With the release of episode 24, Gundam: The Witch from Mercury finally reached the end of its second season. Truth be told, the first season of this series was quite rough around the edges. This series spent too many times getting to know the supporting characters to the point that the main story barely moved forward at all. It wasn’t until the last two or three episodes that the series finally felt exciting to watch.
But then season two comes along and everything changes. As it turns out, the first season is merely the set-up for the barrage of punch lines delivered in the second season. There’s always something interesting happening at every episode of the second part of this series. It is so good that we firmly believe that Gundam: The Witch from Mercury will be a significant part of the Gundam franchise’s future. Here are some of the reasons why.
Breaking New Ground
Right from the start, it’s clear that Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is trying to break new ground. The series wants to present something new and fresh to reinvigorate this old franchise. Be it through the characters (first female main protagonist), the settings (elite high school), the conflict (Harmless Mobile suits duels, at least for the first season), and the love interest (first yuri couple in Gundam), just to name a few.
This tendency to surprise the viewers not only continues to the second season, but it is actually turned up to eleven. Because as mentioned earlier, almost every episode in this second part of Gundam: The Witch from Mercury has something that will surprise the viewers. From an innocent little girl dying on Guel’s lap, to the dark truth about Ericht Samaya, Gundam Aerial, and Suletta, and even to that time Miorine has to witness a massacre happening right in front of her eyes.
So as you can see, there are a lot of things, events, and decisions that are presented in this series, particularly in the second part, that have never been done before in any of its predecessors. Sure, not all of them work as intended, which is especially true for the first season. But when it comes to pushing the boundaries, Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is second to none.
One of The Most Brutal Gundam Series
While it’s true that The Witch from Mercury receives heaps of praises due to its willingness to experiment and pushing the envelope, that is actually not the only thing that makes this second season so great. The other half of this series' success, especially the second season, comes from its ability to weave traditional Gundam tropes and themes into the story. After all, what makes this franchise so iconic is not only the mobile suits, but also the intricate politics, the treacherous conflict of interest, the ruthless military operation, and also the deceptions and betrayals, just to name a few.
The absence of those archetypal story elements in favor of the new and different stuff is one of the reasons why the first season felt so dry and repetitive. But once again, everything changes in the second season. Slowly but surely, those iconic story elements are injected into the story. We get to see the devastating conflict between the Spacian military and the rebel forces on earth. We witness the devastating effects of unchecked military power on innocent people. And we also see the deceptions and betrayals happening left and right.
As if that’s not enough, the second season of The Witch from Mercury actually goes even further in its attempt to shock its viewers. The Gundam franchise is no stranger to death, but not many of them are as brutal as the ones that happened in the second season of this series. The story purposely makes us care about certain characters before giving them the death sentence. Such is the case with the aforementioned little girl, the first Elan, and also to Sophie and Norea, just to name a few. Thanks to this treatment, their sudden deaths are so much more devastating and impactful.
The Future of The Witch From Mercury
So what is the future of Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, and what sort of effect would it give to the franchise? First of all, from the original Mobile Suit Gundam to Gundam: The Iron Blooded Orphan, most major Gundam series have at least 40 to 50 episodes to their name. The only exception being the not-so-successful Gundam Reconguista in G. Seeing how overwhelmingly successful The Witch from Mercury turns out to be, both the anime and the plastic model, we can safely assume that there will be a third, and even the fourth, season of this series.
As for the effect of The Witch from Mercury to the Gundam franchise, the biggest one would be the fact that thanks to this series, the show runners now know that the audience are quite receptive to the sort of changes and innovations that they do to this beloved franchise, as long as the story is compelling. It shows them that it is ok to embrace experimentation, as long as the end product is interesting to the audience. So hopefully, the subsequent Gundam films and series will be as brave as The Witch from Mercury when it comes to trying out something new.
The Second season of Gundam: The Witch from Mercury proves that this new Gundams series can present a story that is as captivating as, if not better than, its predecessor, Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphan. It’s not even an exaggeration to say that The Witch from Mercury represents a new high standard that every subsequent Gundam series has to follow.