Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - General Discussion Thread

[Tactics]

Somehow I got Tales vibe from them, yeah, Tales of Gundam.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

An era when a multitude of corporations have entered space and built a huge economic system. A lone girl from the remote planet Mercury transfers to the Asticassia School of Technology, run by the Beneritt Group which dominates the mobile suit industry.

Her name is Suletta Mercury. With a scarlet light burning in her pure heart, this girl walks step by step through a new world.

I'm actually pretty nervous right now.

The writer of the show is freakin' Ichiro Ohkouchi who have mecha-related credits such as:
Code Geass
Guilty Crown (assistant series composition)
Valvrave
M3: The Dark Metal (episodic writer)
Comet Lucifer (episodic writer)
Heavy Object (episodic writer)
Kabaneri

Out of those titles, only Code Geass that I consider good (even then, it had some glaring plot holes & extreme conveniences) while the rest turned into trainwrecks either early in the show or midway through & a couple of them ended up being meh entries. After such continuous mecha slump, why the hell the execs at Bandai appointed him to direct their big AU Gundam project?? Heck, the synopsis above almost sounds like a setup for Valvrave sequel .

If I'm allowed to reach to my inner most optimistic self, I can probably imagine that Ohkouchi delievered such a killer pitch to the execs to the point where they were so wowed by it and couldn't say no. But that's the best-case scenario.

One of the bad scenarios being, the execs chose him for some random reasons just like they chose the hack Noboru Kimura to write Kyoukai Senki. The result being, Kyoukai Senki turned into one big pile of MEH other than the good/great mecha battles . I wonder, are the execs who appointed Ohkouchi the same ones who appointed Kimura?

And in case my worry above is not enough, they appointed Hiroshi Kobayashi whose big action lead directing role so far is the recent Netflix Spriggan.

To say that I'm concerned for WFM right now would be an understatement.

I'm still hoping for the best but also bracing for the worst.

[Tactics]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

I'm actually pretty nervous right now.

The writer of the show is freakin' Ichiro Ohkouchi who have mecha-related credits such as:
Code Geass
Valvrave
Kabaneri

If I'm allowed to reach to my inner most optimistic self, I can probably imagine that Ohkouchi delievered such a killer pitch to the execs to the point where they were so wowed by it and couldn't say no. But that's the best-case scenario.

Now you mentioned it, perhaps its going like this in the meeting room:

"Okay, guys! We need new idea for Gundam!"
"How about some schoolgirls pilot with slim-fit MS?"
"OMG! True, we haven't venture into that territory yet!"

Geass, Valvrave, Kabaneri and Princess Principal; its hard to deny its all works known will leave people wanted more.
Not to mention, experienced with mecha and with exception of Valvrave all others popular enough to get a movie. If I'm part of executives, that's enough to convince me he can be trusted.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

I'm actually pretty nervous right now.

The writer of the show is freakin' Ichiro Ohkouchi who have mecha-related credits such as:
Code Geass
Guilty Crown (assistant series composition)
Valvrave
M3: The Dark Metal (episodic writer)
Comet Lucifer (episodic writer)
Heavy Object (episodic writer)
Kabaneri

Out of those titles, only Code Geass that I consider good (even then, it had some glaring plot holes & extreme conveniences) while the rest turned into trainwrecks either early in the show or midway through & a couple of them ended up being meh entries. After such continuous mecha slump, why the hell the execs at Bandai appointed him to direct their big AU Gundam project?? Heck, the synopsis above almost sounds like a setup for Valvrave sequel .

Whatever your feelings about these stories are, on paper he has experience with mecha. I can understand why execs would trust him.

Personally I have fond memories of Valvrave and Heavy Object(though I don't really evaluate the latter as mecha) so I'm not really feeling so worried.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Tactics

Geass, Valvrave, Kabaneri and Princess Principal; its hard to deny its all works known will leave people wanted more.
Not to mention, experienced with mecha and with exception of Valvrave all others popular enough to get a movie. If I'm part of executives, that's enough to convince me he can be trusted.

Who the hell wanted more Valvrave & Kabaneri? The Kabaneri movie was a flop IIRC.

Originally Posted by Endscape

Whatever your feelings about these stories are, on paper he has experience with mecha. I can understand why execs would trust him.

Yeah, just like Kimura who is also experienced with mecha. Also Kawamori, who hasn't made a good mecha entry since Macross Frontier.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Who the hell wanted more Valvrave & Kabaneri? The Kabaneri movie was a flop IIRC.

Honestly wouldn't mind more Valvrave myself, but I'm a freak like that.

[Tactics]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Who the hell wanted more Valvrave & Kabaneri? The Kabaneri movie was a flop IIRC.

I'm not saying the movies have to be successful, the fact his works able to get movies itself is enough to be good indicator.
Besides, even in consideration to your standard it still 50 (Kabaneri, Valvrave): 50 (Geass, Princess) chance of getting good stuff. Tolerable enough in case they can't risk having writer without experience of handling mecha which I suspect to be the case as, IMO, IBO-mechas-that's-not-Barbatos presence kinda weak compare to, say, Flag from 00 or Zaku Warrior from SEED.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Tactics

I'm not saying the movies have to be successful, the fact his works able to get movies itself is enough to be good indicator.
Besides, even in consideration to your standard it still 50 (Kabaneri, Valvrave): 50 (Geass, Princess) chance of getting good stuff.

I never count Princess Principal as a mecha show in my comment. Not even once. So for me, the odds is still 1:3 chance of getting a good mecha show.

Also, some bad anime shows can still have movies. For example, Garo: Crimson Moon.

Originally Posted by Tactics

Tolerable enough in case they can't risk having writer without experience of handling mecha which I suspect to be the case as, IMO, IBO-mechas-that's-not-Barbatos presence kinda weak compare to, say, Flag from 00 or Zaku Warrior from SEED.

Fans actually like other IBO Gundams other than Barbatos. It's just Bandai's obsession with only highlighting Barbatos that left the fans baffled. Thankfully, Bandai is slowly realizing the appeal of Vidar, Bael & others to the point where they're making Metal Robot Damashii of them to satisfy fans who are upset with the early HG & FM quality.

Also, Grimgerde & other Valkyria Frames are also very popular with the fans.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

I'm actually pretty nervous right now.

The writer of the show is freakin' Ichiro Ohkouchi who have mecha-related credits such as:
Code Geass
Guilty Crown (assistant series composition)
Valvrave
M3: The Dark Metal (episodic writer)
Comet Lucifer (episodic writer)
Heavy Object (episodic writer)
Kabaneri

Well, that is quite the resume

Dude was involved in the worst three mecha shows of the last decade.

[Twi]

Ewww, Valvrave. I still get pissed at that ending...

[Blaat]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor;6514629The writer of the show is freakin' [B

Ichiro Ohkouchi[/B] who have mecha-related credits such as:
Code Geass
Guilty Crown (assistant series composition)
Valvrave
M3: The Dark Metal (episodic writer)
Comet Lucifer (episodic writer)
Heavy Object (episodic writer)
Kabaneri

And my hype is gone.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Who the hell wanted more Valvrave & Kabaneri? The Kabaneri movie was a flop IIRC.

Originally Posted by Endscape

Honestly wouldn't mind more Valvrave myself, but I'm a freak like that.

Call me crazy but I would be first in line to watch more Valvrave. If this is anything as insane early on like Kabaneri, VVV or Code Geass I'm fully onboard. I don't even care if the odds are good that it's all going to derail in the last third

[Twi]

The start of Valvrave was strong (despite the sex scenario), but the ending segment starting with Jewbro getting killed just went downhill.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

I guess this is a good time to quote myself:

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Following someone's vision can be tricky & risky but at least the story came purely from them from start to finish. Mizushima-Kuroda did great with Gundam 00, Yamaguchi-Hino did bad with AGE & Nagai-Okada did great with IBO.

Now I'm wondering who are the WFM's showrunners and what is their vision (if this is new AU).

So now that I have my answer that WFM will be headed by the Kobayashi-Ohkouchi duo, this only enforced my previous comment regarding the tricky & risky nature of following someone's vision.

But the deal is now done. Regardless of my concerns, I hope Bandai allowed Kobayashi-Ohkouchi the creative freedom that they need at the very least. If there's one thing I hate more than a trainwreck, it's a trainwreck due to corporate meddling.

And I still pray to all that is holy that WFM will turn out better than just "meh", forgettable or boringly adequate.

[Jarly]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

The writer of the show is freakin' Ichiro Ohkouchi who have mecha-related credits such as:
Code Geass
Guilty Crown (assistant series composition)
Valvrave
M3: The Dark Metal (episodic writer)
Comet Lucifer (episodic writer)
Heavy Object (episodic writer)
Kabaneri

How about you remember good shows like Planetes, Uchuu no Stellvia, Princess Principal, Lupin Part 5 (where he was main writer or at least wrote many episodes) and not that pile of trash he is barely related to?
My point is the dude is clearly talented and has more hits than misses. And I don't know why you're trying to disparage his resume with series from Okada and other hacks where he wrote an episode or two.
In any case G-Witch can't be worse than IBO with this staff.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Jarly

How about you remember good shows like Planetes, Uchuu no Stellvia, Princess Principal, Lupin Part 5 (where he was main writer or at least wrote many episodes) and not that pile of trash he is barely related to?
My point is the dude is clearly talented and has more hits than misses. And I don't know why you're trying to disparage his resume with series from Okada and other hacks where he wrote an episode or two.

Ohkouchi was credited as "episodic screenplay" in Stellvia just like he did in Okada's M3.

And the problem with you bringing up Stellvia & Planetes (both started in 2003) is that after Code Geass, Ohkochi seemingly has long abandoned the more intricate & realistic portrayals of characters in mecha/space shows. When it comes to action-mecha genre for the last decade, Ohkouchi tend to go big, flashy, cartoony & bombastic with his characters that many of them don't even act like people anymore. Nowadays, his mecha-related writing is more defined by Code Geass, Valvrave & Kabaneri, all of which are his own babies.

And no, I don't highlight PP & Lupin coz they're not really mecha shows.

Originally Posted by Jarly

In any case G-Witch can't be worse than IBO with this staff.

IBO is great precisely coz a lot of the characters are very human & relatable. Even Mika gave off the vibe of someone that is on a spectrum due to the harsh environment he lived in since he was very small. There is no random & crazy Mumei or super-duper-ultra-calculating-plot-bending-genius Lelouch/L-Elf in IBO.

[Jarly]

1. In M3 he is credited for 1 episode, in Stellvia for 6.
2. Kabaneri isn't mecha.
3. 'Mecha' is just an attribute anyway. It's not like PP or Lupin were some slice-of-life or harem comedies. They were packed with action and intrigue just like your average gundam show, so I can have my expectations based on them just fine.
4. IBO was garbage, but that's not the point, so I won't elaborate.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Jarly

1. In M3 he is credited for 1 episode, in Stellvia for 6.
2. Kabaneri isn't mecha.
3. 'Mecha' is just an attribute anyway. It's not like PP or Lupin were some slice-of-life or harem comedies. They were packed with action and intrigue just like your average gundam show, so I can have my expectations based on them just fine.
4. IBO was garbage, but that's not the point, so I won't elaborate.

1. I've said my reasons why I don't highlight his pre-Code Geass mecha anime.
2. Kabaneri is steam punk anime with elaborate mechanical trains (one is used as the protags' version of Yamato or White Base), mechanical stations & mechanical gears. I guess you can say that it is as much mecha as GITS, Steam Boy, or Space Battleship Yamato.
3. I'm using his mecha works so that the comparisons can be as close & as relevant as possible.
4. You do you.

Also, it's not like I wish WFM to fail.

[Frontier]

Okouchi can go either way so I'm not going to completely write it off just because he's writing it.

From the plot description it seems like they're focusing on school life and class/corporate issues initially, but I can see that being the prelude to the traditional armed conflict of a Gundam setting.

I'm curious which of the boys will turn out to be the Char Clone.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I'm curious which of the boys will turn out to be the Char Clone.

Boys? Screw that! I want a female Char-clone!