2023 spring | Episodes: 12 | Score: 7.9 (56715)
Updated every Sundays at 17:00 | Status: Finished Airing
Type: TV
Producers:Sotsu | Mainichi Broadcasting System | Bandai Namco Filmworks
Streaming: Crunchyroll | Netflix | Ani-One Asia | Bahamut Anime Crazy | CatchPlay | MeWatch | Sushiroll
Synopsis
After surviving a brutal terrorist attack on Plant Quetta, Suletta Mercury returns to dueling at the Asticassia School of Technology, while Miorine Rembran sits at her injured father's side, waiting to see if he will recover. As the residents of Earth House are preoccupied with their respective troubles, two members of Dawn of Fold—the perpetrators of the attack—secretly infiltrate the school, putting Suletta and her friends at risk. At the same time, Prospera, Suletta's mother, approaches Miorine to propose the continuation of "Quiet Zero"—a project headed by Miorine's father that can allegedly end all war. Prospera seems to be another political figure with hidden, opposing motives, and whether she truly has Suletta's well-being at heart remains to be seen. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Voice Actors
Ichinose, Kana
Lynn
News
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Reviews
Peacegiant
The show is a lot of fun, and overall I enjoyed my time with it, but the writing has issues. The pacing is just downright bad and every plot line suffers for it. The show has so many plot lines crammed into it, and not only does it not have enough time to properly go through and resolve them all, it doesn't use the time it does have efficiently. It also keeps ramming new discoveries and new issues all the way down to the last episode. The political intrigue balloons in scope and starts meandering. A bit over halfway through Season 2, so many thingsstart happening at once it would already be hard to follow if the writing held up to begin with. A lot of WfM's plot developments don't have a lot of logic behind them, but Season 2 has the worst of it - things just start happening with no explanation, plot twists come out of nowhere and are handwaved away (a LOT of things get handwaved away), things just... happen, with no real reason behind them. Beyond being hard to follow, it becomes hard to care about. The main duo's relationship suffers the most from this - unlike in Season 1 where the politics, the overarching story, and the character drama between our main two were nicely intertwined, in Season 2, for the most part, these plot threads are now separate. The main duo have no time to breathe, and their story has no time to develop. It doesn't feel like a conscious decision by the writers, but rather a consequence of a lack of runtime. The show is still gorgeous, the characters are still fun, the ending, while feeling rushed and generally unsatisfying, still has a lot to love. Many plot lines go nowhere, many of those that do get resolved don't get resolved well, it becomes hard to follow and can generally feel like a bloated, meandering mess at times. Still - while I can't outright recommend it, I had a lot of fun with the series. As an aside, it was great to see some yuri in a mainstream franchise like this. While it ended up being a minor element in the grand scheme of things, I hope WfM is successful enough to bring more yuri to genres we don't see much of it in. Failing that, I hope it's at least successful enough to make bigoted corpo suits think twice before trying to walk back on yuri developments in shows.
oozePOP
I was actually surprised with how disappointed I was with this particular anime. Gundam is a series that is one of my al-time favorites, even though I am a recent fan. I have been watching just about everything Gundam related I could, so naturally, this one was on the list. I enjoyed the first season, but that's because I enjoy Gundam in general, and I buckled myself in for the ride of season 2. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy that ride. I don't think this anime is bad, but it totally forgets to try to be good. The plot of this anime went completely over myhead. Any time something major happens, I don't feel anything. Often, I don't know who the bad guys or good guys are. I experienced the same thing in Iron-Blooded Orphans, but eventually, you know who you want to win, and you are 100% invested at a certain point. After two seasons, I have no idea what's going on with this anime. Somehow, Miorine and Suletta ending up together and taking care of Suletta's mom is the good ending? After both characters used and manipulated Suletta? I seriously feel like I missed a lot, and maybe I will watch this again in the distant future to try to gain a better understanding, but upon my first watch, I think the plot here felt very rushed, all the heavy moments felt watered down by the fact that so much happens in this anime and I could never gain my bearings; I could never tell who I should be upset about losing or dying. You can kind of tell Suletta and Miorine are the main ones you should be focusing on, but their relationship just makes no sense to me. Yeah, this one upset me. I really wanted to enjoy this anime, but this one felt like it was trying to rely on its aesthetic, similar to Darling in the FranXX.
icefirestone23
Season 2 had promise but was just a rushed mess. They overloaded with so many fights with little in between time, and it didn't explain what was happening. It is almost impossible to feel anything due to how they had to wrap it up and fix season 1's slow pacing. Aside from the main fight, most of them were pretty forgettable, only one maybe daeriblade vs mihaelis.. This is largely because you didn't have a central suit, and factions weren't easily defined. They crammed so many suits, you have to literally pause to find which is which. This show had the most suits pushed intothe small amount of cours ever. Many characters as a result struggle to have purpose especially Miorine who seemed to have done nothing all season. Suletta largely did not feel she went through hardship. Guel was the only good character in this show. The show struggled to have an antagonist and the last minute reveals while foreshadowed, cannot save all the series misteps. There is really nothing too much redeeming about this series and not even anitube can explain why this show was so good, and have a poor frame of reference not seeing the classics. Please see stuff like UC and Cosmic Era. This is just another in a line of gundam au flops
Justykanna
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2 is the continuation of our complicated "romantic" tale between Suletta and Miorine. I put romantic in quotation marks because this series isn't really about our two protagonists. It's not really about the mechs either. Or the science fiction. Or drama, even. It's got some good elements, but it feels like doesn't really have an identity at times. I'll assume you've seen season 1 for the purposes of this review. Story: We last left Miorine who was desperately trying to save her father after the colony came under massive attack. Incomes Suletta to the rescue and that's where we somehow left season 1. My thoughts were "oh my God, what is going on". Skip to the beginning of the series, and it starts off... months after the attack? Back at the school? This season sadly does not start off on right foot as it skips every exciting thing that could have happened between then and now. I really don't understand why they started it off this way because it could have created both a strong storyline and introduced some ridiculous amount of mech fights. Nope. None of it. Instead, it feels like we're just rewinding back to the middle of season 1 as if the attack didn't happen. This, which follows school activities and we are more or less back to normalcy - somehow. The series does take some gaps to focus on some side characters and those stories are well worth watching through. In some cases, some scenes that focus on different characters are really the highlight of the series from a storytelling perspective. Guel's obviously comes to mind, but honestly, Sophie, Norea and even Belmeria had some decent parts to them. I'm not about to praise them for elite storytelling, but mecha anime have a stigma for bad story arcs and these manage to stick out, ever so slightly. We got a pretty heavy taste of the business-political landscape in the first season and that trend remains true. It's not leaned out quite as much in this season, but I suspect most audiences either didn't care about it, or couldn't follow it as well as they would have liked. They lay on some pretty heavy dialogue at the end regarding the companies as a whole and I had to watch it a couple times to fully grasp it all. It's not poor storytelling, but I feel like it still applies in too much of a niche audience - which, as a mecha series, it kind of already did. Iron Blooded Orphans leaned into this, though in a different way, and it made it hard for me to get attached to that series too. In terms of the central story, it was very over the place. We know a plan known as Project Zero was in the works, but the final reveal about what it was and what it's for felt really disappointing. I guess I'm not surprised, but that, along with another smaller scale reveal near the end didn't feel like anything we haven't seen before. That being said, they finally let the mech battles play out a little, something the first season was lacking outside of the duels. There were two pretty significant fights in this season and both are Gundam at its best. They were great, and not there for no reason. (6/10) Characters: Season 2 brings back most of its characters from the first season and they're more of less the same. That, however, is a problem because not enough of them stick out. Suletta still feels like an underdeveloped child for the most part. She kind of develops at the end, but much of it doesn't feel linear. Why she finally decides to follow her instincts aren't fully fleshed out enough. Miorine stays in the background a lot during this season and her development is admittedly a little better. She goes through a little more emotionally and I can see where she's coming from. Guel goes through the most, easily, and is likely still the strongest character in the series. I'm a huge fan, even if he needed some weirdly placed helped to get there. His brother, Lauda, isn't terribly interesting because of the strong front he tries to put on, but I'm glad where they left him at the end. Most of the Gund-Arm's cast remain mostly the same with Chuatury being the most outspoken. Nika's storylines are decent and I'm glad she got to shine a little, even with a staggered story in the middle. Elan feels like he was suppose to be something significant in the first season but they do very little with him here, which is disappointing considering where they left off with him. Shaddiq and Prospera get much more screen time as the series carries on and have their own plans. The former fails to shine for me because of his lack of a fully fleshed out plan. I don't understand this character because they had him advance the story, then just... stop. Prospera's plan, meantime, was on a much more grander scale. We knew something was up with her and making her the mysterious figure makes a lot of sense. I just wish there was more to it. (7/10) Art: Sunrise has a long history of handling every Gundam series, but the animation here felt very inconsistent. The middle portion didn't feel like it had the same amount of care as the back end. Perhaps that's by design, but with few Gundam battles to show, I didn't love the lack of polish. What I did love was the animation differences in the OP - as the story progressed, a few scenes got adjusted. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing in the OP. One of the dangers with watching a Gundam series is if I see a style I like, I want to buy the kits to build them. Unfortunately, that was not really the case here. While some were certainly better than others, in general, the suits far too conservative. They didn't stand out enough and a lot of them had the same gimmick of using flying bits to attack - something Gundam SEED enjoyers know far too well. Unlike Iron Blooded Orphans, this was set in the a more futuristic and tech-rich time so I'm disappointed the suits didn't reflect that more. (7/10) Sound: Still strong is the sound for this series. The OST definitely had some stronger bits. You knew something was going to happen when you started to hear some vocals. The OP, Slash by Yama was extremely strong, but the ED, Red:birthmark by Aina The End was a masterpiece. Extremely emotional and raw at the same time, along with a ton of different instrumentation. Voice cast remains strong here with Jill Harris (Suletta) and Aaron Dismuke (Elan) still putting in a strong performances. There are some other bigger names in smaller roles such as Bryn Apprill (Nika), Emi Lo (Sophie), Megan Shipman (Norea) and Alejandro Saab (Shaddiq) were also very strong. Finally, I really like the evil feel like Elizabeth Maxwell (Prospera) always puts in her work. It works really well. (9/10) Overall: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2 had more to give than it actually did, but still ended decently strong. Many audiences would likely watch for Suletta and Miorine's relationship while others came for the mech battles, but both aspects really aren't fleshed out. Still, there are some okay story elements to be had and enough to call this a true Gundam series. Would I rewatch it? Likely not. Would I recommend it to a mecha enthusiast? Maybe. Perhaps this series tries too many things at once, but that almost feels like the direction the Gundam series are going in. (7/10)
Phasar2022
As somebody who has never watched Gundam before I thought it was a cute kid's show about robots, now I have PTSD and I'm scared of mega mart. Definitely a great watch however as all the characters have a lot of thought put into them and none of them feel empty. The music was also very good nothing life-changing but it's definitely not a disappointment. Gundam designs are great I love the look of the more slimmed-down Gundam style compared to the OG Gundam style. The prologue starts off really good with an interesting and engrossing story concept that seems like it's going to be verydeep and engaging. Unfortunately it ends up being very rushed in part two so the story gets a bit fractured and they end up either doing lots of stuff off screen, it's left as implied or they just leave it out of the story. This is especially the case in respect to the world and faction building. It leaves them both very half-assed and hollow in some regards as a result, especially for a gundam series where the world and factions are generally a big part of it. They should have added another cour or two to the series and smoothed out the story and done some of that building. If they took their time and flushed things out the show could have been amazing, instead it was just alright. The best things in the show were some amazing songs from the OP/EDings and the fight choreography and animation overall were really solid and a joy to watch. Then you had some good character development with and between the two MC’s, but yet again it was a little rushed and some of their changes were a little arbitrary because of it, but still decent. The best character development was strangle not even one of the MC’s though. It was a side character that has a nice zero to almost hero arc that feels much more “gundam” like then the rest in his experiences to get there. Overall a good watch, but maybe not the most “gundam” of a show for the hardcore fans. It was still fun and has its moments though and we are so starved for even decent mecha shows these days that maybe my bar is a little lower as a result as this definitely does have some holes. Part 1 - 8/10, it's a little rough in the middle, but the end scene makes up for it. Part 2 - 8/10, still the better of the two with a conclusive and decent ending.
Sp12er
For me I out this Gundam on no 3 from one's I've watched, 1st is SEED, it's biased as it's my first gundam of which I watched when I was a kid, but that series is just full of memorable moments man, and all the fantastic music, it also have good pacing and lots of rest moments to connect with the characters more, (even tho most lack depth). That's I guess the one thing I missed of modern anime, where they aren't willing to go the long haul like 50 episodes Gundam did... 2nd is IBO, I feel this series is similar to WfM but just moregrounded, have better cast and more willing to do anything for the sake of the plot. 3rd Witch from Mercury, 1st season is just weak sauce for me, ending of part 1 is just too much of a random cliffhanger and IMO, I don't connect with any of the characters, season 2 is just so much better for it to kinda redeem itself. 4th 00: just messy, maybe I just need to re-watch it as the first time I watched it was on high school right after I finished SEED, but I stand by that the series feel kinda too edgy, and the 3rd movie sure just make it have worse impression for me. 5th this is because I don't watch the OG gundam probably, but I put both Unicorn and Char's Counterattack on same level, it was a visual spectacle for the time it's aired for sure, but as I have little context so not much impression on me. 6th Endless Waltz, also doesn't watch Wing, but EW is about same quality as 00 movie soo... Wing EW is still my Fav gundam tho. Also is it just me but Gundam haven't managed to make any memorable cast of Gundam design since Unicorn? IBO probably have a couple memorable gundams aside from Barbatos like Vidar and Bael, but WoM? Literally nothing other than Aerial is memorable, Llfrit and Pharact are boring, streamlined design, heck even the last standing Calibarn looks boring... Look at how richly designed Wing, SEED and 00 Gundams are man....
EDOSHINRATENSEI
Oh yes they played season 1 opening at the end. That OP was so good. Season 1 was an okay show that opened me to the complicated political world of this Gundam universe. I don’t watch a lot of Gundam, but whenever I hear of Gundam I think of mecha fights and not politics. Season 2 pushed this politics even more, and I have to admit I wasn’t able to keep up with all the details. However, at its core, the story of this Gundam universe was still amazing. The many sides that took place in fighting for or against Gundam kept the story interesting andunpredictable. I wasn’t sure if the show was going for a tragedy or happy ending. There’s a lot of exploration to Suletta and Miorine. They both had great ordeals and conflicts that greatly tested their resolves. Suletta’s relationship with her mom and Aerial was also an excellent part of the story. The mecha fights were quite amazing, especially towards the end. While the animation of the characters was meh, the animation for the fights rammed up and was spectacular. Some of my main problems is that some stories didn’t seem to go anywhere. An example is how they handled Guel at the end, and the original purpose of using Gundam as medical devices. Overall, it’s a great Gundam show. 8/10
cyclone1993
I’ve been a long time fan of the mecha genre, but it took me a long time to get into the Gundam series. But I’m very glad that I have, I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. WFM is the 4th Gundam series I’ve completed behind the original series, G Gundam, and Gundam Seed, but it’s my favorite of the four and I think a lot of that comes down to the central relationships at play. Not just the relationship between Suletta and Miorine but also between Suletta and her mother as well. It roots all the corporate intrigue in something tangible andprovides a solid backing for the world and the characters who inhabit it. The animation and music are both gorgeous. I especially like Red Birthmark, the second cours ED. The production values are fantastic throughout. But where the series really shines is it’s characters and the forward momentum of the plot. Deciding to tackle a world of corporate bureaucracy and the in-fighting between various groups is a unique choice for a Gundam series and WFM pulls it off. Having so much of it take place in a school where the characters interact across group boundaries allows it to serve as a microcosm of the world as a whole and leads to a lot of interesting developments. There’s a lot to admire about WFM. It took the franchise in a new direction, and one that paid dividends for Sunrise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually released a movie or an OVA or two. My one complaint is aimed at the ending. I’d have liked a little more exposition on a couple of key moments in the finale, but this is a small criticism. It has a suitable ending that provides closure for its key cast and for the audience as well, and I came away really enjoying the entire series. This is one I’ll be sure to revisit again in the future.
ZeraX
I absolutely hated the first season but I thought I'd give Season 2 a try to see if there's an improvement and it will make WfM overall worth the watch. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Season 2 left much to be desired and failed to fix the mistakes of the first season. From underdeveloped characters to a lackluster plot, this installment fell flat and "Whatever" ride again. One of the most glaring issues with Season 2 was the lack of character development. It seemed as though the majority of the characters were merely placeholders, barely contributing to the overall plot. Many of the supporting characters lacked depth,and their actions felt arbitrary and inconsequential. Despite the premises made in the first season, the duels, marriage, and even Elan's story felt utterly inconsequential in Season 2. The narrative seemed to meander aimlessly, with events unfolding in a haphazard manner. It was as if the writers were trying to fill the show with too many tropes and ideas from other shows until the last four episodes, which ultimately carried most of the weight and importance. The climax of the series was a major letdown. With a rushed and unsatisfying conclusion, it became apparent that the series had squandered its potential. It felt as though the writers realized they had run out of time and hastily tied up loose ends without providing any satisfyingly battles or ending. Watching both seasons was time wasting honestly. There's nothing memorable or special about this show. It's generic, bland, tasteless, and obviously trying to attract new fans by using Yuri and overused tropes and elements from other stories. Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2 was a frustrating experience overall. The lack of character development, the insignificance of major events, and the overall filler-like nature of the majority of the season left me questioning the purpose and direction of the show. The rushed and unsatisfying ending only added to the disappointment, leaving a bitter aftertaste. As a fan of the Gundam franchise, I had hoped for so much more, but unfortunately, this installment failed to deliver. At the end, this show will not be remembered for anything except that it disappointed both old Gundam fans and Yuri fans
Inferknowing
Season two of WFM came out of the gates swinging. Interesting political developments that had me on the edge of my seat and, real and personal consequences in response to actions and trauma. This all culminated in a truly amazing mid season. Art and music has been phenomenal throughout, truly a treat for anyone's eyes and ears. However, the ending truly dropped the ball. Careful planning and character growth was thrown to the wayside for the sake of a rushed and neat happy ending. I'm disappointed. I truly thought it was going to be a 9 or even a 10, but the ending ended up denigrating itto being good at best.
robert788
Kidou Senshi Gundam: Suisei no Majo Season 2 (2023) Well, we know it isn't coming back and that isn't a bad thing since this was a nicely wrapped-up series in this larger spectrum. The show is a marginal improvement from season 1 but you would expect that since season 1 essentially built the world and gave us the back story along with the prologue. The show honestly didn't go how I expected but it was still a great ride. It has turbulence and a lot of power of friendship moments which I can hate at times but Gundam can be so dark it was actually prettynice for a change. Most of them have a darker way of doing the same thing but this was lighter. The art is honestly great looking, it is very modern. The combat looked amazing and that was great to watch. The soundtrack is great, the voices are fun, and again combat just has it down. Sometimes it is the sound that makes or breaks combat and here it was made. Characters are basically all the same with the usual scheming from the characters that look like villains. The show overall, was fun, friendly, a bit dark and emotional. 8/10. Honestly not as bad as people think.
JimClark
I pity you if you got introduced in franchise with that anime. Gundam Witch from mercury it's for me the perfect symbol of modern otaku. The modern otaku is a shallow being with IQ under 85 that watch anime at 1.5x speed. If you look for a rollercoaster of emotions, good writing, good characters and a good story this anime IS NOT FOR YOU. WFM was made for who wants to get off watching a bad yuri couple, look for an anime character's thights (Secelia) or see one of most weird and bad wrote characters ever get the only thing that you could call as"character progress" (Guel) . If you are the kind of person that just hype an anime because there are lesbians or fit into anything above, this anime is for you. Every season has an anime hyped due either being part of a big franchise or the names behind it. Gundam Witch From Mercury is one of them. Trying to use Shakespeare as inspiration, Okuichi brought to us what i consider one of... Worst things that i ever watched. Not only a offense to Shakespeare but the lack of originality, terrible pacing and narrative, holding itself in a beautiful animation and sound effects. This one and Iseleve hold itself as 2 of most horrible things and waste of ink, time, money and effort ever made. It copied so much of other animes (Utena) and Gundam Unicorn that is pretty weird see people liking scenes and narrative elements that was present in OTHER STORIES and being copied in pretty shameless way. As a long fan of Gundam franchise my disappoint is immensurable. People might try to say that "Char and Amuro was a gay couple" because a interview of Yoshiyuki Tomino with Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion creator) or "you're just a homophobe." Don't let these idiots try to down your opinion if you just disliked it. It's pretty valid say that a bad anime is bad just because it's really bad. If you want a good Yuri, watch Strawberry Panic, if you want a good introduction to Gundam Franchise go for Gundam 00, if you want a good romance them i think you should get Spice and the Wolf. Mobile Suit Gundam Witch from Mercury is a waste of resource, time and possible a braincell killer.
bossunhimeswitch
There was a lot to like about season 2 but also a lot to feel frustrated with. I liked that the season tried to explore the political situation that the world is set in. I liked that there were difficult choices and I enjoyed the antagonist reveal that occurred. However, what made this season frustrating is it felt like something that should have took place over at least 24 episodes but we only got 12 to tell it in and it suffered because of that especially at the end that felt very rushed. It was a true shame because I think that Witch from Mercurydefinitely had enough story to be a 36 - 50 episode anime like many Gundam series that came before it. It would have been nice to be able to dig deeper and let things resolve at a more appealing pace. That said, I didn't dislike the series as a whole or this season despite its flaws. It was great to watch Suletta go on her character arc and also to watch the other characters meet their challenges no matter how sped run they were. I just wish that we could have had more breathing room for the story and ended up with a better product. I do recommend this season if you enjoyed the previous season, but I think it's best to go into it knowing that it'll be a bit rushed and not as satisfying as it could be.
NogueraB
If the first season ended on a perfect interlude, this season finished the job with perfection. I tried to start with Gundam from the last one (Orphans), but I really disliked it and thought that every Gundam was like that. However, now I can say that it really depends on who created the story. A story created by the same creator of one of the most perfect anime already created (Code Geass) made me want to go back and watch every Gundam to understand more of this universe. I love this type of melancholic story with political and philosophical elements. Suisei no Majo brings us toa dystopian future where we don’t have planets with their own governments like we see in countries, but enterprises using monopoly and firepower to create “order”. The contradictions placed in the anime and their answers by the people around the protagonists are amazing. They talk more than they fight, which was the first reason for a lot of low ratings and hate that the anime received. If you like full action robots fighting, this one isn’t for you. The animation was perfect. They used a lot of 2.5D elements that were really beautiful to see. At no moment in the anime can you see a horrible 3D object that breaks all the immersion of the show’s art like we see in a lot of mecha anime. The sound director was incredible in selecting the songs, and man, Yoasobi, Aina, and Yama were perfect choices. Their songs mixed with the anime were something really special. I can’t express more because I don’t have confidence in my English haha, but this is what I can say: this season 2 will hold the title of “anime of the year” until any other project proves it wrong. And I really want another project to rival this anime, even if it only happens in the last season of this year.
ilNico
Deus ex machina through cyber-gnosis or simply: Kidou Senshi Gundam Suisei no Majo. First of all I would like to appoint that the pace of this show is somehow compromised to help build a relationship between the characters(it starts slow and later gets rushed), that despite this, end up being very clunky just because some of the characters aren't real persons but intend to be like archetypes or merely someones will(some of the characters are literal homunculus), the post prologue beggining is kinda shady about its aim and attain to some college vibes, mixing the casual life of a brand new student with some transhumanist dilemmas.So at the first glance it's not that bad nor that good, but it's enough to keep the viewers interest... Moving to the second phase of the show; the conflicts from the prologue starts to come to the surface and this is where the show fails so terribly to deliver what we were expecting and instead it is totally eclipsed by the will of Suletta Mercury, every topic raised before turns out to be only a shallow background and all universe bends to the whim of Suletta; no one is held accountable for their actions, no one really pays for their sin or even have to burden with them, all by the power of the "witch" who manages to transcend the gundams curse further and beyond with no consequence, Prospera ends up getting what she wanted through the intervention of Suletta despite wrecking havoc on Earth, so both of the wives can have heavy criminals as their father and mother-in-law. Shaddiq is the one scapegoated to receive all the blame for everything willingly and with a smile on the face as he was destined for this and more than that as he himself chosen this path beforehanded. The old hags from Peil who were supposedly the villains in the last arc got retired to their houses to drink tea like some good gramdmas and Delling Rembran is just a passenger observing the story. Overall this is just lost potential, during the development of the show there are really some interesting topics that are trashed or simply put aside to force a happy ending around Suletta who at least metaphorically turns out be a mini demiurge that can rewrite the flow of history based purely on personal interest.
royalnobody
And now, finally, this train wreck is over. I'll get to the point. I don't like it. The world building is bad. The plot is bad. The finale is even worse. Now to expand on why: for me, good world building makes coherent sense. I can believe this would happen. At the same time established elements of this world should be reinforced to make it more believable. If you're going to open your series with "oh, homosexuality is actually common place" I at least expect a homosexual character aside from the two leads (No, there's no one besides those two that are homosexual.) While one may callthis a nitpick, the anime does this all the time. The epilogue literally forgot it's an epilogue, with one of the major criminals going to trial 3 years later despite confessing to everything. Son of ceo or not, did they just decide to have him in custody for 3 years awaiting his trial? Other inconsistencies include: Ai existing but never used, lazers in duels being weak enough that armor can withstand it (due to their powers being regulated) but everyone still bothers to dodge them for some reason, manslaughter of an entire fleet in an army going unpunished despite the simple act of assault being a reportable offense. And that manslaughter brings me to the plot. There's so many moments that don't make sense solely there to reach a certain endpoint. For example, Character A wants to meet her love interest and talk to her. Another character, Character B, doesn't want that and challenges her to a duel over it. And suddenly they reappear with fencing equipment. WHY? When has fencing in this story been established as a verified form of dueling? Why does the building they're in have fencing equipment? Why do either of these characters know how to fence? It's almost like this scene exists solely for Character B's emotional developement or whatever. Here's some more pointless plot points: Why was Suletta brainwashed by Prospera to be a puppet of some sort? Miorine was able to convince Prospera to leave Suletta alone (at great cost) but what would have happened without this intervention? what was Suletta's role in quiet zero that only she could do? Quiet zero was built in the end without the involvement of any of the characters and activated too. Oh and the finale. Propsera, murderer of tens if not hundreds, never takes accountability for her actions. But Shaddiq does. Why? She's the mastermind behind a major conspiracy, instigated the riots on earth which led to the death of many more, has killed an entire fleet of an army, but she gets a pass? The anime seems to brush this off as "oh she just really wants her daughter to be happy". Because remember kids, tragic backstory should be used to excuse villainous acts, not explain them. How far would the plot have allowed for Prospera to go before it's time to put her in a cell? The rest of the finale is just resolved by Suletta going super s- I mean permet 8. It also speaks to the stakes of all this. We're told that Permet 5 is bad enough to cause Suletta massive amounts of pain, that permet bad, higher permet = even worse, and yet our hero just does it anyways with no cost that hasn't healed. I suppose a finale that got started by a Deus ex Machina should be ended with a Deus ex Machina. good job there writers. There's still so many inconsistencies I can list, in plot and in worldbuilding, like why Elan never asks for a few henchmen to help him along with his attempts to kidnap Suletta or take her mech, how miorine's goal of going to earth would likely be a suicide mission given how bad it is over there, how Suletta's dream of teaching mercury kids was never realized, but I don't like going on for too long. A lot of these problems stem from the writers clearly having an ending in mind and didn't think through the process of obtaining that ending. So a word of advice for those who watch this: the anime can stll be enjoyable. just turn your brain off and don't think too hard.
RobertBobert
The second season was an expected life-changing twist in the story that would take the show back to the "real Gundam" side, ditching the much-maligned "high school romantic comedy" format of the first season. And to be honest, the start really seemed promising when the show took the first season finale, which many called "one episode worth 11 episodes of mindless high school nonsense" and ran with it. But unfortunately, having dealt with a number of the problems of the 1st season, the 2nd season created its own. First of all, it is the pace and writing depth. This is the shortest TV Gundam ever, onlytwo cours long and it really feels like it. So much so that the staff seemed to be forced to work at a crazy pace, or they themselves decided to work in some kind of crazy speed competition. The second season is pretty good at creating subplots, especially compared to the first season. Not to mention being true to the Gundam philosophy as a franchise. It explores the use of violence to protect justice in desperate situations, false flag violence, desperation in an attempt to protect loved ones, and finally, the toxic nature of aggression. However, most of this is very badly and disappointingly resolved, often quite formally, as if the creators did not have the time or, most importantly, the desire to bring the intrigue and exciting plot to the end. It's extremely frustrating, especially when you're really involved with the story and care about the characters. Because of this, most subplots seem very formal, as if they exist only for the technical content of the plot. Somewhere in the middle of the season, we will be given two large subplots that will develop over several episodes only to then have everything decided in a couple of short scenes with minimal resistance. The show is critically afraid of killing important characters or taking the plot in a truly tragic direction. Throughout the anime, countless nameless characters will be killed and a couple of sacrificial lambs who are the villains of one of the arcs and that's it. This further separates the show from the prologue (prepare for the villains to avoid any responsibility and punishment for war crimes and violence thanks to shonen-ish forgiveness and the power of friendship), with its ability to set the stakes and make the death or suffering of characters an important part of the plot. It comes to the ridiculous, in one of the scenes they literally want to cause hard feelings from us after the characters suffer due to the death of a character whose name is literally all the information we know about him. This is so strange that it can even make you laugh. All that important characters can expect is a resurrected version of the old American cartoon "she's in a coma" meme. I'm not at all going to be your typical edgylord who thinks that gloominess and cruelty will make any thing better, smarter and deeper. But with this approach, the show just doesn't work as either a Gundam mecha anime or a political conspiracy show, because it just discounts any bets it tries to make, only making it worse with the solidified formula of "school kids who change the world when adults can't do anything." It was so pointless that for the finale they even had to come up with something like the last boss out of nowhere to create at least some kind of threat to the characters. Secondly, the second problem, or one might say, the weak point of the show is the relationship between the two main characters, Suletta and Miorine. From the beginning of the show, it was made clear and open that the relationship between the two would be the focus of the show. Regardless of how it ends, it is first and foremost "shoujo-tachi monogatari". This works great if you're involved in their ship and are ready to declare them lovers ahead of time, as many people have been doing since the premiere of the first episode. The characters have quite strong bonds and you can easily believe in the depth and sincerity of their affection for each other. But if you're neutral about it, then things start to fall apart very quickly when you realize that the engagement has not only become an artificial hook to keep them together, but at some point it actually took over every other topic on the show. G-Witch is one of those yuri shows that suppress as much as possible any manifestation of romantic affection between women, either turning any words of affection between them into the most ambiguous lines, or never going beyond what can be taken as physical intimacy on the surface. To such an extent that until the end of the show or official resources avoided any mention of romance or love as such (with the exception of the American twitter Gundam info, which in an attempt to be trendy even caused several ship wars), and the first time when girls directly spoke about love there were words about love between parent and child in the penultimate episode. Even when the characters finally said things with an almost direct romantic context, it was cut off with an artificial cliffhanger, after which the characters not only did not return to it, but even continued to call each other friends. Even the ending isn't immune to it, muting any affection to a set of hints in speech or character interactions. This, again, is incredibly disappointing and strange for a show with such a central theme, where all the straight characters always talk about their romantic feelings directly and without any ambiguity. Of course, Miorine's words in the first episode about the familiarity of same-sex relationships for their universe remain the butt of one joke, you literally will not see anything LGBTQ in the show except for the described relationships of girls and a couple of some blurry couples (?) from side characters in, again, the last episode. Unsurprisingly, back in the first season, it got to the point where Guel at some point became more popular than both the main girls combined due to his development and a really unpredictable judge, because of which many people even preferred ship Suletta with him (even the usually formal Japanese media wrote that Guel is more interesting to watch, since Suletta is the type of protagonist who is tough and invincible from the very beginning). This could still easily work for a potential same-sex relationship between the two best friends, and to be honest, at some point the show does try to break off the engagement in order to seem to make the development of their relationship more sincere. But no, we are not only being returned to the artificial status quo, but even covered up with an almost open rationalization of arranged marriages, which actually completely destroys the good development of Miorine before and throws her entire subplot as a character from the first season into the trash(which, if you think about what I described earlier, is especially ironic, considering how their wedding itself ends up being left out of the picture, devaluing all the intrigue of this engagement subplot). This suggests that the show's writer either overdid it with creating suspense out of the blue by censoring the display of affection between the characters in a formally unambiguous relationship, or, returning to the topic of haste, simply couldn't figure out how to write it more deeply, tying them to each other. sincerely not noticing how this destroys the chosen subtle approach to writing the development of their relationship. Which is really extremely strange if you think that the show was never positioned as romance, but at the same time, at the end, it literally completely boiled down to romance, throwing out all the previously declared main themes. We were initially shown Suletta as a very meticulous person about duty, to the point where she instantly agreed to become Miorina's "faithful husband" only because of a formal engagement in the second episode (obviously at that point there was no talk of real romance on either side yet didn’t go) or perceiving her status as a fiancé as a responsibility to Miorine and a guarantee of their friendship, so such a depiction of their relationship devalues them very much, making you suspect the girls that their love is just a formal union in the spirit of the IBO final (if you think about it, shows are really suspiciously similar to each other, especially in the final part). Of course, this will not be a problem for shippers (many of whom literally follow the show just because of it) who will say that they always knew that the characters were a couple, even if at the point under discussion in question, there was clearly nothing between them yet But if you're not one of them, it's just confusing and makes it hard for you to understand the intentions of the authors. To sum it up, despite the show's writer's huge love for Utena and the cult show's strong influence on G-Witch, Ichiro just doesn't know how to write Nisekoi-type romance, turning the characters' relationship more into a forced-debt and pink promise-based romantic friendship than a full-fledged romance. Especially when next in the season you could see the show Otonari no Ginga with a similar plot, where the characters not only built an unusually relatable romance even being engaged against their will, but also in the end deliberately canceled it in order to get together already on sincere and honest terms. Remaining problems like Suletta becoming more and more Mary Sue, who can only lose because of betrayal and foul play, excessive superficial copying of other shows, or the degradation of most side characters and themes to tools that return to the screen only to artificially twist the plot in one way or another direction already seem to be secondary consequences of what I have described above. Ultimately, we got a show that could well have been a great experimental fresh spin-off to one of the Gundam series than a full-fledged new TV show. Ichiro Okouchi is really good at building interesting subplots and creating relatable characters, making us care and cherish them with his favorite over-the-top twists, cliffhangers and trendy writing, but a lot of that goes to waste due to sheer rush and pacing issues due to unusually short time for a television Gundam anime. The weird writing decisions between the girls, which are only made more painful by the fact that at some point the show drops all other topics in favor of just focusing on their relationship, definitely doesn't help matters. I really believe that this could have been a good spin-off, despite the problems I described above. All this would obviously be perceived much easier and simpler if the show did not have excessive ambitions and, accordingly, did not meet high expectations. The show just can't satisfy them, especially because it's overloaded with influence, homage, or even outright copying of old or relatively old shows like Utena, Kannazuki no Miko, the Last Witch Izetta, or a number of later UC Gundams, because of what it claims to be "New Age Gundam" and the second SEED in terms of attracting a younger audience just feels like a local show full of references. And it's kind of weird that people seem to like it, since at one time the more Gundam-like Darling in the Franxx was outright accused of plagiarism due to the similar overuse of nods to old shows. It's not a bad show and I really would like to love it. I even feel real relief that it's finally over. Even leaving aside my salt with Sunrise's attempt to turn the show into a trendy zoomer bishoujo mecha, or the resulting controversy between old and new fans(ironically, this is one of those Gundams where at the end the Gundams are destroyed for world peace, which really creates implications). But I just feel disappointed at how much it shattered my high expectations, even though it could easily have been avoided. In the end, even if it wasn't my favorite anime, I could at least just like it, it just turned out to be another original show that was blown away in the final stages. Ichiro's traditional abusive twist and cliffhanger writing style, as usual, only reinforces and worsens this, because being involved and then frustrated makes you feel manipulated and emotionally exploited in an effort to at least temporarily get your attention. Now I can only hopefully wait for new Gundams, including previously announced UC and SEED updates, to remove this sad aftertaste. And also with even more excitement to wait for the previously announced anniversary Macross from Sunrise, as this creates a risk that the problems of writing G-Witch can successfully move there as well.
burningeyeballs
a huge step up from season 1, WFM is well-plotted, tautly written, and tropes-breaking, with great action scenes and animation that can be visually stunning. the story is fast-paced, each ep jam-packed w/ development, though it can feel quite rushed at times. the anime definitely has its faults - i wish it was at least a lil longer so both the intriguing worldbuilding and some other characters can be developed and explored even further, and things don't feel as rushed - but imo WFM is nevertheless a must-watch, if not for the story, action, themes and visuals, then at least for its thrills.
Snapshot426
The slow decline in popularity of the mecha genre has been well documented by many people. Once a juggernaut in anime, the genre has declined in interest and popularity over these years. While we’ve had standouts like Darling in the Franxx, 86 and finally getting the last entry in the reboot Evangelion movie series, the quantity hasn’t been nowhere near as prevalent as it once was. Yet, there’s one franchise that still kicking along consistently and that is Gundam. Granted, being the face of the mecha genre does help with that but Gundam has still been trucking along; not fazed by the trend and puttingout consistent anime entries, whether it would be mainline, spinoffs or standalone entries, Gundam still keeps going. Which brings us to the anime in question today, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. The latest standalone entry and not part of the Universal Century timeline. Standalone entries are always welcome because they are ways for new fans to get into a Gundam series without relying on the prior knowledge of all the mainline Gundam entries that you need since the very first one over 4 decades ago now. And I have to say, I really enjoyed this series a lot more that I thought I was going to. Granted the only other Gundam series I’ve ever watched is 00 so I don’t know how it stacks to other series but as a standalone anime, I had a really good time with this. This second cour in particular has been consistently a top three most enjoyed anime this season for me. Which is surprising considering how I felt about the first cour and I thought it was alright until the last few episodes where it started getting good; with the second cour taking those last few episodes and running away with it for the rest of the series. Despite my enjoyment though, there are problems with this series that need to be addressed. Also by the way, this review will cover both seasons since they essentially just got split into cours. The first problem is that it struggles to maintain a consistent pace. It starts off slow because it needs to set up this setting and its characters. It starts picking up pace and moves steadily and then it starts going too fast and not giving us enough time to process what is going on. Like, slow down and let us wrap our heads around what is going on. The show only has a steady pace in the last few episodes of season one and halfway through season 2, where the show hits its high point but it’s steady increase in speed that makes the pacing inconsistent. The other problem is that I wish there was more of it. Not in the happy way where this was so good that I wish there was more, but more of the, “There’s got to be more here right?” It feels like that there is more to be told that the show just kind of glosses over so things that could really do with explaining more and expand the setting. We are given the necessarily things to follow the story which is fine, but it feels like there’s more going on that’s worth exploring. You could honestly put an entire new season in to explore all these storylines with competing parties, governments and companies vying for power and there’s the whole subjugation on Earth and the prejudice that comes with it. Politics can make your story very interesting. Whether to understand people’s agendas, allegiances and what deals can be made that will affect the story down the line. We get some things explored but only surface despite it could make things really interesting. That’s why I ask if there is more, because there’s clearly more there to explore but the show never goes far enough with it. So with those noticeable problems that would bring down a lot of other shows, why did I like The Witch From Mercury so much? I think it mainly comes down to what the show has given us is done really freaking well and is very well executed. The character moments are the main highlights of both seasons, especially season two. This is where the slow setup worked in its favour because we are introduced to these characters, their personalities and their agendas and use those to create scenes that make for some very good moments that make you want to keep watching. The first season’s final few episodes were great way to start making these moments more impactful as the show went on with it ending with squashed tomatoes. Season two goes, “What if we take the emotional impact of those squashed tomatoes and do it every episode?” What we got is every episode able to deliver one great scene after another that’s able to keep me hooked and want to come back every episode to find out what’s going to happen next. It builds on these scenes to make and exciting narrative and when the show starts dropping bombshells, it just makes what’s going to happen next more exciting. The stakes get bigger, the emotional weight gets larger, it starts acting like a Gundam series and it’s here where the plot really shines. Another thing is that I really like these characters. The main duo of Suletta and Miorine (which, side note, her name is hard to say properly) makes for one of the more interesting storylines and how their personalities affect one another. Suletta is a nervous, timid and doesn’t really stand up for herself but has a kind heart. Miorine is a stern, cold and is not afraid to say what is on her mind. Both of their personalities rub off each other to grow as characters. Suletta slowly gains more confidence and belief in herself and Miorine starts being more compassionate and open to others. Their relationship is one of the highlights because of how they grow both as individuals and how they affect one another. It being a will they, won’t they? Yuri relationship does help because after Lycoris Recoil, it seems to be a hot trend at the moment. Of course they are not the only characters that make this cast great. You’ve also got Suletta’s mother, Prospera, who...um...yeah, she’s certainly something, isn’t she? You’ve got best boy, Guel, who goes on his own character arc on learning humility and doing what he believes is right, instead of doing it for his father’s sake. He also has his own dedicated episode this season which was one of the best honestly and I think that solidified his status. They, along with Suletta and Miorine, are the standouts in a very large cast and while some of them are victims of the show’s surface level story, they do at least, leave a lasting impression where you can recognize them and understand their motives and agendas. It helps with the character moments in the story to get a clearer picture as to what’s going on. It may not be perfect, but it least gets the job done. The story really is character driven because a lot of the moments that help define the series are done by the actions of these character. Making decisions that either benefit them or have severe consequences that help change who they are. Obviously, some change the plot more than others, but almost each character makes a contribution that helps affect the narrative and how we get these strong character moments that help elevate the story of this show. When it comes to animation, it’s solid. It’s honestly nothing special but it gets the job done and keeps the action enjoyable to watch. The most notable thing honestly is, hey, 2D mech fights. Sure, 3D mechs can make things fast and exciting, but there’s something about 2D mech fights that make it just as enjoyable as well. I think It’s the weight and impact of each fight that makes 2D mech fights enjoyable and you feel every blow because it moves at a slower pace when compared to a 3D mech fight. Considering the show’s emotional weight, it does make the fights that much better. That’s not to say the show doesn’t use CG, it’s mainly used when showcasing massive space stations or doing a panning shot and to it’s credit, it does look good. Character designs as well are solid, each having a distinct look from each other so it’s easy to tell who’s who. The soundtrack is good. It mainly uses orchestral pieces to remind that this is serious and it’s happening right now but also uses slow pieces when it needs to calm the mood or starts speeding up when the situation changes or plot revelations are getting revealed to heighten the tension. The show is able to pull the right levers at the right time to make a scene better. It also does throw a little bit of electronic in there as well to make it more immersive with the Sci-fi setting but doesn’t detract from the orchestral to the point where it’s an abomination of the two. It uses it just right. As for the OPs, both are good. The first OP which apparently is called, “Blessing” by YOASOBI, if you put in Google translate is probably my favourite of the two although both are good for the tone of each season. There both visually good although I would give the edge to the second OP, "slash" by yama, in the visual department but I think why I like the first one mainly come from the song. It has such a nice pace and rhythm to it that makes it rather catchy and YOASOBI puts in a good vocal performance. I think between this, Beastars S2 and Oshi no Ko, I have become a fan of YOASOBI. That’s not to say that the second OP isn’t good because it is. Again, I think visually, this one is better because I do think it’s animated better and better symbolically with its visuals. The song itself is solid and good to set the tone of season two. As for the EDs, I think the show’s second ED, "Red:birthmark" by Aina The End is clearly the better one. It carries a lot of emotional weight and you can feel it in the vocal performance. It’s a great compliment to what just happened each episode because with each episode seemingly dropping an emotional moment at the end of each episode, the ED only seems to heighten that emotion. It makes for a great cap off for each episode. The first OP, ehhh. It’s not as interesting visually as the second one where I think that one is more visually creative but this one is merely fine. Same goes for the song where it’s fine but more suited for an OP honestly than an ED. I think the visuals being as meh as they are doesn’t help get me excited listening and it just ends up being pretty average. Conclusion: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a flawed show but it’s one hell of a good time that just needs more to expand on some things. The show’s characters and character moments keep the entertainment level high and we got from each character (to varying degrees) makes each fight and each plot revelation more impactful. It’s hard to explain because you kind of need to see it to believe why the show is just able to keep you hooked without using spoilers to explain it in more detail. The show is very character driven and while that does hurt the overall setting and its world building, it makes each engagement that much better because you’ve got some emotional weight behind. Season two in particular is where all of this is at its best because it’s done all of the setup and now it can act like a Gundam show. It felt like my patience was rewarded in some way, because I felt slightly indifferent when the first season started but it just started to get better and better that, yes had to sacrifice some things, but was able to execute what it wanted to do really well to make this season in particular one of my favourite anime this season. I don’t know how this stacks with other standalone Gundams because again, the only other one I’ve watched is 00, although I do want to get around to watch Iron Blooded Orphans at some point. If you can get around the show’s flaws and the fact it doesn’t play out like your typical Gundam show to begin with, The Witch from Mercury is a very good time. Story: 7/10 Characters: 8/10 Animation: 7.5/10 Sound: 7.5/10 My Personal Enjoyment: 9/10 Overall Score: 7.8/10 Recommendation: Watch It
Marinate1016
G Witch Season 2 is an upgrade in every way to season 1 and represents a return to the bloody, political, emotional and action packed style of story we’re accustomed to. And now that the story is complete, I can confidently say this is the best Gundam I’ve ever seen. I’ve been a big fan of G witch from the very beginning. I personally really liked that the first cour felt like Gundam for the modern age. It allowed us to connect with the characters in a way we haven’t really been able to in a Gundam before, as well as making the franchise accessible fornewcomers. Some may argue that the season was slow and boring. I disagree. I think those slice of life and intimate moments were essential to making the things that happen in season 2 more impactful. Going to school along with these characters, seeing them build their own company and come up with these ideals of equality between earthians and spacians, ultimately makes seeing them have everything taken away hit even harder. This season is a straight up bloodbath. Almost every episode is filled with pain, death and suffering. Seeing our characters who were so filled with optimism in season 1, now down and out was tough. But, it’s in this pain that we realise just how emotionally invested we’ve become in this story. There were so many times during this season where I screamed at my tv or got emotional during a battle or death just because I felt the character deserved better. There’s really no better mark of character writing than that. Speaking of character writing, I was very happy with what they did with our main characters this season. After the cliffhanger of season 1, you knew something would have to change between Suletta and Miroine and that it did. Seeing them navigate and overcome their difficulties both individually and collectively down the stretch of this season was a joy. Suletta in particular grew so much. Truly charting her own path as a character and it was great to see. Sunrise’s ability to keep this show Yuri baitish while not going full explicit Yuri, thus keeping everyone happy, also has to be praised. They did the same with birdie wing recently and they’re great at it. I personally like stuff like that as it gives you the ability to play with multiple ships in your head. You of course can’t talk Gundam without talking about the fights. As I said earlier, there’s way more action in this season and the job Sunrise did on the fights is insane. The sound design, choreography, sakuga and direction during the big action set pieces were among the best you’ll see. If you felt the first season was boring or slow, you are definitely not going to have that issue here. Now if I must offer some criticism of the season, it’s that the political and business aspect of the story really lost me this season. It feels like it got a bit convoluted and I was honestly confused after about episode 4. There’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes in this story and it can honestly get a little overwhelming. Yuri bait, mechs and cute girls is more than enough to overcome that for me, though. In brief, G Witch II is Gundam at its best. It’s emotional, action packed, has tremendous amounts of drama and is a very fun watch. Even if you’re not a traditional Gundam fan you’ll like this series. I will miss this story a lot. G Witch S2 gets 10, out of 10.
Animanga