Colony Drop: A Gundam Podcast

We tour the ruins of Side 4 in Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky and Bandit Flower where the Federation's Moore Brotherhood goes head-to-head with Zeon's Living Dead Division for control of the Thunderbolt Sector during the One Year War.  Or as we like to think of it - that time when a bunch of Federation volunteers led by some rich kids fought amputees over control of a junkyard in a universe where ice sinks.  We discuss how prosthetic technology seems to have regressed, Zeon's patented shoot n' scoot strategy, the Federation's tendency to slap first and ask questions later, the Psycho Zaku's bootleg psycommu, and the Atlas Gundam's magic skis that also somehow both fly and float.  Plus, we talk about pies!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, listeners!  On this episode, Brian handcuffs Isaac to Santa’s sleigh and we fly through our rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas!  Our Twelve Days of Gundam-mas features spinning HLVs, Murrue’s WMDs, GG gas, colony drops (of course), and much more!  Even Afranche Char gets a mention!  PLUS: We create New Year’s resolutions for Gundam characters ranging from the Zabis, Mwu La Flaga, Crux Dogatie, Bandai-Namco itself, and many others!  DOUBLE PLUS: We reveal our original Gundam Christmas stories from last year not previously heard on this podcast – A Fright Before Christmas and A Very Merry Cruxmas!

We head back to the front lines of the One Year War to read the 2002 manga series Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles!  We join up with Matt Healy’s Special Forces Experimental Unit as they trade blows with Ken Bederstadt’s Zeon Foreign Legion across the Earth.  Despite the Tokyopop version missing the beginning, middle, and end, this manga surprises us in the best ways!  We hear Zeon accents once again, see tanks given no quarter, watch as Ken earns a pitiful ace pilot name, and even visit the Cosmodrome!  Can Matt lead his team to victory?  Let's find out!

 

The time has come to revisit G-Saviour - the first Gundam live action film from way back in 1999!  If you don't CONSENT to this experience, now is your chance to back out!  Join us as our hero Mark Curran serves up a sassy one-liner almost as often as his old pal Jack tries to murder someone; General Garneaux gets hot and heavy after green champagne; Mimi can't decide if she's a double agent or just a woman scorned; Gaia's engineers and farmers are unfairly fed to the mobile suit combat meat grinder; and we pine for the lineart designs compared to the end products.  Plus, we discuss our favorite Sci-Fi Originals which include vampires, yetis, and the headless horseman!

You requested it - no - you demanded it!  We finally sortie in Gundam Battle Operation 2!  Will this be the one Gundam game to rule them all?  As we fight our way through the tutorial gauntlet, the absurd matchmaking times, and the ancient UI just to play the game, we find our preferred MS on unusual sides - Isaac in the Guncannon and Brian in the Gouf Custom.  What world is this?  Plus, Isaac refuses to buy any custom parts and dies, and Brian buys all the custom parts, but still also dies.  While it's better than Evolution, we're still holding out for Gundamfield and Gundam-Strike.  

It's time to empty our mailbag once more in this double-sized episode!  Isaac reveals that Banagher makes him second guess Zeonism.  What is worse - short series with terrible endings or long series that are terrible all the way through?  Should Iron Mask be a newtype cult leader?  Who cleans the toilets under Durandal's Destiny plan?  Is Isaac wearing Dom underwear right now?  What exactly is an ascot?  And for the main event our California Isaac goes head-to-head with an Australian Isaac concerning exactly how bad the impact of Operation British would have been on Australia!  Caution - we do real math in this episode!

We finally end the misery by flying through the rest of Mobile Suit Victory Gundam!  The second half takes a dip before it tries to soar at the end as Shakti gets passed around like a football to move the plot along, Junko leaves Brian way too early, Uso bites Lupe's boob, Tassilo gets handsy with Fualla's bells, everybody in Zanscare backstabs each other, the good guys solve everything with kamikaze attacks, Katejina kills everyone you love, Cronicle bonks his head, and then everyone dies.  The End.  Are there any Zanscare fans out there?  Do you exist?  Hello? 

On this episode, we catch up on the latest Gundam news from the past few months: Isaac thinks the new Requiem of Vengeance might involve the White Devil himself; the Gundam SEED movie lets us know exactly what it's about - FREEDOM (but not Justice); Bandai-Namco give their interpretation of Suletta and Miorine's "marriage."  Plus, Evolution evolves straight to extinction, the Johnny Ridden manga ends, and Gundam comic kickstarter begins!

We head back to the frontlines of the One Year War to review the 2022 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island (or Amuro’s Weekend Getaway, as Isaac calls it).  The film is a cinematic side story in which Gopp hires women, M’Quve should’ve lead with the napalm, Doan teaches us how to milk a goat, Bright dual wields bridge phones, and the Jaburo propnunciation debate recurs.  Plus, we miss the most important plot point (but figure it out in the end), discuss the implied morbidity of a full 0079 remake, and find evidence of The Bright Noa Academy for Gentlemanly Officers’ beginning in plain sight.  If you haven’t already, go see this film now!

We conclude our review of Suletta and Miorine's journey in The Witch from Mercury!  While we were rooting hard for the show, we agree the ending didn't stick the landing (missed the airport entirely, actually) as Delling sleeps through the back half, Elan Prime's pen is mightier than a space laser, Prospera is for some reason rewarded with a Quiet life and faces almost Zero consequences, and Suletta raises her Permet score above 8 (whatever that means) for the win.  Plus, we pitch our sequels: Peil's Revenge and Shaddiq's Counterattack; and Isaac reveals his belief that clones aren't actually people!