Following the relentless but necessary lore dump of Episode 2, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3 brings us back into the present day. It’s a relief for newcomers who’ve yet to fully immerse themselves in the franchise’s longevity (which began in 1979.) While Episode 2 is integral to the series as it highlights the striking difference that catapults this timeline of events, it’s the protagonists of GQuuuuuX that we’re invested in.
Amate “Machu” Yuzuriha (Tomoyo Kurosawa) remains a fantastic protagonist as she throws herself completely into this world. Striving to escape Side6, which she sees as a prison, she’s always been skyborne. In Episode 3, “Machu in Clan Battle,” we see this literalized narratively and through the visuals surrounding them. She meets Shuji Ito (Shimba Tsuchiya), the pilot of the Red Gundam, and, bolstered still by the vision they both seemingly had when the Omega Psycommu activate, they agree to work together in an upcoming Clan Battle as part of Team Pomeranians. Shuji will be her Mav, and together the two will set their sights well beyond the skyline they were born into.
It’s interesting then that they must travel so far beneath the city limits to reach those heights. Shuji leads Amate – going as ‘Machu’ for battle – and Nyaan (Yui Ishikawa,) to where the Red Gundam resides. The sequence is startlingly beautiful in its subtlety. As the space grows cramped, color spools from the surroundings. The graffiti effect is used well, a visual representation of the hope and vibrancy these mechs can offer characters like Amate, Nyaan, and Shuji, all looking to escape the reality they’re born into.
New and old characters come together.
There’s a lot of background information taking place too. And while Amate’s storyline proves to be the easiest to invest in, there’s definite intrigue about bridging old and new characters with Challia and Xavier. Challia, who doesn’t hold back in his rescue of Xavier after Side6 authorities hold the latter. It’s a dynamic that requires more exploration time but allows us to have a different vantage point in a world that prioritizes power.
The clan battle is the technical standout sequence of Episode 3, and director Tōko Yatabe captures the fervent chaos of the early moments with nauseating precision. As we tumble with Amate as she struggles to gain control, we, too, feel unmoored. It’s a dizzying sequence that plants us into the zero-gravity effect. However, they end up victorious considering Amate manifesting newtype abilities, which grant her heightened situational awareness and the ability to coordinate telepathically with Shuji. It just took a bit of a learning curve.
The learning curve was over quickly, but the series doesn’t seem too preoccupied with the battles’ mechanics. Because even during the fight, it’s less the fight itself and more the internal battle Amate is facing that brings us in. It’s her syncing up with her new power and that ascension into something greater, highlighted by flickering pools of light that allow the series a step forward. Considering the talent involved and how their earlier series honed in on the coming-of-age desire to be more, it should come as no surprise.
The details allow Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3 to soar.
While the battle is the clear centerpiece with the sinewy models and how it forces Amate and Shuji into Challia’s orbit, it isn’t an animation highlight. The details of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3 are so striking. Amid all of the titanic mechs and the ferocious battle, these small, muted beats give the world its sense of life. It’s Amate opening the window above her bath, and the wide long shot of the steam slowly billowing out into the night air that grounds this larger-than-life universe.
It’s the graffiti and Amate, Shuji, and Nyaan standing under an overpass, dreaming of flight while cornered by concrete. The artistry entrenches itself in subtleties. And it’s those touches that make the series so worthwhile. It’s not just borrowing from the series. Its creators built their careers. Instead, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX looks to use all that’s come before it and the franchise’s considerable legacy to craft something new but familiar. If you’re watching and thinking about how the series resonates because it feels like something from Evangelion to Pacific Rim, it’s because Gundam influenced those series and films.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3 is another whirlwind experience that jettisons us to the stars with our protagonist. Kinetic and expertly directed, the series might still need to streamline its writing to be more cohesive, but it delivers a striking impact.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3 is out now on Prime Video.
Images courtesy of Sunrise.
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Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 3 - 8/10
8/10
Based in New England, Allyson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.
