequel episode, it is difficult to tell exactly how many suits are destroyed in the battle, but at least nine are. Nine suits, 2 of which are an experimental Gundam design, and two more are severely damaged. $22.5 billion lost in a single fight, with damages having completely unknown costs. This burden cannot however be placed directly on the economy as the skirmish is the decisive opening of any war. Albeit a short war but war inherently is an unsustainable cost.
Episode one and two however reveal far more clearly the waste and excess that run rampant in this society. During episode one two different duels occur, and it is made clear that duels are sanctioned and normal. The fact that no one is shocked about a second duel occurring so quickly also implies that they are also fairly common. In both duels a suit is destroyed. It is mentioned briefly that perhaps only their antenna needs to be destroyed to call the duel won, but in neither duel is that the case. In a single day another $5 billion destroyed, with no one batting an eye.
Economy
There are two possible ways that this can impact the economy, and both are equally plausible. The first is that this school is only representative of the absolute wealthiest members of society, for whom $2.5 billion is not such a big deal. The other choice is that the destruction of these suits is crippling to the economy, and that burden is only excepted as a way to wage wars through proxy. When only a suit is destroyed instead of a person killed the relative cost is significantly lower. Though this second option does imply that this society places a premium upon human life, a theory which so far seems optimistic at best.
Another way that this economic burden could be mitigated is if there is a highly effective salvage system through which damaged machines can easily and cheaply be repurposed into new suits. Or perhaps raw materials and technology are so cheap to anyone not on Mercury that it is only shocking that they could manage it. It is unlikely that these questions will be answered in the course of the show, and far more likely that audiences will simply have to suspend disbelief about this particular aspect of society.